Chapter 7 Ruins vs. Gods "Your eyes are beautiful."...
Lu Huaijin's answer was unexpected even by the production team.
The director quickly flipped through the correct answers, his eyes filled with confusion.
How could that be? There shouldn't be any mistake, right?
Although it was a deserted night, pedestrians were not allowed to trespass on the cross-river bridge. A passerby called the police, but Wen Yinhe was taken away by Lu Huaijin before the police arrived.
Lu Huaijin later suppressed the news, but Wen Yinhe's statement at the police station was still there. The production team went to great lengths to uncover this secret.
This was almost the only meeting between the two that they could find.
After all, before they officially announced their marriage, they really had absolutely no connection!
The director firmly believes that something must have happened between Lu Huaijin and Wen Yinhe the night they took him away!
Otherwise, why would they be in such a hurry to get married?
Even if there are no so-called unspoken rules, there must be some shady dealings!
Although they may not tell the specifics of what happened that night, as long as the news of their whirlwind marriage is revealed, there will be plenty of imaginative netizens online.
No matter how the guesses turn out, it will generate buzz, so how could the director let it go so easily?
But no matter how hard he racked his brains, he never imagined that Lu Huaijin had some hidden story!
Moreover, judging from Wen Yinhe's expression, it seems that even he himself doesn't know.
[Holy crap! 16 years ago? I was still in kindergarten back then! So what happened? Did the movie star and CEO Lu have a connection so early on?]
[Oh right, I remember now! Wen Yinhe was filming in Lingcheng back then! Then suddenly a once-in-a-century earthquake struck. Fortunately, the crew moved to a safe area in time and were unharmed. However, due to a severe shortage of manpower in the area, the entire crew went to volunteer for disaster relief. Even the then 15-year-old Best Actor went, and it even made the news afterwards!]
[Holy crap, I remembered too! The production team didn't originally intend to use this for publicity. It was a reporter who accidentally filmed the movie star who was doing disaster relief. At the time, the movie star was so disheveled from head to toe that he looked like a beggar, and nobody recognized him. The reporter even interviewed him for a few minutes because he was young. This footage is still included in the "Celebrities Who Were Accidentally Interviewed as Bystanders" compilation!]
Those who received directions immediately searched online and quickly found the interview video from that year.
The picture quality 16 years ago was as bad as a pirated DVD, but at the same time, the people in the film were more simple and real.
After all, back then, actors were called actors, not stars.
Actors are just ordinary people, and can even be considered artists, far from the lofty and glamorous professions they enjoy today.
The reporter first interviewed several soldiers who were providing disaster relief. When his gaze fell on a figure whose frame was noticeably thinner, he quickly stepped forward to stop him, only to be met with a small face as dark as charcoal.
Those dark eyes were as beautiful as a tranquil night, sparkling with clear starlight. His raven-feather-like eyelashes were covered in dust, but they could not tarnish the clarity and purity in his eyes.
By all accounts, he looks like a teenager.
As the camera approached, the boy shyly wiped the dirt off his face and gave the camera a bashful smile.
It inevitably brings to mind the same shy smile Wen Yinhe gave to the camera when he opened the door on the first day of the show's broadcast.
Sixteen years later, two different time periods seem to have strangely overlapped.
Netizens were somewhat bewildered.
The video is still playing.
After seeing the boy's face clearly, the reporter was so surprised that he almost stammered: "How old are you this year?"
"I'm 15 years old this year." The boy's voice was hoarse from recent puberty, but it wasn't unpleasant; instead, it carried the unique awkwardness of adolescence.
At this time, Wen Yinhe's voice had already acquired the clear and gentle tone of an adult, and his pronunciation was clear, upright, and unhurried. His standard Mandarin was so standard that it didn't sound like a local at all.
The reporter gasped, covering her mouth in astonishment: "My God, it's so small?"
The boy chuckled softly: "I'm not young anymore. I can lift a wall that weighs over 100 pounds."
The reporter paused, clearly taken aback. After a long pause, she asked with concern, "Did you come here voluntarily? Aren't your family worried?"
"Yes, I volunteered," the boy nodded earnestly. His still immature brows revealed a composure and calmness that was completely beyond his years. Even in the face of a terrible natural disaster, his eyes still shone with a resolute gentleness. "When the country is in trouble, every citizen has a responsibility. I believe that even the smallest forces, when combined, can shake the heavens and the earth."
As for the second question, the boy smiled faintly and did not answer.
The reporter was so astonished by his remarkable awareness at such a young age that he was speechless and didn't pay attention to these small details. When he looked at him again, his eyes were filled with deep affection and tenderness, and his voice softened involuntarily: "Is there anything you would like to say to everyone watching on TV?"
The young man nodded slightly, looking directly into the camera. His dark eyes showed no fear or hesitation, but rather shone brightly like stars, radiating a calm, peaceful, and gentle light, as if gathering the most unshakeable strength in the world. He spoke each word with firm conviction: "I hope our motherland can quickly emerge from this catastrophe. I hope the survivors of Lingcheng can continue to live strong lives with beautiful dreams for the future. I hope the departed souls can rest in peace. I hope those still buried deep underground will not give up any will to live. Hold on, and believe that your motherland will come to save you!"
The video ended, and everyone remained silent for a long time.
After a long while, someone burst into tears:
[Waaaaaah! I cried five times in just one minute!]
[Sister, I understand you! I couldn't hold back my tears the moment the Best Actor looked up, and every time he spoke after that, I couldn't hold back anymore, tears just kept falling! When the reporter said he was too young, his rebuttal was that he could already lift a 100-pound rock, so he wasn't young! Who understands, my family! I completely burst into tears!]
Kill me... How can there be such an innocent child in the world? I'd lend him my grain to play with! QAQ
Does this man possess some kind of magical power that can instantly bring people to tears with just a glance? It was one thing for my beloved ancestor to be like this back then, but how could he be like this 16 years ago when he was just a little kid?!
[So some people really do grow up proportionally... I'm so dizzy, these eyes are exactly the same 16 years ago and now! They're still so gentle, it makes me want to cry, sob sob sob]
So when those scandals first broke, I didn't believe a single word! Even now, my trust in him has never wavered! I've truly watched him grow step by step! I've seen his character firsthand! I don't believe such an honest and clean person would do such despicable things! It must all be slander! It's defamation!
[Enough said. Just for his meritorious act of disaster relief and saving lives back then, he deserves to be elevated to a god-like status by the entire entertainment industry!]
However, people do change. Even the most upright and kind-hearted young person might not be able to maintain their original intentions forever once they enter the entertainment industry, which is a big melting pot...
Although some people still bring up Wen Yinhe's dubious scandals, fortunately, the impression of Wen Yinhe among newcomers is getting better and better.
After this incident, netizens have changed their opinion of Wen Yinhe quite a bit.
After all, Chinese people have a genuine attachment to their motherland, and this patriotism alone is enough to win them a lot of goodwill.
In the program.
Since even the answers prepared by the production team for the last question were wrong, Lu Huaijin had to be considered the correct answer.
The director was very reluctant to miss the opportunity to reveal a big secret, but after reviewing the subsequent game segments, he secretly felt relieved.
It's okay, there are plenty of games to come, and there will always be opportunities to make them slip up.
On the scene, Wen Yinhe and Lu Huaijin passed the test of their intimacy without any major incident, and achieved an unprecedented perfect score.
The wall behind him opened, and Wen Yinhe hurriedly stepped down from the platform. Before Lu Huaijin could come out, he quickly stepped forward and hugged him tightly.
"I never knew you were there back then." Wen Yinhe's furrowed brows were filled with intense heartache and lingering fear. His arms, which were holding Lu Huaijin, trembled slightly. How could he have imagined that the scars he had cherished and kissed day and night over the past few years were actually connected to him in some inescapable way?
Back then, he stayed in Lingcheng for a whole month, and personally dug out at least several dozen, if not a hundred, survivors.
Every person he rescued from underground, covered in wounds and mutilated, was a shock to him. Even now, thinking back on them fills him with immense sorrow and regret.
The thought that his current lover was inside made him feel so much pain that he could hardly breathe.
Lu Huaijin's warm hand landed on Wen Yinhe's rapidly breathing back, gently patting and stroking it. His nose brushed against the man's clenched teeth in a comforting way, and he lightly kissed the corner of his lips: "How fortunate I am that you saved me back then, so that I had the opportunity to repay this kindness to you seven years ago."
Wen Yinhe hugged Lu Huaijin quietly for a while, then suddenly felt that the surrounding silence was a little eerie.
As soon as he looked up, he met the intense, gossipy gazes of several other pairs of people around him.
Wen Yinhe: "..."
These people had moved over quietly at some point, and although they didn't approach or disturb us, they had clearly been eavesdropping for quite some time.
Even Tianyin didn't urge them to start the next round of the game, clearly wanting them to say a few more words.
With the drama unfolding, Xiao disregarded his fear and boldly asked, "President Lu, so, is the movie star your savior?"
“Hmm,” Lu Huaijin replied. There was nothing wrong with talking about these things; in fact, it could even garner favor with his lover, so he was more than happy to do so. “Actually, it’s quite simple…”
Lu Huaijin's narration was straightforward, his voice as calm as water, without any embellishment, but that nightmarish year still slowly revealed a glimpse of the iceberg to the people who now live in peace and prosperity.
Back then, Lu Huaijin was only 17 years old, but he was precocious and had an extremely high IQ. He had already completed his university studies at the age of 17 and was going out to gain experience with his godfather at the time.
The Lingcheng project was the first testing ground that his godfather gave him.
The foreman saw that he was just a callow child and bullied him in public several times. He endured it without saying a word and did not complain to his godfather. Instead, he did everything himself and did it to the best of his ability.
But this did not earn the foreman's appreciation; instead, it gave the group of oppressed people a sudden sense of vengeful pleasure.
He shouldn't have been in that building on the day of the earthquake.
The foreman suddenly said there was a problem with the project over there and insisted that he go and check it out in person.
He knew that the land was full of dilapidated and unfinished buildings, with an extremely irrational layout. It should have been demolished long ago, but no one had taken it over, which is why it had been delayed until now. If an earthquake were to happen, not even a fly could escape.
The foreman was a local. He had heard the loudspeakers on the street the day before announcing that there might be a minor tremor that day and that they should stay in open areas and not wander around.
They've lived on this land for decades; they've seen it all.
It was just a minor tremor; no one will die.
It'll be perfect for intimidating that arrogant little brat.
Lu Huaijin was unaware of all this.
He didn't stop working from the moment he arrived, and then worked non-stop for more than ten days. The high-intensity work compressed Lu Huaijin's sleep time to the extreme every day, and he had no time or way to pay attention to local news.
As an outsider, he was being ostracized by all the local workers.
No one warned him, so he went to the dilapidated building alone amidst everyone's malicious snickers.
Little did anyone know that this tremor would become the biggest nightmare for the people of Lingcheng in nearly a century.
Hearing this, Xiao held his breath in disbelief, his voice slightly nasal: "So, you were just trapped under the rubble like that..."
“Hmm,” Lu Huaijin replied casually, then dropped the most cruel fact in a single sentence, “And on that piece of land, I was the only living person since the earthquake started.”
Wen Yinhe gripped Lu Huaijin's hand tightly, his eyes reddening almost instantly.
Lu Huaijin gently squeezed Wen Yinhe's fingers, kissed them, and then lingered his cheek against the warm and comforting heat of his lover's hand.
At the moment when he was completely consumed by darkness, he never imagined that he would have a chance to see the light again.
The sound of steel bars piercing ribs still seems to echo in my ears; disasters often happen in an instant.
Before he could even react to what was happening, he was mercilessly buried under concrete and debris from the high-rise building.
Only when people personally face natural disasters can they truly understand the heavy and sorrowful sense of powerlessness.
At that time, the seemingly invincible human rulers on Earth were as insignificant as a speck of dust trampled into the mud by giants.
It carries a cruel yet nonchalant tone.
Despair gained weight at that moment. Lu Huaijin could clearly feel his life slipping away bit by bit, and his throat was filled with a strong metallic taste that made him almost suffocate several times.
Lu Huaijin knew clearly and calmly that he would surely die once he closed his eyes, so he desperately made a sound.
He couldn't shout loudly; he needed to conserve his strength, so he could only keep tapping the steel bar embedded in his body with his fingers.
The steel bars are driven in from the outside, and the sound of striking them will be transmitted to the outside air through the solid medium.
This was the only way he could possibly send a distress signal to the outside world.
At this moment, Wen Yinhe felt as if he were experiencing a dull pain firsthand.
The steel bar that pierced Lu Huaijin's chest, spanning 16 years, was precisely inserted into his ribs in his lover's calm and composed narration.
He couldn't help but reach out and touch his chest in anguish. His skin was perfectly intact, yet he felt as if he could touch the protruding metal blade that had been inserted into Lu Huaijin's body years ago, and his heart bled along with it.
“They all said that no one would be there, and that I shouldn’t go there…” Wen Yinhe looked at his now unharmed lover with red eyes. His originally clear and melodious voice was now hoarse as if it had been sanded, and he could hardly make a sound.
Having lived for over 30 years, this was the first time he realized that pain could be felt empathically.
“But you heard my cries for help, only you heard them,” Lu Huaijin said with a smile, gently cupping Wen Yinhe’s face, which was full of heartache. “And you even dug me out of the rubble with your own hands.”
A loving and tender kiss landed on Wen Yinhe's sore eyes.
No one knows how Wen Yinhe managed to clearly and accurately capture, in such a noisy environment, the faint yet tenacious cry for help emanating from a boy only two years older than him, dozens of meters away, as if he were desperately trying to cry out for help.
Wen Yinhe stared at him with burning eyes. His lover's kiss was like molten lava, and at the moment the truth was revealed after 16 years, it carried a terrifying weight of life, scalding his eyes: "How did you recognize me?"
“Eyes,” Lu Huaijin raised his finger and gently stroked Wen Yinhe’s beautiful eyes, which had remained unchanged for over a decade. Time may have passed and things may have changed, but his beloved had never changed. “Your eyes are beautiful. Anyone who has seen them once will never forget them.”
As Lu Huaijin spoke, he suddenly chuckled softly.
Because of Wen Yinhe's intrusion, that near-death experience did not leave him with any shadow. Instead, with the passage of time, it became an increasingly beautiful and dreamlike memory from his distant past.
"You don't know, the response you gave me when I cried for help was truly the most beautiful sound I've ever heard in my life."
When the slender boy with thin shoulders moved the heavy stones and reached out to him, who was on the verge of death, though he was covered in dirt and mud and looked like a filthy little beggar, it was the most unforgettable and eternally beautiful scene of his life.
At that moment, he saw his god.
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