Chapter 36
The father slammed on the brakes: "What's so important?"
"Uh..." Su Yue was reluctant to reveal the secret treasure, scratched his head awkwardly, and hesitated for a moment, "Actually... it's not that important..."
It was just a half-length portrait of Noah.
The father frowned: "Then why did you tell me to stop the car? Really..." In the end, he couldn't bear to scold his son, shook his head, and prepared to shift gears again.
"No! It's very important!" Su Yue suddenly changed her mind, her tone resolute. "I must go back and get it!"
Paintings cannot be soaked in water; they will be completely ruined!
The mother looked at her son and asked curiously, "What is it? Did you forget your game console?"
The father replied, "...If it gets ruined, I'll buy you a new one."
No, once the bubble wrap breaks, it's gone, and you can never buy another one... Su Yue pursed her lips: "It's not a game console. But... it's very important."
The father pressed further, "You just said 'it's not particularly important,' but now you say 'it's very important.' So, is it important or not?"
"Important! Very important!" Su Yue exclaimed excitedly, his voice rising involuntarily, "More important than my life!"
In that instant, he realized: it was the only tangible connection he had left with Noah, the only memento. If even that were lost, a part of the meaning of his life would seem to vanish with it.
The parents were stunned.
They had never seen their son care so much about anything. It was as if even if a star fell from the sky into their house, they would go back and retrieve it.
But……
The father glanced back at the two wretched cars submerged in the water in the distance and thought: "They'd have to be alive to get them back."
After hesitating for a long time, the father still shook his head: "It's too dangerous, we can't go back."
“Then I’ll take a shortcut back by bicycle,” Su Yue said with unusual determination.
He rolled down the door, jumped out of the pickup truck, and took the mountain bike from the back. Facing his parents' worried gazes, he remembered his earlier lapse in composure and forced a smile: "Don't worry, I can swim. I'm not afraid even if I fall into the water. I'll be back soon."
The pickup truck was parked on the side of the highway. The road was congested with vehicles that had been delayed until the last minute. It wasn't appropriate to leave the pickup truck stuck there for so long. In the few minutes they were talking, more than a dozen cars behind them had already started honking impatiently.
Not far away, there was a temporary relief point set up by the government. Su Yue changed his mind and said, "Never mind, you guys go first. I'll meet you at the relief point later." After saying that, he got into his car and drove into the rain without looking back.
Braving the torrential rain, Su Yue pedaled his bicycle home with all his might.
The first floor of the small building was already flooded by the river, the water reaching his ankles. He waded through the damp, cold living room and rushed upstairs to the second floor, where he took the portrait from the bedside table drawer.
He grabbed a schoolbag and dumped its contents onto the floor. Then he pulled out a few sheets of waterproof kraft paper and hastily wrapped the portrait in several layers, making it look like a clumsy rugby ball. Next, he found two sturdy-looking plastic bags and put them over the "rugby ball" for double protection before carefully stuffing it into his schoolbag and carrying it on his back.
After doing all that, he returned to the first floor, only to find that the water level had risen extremely quickly and was already above his calves!
He waded through the water with difficulty to reach the gate, only to find a vast expanse of water outside. The streets had completely disappeared, and he couldn't distinguish where the roads ended and the lawns began. Rows of residential buildings stood alone in the turbid torrent, vaguely resembling the water city of Venice—except that the river here was swift and murky, the sky was gloomy, the buildings were deserted, and it was pitch black, more like a scene from a Halloween horror movie.
This residential area is located in the lowest part of a valley, where the river is flowing back in rapidly. Before he even stepped out of the front yard, the water had already risen to his thighs!
Each step forward became increasingly difficult.
Taking a shortcut back by bicycle is absolutely impossible.
Su Yue had a sudden inspiration and immediately turned back into the house, pushing out the two-meter-long solid wood dining table from the dining room.
The table was originally extremely heavy, weighing at least two hundred pounds, but after being soaked in water, it slid away with the slightest push. As he passed the doorway, he also grabbed two wide snow shovels.
By the time he got the large wooden table outside, the water had risen to his waist. Without further effort, he flipped the table over, leaped onto it, and knelt down, using the heavy table as a small boat and the snow shovel as an oar, thus beginning his thrilling "escape from the water city."
Relying on extremely clumsy "rowing" skills, it took Su Yue nearly an hour to finally row out of his own neighborhood and into the neighboring community.
He would need to cross at least two more neighborhoods to get back to where he jumped out of the car.
As darkness fell, the rain continued.
Most of the small town was submerged in water, with some areas reaching depths of four meters, completely engulfing one-story houses. The surging river crashed open doors, carrying out all sorts of objects: desks, chairs, rag dolls, plastic toys... Anything that could float on the surface drifted and spun helplessly in this gray ocean.
Suddenly, in the dim light, Su Yue discovered a figure kneeling on a building ahead, with only its roof visible above the water, swaying precariously in the wind and rain.
The man saw him too, and as if seeing a glimmer of hope, he waved his arms high and cried for help.
The voice that called out was a woman's, and it sounded vaguely familiar.
Su Yue struggled to row the "wooden boat" closer, securing it against the roof's drainpipe. Looking up, he was met with a familiar face and exclaimed in surprise, "Daisy?!"
The woman desperately pleading for help in the storm was none other than Daisy, his junior high school classmate and first kiss—once revered as a "goddess."
Two years later, Daisy had blossomed into a more charming woman with a slender figure, rivaling even the girls on the school's cheerleading team.
Daisy was also taken aback when she saw Su Yue: "Pat Su Yue?!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com