The reporter quickly instructed the photographer to point the camera at the backpack that had been dug out.
The backpack, covered in mud, was magnified on the TV screen, and when Shen Qingqing and the others saw it, disappointment spread across everyone's faces.
That backpack did not belong to Li Xunli, Li Xunjin, or the son of Wu Zubo.
After finding the backpack, the search and rescue team also detected signs of life using a detector and launched a rescue operation.
That concludes the television station's live report.
After that, it's just the TV station's late-night drama slot, and there are no more live news reports.
A somber and oppressive atmosphere once again spread among everyone. They saw backpacks that did not belong to their relatives, and they saw the first people rescued after the rescue team launched the rescue operation. They were a couple, but they could not see Li Xunli, Li Xunjin, or Wu Zubo's son.
Despite feeling depressed, everyone still has to go to work or school tomorrow.
However, Shen Rongzhou used up his two days of leave at the end of the month in advance. Fortunately, Zhang Zeqin knew about his situation and approved the leave readily.
Unable to obtain any further useful information, Shen Rongzhou took his two daughters and returned home.
To be on the safe side, Shen Hong didn't bring him home to live.
Fifth Uncle also contacted his grandson to come and pick him up.
Shen Yangyang had already fallen asleep, but was forcibly woken up and put in the car to go home.
After settling Shen Yangyang in, Shen Qingqing took her clothes to take a shower and saw her father sitting on the living room sofa, sighing and scratching his hair repeatedly.
"Dad, Mom and Uncle will definitely come back safely!" Shen Qingqing said softly as she walked over, as if she were asking Shen Rongzhou for confirmation, or as if she were comforting herself.
Shen Rongzhou stopped scratching his hair, took a deep breath, turned to look at Shen Qingqing, and forced a reassuring smile: "Yes, Mom and Uncle will definitely come back safely, Da Bao, don't worry. Go take a shower and go to sleep, you have school tomorrow!"
Shen Qingqing nodded weakly.
Watching his daughter enter the bathroom, Shen Rongzhou's forced smile faded, and his gaze fell heavily on the motionless phone lying on the table.
Neither the local police nor Zhang Zeqin have provided any information.
Shen Rongzhou clenched his fists, realizing for the first time how cowardly he had always thought of living his life step by step.
If he were in Zhang Zeqin's position now, he wouldn't need to wait here for a phone call that might not come for a long time. He would be able to find someone to ask, or even set off to find it himself!
After Shen Qingqing came out of the bathroom, she saw Shen Rongzhou leaning back on the sofa with his eyes closed. She was about to go over and tell her father to take a shower first and wait for news when she saw her father's closed eyelids twitch under the light and tears streamed down his face.
Shen Qingqing stopped abruptly. In her memory, she could count the number of times she had seen her father cry on one hand. Twice of those times were during her most rebellious period of adolescence, when he hit her and they argued, and the father and daughter cried and yelled at each other.
There were two other times when her mother was diagnosed with lung cancer, and she accidentally saw her father secretly wiping away tears by himself.
Shen Qingqing didn't go over. She silently returned to her room, leaving the door ajar. She sat at her desk, with a small lamp on, waiting for news with her father.
As the night deepened, the sounds of cars on the street outside became increasingly rare, dwindling to just a few scattered noises.
Shen Qingqing's consciousness began to blur, and she couldn't help but want to lean on the table.
There had been no movement in the living room until a car horn sounded, followed by a cell phone ringing abruptly in the house.
Shen Qingqing suddenly stood up, opened the door, and saw her father answer the phone, choking out, "Wife..."
Shen Qingqing couldn't hold back her tears any longer. She ran over and hugged her father's leg, her eyes red and swollen as she looked up at him, crying out, "Mom!"
Li Xunli on the other end of the phone had obviously heard Shen Qingqing crying and quickly told Shen Rongzhou to give the phone to the child.
Shen Rongzhou held the phone to Shen Qingqing's ear. Shen Qingqing cried so hard that snot bubbles blocked her nose, and her voice was muffled and heavy: "Mom..."
“Dabao! Dabao, don’t cry, Mom’s okay! Uncle’s okay too, we’re all fine, don’t cry!” Li Xunli’s heart ached when she heard her daughter crying like this.
This is why, even though she knew it was already late at night, she still decided to make this call to let everyone know she was safe after being rescued.
The father and daughter calmed down with Li Xunli's comforting words. Shen Qingqing cried so hard that her head felt suffocated, and Li Xunli ordered her to wash her face and go to sleep.
Shen Rongzhou also could not escape Li Xunli's command.
Unlike the sleepless nights of the first half, hearing the voices of the people they cared about finally allowed Shen Rongzhou and Shen Qingqing to fall asleep peacefully.
Shen Qingqing, who had only slept for less than four hours, was woken up by Shen Rongzhou the next morning. She felt as if she was being dragged by a ghost and couldn't open her eyes no matter what.
Shen Rongzhou wrung out a hot towel and covered her face, allowing her to recover for a while before she was able to slowly open her eyes.
Shen Qingqing sat up with a dull ache in her head, pressed the towel Shen Rongzhou had covered her face with, and asked in a muffled voice, "Dad, when are Mom and Uncle coming back?"
Shen Rongzhou's eyes were bloodshot, and he looked exhausted, clearly having had a bad night's sleep. "It will take another two days. The disaster situation there is very serious, and transportation is temporarily suspended."
Shen Qingqing got off the bed: "Were Mom and Uncle injured?"
“No, when the landslide happened, your mother and the others were resting in a cave in a relatively high area with the exploration team, so no one was injured.” Shen Rongzhou took the hot towel that Shen Qingqing handed him and looked at his daughter’s eyes, which were still red and swollen.
—I cried too much last night.
"Where are they now? Are they still in the cave? Are they safe?" Shen Qingqing asked as she put on her clothes.
“She’s not in the cave anymore. After she was found last night, she left with the rescue team at dawn this morning when it wasn’t raining. She should be at their hotel now. The hotel is in a very safe location. Your mother told me last night that we shouldn’t worry and that she will come back safely.” Shen Rongzhou took out a towel. “We’re having soy milk and fried dough sticks for breakfast. Go wash up first, and I’ll wake Yangyang up.”
"Okay." Shen Qingqing squeezed her stinging eyes shut and walked towards the bathroom.
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