Chapter 38 Earthquake, Run!
Qin Qiao's guilt was overshadowed by his sarcastic remarks. She glared at him, but unfortunately, he had poor eyesight and didn't catch it.
So she smiled and said, "Dad is right! If you're happy, you should eat something sweet! Zhaoye, look, Dad is all alone today and doesn't seem very happy. Shall we give him the ice cream so he can have something sweet by himself? Mom will go with you to the supermarket to buy milk."
The clueless Zhao Ye naturally couldn't understand the hidden meaning in their conversation. He let go of Chen Jiashu's hand and took hers, saying, "Let's go to the supermarket! Let's go to the supermarket!"
In fact, neither of them were fond of arguing, but Chen Jiashu was the first to back down: "Let's go, listen to Mom, let's go to the supermarket."
Qin Qiao glanced at his face. His skin was very white, but it had a dull and lifeless look, and the corners of his eyes drooped slightly, as if he couldn't lift them, showing his exhaustion.
I thought he was in a bad mood, but now it seems more like a physical ailment. Is he not feeling well?
"Are you alright?" she couldn't help but ask.
Chen Jiashu lifted his eyelids, looked back at her, his brows relaxed, as warm as the sun: "I had a cold a couple of days ago, but I'm all better now."
As the three were about to walk towards the supermarket, suddenly, the floor began to shake without warning. Qin Qiao instinctively grabbed Zhao Ye's hand, while Chen Jiashu gripped her arm.
The surrounding noise seemed to have been paused, until a high-pitched male voice cleaved the eerie silence:
"Earthquake!!"
Before the words had even faded, the crowd erupted in cheers and shouts from all directions.
Chaos erupted in the corridor as people rushed downstairs. The glass doors of the shops behind them creaked and rattled, and the sound of footsteps seemed to pound through the floorboards.
Chen Jiashu's face showed barely any fear or panic, and he released his grip on Qin Qiao's arm:
"Take Zhaoye away quickly! I'll go with you!"
People scattered in all directions, driven by the instinct to escape. Everyone was panicked and at a loss. Zhao Ye cried in fear. Qin Qiao gripped the child tightly and then grabbed Chen Jiashu's wrist: "Come with me!"
The escalator was packed with people during the power outage, but some people, worried about its safety, chose to take the stairs instead.
The tremors grew stronger, followed by a series of loud bangs as glass shattered.
With a loud bang, the giant chandelier hanging from the dome fell and crashed to the ground floor, shattering into pieces with glass shards flying in all directions.
Many people were hit on the face, neck, and hands by the explosion, screaming for help.
Qin Qiao squeezed into the stairwell, dragging two people with her.
People were packed together, shoulder to shoulder, being pushed downstairs, and various sounds echoed like thunder on the floors.
Chen Jiashu's white cane was knocked away by the rushing crowd. In an earthquake, time is of the essence when escaping, and his slow movements would only delay the crucial escape time.
As soon as the thought crossed his mind, Chen Jiashu decisively let go of Qin Qiao's shoulder.
He reached out and touched the people walking by, finally finding the stair railing and grasping it.
Chen Jiashu helped it downstairs, but its hand was knocked away several times during the descent.
Suddenly, someone pushed him, and Chen Jiashu lost his footing and fell onto the platform.
Qin Qiao dragged Zhao Ye outside the mall. At that moment, the earthquake stopped, several streetlights went out, the square was dimly lit, and cars on the road were stopped and honking their horns frantically.
After comforting Zhao Ye, Qin Qiao suddenly realized that Chen Jiashu's voice was not around.
She turned around. The light was still on in the large door of the stairwell, but it was empty and there was no one there.
She looked around and saw that some survivors were too exhausted to run and collapsed on the ground, while others were still worried about an earthquake and were crawling and rolling towards the center of the square.
Chen Jiashu was the only one missing.
The cold wind seeped into her neck, and her mind went blank for a moment, but her heart kept pounding.
Chen Cheng ran over from a distance, and Qin Qiao immediately handed Zhao Ye to him. Zhao Ye was still shaken and fearfully tugged at her fingers. Qin Qiao patted his head and said, "I'm going to find Dad."
After saying that, she resolutely turned around and ran straight over.
Just as they reached the door, a white figure flashed by, and Qin Qiao bumped straight into him. Her eyes welled up with tears, and she immediately hugged him tightly.
Chen Jiashu lowered his dark, heavy eyes, his lips trembling. It wasn't that he wasn't afraid; he was afraid of death, afraid of never seeing his lover and child again.
Qin Qiao stroked his face; it was warm and real. Tears welled up instantly, blurring everything.
The lingering fear was like a collapsing mountain; she could no longer hold back and burst into tears, her sobs filled with a childlike sense of grievance and terror.
Chen Jiashu embraced her back, so tightly that he almost pressed her into his bones and blood, as if only in this way could he confirm their true existence.
However, after the overwhelming wave of fear subsided, Qin Qiao's hand slid down his back and suddenly pressed against his chest, tearing herself from his embrace with a resolute force.
Qin Qiao's chest heaved violently, and the air she inhaled felt like it was carrying sharp thorns. She tried to open her mouth several times but could not make a sound.
Finally, the voice, as if squeezed from a torn throat, was hoarse and distorted: "Chen Jiashu..."
Her fists rained down on his chest, each blow accompanied by her broken sobs: "What do you think you are?! A burden?! An obstacle?! You'll never change... You'll never change!"
Her sobs choked her accusations. She futilely punched him again, finally pressing her forehead against his aching chest, her voice completely broken, "Who do you think you are...who asked you to sacrifice yourself...you bastard...you're just a bastard..."
*
It was already eleven o'clock when Chen Jiashu got home, and he sat in his study deep in thought. Qin Qiao's final accusation and her cries still echoed in his ears.
He was doing something that seemed rationally correct, even great, but he always ignored Qin Qiao's inner feelings.
However, if he hadn't let go, and if the earthquake hadn't only lasted five or six minutes, his children and loved ones might have perished with him.
The sense of self-satisfaction that filled him when he let go was enough, as long as they were alive... But he didn't want them to die; he just wanted them to run faster.
Chen Jiashu leaned back in his chair and slowly closed his eyes.
Qin Qiao left the mall and went to the TV station instead of going home. A magnitude 7 earthquake struck Lian City, 500 kilometers away, with Tujia Town and Dongyi Town suffering the most severe damage. As the deputy director of the news department, Qin Qiao took the lead and led her team to the scene overnight.
At one o'clock in the morning, another earthquake struck Lanchuan, lasting for half a minute. Chen Jiashu suddenly opened his eyes, heard his work phone ringing, sat up, reached for the phone, and swiped to answer.
"Chairman Chen! A magnitude 7 earthquake struck Tujia Town. Have you seen the news?" Director Xu shouted at the top of his lungs.
After hanging up with Director Xu, Chen Jiashu immediately called Zhu Ao. After ringing for more than ten seconds without being answered, just as the call automatically ended, Chen Jiashu's phone rang again.
The mechanical female voice announced the name "Zhu," and Chen Jiashu answered the call.
"Jiashu, the latest news is that Tujia Town is the hardest hit by the disaster. Our factory and workers are probably in grave danger."
After ending the call, Chen Jiashu called Lao Song to wake him up, and they immediately took a car to the group.
The boardroom was brightly lit. Chen Jiashu sat in the south-facing main seat, his fingers interlaced under his chin, his eyes vacant.
Zhu Ao walked in, his coat draped over his arm, and sat in the first seat to Chen Jiashu's left. Tian Jiayue pushed open the door, carrying a stack of documents in her hands. Her high heels clicked as she walked around the long table and distributed the documents.
The directors entered one after another and went to their seats. Director Xu, who was the last to enter, sighed deeply and angrily as he passed by Chen Jiashu, then pulled out a chair and sat down.
With everyone present, the meeting officially began. Since their own interests were at stake, the directors took turns questioning Chen Jiashu.
The factory construction project in Tujia Town was confirmed five months ago. Since it was an existing factory area, it was only an expansion and renovation project. If it weren't for this natural disaster, it would have been put into use next month.
In the view of these directors, this was a decision-making error by Chen Jiashu.
Amidst the questioning, Chen Jiashu stood up: "I'm going to the scene now. The most urgent tasks are rescuing people, stabilizing the situation, and minimizing losses. I will advance these three tasks simultaneously. Anyone willing to work with me to solve the problem is welcome. Anyone only interested in assigning blame, please feel free to do so."
*
After a five-and-a-half-hour drive, Qin Qiao's team arrived in Guning County, Lian City, at 6 a.m., less than 50 kilometers from Tujia Town, the hardest-hit area.
This is an abandoned primary school. The area outside the school is full of buses, and journalists from all over the country have gathered here. It is said that many of them came by chartered plane.
The rain poured down, carrying a biting chill, and mist swirled and drifted. Under the colorful umbrellas covering the school's large playground, a lively discussion erupted as everyone discussed the destructive power of the earthquake. A few comments were interspersed: "It's not safe here," "Hundreds have died," "There are so many difficulties," and so on.
There were many familiar faces among them, but she didn't have time to greet them. Qin Qiao walked sideways and found the principal downstairs in the teaching building. The principal was being interviewed by a reporter from Taiwan.
Qin Qiao closed her umbrella and stood aside to wait. The principal's black down jacket had a large tear in the right sleeve, and all the down had escaped, leaving it flat and drooping.
After the reporter from the Taiwan media left, Qin Qiao approached the principal. She wasn't there to interview him, but rather to ask him a few questions. The principal looked tired but was gentle, and answered almost everything he knew. His tone was frank, but his words always touched upon the devastation of the disaster and his deep concern for the injured.
"Are you able to make contact with people inside Tujia Town? What are the main needs and information coming from there?"
"Contact... is intermittent and extremely difficult. And it's all at night... We don't even have time to run... How can we possibly think about our needs..."
Having given interviews to over a dozen media outlets, the principal's thoughts were somewhat muddled. Qin Qiao couldn't bear to press further, so she bowed deeply at a 30-degree angle and left.
The cold rain lashed her face, and she blinked her tearful eyes as she returned to the car.
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