The car jolted like a roller coaster, and from all directions, bullets whizzed past, bombs exploded, sparks flew, and dust billowed. The Western Army and the rebels fighting to protect them were engaged in a fierce battle—a real warzone.
Chen Ning held her breath, afraid to make a sound. She gripped the safety belt tightly in her hand and stared intently at the road ahead, praying for a quick escape.
After a while, things calmed down relatively. There wasn’t such a large-scale military pursuit anymore, they were probably stopped by the government army in Xili.
Just then, Chen Ling saw the car that Mr. Liang had driven yesterday parked by the side of the road.
Song Jingye also saw it, his voice calm as he said: “Another team has already been sent over.”
Chen Ning nodded. Their main task was to first safely evacuate their compatriots from the south of the city and escort them out of Xili Country.
Along the way, rebel thugs would occasionally rush out from the sides of the road to try and block their path, but they were all dealt with by the special forces in the back of the train. Soon, they entered the safety zone north of the city.
Chen Ning let out a long sigh of relief, “Was the airport hijacked? Are they unable to leave through the airport?”
Song Jingye nodded. “Go straight to the border. It’s been arranged over there. From the border to the neighboring country, you can leave by plane.”
The car continued driving toward the border, without stopping for a moment.
The road was a vast expanse of yellow sand, with occasional dilapidated stone houses appearing here and there. Their army green trucks sped along the straight road, like a moving painting.
When Chen Ning turned back to look at Song Jingye, she found that his fierce gaze had become peaceful, and the blue veins on the back of his arms had also disappeared.
Song Jingye also turned his head slightly to look at her, the corner of his lip lifted, he smiled, didn’t speak, but stretched out his right hand. Chen Ling immediately put her own hand into his palm, and he immediately clenched it.
Because they were already within safe territory, the ceiling of the rear carriage was also opened, and excited cheers from their fellow countrymen could be heard, seeming to pierce through the entire desert.
After driving for several hours, they finally reached the border. Seeing the five-starred red flag planted in the ground, Chen Ling almost shed tears. There was no time that compared to this moment when seeing the red flag felt more exciting.
After getting off the bus, Chen Ling returned with the contact information of 20 compatriots. After carefully double-checking each piece of information, she handed it over to her colleague who came to meet them.
People were lining up to board the bus one by one. Chen Ning looked back and saw Wu Jian at the end of the line, and Wu Jian also glanced at her. There was gratitude in his eyes, but also a hint of shyness.
Chen Ning walked over and said, “Could we talk for a bit?”
Wu Jian sighed and put down his luggage, walking to the side with her.
“I’m not unwilling to take you to Zag city, but as you know, my wife and children are waiting for me to return home.”
Currently, the only construction workers remaining in Xili are those in Zagaz City. As Wu Jian came from that construction site and is most familiar with the environment, Chen Ling intended to ask him to stay and assist, but of course, it was just a suggestion and not a demand.
“I’m different from you guys. I’m just an ordinary citizen. I barely escaped death, and all I want is to go home. I’m really scared,” Wu Jian said painfully. He had been living in fear these past few days, constantly hearing the sounds of gunfire and artillery, never knowing when his life would be taken. This nerve-wracking existence was unbearable.
Chen Ning replied, “I understand. So, why don’t you go back home and draw a map of the construction site where your team is working, an internal map, and the place you mentioned as your hideout? We can take a look at it for reference.”
She certainly wasn’t qualified to demand that people stay in Xili Country to take risks. If something really happened, she couldn’t afford the responsibility.
Wu Jian immediately replied, “That’s no problem.”
Once the picture was finished, everyone got into the car. People over there were urging him to get in quickly as well.
Wu Jian put down his pen and bowed to her, “Thank you. When you return home, I’ll treat you to a meal.”
Chen Ning smiled back without speaking, walked to Song Jingye’s side, and watched them leave.
Back at the China Pavilion, it was past 10 pm.
Chapter Teacher saw them come back, and finally breathed a sigh of relief, “You’ve worked hard.”
Chen Ling’s first question was: “Where is Teacher Liang?”
“He’s back, with minor injuries. He’s getting treated at the hospital. Don’t worry, he’s safe.”
A group of people went to a restaurant for a meal. They hadn’t eaten anything all day, almost not a drop, and now they were finally relaxing.
In the restaurant, she deliberately kept a certain distance from Song Jingye. She sat at one end, and Song Jingye sat at the other. Song Jingye glanced at her from afar, a smile in his eyes, thinking that she was making a mountain out of a molehill.
But Chen Ning just didn’t want to show it in front of his colleagues or comrades, mainly because he was afraid it would affect his prestige.
But at mealtimes, I couldn’t help but keep looking at him. Every time I looked at him, he caught me red-handed.
This little interaction between the two of them made her heart skip a beat.
Finally finished with the meal, everyone went back to their rooms. Song Jingye and the others also lived in the family housing behind the guesthouse area. His room was in the row right behind hers.
Here the signal was very bad, after she went back to her room she couldn’t wait to send him a message. It took forever to send and finally, when she came out of the shower, she saw that circle just kept spinning in front of the message, it wouldn’t go through.
He lived right behind her, they hadn’t had a moment alone together yet. She was itching to be with him, if it weren’t for the crowd around them she would have gone straight to his room.
After a while, there was silence all around except for the occasional sound of gunfire in the distance. She went out and walked to the back door of his room, just about to raise her hand to knock softly when the door suddenly swung open from inside. She was pulled in and embraced tightly in a solid chest. The familiar scent enveloped her completely. Overwhelmed with joy, she wrapped her arms tightly around his waist and leaned closer to him.
With no lights on, the two huddled close together.
The familiar scent carries a longing for each other, as well as the need to relax from the tight nerves of recent days.
Thousands of voices echoed in her heart, millions of “I love yous” she wanted to say, but all were woven into this embrace.
Unbeknownst to her, how long she’d been in his embrace. His arms, powerful and strong, tightened around her until she felt almost suffocated, yet she didn’t want to let go. Her hands, holding onto his waist, gripped tighter, and an involuntary sigh escaped her lips.
This sound, in this silent night, in his heart, was like dropping a bomb, amplifying all of his senses infinitely, and blowing away all rationality. He suddenly scooped her up from the waist.
The room was dimly lit, the sky outside a blanket of stars. The distant sound of gunfire crackled in the air from time to time.
(This chapter was changed a bit, what’s the matter, we clearly agreed that we wouldn’t write about cars after this pair, how did it end up being written again, damn hand.)