The moment the earthquake struck last night, the whole house started shaking violently. Tables, chairs, and furniture on the ground were thrown about, crashing into each other; wall decorations and the crystal chandelier above came crashing down.
They were in the epicenter, where the shaking was most intense.
Although the villa’s earthquake resistance level was high, it wasn’t invincible. Within just a few dozen seconds, the walls of the villa began to split and lean under the violent tremors.
Yaoyao was sleeping soundly when she suddenly woke up, completely unaware of what had happened. She instinctively got up and opened the door, running towards Xiao Gurulu’s room, but before she could take more than a few steps, she felt dizzy and lightheaded. Her legs wobbled, and as soon as she opened the door, she fell to the ground in the hallway. Then, an unseen force slammed into her, throwing her backward. In an instant, she lost consciousness.
The world was pitch black, with violent tremors and tearing sounds that lasted for what felt like an eternity before finally ceasing. She lay unconscious for who knew how long. When she awoke, her head felt heavy, but her body strangely light, as if filled with feathers, floating aimlessly in the darkness.
“Yaoyao…” someone was calling her softly, stroking her face. She struggled to open her eyes and saw a face that seemed both familiar and strange.
That face was sharply defined, with taut skin and resolute eyes. He called her name urgently yet tenderly, his palm, rough with callouses, landing on her cheek, a sensation that was both coarse and comforting.
Strangeness yet brought her comfort.
After that, even though she couldn’t open her eyes, she felt herself being lifted up in the air. She could hear the cries of women and babies, but she couldn’t quite make them out. Only one deep, soothing voice was crystal clear to her, calming her down: “Don’t be afraid, I’m taking you to the hospital.”
In the hazy light, there was a military green garment, like grandpa’s clothes, also like grandpa’s chest, broad and secure, so she felt safe leaning her face against that embrace.
She had no idea what happened. After her consciousness gradually returned, she only felt a throbbing headache. She was terrified of pain, so she couldn’t stop crying, especially when the man gently placed her on the stretcher beside him. As her body lost support, she cried and held onto the man’s hand tightly.
His rough hands held hers tightly, never leaving her side.
Because of the pain, she woke up completely, but she was even more confused. She didn’t know what had happened. All she remembered was that she had just finished the college entrance examination and did poorly. Her grandfather and father were afraid she would be upset, so they forbade Lu Kuo and the rest of the family from asking her about her results.
She wasn’t actually sad at all. After all, the school abroad had already arranged everything for her, and it was in the same district as Ruan Ruan’s school. She was shopping in the mall, buying a gift for Ruan Ruan.
Then, I woke up like this.
Was there an earthquake?
She realized after a while, it must have been an earthquake, because a few minutes after they drove out, there was another jolt. Luckily, the man held her tightly and didn’t let her fall off the stretcher.
<<>>
“Blow, blow, I want to blow,” she shouted at the man.
Dressed in military uniform, he must have been sent by Grandpa, so she had no reservations at all.
Song Jingye was taken aback, so he had to follow her instructions and carefully blow softly on her forehead. Her eyelashes were wet with tears, and she cried tremblingly. He wanted to rub it for her, but he was worried about her head injury and didn’t dare to touch it. He could only blow gently.
When he leaned down, a masculine aura enveloped her. The gentle breeze ruffled her forehead, as if it truly eased the pain, making it less intense.
And no matter how noisy it was outside, her heart remained incredibly calm, gradually falling back into a state of sleep. But she never let go of his hand.
The hospital was in chaos, with the inpatient building leaning precariously and the column in front of the outpatient department collapsed. Not only were they unable to admit new patients, but they were also doing everything they could to evacuate patients from the building to a safe area.
Song Jingye had no choice but to send Yaoyao to the military medical station that had arrived with the rescue team.
He came this time, not belonging to the rescue team, nor holding any official position, purely as an individual. At that time, he was in Beijing and about to go to sleep when he saw the news that an earthquake had occurred in the county. In that instant, all he knew was that Yaoyao was filming in the county. He didn’t care about anything else and immediately drove back to the military headquarters. The military headquarters was already organizing a rescue team to fly over. This army specialized in rescue, so he followed along. They got green lights all the way, which is why they were able to find Yaoyao first.
He sent others to find the babysitter and Xiao Guru, while he took Yao Yao to see a doctor first.
It was a dire situation, and even without an official post, he couldn’t simply focus on YaoYao. He had her settled with the army doctor and then turned to leave, to join other rescue efforts.
As soon as she saw him about to leave, Lu Yaoyao immediately grabbed his hand again, tears welling up in her eyes as she looked at him. She was afraid and helpless, not knowing where they were or how she got there. The only familiar person she had was him, the only one she could depend on.
Wasn’t he sent by her grandfather to protect her? So she relied on him as a matter of course.
Song Jingye seeing her like this, his heart softened, and he had to sit beside her to accompany her until the doctor finished checking before leaving. Communication here has been completely interrupted, so during the gaps between checks, he comforted her: “Don’t worry, Xiao Gulu and the nanny are both safe, just a little skin injury. Gu Ruandong should be arriving soon.”
Lu Yaoyao frowned, what Xiao Gurulu? What Gu Ruandong?
She didn’t understand at all.
But her head was buzzing, with pangs of pain coming and going, which prevented her from thinking too much. She wasn’t one to overthink things anyway.
“My head hurts so much.” She was terrified she might die here. If she died, how heartbroken her grandfather would be.
In this chaotic place, the military medic’s tent was just as rudimentary, only able to handle minor injuries. Without any machines, they couldn’t perform a detailed examination of her brain; they could only gauge the severity of her injuries through her consciousness.
Although it hurts, at least there’s no danger to my life.
In this situation, the doctor can only attend to those who are in critical and life-threatening danger. They will prioritize saving lives. For someone like her, they would administer standard medications and find a safe bed for her to rest.
She let go of Song Jingye’s hand only after she had fallen asleep after the IV drip.
Song Jingye gave the doctor a few words and hurriedly left for the scene.
When Gu Ruandong and Lu Kuo arrived at the hospital, they saw Cuiping holding Xiaogulu. The stone in their hearts finally fell.
Little Gulu, who has never been very enthusiastic about his father, seemed to sense that this was a special meeting. For the first time ever, he reached out to him for a hug, appearing both happy and restless.
Gu Ruandong’s eyes were a little hot, and he hurriedly hugged him in his arms. But before he could comfort him, he asked Cui Ping, “Where is Yaoyao?”
Cui Ping also spent a morning looking for Yaoyao, but it was too chaotic here. She had to protect Xiaogulu as well, so she couldn’t carefully search one by one.
During the earthquake, she, two nannies, and Xiao Gurulu were in a suite next to Yaoyao’s. The three of them instinctively shielded Xiao Gurulu, but the tremors were too strong, and they were all hit by furniture, big or small, stumbling and falling to the ground.