Although Jiang Si had grown up in a coastal city and was no stranger to typhoons, this was her first time experiencing one up close like this.
As the howling wind grew louder and the ground trembled more violently, fear gripped her.
Everyone fears the unknown, and Jiang Si was no exception.
But all the windows of the auditorium had been tightly sealed, so no one had any idea what was happening outside.
Inside the cramped storage room, it was pitch black—she couldn’t even see her own hand.
Instinctively, she clung tightly to Huo Tingzhou.
The moments that followed were the darkest in Jiang Si’s life.
The earsplitting shrieks and crashing sounds were unlike anything she had ever heard.
Even though Huo Tingzhou sheltered her in the innermost corner, the building’s shaking made her dizzy and unable to stand steadily.
At that moment, she was only grateful that he had come back.
Every time her legs weakened and she was about to fall, Huo Tingzhou was there instantly to pull her back from the edge of danger.
For over half an hour, they endured this torment until the tremors gradually subsided.
Listening carefully, it seemed the wind had calmed as well.
“Let me go first,” Jiang Si said.
Her back was soaked, sticky with sweat, clinging to her clothes. She had just straightened up, hoping to catch her breath.
“Boom—”
Suddenly, a deafening explosion sounded overhead!
Immediately after, something heavy began to fall from above.
“Watch out!”
Everything happened too fast for Jiang Si to react; Huo Tingzhou shielded her beneath his body.
Another thunderous crash followed.
Jiang Si’s mind went blank with panic. “Are you... are you okay?”
She quickly turned her head toward the direction where her great-uncle and the others were.
“Great-uncle? Uncle Zhong? Sister-in-law Xu? Sister Hu, are you all alright?”
Voices responded quickly, “We’re fine.”
Then her great-uncle urgently asked, “Jiang Si, how are you?”
The voices came from the direction of their little family.
The storage room was pitch dark; great-uncle couldn’t see anything and could only stare anxiously.
“I’m fine,” Jiang Si replied.
But she wasn’t sure about Huo Tingzhou.
Suddenly, she heard Huo Tingzhou coughing harshly beside her. “I’m okay…”
“No way you’re okay!” Jiang Si didn’t believe a word.
She had clearly felt something heavy fall on top of him.
She even heard him groan under the weight!
After fumbling around, Jiang Si found a flashlight in her bag.
She grabbed it and switched it on with a firm press.
The dim beam illuminated Huo Tingzhou’s body.
Jiang Si gasped sharply.
A concrete slab, about two feet long, was pressing heavily against Huo Tingzhou’s back.
“Quick, quick, everyone come help!”
Great-uncle and Uncle Zhong immediately rushed over, guided by the flashlight’s beam.
Together, they spent seven or eight minutes moving the slab off him.
Jiang Si immediately checked Huo Tingzhou’s back.
No cuts, but the skin was bruised and swollen.
His complexion was pale—almost as white as a sheet of paper.
Jiang Si gently touched here and there. “How are you? Does anything hurt?”
Huo Tingzhou shook his head. "It's nothing, it doesn't hurt at all."
But Jiang Si grew even more worried upon hearing this.
Injuries aren’t the scary part.
What’s frightening is when there’s no visible wound, no blood, and it looks like nothing’s wrong at all.
Fearing internal bleeding, Jiang Si hurriedly said, "Don’t move for now. Let me apply some swelling-reducing ointment."
Huo Tingzhou was about to say it wasn’t necessary.
He’d been through injuries far worse than this before.
But when he looked at Jiang Si’s icy, stern face, he knew it was better to keep quiet this time.
The more he said, the more mistakes he might make.
So without another word, he obediently turned his back to her.
“Hold on tight!”
Jiang Si poured some spirit spring water from the kettle and wiped his back with a cotton swab.
Then she applied the swelling and bruise-relieving ointment and finally wrapped it up with a bandage.
“Wifey—”
Looking at his upper body tightly wrapped in bandages, Huo Tingzhou tugged at the corner of his mouth helplessly.
He had often heard people say there’s a kind of cold only parents feel when they think you’re cold.
At the time, he thought it was an exaggeration.
Now, experiencing it himself, Huo Tingzhou suddenly understood.
In this world, besides the cold your parents feel for you,
there’s also a kind of injury only your wife can sense.
Still, thinking about it made his heart feel as sweet as honey.
Wifey really loves him!
Jiang Si finished tying the last knot and noticed he only said half of what he wanted to say, so she looked up at him.
“Is it wrapped too tight? Or is the knot… not done right?”
This was her first time bandaging someone.
As for tying knots, all she knew was how to make a bow.
“Why don’t you tie it yourself? I only know how to tie bows.”
As she spoke, Jiang Si reached out to undo it.
“No need, it’s fine like this,” Huo Tingzhou said.
“Really?”
Jiang Si couldn’t help but feel that this bow knot clashed somehow with his usual tough demeanor.
Huo Tingzhou kept a straight face and added, “Really.”
“Alright then…”
Seeing he wasn’t just humoring her, Jiang Si dropped the subject.
She handed him the kettle filled with spirit spring water. “Your lips are chapped. Drink some water to soothe your throat.”
Huo Tingzhou obediently took a few sips.
After a while, as the sounds of wind and rain noticeably quieted down, Huo Tingzhou stood up.
“Wifey, I have to go check outside. You all be careful.”
“Wait a moment. Take this with you.”
Jiang Si rummaged through her bag with a flashlight and pulled out a small package, pressing it into his hand.
She didn’t know exactly what was going on outside.
But the storage room they were in was already the safest place in the entire main hall, and even here there had been a minor collapse.
The situation outside could only be worse.
Huo Tingzhou asked, “What’s this?”
Jiang Si replied, “Some medicine I prepared earlier. I kept a portion back. Take these to the medics.”
“The package wrapped in oil paper contains ginseng slices. If you encounter anyone seriously injured or unconscious, have them suck on a slice.”
Before cutting the ginseng, Jiang Si had soaked it in spirit spring water for a while.
She wasn’t certain how effective it would be,
but trying was better than not trying at all.
At this moment, Huo Tingzhou fell silent. This century-old ginseng was a dowry gift from his great-uncle to his wife.
It was originally promised to be saved for when she gave birth.
But unexpectedly—
“Don’t worry, I’ve saved half of the ginseng.”
Jiang Si understood what he was worried about and urged him, “You’d better go quickly. Saving lives comes first.”
Huo Tingzhou snapped back to reality and nodded heavily. “Wife, I’ll thank them on your behalf.”
Jiang Si smiled at him playfully. “Go on then.”
Huo Tingzhou was gone for six or seven hours. During that time, Jiang Si went outside to take a look.
There were many injured this time, but fortunately, most had only superficial wounds.
Thanks to ample medical supplies and timely treatment, the overall situation had exceeded everyone’s expectations.
Moreover, after going through a life-and-death ordeal together, everyone cherished this hard-won peace even more.
When Jiang Si stepped outside, she saw a scene filled with harmony.
She even spotted the two sworn enemies of the neighborhood sitting together in an unprecedented truce, shaking hands!
When Huo Tingzhou returned, Jiang Si was still awake.
“It’s already past ten. Why aren’t you asleep yet?”
Without a word, Huo Tingzhou sat down on the floor and pulled her into his arms.
Leaning on his shoulder, the couple cuddled quietly.
“If you’re tired, you can rest your head on my lap for a while,” he whispered softly.
Jiang Si shook her head, saying she wasn’t sleepy, then asked, “What’s the situation outside now?”
“The rain has eased a lot. It should stop by tomorrow morning.”
“But the flooding in the neighborhood will take three to four days to drain.”
“So, we can’t go back for the next few days and have to sleep on the floor here.”
“What’s wrong?”
Sensing the heaviness in his tone, Jiang Si squeezed his hand. “Did something happen?”
Huo Tingzhou was silent for a long moment.
“More than ten young soldiers are seriously injured. The military doctors say they need surgery as soon as possible, or else…”
There was no need to say more. Jiang Si understood his feelings perfectly.
The entire military district was currently without water or electricity.
Even with the emergency repairs overnight, the earliest the surgeries could be done was tomorrow morning.
With wounds soaked in contaminated water, the risk of infection was uncertain—even the military doctors couldn’t guarantee the outcome.
“Did they take the ginseng slices?”
“Yes.”
Huo Tingzhou took her hand and pressed it to his lips, his gratitude beyond words.
“The military doctors said it was thanks to that piece of century-old ginseng you gave them that they might have survived the night.”
Jiang Si wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. “Don’t overthink it. Maybe after the surgery tomorrow, everything will be fine.”
Following her gentle embrace, Huo Tingzhou bent down.
Though the night was pitch black, and nothing could be seen, he still found her lips with precision.
After a soft, fleeting kiss, he said, “Sleep now. I’ll stay by your side.”
Then, he began gently massaging her scalp.
Jiang Si hadn’t been sleepy at first, but as he massaged, she unknowingly drifted off.
When she woke up, dawn had already broken outside.
Looking up, Jiang Si saw the defense unit dismantling the frames outside the windows.
They had no choice; thousands of people had been cooped up inside all day.
The air inside the main auditorium was almost unbearable—like a chemical weapon.
With the limited conditions there, Jiang Si could only rinse her mouth simply with some saline water, then she went to the window to take a look outside.
Even though she had already steeled herself mentally the day before,
seeing the scene outside still made her uneasy.
Xu Mingjuan sighed, “The roofs of the army barracks and the mess hall have been torn open so badly. I’m guessing the family quarters can’t be in any better shape.”
Jiang Si tried to comfort her, “What’s done is done. There’s no use dwelling on it now.”
“We’re already lucky to be alive,” Xu Mingjuan said as she rubbed her belly and smiled softly. “Yeah, that’s exactly what I think too.”
The wind was strong by the window, and both of them were heavily pregnant.
So after only standing there for a short while, they went back inside.
Jiang Si felt that what she said was reasonable enough.
But unexpectedly, just because of that one comforting sentence,
she ended up being blamed by others!
