That smile was far too malicious. Yu Mo’s heart sank. She couldn’t imagine what could have happened to make Jiang San gloat like that, but she felt an instinctive sense of unease. she quickened her pace toward home.
The further in she went, the more people she saw gathered. She caught snatches of words like "explosion" and "fire." Recalling Jiang San’s smile, her panic intensified.
She broke into a jog. On the main road near her building, she saw a red fire engine. Without stopping to think, she veered into the narrow alleyway.
The path was crowded. She heard an older woman nearby saying, "I don't know if he's dead or alive, but I saw them carry him out. He was covered in blood. It was terrifying."
Someone else chimed in, "I heard there were several people. Was the landlord the one hurt the worst?"
"If you ask me, even if the landlord survives, he won't escape trouble. I heard it was a gas explosion. With so many people injured, how could he possibly come out of this okay?"
Yu Mo felt as if she had been plunged into an ice cellar. She could no longer hear what the people around her were saying. Her legs felt like jelly, but she forced herself to push through the crowd.
Layer after layer of people blocked her way. she shoved past them until she finally saw the police tape cordoning off the entrance to the stairwell.
Lost and frantic, she didn't know who to ask. She cried out, "Was it the fifth floor?"
Several people answered at once, "Yes, the fifth floor."
Her hands shook violently as she fumbled for her phone. It took several attempts just to unlock the screen.
She found his name—the man who always twisted the bottle caps for her, who always cooked for her, who always looked after her. God couldn't do this to him!
A sharp, stabbing pain pierced her heart.
No one answered the call.
Her legs gave out, and she collapsed toward the ground.
A woman standing next to Yu Mo caught her. Seeing her face as white as a sheet and covered in tears, the woman said sympathetically, "Are you alright, dear? Is your family up there?"
At her words, the onlookers turned in unison like sunflowers following the sun. The sound of their gossiping grew into a low, bee-like hum.
Yu Mo grit her teeth and closed her eyes against the waves of dizziness. She forced the words out: "Which hospital did they take them to? Does anyone know?"
Just then, someone pushed through the crowd and grabbed Yu Mo’s arm, pulling her away. A deep voice spoke. "Yu Mo, I'm here."
Yu Mo looked up as if struck by lightning. Her already large eyes widened like dark grapes, and in an instant, those grapes brimmed with water. Her mouth opened, and she began to sob silently.
To find what was thought lost is the most beautiful thing in the world.
Qi Lian opened his arms and pulled Yu Mo into a tight embrace, holding her so hard it hurt even him. His long-hidden love erupted like a flash flood.
He whispered into her ear, "Don't be afraid, I'm fine. I'll be fine. I won't leave you."
There was a lump in his throat; the words he wanted to say wouldn't come out.
Yu Mo clung to his neck, her body trembling with the small, fragile sobs of a child.
Qi Lian tilted his head and swallowed her cries with a kiss.
He held her, letting her bury her face in the crook of his neck, repeatedly kissing the top of her head to comfort her. The curious stares of the crowd meant nothing to them.
The gossiping bystanders, having just witnessed a bloody drama, were now treated to a romantic one. Excitedly, they nudged one another, wishing they could follow the couple home to see how the story continued.
When they reached the door on the fourth floor, Qi Lian held her with one arm while reaching for the door with the other. Dissatisfied by the slight distance, Yu Mo hooked her arms around his neck and pulled him back toward her.
Qi Lian sucked in a breath. He pressed her against the security door and whispered against her lips, "Wait a moment. Just a second."
They stumbled through the door.
The curtains were half-drawn; half the room lay in shadow, the other half in sunlight.
"Qi Lian..."
Yu Mo felt like a small boat in the middle of a violent storm. Now that the wind and waves had ceased, her soul felt scattered, leaving only a shred of consciousness behind.
For a fleeting moment, she thought of Xue Shen. If this was the kind of pleasure he had been chasing, she felt she could finally understand him.
They lay nestled together like two spoons, Qi Lian’s lean, powerful arm wrapped tightly around her.
Yu Mo weakly pushed at his arm. She let out a protesting grunt.
Qi Lian reached over with his other hand, pinching her chin between his thumb and forefinger to turn her face toward him.
Hovering over her lips, he asked, "Little Blossom...?"
His voice was as coarse as sand that had been blown by the sea wind for centuries.
Yu Mo’s mind was still drifting.
Qi Lian couldn't wait.
"Do you like it?"
"Mhm."
"Little Blossom, I'll make you happy. I'll give you whatever you want. I'd pluck the moon from the sky for you, but you can only belong to me. Do you hear me?"
Yu Mo didn't have time to answer; she was adrift on the ocean.
Qi Lian gripped her face. "Look at your man. Look at me clearly."
His large hand pressed against the back of her neck as he whispered in her ear, "My parents took half my life. I'm giving the other half to you. Don't destroy me."
Downstairs, the fire truck drove away with a wailing siren. Occasionally, the high-pitched sounds of idle gossip drifted up.
The room finally fell silent. The sunlight streaming through the window began to slant westward.
Both were slick with sweat. Qi Lian turned Yu Mo over and pulled her to his chest.
He pulled a crumpled sheet over her stomach.
Yu Mo tried to kick it off. "It's hot!"
"Be good. You can't catch a cold. It'll be cool in a moment." He caught her restless hand.
Yu Mo said, "Qi Lian, you really are quite a fussbudget."
A low chuckle vibrated in Qi Lian’s chest. He kept laughing until Yu Mo lifted her head and asked in confusion, "What are you laughing at?"
"If you went to anyone who knows me and told them I was a fussbudget, they’d laugh even harder than I am. God’s handiwork is truly something else."
They lay side by side on the pillows, their heads only a fist’s width apart.
For the first time, Yu Mo looked into Qi Lian’s eyes from such a close distance. Those eyes, usually distant and dark, were now like melting snow—filled with lingering sparks of joy and the languor that follows satisfaction.
It was hard to say what kind of person he was. Just moments ago, he had been a completely different man—unreasonably dominant, arrogant, a far cry from the meticulous man he usually was.
Qi Lian reached out with his index finger and gently toyed with Yu Mo’s eyelashes. "How did they grow so long?"
Yu Mo reached up and gently pushed his hand away.
Qi Lian’s hand followed the movement, brushing over her face and moving downward. He gave her a squeeze and said, "Every part of you is so lovely. There isn't a single spot that isn't beautiful."
He was clearly implying something. Yu Mo said, "Men are so shallow."
Qi Lian’s lips curled into a smile. He tucked her small head into his chest. "That's not it. As long as it's on you, I love it all, big or small." He simply didn't know how best to cherish her.
In a tone used for coaxing a child, he said, "Just stay by my side and do whatever you want. As long as you stay as spirited as you were the first time I saw you, that's enough for a lifetime."
Yu Mo asked in a muffled voice from his chest, "The first time you saw me?" She was suspicious. That evening, she had just finished a crying fit; she must have looked like a stray dog. Spirited?
She asked, "What did I look like the first time you saw me?"
"You were wearing a long grey coat. Your high heels sounded like a machine gun, and your little head was held high." He cupped her head and peppered her face with kisses, like he was stamping his approval.
Yu Mo struggled to break free from his hands. Her eyes, still misty with the lingering traces of passion, looked at him seriously. She asked, "When was the first time you saw me? That evening when we 'first' met, I wasn't wearing a coat. It got hot after that, and I haven't worn one since."
***
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Echoes of Lotus District | Chapter 34 | Don't Destroy Me | Novela.app | Novela.app
