The nurse started to have some doubts after hearing from Han Qing. She pursed her lips, then studied the photos again for a while before whispering, “How about this? Since the patients are resting now, you can go in and try searching for a while. It’ll be fine as long as you’re careful with what you’re doing. What he said might be true as they’re all tired and might not look the same anymore. Who knows; maybe I just failed to recognize the man you’re looking for?” After saying that, the nurse took a glance at the photo again.
The man in the photo was good-looking; he had the kind of face that one would not forget after seeing once. The nurse believed that she would know for sure if he was among the survivors who had just been rescued.
However… The words from Han Qing made her feel uncertain. She should not make any hasty conclusions when family members were looking for their relatives.
“Thanks. Let’s go and look for him.” Stretching out his hand, Han Qing took Han Muzi’s mobile phone and put it away before gently pushing her shoulders. “Take your time. I’ll accompany you to go look around.”
With a pale face, Han Muzi nodded and said, “Okay, okay.”
When she said those words, a slight tremor could be heard. Han Qing promptly brought her close to his arms before they walked into the ward together. Due to the accident, the survivors were sent to the nearest hospital. This was the only hospital in the vicinity, and it was not very big. As such, the number of beds there was limited, and more had been added in the wards as well as along the corridors.
Han Qing brought along Han Muzi and they looked over the beds one by one but did not see any familiar figures. Not giving up, she continued searching without saying a word. When she did not see Ye Moxuan, she went back to look around again for fear that she might have missed him.
First round…
Second round…
Third round…
It was unknown how many times they had gone around, but Han Muzi was still looking for him. Not being able to help it anymore, Han Qing grabbed her thin white wrists and forced her to stop. “Stop looking. Ye Moxuan isn’t here.”
Han Muzi did not know what to say. She raised her head and her bewildered eyes fell on Han Qing’s face. “Qing, maybe we missed him? If he’s not here, where else could he be?”
Faced with this question, Han Qing could not come up with an answer at all. He could only earnestly hold her shoulders and parted his thin lips to say, “Silly sister, it’s already so late at night. The search and rescue team won’t resume their work till tomorrow. We’ve already gone around the hospital six to seven times, but we still haven’t seen any signs of Ye Moxuan.”
“Okay…” Nodding, Han Muzi continued to say, “We haven’t seen him, so maybe we missed him? Or… we could ask the nurse again?”
At the sight of her self-deception, Han Qing felt helpless. “Don’t be silly. All the survivors are here. If you can’t find him here, then that’s it. What you should do now is find a place to rest and when we wake up tomorrow, we’ll go with the search and rescue team to have a look.”
Unexpectedly, Han Muzi’s eyes and expression were very calm to the point that it was suspicious. Su Jiu, who was on the side, could not help but step out to say, “Yes, Miss Muzi, your health is important. Take care of yourself, so that you have enough strength to look for Mr. Ye.” She only said this because she hoped that Han Muzi would take care of her body and agree to go back to the hotel to rest. But how could the same trick be used twice? After hearing Su Jiu’s words, Han Muzi shook her head.
“I can’t sleep.” Then, she turned her head to look at Han Qing while grabbing his sleeve. “I want to go back there and take another look.”
Han Qing could not take it anymore. His voice turned cold and he said, “How long do you want to stay stubborn like this? It’s already dark, and it’s windy there. Didn’t you hear the police officers say that the waters there are turbulent and dangerous? Besides, even if you go there, what will you be able to do? Stay there? Stay there all night? Will Ye Moxuan come back if you do that?” Like a strict elder, his voice sounded deep and stern.
Su Jiu, who was watching from the side, was frightened as well.
It stood to reason that since Han Muzi was already in this state, she should be comforted. After all, she was the saddest one over this accident but had not shed a single tear nor broken down. On the contrary, she held herself strong and followed along with everyone.
Unexpectedly, President Han still said such harsh words to her at such a time. After thinking about it, Su Jiu quickly stepped forward and held Han Muzi’s arm before softly explaining, “Miss Muzi, your brother didn’t mean to reprimand you. It’s just that when we came to the hospital, the place was already sealed off. Even if we go back now, we won’t be able to access it. Since it’s like this, why don’t we go back to the hotel and call it a night? When we’ve rested and had our breakfast, we’ll go back to have another look around, okay?”
Standing by the side, Han Qing stared on with a cold expression on his face.
Lowering her eyes, Han Muzi said in a soft voice, “I know you’re both doing this for my sake, but… even if I go back to the hotel, I won’t be able to sleep. You both know that…”
“I know. We all know.” Holding onto Han Muzi’s shoulders, Su Jiu continued to coax her softly. “But you need to take care of your body. Think about it… Today’s weather was so cold, and you were running all over in a wedding dress. It must be very tiring. Besides, it’s already nightfall and it must be cold outside. If you still want to go running around at this hour, you might catch a cold and fall sick… What happens then? I’m not trying to nag you, Miss Muzi. It’s just that even if you want to continue on with the search, it’s better for you to go back to the hotel to get changed and get a hot shower first. Get some sleep—as long as you have to. When you’re feeling more energetic tomorrow, we can… try to get on a rescue boat and search around together?”
After hearing the last sentence, Han Muzi was touched. “Can we do that?”
After thinking for a moment, Su Jiu said, “I’ll try my best to talk to the respective party.”
Alas, Han Muzi nodded. “Okay then. I’ll head back to the hotel, shower, and rest.”
Seeing that she had finally accepted the compromise, Su Jiu finally smiled and said, “That’s good to hear, Miss Muzi. The car’s already waiting for us outside. Shall we go?”
“Okay.” Su Jiu helped Han Muzi to walk out while Han Qing was rooted to the spot for about three seconds before following suit.
The weather was cold, especially since it was after nightfall. The cold wind blew past their ears as they were walking out of the hospital, so they felt especially warm when they got into the car. After getting in, Han Muzi shrank into the seat in a corner while hugging herself, looking isolated and helpless.
After about ten minutes of driving, it started to rain outside.
“It’s raining…” Su Jiu murmured unconsciously while looking out the window. After speaking, she seemed to have thought of something and immediately stopped.
It’s raining… This is not a good thing. Subconsciously, Su Jiu glanced over at Han Muzi.
Sure enough, Han Muzi, who had been curled up motionlessly in the corner, suddenly sat up straight at the sound of the rain. “It’s raining.”
Looking out the window, Su Jiu comforted her and said, “It’s just light rain. This kind of rain… probably wouldn’t last for too long.”
