Cheng Suâs cry of pain made Qi Taiguo look down, and he saw that her originally fair foot was now ghastly, cut by something unknown, the flesh turned inside out, the blood already coagulated, dark red in color.
"How come... I asked you last night if you were injured anywhere, why didnât you say anything?" Qi Taiguo felt somewhat annoyed, as he hadnât noticed her injured foot.
"I, I didnât think about it," Cheng Su said with a wry smile as she looked down.
After such a disastrous event, being alive was a blessing from Heaven; she had not even thought about her foot. Compared to a human life, let alone such a minor injury, even losing a foot would have been lucky.
Qi Taiguo picked her up around the waist and said, "Iâll carry you over!"
Cheng Su buried her face in his chest as they made their way to the hospital, which was even more tumultuous, a scene of chaos, filled with cries and groans all around.
Qi Taiguo took her to a nurse, requested fever-reducing pills, and got antiseptic and bandages to clean the wound, handling the dressing himself.
"President Cheng? President Cheng! Thank Heaven, youâre really okay!" Zhu Lifen ran over.
Cheng Su was also very surprised to see her and asked, "Lifen, are you all okay?"
"Weâre fine, weâre fine. Itâs just that Technician Zhu got hit on the head, but heâs been treated now. Weâre all good. We were all worried about you, thankfully youâre also okay, truly thank Heaven," Zhu Lifen said, laughing and crying as she held Cheng Suâs hand.
"Itâs good that youâre okay, itâs good that youâre okay!" Cheng Su truly relaxed.
Only then did Zhu Lifen notice Qi Taiguo and paused, "Commander Qi? Whatâs going on?"
"He followed us here," Cheng Su said with a smile.
Zhu Lifen was astonished. In such circumstances, she didnât feel it was appropriate to ask more and said she would go tell Technician Zhu to come over as well.
Cheng Su nodded and agreed that it was better for them to arrive and leave together.
After Qi Taiguo finished bandaging her, Cheng Su asked, "Are you okay?" Seeing him nod, she finally took a deep breath of relief and said, "So when do we leave?"
Qi Taiguo hesitated a bit.
Sensing something was off, Cheng Su asked, "Whatâs wrong?"
"Susu, the situation outside is still very unclear. Iâve asked around, and the earthquake didnât just affect this county but two neighboring ones as well. The rescue efforts canât keep up, so theyâre pulling in troops from outside to help with the rescue," Qi Taiguo explained.
Hearing this, Cheng Su turned pale and asked, "So, youâre going to join the rescue here?"
Qi Taiguo pursed his lips and nodded slightly.
"But, you donât have that duty," Cheng Su said urgently, holding his hand, "Youâre just on leave, and thereâs organization and discipline in the military. How can you just run off like this?"
"Susu, this isnât running off!" Qi Taiguo held her hand and said, "I am a soldier."
A soldier, to protect the country and the people. Right now, with disaster at hand and the fate of fellow citizens unknown, perhaps beneath those collapsed buildings, many young lives were waiting for help, waiting to be reborn.
Cheng Su fell silent, her eyes gradually reddening as she said, "But Iâm scared!"
She knew he was a soldier, and it was his duty, but she was just a small woman, who only wanted him to be safe. In this disaster zone, who knew if there would be more aftershocks.
She was afraid he would get hurt, afraid she would become like that woman in despair, losing the person she cherished.
Qi Taiguo held her in his arms, patting her back and said, "I promise you, I will take good care of myself. You donât need to worry, okay?"
In silence, Cheng Su began to cry.