Wang Xinxin’s voice was confident, but it did little to ease Su Tang’s mind.
She instinctively touched her rounded belly. The faint, occasional stirrings from within were her only real comfort at the mont.
In the latter half of the night, the rain began to let up. The drumming on the shelter’s roof grew fainter, giving way to the distant, muffled rumble of thunder.
Su Tang pulled the thin blanket tighter around herself, her gaze falling on the sleeping faces of Mr. and Mrs. Lu.
The elderly couple’s breathing was steady, and she finally let out a sigh of relief.
"Water... water..."
Mrs. Lu suddenly murmured, and Su Tang quickly unscrewed a thermos, carefully dabbing water onto her lips with a cotton swab.
Just then, a flurry of chaotic footsteps sounded from outside the shelter, accompanied by a tallic clanging.
Soone shouted, "Make way, stretcher!" and a new wave of commotion rippled through the crowd.
Su Tang’s heart clenched. Just as she was about to stand, she spotted a familiar figure.
Lu Xiao was striding through the crowd, carrying an injured young soldier on his shoulder. A piece of red cloth was pinned to the left sleeve of his camouflage uniform, standing out starkly in the dim light.
The mont Su Tang saw him, a wave of emotions surged through her, only to get caught in her chest and transform into the heat of unshed tears.
As if sensing her gaze, Lu Xiao turned his head.
The mont their eyes t, the soldier on his shoulder grunted softly, snapping Lu Xiao back to the present. He quickly exchanged a few words with a comrade beside him before striding in her direction.
"What are you doing here?"
As Su Tang tried to stand, her knees suddenly went weak, but he was there to steady her.
There was a fresh gash on the web of Lu Xiao’s hand.
"I was ordered to escort the wounded to a transfer point, and..."
His Adam’s apple bobbed. His gaze swept over her belly, then landed on her dust-streaked cheeks.
"...to check on you all."
"Why do you look so pale? Are you feeling unwell?"
"I’m fine."
Su Tang avoided his gaze and gestured toward his sleeping parents.
"Mom and Dad are fine, just a little chilled."
She paused, her gaze dropping to the red cloth on his arm. "This is...?"
"It’s the marker for the epidemic prevention team."
Lu Xiao followed her gaze.
"Chen Zhengnian said you warned them about the risk of an epidemic. The higher-ups have already sent over disease control supplies, and I’m temporarily assigned to coordinate the transfers."
He suddenly took her hand and said gently, "Chen Zhengnian told everything. My wife is amazing. But I have to admit, I was really worried when I first heard."
"I’m a doctor."
Su Tang tried to pull her hand back, but he only held it tighter.
"I know."
Lu Xiao’s voice was very soft, tinged with distress.
"But you’re yourself first. You’re my wife, and the mother of our child."
He looked down at her, a storm of complex emotions churning in his eyes.
"Don’t kneel on the ground like that again. When I see it..."
He didn’t finish the sentence, but Su Tang understood.
She turned her face away and saw his comrades behind him distributing disinfectant. Soone was disinfecting the corners of the shelter with a sprayer, and the faint sll of antiseptic gradually began to fill the air.
"Once the rain stops, things will get better."
She said softly, as if comforting herself.
Lu Xiao followed her gaze out of the shelter. The horizon was already turning a fish-belly white, and the rain had lessened to a drizzle as fine as silver threads.
He pulled sothing wrapped in layers of plastic from his pocket and held it out to her. "For you."
Su Tang unwrapped it and saw it was a piece of candy.
She looked up at him, noticing the tips of his ears were slightly red. "I bought it when I passed the supply co-op. To help you regain so strength."
An assembly whistle blew in the distance. Lu Xiao let go of her hand, took half a step back, and gave her a standard military salute. "I have to get back to it. I’ll co see you all again later."
As he turned to leave, he looked back and added, "Take care of yourself. Wait for ."
Su Tang held the fruit candy, its wrapper leaving a faint, damp imprint on her palm.
She watched his retreating figure as it flickered in and out of sight among the throng of people.
The sll of antiseptic in the shelter grew stronger, and people started to cough.
Wang Xinxin walked over, carrying a dical kit. Seeing the candy in Su Tang’s hand, she smiled. "My cousin is so thoughtful. Sothing like this is rarer than gold right now."
Su Tang popped the candy into her mouth, and the sweet taste of orange filled it.
"We were just taking inventory of the supplies and realized there isn’t enough gauze."
"There are a lot of wounded at the temporary dical station on the back mountain. I volunteered, so I have to go provide support."
Su Tang nodded. Just then, she heard a low groan from behind her. Mrs. Lu had woken up at so point and was struggling to sit up.
"Mom, don’t move."
She quickly helped prop the older woman’s back up with a piece of thick cardboard. Mrs. Lu’s hand gripped her wrist tightly.
"I think I just heard Lu Xiao’s voice. Did he leave again?"
Su Tang replied softly, "He’s busy with his duties. He said he’ll be back later."
Mrs. Lu suddenly sighed. "This rain... what a disaster."
Su Tang didn’t say anything. Just as the sky began to lighten, soone shouted, "Breakfast is being served!" and the crowd imdiately surged forward.
She helped Mrs. Lu walk over slowly, and they received two bowls of rice gruel so thin you could see your reflection in it.
Just as she was about to turn, she saw Chen Zhengnian holding a tin gaphone and shouting, "Pregnant won and the elderly, over here! We have hot porridge!"
Su Tang’s heart lifted, and she started pulling Mrs. Lu in that direction, but a woman holding a child bumped into her shoulder.
"Oh, I’m so sorry."
The woman apologized profusely. The child in her arms suddenly burst into a wail, its little face flushed and burning hot.
Su Tang touched the child’s forehead. It was burning hot. "How long has the child been feverish?"
The woman’s eyes reddened. "Since yesterday. We’ve run out of dicine..."
Before she could finish, the sound of urgent footsteps approached rapidly.
Lu Xiao ca running over with two people in white coats, holding a thermoter and a dical kit. "Doctor Chen said a suspected case was found. Where?"
His gaze swept over the child, and his brow furrowed instantly.
"Isolate and observe imdiately! Xiao Li, take them to Shelter Three!"
The two of them didn’t even get to exchange a word before Lu Xiao was gone.
A stretcher was carried past them, the figure on it covered with a white sheet. Su Tang instinctively moved to cover Mrs. Lu’s eyes, but the older woman gently pushed her hand away.
"I’ve seen plenty."
Wearing a mask, Su Tang felt a bitter unease.
She wasn’t one to be saddened by the natural cycle of life and death. What she grieved was death caused by sudden, senseless disasters.
As a doctor, she had seen her fair share of dead bodies, but she dreaded seeing them like this the most.
’They should all still be alive.’
"Su Tang?"
Just then, Chen Zhengnian handed her a bowl of hot porridge.
He had spoken upon noticing she was lost in thought.
Su Tang snapped out of it and took the bowl of porridge.
"Thank you."
"If it weren’t for your warning, the situation would likely be even worse. These are the ones who were already running a fever last night."
Chen Zhengnian didn’t finish his sentence, but Su Tang already knew what he ant.
"It’s fine. I’m just glad I could help."
After a mont’s thought, Su Tang decided to ask Chen Zhengnian, "I’d like to ask, who is the doctor in charge of the epidemic prevention effort?"
’She had participated in the fight against that major epidemic back in her own ti. Maybe she could share her experience.’
’Every little bit of help counted. But in her current state, they probably wouldn’t let her get involved.’
"You want to go? Absolutely not. It’s too dangerous."
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