The rain on Mount Pingqiao grew heavier, showing no sign of stopping.
But the rescue team Huo Yuzhou had brought was highly professional.
A doctor accompanying the team gave Nan Qing a brief examination, remarked on how well Huo Yuzhou had handled the emergency, and praised Nan Qing for his good mental state. Patients with hypothermia often became disoriented and fatigued, yet Nan Qing showed no desire to sleep at all.
Nan Qing felt a little awkward.
After everything so intense that had happened since his rescue, who could possibly fall asleep?
Huo Yuzhou scooped him into his arms and gently kissed his cheek in front of everyone, pride in his low voice as he praised him.
"He's always been strong, ever since he was little."
The praise left Nan Qing feeling undeserving, and his cheeks began to burn again.
The rescue helicopter left Mount Pingqiao. Through the window, Nan Qing watched the uprooted trees lying every which way across the mountain as mudslides surged over it, and lingering fear kept washing through him.
When he returned to the estate, Nan Qing felt as though a lifetime had passed.
After leaving the helicopter pad, Huo Yuzhou carried him into the elevator and all the way back to the bedroom.
Huo Yuzhou's bedroom.
Many pieces of equipment had been added to the room, their nameplates bearing fluent English. As he was laid on the bed, numerous doctors in white coats approached and surrounded him.
Huo Yuzhou did not leave. He kept holding Nan Qing's fingers.
An oxygen monitor was attached, a doctor examined the lower leg he had said hurt, and tubes extending from countless medical machines were connected to his body.
Nan Qing should have been afraid.
But Huo Yuzhou stood beside the bed, quietly watching him.
Bright light fell behind him as Huo Yuzhou stood backlit, his eyes lowered.
Nan Qing looked up at him and suddenly no longer felt afraid.
The last time, when the billboard had come crashing down from above, no ambulance had arrived for him, nor had any doctor come to save his life.
This time, fierce winds and torrential rain had swept Mount Pingqiao as the sky fell and the earth gave way.
But Huo Yuzhou had come.
His life had been saved.
In the room's bright light and shadows, the boy lying on the bed curved his eyes ever so slightly and let out a soft breath.
Perhaps heaven had wanted to bury him on Mount Pingqiao, a minor character who should never have existed.
But Huo Yuzhou had forcibly dragged him out of death's grasp.
He thought that, in the end, his time had not yet come.
He should not wallow in self-pity or complain about fate's unfairness. He should lift his head and look ahead, toward the light.
Live this life brilliantly.
Truly live it well.
After examining him, the doctors prescribed medication and started an IV.
The comfortable surroundings and the medication slowed Nan Qing's thoughts, and with Huo Yuzhou soothing him, he soon fell asleep.
Two soft knocks sounded at the bedroom door. The handsome man sitting beside the bed rose, his fingers gently brushing the boy's hair, an unyielding tenderness in his eyes.
A moment later, he strode over and opened the door.
Mona wore an elegant business outfit, with not a trace of fatigue on her face despite the late hour.
Afraid of disturbing the person inside, Huo Yuzhou stepped outside. Mona followed him, calmly reporting on the follow-up matters she had handled.
"...The rescue team has also arrived safely. Everyone is out of danger."
Huo Yuzhou's tall figure was reflected on the polished corridor floor.
"Thank everyone for their hard work today. Give everyone who participated in the rescue five days of paid leave and five times their usual pay, with an additional bonus at the end of the month."
"Postpone tomorrow's meeting for me. Have any documents requiring my signature delivered here, and make an appointment with a psychologist as well."
His Qingqing had spent so long alone beneath that rock, soaked through, trembling as he hugged himself, his face deathly pale.
Had his body not still been shaking, Huo Yuzhou could scarcely have determined whether he still showed any signs of life when he first saw him.
It felt as though a sharp claw had clenched around Huo Yuzhou's heart, and his brows knitted tightly.
He dared not imagine what would have happened to Nan Qing if he had found him even a little later.
Perhaps nothing would have happened.
Mount Pingqiao would simply have buried one more life.
He was so timid, waking with a start at night and growing frightened whenever it rained or the wind blew. Huo Yuzhou had to stay with him.
But looked at another way, the two of them could be considered to have shared a quilt in life and a grave in death in this lifetime.
Huo Yuzhou's lips curved. The cold light fell across his face, and his smile sent a chill down Mona's back.
Mona quietly steadied her breathing and continued.
"After the medical equipment was moved into your bedroom as you requested, the butler prepared another room."
"Would you like to rest for a while? Young Master Nan Qing is already asleep. The medication he was given helps with sleep, so he probably won't wake again tonight. The nursing staff are ready and can take over caring for him whenever you wish."
Not a ripple crossed Huo Yuzhou's handsome face.
"No need. He'll be frightened if he wakes and can't see me."
Mr. Huo had truly been unexpected tonight. Had she not experienced it herself, Mona would almost have thought she was dreaming.
Who could have imagined that the man who could turn the business world of S City upside down with a flick of his hand would disregard his own life and head up the mountain alone, risking mudslides?
It hardly seemed like something someone as shrewd as him would do.
The mountainside could collapse at any moment, and a single human life was so insignificant.
What good was having money? What good was having power?
Storms had no eyes, and mudslides would not avoid him simply because his name was Huo Yuzhou.
Mona's feelings were complicated.
She had once held Huo Yuzhou in awe. Now she was beginning to admire him.
Setting aside her tangled thoughts, Mona continued.
"When our helicopter took off from Pingqiao, the Bai Family withdrew most of their people. They came over several times and contacted me, calling me a few times."
Huo Yuzhou glanced her way, and Mona hesitated.
"For some reason, they were convinced the person you rescued was the Bai Family's young master, Bai Ruanruan. They insisted on barging in to see him, but they were stopped."
"I went to the entrance and met the Bai Family's second young master, Bai Yanxiu. I explained everything clearly, but he refused to believe me."
"Mr. Huo, by the time our last rescue team withdrew, they had searched almost the entire peak where Young Master Nan Qing was last seen."
"There was only one last side they hadn't searched. If Young Master Bai wasn't swallowed by the mudslide, he's very likely over there. Should we pass the information..."
Huo Yuzhou's sharp gaze swept toward her. A chill ran down Mona's spine, and she sensed a certain deadly danger.
Her voice cut off abruptly. Mona watched Huo Yuzhou tug at the corner of his lips, his eyes utterly indifferent.
"Is that so?"
There was a hint of laughter in the man's low voice as he returned to his usual sinister, cold demeanor.
"Mount Pingqiao has complicated terrain. We shouldn't mislead them with anything uncertain."
"Young Master Bai is blessed with good fortune. All we need to do is prepare a gift and wait for good news from the Bai Family."
Mona lowered her head and said, "Yes."
Mr. Huo had not changed.
No matter how compassionate his tone, there was not the slightest trace of empathy. Instead, the more one pondered his words, the more chilling they became.
If she had understood him correctly-
The good news Mr. Huo spoke of was probably the arrival of a corpse.