After finishing their meals, Zhang Yong, Zhao Wu and Zhuang Hua did not chat with Qiao Mei anymore. They still had to go on patrol in the afternoon to ensure that there were no remaining victims nearby who had not been rescued. They had to make sure that nothing and no one was left out.
Qiao Mei followed closely behind Xia Zhe silently. In another hour, there would be a second earthquake. At this point in time, Qiao Mei could not leave his side at all.
Qiao Mei followed Xia Zhe wherever he went. By now, many people in the troop could tell that this young lady had taken a fancy to him and he got very annoyed with her.
He had always had many admirers who stared at him every day. In those days, he did not care that they looked at him, given that he was not married yet. However, it was different now. He now had Qiao Mei and she was even bearing him a cute child. If anyone gossiped or complained behind his back about him having loose morals, his career path would be ruined and his wish to have Qiao Mei join him as a military spouse would be dashed.
Xia Zhe was so irritated that he grabbed Zhao Wu, who was next to him, and said, “Find a reason for her not to follow me. She can follow anyone, but just don’t bother me.”
Zhao Wu nodded and said, “Okay, boss. Leave it to me.”
“Comrade Zhang Miao, go back to the camp with me. The rest of us have to go on a mission later and it’s not convenient for us to bring you along,” Zhao Wu said in a serious manner.
It was rare for Zhao Wu to take a serious tone when speaking to Qiao Mei and she glanced sideways at Xia Zhe, who was commanding the troop in the distance.
“He wants to chase me away huh,” Qiao Mei said.
“No, I’m the one who’s worried about you.” Zhao Wu did not say that it was Xia Zhe’s order, but for his own selfish reasons, he made it sound like he was the one who was concerned about her well-being. In any case, he knew that his boss would not blame him.
Qiao Mei frowned and lowered her head in deep thought. If she was sent back to the camp now and it got too dangerous when the earthquake happened later, who could guarantee Xia Zhe’s safety? She could only feel at ease if she followed Xia Zhe herself, but she could not use the excuse that she wished to follow Zhao Wu. If her identity was exposed, it would only cause more trouble.
“What if I just follow behind the team, since I’m able to help you guys and I’m afraid to go back by myself. Besides, you need all the manpower you can get for the rescue mission. If you arrange for someone to send me back, you would lose a person who could be here helping.” Qiao Mei looked at Zhao Wu with bright sparkling eyes.
Zhao Wu gulped and thought about it. He decided that it was better to check with Xia Zhe as it was not in his place to agree to a civilian’s request in private. No matter how winsome she looked, he had to abide by the military rules.
“Wait for a while, let me ask about it.” Zhao Wu returned to Xia Zhe’s side and told him about his conversation with Qiao Mei.
Xia Zhe pondered for a long time and also felt that it was inappropriate to let her go back alone. He thought that what she said did make sense.
“Then let her follow us, so long as she doesn’t follow me,” Xia Zhe said as he looked at Zhao Wu. He then waved his hand and went in front of the troop.
Qiao Mei looked at the watch in her pocket. There were still 15 minutes before the earthquake and Qiao Mei constantly looked out for the best way to position herself to be able to save Xia Zhe quickly.
Xia Zhe could feel Qiao Mei pacing around behind him, and she was always in a spot where it was the shortest linear distance to reach his side.
Xia Zhe thought to himself, “She has such great observation skills, could it be that I’m her target? Is she seeking revenge? But I haven’t offended anyone and I’ve never met this young lady before. What could be the reason?”
It was obvious that Xia Zhe’s thoughts were on the wrong track and extremely far from the truth. The good thing was that he kept it all in his head, otherwise Qiao Mei would laugh at him if she knew.
Qiao Mei looked at her watch and noted the time. It was already down to the final minute.
“59, 58, 57, 56…” Qiao Mei counted silently in her heart. Before she could count to 30, she heard a loud bang and the ground began to shake violently. Xia Zhe stood on the spot and shouted loudly to evacuate the crowd, but he did not notice that there were still the remains of half a tall building behind him.
Qiao Mei did not have time to think and just ran straight to Xia Zhe’s side. She grabbed on to him and threw the two of them to one side, falling into a pit in front of them. The vine seeds which Qiao Mei had thrown out quickly grew and enveloped the two of them tightly in a cocoon-like protective shell.
The wreckage of the half a building collapsed on top of the two of them and the tremors lasted for more than 10 seconds before stopping.