Chapter 241: Spilling Over The First Step

Hanchuan felt Zhiyi’s fingers tighten around his as the thunder reached them.

He remembered standing beside a window years before, listening to people cheer when rain finally struck the glass.

Back then, he had watched the streets fill with raised faces and open containers, grateful enough himself that he hadn’t thought to wonder when it would stop.

He looked away from the screen before the memory could carry him farther.

"We’re leaving tonight," Hanchuan told the others. "Bring the last bags down. Everything else stays where it is."

Zeyu was already reaching for the keys while Shichen followed him toward the garage, and Qinghe left to collect the case he had kept ready beside the medical-room door.

Jingwei remained at the controls, checking the approach while another flash lit the trees.

Zhiyi studied the screen for a moment longer, then picked up her tablet.

"The road was clear this afternoon," Zhiyi said. "We can still reach Jinhai before morning if the junctions stay open."

Hanchuan nodded and went with her to their room.

He didn’t ask how many days early the storm had arrived. They had both lived long enough with the differences between this life and the last to know that an argument with the calendar wouldn’t change the sky.

Their bags stood beside the wardrobe.

Zhiyi closed the one on the bed while he took a final look around, checking for the small things they used so often that they might overlook them.

Her brush lay beside the basin, and he slipped it into the open pocket of her bag before she could fasten it.

She watched him do it, then reached for the shirt hanging behind the door.

"You were going to leave this," Zhiyi told him, holding it out.

"I have others," Hanchuan replied, but he accepted it when she shook her head.

"I like this one," Zhiyi said. She folded it against his chest, smoothing the sleeve before placing it inside the bag. "There’s room."

Hanchuan caught her hand before she could turn away and drew her close. She came willingly, resting against him while he kissed her.

He had carried her through this doorway when she couldn’t walk, and he had spent nights here waking at every change in her breathing.

Now she stood beside him, strong and impatient to get moving, with one hand tucked beneath his collar.

He kissed her once more before picking up the bags.

"Let’s go," Hanchuan murmured against her temple. "Zeyu will be waiting."

The garage smelled of warm tires and the faint trace of soap from the floor Shichen had washed that morning.

The mobile base stood ready, its lights on and the door open. Qinghe was securing the last case inside while Zeyu checked the road on the cabin display.

Hanchuan handed up the bags and stayed near the doorway while Zhiyi climbed the steps. She paused at the top to take her smaller bag from him, then went to put it away without waiting for help.

Jingwei joined them last.

He closed the inner door and stood with his hand on the panel until the lock confirmed. For a moment, Hanchuan watched his friend look back through the observation window at the corridor beyond it.

"We can still come back," Hanchuan said.

Jingwei turned toward him, then glanced at the ceiling as thunder rolled across the building. "I’d rather we didn’t need to."

Hanchuan understood. He climbed aboard behind him and closed the door.

As the outer barrier opened, wind drove dust into the garage.

Zeyu eased the mobile base forward while Shichen watched the trailer clear the entrance.

They had made that turn many times, but Hanchuan found himself watching the mirrors until the last of the vehicle reached the road.

Behind them, Xiling’s lights shone across the empty approach. The barrier lowered, hiding the garage a little at a time, and Zhiyi kept the rear view open until it was closed.

She reached for Hanchuan’s hand when he sat beside her.

"Did we forget anything?" Zhiyi asked.

Hanchuan looked around the compartment. Qinghe was fastening his belt across the aisle. Shichen leaned forward to speak to Zeyu, and Jingwei had turned toward the road ahead.

"Nothing we need to turn around for," Hanchuan replied. He brought her hand to his mouth before resting it between them.

The first drops struck the windshield before they reached the main road.

Zeyu glanced upward at the sound, then switched on the wipers. For several seconds, they dragged muddy streaks across the glass.

More rain followed, washing the dust downward until the headlights caught a road that shone instead of throwing back pale grit.

Hanchuan watched water gather along the broken edges of the pavement.

It was still only rain, too little to fill the shallow ruts, but his body remembered water rising around doorways and the weight of soaked clothes against his skin.

Zhiyi rested her other hand over his.

"I’m here," Zhiyi said quietly. She waited until he looked at her before adding, "Keep looking at the road we’re on."

He loosened his grip and nodded.

Outside, the trees gave way to buildings, and people began appearing beneath the awnings.

A man held a cooking pot above his head while farther along, two women pulled a sheet between them, laughing as water collected in its sagging middle.

At the next intersection, a child ran barefoot into the road and tipped his face toward the sky.

Zeyu slowed until a woman caught his arm and drew him back. She waved at the mobile base with her free hand, smiling so broadly that Hanchuan could see it through the rain.

Nobody tried to stop them.

The streets grew busier as they approached the center of Yunzhou. Doors opened, and people emerged carrying bowls, buckets, and cracked plastic tubs.

Some simply stood with their arms spread, letting the rain soak through their clothes.

Jingwei lowered the exterior volume when the cheering began. The sound remained faintly audible beneath the wipers, following them through the next turn.

Zeyu stopped well before the underpass.

Water was already collecting beneath it, dark and still around an abandoned car.

Shichen pointed toward the road that climbed beside the railway, and Zeyu began turning without waiting for Hanchuan to tell him.

As the headlights swept across the entrance, Hanchuan saw people carrying their filled containers down the steps to rooms beneath the street.

One man paused to pull a piece of roofing over the stairwell. Below him, lamplight showed mattresses laid close together on the floor.

Zhiyi leaned forward, following Hanchuan’s gaze as water began spilling over the first step.