CHAPTER 42: CHAPTER 42: FLOOD

His courage seemed to have been completely used up just now. In the darkness unseen by Ye Manman, his face was flushed red, and he asked this question through gritted teeth.

Ye Manman frowned, a bit displeased.

"No way, your kissing skills are too poor, I almost suffocated just now."

She pushed him away and turned over, facing away from him.

"Go to sleep."

He Chen’s heart sank with a thump.

That’s it.

Ye Manman snuggled closely against him again, until she pressed tightly to his body, she chuckled softly.

"No kissing today."

Does that mean tomorrow’s okay?

He Chen really wanted to ask but didn’t have the courage.

He touched his still burning face, recalling the scene of holding and kissing Ye Manman earlier, unable to help feeling both joyful and mortified.

How could he be so shameless?

How could he be so useless? He even cried and got caught...

Her lips really felt like jelly, so soft, so sweet...

Gradually, He Chen gently hugged Ye Manman’s slender waist, savoring the sweetness in the memory as he too drifted into slumber.

That night, they both slept exceptionally soundly, unaffected by the increasingly fierce storm outside.

It wasn’t until the morning when He Chen reluctantly got up to go to town, he found the men in the village were all rushing outside, and not far away was the captain with a red flag knocking on every household’s door.

"Hurry, get your wives, children, and elders up quickly. The flood is coming. Men go to the square to get life jackets and supplies, everyone else pack up and evacuate to the mountain."

"Ah, this rain is really heavy, it’s fatal!"

The captain knocked on each door, and the men went out to collect supplies, while the women hurriedly packed bags and led the children and elders outside.

He Chen was startled upon hearing this and quickly ran inside to wake Ye Manman.

Ye Manman woke up still confused, and after hearing He Chen’s explanation, she panicked too, rushing to pack the essentials in the room.

He Chen quickly fetched the life jackets and came back, took the packed bags, carried her, and headed to the mountain.

The villagers were mostly out, and the storm continued to furiously wash the sky as it did last night, showing no sign of stopping.

The sky was gloomy, the ground was full of dirty water, mixed with broken twigs and leaves, most people’s ankles were submerged in it.

Everyone’s clothes were soaked, clinging to their bodies, extremely disheveled, but no one spoke, all focusing on escaping to the mountain, with only the captain occasionally shouting through the speaker, telling everyone not to fall behind.

Ye Manman couldn’t quite remember how many people died in this flood according to the original text, but she remembered a group from the village came out too late and didn’t keep up with the team.

The rain was too heavy, the mountain paths were messed up, and they couldn’t distinguish which path they took and accidentally ended up in a ravine, resulting in the whole group getting submerged.

What role did the female lead Ye Xiaotong play here?

She should still be in town now, right?

In the original text, Ye Xiaotong was apparently in town on bed rest, enjoying good food and drink, only returning to mourn and donate money to the families after the disaster was over.

She and the male lead Xie Fengmian also enthusiastically returned to the village to assist with rebuilding, thus gaining favor from the villagers.

But did it matter that the people who got lost just died?

Was their existence and death merely an opportunity for the female lead to gain favor?

When seen from the perspective of the protagonist while reading the book, it didn’t seem problematic, but truly living in this village, she suddenly found this plot absurd.

Those people had flesh and blood too...

"He Chen, let’s tie some clothes on the trees as markers? I’m worried some people didn’t keep up with the team, the rain has washed the mountain paths into chaos, if they end up in the ravine it’ll be dangerous."

"If someone is still climbing the mountain behind us, they should be able to tell which way to go by the clothes we tied."

She suggested quietly while lying on He Chen’s back, overheard by someone nearby.

Sensing her well-intentioned gesture, the person warned her kindly, worried she wouldn’t have any dry clothes left once they reached the mountain.

"There’s no one left, the captain knocked on every door, all the villagers are here, don’t spoil clean clothes."

After saying that, the person wiped the water from his face and continued climbing.

He Chen didn’t bother asking for her reasoning, he simply handed her one of the small bundles.

"Use my clothes, I’ll carry you while you tie them onto the trees."

Ye Manman returned the bundle to him and took another bundle.

"Use my clothes, bright colors are easier to see."

In this heavy rain, as people climb the mountain they can barely open their eyes, and if they do they only see a gray haze, tying dark or white clothes wouldn’t be visible.

Ye Manman took out her red dress and the blue set, handing them to He Chen.

"Rip them up, but don’t make them too small, just tear each piece in half."

He Chen caught the clothes, feeling a bit reluctant, but after a pat on the shoulder from Ye Manman, he obeyed and tore the clothes.

Then, they walked a bit and tied a cloth onto a sturdy branch, continuing this way until they reached the safe area on the mountain ridge.

Everyone sat together, there were no shelters, no dry places, only the towering tree overhead providing some reprieve, preventing the rain from hitting them too hard.

"Everyone listen, we’re in tough conditions, haven’t had a flood in years, no experience in flood control, currently only this area on the mountain is relatively safe, the flood won’t reach here, everyone mustn’t wander!"

The captain shouted through the speaker again.

"Men, come help set up tents, we don’t know how long this rain will last, the elders and children can’t withstand for long, everyone hurry up!"

The captain distributed tent materials to several men without many family members or children to carry, even though the men were exhausted, they eagerly helped with setting up the tents.

After all, only after setting up tents could they rest for a while, otherwise, if the rain kept going, no one could survive as mere high fever and cold could knock most people down.

He Chen went to help, while Ye Manman carefully carried the bundle and joined the women, children, and elders; it was then that she suddenly discovered Ye Xiaotong was among them.

What was happening?

Wasn’t she supposed to be in town on bed rest? How could she be here?

Watching Ye Xiaotong, drenched like the others and cautiously protecting her belly, Ye Manman’s face revealed even more confusion.

Looking at her, she’s indeed pregnant, but how come?

"Manman?"

Yang Xiumei noticed her, but her expression wasn’t friendly.

Upon hearing Yang Xiumei’s voice, the haggard Ye Xiaotong also suddenly raised her head.

"Ye Manman! It’s all your fault! You ruined me!"

"?"

Ye Manman was completely baffled.

"It’s all your fault! You vixen! Seducing my husband!"

"If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have argued with Fengmian, wouldn’t have returned to my parents, let alone encountered such a mishap! Wailing, I’m still pregnant, you damn vixen, you’ve ruined me!"

Ye Xiaotong pointed at her, crying miserably, surrounded by the village’s women gossiping, instantly everyone cast doubtful looks at Ye Manman.

"I always wondered how Ye Manman recently always wore new clothes, maybe it’s money from seducing her brother-in-law, tsk tsk."

"But not necessarily, her partner He Chen also bought new clothes, surely Xie Fengmian didn’t buy them for He Chen too, that would be too..."

"..."