A Washed-up Movie Queen's Divorce Strategy [Rebirth] - Chapter 29

Ming Lang stood atop a mountain of ruins, her safety helmet securely fastened.

This had once been the most popular tourist spot on Songhu Mountain. In the summer, people would flock here to escape the heat. The mountainside had been dotted with small courtyards built by local farmers, converted into guesthouses that complemented the greenery and flowers beautifully.

Now, all of it was gone. No one ever expected an earthquake here. The last time this country experienced a quake was decades ago, far from Songhu Mountain—so far that people only knew of those dark years through sparse film records. No one imagined Songhu Mountain would have its day of reckoning.

Ming Lang had been digging through the rubble with the rescue team for a day and a night. They had pulled out survivors, but they unearthed far more corpses—bodies mangled by bricks, blood and dust hardened into a murky, reddish-black crust. Sometimes they would find a leg or a severed arm; only by digging deeper could they recover the whole body.

Continuous wailing rang in Ming Lang’s ears. There were those whose family members were missing, screaming for their loved ones at the top of their lungs, desperate for a response. Others had found their relatives already cold. Some families had only one survivor left, kneeling by the bodies and weeping piteously. The sound of mourning spread through Songhu Mountain with the wind and rain. This former scenic paradise was now filled with lamentations, as if only wandering souls remained on the mountain.

Over thirty hours had passed since the earthquake struck. Ming Lang had been working as a volunteer in the area where Ji Chenli and the others went missing, yet she had found no trace of them.

As more bodies were carried out, Ming Lang’s heart grew increasingly frantic.

“Wife!” A man’s shout came from about ten meters to Ming Lang’s right. She turned and saw the man drop his shovel, frantically moving sharp, jagged bricks with his bare hands. Ming Lang recognized him; he was a local villager who had rushed back from his job in town. Like her, he had been working at the front lines without sleep for over thirty hours. It was said his wife and daughter were buried beneath the ruins.

The man’s gloves had long since worn through. The broken bricks carved gash after gash into his hands, and blood flowed immediately, yet he felt nothing. He and a few companions lifted his wife from the debris. Ming Lang went over to help and heard a tiny, mosquito-like sound of weeping beneath the stiff corpse.

“Wife… Wife, open your eyes and look at me! Wife—!” The man, his face covered in filth, pulled his cold, stiff wife into his arms and let out a guttural, beast-like roar. He held her hand, tears streaming down his face, his body shaking like a leaf as he sobbed against her neck. The bystanders couldn’t bear to watch and turned away to wipe their tears. No one noticed the faint whimpering still coming from the ruins.

“There’s someone else down there,” Ming Lang said. She observed the surrounding terrain and carefully removed a large stone slab from the surface, trying not to disturb the support for the underground cavity. She cleared a small hole and indeed saw a person—a little girl, sitting on the ground clutching her knees and crying. Her face was so covered in mud that her features were unrecognizable.

Several people rushed to help. The girl was about four or five years old; because of her small size, she was quickly rescued. She only cried, refusing to say a word.

The man, immersed in the grief of holding his wife’s body, finally heard the little girl’s faint crying. He turned his head and choked out, “Huihui…”

“Daddy…” The little girl named Huihui sprinted into the man’s arms, wailing, “Daddy… Mommy… she saved me… she’s so cold…”

The family of three huddled together; the father and daughter wept even more piteously. Even the sky, which had stopped raining, began to weep again.

Ming Lang’s heart was chilled to the core by the cold rain. Her heart throbbed with pain; every body carried out triggered her worst fears, and every signal of life gave her immense hope—hope that was repeatedly extinguished. Ming Lang felt she was going insane.

“Ji Chenli, how dare you…” Ming Lang quietly wiped the moisture from her eyes while facing the towering mountains and threw herself back into the search and rescue work. “Ji Chenli, as long as you live, I will agree to anything… divorce, giving you your freedom, never appearing before you again. Ji Chenli, I will agree to anything…”

Ming Lang murmured neurotically, “Ji Chenli, I know you hate me, but you have to be alive to hate, don’t you?”

“Ji Chenli, I am a bastard.”

“Ji Chenli, when you were alive, was I very bad to you?”

“Ji Chenli…”

“Hey, Ji Chenli! Talk to me! You can’t sleep, do you hear me?” Han Xinyuan propped both hands against the wall behind Ji Chenli, trying to share some of the weight. She reached out to touch Ji Chenli’s arm and found her body temperature was dropping; she was slipping into a coma.

“Ji Chenli!” In a panic, Han Xinyuan pinched Ji Chenli’s philtrum. “Open your eyes and look at me! Talk to me! Talk… talk about Ming Lang! Don’t you like her the most? If you die, Ming Lang belongs to me alone!”

Ji Chenli’s head rested weakly on Han Xinyuan’s shoulder. Using the last of her consciousness, she pulled her lips into a faint smile and licked her cracked lips. “Who likes her… I… don’t want her…”

“Fine… don’t want her. Who do you want to talk about? Don’t sleep! Talk to me!”

“I won’t… won’t sleep…” Ji Chenli emitted a faint, airy sound. “I can’t sleep… I have to go back and see… see my sister…”

“Right! Your sister!” Han Xinyuan acted as if she’d found a savior. “Ji Chenli, if you die, your sister will cry herself to death. Do you have the heart for that?”

“Can’t cry… Sister Tao Yuan… should be happy…” Ji Chenli’s breath grew weaker and weaker. “Sister Tao Yuan… we still have to… live… well…”

“Ji Chenli?” Han Xinyuan realized that even that faint breath had vanished. In desperation, she pinched Ji Chenli’s waist to bring her back to consciousness, but there was absolutely no reaction.

“Ji Chenli, you’re crazy. Why did you have to save me…”

Han Xinyuan thought Ji Chenli was dead. For some reason, tears surged uncontrollably from her eyes.

It was the same before, and it was the same now. Why did it have to be Ji Chenli? This woman who had stolen the most precious thing in her life. If Han Xinyuan had known the bone marrow donor was Ji Chenli, she would have rather died than accept it.

But now, the person giving her warmth and the person who stole her most precious thing were clearly the same person.

Their bodies were pressed so close. Ji Chenli protected Han Xinyuan in an embracing posture; such a soft body, yet her embrace was so firm, like a solid bulwark shielding her. Han Xinyuan felt all her previous impressions of Ji Chenli were being overturned.

Han Xinyuan’s parents died young. The Han family was managed only by her elderly grandmother, whose expression was stern all year round. Forget a hug—Han Xinyuan hadn’t even heard a gentle word of praise. Furthermore, growing up in the Ming household as a dependent, even if Ming Lang and Ming Yan’s parents were good people, so what? They were ultimately just an aunt and uncle. Thus, Han Xinyuan only ever had Ming Lang.

Ming Lang was also cold and hard. She protected Han Xinyuan and cared for her, but it was purely material and functional.

So, experiencing such a soft yet strong embrace for the first time, Han Xinyuan almost didn’t want to let go.

“Ji Chenli, don’t die.” Han Xinyuan sobbed against Ji Chenli’s neck. “I’ll never tease you again. You’re a good person, don’t die.”

“Won’t die…” Ji Chenli finally made another weak sound. “Sister Tao Yuan, I want to go home…”

“I’ll go home with you, Ji Chenli. Hang in there, I’ll accompany you home.”

“Is anyone there!” Han Xinyuan shouted toward the top while holding Ji Chenli. “Is anyone there? Help us! Save Ji Chenli! Help—!”

She hammered the stone slab frantically with her bandaged right hand, but that hand had no strength. The noise it made was a drop in the ocean.

Having lost too much blood, Han Xinyuan forced herself for a while longer before she, too, fainted.

Ming Lang was shoveling bricks. Xu Luyang advised from behind, “President Ming, there’s still no news of Miss Ji or Miss Han. Could they already…”

“Impossible.” The temperature at night was near zero. Ming Lang wore only a wool sweater with a raincoat over it; bean-sized sweat rolled down from her forehead.

“President Ming, take a break. You haven’t eaten in two days.”

“If you have nothing to do, then work. Don’t block the way,” Ming Lang said.

“President Ming…”

Just then, another shout came from the northeast. “Come quickly! There are two people here! Still alive!”

Hearing this, Ming Lang immediately dropped her shovel and sprinted over, leaving Xu Luyang stunned.

“Hey, is anyone in there? What’s the situation?” A man shouted through a gap in the ruins.

“There are people! Save us! Ji Chenli… she’s not going to make it!”

Upon hearing this, Ming Lang’s pupils shrank. She pushed the man aside and knelt directly on the broken bricks, her hair falling around her face. She roared, “Ji Chenli, are you down there!”

“A-Lang?” Han Xinyuan recognized Ming Lang’s voice and cried, “A-Lang, save us! Ji Chenli… Ji Chenli!”

Ming Lang’s heart sank. She grabbed the collar of the person next to her, her neck flushing red. “Quick! Save them now!”

“Okay… okay…” The people were startled by Ming Lang’s bloodshot eyes, which looked like they were about to pop out, and hurriedly scrambled to rescue them.

Fortunately, there was only one large brick where Ji Chenli and Han Xinyuan were hiding, and there was no danger of further collapse. They dug a large hole in the ruins. Ji Chenli, now completely unconscious, was hoisted out with ropes.

Her entire back was covered in blood that had hardened into black, sticking to her thin pajamas. Her eyes were closed, her lips slightly parted, and her body was cold.

“Chenli… Chenli!” Ming Lang pulled Ji Chenli into her arms, and tears fell instantly. “Chenli, don’t scare me…”

“Chenli, I was wrong. In the future, I’ll agree to whatever you want. I’ll agree to everything, alright? Open your eyes… look at me…”

A stretcher arrived in less than half a minute. Ming Lang put Ji Chenli on it and, tightly holding her hand, boarded the ambulance with her.

Ming Lang knelt beside Ji Chenli. This usually cold-hearted person was now sobbing like a child.

“Chenli, don’t die a second time in front of me… I beg you…”

“I beg you.”

Xu Luyang watched Ming Lang board the ambulance in a state bordering on madness, and alarm bells rang in her head. In all the years she had followed her boss, this was the first time she had seen her cry.