Chapter 95: Restless Thoughts of Her
Qi Xia steadied himself again and looked up at the staircase.
Under the violent tremors, the old building began to crack extensively.
Qingdao was a coastal city rarely prone to earthquakes, so the buildings constructed here had no idea how much seismic activity they could withstand.
Qi Xia feared the building could collapse at any moment—he had to find Yu Nian'an as quickly as possible.
"An! Can you hear me?! Come down now!" Qi Xia shouted again.
The entire building was shaking, and the deafening roar quickly drowned out his voice.
"An..." Qi Xia stabilized himself and continued running up the stairs.
But earthquakes disrupt a person's sense of balance, let alone trying to run up a flight of stairs. Qi Xia felt his legs battered and bruised, but he still climbed on all fours, scrambling upward.
If Yu Nian'an died in this earthquake, Qi Xia would have no reason to live either.
"Damn it... still shaking..."
Qi Xia fell again, his knees completely numb.
He had seen news reports before—the most intense tremors of an earthquake usually lasted only a short time, at most no more than three minutes.
But Qi Xia felt the ground had been shaking for nearly five minutes, with no sign of stopping.
Just how massive was this earthquake?
Finally, dragging his battered body, Qi Xia reached the third floor.
The building continued to shake. Qi Xia wanted to knock on the door, but then remembered that Yu Nian'an might be hiding under a table—running around recklessly would be even more dangerous. So he fumbled in his pocket for the keys.
But he couldn't even get the key into the lock.
He was shaking. His hands were shaking. The building was shaking.
Everything in sight was shaking. In the distance, loud crashes continued, even the sound of shattering glass.
"Damn it! Damn it!"
Qi Xia gripped the key with both hands and finally managed to shove it into the lock.
With a click, the door swung open.
"An!! Are you in there?" Qi Xia shouted, but the room was utterly silent.
A sudden thought struck him.
No one answered. There was only one possible explanation.
Yu Nian'an had already left the house.
Without a second thought, Qi Xia turned to leave—but then he remembered the call she had made him.
"No... there's a second possibility..."
She had collapsed from illness!
Qi Xia was caught in a terrible dilemma. The entire building was shaking more violently by the second. If he didn't escape now, he would surely die here.
But he absolutely could not abandon Yu Nian'an.
"An! Are you in here?"
Qi Xia pushed the door open and entered the room. The empty space was silent. A few simple pieces of furniture were thrown askew by the earthquake. Qi Xia glanced under the small dining table—there was nothing there.
"Not here... then in the bedroom?"
He held onto the single-seat sofa and trudged forward, reaching the bedroom door in just a few steps.
If Yu Nian'an was still at home, she could only be in here.
"An!"
The moment he pushed the door open, Qi Xia let out a small sigh of relief. The bedroom was completely empty. His eyes only found a desk and a chair.
Qi Xia exhaled deeply. He knew Yu Nian'an had most likely already escaped to safety. Even if he died now, there was nothing to fear.
He was about to turn and flee—but then he froze, as if struck by lightning.
Something was wrong.
A chilling, hair-raising sensation slowly crept up Qi Xia's spine. Every hair on his body stood on end, and he couldn't calm down.
In the midst of the massive earthquake, Qi Xia dazedly turned his head and looked around this strange "bedroom."
Why was there only a desk and a chair?
Where was the bed?
Ignoring the tiny debris falling from the ceiling, he walked step by step to the desk. In his memory, there was a photo of him and Yu Nian'an on it.
But when Qi Xia picked up the picture and looked at it, he saw only his own dull face.
He stood expressionless by the seaside, staring blankly at the camera—a lonely photograph.
"An...?"
Qi Xia seemed to lose his mind. The balance he had just regained vanished completely.
He felt the world spinning, and he stumbled again, falling countless times before crawling back to the living room.
There was a single-seat sofa. A small dining table for one.
There wasn't even a second seat prepared in this house.
"What the hell are you playing at..." A desperate smile twisted Qi Xia's face. "What kind of joke is this?!"
Suddenly recalling something else, he scrambled to the entrance. A small shoe cabinet stood there.
Gritting his teeth, Qi Xia yanked open the cabinet door.
Inside was only one pair of men's leather shoes.
From the inside out, this house had no trace of Yu Nian'an ever living here.
Qi Xia's strength gave out. He slumped to the floor.
Every memory of being with Yu Nian'an was vivid in his mind.
The scent of her body. The warmth of her hand. The crescent shape of her eyes when she smiled. Every detail was crystal clear.
But why wasn't she here?!
Qi Xia couldn't understand.
None of what was happening made sense.
Yu Nian'an had called him less than an hour ago. How could she not be here...?
Qi Xia tremblingly pulled out his phone from his pocket and dialed "A" again.
He slowly swallowed, his entire body shaking uncontrollably. He already had a premonition.
"Hello, the number you dialed does not exist. Please check and dial again."
As the cold bilingual automated voice rang out, the phone slipped from Qi Xia's hand and clattered to the floor.
This was too terrifying.
Yu Nian'an... didn't exist?
"Impossible..." A gleam of stubborn determination suddenly hardened in Qi Xia's eyes. He clearly remembered the day he first met Yu Nian'an, and every single day they had lived together.
She couldn't just not exist.
"Qi Xia, do you know?" Yu Nian'an's voice echoed in his mind. "There are many roads in this world, and everyone has their own path."
Qi Xia abruptly stood up, steadying himself in the shaking room. After a moment of thought, he walked back to the bedroom without hesitation and yanked open the wardrobe.
Among the many men's clothes hung an old white shirt.
He took the shirt and turned it over. On the chest was sewn a patch in the shape of a cartoon lamb.
Yu Nian'an had sewn it by hand.
Qi Xia never mended his clothes—he would just throw away anything worn out. If Yu Nian'an didn't exist, this lamb shouldn't exist either.
"Goddamn it... I get it now..." Qi Xia lifted his head coldly, staring out the window. "'The Land of the End'... You want to drive me crazy? You want me to think I'm insane?"
He slowly rose to his feet, his expression filled with a hatred he had never known before.
"Even if you are 'gods,' I will make you give Yu Nian'an back to me."
The moment the words left his mouth, Qi Xia saw huge cracks splitting open in the sky outside the window. Beyond the fissures was utter blackness, like an endless cosmos.
The entire ceiling collapsed with a world-shattering roar. Qi Xia was crushed beneath the falling rubble.
In his final moments of consciousness, Lin Qin's voice whispered in his ear.
"I'm really curious about you."
"I don't mean to offend you—but you're a liar. What kind of person is your wife exactly?"
"You have a wife... even if the two of you live together, do you really sleep sitting up every night?"