191 Away From Home (1/2)

It was as if Death was quietly watching her from in front, waiting to take her soul from her when she finally collapsed from exhaustion. She could not be able to return to this world anymore, and she would not be able to see Mo Han anymore.

Xia Qingyi did not dare to stop. She kept walking forward until she finally reached a stone tablet. The stone tablet was very short, not even reaching her calves and there were red words written on it. However, Xia Qingyi did not dare to look down from the strong dizziness she felt, which was why she could not get a clear look of the words on the stone tablet.

As a result, she did not stop and continued to walk ahead beyond the stone tablet. Xia Qingyi's breathing became heavier as she did not know how long she had been walking for. When she felt that she could no longer push herself, she dropped onto the boiling surface of the sand and there was no more movement from her.

The rescue team from D City had made progress.

Mo Han had gotten a call from the staff of the Disaster Prevention and Rescue Center. They had said that they had just found a survivor of the sandstorm and had safely sent them to the hospital. The survivor was still conscious and was currently being treated in the hospital ward.

The excitement that Mo Han felt within him had not yet faded away when the staff spoke again and mentioned that the survivor was male and Mo Han's heart dropped into the ice cellar once again.

Nevertheless, Mo Han had still rushed to the hospital to meet that survivor. That person had interacted with Xia Qingyi, and might know where Xia Qingyi was currently. He might have a trace relating to Xia Qingyi surviving in that desert.

When Mo Han saw that survivor, he was sitting on the bed with bandages wrapped around his head. He was looking down at the bag in his hands.

”Ah... you must be... that person that they said was coming.” The person sitting on the bed looked up at Mo Han after he had heard the sound of footsteps.

Mo Han nodded his head as he reached out his hand towards him. ”Yes. Hello, I'm Mo Han, Xia Qingyi's boyfriend.”

That boy did not look too old as he shook his hand with a light smile. He scratched his head. ”Hello, I'm Yang Qingliang.”

Yang Qingliang laughed, ”I've heard of you before. Xia Qingyi had told us that she had a very handsome boyfriend. She was definitely telling the truth, now that I've seen you.”

Mo Han said, ”She said that about me?”

”Yes. We asked her if she had a boyfriend the day before we went to the desert. She said that she did have one, a very handsome one. She also said that her boyfriend was the nicest person in this world. At that point, I could tell that the two of you were definitely a very loving couple when I saw the happiness in her eyes. However, she stopped saying anything when we continued to ask her about you.”

Yang Qingliang passed the bag in his hands to Mo Han. ”This belongs to your girlfriend. I woke up and found this with me, though I didn't know why her bag is with me. When the rescue team had found me, I'd brought the bag along and I'm giving it back to you now.”

Mo Han took the bag, which was a very light and simple canvas bag with a zip. Mo Han pulled open the zip of the bag, and saw only two pieces of clothing and a black canvas pouch. There was something bulky inside the black canvas pouch, though he did not know what it was.

Mo Han took out the black canvas pouch and opened it, only to see the pair of cotton slippers that Xia Qingyi had worn when she had left.

He sat with the pair of cotton slippers in his hand, not looking up for a very long time.

”Why did she bring a pair of slippers? Why would she need slippers in the desert?”

Mo Han did not speak as he caressed the soft texture of the the slippers. This was a secret between Xia Qingyi and him.

”Did you two communicate at least once during her travel?” Yang Qingliang asked.

”No. She left her phone at home.” Mo Han said.

”That's weird. I remember her telling me that she had messaged you at the airport and she had only boarded the plane after telling you where she's going.”

Mo Han furrowed his eyebrows. ”Her phone is with me, so how did she message me? Why did I never receive them?”

”Could it be... that she used a stranger's number?” Yang Qingliang said as he stared at him, ”You... didn't set your phone to block any messages and calls from unknown numbers, did you?”

Mo Han touched the phone in his pocket as he suddenly understood what Yang Qingliang had said. He swiped his phone and found his settings, finding all of the messages that were sent by unknown numbers and were intercepted as a result.

Amongst the messy array of advertisements and the random codes, Mo Han saw the three messages that an unknown number had sent him a few days away straight away.

”I'm Xia Qingyi. I'm messaging you using a stranger's phone.”

”We both need some time to cool down. I'm going to travel by myself. You don't have to worry, and I'll be back in a week.”

”Remember to eat and sleep properly, and don't be too busy with work.”