It was so quiet that when a loud bang exploded around us, it felt like the sky was falling and the earth was splitting apart.
Not far away, a house that was originally intact suddenly exploded into pieces in an instant. The entire roof was blown off, and the walls were broken in half, instantly turning it into ruins.
Ni Jingxi was also startled by the loud noise and turned around to look.
While she was stunned, Huo Shenyan suddenly rushed over, grabbed Ni Jingxi's hand, and ran forward.
Just as they left, a shell actually fell on the house where Ni Jingxi had been standing, and the scene from before repeated itself, with the once intact house falling to pieces again.
But this time the explosion was too close to the ground, and the shattered bricks and tiles flew through the air, scattering wildly in all directions.
The surrounding area was a living hell, with cries, shouts, and even the sobbing of children all mixed together.
Until another huge shockwave exploded behind her, at that moment her mind was blank.
Only the hand beside her held her tightly.
As she was thrown forward by the shockwave, someone suddenly pulled her into their arms, and the two of them fell forward together.
Broken stones and tiles fell all around like crazy.
Ni Jingxi's mind was buzzing. It was the first time she had ever faced such an explosion. Shells were exploding all around her as if they were free.
Even after the loud noise stopped, the sounds of people frantically fleeing for their lives were still heartbreaking.
Ni Jingxi lay on the ground, the person on top of her almost completely shielding her with their body. Until she smelled blood, she suddenly froze, too afraid to move.
The person on her back seemed to have stopped moving completely.
Until she asked in a very soft voice, "Huo Shenyan, are you there?"
are u there?
Please, please answer me.
It felt like an eternity before a hoarse voice finally rang out from behind: "I'm here."
It consists of only two words, yet it feels like a blessing from heaven.
He is there; he is still alive.
*
Because Huo Shenyan shielded her with his body, his entire back was severely injured by the falling brick fragments, and a piece of tile even embedded itself directly in his back.
However, they were unable to return to Haifa immediately because their vehicle had been destroyed in the bombing.
Ni Jingxi had no choice but to take him back to the shop owner.
The boss stared wide-eyed at the ruins outside the door, muttering repeatedly, "I want to go back to my country, I want to go back to my country, this place is no human being."
Ni Jingxi asked Huo Shenyan to sit down first, and then immediately went over to ask the boss if they could contact the embassy.
The boss stared at her blankly, then suddenly seemed to snap out of his daze: "Yes, the embassy. We need to contact the embassy and have them send me home."
But just as the boss was about to make a call, he discovered that his phone had no signal.
Just as the boss was about to cry again, Huo Shenyan, who was sitting down, finally seemed to come to his senses and said softly, "I have a satellite phone."
Ni Jingxi and the boss both turned to look at him.
Sure enough, they quickly contacted the embassy, but the embassy was still busy and could only tell them that a neighboring country had suddenly launched an offensive, firing more than four thousand shells at Israel, although most of them were intercepted by the air defense system.
However, some of them still fell to the ground.
The embassy is also short-staffed, but they were told that if they could get to Tel Aviv as soon as possible, the embassy would arrange for them to return home quickly.
"Damn it, they're trying to steal my car!" After hanging up the phone, the boss stared straight outside and yelled.
The only intact car parked outside the gate was surrounded by several locals, who seemed to want to knock on the window and drive it away.
The boss jumped up but didn't dare to go over.
This situation is the ultimate test of human nature; he dared not go over to stop it, fearing he would be beaten to death.
But Huo Shenyan, who had been sitting quietly in the chair, suddenly stood up. When he walked to the door, he glanced at Ni Jingxi and said, "You stay here, I'll go and leave the car here."
Ni Jingxi was about to stop him, but he pulled out a gun from his waist and walked straight over.
She immediately followed, and when she saw the gun in Huo Shenyan's hand, the boss also gained the courage to follow.
Huo Shenyan held up his gun and stared coldly at the other party. He first told them in English, "This car is ours. If you want to leave here, we can help you escape. But you can't drive the car away."
At this moment, he was covered in mud, and his hair was almost stained gray-white by the dust.
But his dark eyes were so deep that no one dared to make a move.
Everyone was just trying to escape. Huo Shenyan had a gun, so everyone had to obey his orders. Women and children could leave in this vehicle first.
No one dared to object to this decision, so the local men immediately went back and brought their wives and children over.
When more than twenty people gathered around the minivan, the boss was so desperate and furious: "How the hell do even Jews love having so many children?"
Huo Shenyan remained unmoved. He looked at Ni Jingxi and slowly said, "Jingxi, you drive."
Ni Jingxi looked at him: "And you?"
"Once I find a car, we'll meet in Tel Aviv."
Ni Jingxi almost laughed in anger, staring straight at Huo Shenyan: "No."
“Ni Jingxi.” Huo Shenyan’s face was already a little pale, but his eyes were too sharp, and his aura of a superior poured out and pressed down.
He called her name bluntly, clearly annoyed by her disobedience.
But the next second, he whispered, "Jingxi, be good, listen to me."
Ni Jingxi looked at him, knowing she shouldn't be shedding tears at this moment, but she couldn't help it. Her dark eyes welled up with tears, but she desperately held them back, trying her best not to let them fall.
She almost choked up as she said, "If being obedient means leaving you behind and going my own way, I'd rather be willful."
Huo Shenyan's voice softened again. He said, "The bombing is over now, there's no danger. I'll chase after you as soon as I find the car."
Finally, Ni Jingxi looked at him with pleading eyes, tears almost falling: "Huo Shenyan, don't tell me to leave."
Her voice was so soft it almost made him explode.
Fuck your mother.
This was the first time in his life that a man who was usually calm and composed had uttered such profanities in his heart.
In this hell on earth, he suddenly found his rib, the one that pierced his weak spot.
*
"Look, we're much more comfortable here. Not only do we have a car, but each person has a seat. It's much more comfortable than those locals crammed into a small van with dozens of people," the boss said with a grin.
An hour earlier, when Huo Shenyan and Ni Jingxi were locked in a stalemate, the shop owner, who had run back to the store to grab his belongings and prepare to flee, heard Huo Shenyan's satellite phone ringing. Only then did he realize that a car from Haifa was heading to Tel Aviv.
That would be perfect for picking them up together.
So Ni Jingxi stayed, and the boss simply gave the old van to the locals, letting them drive it wherever they wanted.
They are now sitting in a bus provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, preparing to return to Tel Aviv.
The car was full of survivors, and everyone was discussing the sudden air raid, expressing that it was still safer in China.
Neither Huo Shenyan nor Ni Jingxi spoke a word from the moment they got into the car.
Upon arriving in Tel Aviv, they checked into a hotel provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Huo Shenyan's injuries were treated promptly, and fortunately, they were all superficial wounds and nothing serious.
Ni Jingxi stayed by his side the whole time, but she just wouldn't talk to him.
He didn't say a word.
Ultimately, because many people left in a hurry and lost their passports, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs simply set up a special location in the hotel to process their passports.
Ni Jingxi also lost her passport, so she also had to prepare to apply for a new one.
Huo Shenyan stood beside her. The two had been inseparable since they got out of the car, but they hadn't exchanged a single word.
Finally, Huo Shenyan spoke in a low voice, "Are you planning to never talk to me again?"
Ni Jingxi remained silent.
Huo Shenyan looked at her and said, "Jingxi, the situation wasn't that urgent back then."
"Then why did you let me leave?" Ni Jingxi turned her head and looked at him with a cold expression.
Huo Shenyan was stunned.
Could he say he was just worried and didn't want her to be in danger? He was afraid the bombing would come again and wanted to coax her away first.
The next second, Ni Jingxi blurted out: "If leaving you can save your life, I'd rather die with you."
After saying that, both of them were stunned.
Even the people nearby who heard their argument turned to look in their direction.
They were more disheveled than anyone else, their hair and faces covered in dust, so dirty that they were almost unrecognizable.
Finally, Huo Shenyan laughed. His handsome face was filthy, but his eyes were still bright. He said softly, "None of us have to die. I still have to watch you live to be a hundred years old."
Ni Jingxi listened to his words in a daze.
Then he asked the question that Ni Jingxi would never forget for the rest of her life.
"Jingxi, will you marry me?"
When Huo Shenyan asked his question, Ni Jingxi looked up at his eyes, those eyes that she had found stunning from the first moment she saw them.
Ni Jingxi didn't know how many seconds she considered it; all she knew was that in the end, she looked at him and said in a very solemn voice, "I do."
That year, Ni Jingxi was twenty-three years old, and Huo Shenyan was thirty years old.
Author's Note: I've finally finished writing the part where Shenyan and Lord Ni get married. Today is another day I want to cry over this beautiful love story.
Chapter 21
When Ni Jingxi got up in the morning, she took a deep breath. Huo Shenyan, who was drinking porridge across from her, looked up at her and chuckled, "Why are you so heavy-hearted so early in the morning?"
How can it not be heavy?
She couldn't resist assaulting someone at the newspaper's company when given an interview assignment.