ST CHAPTER 4

The washroom, which could only be reached by walking a short distance outside, was indeed simple, though not quite as basic as Wei Jiayi had hoped.

The area was divided into male and female sections. Inside the men’s area, there were individual stalls, while a row of faucets near the entrance provided access to running water, along with a few basins and large scoops.

Zhao Jing leaned on Wei Jiayi, practically a mountain on his shoulders. Spotting the basins, Zhao Jing confidently remarked, “These basins can be used to scoop water for a bath. I saw this in a company charity relief video once.”

“Mm, maybe. But not necessarily.” Wei Jiayi didn’t want Zhao Jing to think this place could be used for bathing, so he subtly shut him down. “What if they’re meant for washing vegetables or feeding pigs?”

Zhao Jing’s expression soured, but he didn’t give up. After standing by the sinks for a moment, he came up with a plan. Releasing Wei Jiayi, he braced himself against the wall. “Why don’t you clean a basin for me and fill it with water?”

“Do you really have to take a bath?” Wei Jiayi was relieved to have Zhao Jing’s weight off him, though still resigned. Even at the risk of offending him, he couldn’t help but ask.

Zhao Jing looked at him as though the answer were obvious. Wei Jiayi gestured at Zhao Jing’s clothes with a tilt of his chin. “After the bath, you’ll just put that back on. Won’t that defeat the purpose?”

“I’m not exactly great at doing laundry.” Before Zhao Jing could respond, Wei Jiayi continued, “And besides, President Zhao, you know how a wet bathrobe clinging to your skin would look, right? Someone might report you for indecent exposure before your leg even has a chance to heal. Ruining your spotless reputation over something like that—wouldn’t the losses outweigh the gain?”

Perhaps because Wei Jiayi’s reasoning was convincing, Zhao Jing didn’t argue. But since his request went unfulfilled for once, his expression twisted with frustration.

After a few moments of staring at Wei Jiayi, he said with firm resolve, “I can’t stand this mud.”

With no other options, Wei Jiayi pulled out a towel, wet it, and handed it to Zhao Jing. “How about wiping down first?”

Zhao Jing leaned against the wall, precariously balancing on his good leg. He took the towel and silently cleaned his face before moving on to his neck, chest, and arms.

His chest muscles were covered with scratches, clearly showing how dangerous his near-death experience had been.

After wiping himself down for a while, Zhao Jing handed the now-filthy towel back to Wei Jiayi. Wei Jiayi quietly accepted it, rinsed it clean, and handed it back.

As he wrung the towel out for the second time, Wei Jiayi’s mind drifted to a trip he had taken to India years ago with some classmates. The journey had been challenging, but their guide was a fascinating character. The man had sworn that young masters and ladies of India’s high castes never wiped their own bottoms—servants did that for them. Wei Jiayi now felt like one of those low-caste attendants serving Zhao Jing.

Still, he reasoned that wringing a towel for Zhao Jing was better than bathing him—his personal boundaries hadn’t sunk that low.

Zhao Jing wiped down every area he could reach on his own, showing some decency by refraining from asking Wei Jiayi to wipe his legs or feet for him.

When Wei Jiayi helped him back to the chairs they had used earlier, they found them already occupied.

Zhao Jing alternated between leaning against the wall and using Wei Jiayi as a crutch. He shifted his position frequently, likely because his right leg was also in pain.

Fortunately, the girl from earlier arrived shortly after. Scanning the area as she approached, she spotted them near the wall. “It’s your turn.”

She led them behind a curtain where a doctor was treating another patient’s wounds.

Next to the table were two chairs. Zhao Jing, leaning on Wei Jiayi’s arm, sat down.

His face was pale from pain, and he looked as if he might faint, though his strong build seemed to stubbornly prevent it. Wei Jiayi couldn’t help but suspect that Zhao Jing had never endured even a tenth of the suffering he was experiencing today.

The doctor was a middle-aged man dressed in a T-shirt, shorts, and flip-flops. His curly blond hair made him look more like a vacationing tourist than a local.

After finishing with his current patient, the doctor approached and knelt to examine Zhao Jing’s leg. He moved it lightly a few times, and Zhao Jing clenched his teeth against the pain. Wei Jiayi saw his hand tighten into a fist on the edge of the table, but he didn’t make a sound.

The doctor asked Zhao Jing a few questions before looking up. “We don’t have an X-ray machine here, so I can’t determine the exact condition. For now, I’ll stabilize it with a simple brace. However, we’ve run out of painkillers. If you can bear it, I’ll go ahead and set it.”

“Where can I find an X-ray machine and painkillers?” Zhao Jing asked.

“The hospital at the base of the mountain was destroyed, and another one on the far side of the island is unreachable because the bridge leading there has collapsed. With communications still down, we don’t know its status.” The doctor’s voice was slightly hoarse. He stood up to take a sip of water. “This makeshift clinic was originally intended for treating livestock. Thankfully, a stockpile of medical supplies in the warehouse survived, allowing us to treat patients.”

Zhao Jing thought for a moment. “Alright, go ahead and set it.”

The doctor began gathering supplies, casually asking, “Are you tourists?” He explained that he was a surgeon who had been vacationing on the island with his wife, staying in a guesthouse halfway up the mountain. After the tsunami struck, he volunteered to help at the clinic. He then asked which hotel they had been staying at.

Wei Jiayi named the hotel. The doctor raised his eyebrows in surprise. “I thought everyone there had been evacuated. We were just saying it’s no surprise that it’s the island’s most luxurious hotel—the staff seem so well-trained.”

Wei Jiayi shook his head.

As the doctor straightened Zhao Jing’s leg and began cleaning his wound, he remarked, “Did they accidentally miss you two during the evacuation?”

Zhao Jing suddenly spoke up. “Now that I think about it, I must have been sleeping too deeply. I think I might’ve heard someone knocking in my dream, but they left before I woke up…”

Wei Jiayi glanced at him. Zhao Jing, lost in thought, seemed to be piecing it together. Finally, the realization dawned on him that he had been abandoned during the evacuation because of his deep sleep. He furrowed his brows.

At that moment, Wei Jiayi’s phone rang, startling him. He pulled it out to find missed calls and texts popping up in rapid succession, heating the screen in his hand. Before he could check any of them, a call from Li Mingcheng came through.

Wei Jiayi answered. At first, Li Mingcheng didn’t respond, but after a few seconds, he said in disbelief, “Jiayi?”

“I’m alive,” Wei Jiayi replied simply. “Thanks to President Li for placing me on the twelfth floor.”

Li Mingcheng expressed his relief over the phone before sharing the good news with the people around him. Wei Jiayi could hear a commotion on the other end, and then it sounded like someone else had taken the phone. Li Mingmian’s voice came through, “Jiayi! I knew being on a higher floor would keep you safe!”

Wei Jiayi didn’t respond. Li Mingmian lowered his voice. “Have you seen my ge? I sent two people to look for him, but I haven’t heard back. My parents are going to kill me.”

“Zhao Jing is right here.” Wei Jiayi put the call on speaker so Zhao Jing could hear.

Li Mingmian let out a curse. After a few seconds of silence, he hesitantly asked, “Alive?”

“…His left leg might be broken. The doctor’s putting on a brace.” Wei Jiayi watched as the doctor applied disinfectant to Zhao Jing’s leg.

Zhao Jing’s body tensed in pain, his veins bulging on his arms. He looked up at Wei Jiayi with a pleading expression, as though he couldn’t wait to grab the phone and give Li Mingmian a piece of his mind.

Despite Zhao Jing’s miserable state, Wei Jiayi didn’t feel much sympathy. He simply told Li Mingmian, “If you have a car, come pick him up. We’re at the old veterinary clinic halfway up the mountain—any local should know where it is.”

By the time the doctor finished securing the brace, Zhao Jing’s bathrobe was soaked with sweat.

The doctor left briefly and returned with a pair of crutches from the storage area. However, Zhao Jing was too weak to use them properly, so Wei Jiayi ended up carrying both the crutches and Zhao Jing himself. He struggled to support Zhao Jing’s weight as they slowly made their way outside, eventually finding two chairs near the building to sit and wait.

It was sweltering outside, with harsh sunlight and swarms of mosquitoes. Fortunately, the wait wasn’t long before the Li family arrived.

They had packed themselves into a car with a local driver, which pulled up near the clinic. As soon as the doors opened, family members tumbled out one after another and rushed toward Zhao Jing.

Leading the charge was Li Mingmian’s father, sobbing as he hovered around Zhao Jing. He apologized on behalf of his son and swore that if anything happened to Zhao Jing, he wouldn’t want to go on living.

Li Mingcheng also approached, but he made his way to Wei Jiayi with a worried look. “Jiayi, are you alright? Were you hurt?”

Wei Jiayi shook his head.

Seeing Li Mingmian and his father help Zhao Jing into the car, Li Mingcheng put his arm around Wei Jiayi’s shoulder. “Let’s go.”

But after Zhao Jing was seated, Li Mingmian peeked into the vehicle before walking over to quietly explain to Wei Jiayi that there wasn’t enough room for him. He claimed it was because Zhao Jing’s injured leg couldn’t bend and was taking up two seats. He conveniently omitted the main reason—there were simply too many people who had come along to pick Zhao Jing up.

“Jiayi, sorry about this. Please wait a bit longer.” Li Mingmian said shamelessly, “We’ll head up first and send the driver back to get you.”

Wei Jiayi had mentally blocked out Li Mingmian long ago. If it hadn’t been for Li Mingmian’s brother-in-law personally asking him to take the pre-wedding photos, he would never have agreed to attend the wedding.

He didn’t bother arguing, and since he didn’t want to head up the mountain to stay with them anyway, he said, “No need. I’ll stay here.”

Li Mingcheng thought Wei Jiayi was upset and looked embarrassed. “I’m sorry, Jiayi. If I’d known this would happen, I wouldn’t have come. Let me stay here and wait with you.”

“There’s no need. I’d rather stay and see if there’s anything I can do to help here. You don’t need to send anyone for me.” Wei Jiayi smiled at him.

Zhao Jing was already in the car and didn’t know what was happening outside. Growing impatient, he popped his head out. “Are we leaving or what?”

“Go on.” Wei Jiayi didn’t look at Zhao Jing and pushed Li Mingcheng.

Once the vehicle left, Wei Jiayi called his team to let them know he was safe. Afterward, he walked back into the clinic, looking around until he found the girl from earlier. He told her he wanted to help.

The girl was so busy that she looked dazed. When she heard Wei Jiayi had volunteered, she was thrilled. She told the director and then sent Wei Jiayi to assist with miscellaneous tasks, mainly helping patients with limited mobility move around.

After a while, Li Mingcheng returned, having driven back down the mountain by himself. Without saying a word, he joined Wei Jiayi in assisting the patients. The two of them worked tirelessly until evening when additional doctors and nurses from another hospital finally arrived to provide reinforcements.

That hospital, situated on higher ground, had been spared from the disaster. The staff had brought in plenty of medical supplies, and there were now enough hands to help. The director decided to let Wei Jiayi and the others rest for the night.

Wei Jiayi thought about how much pain Zhao Jing had been in. After hesitating for a few seconds, he sighed. His selfless side won out, and he asked for half a pack of painkillers, then handed them to Li Mingcheng. “Take these to Zhao Jing.”

“You’re not going up there yourself?” Li Mingcheng asked.

Wei Jiayi hadn’t given much thought to where he would spend the night, and Li Mingcheng could tell he was unsure. “Come back up the mountain with me. At least get cleaned up.” He pointed at Wei Jiayi’s dirt-streaked white T-shirt and pants. “Isn’t it uncomfortable?”

Li Mingcheng’s sincerity made it hard for Wei Jiayi to refuse, so he didn’t.

Once they got in the car, they finally had a moment to chat. Li Mingcheng asked how Wei Jiayi had found Zhao Jing. Wei Jiayi briefly explained, then teased, “Why weren’t you sticking close to that young master? Don’t miss your chance.”

“There’s a crowd hovering around him—I couldn’t even squeeze in,” Li Mingcheng laughed. He didn’t deny his intention to get closer to Zhao Jing. Then he added, “He’s been through a lot this time. A young master like him has never had to suffer like this. But I heard the guesthouse is urgently cleaning the roof for him, and the helicopter will pick him up tomorrow.”

“Emperor,” Wei Jiayi remarked succinctly.

Li Mingcheng laughed heartily for a moment before saying, “He’s always been like this since he was a kid. It’s not that he means any harm—he just doesn’t seem to have much social awareness. Actually, he asked about you earlier when you didn’t get in the car. That’s about as close as he gets to showing concern for people.”

Li Mingcheng didn’t elaborate on what Zhao Jing had actually said. Wei Jiayi suspected that, even if it were concern, Zhao Jing’s words probably hadn’t sounded very pleasant—at best, something like, “Where’d that guy go?”—so he didn’t press further.

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Author’s note: 

Warning 2: Wei Jiayi has had feelings for someone else.