Lifted Away

Wei Yin stared for a moment, dumbfounded. “Whoa—brr, it’s freezing!”

Wind and rain mixed together, and it was still mountain wind. The small pavilion stood open on all sides, offering no protection from the rain.

Wei Yin didn’t dare run around either. This was a mountain, with trees everywhere. She didn’t even dare swear she wouldn’t step on a mine.

Call the cemetery manager? She didn’t dare make that phone call and could only hope the manager would come up the mountain to look for her if she still hadn’t come down… That seemed pretty unlikely.

Wei Yin held the umbrella Hua Yu had given her in front of herself, pulled up the hood, and crouched in the little patch of shelter the umbrella made, planning to wait until the rain eased before heading back down the mountain.

Ding-dong. A text message popped up on her phone.

A text? A delivery notification, or spam ads?

[I’m Hua Yu. Where are you?]

Wei Yin jolted. Hua Yu was looking for her?

Her first instinct was that Hua Yu was hurrying her along; what nanny went out in the morning and still hadn’t come back by afternoon?

Carefully, Wei Yin replied, “There’s a downpour outside. I’ll go back when the rain stops.”

Hua Yu only sent two words.

[Address.]

Wei Yin sent over the cemetery’s location.

[Are you coming over?]

[I’m fine; I’m just sheltering from the rain.]

[It’s raining hard here too. I don’t know if it’s raining in the city.]

[Be careful.]

Two minutes later, Hua Yu replied.

[Stop messaging. Put your phone away. I’ll be there soon.]

Wei Yin silently turned off her screen and put the phone back in her bag, staring at the curtain of rain outside. Only then did it dawn on her that Hua Yu was coming to pick her up.

Hua Yu was driving, in the rain, to pick her up and take her home.

The words clicked together in her mind and sparked.

This place wasn’t close to Hua Yu’s home or her hospital. Hua Yu was at work today; if she came to pick her up, she’d have to skip work.

And in weather this bad, driving would be dangerous and inconvenient, but Hua Yu still wanted to come get her.

Wei Yin grinned so widely all eight teeth showed as she shouted toward the gravestone, “Mom, did you hear that? I told you Hua Yu’s really nice, didn’t I!”

The waiting time dragged on little by little.

The rain gathered from all directions into a dense, steady wash of white noise, like the lullaby her mother used to hum softly, carrying an endless, far-off longing.

It was also like her mother’s gentlest gaze, watching her motherless child walk down an unfamiliar road in life.

Wei Yin fell asleep, leaning against the pavilion pillar.

She hugged her backpack in her arms, the umbrella tied around her waist with its strap. The storm hadn’t let up, but she slept very soundly.

No one knew how long had passed before faint murmurs of “Wei Yin” reached her ear. Someone was calling her name, but Wei Yin was sleeping too deeply; her consciousness drifted above her, wanting to wake but too lazy to do so.

Only when the umbrella was lifted from her did a warm towel fall over her head, rubbing roughly twice before she finally opened her eyes.

In front of her stood someone in a red raincoat. Moisture had fogged the clear face shield, and the person lifted a hand to wipe it away, revealing half a face.

“Dr. Hua?”

Hua Yu grabbed her arm and hauled her up. Her grip was very strong, and the lips visible beneath the hood were pressed into a thin line.

Wei Yin’s lower half was soaked through. The pillar hadn’t blocked the rain at all; she’d been drenched head to toe in cold water, her face pale as if she’d been fished out of a river like a drowned ghost.

Hua Yu took off her raincoat and threw it over Wei Yin. Her voice was cool. “Put it on.”

The raincoat, still slick with water, slapped against Wei Yin’s face. She blinked twice, then lifted it. “Dr. Hua, you should wear it.”

If Hua Yu gave the raincoat to her, what about herself?

Hua Yu raised the umbrella and looked outside.

The rain had grown even heavier.

“Put it on. Don’t make me say it a third time.” Today, Hua Yu was unusually terse. The way she seemed to be holding back every word made Wei Yin too afraid to argue.

Hua Yu was wearing shorts and sandals underneath. By contrast, Wei Yin had on a tracksuit; her cotton pants were soaked through, clinging wetly to her legs and constantly draining away her body heat.

Wei Yin shivered. Caught between reluctance and the fear of disobeying, she could only awkwardly put on the raincoat, then tug at Hua Yu’s sleeve. “I’m done.”

Hua Yu’s arm slid around her waist and pulled her close. In a half-embrace, she pushed Wei Yin into the center of the umbrella, then immediately dashed out into the rain.

Wind and rain slammed straight at them. Wrapped in the raincoat and standing beneath the umbrella, Wei Yin was held tightly, not a drop touching her.

They ran for about half a minute before a closed electric tricycle came into view at a bend in the path. Hua Yu pushed Wei Yin into the back seat.

She rested a hand on the doorframe, her face pale from the cold, showing no expression at all. Her voice was icy. “There’s hot water, a bath towel, pajamas, and slippers in the bag. Take off your wet clothes, dry yourself off, and put them on. Drink all the hot water.”

Wei Yin lifted the thermos. “Dr. Hua, you should drink first.”

Bang.

The door in front of her was slammed shut by Hua Yu the moment she finished speaking.

She didn’t spare Wei Yin even one extra glance.

Wei Yin blinked.

The vehicle started moving, and Wei Yin felt too embarrassed to take her clothes off. She wanted to ask if she could wrap herself in the towel first, but Hua Yu only left her with the back of her head.

The electric tricycle lurched over the uneven road, the path ahead impossible to make out clearly. Hua Yu drove very slowly.

Wei Yin’s gaze fell on Hua Yu’s hand twisting the throttle.

Wait. Hua Yu was driving a tricycle.

The cemetery paths were all narrow pebble walkways, winding and cramped; cars couldn’t get up here. Hua Yu had borrowed a tricycle to come find her.

Something in her chest was gently tugged.

The surrounding windows were all fogged with steam. There wasn’t a single pedestrian around. Wei Yin took off her top and pants, leaving only her underwear, and clumsily wiped the water off her body before putting on the pajamas.

The pajamas were Hua Yu’s, a dress that fell to mid-thigh and came with built-in chest padding.

After she got dressed, Wei Yin blushingly took off her wet underwear and pulled it out.

The thermos held brown sugar water; it was sweet to the point of cloying, and there was an entire slice of ginger in the cup, spicy and hot.

After finishing one cup, it felt as if her whole body had been set on fire; the heat surging up from her stomach spread through her entire body.

Her cold limbs gradually warmed again.

Wei Yin used the towel to rub her hair vigorously, wiping away the last trace of moisture from her body.

Hua Yu drove to the entrance of the cemetery management office, honked continuously, and the staff hurriedly opened the gate with repeated apologies.

Hua Yu drove straight into the lobby.

“We’re really sorry, our security staff aren’t here today,” the employee kept apologizing. “We’re not familiar with the roads, sorry to trouble you.”

Hua Yu got out of the vehicle and nodded at them without saying anything.

Wei Yin gathered up Hua Yu’s things and her own. The umbrella and raincoat were folded neatly, and she stepped out of the vehicle.

She was completely dry, her cheeks flushed, making little “hiss-hah” sounds as the scalded tip of her tongue peeked out slightly.

Hua Yu’s gaze fell on Wei Yin’s face and body, and the chill in her eyes eased a little.

“Why not wait out the rain here?” the staff said enthusiastically. “Have some hot water, rest your feet, that sort of thing.”

Hua Yu took everything out of Wei Yin’s hands and strode straight toward the side door of the lobby, where her car was parked.

“No need. Wei Yin, let’s go.”

Wei Yin opened her mouth, wanting to say that driving in the rain was dangerous and maybe they should wait a bit longer, but then she decided Hua Yu must have her own plan. She hurried after her in little quick steps.

“Seat belt,” Hua Yu said, looking straight ahead. She turned on the wipers and drove off at less than twenty miles an hour, covering barely eight hundred meters before finding a hotel in the sparsely populated outskirts. “Get out.”

Along the way, Hua Yu hadn’t said a word, and Wei Yin hadn’t had time to think of anything to say either, so she could only do as she was told and hop neatly out of the car.

Hua Yu booked a king room, ordered a pile of dishes to be delivered to the room, and sent Wei Yin’s clothes out for dry cleaning.

Wei Yin’s eyes widened when she saw that the room only had a single bed covered in floral patterns.