Nearly half the sky was lit up by that bolt of lightning and an ear-splitting crash of thunder ensued, jolting Xu Weilai awake.
She rubbed her eyes and got up from the sofa to walk over to the window. When she flung open the curtains and looked outside, she realised that it had started to rain.
Nothing could be more annoying than a rainy day when one was out on a trip. Besides, the rain couldn’t have come at a more unfortunate timing.
However, it was most conducive to sleep on rainy days. After Xu Weilai closed the window to prevent the rain from splashing in, she turned and strolled back to the bed where she laid down, hugged her pillow and closed her eyes shut.
There was a constant rumble of thunder outside and the sound of the pouring rain got increasingly louder. Xu Weilai quickly fell into a slumber as she listened to the sound of the rain. Just when she was semi-conscious, her phone began to ring.
She ignored it and flipped over with the intention to continue to sleep.
After some time had passed, there was a sudden knock on the door to her room.
Xu Weilai, who was sleeping soundly, instantly awoke with a start. Frowning in dissatisfaction, she dawdled for a long time before she finally slipped out of bed reluctantly and slowly shuffled over to open the door.
She saw Qiao Chu upon opening the door and a look of anxiety was written all over his face.
Xu Weilai recovered from her drowsiness and asked, “What’s wrong? It’s already so late.”
In his state of panic, Qiao Chu dived straight to the point and enquired, “Miss Xu, did you see Mr. Zuo Tonight?”
“Big Boss?” Xu Weilai clarified before she shook her head and informed, “No. Didn’t you say that he had left to hike up the mountain? I’ve been in my room all along and never saw anyone.”
“Yes, he had gone trekking up the mountain. I had thought that Mr. Zuo probably returned when it started raining a few hours ago, but I still did not see him at this hour. I kept knocking on his door, but no one answered so there’s probably nobody in the room. I can’t get through to him via his phone as well.”
“Could he be caught in the heavy rain? Or perhaps he’s hiding from the rain in the mountain with the intention to return after the rain stops?” Xu Weilai guessed. “You don’t have to worry too much. Big Boss is an experienced hiker, so he likely wouldn’t be any danger. He’ll return once the rain stops.”
When Qiao Chu saw the look of indifference on Xu Weilai’s face, he knew that she obviously had no inkling about how serious the matter was. His expression turned increasingly grave as he explained, “Miss Xu, there’s certainly nothing to worry about if it was just an ordinary storm. But…haven’t you seen the news? A torrential rain warning was issued. In fact, a high wind alert was also issued. I worry that Mr. Zuo will be in danger if he continues to stay in the mountain. Perhaps something might have already happened to him.”
“A torrential rain warning and high wind alert?” Xu Weilai mused.
She had thought that it was just a normal heavy rain and simply felt that everything had happened too quickly and abruptly.
“We can’t let Mr. Zuo stay in the mountain alone. We can’t…” Qiao Chu muttered. Suddenly, an idea seemed to pop up in his mind and he gradually became uneasy. Trying his best to get a grip on himself, he attempted to assume a calm tone of voice as he instructed, “Miss Xu, I’m going up the mountain to search for him now. You could wait here. We’ll keep in touch and if Mr. Zuo comes back, let me know as soon as possible.”
“Wait!”
By then, Xu Weilai had completely snapped out of her state of drowsiness and was clearly aware of the situation. Grabbing hold of Qiao Chu, she reasoned, “You should calm down first. It could be dangerous for you to act rashly and trek up the mountain at this time. Moreover, the signal on the mountain isn’t good to begin with. On top of that, it’s also pouring and the wind is strong, so there’s practically no signal at all. How am I supposed to keep in touch with you then? Why don’t we contact the rescue team first and get the professionals to search for him?”
“I can’t wait anymore! I have to go! Keep in touch!” Qiao Chu spotted out and pulled his arm away before he turned and left.
Xu Weilai sighed softly when she realised that her attempts at stopping him were futile. She turned and returned to her room but when she picked up her phone to take a look, realised that she had an unread message.