He Zheng lowered his voice. “Sister-in-law, I’m right here.”
Before Jiang Ning could even stand, several people dashed past her, their shouts echoing from behind.
“Flank them from that side!”
“Don’t let those vagrants reach the train station! It’ll be impossible to catch them then!”
Only then did Jiang Ning realize what was happening. They were rounding up vagrants.
In this era, the crackdown was severe. Anyone from the countryside found in the city without an official letter of introduction would be arrested as a vagrant. They would either have to wait for their home commune to mail a letter or be sent to a labor reform camp. Only after completing their reform could they be deported back to their place of registration.
Jiang Ning felt the grip on her arm loosen.
He Zheng stepped back, his handsome face flushing with awkwardness. “Sister-in-law, I’m sorry. There was an emergency.”
He had forgotten how small and light she was. In his haste, he hadn’t controlled his strength and had pulled her too hard. His gaze fell on the gauze wrapped around her forehead. “How is your head?”
Jiang Ning shook her head gently. “It’s fine.”
She turned to watch the scene unfolding in the distance, where several men wearing red armbands were relentlessly chasing a group of people.
The state-run restaurant was sparsely populated at this hour. A small chalkboard outside listed the day’s menu. He Zheng ordered two bowls of dumplings.
When the food arrived, Jiang Ning stared at the bowls, piled high with plump dumplings.
Good grief, she thought. What a portion!
Even with her pregnancy, she couldn’t possibly finish a whole bowl.
Before picking up her chopsticks, Jiang Ning transferred several dumplings into He Zheng’s bowl. As he looked up at her, she explained softly, “It’s too much. I can’t eat it all.”
He Zheng fell silent. He hadn’t realized his sister-in-law ate so little.
He recalled the few meals they’d shared at the brigade leader’s house; she’d always seemed satisfied with just one bowl. She’s pregnant now, he thought worriedly. Poor nutrition won’t be good for her or the baby.
As she continued to serve him, he gently blocked her chopsticks with his own. “That’s enough, Sister-in-law.”
“Oh,” Jiang Ning replied.
There were still at least fifteen or sixteen dumplings left in her bowl, and they were large.
Jiang Ning forced herself to finish the meal, then followed He Zheng to the train station. They boarded and found their sleeper compartment just before departure. Shortly after, she heard a passenger boarding behind them complain, “Ugh, it’s raining again. I just changed into these clothes, and now they’re soaked. They’re sticking to me—it’s miserable.”
Jiang Ning glanced out the window.
It really was raining.
The light drizzle pattered against the ground, darkening it in a few short moments.
The train let out a series of deep rumbles as it pulled away from the station. “Sister-in-law, you can lie down for a while if you’re tired,” a low voice said from across the compartment.
Jiang Ning leaned against the wall, rubbing her stomach. “I’ll lie down in a bit.”
She was still stuffed from the dumplings; there was no way she could lie flat right now.
She glanced at He Zheng. Even though they had a sleeper berth, he sat upright, his large, knuckle-boned hands resting on his thighs as he gazed out the window. Sensing her stare, he turned to her. A thin layer of sweat covered his forehead and temples, and his damp skin clung to the long line of his neck.
“Would you like some water, Sister-in-law?” He Zheng asked.
Jiang Ning shook her head quickly. “No, thank you.” She turned back to the window. “I wonder how long this rain will last. Will it delay the train?”
He Zheng looked outside. “It’s not heavy. It shouldn’t be an issue. The weather might clear up once we leave Minyue City.”
But Jiang Ning seemed to have a knack for jinxing things. Instead of stopping, the rain grew even heavier.
Even as she slept deep into the night, she could still hear the heavy drops drumming against the train window.
Jiang Ning woke to a gentle tap on her shoulder. A low voice murmured in her ear, “Sister-in-law, wake up. We have to get off the train.”
Still half-asleep, she blinked open her eyes to see a figure standing by her berth. The carriage was dim, and with the man backlit, his sharp features were lost in the shadows.
She recognized him instantly. It was He Zheng.
“Are we here?” she asked, her voice thick with sleep.
The train wasn’t scheduled to arrive until the next afternoon, but it was still pitch-black outside.
He Zheng’s expression was grim.
“The train can’t go any further,” he explained. “The rain is too heavy, and the tracks are flooded. This area is low-lying, and if we stay here, we’ll just get flooded out. The conductor just came by to tell everyone to head for the hills and wait for rescue.”
What? Jiang Ning thought.
She really was a jinx. Whatever she said always came true.
As the other passengers began to squeeze out of the carriage, Jiang Ning didn’t dare delay. She scrambled to put on her shoes. He Zheng grabbed their bags in one hand, shielding her as he guided her off the train.
Around them, the passengers were cursing the wretched weather, wondering why it had to rain so hard and force them all to flee for higher ground in the middle of the night.
The train was filled with children, and their cries echoed from one end of the carriage to the other.
Jiang Ning felt a surge of panic. How long would this rain last? When would rescue arrive?
The novel had never mentioned a storm like this. In the original story, the male lead had arrived to find the original host already dead. He had buried her and left that same afternoon. But now, they were delayed by a full day. Was this why they were caught in this torrential downpour?
Outside, the rain fell in a relentless sheet. Jiang Ning watched the passengers ahead of her step down into the floodwaters, which already reached their calves. In an instant, their clothes were soaked through.
What’s in that water? she wondered, a shiver running down her spine. Toads? Snakes? The thought made her skin crawl.
Still, she had to move. Staying on the train meant certain drowning.
Just as she prepared to step off, He Zheng blocked her path. He frowned at the dark, rainy night, then unbuttoned his military jacket and draped it over her shoulders. He was tall, and the coat was far too large for her, making her feel like a child playing dress-up in an adult’s clothes. The scent of him filled her senses.
Before she could even react, he said, “Sister-in-law, wait for me. I’ll be right back.”
Jiang Ning watched He Zheng disappear into the carriage. His tall, imposing figure cut through the crowd, and moments later, he returned with a single-person quilt. His forehead was beaded with sweat, his stern brow furrowed.
“Sister-in-law, this is an emergency,” he said, his voice low. “Please don’t mind.”
Before she could respond, he wrapped her from head to toe in the quilt. His powerful arms scooped her up, and he bent down to snag her backpack and bundle from the floor.
As he stepped off the train, he whispered to the bundle in his arms, “We’re going out now. Stay still inside the quilt.”
“Okay,” Jiang Ning’s voice muffled through the fabric.
She had expected to wade through water and climb a mountain, drenched to the bone. She never imagined He Zheng would be so thoughtful.
Seeing him wrap her in the quilt, other passengers—especially those with children—followed suit. They rushed back into the carriage to retrieve their own blankets. With the rain falling so relentlessly and rescue still uncertain, a child catching a chill or running a fever would be a disaster. A lost quilt was a small price to pay.
In the pitch-black rain, the crowd began their ascent toward the nearby mountain peak.
He Zheng waded through knee-deep rainwater, glancing down at Jiang Ning wrapped tightly in the quilt in his arms.
She was pregnant and recovering from a head injury, making her naturally frail. If she were to wade through the rain herself, the consequences were unthinkable. Brother Zhou had already sacrificed his life to save him; he couldn’t let any harm come to his widow or the child she carried.
Wrapped in the thick quilt, Jiang Ning could see nothing but darkness.
But she could hear the rain falling like a waterfall and the curses of those around them. Strangely, she couldn’t hear He Zheng’s voice—only feel the immense strength of his arms, holding her so steady that she didn’t feel a single jolt.
He seemed to be walking forever.
We’re heading up the mountain, right? she wondered.
“Are we there yet?” she asked softly, her voice muffled by the blanket.
“Almost,” he replied, his low voice cutting through the sound of the rain.
Being carried like this made Jiang Ning feel a stir of embarrassment. “Comrade He Zheng… thank you,” she said sincerely.
“No need for formalities, Sister-in-law,” He Zheng replied, his voice steady and strong. “From now on, just call me He Zheng.”
Jiang Ning nodded, then remembered He Zheng couldn’t see her and murmured a soft “Mhm.”
The mountain was dotted with caves, and the crowd was already swarming into them to escape the rain. By the time Jiang Ning’s feet touched the ground, they were already inside one. He Zheng pulled the quilt from her shoulders—it was soaked through from the journey and useless now.
There were at least a thousand people from the train, but the few available caves couldn’t hold them all. Some took shelter under the dense foliage of trees, while others fought to squeeze into the caves.
Inside, the space was so cramped there was barely room to stand. Just as someone was about to collide with Jiang Ning’s stomach, He Zheng stepped in, blocking them with his arm.
His height allowed him to see over the sea of heads, spotting more figures still pushing into the dark cave mouth. If the crowd kept pressing in, his sister-in-law’s belly would surely be crushed.
He Zheng turned his back to the crowd and braced himself in front of Jiang Ning. Planting his hands on the wall on either side of her, he pinned her safely between himself and the rock, using his body as a shield to keep the rest of the people at bay.
It was still dark before dawn, and the cave was so pitch-black that Jiang Ning could barely see anything. She could only vaguely sense his presence, a solid figure standing before her.
She protectively cradled her belly and instinctively called out, “He Zheng?”
“I’m here,” his deep voice rumbled from above.
He Zheng’s vision was sharper than most. Even in the pitch-black cave, he could make out shapes by the faint light filtering in from the entrance. He saw his sister-in-law’s back pressed tight against the rough, uneven wall, her slender white hands shielding her stomach. The oversized military jacket she wore swallowed her small, frail frame.
Her face was pale, making her lips stand out in a vivid red. Her brows were furrowed, her eyes betraying a flicker of panic and helplessness in the darkness.
“The crowd is still pushing in,” He Zheng explained softly, his voice meant to soothe her. “I’m standing in front of you to block them, so neither you nor the baby get hurt.”
Jiang Ning was indeed tense. Blinded by the dark, she could only hear the chaotic din of voices and the relentless rain. The thought of the jostling crowd striking her belly terrified her; if anything went wrong, she would be the one to suffer.
She couldn’t bear another tragedy.
Her luck had been abysmal since the start. First, she’d been transported back to the 1960s, then she’d suffered a head injury. Now, a train ride had ended in a torrential downpour.
It seemed nothing had gone right since she arrived.
Amid the chaotic clamor, He Zheng’s deep voice rumbled above her again.
“Sister-in-law, lean this way. Don’t press too close to the wall—there might be scorpions or geckos on it.”
The words had barely left his lips before Jiang Ning, terrified and blinded by the dark, lurched forward. She collided with He Zheng and immediately seized his clothes.
But the man wore only a short-sleeved shirt, soaked through and clinging to his body, tucked into his trousers. Her slender white fingers scratched at his waist like a kitten’s paws, making He Zheng’s entire body tense.