Sweeping Natural Disasters (席卷天灾)

Chapter 2

After awakening from death, Qiao Qingqing stared at the familiar decor in front of her, feeling stunned for a long time. It had been ages since she dreamt of home. During the second flood, her home was taken away, and she wandered alone, scavenging in the filthy floodwaters for food. After consuming something unclean, she fell ill. She thought she was destined to wait for death, but fortunately, soldiers rescued her. So, she endured and continued to survive.

Then came the big earthquake; her home surely became rubble during the quake. She died on the escape route after the earthquake, not thinking of anything in her final moments, just witnessing the dim, cloud-stacked sky.

She dreamt so vividly of her pre-apocalyptic home—clean, tidy, with the scent of jasmine in the air. Qiao Qingqing didn't want to wake up; the dream was too beautiful. Until a familiar yet unfamiliar sound of music jolted her out of the bittersweet memories.

Sitting up, looking around, Qiao Qingqing reached for her phone on the bedside table. The incoming call showed 'Wenwen.'

Wenwen, the long-unseen good friend Yuan Xiaowen. To receive a friend's call in a dream, fate smiled upon her. Qiao Qingqing pressed the answer button, and her friend's lively, cheerful voice came through, "Qingqing, are you up? I'm coming to pick you up. We have a big plan today, a day of shopping! Are you awake? What do you want for breakfast?"

Qiao Qingqing's heart shook; this conversation felt so familiar. Her throat tightened, "Are you, are you pregnant?"

"Ah, Qingqing, how did you know? I haven't told you yet, how could you know!"

"Is it just a month?"

"Oh my! Qingqing, how do you know! I confirmed it with a blood test at the hospital. I only told my husband; he doesn't know you. He couldn't have told you, how did you know?"

Qiao Qingqing breathed rapidly, "You, wait."

She hung up the phone, rushed out of bed, and opened the door to the balcony, leaning over to look down. This was a high-quality community from twenty years ago, with complete living facilities nearby. There was a fitness plaza and a kindergarten, and beyond the road was a market and supermarket, bustling with activity every morning. Looking down, she saw a bus leaving from the opposite platform, a white-collar worker with a bun in hand rushing, "Wait! I haven't boarded yet!"

An old grandma taking her grandson to kindergarten strolled across the zebra crossing slowly.

Three seven or eight-year-old kids ran out of the community, laughing and playing. The girl's pigtails swung joyfully.

Qiao Qingqing's pupils contracted; she looked down at her hands, tightly gripping the balcony railing, feeling the coldness and the pressure on her hands.

She slapped herself hard, opened her mouth to shout, but no sound came out. She could only hold onto the railing tightly, tears streaming down her face.

She couldn't believe she was back in the past; this was the past, not the future!

All that dark, painful past hadn't happened yet.

Remembering something, she immediately made a call.

"Hey, Qingqing, aren't you supposed to be shopping with Xiaowen now? Why are you calling me?"

It was a familiar voice, with the same tone and pace as in her memory. Tearfully, with a face full of sorrow, Qiao Qingqing listened to her husband's affectionate inquiry at the other end. She took a deep breath, sounding very calm, "Shao Sheng'an, immediately take leave and come home. Can't take leave? Then tell your boss your wife is about to jump off the building!" Then she disconnected the call and squatted down, crying bitterly.