By the time Fei Ni made it downstairs with her parents, her shoes were in tatters. The rumbling in her ears persisted, like being in an enormous factory workshop where machinery sounds were infinitely amplified through loudspeakers. Such noise at night would normally draw curses, but now, accompanied by the shattering of glass, it brought only terror.

Fei Ni’s exposed heel accidentally touched broken glass that had fallen during the tremors. The ground was still shaking, this time side to side. She completely forgot about the pain as she grabbed her mother’s shoulders to prevent her from falling.

The ground floor was packed with people—almost everyone from the building had come down. Fei Ni heard loud barking; the old lady from the second floor had brought down her dog, Wang Cai. Though Wang Cai barked fiercely, his voice seemed weak compared to the other sounds.

People around them debated what had just happened, some still not recognizing it as an earthquake, thinking perhaps a large truck had struck the building. Their minds lingered on the recent terror, unable to think about what would come next, sharing their experiences of the tremors. Some women, noticing their scanty clothing, wanted to go back up for more, but were stopped by others.

In the face of mortality, modesty seemed superfluous. Or rather, there was no need for shame when everyone was in the same situation.

A purple flash came from the south, and in the chaotic shaking, Mother Fei noticed the blood on her daughter’s foot.

But no one had spare clothes for bandaging. Fei Ni wore only a thin nightgown, and most people who had fled wore just underwear or were wrapped in sheets and blankets. Some had one shoe, some had both, while others had lost both shoes while rushing downstairs and now stood barefoot on ground that could crack at any moment.

Mother Fei immediately instructed Old Fei to take off his undershirt. He didn’t hesitate, quickly removing it and giving it to his daughter to bandage her wound and stop the bleeding.

As Fei Ni bent to bandage her foot, her mind raced. “We can’t stay here beneath the building. What if it collapses? We should move to the street.”

Old Fei relayed his daughter’s suggestion to the neighbors, and the group began moving toward the street.

“How is it? Does your foot hurt?”

“It doesn’t. Let’s move faster.”

Fei Ni had no time to consider whether her foot hurt—it was an insignificant detail amid everything.

As the ground stabilized, Fei Ni’s mind had more space for other thoughts.

Her parents worried about their other daughter: “Wonder how Er Ni is doing? She has her paralyzed mother-in-law to care for…”

Old Fei announced he would go check on their second daughter, telling his wife and Fei Ni to stay put.

Naturally, Fei Ni objected. “If you’re worried, you two stay here, and I’ll go check.”

“You can’t go. Your foot is already injured; you shouldn’t be walking. It’s so dark—if you go, we’ll have double the worry. Besides, if anything happened to you, not only would your father and I be devastated, but we couldn’t face Xiao Fang.”

“It’s fine, just a small cut. Besides, my eyes are better than you two elderly folks.”

Fei Ni regretted sending Fang Muyang away yesterday. If he were here, she could have ridden his bicycle to check on her sister. She wondered how he was doing. Fang Muyang lived on the top floor of the old guesthouse building—who knew if anything had happened there? She thought it couldn’t be that bad; surely misfortune couldn’t target one person so specifically. He’d only had a few peaceful days. Then again, when someone’s luck was bad, trouble seemed to find them automatically.

Though worried about her sister, Fei Ni maintained her rationality. Seeing she couldn’t convince her parents, she spoke in an irrefutable tone: “My sister’s building was reinforced this year, and she’s only on the second floor. She’s probably already downstairs like us. They have an elderly person they can barely care for—you’d just be in their way if you went. Since you’re worried about me going now, I’ll check on them at daybreak. That’s final.”

Fei Ni’s words carried weight in the family, especially during crises, and her parents said nothing more.

Standing in the street, Fei Ni’s heart was suspended in anxiety. Just hours ago, Fang Muyang had been washing dishes in the washroom.

When she’d fled with her parents, she’d heard porcelain shattering—probably dishes thrown to the floor by the tremors. The sound had been crisp and piercing.

During the chaos, Fei Ni’s thoughts had been crystal clear, focused solely on getting her parents to safety. Now that they were temporarily safe, her mind was in turmoil.

Amid the confusion, she heard someone calling her name. The voice grew closer, and she took a deep breath to identify its tone. Though the caller’s voice was hoarse, she could still recognize its familiar quality. Realizing it was real, half her anxiety lifted, but as she confirmed the voice’s owner was safe, she felt embarrassed—everyone taking refuge on the street could hear him calling her name. He alternated between calling her name and ringing his bicycle bell, the urgent, crisp ring contrasting sharply with his hoarse voice, ensuring the called person couldn’t miss it. Despite her embarrassment, Fei Ni waved and shouted, “I’m here, I’m here!” She feared his vocal cords would give out if he kept shouting.

The bicycle bell finally stopped ringing. Because the one ringing it had found the girl he was looking for.

Fei Ni almost felt annoyed with Fang Muyang. She wasn’t dressed any more inappropriately than others—after all, some people wore only sheets—but now, because of him, everyone was looking at her. It was still dark, but Fang Muyang held a flashlight, casting a spotlight on her, and making her an unwitting performer on stage. More unsettling than the light were his eyes, bloodshot and fixed on her, pinning her in a place like a miser scrutinizing goods for flaws to haggle over, afraid to miss any detail. Fang Muyang stared at her this way, confirming she was the same person he’d seen yesterday. Fei Ni wore a sleeveless dress with no bra underneath, and now the pain from her skin chafing against the fabric caught up with her. It had hurt earlier, but she’d been too preoccupied to notice. Now the pain and embarrassment surged together.

With all these emotions converging, she couldn’t help but urge Fang Muyang: “Turn off the flashlight quickly.”

Fang Muyang’s flashlight beam fell on Fei Ni’s foot. “What happened to your foot?”

“Why is your voice so hoarse?”

Fang Muyang said, “It’ll be fine soon.”

Fei Ni answered his question just as casually: “Just a small wound, already bandaged.”

“Okay?”

“Why would I lie?”

He smiled at her, and she couldn’t help but smile back. He wasn’t dressed any better than she was. Fang Muyang wore a black tank top and knee-length beige shorts, with slip-on shoes exposing his heels. He wasn’t even dressed as well as when he’d slept over—his tank top had rolled up at the bottom, looking completely disheveled.

They smiled at each other.

After a while, Fei Ni remembered Fang Muyang’s flashlight was still on. She reached to turn it off, their hands touching. Her first instinct wasn’t to pull away but to switch off the flashlight.

It was still dark, and Fang Muyang held onto Fei Ni’s hand, refusing to let go, secretly tracing her portrait in her palm, making it tickle.

Fei Ni hadn’t forgotten about her sister, and now that Fang Muyang had brought his bicycle and flashlight, she wouldn’t have to wait until daybreak to check on her.

Fang Muyang offered to take her, and Fei Ni jumped onto the bicycle’s back seat. Following his instructions, she wrapped both arms around his waist—his tank top was completely soaked—while holding the flashlight. Compared to safety, everything else had to take a back seat.

When Fang Muyang tried to speak, Fei Ni stopped him: “Better not talk now. Who knows when we’ll get water—save your voice.”

He still asked in his hoarse voice, “Does my voice sound that bad?”

“Terrible.”

“Hold on tighter. What if there’s an aftershock and the ground shakes? We might get separated.”

“I’m already holding on tight enough.”

“I can’t feel it.”

Fei Ni knew he was teasing her and jabbed his waist with the flashlight. “Can you feel that?”

The jab was too forceful; Fang Muyang hissed in pain. “You’re quite the warrior scholar, aren’t you?”

“Are you alright?”

“What do you think?”

“I didn’t mean to.”

“It’s fine. Just rub it a bit and I’ll forgive you.”

Out of guilt, Fei Ni rubbed the spot a few times. “Still hurt?”

Fang Muyang magnanimously declared it was fine.

As Fei Ni had suspected, her Second Sister’s building, having been reinforced earlier that year, had suffered less damage than her building, with no large-scale plaster falling from the walls.

The second Sister’s mother-in-law had also been moved downstairs. Though the old lady couldn’t walk, she kept busy with odd jobs. Unable to sleep in the heat, she had been gluing matchboxes in bed and was the first to notice the earthquake.

Fei Ni finally felt completely relieved.

This was Fang Muyang’s first time meeting Fei Ni’s sister and brother-in-law under such circumstances.

He looked up at the sky and asked her brother-in-law, “Do you have a tent?”

“No.”

“What about steel pipes and tarps or plastic sheets?”

“No steel pipes, but why are you asking about tarps and plastic sheets?”

“It’ll probably rain after the earthquake. We can’t just get soaked—we need to build a shelter. I have lumber stacked at the bottom of our parents’ building. If you need wood, quickly borrow a handcart and come with me to get it. Then we can build an emergency shelter.”

“I can find some scrap wood around here.”

“Alright, before the aftershocks come, quickly go inside and bring down anything useful—camp beds, umbrellas, whatever you might need. Tell the others in your building too.”

Fang Muyang’s earthquake knowledge couldn’t have been accumulated in just these few months. Fei Ni suspected he had remembered his past experiences, but there were more pressing matters now, and she couldn’t dwell on them.

During his time in the countryside, Fang Muyang had experienced an earthquake. It hadn’t been major, but what left a deep impression was the rain that followed—it rained for days. Many village houses were damaged, but the youth volunteers’ houses remained intact. When the rain stopped, he helped repair houses, and the villagers would serve him their best food. That earthquake had taught him much, which was why his first thought when the bed shook was “earthquake.”

He had immediately jumped out of bed, grabbed the flashlight within reach, and ran out while shouting about the earthquake until his voice was hoarse, afraid the guesthouse residents wouldn’t hear. Living on the top floor, he knew the stairwell would soon be packed. Before finding Fei Ni, he had already checked their building once. Downstairs, he had found his lumber. Not seeing anyone, he guessed she had gone to the street for safety. With so many people around, afraid of missing her, he could only search while calling out, until his voice gave out.

After instructing her sister and brother-in-law, Fang Muyang, still hoarse, had Fei Ni jump on his bicycle’s back seat. “We should go build our shelter too.”

They returned to the street where Fei Ni had been taking refuge. People were still standing there, waiting to see what fate had in store.

Fang Muyang found a woman wearing a red armband and told her about the likelihood of heavy rain after earthquakes, urging everyone to quickly gather materials for shelters. The woman was skeptical, so Fang Muyang, voice hoarse, explained the scientific reasons using knowledge he’d read in books. Seeing her confused face, he realized his approach was wrong and instead gave examples of past earthquakes followed by rain. This time the woman understood the necessity of building shelters and rallied the street’s able-bodied residents to start building.

Some families lacked materials for shelter. Fang Muyang generously offered to share his wood, suggesting they build a large shelter together—it would be faster that way.

Those without materials quickly took him up on his offer.

Fang Muyang apologetically said to Fei Ni, “I’m afraid the furniture will have to wait until this is completely over.”

“At a time like this, let’s not worry about furniture. Is there anything I can help with?”

“Yes.”

“What?”

“Rest well.”

Fang Muyang went into the building to get tools for building the shelter, asking Fei Ni where they kept their tools. He also asked about food, clothes, iodine for wounds, umbrellas, and raincoats.

“I’ll come with you to get them.”

“No, you stay here.”

“Isn’t it temporarily safe now? Others are going to get their things too.”

“You’re different from others.”

Fei Ni insisted on going with him. There were too many items—even if she told him where everything was, he might not remember it all. Even if he remembered, he couldn’t carry everything at once. And even if he could remember and carry it all, she didn’t want to be a bystander.

“If you dare go,” Fang Muyang whispered in her ear, “I’ll dare to kiss you—once for every item you carry.”

“You wouldn’t dare!”

“Want to test me?”

After Fang Muyang entered the building, Fei Ni followed. Inside, three flashlights illuminated the room as they efficiently gathered necessary items. The chest of drawers had fallen, and the thermos had dropped to the floor, but fortunately, its inner container hadn’t broken. Fei Ni found three cups, filled each with water, and set them in a corner to cool.

Fang Muyang discovered her presence and, knowing her determination realized it was useless to send her away. While busy gathering things, he couldn’t help expressing his displeasure: “So you want me to kiss you that badly?”

“I know you’re just joking. You wouldn’t really.”

Fang Muyang laughed in exasperation: “I wouldn’t? You know me so well, don’t you?”

Once they had gathered everything, Fei Ni handed him the water she’d set aside to cool. He drank all three cups, one after another.

Without further ceremony, they carried the necessary items downstairs—Fei Ni in front, Fang Muyang bringing up the rear.

Fang Muyang handed Fei Ni the iodine, telling her to disinfect her wound quickly, then went to build the shelter. Fei Ni put on a freshly retrieved shirt over her dress and buttoned it up.

They finished building the shelter just before the rain started—a large structure using all of Fang Muyang’s lumber.

As the rain grew heavier, Fei Ni’s parents sat resting on wooden planks while she and Fang Muyang stood at the shelter’s edge. Fei Ni handed him the cookie tin containing biscuits bought two days ago. “Have some.” It was all the snacks they had; her parents had eaten some earlier, but she hadn’t had the chance.

Fei Ni faced a massive curtain of rain, eating biscuits to the sound of the downpour.

She asked Fang Muyang, “Are we at the epicenter?”

“I’m not sure. I’ll ask around when I go to training class.”

“You’re still going to class today?”

“If not possible, I’ll come back. I want to check on Uncle Fu, though his building is quite earthquake-resistant, so it should be fine.”

In such a large shelter, they couldn’t eat alone. A nearby child, probably having missed breakfast, stared at them hopefully. Fei Ni gave the child two biscuits.

Soon her cookie tin was empty, and others shared their overnight mantou and pickled vegetables with them.

This year had brought one major event after another, and now an earthquake. As Fei Ni watched the rain, worried about the future, Fang Muyang brought a mantou with pickled vegetables to her lips. “Chicken with bamboo shoots—it’s really good, try some.”

He offered her the unbitten half, and Fei Ni took a bite. It was indeed quite good.

Fang Muyang simply broke off half for her. “Is your foot still hurting?”

“Stopped hurting long ago.”

Fang Muyang checked her foot. “Why is it still wrapped in this cloth?”

Before Fei Ni could answer, Fang Muyang asked the shelter occupants, “Does anyone have gauze I could borrow?”

Someone had managed to grab gauze from their home.

He said softly to Fei Ni: “This is normal wound care, no need to be embarrassed.”

With his voice so hoarse, Fei Ni didn’t want to argue with him, though having a man hold her foot in front of others was quite embarrassing. Looking at his wet, disheveled hair and thinking of his hoarse voice, Fei Ni realized she had been careless—she should have brought down medicine too.

Fang Muyang had Fei Ni sit on the wooden plank, holding her ankle as he removed the old bandage, carefully disinfecting the wound with iodine. Fei Ni kept her head down, staring at the ground. They were legally married—even if people disapproved, they could only criticize them for being overly affectionate.

Fang Muyang asked Fei Ni as if they were alone: “Does it hurt?”

“It doesn’t hurt. Do it however you want, just please stop talking.”