Chapter 6

Chapter 6

I remember a torrential downpour that year.

That day, the taxi I was in stalled, trapped by the rising floodwaters.

Zhou Huaian’s voice came through the phone receiver, his calm tone barely masking a hint of panic.

During the half-hour I was stranded, the driver and I spent the time trying to comfort each other.

As the sky gradually darkened, the phone in my hand stopped ringing.

Then, a massive black SUV plowed forward through the gloom. Water surged over half the vehicle’s body, kicking up huge sprays across the hood.

The SUV pulled up alongside the taxi’s rear seat. The window rolled down, revealing Zhou Huaian’s profile.

The taxi driver gaped as he lowered my window. The rain was still pouring as I climbed out, and Zhou Huaian reached out, pulling me firmly into his car.

He lifted me by the waist and set me into the passenger seat. Turning to look at me, he reached out and wiped beneath my eyes, clearing away the tears mixed with rainwater. “Stop crying,” he soothed. “I’m here now, aren’t I?”

With one hand on the steering wheel, he floored the accelerator, and the SUV sped out of the flooded area.

As we drove away, rescuers on lifeboats arrived to pick up my driver and the people stranded in the surrounding cars. The story of Zhou Huaian risking his life, driving into a massive rainstorm for a student from the Film Academy, caused quite a stir in their social circles.

Song Yao, who was far away in Switzerland at the time, sent me a message specifically to check in. At the end, he added: [The news is making quite a splash. Brother Huai’s mother knows a bit about it too, but don’t worry-she doesn’t have the time to deal with it for now.]

Later, I realized it wasn’t that she didn’t have the time; it was that I wasn’t worth the concern.

Because among the women who came and went from Zhou Huaian’s side, I wasn’t the first.