The Withered Tree Always Welcomes Spring chapter 43

Shen Jixue lifted his chin, letting raindrops fall on his face. Late summer had cooled, and though the rain wasn’t bone-chilling, being soaked in wet clothes for so long made him shiver involuntarily.

“Shen Jixue, stop standing there. If you get swept away by the water later, I won’t bother with you!” Boss Wang’s voice was full of frustration.

Shen Jixue’s cane was nowhere to be found, and rain soaked him completely. His hair stuck to his forehead in clumps, leaving him momentarily stunned, unable to react immediately to Boss Wang’s words. A sudden force pulled him, causing him to stumble back several steps.

Boss Wang’s voice was somewhat harsh, “Are you blind and deaf? Didn’t I tell you not to stand near the stairs? One slip and you could fall without anyone knowing. Damn it, I can barely take care of myself, now I have to look after you blind folks too.”

A partially blind colleague stepped forward and pulled Shen Jixue aside to sit down, whispering softly, “Xiao Shen, don’t wander around and cause trouble for the boss. Just sit here.”

Shen Jixue groped his way to sit down. Only when his back leaned against the wall did his tense body gradually relax. He lifted his head, leaning it against the wall.

“Is everyone here?” Boss Wang’s voice was louder than usual. Even able-bodied people might not survive a natural disaster. Now she had to take care of this group of blind people, which was truly life-threatening.

Fortunately, the government responded quickly. There were PLA soldiers on the flood frontlines, and workers were distributing food on the square.

Boss Wang led the partially blind employees to receive food. While distributing food, she reminded everyone not to wander off.

Shen Jixue took the dry rations and whispered a thanks, “Thank you.”

The heavy rain had been falling for days. Shen Jixue had lost track of time. He noticed fewer customers coming to the shop recently; many people didn’t want to go out in such rainy weather.

Initially, he worried about Chen Xian’s ship after hearing about the floods caused by the heavy rain. However, soon enough, this danger gradually surrounded him.

Initially, it was just the rising Yangtze River. Shops and residential buildings near the riverbanks were submerged. Lower-end residents spontaneously migrated to the square. They had expected the heavy rain to stop soon, and the flood would hover around the bus terminal at most.

Little did they know, the rain continued, and the flood came more aggressively. Despite their massage parlor being in a higher area, they were not spared.

Seeing the situation turning dire, Boss Wang quickly organized the evacuation of her staff. They braved the heavy rain and helped each other to reach a safe area.

Even though Shen Jixue hadn’t seen the raging flood, he still felt lingering fear. He stuffed a piece of dry ration into his mouth, tasting nothing but blandness.

“I’ll look for my nephew, Alu.”

An anxious voice interrupted Shen Jixue’s thoughts. Alu was the colleague closest to him, who was also partially blind.

“Uncle!” Alu shouted.

Shen Jixue felt Alu bustling beside him, his voice trembling with excitement, perhaps too overwhelmed.

Alu’s uncle’s voice was choked with tears as he kept explaining. The flood had come so suddenly that they were unprepared. By the time they realized it, it was too late to bring Alu back home.

Shen Jixue remembered that Alu, like himself, had lost his parents and lived with his aunt’s family. Once his uncle settled his wife and children, he rushed over to find Alu’s whereabouts.

Hearing the tears of joy from their reunion, Shen Jixue felt happy for them but also a pang of sadness. Alu was different from him; he was partially blind, yet his aunt and uncle still worried about his safety.

In fact, even before the continuous heavy rain and when the parlor was not doing business, many colleagues had already contacted their families and been picked up. Those who remained were the ones with no one to care for them.

Shen Jixue also wanted to call home. If his parents were still alive, someone would pick him up. But now, he had no idea whom to contact.

His uncle? Since he started working at the massage parlor, his uncle hadn’t visited him even once. He couldn’t count on him.

Chen Xian? What reason did Chen Xian have to visit him? They were just strangers who had met by chance.

Boss Wang had been emphasizing not to stand near the water as it could sweep them away. Shen Jixue wondered if anyone would shed a tear for him if he fell into the water, or even notice him.

In this world, there was no one who cared for him, and there was no one he cared about. He might as well go along with the flood…

…..

Chen Xian and Wu Bie stood by the rushing water, quickly catching the attention of rescue personnel who urged them to leave.

“Don’t stay here. It’s dangerous. Hurry to the square.”

They had just come down from the square and hadn’t found Shen Jixue yet. They were unwilling to leave like this.

“We’re looking for someone, a young man who still can’t see,” said Chen Xian. Only by finding Shen Jixue as soon as possible could he calm his anxious heart. Every minute they delayed meant another minute of danger for Shen Jixue.

“We’ll help you find him. How old is the kid?”

Chen Xian hesitated at the question, gesturing with his hand from his shoulder to above his head; Shen Jixue was slightly taller than him.

The worker was taken aback. He had thought the boy Chen Xian mentioned would be in middle school at least, not this tall.

Unable to explain further, Chen Xian pointed at the massage parlor’s sign, “He can’t see; he used to work in this massage parlor.”

The worker pointed in the direction of the square, “Go up and look. Many people from these shops left quickly. He might have gone up. The square is divided by community. You two search nearby.”

Reluctant to leave, Chen Xian was pulled away by Wu Bie. “We came down in a rush and didn’t search the square properly. Let’s go up and check. We can’t help here, and we might trouble the rescue team.”

Watching the rescue team move away, Chen Xian followed Wu Bie back to the square. Looking into the crowd, they felt lost; they didn’t know where to start searching.

Next to them, community workers were checking names on a list. Chen Xian and Wu Bie exchanged glances, realizing they didn’t know which community the massage parlor belonged to. Asking around would be futile.

“Let’s search one by one,” Chen Xian said, and the two of them started looking through the crowd.

Now was also the time for distributing food, and with the crowds gathering, Chen Xian focused intently on each person, afraid of missing anyone.

They passed one group after another, and Wu Bie’s eyes grew tired. He wanted to ask Chen Xian to take a break, but Chen Xian had already moved ahead. He had no choice but to keep up.

“Shouldn’t we take a break?” The rain was getting heavier, and Wu Bie walked with his head down, not hearing Chen Xian’s response. When he looked up, Chen Xian was standing still, staring fixedly under the eaves not far away.

“Chen…”

Before Wu Bie could speak, Chen Xian pushed through the crowd and swiftly headed towards the eaves.

Under the eaves, Shen Jixue sat in a corner looking bewildered. His face showed no emotion as he stared blankly ahead.

“Xiao Shen!”

Upon hearing this voice, Shen Jixue paused for a moment, then awkwardly scanned the surroundings as if finding it hard to believe he had heard correctly.

“Shen Jixue!” Chen Xian called out again, approaching him in a few strides. His tall figure enveloped the crouched Shen Jixue.

Shen Jixue looked bewildered, his lips moved slightly. It wasn’t until Chen Xian pulled him up from the ground that he finally spoke.

“Chen… Chen Xian?”

Boss Wang saw the two men in a hurry, but they weren’t the Shen Jun who had brought Shen Jixue to work before. She tried to pull Shen Jixue over.

“Who are you guys?”

Shen Jixue was dizzy from being dragged around, but when Chen Xian spoke, he turned his neck and dumbly faced Chen Xian’s direction. At that moment, the shimmer in his eyes made Boss Wang feel like she was seeing things.

“He…” Shen Jixue didn’t know how to explain Chen Xian. He had no relationship with Chen Xian, not even as friends, as Chen Xian was much older.

Wu Bie quickly spoke up. “Relatives.”

Boss Wang looked at the two of them suspiciously. They didn’t look like Shen Jixue, and since Shen Jixue had come to the shop, she hadn’t seen any relatives visit him.

It was Shen Jixue himself who finally spoke up. “Boss Wang, they’re my relatives.”

“Really?” Hearing Shen Jixue’s words, Boss Wang reluctantly let go.

The surroundings were too noisy, and the cold wind made it impossible to resist shivering. Shen Jixue couldn’t find his direction, couldn’t find where Chen Xian was, and it was Chen Xian who took the initiative to step forward and hold his wrist.

“Xiao Shen, I’m here.”

Shen Jixue was surprised and delighted. He was happy that Chen Xian was safe and sound, but surprised that Chen Xian appeared in front of him. He had many questions for Chen Xian. Was he here specifically to find him? Or did the ship arrive here and coincidentally he came to see him? It didn’t matter if it was intentional or not, he was just glad that Chen Xian had come.

But when the words were on his lips, a strange sense of grievance surged up. He tightly held the back of Chen Xian’s hand, feeling his nose tingle and tears welling up. Afraid that Chen Xian would see, he staggered and threw himself onto Chen Xian’s shoulder, pressing his forehead tightly against him.