Lin Qingping and Gu Juncheng

Chapter 557 If There Is an Afterlife (2)

Gu Juncheng's life had never been so passive.

He has always been the kind of person who has everything firmly in his grasp, whether it's life or career. If there are difficulties, he will find a way to solve them; if there are challenges, he will face them head-on. As for rescue, he is the one who rescues others; he has never thought that there will be a time when he is helpless and waiting for someone to rescue him.

But given the current situation, he is keenly aware of one thing: the best course of action is to do nothing.

Currently, they still have this tiny gap to survive in. If they act rashly and disrupt the balance of forces between the stones, the whole thing will collapse, and even this gap might disappear, resulting in a true live burial...

Thinking of this, he felt a chill run down his spine—not because he was afraid of dying.

He's not someone who hasn't died before; he just can't bear to part with it.

He lowered his head and pressed his face against Lin Qingping's; the warmth of her body made him feel at ease.

"Lin Qingping." He called her softly, his voice as steady and calm as ever. "I won't move either. I'll rest with you and conserve our energy. We'll wait for the rescue together."

"Hmm..." Lin Qingping knew that he wasn't conserving his energy, but rather that he knew there was no other way.

Then let's wait together...

However, this wait is just too long.

In complete darkness, there was no sign of day or night, nor any indication of how much time had passed.

Lin Qingping tried for a few seconds.

Counting second by second, 60 seconds make a minute, 60 minutes make an hour.

But as I kept counting, I forgot how many minutes I had counted before I arrived, and I could clearly feel how long each second and minute was, making the waiting time even more unbearable.

She even felt that the wait was longer than the time she was waiting for surgery.

Because there is a specific time for going to the operating room, but there is no answer to the question of where we will end up now. Maybe tomorrow, maybe... we will never see the light of day again.

Gradually, she began to feel cold.

Even though Gu Juncheng was holding her, she still felt cold.

In such an environment, "cold" is not a good sign.

"Lin Qingping".

She heard Gu Juncheng calling her.

"Hmm?" Before she went into the operating room, she was confused and disoriented about the entanglement between her and him. After the surgery, her mind was clear. However, she used all her energy to recover, and the two of them did not have any in-depth conversations.

"What are you thinking?"

His low, guttural voice vibrated in her ear, shaking her eardrums. His breath was warm, which was somewhat reassuring. In moments like these, having a warm, living person beside you always makes you feel less hopeless.

"What about you? What are you thinking about?" Lin Qingping asked him, having just failed a few seconds earlier.

“I’m… thinking about Zhangzhu,” he whispered. “From the moment she was born, when she was only the size of my palm, I’m thinking about how she’s changed every single day, and what she’ll be like when she grows up…”

“How could it be that small?” Lin Qingping frowned. “Zhangzhu was 50 centimeters long when she was born!”

Gu Juncheng smiled slightly and said nothing more.

Lin Qingping's thoughts were completely filled with the pearl in her palm.

Following his words, she recalled every little detail of her baby from the day it was born. It seemed that the despairing darkness was no longer unbearable, and time was not so difficult to pass.

Just as he said, the baby is changing and growing every day. Countless warm and sweet memories fill this small space and dispel the despair.

However, the waiting time was far too long.

Lin Qingping's body, which had just undergone surgery, was struggling, and the image of Zhangzhu in her mind was becoming increasingly blurry.

If it weren't for the memories of her beloved daughter, she might have already collapsed. But even with the warmth of those memories, she could only hold on a little longer.

Gu Juncheng would feel her hands getting colder and colder, so he would gently call her name to wake her up, and then tell her some interesting stories about Zhangzhu, or discuss with her what it would be like for Zhangzhu to go to primary school, whether she would cry when she carried her little schoolbag to school, and think further ahead, what kind of job she would do when she grew up, and what kind of boy she would like.

Lin Qingping would then wake up from her daze, discuss it with him for a bit, and then imagine things based on his words, which would help her stay awake for a while.

But she didn't know how long she could hold on, and slowly, she would fall into confusion and chaos again.

Gu Juncheng would then call her again, forbidding her to sleep and demanding that she talk to him.

"Lin Qingping, don't sleep! Do you hear me? You must not sleep! We're going home soon, and Zhangzhu is waiting for us! We'll see Zhangzhu soon!" Gu Juncheng shouted to her.

At first, they called out to her, then they patted her face. At first, they patted her gently, then they patted her hard, just to wake her up.

This repeated cycle is a desperate attempt to persevere, to cling to the possibility of survival.

However, the effectiveness of this method is also limited, because the human body has its limits...

At first, Lin Qingping could still reply with a few words, but later she couldn't speak anymore. Her throat was so dry and painful that she could only listen. Later still, even his voice became ethereal and indistinct, as if he were speaking from the clouds...

Lin Qingping had just undergone major surgery, leaving her extremely weak. The ordeal of the journey had further depleted her resources. She had only managed to hold on until Gu Juncheng came to rescue her, thanks to her strong willpower. Now, she was buried in this collapsed cave, having lost track of time. Without food or water, she felt dizzy and her mind was buzzing. Yet, her consciousness seemed to be drifting away; she truly couldn't hold on any longer…

She licked her lips, wanting to say a few words to Gu Juncheng, wanting to tell him that she might really not make it, and asking him to take good care of Zhangzhu...

However, all that could be heard was a dry, hoarse voice. I felt my lips and tongue were so dry they were sticky and there was no saliva to moisten them. My throat was also dry and sore.

"Lin Qingping..." Gu Juncheng called her loudly.

But what he heard was like the sound of blades scraping his throat.

Because of his profession, he has a thorough understanding of his body and physical abilities.

He knew very well how long he could go without food or water; he was now seriously injured, and he knew that the time he could hold out would be greatly reduced.

He touched Lin Qingping's face; there was a layer of scabs on it. He knew it wasn't Lin Qingping's, it was his...

"Lin Qingping..." he called her again, tracing her face and features until he found her lips.

Lin Qingping's consciousness was already blurred, and she couldn't even hear him calling her. In her confusion, a warm, salty liquid flowed into her mouth.

Driven by the human instinct of hunger, she took a gentle breath.

Then, even more liquid rushed into my mouth...