Chapter 444: You Shouldn’t Be Here
Wherever Bai Xinyue went, everyone’s gazes followed. When they saw her talking to Wu Sheng, their stares instantly heated up.
The rich young lady had come looking for Wu Sheng, claiming it was a chance encounter, but they had seen her searching for someone long before that.
’So, was this a classic tale of a rich girl traveling a thousand miles for the man she loves?’
Amidst Bai Xinyue’s delighted gaze and the crowd’s burning, gossipy stares, Wu Sheng lazily leaned against the already-sleeping Wa Wa Lian behind him. He glanced at Bai Xinyue and grunted a response.
It was truly just a single sound, a single word: "Oh."
"Oh," a word that would become one of the most hated in modern online chatting, because it so clearly conveyed a sense of dismissiveness and carelessness.
Other than that "Oh," Wu Sheng said nothing else.
Bai Xinyue froze for a second. After waiting a moment and hearing nothing more, she realized that was the entirety of Wu Sheng’s response.
Awkwardness flashed across her face for an instant, and a hint of disbelief flickered in her eyes.
She could understand Wu Sheng being cold to her before. After all, proud men didn’t like it when women were too capable or tried to help them.
Besides, he was hot and heavy with Su Li back then.
’But it shouldn’t be like this now, right?’
’Appearing before him like this, so far from home... shouldn’t he be surprised? Or moved?’
’How could he be so cold?’
She had gone to great lengths to convince her parents to let her come to this potentially dangerous disaster zone! She had even brought so many relief supplies, and she had dressed up so meticulously!
Bai Xinyue stood frozen for a few seconds before she finally found her voice again.
"Wu Sheng, you look... I almost didn’t recognize you. You must have had a rough few days."
Wu Sheng was basking in the sun, his eyes half-closed in laziness. He grunted another "Mm."
After the precedent set by his "Oh," Bai Xinyue wasn’t too surprised by his one-word reply this time. ’Wu Sheng must be exhausted,’ she thought.
"It looks like you haven’t rested in days. Your eyes are all red. Why don’t you go get cleaned up and rest properly? There are tents down below. You can go take a break."
Wu Sheng’s eyes were bloodshot. Bai Xinyue wasn’t wrong.
Hearing this, Wu Sheng’s other comrades-in-arms also tried to persuade him.
"Yeah, Chief, you should go get some rest. We can handle the afternoon patrol. You haven’t properly closed your eyes in days."
They admired Wu Sheng but also felt for him. Wu Sheng was always looking out for their safety, constantly ordering them to rest, eat, and drink water, but he himself had barely rested at all.
Seeing Bai Xinyue like this, they figured if Wu Sheng went down, he would definitely be able to get some proper rest.
The group’s agreement gave Bai Xinyue a jolt of encouragement. "That’s right, Wu Sheng. Go down and get some rest."
At this, Wu Sheng finally opened his eyes, his expression turning serious.
"Thank you for your kindness, Miss Bai, and thank you all for helping the disaster victims. I thank you on their behalf. However, Miss Bai, this is not a place you should be."
Bai Xinyue quickly shook her head. "It’s what we ought to do, no thanks are necessary. I came here to see if there was anything I could do to help."
Wu Sheng let out a nearly imperceptible sigh. "Miss Bai, if you truly want to do something to help here, please remember to come prepared."
His eyes swept over Bai Xinyue’s attire. "An outfit like yours, Miss Bai, is completely unsuitable for a place like this."
The smile on Bai Xinyue’s face faltered. She looked down and said, "I... These are the only clothes I have."
She was telling the truth. She had come specifically to meet Wu Sheng, so of course she had to be meticulously dressed.
"I didn’t think it through before I came. I didn’t realize these clothes would be inappropriate. I can go get a change of clothes."
As she looked down and explained, she seemed particularly pitiful and helpless.
But Wu Sheng remained unmoved. "I’m not criticizing you, Miss Bai. Whether you change or not is up to you. I said you shouldn’t be here because the danger hasn’t been completely eliminated yet."
"You’re delicate and pampered, Miss Bai. If there were an accident, or if something happened and we couldn’t rescue you in time, that would be terrible."
Wu Sheng looked up, meeting Bai Xinyue’s gaze directly. "Out of respect for our acquaintance, I’ll offer you a piece of advice, Miss Bai: it would be best for you to leave this place as soon as possible."
Bai Xinyue breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you for your concern, Wu Sheng. I..."
Wu Sheng cut her off. "I’m not joking. I know the news reports all say the danger here has passed, but nothing is ever certain. It’s entirely possible for a new danger to arise where a rescue can’t reach you in time."
Even though Bai Xinyue was the one who brought the relief supplies, Wu Sheng was still bluntly telling her to leave. And he was speaking the truth.
’Someone like Bai Xinyue would be nothing but a burden here. The farther away she goes, the better.’
Wu Sheng had been incredibly blunt. The people around them knew he had a point, but seeing such a delicate young woman, they quickly chimed in to smooth things over.
"The Chief’s right. He’s just looking out for your safety, Miss Bai. It would be best if you could leave."
After a few people said their piece, the color returned to Bai Xinyue’s face.
"Thank you all for your concern. I understand what you mean."
She thanked them with a smile but said nothing about leaving.
’She had gone to so much trouble to get here. How could she possibly leave just like that?’
’Just as everyone said, Wu Sheng was only saying this because he cared about her. She wasn’t angry.’
’Of course, she wasn’t scared either. At most, she would just have to be a little more careful.’
’There were so many rescuers here. They had saved so many people. If something did happen, wouldn’t they be there for her, too?’
Bai Xinyue exchanged a few more words with the others, then saw that Wu Sheng had already leaned back and closed his eyes again, looking as if he’d said all he had to say and couldn’t be bothered with her anymore.
She didn’t know if Wu Sheng was really asleep or just had his eyes closed, but she had the good sense not to call out to him again.
She politely and quietly bid farewell to the others, then turned and left.
On her way back, she glanced at her own clothes, then at her driver who was trying to keep things clean for her, and motioned for him to stop.
She thought about the filthy clothes and mud-caked shoes Wu Sheng was wearing, and she stopped trying to leap around the puddles of muddy water.
She resigned herself to letting the muddy water splash onto her.
’A little dirt is just a little dirt. There’s still plenty of time.’
Wu Sheng really was asleep. He was so exhausted he had reached the point where he could fall asleep the instant he closed his eyes.
Having said what needed to be said to Bai Xinyue and sent her away as intended, he seized the opportunity to rest.
After Bai Xinyue left, the mud-caked men, who had just finished eating, followed Wu Sheng’s lead. One by one, they leaned back where they sat and drifted off to sleep.
They were currently in a county next to Wucheng, a county that had been hit by a mudslide.
The entire county had been submerged by the mudslide. Wu Sheng had made a timely call to evacuate the county’s residents, but they hadn’t been fast enough. They had only managed to evacuate half of them when the mudslide hit.
The rescue had begun promptly, and the operations in the county were now complete. All the residents had been moved to a safe zone.
The main force was scheduled to move out in the afternoon. This was the final wrap-up at their last station.
Barring any surprises, Wu Sheng’s team would finish their work today and leave tomorrow as well.