Chapter 573 The Torrential Flood


    To get to the vige, ir and Miller took the tour bus that hispany had hired. There were more


    than ten people on it, and they ranged from executives tomon employees.


    They were going to stay in a guesthouse run by the local vigers. Due to limited resources and


    number of rooms, the employee in charge of amodations made ir stay in a room with a young


    woman, while Miller stayed in another room with a man.


    It was the beginning of July, but the weather was still cold in the South Mountain. People had to wear


    thick coats in the morning and in the evening.


    The guesthouse itself was nested in the mountain. The scenery was spectacr—mountains, valleys,


    nts, and sunshine. Every now and then, a few clouds floated across the range.


    Various kinds of blossoms filled the air with their fragrance, and all the way around a small stream,


    birds chirped pleasantly, jumping here and there among the boughs. The flora was marked mostly by


    willows.


    The woman sharing the room with ir got up early in the morning. The moment she got out of her


    bed, ir, who hadn''t slept wellst night because of the cold and damp air, woke up as well, springing


    out of an uneasy sleep with a tired yawn.


    After that, when the woman went to the bathroom and began to clean herself, the sound of running


    water was too loud for ir to fall asleep again, so she had to get out of bed as well.


    By the time they were ready and went downstairs to have breakfast, it was 7 a.m. and the sun was long


    out. Many of Miller''s colleagues were already in the canteen.


    Miller was sitting at a table nearby with someone from thepany. When he saw ir, he waved at


    her and called out, "ir, over here!"


    ir walked over to his table. To her pleasant surprise, Miller had already brought breakfast for her—


    two boiled eggs, two small dishes of different vors of pickles, two deep-fried dough sticks, and a bowl


    of congee.


    When the man sitting opposite Miller saw ir, his eyes lit up. Green with envy, he teased Miller,


    All text ? N?velD(r)a''ma.Org.


    "Dude, it''s quite a stroke of luck for you. You''ve got yourself such a pretty girlfriend."


    The man had been busyst night; he hadn''t taken the bus here with the others, and had arrived there


    by himself. So this was the first time he and ir had met.


    ir smiled politely at the man. Miller felt proud and told him with a smug smile, "Dude! She''s not my


    girlfriend; she''s my fiance."


    The man gave him a thumbs-up and then turned towards ir, assuring her of a happy life. "Miller is a


    good guy. Although he''s not that young, he will take good care of you. You''ll be a happy wife."


    ir took a sip of her congee and gave the man a smile. "I know."


    Actually, ever since she and Miller had gotten engaged, they had been pretty busy, and this was the


    first time they had been together for such a long while.


    ''I''ll stay in Y City from now on. I think we''ll spend more time together in the future, '' she thought to


    herself.


    She had stayed in Ennd long enough to change her taste in food. Congee and pickles, the


    traditional Chinese breakfast, suddenly tasted a bit alien to her. She might need some time to get used


    to it.


    Therefore, she only ate a little before putting down her chopsticks.


    Miller, however, was busy talking about work with his colleague and didn''t notice that ir had eaten a


    very small portion of her breakfast.


    Afraid that she might get hungryter, ir put the two eggs Miller had ordered into a clean, disposable


    food bag and put it into her backpack. Most of the guests had already finished eating and were starting


    to walk outside.


    An old granny, who was clearing away the bowls and chopsticks, raised her head and looked at the sky


    with a deep, lungful sigh. Out of kindness, she then reminded the guests, "You better take some


    umbres with you, dears. I''m afraid it''s going to rain."


    Miller, ir and the man they had been with were about to follow theirpanions when they heard


    the granny''s prophecy. The man waved his phone and replied, "I just checked the weather forecast. It''s


    a sunny day. No need to take umbres."


    ir had left her umbre in her room. Looking back and forth between the man and the old granny,


    she chose to believe thetter. Age is wiser than technology. She stopped walking and told Miller, "I''m


    going to fetch my umbre."


    Miller frowned as he was a little unhappy. But he didn''t turn her down. "I''ll be right here waiting for you.


    Hurry up!"


    ir elerated and hurried upstairs. She opened her suitcase, took out her umbre, and then


    hurried back down.


    When she joined Miller and they were about to leave, she heard the old granny ask her son, "I think


    something is not right. Son, is there a rainstorm?"


    Her son was busy cooking in the kitchen as they still had some guests. He was too busy prodding the


    fire with a poker to notice his mother''s mumbles.


    After some hesitation, ir suggested, "Miller, the old granny said there might be a rainstorm. This is


    the mountain area. How about we—"


    Before she could finish speaking, Miller cut her off. He was slightly annoyed by her and the granny''s


    superstitious nature. "You have an umbre, don''t you? If there really is a rainstorm, we can take


    shelter from rain." He grabbed her wrist and led her to catch up to his colleagues.


    "All right." Despite her reluctance, she chose to listen to him.


    Together, they were a group of more than ten people and followed a small path up the hill. After dozens


    of minutes, they saw a clear stream. The water was so clear that they could see fishes swimming in it.


    They jogged and chatted with each other cheerfully. Soon the sun rose even brighter than before.


    Miller''s male colleague said with a smug smile, "I told you. The weather forecast said clearly that there


    would be no rain today. The old granny is too old to keep her mind clear."


    "The weather forecast is not always correct. The granny has lived in the mountain area for so many


    years. I think she can tell more about the weather than the weather department just by looking at the


    sky. We should be careful," ir replied politely with a smile.


    The man cast a scornful nce at her and snorted inwardly, ''It''s true what they say—the prettier a


    woman is, the dumber she is!''


    However, just a few moments afterwards, either karma or nature itself gave him a tight p in his face.


    Several dark clouds soon blocked the sun and threatened to release a big storm. The wind began to


    howl.


    People raised their heads and cried inwardly, ''Oh, no!''


    ir took her umbre out of her backpack with a calm smile.


    Spots of rain began to fall, beating on their faces hard. Not a single person from the men had brought


    an umbre, and only some of the women were carrying umbres with them. They had only four


    umbres in total.


    What was worse, they were unable to find shelter from the rain. Holding ir''s shoulders with one arm,


    Miller held her umbre with the other, guiding her forward in his protective embrace.


    Not ustomed to being in his arms, ir struggled at first, but soon gave up and let Miller take her


    forward.


    They had all underestimated the rain. They had thought it was going to stop soon. But after a while, the


    sudden rainstorm brought the mountain torrents rushing down. The rain had turned into a flood.


    As time went by, even the torrential flood didn''t get weaker. Instead, it became more and more fierce,


    annihting everything in the mountain and bringing down more and more trouble in their path.


    Everyone panicked. They screamed and cursed in distress, a bit the weather but mostly their own


    stupidity. As the saying went, "Cmitiese in session." They not only failed to get under cover,


    but also had to face the torrents.


    They were not the only ones trapped there. Apart from them, there were several dozen other tourists


    too.


    Also, a group of soldiers had been stationed in the vicinity of South Mountain, to ensure the safety of


    people in the surrounding viges. They were unprepared for the downpour, which had urred almost


    instantly without the slightest warning. They had to ask for support from their superiors.


    Two hours passed, but the torrential flood kept rushing down with a terrifying force, showing no


    intentions of stopping.


    The soldiers had lost no time evacuating the vigers. So, luckily, there were no human lives lost. But


    their houses werepletely destroyed and their livestock and grains were all gone.


    Several hundred tourists who had just entered the scenic spot were lucky enough. They were found by


    the soldiers and left in time. Those who had entered a long time ago were not so lucky. The soldiers


    were still searching for them, but they were too far in.


    The rainstorm was getting heavier and heavier, causing great difficulties for the soldiers in their rescue


    mission. Visibility was already down to three or four meters.


    Miller and ir had gotten separated due to the torrential flood. The umbre had been in his hand,


    and he was nowhere to be found.


    Even people who could swim perfectly might have lost their lives in the face of such a powerful flood.


    ir didn''t even know how to swim. She could only walk up the mountain in the heavy rain.