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Boom!
A clap of thunder rang out, accompanied by the sound of rain and the howling wind outside. It felt a bit unnerving. Chen Xu hid in a clothing store, staring at the increasingly dark sky outside, and frowned involuntarily. He glanced at his phone, 1:45 p.m. The rain had been going on for over three hours, showing no signs of stopping.
With wind this strong, it had to be at least a category ten.
"But how could there be a typhoon at this time?"
He found it a bit strange. When he entered the dreamscape, it was September, and now four months had passed; it should be January. He'd never heard of a typhoon in January.
Huh?
That couldn't be right. January was one of the coldest months, yet the weather now felt no different from September, very hot, to the point that he needed the air conditioner on at night.
Thinking this way, he was reassured. After all, nothing was surprising in a dream.
This was likely an intentionally illogical setting to remind those in the dreamscape that this wasn't reality.
"My stomach is so hungry."
He patted his stomach, realizing he couldn't just sit there waiting, as the rain didn't seem like it would let up any time soon. He needed to find something to eat.
He regretted not bringing any snacks with him.
He thought dejectedly. Though there was food in the car, returning to it wasn't realistic under these circumstances. The car was several hundred meters away and with such strong winds, he dared not venture onto the main road.
Earlier, he heard the sound of heavy objects falling several times, unsure if it was broken branches or signboards.
In any case, it was dangerous outside.
However, he had already searched this shop and found nothing to eat. He couldn't continue staying there; he had to find some food elsewhere.
He remembered there was a convenience store a few shops away, it was bound to have food.
He took off his backpack, removing items he wouldn't need temporarily to lighten the load, and then pushed open the door.
Whoosh—
As soon as he pulled the door, the powerful wind pushed against him, forcing him to step back. Raindrops pounded against his face, making him lower his center of gravity, lower his head, and head out.
Once outside, the wind became even stronger, laden with rain, quickly drenching him from head to toe.
He clung to the wall, inching forward with difficulty. A mere dozen or so meters took him minutes to traverse.
Upon reaching the convenience store, its open door let in the wind, leaving everything in chaos, with goods strewn everywhere.
He didn't linger, heading straight to the back warehouse, pulling open the door to hide inside. Then he set about closing the door with effort.
With a thud, the sound of wind and rain was shut out. Everything seemed to fall into a peaceful silence.
By then, he was thoroughly soaked, his wet clothes clinging uncomfortably to his body. He pulled out spare clothes from his backpack.
"The backpack really is high-quality, waterproof performance is excellent."
He praised as he changed into dry clothes, feeling rejuvenated. Then he picked up a flashlight and began searching for food. The warehouse wasn't large but was packed with snacks and drinks.
He grabbed a pack of cookies and a carton of milk, sitting on a crate of mineral water, listening to the whirring wind seeping through the door cracks, and started eating his lunch.
As he ate, he suddenly worried about Luo Xiyun, who was still at the base. He had no idea how she was doing.
"Why worry about her, when she has food, drink, and electricity at home, a far better environment than this, as long as she doesn't go out..."
Thinking of this, he suddenly remembered something, "What day is it today? Seems like Wednesday, isn't it?"
He recalled she went out every Wednesday.
He and Luo Xiyun lived next door to each other, and they pretty much lived their own lives, without interfering with each other, as if forming a mutual understanding.
After three months as neighbors, they had only run into each other a handful of times.
But their places were only separated by a wall. Even if they didn't meet, in life, he was constantly aware of her presence.
Waking up in the morning, he could hear watering sounds, upon leaving, he'd see traces of vegetables being picked at the door, and on the way to the "garage," he'd see the trash she threw out.
Moreover, the sound of opening and closing doors, the smell of food while cooking, the clothes hung out to dry every day, all vividly reminded him a woman named Luo Xiyun lived next door.
After three months, without deliberately paying attention, he had a rough understanding of her routine. Knowing she went out every Wednesday morning at nine on her bicycle and returned around eleven.
Today was Wednesday, and with such nice weather in the morning, she must've gone out as scheduled, and this rain started after ten, so she'd undoubtedly run into it.
"That unlucky kid, staying at home wouldn't have been better? Why did she have to go out? And on a bicycle, no less."
He shook his head sympathetically, saying. He grabbed another cookie and stuffed it into his mouth.
This brand of cookies tasted pretty good, though a bit too sweet.
He finished the whole pack in a few bites, tore open another pack, and with two cartons of milk, finally filled his stomach.
"Let's watch some TV."
He took a tablet out from the backpack, preloaded with several series, specifically prepared to pass the time.
This was an urban romance series, and the plot was quite silly. But he had no choice.
Now that the internet was so advanced and fast, everyone watched online, rarely downloading movies and series onto a computer. He'd dismantled dozens of hard drives at the company building and only found a few dozen series, most of which were Korean or American dramas.
However, there were loads of romantic action films from a certain island nation, measured in terabytes.
The wind outside seemed to pick up.
A few minutes into the series, Chen Xu found himself unable to focus, his mind drifting to Luo Xiyun.
"She's a grown woman. When caught in heavy rain, she'll naturally find somewhere to hide. At most, she'll get a bit soaked."
"Maybe she went back home early today."
"Maybe..."
He restlessly turned off the video, pacing the small warehouse, finally coming to a stop with a sigh, "Fine, I better go back and check."
If she really faced trouble, he'd be alone for the next two months.
Thinking so led to action. He slung on the backpack, opened the door, and stepped out.
He struggled against the wind, lowering his center of gravity, taking one laborious step after another. His newly clean clothes quickly got soaked again.
With much difficulty, he reached the parking area, got in the car, wiped his face, then started the engine and drove away.
Rain, carried by the wind, drummed against the car's windshield.
He adjusted the wiper speed to its fastest but still had a blurry view. He dared not drive too fast, carefully watching for obstacles on the road. If the car got wrecked, it would just waste more time.
Once on familiar roads, he finally felt comfortable speeding up.
Forty minutes later, he finally saw the outline of that familiar building. He slammed the accelerator, and with the roar of the engine, the car sped forward.
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