Ling Shengâs heart clenched. The watermelon in her hand suddenly fell to the ground. Her eyes were red as she looked at her phone, trying her best to remain calm. She took a deep breath before asking, âWhat are you talking about? What happened to my grandfather? What did you see?â
Si Chengluo said that he had just taken a nap in the car on his way to shoot a program and had a dream. He dreamed that she was kneeling in a mourning hall in her mourning clothes and crying until she fainted.
He saw the black-and-white photo of an old man in the mourning hall. He had seen her family portrait on her WeChat Moments before and recognized the person in the photo, confirming that it was her grandfather. According to the date of the funeral he had heard in his dreams, the date of the incident was today.
Ling Sheng thanked him and hung up in a panic before calling her grandfather. A robotic female voice came from the phone, but the call could not be connected.
She called twice, but the call could not connect. The number she called was not in the service area.
She was so anxious that her eyes were red. Trembling, she dialed a number again, calling Grandma this time. She found out that Grandpa had gone hiking with a few old friends and had left before dawn. She pressed down on her heart and didnât dare let Grandma notice her abnormality. She only said in a low voice, âGrandma, I got it.â
âSheng Sheng, whatâs wrong? What happened? Are you crying?â When Su Xiyin heard her voice, she felt that something was amiss. It seemed like she had cried. Her heart was in her mouth as she asked worriedly in a soft voice, âDid the people on your motherâs side treat you badly? If youâre not used to it, come home. Grandpa and Grandma are here!â
âNo, Grandma, donât think too much. I still have something to do. Iâm hanging up first!â Ling Sheng suppressed her voice, her eyes full of tears. How could she dare say that something might happen to Grandpa?
She tried her best to suppress her emotions and persuaded herself time and time again to calm down. Grandpa is as blessed as the vastness of the East Sea and will live as long as the South Mountain. He will definitely be fine, and will definitely live to a hundred years old. She didnât have time to think too much either and hurriedly called her father and Third Master, asking them to find Grandpa quickly and bring him home!
Then, she controlled her frantic worry and fear and dialed Grandpaâs number again. She called Grandpa, Grandpa Rong, and Grandpa Jiang, but no matter how many times she called, she still couldnât get through.
She was on the verge of going crazy listening to the robotic female voice. She didnât know how long she waited, and when she had already started to despair, the call finally connected.
Huo Xiao had invited the old masters of the Jiang and Rong family to climb the mountain together. When he heard that a new air-raid shelter had been discovered on the mountain, he wanted to go in and take a look.
There were three entrances to the air-raid shelter. They said that they could meet up when they walked to the center of the place.
The three of them had a discussion and each of them entered through a cave mouth to see where they could meet up at and investigate what was inside the cave.
When people got old, they didnât have many hobbies. Yinâer had even laughed at them for growing old, yet were getting more childish. They were like children. They still wanted to go on an adventure!
But she didnât know that no matter how old a man was, there would still be a child living in his heart. Especially when he was with his brothers, be it climbing the mountain or exploring the bomb shelter, he was happy!
At this age, every time they came out to play, it would be one less time to spend together. No one knew when they would just collapse. Naturally, they would play as they pleased while their bodies were still strong.
âBeloved Grandchild Number One, Beloved Grandchild Number One. This is Goshawk Number Two. Please answer if you hear me.â
âBeloved Grandchild One has already reached twenty meters from the entrance of the cave. Everything is currently safe, and there are no suspicious living creatures found.â Huo Xiao held the walkie-talkie and replied, âBeloved Grandchild Number Oneâs report is complete.â
âAll right, Goshawk Number Two has received the message. Please continue forward. Take note of the safety under your feet. Donât look around. Keep in touch at all times.â
Before Huo Xiao hung up the walkie-talkie, his phone rang. His eyes lit up, and he answered the call with a wide smile. His voice softened. âDear granddaughter, whatâs wrong?â
There was no signal in the bomb shelter. He had only caught the signal in an instant just now, and there was intermittent sound, so he couldnât hear it clearly.
Ling Sheng could not hear what the person on the other end of the line was saying at all. But the moment the phone connected, her taut nerves suddenly collapsed. Her tears fell drop by drop, and her voice was hoarse. âGrandpa, Grandpa! Grandpa, can you hear me? Grandpa, where are you? Iâm Sheng Sheng! Grandpa!â
Her voice was very loud, and she shouted very loudly. It was as if as long as her voice was loud enough, the other party would hear her. Her tears fell while she was shouting.
But with the intermittent signal on the other side, she couldnât hear anything. She could only hear the crackling sound of static.
âBeloved Grandchild Number One, Beloved Grandchild Number One. If you hear me, please answer. This is Cheetah Number Three. Please report your location.â
Huo Xiao was talking to his dear grandchild, but there was no signal in an instant again. He was unhappy and said into the walkie-talkie, âThis is Beloved Grandchild Number One. Stand by for orders. Iâm going out for a while.â
âWhat are you going out for? Where are you going?â
âMy dear granddaughter called. Iâm going out to call her.â Huo Ci frowned and looked at his phone. There was still no signal.
What did my dear granddaughter say just now? What did she want to say to me? He seemed to have heard his dear granddaughter crying just now.
âYou old thing, youâre just a slave to your granddaughter. Canât you wait until we get out before you call her?â On the opposite end, Cheetah Number Threeâthe old master of the Rong family, Rong Zhengguoâteased him.
This old fellow doted on his granddaughter like the apple of his eye. When he came out to climb the mountain and enter the bomb shelter, his code name just had to be âBeloved Grandchild Number Oneâ. It had to be âNumber Oneâ. If he didnât get the number âOneâ, he wasnât happy. He wanted to be the number one in spoiling his granddaughterâ¦
âIâm happy to! I canât even wait for a minute! Are you jealous?!â Huo Xiao snorted, turned around, and ran out.
While listening to the call, he felt that his dear granddaughter seemed to be very anxious. What if an urgent matter was delayed? Would they be responsible?
âNot jealous, Iâm not jealous. I have more granddaughters than you. Hahaha!â Old Master Jiang, Jiang You, laughed out loud when he heard the mumbled âget lostâ.
What could have happened for Sheng Sheng to call? She must have missed her grandfather and wanted to talk to him. Look at how anxious he was. But having a granddaughter was indeed terrific. What else could they do? He could only pamper her. She was his granddaughter after all, so he would help to pamper her too.
Huo Xiao had just left the cave; he jogged a few steps out. He raised his phone and narrowed his eyes while looking for a signal.
He climbed to the boulder opposite him to look for a signal. There was finally a signal. Before he could make the call, Ling Sheng called again and he answered it with a smile. âDear granddaughterâ¦â
On the other side, there was a loud bang that suppressed all of his voice. When the mountain rocks flew everywhere, Huo Xiao was hit by the rocks and rolled down the boulder without control.
Ling Sheng only heard a loud boom on her phone before it went silent. The moment her body stiffened, her eyes tightened suddenly.
Nangong Lengyu and Nangong Lengmo came back from buying things. Just as they pushed open the door, they heard her shout heartbreakingly, âGrandpa!â