Take My Breath Away

To get to the village, Blair and Miller took the tour bus that his company had hired. There were more than ten people on it, and they ranged from executives to common employees.

They were going to stay in a guesthouse run by the local villagers. Due to limited resources and number of rooms, the employee in charge of accommodations made Blair 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 spectacular—mountains, valleys, plants, 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 Blair got up early in the morning. The moment she got out of her bed, Blair, who hadn't slept well last 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 Blair 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 the company. When he saw Blair, he waved at her and called out, "Blair, over here!"

Blair walked over to his table. To her pleasant surprise, Miller had already brought breakfast for her—two boiled eggs, two small dishes of different flavors of pickles, two deep-fried dough sticks, and a bowl of congee.

When the man sitting opposite Miller saw Blair, his eyes lit up. Green with envy, he teased Miller, "Dude, it's quite a stroke of luck for you. You've got yourself such a pretty girlfriend."

The man had been busy last 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 Blair had met.

Blair 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 Blair, 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."

Blair 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,

Drugged one night by her ex-boyfriend, a mysterious man took advantage of her in an ecstatic night filled with sex.

To take her revenge, she married the man, and used him.

"As long as I'm alive, I'm still his legal wife, while all of you are just his mistresses."

She remained adamant even when he was involved in scandals with other women.

Eventually she stormed off after she learned that he had betrayed her again.But life brought her back to him a few years later, to his astonishment.

stead, it became more and more fierce, annihilating 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, "Calamities come in succession." 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 villages. They were unprepared for the downpour, which had occurred 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 villagers. So, luckily, there were no human lives lost. But their houses were completely 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 Blair had gotten separated due to the torrential flood. The umbrella 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. Blair didn't even know how to swim. She could only walk up the mountain in the heavy rain.