Chapter 308: Doors That Can Open

Jingwei held the cover back while Shichen opened the equipment bag.

Wind kept lifting the wet fabric toward his face, and he folded it over the rail before reaching in to help.

Beneath the seat, the compartment was dry. He ran his fingers along the inside edge, checking the corners before accepting the first package Shichen handed him.

There were supplies for getting people out of the water and keeping them alive until help arrived, though very little of it would support six people for long.

Jingwei set a first-aid pouch beside the wrapped blankets and passed the remaining items to Qinghe, who crouched on the sheltered side of the boat to examine them.

Zhiyi stood close to Hanchuan, keeping the notebook beneath the edge of the cover while she wrote.

Her damp hair had begun slipping out of its tie, and she brushed it away with the back of her wrist whenever the wind blew it across the page.

"We’d need to add food and drinking water," Qinghe said, returning the first-aid pouch after checking its contents. "This is useful, but it isn’t everything we’d want if someone were hurt and we couldn’t get back aboard."

Hanchuan leaned over Zhiyi’s shoulder to read what she had written.

Jingwei watched his friend’s hand settle at the back of her neck, shielding her from the wind while he considered the small pile of supplies.

"We’ll put together what we can carry without crowding ourselves out," Hanchuan said. "Enough to leave with, already packed. I don’t want us running through corridors looking for a bottle while the ship goes down."

Zhiyi’s pencil stopped, and Jingwei looked toward her before he could help it.

She was watching the open compartment, her mouth pressed into a thin line.

He remembered her standing in the little boat while the tower broke behind them, wearing clothes that had never been meant to keep her warm outside.

He reached across the side and took the notebook from her.

"I’ll hold this while you warm your hands," Jingwei told her, tucking the pencil into the fold. "You’ve written enough for us to start with."

She rubbed her fingers together before slipping them beneath Hanchuan’s open jacket.

Hanchuan drew her against his side without interrupting Zeyu, who had been reading the plate fixed inside the stern.

"There’s room for all six of us," Zeyu said, looking along the seats. "I still want to check the motor and the fuel before anyone starts calling it our way out. The boat can be sound and still leave us rowing."

Shichen had opened the manual against his knee. The wind caught a page, and Jingwei held it down while he found the drawing he wanted.

"And we need to learn how to lower it," Shichen added, pointing toward the lifting equipment. "I want to understand the whole procedure before we put anyone inside. Getting it halfway down and stuck against the hull wouldn’t help us."

Jingwei glanced over the rail at the water below. He could imagine the boat swinging there while they argued over a control they should have learned to use earlier.

They had once practiced evacuating buildings they believed would protect them for years. He wasn’t going to let finding a dry bed make him forget why they needed another plan.

"We’ll practice while we have time to make mistakes," Jingwei said, helping Shichen close the manual. "Once you’ve checked it, everyone learns. It can’t depend on the two of you being here."

They packed the equipment back where it belonged and secured the cover.

Before leaving, Hanchuan checked the fastening himself, then brought Zhiyi toward the accommodation doors.

She kept one hand inside his jacket until they reached shelter, where he caught her fingers and rubbed them between his palms.

Jingwei followed them inside with the notebook. The lights were still on in the corridor, and the change from the wet deck made him pause.

He hadn’t expected to notice them every time he entered a room, but he looked up anyway before closing the heavy door behind them.

By the time he reached the galley, Zeyu had already pulled a pot from the rack. Shichen joined him to check the stove, leaving Qinghe to find plates while Hanchuan took Zhiyi upstairs for dry clothes.

Jingwei put the notebook on the mess-room table and began clearing away the breakfast tins. He could hear Zeyu opening cupboards, followed by the scrape of the pot being moved across the stove.

The smell of warming food reached him a few minutes later, and his stomach tightened so sharply that he stopped with an empty bowl in his hand.

"We’re having noodles," Zeyu announced from the doorway, watching Jingwei’s face with a tired smile. "Sit down before you start looking at me like that. They’re still hard."

"I was wondering whether you needed someone to taste them," Jingwei replied, carrying the bowl into the galley. "It’s been a while since you cooked. You might be out of practice."

Zeyu laughed and took it from him, then sent him back for the remaining bowls.

When Zhiyi returned, she had changed into another loose shirt and a pair of trousers rolled above her ankles.

Hanchuan carried a towel behind her, still trying to dry the ends of her hair while she walked.

She stopped beside Jingwei’s chair and rested her hand on his shoulder, looking toward the food being carried out.

Jingwei pulled the chair beside him away from the table.

"Come and sit here, sweetheart," Jingwei said, keeping hold of her hand as she settled. "Zeyu’s threatening to make us wait until everyone has a bowl."

"I’m asking you not to eat straight out of the pot," Zeyu replied, setting it on the folded towel Qinghe had placed in the middle of the table. "There’s a difference."

Zhiyi smiled as Hanchuan sat on her other side. He finished with her hair before taking his bowl, and she leaned toward him for a kiss while Jingwei loosened the lid on her water bottle.

For the first few minutes, they were too occupied with the food to discuss anything.

Zhiyi blew on each spoonful, then forgot and took one too quickly.

Hanchuan passed her the water while Zeyu watched with the satisfied expression Jingwei remembered from their kitchen at Xiling.

Shichen eventually reached for the notebook, keeping it well away from the broth.

"The cargo list has cooking equipment on it," Shichen said, turning to the page Zeyu had copied. "There are also clothes, bedding, and hardware. Once we’ve finished checking the rooms, we should see how much we can reach without moving containers."

Jingwei looked through the window toward the rows stretching along the deck. They had spent the day finding enough to wash and cook, but most of the ship remained unopened.

Hanchuan set his spoon down and drew the notebook closer.

"Find the cargo plan after dinner," Hanchuan said, looking between Shichen and Zeyu. "Tomorrow, I want to know which doors we can open."