Chapter 95

Qi Xia steadied himself and looked up at the stairs.

In the midst of this massive shaking, the old building began to develop numerous cracks.

Qingdao is a coastal city where earthquakes are rarely seen, so the buildings here were not designed to withstand earthquakes of any significant magnitude.

Qi Xia was worried that the building could collapse at any moment, and he needed to find Yu Nian'an as quickly as possible.

"An! Can you hear me?! Come down quickly!" Qi Xia shouted again.

The entire building was shaking, and the loud noise quickly drowned out Qi Xia's voice.

"An..." Qi Xia steadied himself and continued running upstairs.

However, the earthquake disrupted the balance of even a normal person, let alone running up the stairs. Qi Xia felt his legs bruised, but he still climbed upward using his hands and feet.

If Yu Nian'an were to die in this earthquake, Qi Xia would have no reason to live on.

"Damn... it's still shaking..."

Qi Xia fell to the ground again, losing all sensation in his knees.

He had seen news reports that the most intense earthquakes usually last only a short time, no more than three minutes.

But Qi Xia felt that the ground had been shaking for nearly five minutes, and it showed no signs of stopping.

How massive must this earthquake be?

Finally, Qi Xia, covered in bruises, reached the third floor.

The building was still shaking, and Qi Xia wanted to knock on the door, but he suddenly remembered that Yu Nian'an might be hiding under a table. Running around recklessly would be even more dangerous, so he could only take out the key from his pocket.

But he couldn't insert the key into the lock.

He was shaking, his hands were shaking, and the building was shaking.

Everything in his field of vision was shaking, and there were still loud noises coming from the distance, even the sound of glass breaking.

"Damn! Damn!"

Qi Xia held the key with both hands and finally managed to insert it into the lock.

With a "click," the door opened.

"An!! Are you there?" Qi Xia shouted, but the room was silent.

He suddenly thought of something.

No one responded, which meant only one possibility.

Yu Nian'an had already left the house.

Without a word, Qi Xia turned to leave, but he suddenly remembered the phone call Yu Nian'an had made to him.

"No, there's a second possibility..."

She had fallen ill!

Qi Xia was caught in a dilemma. The building was shaking more violently, and if he didn't get out soon, he would surely die here.

But he absolutely could not abandon Yu Nian'an.

"An! Are you there?"

Qi Xia pushed the door open and entered the room. The empty room was silent, and the few pieces of simple furniture were scattered due to the earthquake. Qi Xia glanced under the small table, but it was empty.

"Not here, could she be in the bedroom?"

He supported himself on the single sofa and struggled forward, reaching the bedroom door in a few steps.

If Yu Nian'an was still at home, she could only be here.

"An!"

When he pushed the door open, Qi Xia's expression showed a hint of relief. The bedroom was empty, with only a desk and a chair in sight.

Qi Xia let out a long breath. He knew that Yu Nian'an had most likely already escaped to a safe place. Even if he died now, it wouldn't be so terrible.

Just as he was about to turn and run, he suddenly froze as if struck by lightning.

Something seemed off.

A chilling sensation gradually rose in Qi Xia's heart, making his hair stand on end, and he couldn't calm down.

In the midst of the massive earthquake, Qi Xia turned his head and looked at the eerie "bedroom."

Why was there only a desk and a chair?

Where was the bed?

He completely ignored the small pieces of debris falling from the ceiling and walked to the desk. In his memory, there was a photo of himself and Yu Nian'an on the desk.

But when Qi Xia approached and picked up the photo, he found that the image only showed himself, standing expressionless by the sea, looking at the camera, leaving a lonely photo.

"An...?"

Qi Xia seemed to lose his composure, and the balance he had just found disappeared.

He felt dizzy and returned to a stumbling state, falling countless times before crawling to the living room.

There was a single sofa and a small dining table for one person.

This house didn't even have a seat for a second person.

"What a joke..." Qi Xia showed a hint of despair, "What kind of joke are you playing on me...?!"

He remembered something and hurriedly crawled to the door, where a small shoe cabinet was placed.

Qi Xia gritted his teeth and opened the door of the shoe cabinet.

Inside, there was only a pair of men's leather shoes.

This house, from inside to outside, showed no signs of Yu Nian'an ever living here.

Qi Xia suddenly felt weak and sat down on the ground.

The scenes of his time with Yu Nian'an were vivid in his mind.

Her scent, the warmth of her hand, the way her eyes curved when she smiled—every detail was clear in Qi Xia's memory.

But why wasn't she here at all?

Qi Xia couldn't understand.

He couldn't understand what was happening.

Yu Nian'an had called him less than an hour ago; how could she not be here...?

Qi Xia shakily took out his phone from his pocket and dialed "A" again.

He slowly swallowed, his whole body trembling, as if he already had a premonition.

"Hello, the number you dialed is invalid. Please check and dial again."

As the cold bilingual announcement sounded, Qi Xia's phone fell to the ground.

This was all too terrifying.

Yu Nian'an... doesn't exist?

"Impossible..." Qi Xia's eyes suddenly became determined. He could clearly recall the first time he met Yu Nian'an and every day they spent together.

She couldn't possibly not exist.

"Qi Xia, do you know?" Yu Nian'an's voice echoed in his mind, "There are many paths in this world, and each person has their own."

Qi Xia suddenly stood up, standing firm in the shaking room. After a moment's thought, he walked back to the bedroom and pulled open the wardrobe without a word.

Among the many men's clothes, there was an old white shirt.

He turned the white shirt over and saw a cartoon sheep patch sewn on the chest.

This was sewn by Yu Nian'an.

Qi Xia never sewed clothes; he would just throw away old ones. If Yu Nian'an didn't exist, this sheep shouldn't exist either.

"Damn... I understand..." Qi Xia lifted his head coldly and looked out the window, "The 'End of the World'... are you trying to drive me insane? Are you trying to make me think I'm a madman?"

He slowly stood up, his expression filled with unprecedented hatred.

"Even if you are 'gods,' I will make you return Yu Nian'an to me."

As he spoke, Qi Xia saw huge cracks appearing in the sky outside, with darkness like an endless universe within the cracks.

The entire ceiling collapsed at that moment, and with a world-destroying roar, Qi Xia was buried under the rubble.

In his final moments, Lin Ping's voice echoed in his ears.

"I am really curious about you."

"I don't mean to offend you, but you are a liar. What kind of person is your wife?"

"You have a wife... even if you live together, do you sit and sleep every night?"