Under the moonlight

When Huang Meng woke up, she found herself lying in a room. She propped herself up and sat up. The room was simply furnished with a bed, a single wardrobe, and a desk by the window. There was nothing else.

She got out of bed and walked around a few steps, then touched herself all over and didn't find anything unusual. She walked around the room and found a small bathroom just two steps away from the door. She opened the door and went in to check. Although Jian Xiaoke had everything she needed, she didn't lack anything.

Huang Meng went to the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror. She was covered in grime and her already not-so-fair skin now looked only grayish-black. Her thin face was exactly the effect she had been trying to achieve when she was desperately dieting. She never thought that she would achieve her goal in just a few days. Her eyes also seemed to be a little bigger than before because of her thinness.

Huang Meng leaned on the sink, looking at herself in the mirror. She felt a sense of unreality. Just yesterday, she was in that dilapidated city filled with corpses.

"Knock knock knock~" A few knocks on the door pulled Huang Meng back to reality. She turned on the tap, quickly washed her face, and opened the door, but only cracked it open.

She hid behind the door, watching the person coming warily. Xu Ao tilted his head and looked at Huang Meng with some curiosity. After seeing the wariness in her eyes, he waved the food he was holding in front of her and said, "Miss, if you don't open the door, I can't go in. Don't worry, this is the C country embassy. You are safe here."

Huang Meng peeked at him through the crack in the door. He was wearing a dark blue suit with a badge pinned to his left breast—the symbol of country C. Only then did Huang Meng feel reassured enough to open the door completely. She stood to the side of the door and whispered, "Please come in."

Xu Ao smiled slightly as he entered and placed the food on the table. After putting the food down, he didn't intend to leave but instead pulled up a chair and sat down.

Seeing that Huang Meng was still standing by the door, he beckoned her over. Huang Meng, somewhat puzzled, closed the door and went over to sit opposite him.

Looking at the man opposite her, who was about the same age as her, with fair and delicate skin, double-lidded eyes, and rather long eyelashes, and with a pair of rimless glasses on, the words "refined scoundrel" immediately came to Huang Meng's mind.

He noticed Huang Meng was sizing him up, and forced a very official smile, saying, "Hello, I'm a clerk at the embassy, ​​and temporarily in charge here. Yesterday, you fainted at the embassy entrance, holding our country's passport and ID card, which we've already checked; these are yours. So, as your clerk, I'm here today to ask you some questions. Is that alright?"

As Huang Meng listened to his introduction, she was more concerned about the food he had brought to the table. She had barely eaten anything since yesterday, except for a few bites in the morning. The aroma of the food was making her stomach rumble. She looked at Xu Ao and said, "Can I eat while I talk?"

Xu Ao looked at her, smiled, and nodded. "Of course."

Huang Meng also took the food and ate it without any hesitation. Although she was extremely hungry, she still ate in a very refined manner. She knew that after a long period of hunger, she couldn't eat too quickly or too much at once, otherwise her stomach would not be able to handle it. Besides, there was a handsome and refined man sitting opposite her, the kind described in novels. She was also embarrassed. No matter what she had been through, she was still a young girl who had just fallen in love.

Xu Ao opened his notebook, laid it out on the table, and began asking questions.

Did you see any mercenaries while you were in the city?

"No, only those I saw outside the embassy yesterday. They're all in the city, all residents."

What brings you here? Do you have any other relatives or friends here?

"No. It's a friend of mine. He just graduated from university and didn't know what to do. I happened to study a less commonly taught language, so this friend introduced me to this job as a translator."

"So, what were your original plans for these few days?"

"The original plan was for one week."

Have you contacted your family or any of your friends? Do they know what's happening here? Have they contacted you?

"There was no contact. The attack happened suddenly. I was just busy running away. I only kept the essentials with me. I don't know where the rest is."

Huang Meng had almost finished eating. She picked up her mineral water bottle and drank it in big gulps. She hadn't had such a refreshing drink of water for three or four days in a row.

Huang Meng watched as Xu Ao wrote in his notebook. Then he closed his pen and casually clipped it into the notebook. Looking at Huang Meng, he said, "Here's the thing. For now, you can stay here and make sure you're safe. There are other Chinese who have fled the city in our embassy. They'll be staying on the same floor as you. We'll find an opportunity to arrange for you to return to China as soon as possible."

After saying that, he gave a perfunctory smile, stood up, picked up his notebook, and was about to leave. Huang Meng watched his retreating figure, and suddenly thought of Nasha's family. She blurted out, "What about them?"

Xu Ao turned around and looked at her with a puzzled expression. Huang Meng stood up and looked him straight in the eye, saying, "What about the people in the city? What will happen to them? If there is another attack, they definitely won't survive; they will all die."

Xu Ao looked at Huang Meng for a while and then calmly said, "Based on our country's fundamental principle of never interfering in the internal affairs of other countries, we have no reason to get involved in this matter. Huang Meng, you are also a Party member and a graduate of a prestigious university; you should be well aware of this." After saying that, he turned around and left without hesitation.

Huang Meng stood there, stunned. She thought of Nasha's family, the little baby she had taken home, and the people who had blocked the fence yesterday—their almost desperate eyes were etched into her mind. She thought of the mangled corpses she had seen along the way… Huang Meng covered her face and slowly squatted down. She couldn't bear to think about how much suffering this city would endure if those ruthless people launched another bombing raid; all life would be lost under the relentless bombardment.

She wasn't from S country, nor did she have any saintly sentiments. However, having personally experienced the same pain, despair, and struggle to survive under the gunfire as they did, she found it very difficult to ignore their suffering. Putting aside differences in language and skin color, didn't they also yearn for world peace?

Huang Meng squatted for a while before slowly standing up. She walked to the window and pulled back the curtains. From there, she could see the city not far away. The streets that should have been lined with tall buildings, bustling crowds, and filled with laughter were now deathly silent and lifeless, even under the sun.

Huang Meng slumped heavily onto the bed, staring at the ceiling. Perhaps this was fate. The older generation believed in such things the most, saying that if a person unfortunately contracted a serious illness, it was their destiny. For a city, this was also its destiny. In that case, let it be. Whether it prospered or fell into ruin, what could an ordinary young girl like herself do?

Lost in thought on the bed, she drifted off to sleep again, only to wake up in the dark. Huang Meng sat in the dark for a while before turning on the light. She heard intermittent voices in the hallway outside. Opening the door, she saw people like herself who had fled the city. They were walking in groups. Huang Meng stopped a girl and asked, "Excuse me, where are you going?"

The girl looked no older than Huang Meng. She said expressionlessly, "Let's go to the restaurant on the first floor to eat." After saying that, she left. Huang Meng turned around, went back to wash her face, opened the door, and went downstairs as well.

There were already quite a few people in the lobby on the first floor. Huang Meng could see that some of them were wearing suits and uniforms, which should be the staff here. The others were probably people who had come from the city like her.

Apart from the clinking of dishes, there was almost no talking in the hall. Everyone was either quietly getting their food or focused on eating.

Huang Meng followed the line to get her tray and then slowly walked forward with the group. After getting her food, she randomly found a seat and sat down. While eating, she observed the people around her. Their expressions were indifferent, and everyone seemed preoccupied. They ate as if it were a chore, finishing their food in a few bites and then leaving in a hurry.

Just as Huang Meng was eating, a man's voice came from the far corner of the hall: "Damn it! When can we go back? We've been eating potatoes and carrots every day for the past few days. How long are we going to keep eating like this?"

His voice wasn't loud, but since the hall was quiet, it still attracted a lot of attention. Some of the staff in suits glared at him with displeasure. When the men saw him, he seemed to explode like a firecracker, making an even louder noise than before.

"What are you looking at? Aren't you all just working for others? If you're not happy, come and hit me! I'm the one who earns money, pays taxes, and supports you lot. And now you can't even get us out of here. You're all useless!"

"What did you say?" The one who spoke was a young man in his early twenties. He stood up and stared at the man.

"Everyone heard what you said, are you deaf?"

"You..." The young man, enraged, raised his fist and stepped forward, but was stopped by someone.

Huang Meng saw Xu Ao, looked at the man coldly without saying a word, then whispered a few words of comfort in the young man's ear before patting his shoulder and pressing him down to sit.

The young man was clearly very angry; his face and neck were red.

Xu Ao slowly walked to the man's side, pulled up a chair and sat down. He loosened his tie with one hand and said coldly, "If you've had enough of living, I can send you out right now. If you want to stay here, don't cause trouble. We're almost out of food, and the outside is blocked by mercenaries. We don't know when supplies will arrive. If you don't like the food, stay in your room and don't let them come out and spoil other people's appetites, understand? Here, even if you're Chinese, I can still deal with you. We also have ways to punish disunited Chinese like you."

After Xu Ao finished speaking, he leaned back in his chair and looked at the man opposite him. Although the man was still very unconvinced, he didn't say anything, glared at him fiercely, and then left.

Xu Ao retied his tie and strode away.

Huang Meng sat not far away watching all of this. He had just said that the food supplies were running low and that the country was under blockade by mercenaries. She hadn't heard him clearly, but she had a feeling that it wasn't a good thing.