Chapter 124 What Did You Say His Name Was?
Right at this moment.
The only sound in their ears was the heavy rain pounding against the windows outside.
After helping the bodyguards move the large boulders that had fallen onto the road from the mountain, and spending another hour clearing the mud from the road, William rushed to Hillwater Village as soon as the road was passable.
His mind was entirely on Sophia's safety. He hadn't even had time to properly treat the wounds on his hands, just roughly disinfected them.
William had also just wiped himself down with hot water, and now his wet wounds were starting to hurt.
Sophia quietly drank her chicken soup.
Mainly because she didn't know what to say to William.
Suddenly, William deliberately placed his more severely injured hand on the table, where Sophia would immediately see it if she looked over.
Sure enough, the next second.
Sophia's sharp eyes caught sight of the wounds on the back and palm of William's hand - shocking gashes one after another.
She didn't want to ask about it, but thinking that William had gotten injured while coming to find her, her conscience bothered her.
Sophia asked, "What happened to your hand?"
William's eyes flickered, "The road collapsed on the way here. Had to clear it before we could get through."
His casual "clear it" actually meant working alongside all the bodyguards for two or three hours to barely clear a passable road.
"Came in a hurry, didn't have time to treat it."
William's eyes revealed an unfathomable darkness as he said lightly, "It hurts a bit now. Do you have a first aid kit here?"
His words and actions were too calm. Sophia had someone bring over a first aid kit.
The bodyguard who brought the kit knew a bit about bandaging. Seeing the many small stones embedded in the wounds, he knew it would be troublesome to treat.
William said nothing, letting the bodyguard treat his wounds.
Half an hour passed.
Sophia looked at the small stones that had been cleaned out and placed on the table, her eyes showing some complexity.
And this was just one hand - the other hand hadn't been treated yet.
She couldn't read William's thoughts and didn't want to have any more feelings about it.
Now, two years after their separation, he suddenly showed up and started treating her kindly.
She felt like she had never truly understood William.
No matter how strong the feelings once were, they slowly fade under the test of time.
When they first reunited, Sophia still had some lingering emotions, but now there was truly nothing left.
While treating his wounds, William kept his eyes on her face. He naturally saw the complex emotions in her eyes, too.
He didn't know how to explain, or rather prove, his change.
He couldn't very well say that he belatedly developed feelings for Sophia and regretted his past actions, could he?
Sophia stopped looking at William's hands and took out her phone, only to find there was no signal.
She simply opened her photo album and started looking at pictures of the children.
Finally, both of William's injured hands were cleaned and wrapped in white bandages, looking quite serious.
William had brought quite a few bodyguards, but fortunately, with some fixing up, the three courtyards could squeeze everyone in.
What surprised Sophia was that he was actually willing to share a room with Monkey and the others.
Hillwater Village's drinking water came from underground wells.
The heavy rain increased surface runoff, causing the groundwater level to rise in the short term.
The water the villagers had collected was all for drinking. Taking a comfortable shower like in the city was impossible.
Sophia simply wiped herself down with hot water and changed into dry, warm clothes.
She sat on a chair by the door, watching the rain falling straight down outside, her thoughts wandering.
When they came back earlier, the rain had lessened considerably, but now it was heavy again.
Sophia worried that if the rain continued like this, flash floods were very likely.
Given Hillwater Village's geographical location, the villagers wouldn't even have time to run.
She had heard from Gerald that all the young people from Hillwater Village had gone out to work, leaving only the elderly and children. If something really happened, the consequences would be unthinkable.
Tomorrow she needed to have Gerald quickly take the villagers to the county town to wait it out, just in case.
The room William was staying in was right across from hers. Through the misty rain in the courtyard, Sophia in the distance looked like a painting veiled in gauze.
A bolt of lightning split the sky, pulling Sophia back from her wandering thoughts. She looked up to see that tall figure half-leaning against the doorframe across the way.
Sophia got up and directly closed her door.
That night, without the rattling windows, she slept relatively soundly.
The next morning, before dawn.
Sophia was awakened by knocking. William's voice came from outside, "We need to leave the village right away."
Having slept in her jacket, she immediately opened the door and asked, "What happened?"
"The rainfall is still increasing. There's a high chance of flash floods and mudslides."
"I've already arranged for vehicles to come. While the rain isn't too heavy right now, we need to leave Hillwater Village quickly!"
It had been too dark yesterday to drive safely.
The vehicles were arranged by William for the villagers - several buses that could transport everyone out.
Monkey had already gone to contact Gerald, leaving him to handle negotiations with the villagers.
But by the time Sophia and William were completely packed, there were only a few villagers on the buses.
Gerald came hurrying over in a raincoat.
She frowned and asked, "What's going on? Won't the villagers leave?"
"Most of the village is elderly and children. They can't bear to leave their things. They refuse to go no matter what."
In the distance, Ollie was helping his grandmother walk over slowly.
Ollie wore a worn raincoat and waved at her, shouting, "Hello—"
The raincoat Sophia had given him was on his grandmother. She nodded at him and told him to help his grandmother onto the bus first.
With a bodyguard's guidance, Ollie helped his grandmother onto the first bus.
William had the first bus, which was two-thirds full, leave first. He had already booked a hotel in the county town where these people could go directly to stay, with all expenses paid by him.
Gerald stood nearby with rain-soaked paper, checking off Ollie and his grandmother's names.
Sophia glanced at the list - more than half the names weren't checked off yet.
"There are still over a hundred people in the village who won't leave. They say they'd rather die than leave the village."
Gerald stamped his feet anxiously and said irritably, "We're offering them free hotel stays and three meals a day, and they still won't go. What more do they want?"
He was angry, but he didn't let it stop him.
After finishing the count for the first bus, he hurried back to the village to persuade more people to leave.
"Let's go persuade people." Sophia headed into the village with Monkey and the others.
The rain was clearly heavier than yesterday. At this rate, by tonight, they might be swept away by flash floods in the middle of the night.
Mark, who had gone out to check the situation, came speeding across the bridge in his car.
"Mr. Smith, the water level has risen."
"The satellite map shows there's a dam not far from the mountain. If they open the floodgates later, one of the tributaries flows right into the river outside Hillwater Village."
William's face was stern. Hillwater Village was downstream. Once the dam released water, combined with the heavy rainfall...
"Get people, bring rope, and tie up anyone who won't leave!"