"They go home." | CoronaDiaries 02

It took Moses forty years to bring the Israelites out of Egypt and back to Canaan. In normal times, it takes less than ten hours to take a flight from London to Beijing.

But now what?

I have no idea.

All I know is that some people go through the Netherlands, some stop in Dubai; some stop for one stop, some stop for two stops, three stops and four stops. Some are economy class, some are business jets. Trembling, masks, glasses and even protective clothing all the way. Frightened, lest they have traveled thousands of miles to the country, but there is a decree issued to add a little fuel to the plane and let the original team return intact. It is said that Beijing no longer accepts direct inbound international flights, but must stop and test in surrounding cities. Even if they pass the test, those returning to China face a mandatory 14-day quarantine. Long way back.

But this long way back was already overcrowded. We have seen crowded airports, full planes, tens of thousands of people returning home every day, and sporadic "backflow cases" that are constantly being exposed. In the group of international students, people exchanged their own arrangements. Those who stayed were sturdy, and those who retreated were fully armed. There is also the return route that changes rapidly with the entry and exit policies of various countries, like the Yellow River that is constantly diverted, and stretches to the east with an uncertain attitude.

I met my roommate who was also studying law during lunch. She's taking a barrister's course, and she's complained once, that their exams were postponed until August, a few days before. Today's news is that the exam will not be postponed: it will be "cancelled" directly. As for what to do next, the relevant departments only said "waiting for notification". So she had booked a ticket yesterday and will fly back to her home country in a few days.

Another roommate's mother crossed the sea to return to England before France closed the country. His own university has been closed, and the laboratory is not easy to enter, so he is also ready to pack up and go home to reunite with his family. Perhaps it will be more reassuring to be reunited with family at this time of the storm than they were at Christmas three months ago.

In the morning, I went to the high street supermarket to buy some cans, drinks and wine: dig deep and store grain. The shelves of this supermarket are obviously sparser than usual. As for the already famous toilet paper area, there is not a single piece of paper left. Some items were tagged with a two-piece limit. There was no swarming panic, but the nervousness of an enemy.

Go home and rest for a while, sitting in the study room of the apartment. Originally I was the only one, but a compatriot came in after a while. He and I were often the only two in this study room. In fact, we had already met each other, but we had never spoken—he wore gold-rimmed glasses, and his gestures with a woman’s meticulousness made me shy away. Mr. Gold Wire Glasses came in and first looked at the table top of an empty table. He seemed greatly surprised—perhaps because there was something on the table. In short, he took out a bottle of spray and sprayed the entire table and all four chairs fiercely before choosing one of them to sit down and take out the computer.

So rich, how much alcohol can be wasted. I watched him play with his mobile phone while sitting on the throne that he had completely cleaned with biochemical means, and sighed in my heart.

Looking out from the two large floor-to-ceiling windows, England's rare sunshine is shining brightly on the intersection of cars and cars. Time is always passing, and the streets are still peaceful. Pedestrians are still shouting indignantly at the earphones, the workers are still busy repairing the substation box that will never be repaired on the roadside, and the bus is still walking away with its red buttocks. In the past, I could not wait to go out to meet the sunshine; but today, it seems that the pure sunshine is filled with scarlet viruses. Spring is here on schedule, but the spreading microbes keep us from enjoying it for the time being.

In ancient times, Noah's ark floated in the flood for a year before landing on the top of Ararat. Now that the tide of the virus is flooding the earth, how long can each person stay in their own boat?