"What to do When the Pretty Woman I Kissed is My Best Friend's Professor" - Chapter 128

Everything happened without warning.

At four o’clock in the morning, Yan He suddenly opened her eyes. Her eyes were already accustomed to the darkness, and with the moonlight coming through the window, it wasn’t too dim.

She sat up, rubbed her disheveled hair, and felt that the room was much brighter than usual. After looking around, she realized that she had forgotten to draw the curtains.

The bright moonlight streamed through the glass window, making the room clear and bright. Yan He, in her pajamas, walked to the window and looked up at the moon in the sky. Tonight, the moon was particularly bright, hanging in the half-sky, looking down upon the world. Yan He thought that Shen Jinrong (Professor Shen) should also be able to see this crescent moon.

They were under the same sky and could share the sight of the same moon. Yan He put on her slippers, walked over to the desk, and turned on the lamp. On top of the pile of documents was the draft she had written for the postcard she sent to Shen Jinrong (Professor Shen) earlier. At that time, she had written many drafts but wasn’t satisfied with any of them, and so they were all placed there.

The handwriting on them was a bit messy. Yan He sat there, examining them carefully. She smiled when she saw her own writing: “I wish you all the best” and “I wish you good health and success in your work.” She couldn’t remember what she had written on that final postcard, nor which of the well wishes she had ultimately chosen. In any case, it was a beautiful blessing.

She pulled out the notebook from the bottom of the pile, flipped to the last page, and solemnly marked an ‘X’ in one of the squares. Not counting today, there was exactly one week left until she went home.

In one week, she would be able to see Shen Jinrong (Professor Shen). She remembered that she hadn’t told Shen Jinrong (Professor Shen) the specific flight details yet. Judging by what Teacher Yao said, they would probably be informed in a few days.

Sperando was a good place for retirement. The people were friendly, the environment was beautiful, and the cost of living was not high, but it didn’t have much in the way of distinct features. However, Yan He felt that just seeing the twin towers in the desert was unique enough.

She wanted to go see them with Shen Jinrong (Professor Shen). If they were lucky enough, they should also be able to hear the singing of the twin towers.

Getting up at eight in the morning would be just right. Now it was only—Yan He leaned over to check the time. It was only four-thirty. Subconsciously, she converted it to Chinese time, which was nine-thirty in the morning back home.

She could sleep for more than three hours. She stretched, stood up, and prepared to go back to bed to continue sleeping.

As soon as she stood up, she heard a few barks from outside the window, followed by the cries of some kind of bird. The dog must belong to the hotel owner. Yan He had seen it—it was a black Labrador, very obedient, and it had never barked at night.

Could something be happening?

Yan He frowned. The bird cries and dog barks mixed together gave her an inexplicable sense of irritation.

“What’s going on…”

Yan He muttered, and before she could move, she suddenly felt the ground shake violently. At first, it was a subtle tremor, which Yan He thought was just her imagination. The subsequent violent shaking made her break out in a cold sweat—it was an earthquake!

She quickly opened the door, rushed to the doors of Yao Yao (Teacher Yao) and the other colleagues, knocked, and shouted, “Earthquake! Get out quickly!”

Yao Yao’s reaction was extremely fast—or rather, she had woken up during the first tremor. The few people quickly gathered and rushed toward the open space downstairs. As they passed the rooms of reporters from other countries, they also knocked on their doors.

Just as the last reporter, from an unknown country, ran out the door to the open space, the two-story small hotel collapsed.

The group, still in their pajamas, stood there, panting heavily.

“It should have been an earthquake of about magnitude 6 point something.”

Yao Yao (Teacher Yao) and Yan He, along with their group, were sitting in the courtyard of the embassy, discussing the matter seriously. Only when they walked out of the hotel did they realize that almost none of the local houses had collapsed. Their hotel must have fallen because it was old and poorly maintained.

“None of our people have been injured or killed so far.” Wang Lushan (Mr. Wang) was also not very neatly dressed. He frowned. “The troublesome thing is that the earthquake has blocked all signals. The signal was already bad, and now it’s even worse.”

“Almost all of our communication equipment is unusable. Currently, we only have two satellite phones.” Wang Lushan (Mr. Wang) had just finished inventorying the equipment and looked exhausted. “First, let’s call our colleagues back home to report that we are safe using the first phone. Everyone can use the second one to ensure their family’s peace of mind.”

After he spoke, he and Yao Yao (Teacher Yao) walked out to make the calls. Yan He remained where she was, watching everyone start making calls in order of where they were sitting. Some could get through, others couldn’t. A cameraman said, “Wait a moment, there might be a problem with the lines.”

Yan He’s phone and clothes were in the hotel. She had just managed to find her suitcase and had barely changed into formal clothes. The others were not as lucky as she was. They either couldn’t find their clothes and were only wearing pajamas, or they had changed into clothes borrowed from other colleagues.

“It’s not a big problem. I took a look when I came over. Apart from the hotel we were staying in, there are almost no collapsed buildings in other places,” a cameraman reassured everyone.

“It’s best that none of us were injured,” another person sighed. “Thanks to Little Yan (Yan He) and Old Yao (Yao Yao) for waking me up. Otherwise, I guess I would have been buried.”

Yan He quickly said it was nothing, but she still felt uneasy. Just then, the colleague who was adjusting the satellite phone shouted, “It works!” So, everyone started making calls again.

When it was Yan He’s turn, she first called Madam He (He-nüshi, her mother) to report that she was safe, and then said she couldn’t chat for too long, asking her to tell Mr. Yan (Yan-xiansheng, her father) that she was fine. After that, she hesitated for a while holding the satellite phone and then dialed Shen Jinrong’s (Professor Shen’s) number.

There was only a messy static current on the other end of the line. Yan He walked to the window, but the situation didn’t improve.

“It seems to be disconnected again,” Yan He said helplessly as she put down the phone.

“It’s alright, it will be fine in a moment,” someone comforted Yan He.

She put the phone on the table, thinking, Why is there always a problem when I call Shen Jinrong (Professor Shen)? Yan He sighed softly, feeling restless, and didn’t know what she should be doing now.

While she was hesitating, Yao Yao (Teacher Yao) opened the door, looked around, and waved at her. “Yan He, come here.”

Yan He was stunned, stood up, and walked over. She saw Wang Lushan (Mr. Wang) talking on the phone in the courtyard. Yao Yao (Teacher Yao) pulled her to Wang Lushan’s (Mr. Wang’s) side and whispered, “When the line is fixed, you will be the on-camera reporter to report on the situation here.”

“Me?” Yan He’s eyes widened. “Why me—” Yao Yao (Teacher Yao) glanced at Wang Lushan (Mr. Wang) and smiled. “Alright, don’t decline. No one is more suitable than you.” She gestured toward Wang Lushan (Mr. Wang), “You are the only one who is properly dressed and can appear on camera. Our attire is not suitable.”

It was a coincidence that they went to look for their belongings during the break between aftershocks, and only Yan He found her clothes.

“The epicenter is not here; it’s deep inside the desert. The tremor we felt here was only about magnitude 4 something,” Yao Yao (Teacher Yao) sighed and said, “I don’t know why our hotel was so fragile.”

It was also fortunate that Yan He called them to wake up, otherwise, they wouldn’t be sitting here safe and sound now.

“You prepare a little. I will put the script behind the camera, and you just read it,” Yao Yao (Teacher Yao) patted her shoulder and encouraged her, “The future world belongs to you young people.”

Yan He opened her mouth but ultimately did not say no.

Wang Lushan (Mr. Wang) finished his call, his brow furrowed with worry, but he still gave Yan He a reassuring smile. “It’s alright. You’ve had training for this before, haven’t you? Just treat it as a simulation; don’t be nervous. It will probably be during—” He raised his wrist to look at the time, “the midday news that we will do a live connection. The questions are all prepared. There is more than an hour; there is still time.”

Shen Jinrong (Professor Shen) saw the news at ten-thirty in the morning. She felt her mind go blank. She stared intently at the television screen, wanting to hear more news, but there was nothing—only what the anchor had just said: “We are currently trying to establish contact with the reporter stationed in Sperando.”

They hadn’t made contact yet?

Shen Jinrong (Professor Shen) clenched her hands and collapsed onto the sofa. She wanted to call Yan He. When she took out her phone and dialed the number, she only heard a cold prompt saying, “The subscriber you have dialed is not available.”

How could this be—it shouldn’t be like this!

She trembled as she went online to search for related news. Shen Jinrong (Professor Shen) had never felt her hands shake so much. She could hardly remember the last time she was this flustered—her mind was completely blank, and she had almost lost the ability to think. She thought, It can’t be like this—Yan He won’t be in trouble!

There was no more information on the internet. She could only see an official Weibo post about the news, posted ten minutes ago, and the content was still the same as what was said on the news just now—they still hadn’t made contact with the local reporters.

Shen Jinrong (Professor Shen) recalled the last time she talked to Yan He. The little one’s voice was full of excitement as she told her that she would be back by the Lantern Festival, and she had also said that she would go pick her up then…

Shen Jinrong (Professor Shen) tried hard to stop herself from thinking about some horrible possibilities, but she couldn’t control herself. She had to clench her hands tightly to relieve some of the pressure.

—She could not lose Yan He.

She could not.

Impossible.

Tears blurred her vision without her realizing it. Shen Jinrong (Professor Shen) only reacted when the tears fell onto the back of her hand. She raised her head blankly, and then found the phone number for the Chinese Embassy in Sperando online, but her call also went unanswered.

She felt like she had been abandoned by the world.

She was afraid of losing her world.

Her world was currently on the verge of collapse.

It was as if an invisible hand was gripping her neck, making it difficult for her to breathe, and with just a little more force, it could take her life.

Yan He… her Yan He…

Shen Jinrong (Professor Shen) bit her lower lip fiercely. The pain appeared later. Now, only pain seemed to make her feel that she was still alive.

The television was still on, and the midday news had started sometime. Shen Jinrong (Professor Shen) heard the anchor seem to say the four characters “Sperando.” She widened her eyes, fumbled for a moment, and then, in the next second, saw the live broadcast screen.

—It was Yan He.

It was her little one.

Her little one was holding a microphone, standing with a solemn expression in front of a section of the ruins. The sky behind her was gray, she was wearing black clothes, and her tone was calm and serious.

Shen Jinrong (Professor Shen) saw her.

She only saw her.

More tears streamed onto the back of her hand, but Shen Jinrong (Professor Shen) smiled.

—She knew it; her little one was alright.