"Susu, don't go to sleep, okay?"
In the dark and cramped space, Meng Wan held Li Susu protectively in her arms.
When the earthquake struck, she happened to be in her office, instructing Li Susu to hand out the last test paper. Before Li Susu could even leave the office, the ceiling suddenly collapsed.
Meng Wan reacted quickly, pulling Li Susu back. Before she could say anything, the dilapidated school building collapsed in an instant. Fortunately, she reacted fast enough to hold Li Susu tightly in her arms and hide her under the desk.
They could feel the ground shaking violently, and they seemed to hear other people screaming. Before they could even speak, the school building collapsed in an instant, and no one had a chance to escape; they were all buried under the rubble.
Although the desk provided some protection, at the moment of their fall, the two had no way to save themselves except to hold each other tightly.
No matter how powerful a person is, they are always so insignificant in the face of nature.
Meng Wan was woken up by Li Susu, the little girl's voice trembling with tears as she called her name over and over again, like a ghost in the dead of night.
Meng Wan wanted to pat Li Susu's head as before, but she clearly sensed something was wrong. She pursed her lips and used her other hand to comfort her.
"Susu, don't cry, I'm fine. You can't cry. We need to conserve our strength and wait for someone to come and rescue us, okay?"
Hearing Meng Wan's response, Li Susu's unease subsided somewhat. She nodded, but how could Meng Wan possibly see her in such a pitch-black place?
"Teacher, are you alright?" Before the two of them fainted, Li Susu's only memory was of Meng Wan pulling her back and protecting her in her arms with a worried expression.
Li Susu clutched Meng Wan's clothes, her first reaction being concern for Meng Wan's health.
"Teacher is fine." Meng Wan gritted her teeth, adjusted her breathing, and made herself appear as normal as usual.
"Teacher, are we going to die?"
"I won't die," Meng Wan replied firmly.
"Listen carefully, someone will come to rescue us, so what we need to do now is conserve our energy, don't talk, and don't sleep, understand?"
"I understand." Li Susu clutched Meng Wan's clothes tightly as Meng Wan held her in her arms. Meng Wan used her frail body to create space for the child.
In the cramped space, only the two of them could be heard breathing. Li Susu sniffed the air; the surroundings were deathly silent, with the smell of rusty iron.
Her body was somewhat numb, but the cramped space prevented her from moving, and she could only endure the discomfort.
Meng Wan knew Li Susu wasn't feeling well, but given the limited circumstances, the two could only huddle together like this. She rubbed the ground, the rustling sound sending chills down one's spine.
"Teacher, what are you doing?"
"I'm looking for stones."
"Stone?"
“Taking the space above us is much more effective than shouting, and it also saves energy.”
"Me too!"
"No rush. If the teacher runs out of energy, you can take over, okay?"
Meng Wan didn't know how much longer she could hold on. She had lost all feeling in her arms, and her nose had even gotten used to the smell of blood after a while.
The two remained silent, with only occasional tapping sounds, which gradually became fainter.
Outside, all was still deathly silent, without a sound or a ray of light, which made people feel uneasy.
She misses her grandma...
She sobbed softly, and Meng Wan gently patted her head, silently comforting her.
After an unknown amount of time, both of them grew tired. The intermittent tapping finally stopped.
"I miss my grandma, teacher. Grandma's okay, right?"
Meng Wan, whose consciousness was somewhat hazy, opened her mouth as if to say something, but could not utter a word.
Her breathing became rapid, and her eyes gradually became unfocused. Just as she was about to fall asleep, she bit her tongue to force herself to stay awake.
"Teacher! Teacher, what's wrong?" Li Susu immediately noticed that something was wrong with Meng Wan, and her unease was amplified at that moment.
"It's okay... Grandma... It's okay too, it's just that the teacher is a little tired and needs to rest."
“Teacher, you can’t sleep, you said you can’t sleep.” Li Susu cried, but she remembered Meng Wan’s words and kept talking to her to cheer her up.
She groped around on the ground, and when she touched Meng Wan's hand, she found it was ice-cold. Her eyes reddened, and she tried to wrap her small hand around Meng Wan's, hoping to transfer her warmth to her.
She called Meng Wan's name, and Meng Wan only responded softly, as if she were about to disappear in the next second.
Li Susu's tears kept falling. She picked up the stone from Meng Wan's hand and knocked it on top as Meng Wan had instructed.
"Please, anyone, please come and save me." Li Susu gritted her teeth, not daring to cry anymore, and tried to remain calm as she spoke to Meng Wan, while occasionally tapping the stone on top as Meng Wan had instructed.
Hearing Li Susu's cries, Meng Wan tried hard to cheer herself up, but all she felt was a sense of powerlessness.
She smiled, and many people flashed before her eyes, but in the end... it was Yan Nian's aggrieved expression before they parted.
"If only I had followed my heart that day and properly expressed my heartache for him, and openly expressed my happiness and love."
For the past three months, Yan Nian has said countless times that he wants to come, but Meng Wan has refused each time.
Although he eventually sneaked over, he was caught by Li Susu and almost beaten by the villagers as a suspicious person.
Meng Wan heard the news and rushed over to explain the situation.
Seeing Yan Nian's unusually helpless expression, Meng Wan was both annoyed and amused, but fearing that Yan Nian would sneak over again, she didn't give him a kind look all night.
The journey is long, and there are many things to do at the company. She would rather Yan Nian rest properly when he has time off than compress his vacation to the extreme, travel thousands of miles to come here just to see him, and then leave the next day.
Yan Nian was of course aware of Meng Wan's thoughts, but when longing welled up in his heart, knowing that Meng Wan would be angry, he still arranged for a helicopter to fly over.
If only I had spoken to him properly that day. I should have told him to rest more, and told him I loved him… If only…
Meng Wan smiled, but a tear welled up in the corner of her eye.
As I closed my eyes, I seemed to hear some noises outside.
Li Susu's eyes lit up, and she increased the force of her tapping.
"Teacher, please don't sleep, please don't sleep! I haven't shown you my name yet, I wrote it so beautifully! Please don't sleep, someone's coming to save us! Please don't sleep, please don't sleep..."
Li Susu cried, but received no response.
"We're here! Please help us!" Li Susu held Meng Wan's hand tightly, not daring to let go for a moment.
Just as her consciousness was fading, Meng Wan seemed to feel a flash of light before plunging back into darkness.
"Wanwan, I'm here. Please, don't sleep, please... I'm so sorry I'm so late..."
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