snowstorm
"Hello, who's that?"
Jian Jianan asked as soon as she picked up the phone. She was trying to do two things at once: on the one hand, she had to protect the candle in her hand so as not to burn herself, and on the other hand, she had to pay attention to the sound inside the receiver.
She waited for an answer, tilted the candle to let the wax melt, and then placed the candle on the table quickly and accurately while the wax dripping on it had not yet solidified. She held it for three seconds before letting go, and the candle stood steadily on the table.
This was another method that Shan Jiqing taught Jian Jianan. At that time, fearing that Jian Jianan might not understand this little life trick, Xia Jiqing specially lit a candle to demonstrate to her how to better stand the candle up and make it stand firmly.
"Nannan! Where are you?" The next second, Shan Jiqing's anxious voice came from the other end of the microphone. The short six words were filled with various complex emotions such as worry, fear, panic, etc.
Jian Jiannan answered subconsciously: "I'm at home."
Didn’t I tell Shan Jiqing some time ago that she had to stay at home and study hard for this semester’s final exams, and not go out unless necessary during the entire Christmas holiday? What’s more, there was a snowstorm coming in the past few days, and the amount of snowfall broke the historical record in the area. Many stores outside were closed for the holiday, and it was difficult to go out. Where could she go?
Shan Jiqing breathed a sigh of relief, the whirring sound of electricity flowing into Jian Jianan's ears. "That's good, that's good. You're in your apartment, right?"
"Yes, I'm in my apartment. But there's an emergency. The power is out..."
Before Jian Jianan could finish his words, Shan Jiqing interrupted him, "Yes, I know. I saw the notice. There's a problem with the electrical wiring in your neighborhood. The heavy snow damaged the lines there, causing a power outage for all the buildings. I don't know how long the outage will last. I saw on the notice that they can only send someone to repair it after the snow subsides."
Jian Jianan was stunned. Their apartment had just had a power outage, and the notice must have been sent out not long ago. Dan Jiqing knew the news about their apartment in such a short time. Could it be that he had been paying attention to the situation in the apartment here?
Shan Jiqing had no idea what Jian Jianan was thinking, so he continued to chatter on the other end of the phone: "I don't know if your apartment building has an emergency generator. If there is an emergency generator, we won't have to wait so long for professionals to come and repair it before power can be restored. At best, your apartment building may be able to restore power in a few hours. I hope it's what I expect."
"It's pitch black in the house now, with no light. Be careful not to trip over anything. Sigh, I don't know how much of the house I cleaned for you last time is still in its original state. I've told you many times to put things as high as possible. If anything can be put up there, put it up there. Don't put it on the floor. You see, if there's an emergency, that would be very inconvenient!"
"But don't be afraid. Even though the power is out, I've prepared plenty of candles for you in the emergency tool box. Remember to light them. Oh, you've already lit them, haven't you? Our Nan Nan is really smart. She handled the power outage so calmly. Hellfire is very dangerous. If you stand it on the table without any protective measures, it will easily fall over. That method I taught you last time where melted wax can easily stick to the table... Oh, so you've already used it, haven't you?"
"Okay, okay, then I'm relieved."
Jian Jianan knew that Shan Jiqing was worried about him, so he let him chatter on the other end of the phone for a long time before he couldn't help but interrupt: "I'm already twenty years old this year, not a two-year-old child. I can take good care of myself!"
Shan Jiqing's words seemed to treat himself as a child who had no ability to take care of himself. How could it be so exaggerated!
Shan Jiqing chuckled twice on the other end of the microphone, and Jian Jianan's ears felt like one or two electric shocks, making him feel numb and tingling.
"Okay, our Nan Nan has grown up and has made the most reasonable response to this power outage emergency. So I don't have to worry too much about you."
"There's no need to worry! You've taught me so much and said it so many times. Is it possible that I can't remember it?"
Shan Jiqing asked again, "It's snowing heavily now, and I don't know when it will stop. It's not safe for you to be alone. Do you want me to come over and keep you company now? If you're worried about me disturbing your studies, I'll stay in my room and only come out to cook and clean for you during your free time."
Jian Jianan: "..."
How could Shan Jiqing have such an idea? If that were the case, wouldn't Shan Jiqing become his pet?
Goblins are often mentioned in Western fables. They are hardworking and diligent, and especially like to do housework. They do not appear at ordinary times, but only come out to clean when the owner of the house is resting or sleeping.
There is another idiom in history, which goes like this: a beautiful girl hidden in a golden house.
It’s just that the Jiao that Jian Jianan hid was specifically used for cooking and washing dishes.
Jian Jianan quickly shook his head, dismissing his thoughts: "No, no, no, you don't have to come! You know how heavy the snow is right now, the deepest snow is said to be nine feet thick. How are you going to get here? Are you going to walk on stilts?"
"Besides, you wanted to come here because you were worried about me, but if you really came, I would still be worried about your safety!"
Jian Jianan tried his best to persuade him, explaining from all aspects the difficulties Shan Jiqing had gone through, and finally dissuaded him from this idea.
Shan Jiqing also knew that it was unrealistic, so he could only sigh regretfully, "Okay, then I won't come over. You must be careful. If you need any help, you must tell me. Don't think that this is a bother to me or anything. You must tell me anyway."
Jian Jianan was moved and hummed several times. He made countless promises before finally letting Shan Jiqing hang up the phone.
Jian Jianan put the phone back. After talking to Shan Jiqing on the phone, she was no longer so scared. Even though she was in this completely dark environment, the candlelight provided her with warmth, and at least allowed her to see this small world.
It was night time now, there was no electricity in the house, and the light from a few candles was not very bright. Jian Jianan felt that reading under such a weak light source would definitely damage his eyesight, so he had no intention of continuing to review the book.
She simply sat on the floor and stared out the window, enjoying this rare time when she didn't have to worry about anything.
The only drawback was that Americans really loved to party. Although there was a power outage in the building opposite, after the panic of the first few minutes, everyone started playing music again. Through the open windows, you could clearly see them twisting their bodies happily to the music in the dark.
Suddenly, there seemed to be several loud noises outside the window.
“Bang, bang, bang!”
“Bang!”
The next second, Jian Jiannan subconsciously turned sideways and hid behind the wall. Then he carefully reached out to pull the curtains. Only after covering all the windows did he feel a sense of security.
Then, after taking all the protective measures, she carefully looked at the building opposite through the gap in the curtains, and found that the people in the building opposite were experienced in dealing with this kind of thing, and they had drawn all the curtains and closed the windows like her. Obviously, when she was looking at the moon, many people in the building opposite had their windows open, but now even the music from the party had been turned off.
The streets were quiet, not a single sound could be heard.
For a moment, Jian Jianan suspected that she had heard the voice wrongly. She could only pray in her heart that it must not be what she thought, absolutely not!
But things did not go as planned. After the initial sound, no other sound was heard for a long time. Jian Jianan thought that the matter was over, but he did not expect that a few seconds later, the "bang bang bang" sound was heard again. This time the bang bang sound was continuous and very intense.
"ah!"
The apartment had poor sound insulation, and when these sounds came up, Jian Jianan could still clearly hear the frightened screams of the people in the apartment next door.
Fear is contagious. Even Jian Jianan, who had just been praised by Shan Jiqing for being "calm and steady, and handling the power outage with ease", now couldn't help but feel a little scared. The only thing to be thankful for was that after all his persuasion, Shan Jiqing finally gave up the idea of coming over. At least he was safe.
The next second after Jian Jianan had this thought, the phone rang again.
She was afraid that the ringtone she remembered would attract someone's attention, so she quickly jumped to the phone and answered it: "Wei, hey Xiaoqing, it's urgent here. There's an emergency. If you have anything to say, talk to me next time."
After saying that, she wanted to hang up the phone. Who else could call her in this situation except Shan Jiqing?
"Wait! Don't hang up yet! I know what happened in your place."
Shan Jiqing quickly spoke out to stop him, saying quickly that Jian Jianan had never known that he could speak so quickly and yet so clearly.
"I just saw the breaking news when I returned to the dormitory. There's an emergency in your area. Did you hear any gunshots?"
Jian Jianan hummed softly, then heard Shan Jiqing take a breath, and then continued: "Tonight there are two gangs...in your neighborhood...shooting..."
But no one knew what happened to the telephone line, the electricity hissed, and Jian Jianan could not hear Shan Jiqing's last words clearly. He could only vaguely hear a few words, but through these few short words, Jian Jianan had almost understood what had happened. He immediately knew what the sound he had just heard was, and it also confirmed his guess.
It’s true!
Jian Jianan wanted to reassure Shan Jiqing: "Before I came here to study abroad, my brother collected relevant information on this matter and showed it to me. This kind of thing happens frequently in the United States. You just said that you saw a news report about a gang fight nearby, so it shouldn't affect innocent ordinary people like us. As long as we stay home, lock the doors and close the windows, we'll be safe."
Unexpectedly, the telephone line that had been struggling to hold on suddenly stopped working. After Jian Jianan hurriedly said this, he could only hear a "beep, beep, beep" sound coming from the receiver, and the phone was actually hung up passively!
"Beep, beep, beep" a harsh busy tone sounded. Jian Jianan said "hello, hello" a few times into the phone and thought about calling Shan Jiqing again, but there was no way to get the phone working again. It was still on strike.
Forget it. She had originally wanted to report her safety to Shan Jiqing and have a little chat with him, but it seemed there was no other way.
However, at the last moment when Shan Jiqing was forced to hang up the phone, he seemed to shout something. What was it?
It's like, "Lock the door and don't open it for anyone who knocks! Wait for me in the room!"
Hmm? But how could that be?
It's snowing so heavily now that it would be difficult for Shan Jiqing to get over. The snow is so thick that he can only walk over it on stilts.
Not to mention that there are gangs fighting nearby, isn't that even more dangerous? What if Shan Jiqing gets caught up in the fight on his way here?
This won’t do!
Jian Jianan couldn't help but have wild thoughts and kept trying to call back, asking Shan Jiqing to stay safely in school and not come over.
But Jian Jianan always felt that with Shan Jiqing's stubborn character that couldn't be persuaded even by nine oxen, this matter would definitely not go as he wished.
Alas, now we can only hope that the continued heavy snow will block the road and he won’t have to come.
While he was daydreaming, hurried footsteps were heard in the corridor. In a panic, Jian Jianan thought that the fight between gangs had spread to the apartment building where he lived. He quickly rushed to the door and carefully checked that it was locked. This was not the end. Jian Jianan was still thinking about one thing, whether to move a chair over to block the door, but it was not very realistic. If the thugs were really determined to attack, nothing could stop them.
In just a few seconds, the chaotic footsteps reached their floor and then stopped.
"Everyone, lock the doors and close the windows. Stay inside your rooms and don't come out! Remember, stay alert. If a stranger knocks on the door, don't open it! Even if someone you know comes, stay alert! There's a gang exchange going on nearby. You don't know when the fight will end, and you don't know how serious the situation will be. In short, hiding in a safe room is definitely the right choice!"
Jian Jianan recognized the familiar voice and heard it was the security guard in their apartment building. Every day when she went out and came back to the apartment, Jian Jianan would greet him. Knowing that he was not a bad guy, she finally felt relieved.
The security guard continued, "We've organized a temporary armed team and locked the door to the downstairs apartment. We've also taken certain protective measures. Unless something unexpected happens, we can hold out until the police arrive."
But now we're caught in a heavy snowfall, and we don't know when the police will arrive. Besides, if we're afraid of the police, what kind of gang are we? We should retreat now!
I don't know if this trick will work.
It wasn't just Jian Jianan who felt relieved because of the security guard's words. The door of the next room also opened, and it was Mrs. Lawrence.
She said in a voice that was clearly filled with tears, "Thank God! Luckily, the security in our apartment building is still effective. It's worth the huge maintenance fee I pay every month!"
With her leading the way, the other residents on this floor also opened their doors one by one, poked their heads out and started discussing in a lively manner.
"Shouldn't they be operating ten blocks away? This is downtown! How dare they?"
Some residents complained that they bought houses here because of the strict security measures advertised, and that it was the safest place in the district. In the promotional slogan, the management proudly displayed the quote "No casualties in five years", which is rare in this area.
The next sentence was met with a sneer, "What do you think this place is? This is New York! Anything can happen! Especially since they're gangs. Lawlessness is in their bones. How can they possibly obey the law? I have no doubt that one day they'll be able to beat..."
Mrs. Lawrence's voice suddenly rose an octave. "Oh my God! That's terrible! What should we do? My husband told me that when he was a kid living on Ninth Street, he'd often hear gunfire. Gang fights could even last as long as a week! At the shortest, it would be three or four days. Are we sure we can hold out that long until help arrives?"
Jian Jianan was shocked. "Huh? How could it take so long?" This was the first time she had heard such news, as she didn't understand the American situation.
What's more, there is now a record-breaking snowstorm, which has greatly hindered the rescue efforts. Not only that, the heavy snow has also brought about a series of chain reactions, crushing the power lines and causing power outages in the apartment, and destroying the communication lines. Now the apartment that mother Su Qinxuan spent a lot of money to buy so that her daughter has a place to stay is the only safe place left for Jian Jianan.
But at the same time, this house became an isolated island, leaving her with no way to contact the outside world and her sense of security gone.
After everyone had exchanged the information they knew with each other, they all returned to their rooms and stayed inside.
In addition, the security guard also left, hurriedly leaving to inform other residents, and the corridor outside suddenly returned to silence.
Jian Jianan returned to the room, locked the door, and took great pains to move a table over to prop up the door, preparing for the worst. Even if someone broke through the defense downstairs, it would not be easy to get into her room.
After doing everything she could, Jian Jianan collapsed on the carpet. The heating in the room had stopped working the moment the power went out. She had been so busy and focused on getting information that she didn't feel cold. Now that she had relaxed, she finally felt a bit of cold.
Alas, I don’t know when I can get rescued.
There was no heating, and the fireplace was out because no one added wood. Jian Jianan had no intention of going to bed, so she simply wrapped herself in a large blanket and sat on the sofa to rest.
This place is very close to the window and door, so she can react quickly in case of an emergency.
In this way, Jian Jianan has been resting on the sofa. She originally wanted to sit down and take a nap, but she was so tired that she couldn't help but lie down. Then she slept on her side, on her back, and on her back, but no matter which position she chose, she couldn't sleep well.
Between sleep and wakefulness, Jian Jianan always felt that she could hear the "bang bang bang" sounds outside the apartment building, especially since her room was facing the street, so she could hear it even more clearly.
The heavy snow was still falling, and the snow had subsided. The good hope of having someone come to repair it was still a long way off. Jian Jianan felt it was getting colder and colder in the second half of the night. Even curled up in the quilt, he couldn't resist the cold. After being woken up by the cold, he had to shiver and run to the room to get more thick quilts.
“Bang, bang, bang!”
The sound of weapons continued to ring out, but after listening to it for five or six hours, Jian Jianan didn't care much. As long as the sound didn't come into her apartment, she would treat it as background music and walk around in the apartment. The most important thing now was to keep warm. Compared with being frozen to death, the sounds of gang battles that would not come for a while were considered good.
The coldest time is before dawn, and for a moment Jian Jianan felt as if he had entered another world.
Shan Jiqing came to her house before Christmas to do a thorough cleaning, and also equipped Jian Jianan with a large number of emergency supplies for emergencies. However, even the most meticulous Shan Jiqing did not expect this situation. How could they have the unfortunate misfortune of power outages, communication cuts, and gang fighting on the same day when heavy snow fell?
Aren't you cold in this heavy snow? Must we decide the winner today? Can't we wait until the snow stops before continuing? You have no sense of adaptability. How can you ever become big and strong like this? Sooner or later, you'll be wiped out and rid of the people!
“Pah.”
There were two very light sounds, still the familiar voice of the security guard. He once again came to the floor where Jian Jianan and his friends lived, knocking on every door and asking them to go out.
"We're gathering everyone in the building and asking them to come out quickly. Our security team has lit a bonfire downstairs. If you're cold, you can come up to the first floor to keep warm. There's strength in numbers, so there's no need to worry about any other unexpected situations."
Seeing that the others had already opened the door and gone out, Jian Jianan thought for a moment, packed up a few personal belongings, and went downstairs with everyone.
As soon as he went down to the lobby on the first floor, Jian Jianan saw a bonfire burning as expected. There were also many residents of the apartment gathered in the lobby, chatting with each other.
Jian Jianan lived on a lower floor and came down early, occupying a position that was neither too far nor too close to the bonfire, just enough to feel the warmth but not too close to get burned.
Jian Jianan stared at the flames. The security guards were using all kinds of magazines and books as fuel. She glanced towards the front desk and saw that the shelf that used to be filled with all kinds of paper books was now bare. She finally knew where the security guards got the materials from.
The residents of the apartment came down one after another. Some were persuaded by the security guards to come down to keep warm, while others rushed down as soon as they heard the news and wanted to stay with the crowd.
Others were distrustful, thinking that coming down was pointless and would only increase the danger for no reason. They decided to just stay in their rooms and wait for rescue.
But the cold will not go away with people's willpower. As time passed, those who originally wanted to stay in the room could not bear the cold anymore and finally chose to go downstairs to keep warm together.
Unfortunately, they came down too late and the good spots were already taken by the people in front, so they could only huddle in the back and coldest place.
But at least it can be a little warmer.
Everyone was wrapped in blankets, and some people were chatting when they came down just now.
But as they leaned against the warm bonfire, everyone gradually started to feel sleepy. They stayed in the crowd, people were squeezed together, and there were security guards pacing and patrolling. After a while, everyone was sleeping in a large group, lying all over the place.
Jian Jianan was one of the few people who remained sober. She gathered her blanket and sat on the ground, looking at the bonfire from time to time. When the fire gradually got smaller or was about to burn out, she would take out a magazine from the side and put it inside.
At the same time, he looked up at the door, expecting the arrival of the illusory rescue.
Jian Jianan still had hope in his heart. Perhaps rescue would arrive soon, perhaps in the next second, or perhaps in the next hour. Anyway, as long as he held on to hope, rescue would always arrive.
But the heavy snow outside the window never stopped. Even in the area where their apartment was located, which was not so severely affected, there was a thick layer of snow on the ground. Jian Jianan was very anxious. When would it end?
As she thought about it, she thought of Shan Jiqing again. During their last phone call, Jian Jianan asked him to stay in school and never go out while in college. She didn't know if Shan Jiqing would listen to her.
Jian Jianan felt that Shan Jiqing would definitely not stay in school obediently. He would definitely try his best to come here to confirm whether Jian Jianan was safe.
However, it was snowing so heavily and the weather was so bad that he couldn't come even if he wanted to. Shan Jiqing University was quite far from here. He usually took the subway and then a taxi to get to the apartment. Now, the subway was probably the only one running, and there was no car on the street. He could only walk, but the snow was so thick that if someone stepped in, half of their body would be buried. No matter how he thought about it, he felt that the road ahead was full of difficulties, and Shan Jiqing would definitely not be able to come.
Thinking of this, Jian Jianan finally felt relieved. If that was the case, she wouldn't have to worry too much about her friends. She could just worry about herself!
She glanced at her watch. It was already half past six in the morning and the sky was slightly bright. The deepest darkness had passed, and now it was daytime. No matter how bad the situation was, it seemed to represent hope.
Although the snow had not stopped and the sound of gunfire was still going on during the day, he could finally see the surrounding scene clearly. The temperature was gradually warming up. Jian Jianan also wanted to go back to his apartment to wash up, hoping that the water pipes were not frozen!
Jian Jianan watched the fire slowly go out. This time she did not try to throw books and magazines into it to keep the flames burning. Just as she was watching the bonfire slowly disappear, there was a sudden commotion outside the gate, and a noisy sound came from a distance.
Jian Jianan was startled. At the same time, many people around her were woken up by the noise.
People looked at each other in bewilderment, whispering to each other: "What's that noise? What's that noise? Could it be that they've broken in?"
That shouldn’t be the case, Jian Jianan thought. The sound of gunfire was intermittent, but judging from the sound, they were quite far away from the apartment gate.
Even though Jian Jianan had never fought in a war, she knew one thing: once the two sides in a firefight formed a fixed position, they would often not move.
Jian Jianan didn't think that the gangs would suddenly change their minds and want to attack their apartment.
But what is this sound?
She followed the crowd and cautiously came to the window. The door was locked and filled with sofas, chairs and tables by security personnel. The gambling was strictly controlled. Now if anyone wanted to know what was happening outside, they could only watch from the window.
When Jian Jianan stuck his head out, he saw someone driving a huge snowplow and stopping at the door of the apartment. The noisy sound just now was the rumbling sound of the snowplow.
Not only that, after the snowplow stopped, Jian Jianan could also see several police cars following on the flat road created by the snowplow.
Without a doubt, this must be the arrival of rescue!
Could the rescue be that fast? Jian Jianan wondered, and at the same time, she heard Mrs. Lawrence wonder, "It shouldn't be that fast. How could the efficiency be that fast in this neighborhood? Last time, my puppy got lost and I asked them to look for it, but they couldn't find it for three days and three nights. In the end, my own puppy was smarter and found the way home, so it came back safe and sound."
But no matter what, now that the rescue has arrived, everyone can breathe a sigh of relief.
The security personnel let everyone hide behind the gate. Although they looked like a rescue team, they didn't know whether they were friends or foes before their identities were verified. It was possible that they were another group of attackers who wanted to take this opportunity to sneak into their apartment.
The security team moved away the tables and chairs blocking the gate, opened the lock, and cautiously walked out of the gate. Jian Jianan could see from the window that the captain of the security team took the lead and negotiated with the people who got off the snowplow. After checking the documents of both parties, he looked back at the apartment with an expression of "finally saved", nodded, and made a gesture that we are safe.
"Yeah yeah yeah!"
The people on the first floor suddenly cheered, they were finally saved!
Jian Jianan was not only infected by the surrounding atmosphere, she smiled slightly and wanted to follow the crowd out the door to breathe some fresh air.
Since the rescue has arrived and there is a police car following behind, it means that the maintenance personnel will be here soon. In this case, the power to their apartment may be restored today!
It seems that everything went smoothly and perfectly. Although there were some minor setbacks, fortunately they were all resolved satisfactorily in the end.
As Jian Jianan walked out of the door, a figure rushed over so fast that he couldn't see clearly, and hugged Jian Jianan tightly.
"... I was so scared... Thank God you're okay..."
Everyone around was shocked, but only because Jian Jianan waved his hands repeatedly to indicate that he didn't need help did they not come up to push away the person who was hugging Jian Jianan.
In fact, the moment he pounced on her, Jian Jianan knew who he was.
Who else could it be but Shan Jiqing who could carry this familiar smell?
"Okay, okay, I'm fine. I'm standing right in front of you right now. Touch me and pinch me as you like. You can check if I'm real or not."
Jian Jianan skillfully patted Shan Jiqing's back to comfort her. He was obviously anxious, and his whole body was trembling visibly. It was unclear whether he was frightened by Xue Bing or by his own worry and anxiety.
The two hugged each other for a long time, and Shan Jiqing refused to let go. Finally, he raised his head and looked at Jian Jianan: "The heavy snow was already worrying me enough, and then there were reports of gangs exchanging fire nearby. The communication lines were also cut off. I called you dozens of times and couldn't get through. I had no idea if you were safe..."
Shan Jiqing still refused to let go of Jian Jianan's hand. His voice was calm and his words were uneventful, but many people could hear the deep worry and despair in his words.
Jian Jianan said quickly: "I didn't expect the phone to be disconnected. I called you several times later, but I didn't get through. I knew it wasn't a signal problem, it must be a broken line. We have to wait for the maintenance personnel to come and fix it."
The two of them talked in a sticky manner for a long time. Jian Jianan was a survivor, and Shan Jiqing should have been safe in the school. But seeing that his whole body was shaking like a sieve, and his voice was trembling uncontrollably when he spoke, Jian Jianan felt that Shan Jiqing was the one who was more likely to have survived the snowstorm than her.
There was no other way. The little friend was scared, so Jian Jianan had to go and comfort him himself.
"It's okay, it's okay. I really am. There might be some gang fighting nearby, but it's quite far from our apartment. They probably think this is a wealthy area and they're worried about retaliation. And our security department here is quite dedicated. Look, we even lit a fire in the lobby on the first floor to keep warm. It's really worth the high management fee."
Jian Jianan spoke slowly, patting Shan Jiqing's back gently as she spoke, trying her best to comfort him.
"Really? Don't try to fool me. The entire building has lost power, and there's no way to communicate with the outside world. We don't know when the blizzard will start. How can you not be scared?"
Jian Jianan's heart moved. The complex emotions that had appeared when the two of them met just now were finally suppressed, but now they surged into his heart again.
Is that why? Shan Jiqing was worried about me. He felt that the area was unsafe and I was afraid, so he tried every possible way to rush here?
The heavy snow still didn't stop. In just a short while, white snow fell on Shan Jiqing's hair, and he looked like he was about to be buried in the snow.
Jian Jianan quickly patted his shoulder and pushed him into the first floor of the apartment. "Come in quickly, come in. Don't think you're not afraid of the wind and rain just because you're young and strong. The water's so high now. It would be so cold if you continue standing in the snow. Come in quickly and try to warm up. The bonfire is still warm, so you can experience what your little friend experienced that night."
Shan Jiqing was pushed in by Jian Jianan meekly, as if he would be happy to do whatever Jian Jianan wanted to do to him, but he just refused to leave Jian Jianan and insisted on staying with Jian Jianan, following him closely.
Not only that, he seemed to be obsessed with the idea of a hundred thousand impossibilities. He didn't even give Jian Jianan a second to pause and kept asking questions.
"Were you scared yesterday?"
"How did you spend yesterday?"
"If the power goes out, do you have difficulty breathing? You were a little afraid of the dark when you were a child. Is that getting better now?"
…
While Jian Jianan patiently answered Shan Jiqing's questions, she was thinking in her heart that these questions should be answered by herself, the one who survived the disaster. She was the one who needed comfort the most. Why did Shan Jiqing need comfort more than Jian Jianan now!
Jian Jianan changed the subject, "By the way, you haven't told me how you got here? With all this snow, where did you get a snowplow? There's a team of police officers following behind you. It doesn't look like they're here to repair a water pipe, but more like they're here to shoot someone in the head."
Shan Jiqing gradually recovered from his fear and subconsciously answered Jian Jianan's question, "After hanging up the phone with you, I had a bad feeling in my heart. I always felt that someone would break into your house at any time when I couldn't see you, resulting in irreversible consequences."
"So I was trying every possible way to get to your place. The news report said there was a shootout between the largest and second-largest gangs, so I went to the embassy. The snowplow was arranged by the embassy, and the police were sent after I called the police and explained the situation."
Jian Jianan almost fainted. What! You actually alerted the embassy to such a thing?
Shan Jiqing said seriously, "When Chinese citizens encounter problems abroad that they cannot resolve, the first thing they should do is seek help from the embassy. Isn't that what your parents said at the farewell party, Nannan? I've always remembered it clearly."
Jian Jianan knew this, but she felt that what she encountered was not a big deal. Everyone was safe in the apartment, so there was no need to ask the embassy for help. She should give this opportunity to other people in need.
But Shan Jiqing was able to overcome all difficulties and tried every possible way to come to her side. Jian Jianan was very moved. At the same time, an indescribable feeling surged in her heart, and something quietly changed between the two of them.
"Okay, okay, okay, I really want to thank you very much. Let's go back to the room and talk. I'm freezing just touching your hand. You're wearing so little, how can you withstand such heavy snow?"
Jian Jianan pulled Shan Jiqing back to the apartment to take some warming measures, but he didn't expect that he was pulled down by two people after just two steps.
The face looks very friendly, he is Chinese.
"Little girl, your companion was so worried about your safety that he almost lost his temper. If he hadn't come to our embassy for help, we wouldn't have known that you, an international student traveling abroad, had encountered such difficulties."
The man's surname was Zhou. He looked very kind and was old enough to call Jian Jianan a little girl. He was also the contact person that Shan Jiqing called at the embassy.
Jian Jianan immediately thanked him: "Thank you so much, and thank you for your trouble. If you hadn't come, I don't know when I would have waited for rescue. The snow here is too deep. If the snowplow hadn't been dispatched, it would have been impossible to move forward."
Not every police station is equipped with a snowplow, so it must have taken a lot of effort for them to mobilize such a large machine.
"It's okay, it's okay. I'm glad you're safe. Okay, little girl, remember to let your family know you're safe after you get offline. They're going to be really worried!"
Jian Jianan was stunned and turned to look at the person next to her. Shan Jiqing looked up at the sky and the earth but not at her, with a guilty look. Jian Jianan immediately knew that it must have been Shan Jiqing who notified her.
"Okay, I will."
The contact person named Zhou exchanged greetings with Jian Jianan for a while, and after confirming that the little girl in front of him was okay, he went to negotiate with the American personnel. This rescue must be publicized, and it depends on how it will be implemented.
Jian Jianan and Shan Jiqing stayed on the first floor. Seeing that they were no longer needed anywhere, they went upstairs and returned to their room.
The moment he closed the door and turned around, Jian Jianan met Shan Jiqing's eyes and immediately knew that this matter had to be made clear.
She was also prepared to face it.
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