Jiang Jingyu stayed there for four days in total.
Because of the heavy workload back home, Tong An'an couldn't spend all her time with him. Both were busy, so they bid each other a hasty farewell.
After this illness and Jiang Jingyu's long journey to visit her, Tong An'an's emotions became more stable, and she felt more motivated in her work.
Four months had passed, and in the blink of an eye, a year had arrived.
If it really didn't work out, she would return home after her year was up.
She had already proven herself and had been working independently for a year, fulfilling her fantasies.
She felt that even if she returned now, she would have no regrets staying by Jiang Jingyu's side, being a wife and mother.
Little did she know, fate had other plans. Before her perfect scenario could unfold, the national situation in her current location underwent a major change.
Half a month after Jiang Jingyu left, news of internal unrest suddenly broke out in the country where Tong An'an was located.
Since internal unrest occurred frequently in this region, people were not very sensitive to it.
She thought it might end with some negotiations.
Who knew this time it was organized, planned, and premeditated.
News broke out that morning, and by the afternoon, a team had stormed the local authorities, leading to a conflict.
That night, the sound of explosions echoed.
Houses collapsed, and the panicked cries of the masses, along with chaotic noises, spread throughout the entire city.
Tong An'an had only seen such events on television before, never expecting to witness them firsthand.
Watching the distant flames, she felt extremely anxious and ran to ask Li Kai what to do. Having experienced this twice before, Li Kai told her not to panic.
Just stay put, don't cause trouble, and ensure her own safety. The rest would be handled by the embassy, who would intervene.
Tong An'an trusted Li Kai's words. She returned to her room, opened her phone, reread the emergency escape guide, and then covered her head with a blanket to sleep.
As soon as she lay down, Jiang Jingyu's call came through.
Having just learned about the news from the area, Jiang Jingyu convened an emergency meeting with the company's senior management, issued instructions for all company personnel in South Africa, and then quickly called Tong An'an.
He asked her if she was scared and if she was alright. Tong An'an said she wasn't.
"Do you remember what you told me when I first arrived? As long as you are here, as long as Zhan's group is here, I will be safe. I firmly believe that."
"You're amazing, my dear. Then stay home obediently, don't run around. Discuss any issues with Li Kai, and keep in touch with me. I need to go and attend to some matters. I'll call you back later."
Tong An'an agreed, and they hung up.
She knew that Zhan's Group had many offices in South Africa, in every country, and several in each country, with a total of over 5,000 employees.
With such an event occurring, nothing was more important than the safety of the employees' lives and property.
Zhan's employees must not be harmed, and there would undoubtedly be many matters to coordinate and handle. She couldn't distract him.
She forced herself to sleep, hoping that everything would be alright by morning.
She tried to hypnotize herself and finally fell asleep, only to be woken up by the increasingly loud sounds of explosions.
Without turning on the lights, she could see the sky ablaze with fire, as if watching a movie.
Those incredibly intense fight scenes were happening right before her eyes.
With the fighting reaching this level, could there still be electricity?
Tong An'an's first reaction was to get up and turn on the light.
And indeed, with the fighting at this stage, could there still be electricity?
It was pitch black, with no response.
The Wi-Fi was also gone.
Fortunately, her phone still had 50% battery.
Heavens, with everything in such chaos, was their location still safe?
She really couldn't bear to stay alone anymore. She turned on her mobile data and sent a message to Li Kai, but there was no signal, and it wouldn't send.
She figured Li Kai wouldn't be sleeping either in this situation. She went downstairs to knock on his door, and it turned out to be true.
The door was wide open. Mrs. Li sat on the bed, holding her son, looking bewildered. Li Kai was pacing anxiously by the window, constantly tapping on his phone.
Manager Li saw her come down and beckoned her to sit on the bed.
"You sit down first. They probably won't reach here for now. Even if they do, if there's no other way, we'll just have to accept it. This useless phone has no signal, and I can't contact headquarters. Can your phone connect?"
Tong An'an took out her phone again to try, even moving next to him and shaking it back and forth. No, there was no signal at all.
"Even if we can't contact them, they will contact us. And there's the embassy. Don't worry, don't worry. We need to stay calm ourselves and not fall into panic."
As they were speaking, several other employees also came to find them.
All of them had no phone signal and were woken up in the middle of the night, feeling very panicked. They asked Li Kai what to do.
Li Kai gathered everyone and told them not to panic, and to wait for daylight for everything.
The group stayed up all night, some sitting on the bed, some on the floor, just staring out the window.
Fortunately, in the latter half of the night, whether they were tired from fighting or had reached an agreement, the sounds of explosions finally stopped.
But the phones still had no signal. Everyone waited anxiously until dawn. Li Kai told them.
"In this situation, we can only send two people to proactively go out and contact the embassy. Otherwise, with the emergency, we don't have much food and water stored, and the power is out, and we can't contact the outside. Who knows how long this situation will last? We can't just sit here and wait to die."
"We need to get the embassy to quickly arrange a safe place to transfer everyone. Two people going out together will have each other's support. Who is willing to go with me?"
He asked who was willing to go with him. The sounds of explosions had just stopped outside, and who knew what the situation would be like outside, or if they would be caught in the crossfire. No one spoke.
After a long pause, Tong An'an was about to speak when a man finally stood up hesitantly.
"How about, I go with you?"
Li Kai didn't hesitate. He grabbed the car keys, gave everyone a few words of caution, and went downstairs with the man.
With the phones still unable to connect, they could only pray for their safety.
Although it was dawn, no one felt like cooking.
They all sat there, just waiting. An hour passed. They had expected good news, but the man who went out with Manager Li returned in a panic, his face ashen.
Seeing him return alone in such a state, Mrs. Li's face instantly turned ashen.
"Why are you back? Why so soon? Where is Li Kai? Why are you alone?"
The man trembled, as if his soul had left him.
"Something, something happened. Go, go, go, halfway there, stray, stray bullets, hit, hit..."
Everyone in the room stood up collectively. Tong An'an was the first to rush to him.
"Speak clearly, tell us what happened?"
"Manager Li, Manager Li was injured. Stray bullets, hit, hit his shoulder, it was too terrifying."