Jiang Jingyu stayed there for four days in total.
Due to heavy workload back home, Tong An'an could not accompany him all the time. Both were busy, so they bid farewell in a hurry.
After falling ill and Jiang Jingyu coming all the way to visit her, Tong An'an's emotions became more stable, and she felt more motivated towards her work.
Four months had passed, and in the blink of an eye, a year had arrived.
If worse came to worst, she would return to China after her one-year term was up.
She had proven herself and had been striving alone for a year, fulfilling her fantasies.
She felt that even if she returned now and stayed by Jiang Jingyu's side forever to be a wife and mother, she would have no regrets.
Little did she know that fate had other plans. Before her perfect plan could materialize, the national situation there underwent a major change.
Half a month after Jiang Jingyu left, news of internal strife suddenly broke out in the country where Tong An'an was located.
Since internal strife occurred from time to time there, people were not very sensitive to it.
She thought it might end with negotiations.
Who knew that this time it was organized, planned, and premeditated.
The 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 rapid gunfire echoed.
The collapse of houses, the wails of panicked masses, and chaotic noises spread throughout the entire city.
Tong An'an had only seen such events on television before, and she never expected to witness them firsthand one day.
Looking at the flames in the distance, she was extremely flustered. She ran to ask Li Kai what to do. Having experienced this twice before, Li Kai told her not to panic.
She should stay put, not cause trouble, and ensure her own safety. The rest would be handled by the embassy; they would intervene.
Tong An'an had great faith in Li Kai's words. She returned to her room, opened her phone, reread the emergency escape guide, and then covered herself with a blanket to sleep.
She had just lay down when Jiang Jingyu’s call came.
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 personnel in South Africa, and then immediately called Tong An'an.
He asked if she was scared and if she was alright. Tong An'an replied that she was not.
"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 this."
"My darling, you are so brave. Then stay home obediently, don't wander out, discuss any issues with Li Kai, and keep in touch with me. I have to go and busy myself. I'll call you again later."
Tong An'an said okay, and they hung up.
She knew that Zhan’s Group had many offices in South Africa, with branches in every country, and several in each country, totaling 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 must be many things to coordinate and manage. She could not distract him.
She forced herself to sleep, hoping that everything would be fine when she woke up.
She tried to hypnotize herself and finally fell asleep, only to be woken up by the booming sounds that grew louder and closer.
Without turning on the lights, she could see the sky ablaze with fire, as if she were watching a movie.
Those incredibly dramatic fight scenes were happening right before her eyes.
With the fighting so intense, could there still be electricity?
Tong An'an's first reaction was to get up and turn on the lights.
As it turned out, with the fighting so intense, there was no electricity.
It was pitch dark, and there was no response.
The Wi-Fi was also gone.
Fortunately, her phone still had 50% battery.
Good heavens, with such chaos, could their location still be safe?
She really couldn't bear to stay alone any longer. She turned on her mobile data and sent a message to Li Kai, but there was no signal, and it couldn't be sent at all.
She guessed that Li Kai, with such a situation unfolding, wouldn't be in the mood to sleep either. She went downstairs to knock on his door, and indeed, he was awake.
The door was wide open. Mrs. Li sat on the bed blankly holding her son, while Li Kai paced anxiously by the window, repeatedly tapping on his phone.
Manager Li saw her come down and beckoned her to sit on the bed.
"Sit here for now. They shouldn't be able to reach this area yet. Even if they do, if it's really unavoidable, we can only accept our fate. This useless phone has no signal, and we can't contact headquarters. Is your phone working?"
Tong An'an took out her phone to try again. She even walked over and stood next to him, shaking it left and right. It was no use; there was absolutely no signal.
"Even if we can't contact them, they will contact us. There's also the embassy, don't worry, let's stay calm ourselves and not panic."
As they were talking, several other employees also found their way over.
All of them had no phone signal, were woken up in the middle of the night, and were very panicked, asking Li Kai what to do.
Li Kai gathered everyone, telling them not to panic and to wait until morning.
The group stayed up all night. Some sat on their beds, others on the floor, just staring out the window.
Fortunately, towards the latter half of the night, whether they were tired from fighting or had reached an agreement, the roaring sounds finally stopped.
However, their phones still had no signal. Everyone anxiously waited until dawn. Li Kai said to 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 in reserve, and the power is out. If 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. Having two people go out together will provide support. Who is willing to go with me?"
He asked who was willing to go with him. The roaring sounds 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 lose patience when a man finally stood up hesitantly.
"How about, I go with you?"
Li Kai didn't pick and choose. He grabbed the car keys, gave everyone a few instructions, and went downstairs with the man.
With no way to contact them by phone again, they could only pray to heaven for their safety.
Although the sky had brightened, no one was in the mood to cook.
Everyone just sat there, waiting expectantly. After more than an hour passed, they thought good news would arrive, but the man who had gone 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 as white as paper.
"Why are you back? Why so quickly? Where is Li Kai? Why are you alone?"
The man trembled, as if his soul had departed.
"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 and went through. It was too terrifying."