A Call That Changed Her Entire Life

At that time, Jacob was looking through some documents and spinning his expensive pen between his fingers when he said to
Sam, "Emily's father has a gambling problem, so inform all casinos in and around Haicheng City to keep him out."
Jacob did not want anyone else to distract Emily's attention from him, even if they were her parents.
Coincidentally, all his attention was then caught by the news of the earthquake that had popped up on his phone screen.
In Yunshi City... 'Isn't that where Emily is supposed to be for her business trip?'
Jacob's calm face suddenly changed, as panic started to grip his mind. Without wasting another second, he called Emily's
phone, but every time he called, it went straight to her voice mail.
"Arrange an helicopter right now, I'm going to Yunshi City."
In all his years of working for Jacob, Sam had never seen his boss like that. Without further delay, he hastened to make
preparations.
Soon, Jacob arrived at Yunshi City on a helicopter.
"Mr. Jacob, please do not worry. Miss Emily will be fine." Knowing what Jacob was afraid about, Sam tried to soothe his worries.
"I know. She will be fine. She must be." Jacob did not know whether he was trying to convince Sam or himself.
Jacob's expression was much more unflappable than before, indicating the restlessness in his mind.
Yunshi City was in total ruins and looked nothing like it did before.
As soon as Jacob got off the helicopter, he sent for people to find Emily in different places. Sam contacted the local authorities to
distribute the relief supplies they had brought with them.
Jacob nearly searched every place in Yunshi City but still there was no sign of Emily anywhere. Flustered, it felt like a swarm of
insects were eating up his heart from the inside.
'Emily, will be fine...'
Suddenly, Jacob's phone started ringing.
Jacob quickly picked it up without even looking, and the first thing he said was, "Did you find Emily?"

The person on the other side of the phone was Sam. Ashamed of disappointing Jacob, he keep silent for a while and then
gingerly answered, "Mr. Jacob, we have not found Miss Emily yet. Right now, the situation in Yunshi City is not stable. The
aftershocks will probably follow at any time so you'd better not walk around..."
"Beep", Jacob directly hung up the phone without a reply.
'Emily...'
Jacob called out her name silently in his mind. He had never prayed so eagerly for her safety before.
Jacob continued walking forward and every time he passed by a heap of rubble, he couldn't help thinking about how many
people were buried there? Could Emily be one of them...
Finally, Jacob saw a familiar and slender image appear in front of him. He froze in his tracks, the moment he laid his eyes on her.
Well, she was alive, unharmed, and it seemed like she was not frightened either.
... So good.
Jacob just stood there like a statue and just stared at her for a while. It felt like someone had finally taken the weight of the world
from his shoulders as he breathed out a sigh of relief. Soon he began to walk towards her, slowly but steadily.
Emily knew nothing of this. She was rushing around, concentrating on arranging the supplies brought by the rescuers and
preparing to distribute them to victims.
Suddenly, a voice from a close distance caught Emily's attention, "Aftershocks are coming!"
But it was too late. As is human nature, everyone around her rushed to find safety without even thinking about taking her with
them.
Just as Emily took a few steps forward, the ground began to crack and shake vigorously. The remains of the collapsed buildings
around her started to come crashing down.
"Ah!" Emily screamed and then suddenly fell down to the ground. Just at the nick of time, a man quickly pulled her into his arms
and covered her tightly under his body.
Soon, everything settled down again.

Deep under the ruins, Emily noticed a moderately heavy weight on her back. Suspecting that it could be a man, she tried to
move her body.
"Sir, are you okay?"
The man did not respond. However, blood dripped down from his head to his chin and then dropped on Emily's forehead, one
drop after another, thick and warm.
Emily's face was as pale as the moon. She vaguely remembered the moment when the buildings crumbled down. The man on
her back seemed to be making a grunting noise out of pain, but he did not hesitate for one moment to protect her...
Thanks to him, Emily was totally unharmed but the man was unconscious.
Who exactly was he? Why would he risk his life to save hers?
"Sir, are you okay? Please try to stay awake..."
Buried under the rubbles, the space around them was rather confined, or one could say that there was almost no space at all.
Emily was wrapped in the man's arms so it was impossible for her to turn around.
Soon darkness came over, but Emily did not feel any kind of threat. She did not feel alone because of the man who was stuck
there with her.
Hours had passed by and yet there was no sign of the rescue team yet. Emily could not help worrying about the man.
If anything bad were to happen to him because of her, she would blame herself for the rest of her life.
Concerned, Emily struggled and tried harder to reach out to the man. Soon, she touched his face, his aquiline nose and his soft
lips...
"Cough-cough..."
The man's sudden coughing frightened Emily. She quickly drew back her hand but hit the debris aside accidentally.
"Sir, are you awake? Thank you for saving my life..."

"Stupid." Jacob laughed weakly as he could almost imagine her frowning face, but his throat got hoarse due to lack of water, like
the rust steel rubbing on abrasive paper.
Emily did not completely recognize his laughter, but ironically, Jacob was the first person that popped into her mind at that
moment.
"Who are you?"
"Any guesses?" Jacob slightly lifted his weak body and tried his best not to press down on her. "Make a guess, and if you're
right, there will be rewards and if you're wrong, there will be a penalty."
Emily heard his husky voice. It was as if each time he said a word, his throat was being cut open by a saw. Concerned, Emily
pleaded, "You...You need to stop talking."
"You find my voice terrible?"
"No, I'm afraid that you'll feel more pain..."
"Why don't you say you care about me?"
Soon after, Jacob started coughing again which got Emily worried. She was afraid of the fact that he was losing blood very
quickly.
"Fine, we should both stop talking, okay?"
Emily pleaded in a low voice.
"No, you did not guess yet." He seemed very adamant to hear her answer.
"Can I abstain?"
"Yeah, you can." Jacob slowly turned her round and said gently, "Abstention also gets a penalty."