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Chapter 185: Chapter 185 Earthquake 1
In the blink of an eye, a week passed. Tong Yao spent several days lazing at home, during which she called her older brother, Tong Yaohui, once. She learned that Si Chen visited their parents in Kyoto on the third day of his arrival. He had dinner with them and then left.
He promised he would return before leaving Kyoto, and Tong Yao could sense the joy in her parents’ voices. She jokingly teased her mother, Wen Yun.
"Mom, you sent your only daughter off for marriage. Did you ever consider the possibility that Si Chen might not be able to establish his career in Kyoto and end up staying in Li City for the rest of his life?"
These were also questions that Tong Yao had always wondered about herself. Logically, parents would not want their children to leave home. No one wishes to be left alone when they grow old. Even if they appreciated Si Chen’s talent and character, surely, Kyoto is not lacking in such talents?
If they were worried about their daughter being mistreated, with their family’s conditions, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to marry her off to a son-in-law who stays with them. Was it necessary to marry their daughter off somewhere so far away?
However, Wen Yun’s response brought tears to Tong Yao’s eyes – she was touched and almost moved to tears.
"Your father and I have discussed this already. If Ahchen couldn’t build his career in Kyoto in the future, we would sell our house and move to Li City with you. We would buy a house near yours, so we could visit our grandson whenever we want to. And in case of any occurence, we would support each other. Even though Li City lacks the hustle and bustle of Kyoto, it is suitable for retirees like us. We no longer care about how lively a city is. Being able to spend time with you two is our greatest joy. As long as you two are happy together, the location doesn’t matter."
It was only after hearing such a speech from Tong Yaohui that Wen Yun agreed to let her daughter get married so far away.
Of course, moving to Li City was their worst-case scenario. Initially, Tong Yaohui confidently assured her that Si Chen would undoubtedly achieve great success and develop his career in Kyoto.
After hearing what Wen Yun had to say, Tong Yao teased that Tong Yaohui was being cunning, which masked the deep-touched emotions within her. She was experiencing a familial bond that she hadn’t felt in her past life, and now she has it all in this lifetime.
Though her soul doesn’t belong to the person she has taken over, she will regard Tong Yaohui and Wen Yun as her biological parents from now on.
"Hey sister, are you home?"
Tong Yao’s thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door. As she opened the door, Li Nuanchun said, "Sis, your dogs have been barking non-stop at the entrance. Go check what’s happening!"
Tong Yao felt a sudden twinge in her heart. She quickly rushed down to check, without giving it a second thought. Xiaohei wouldn’t come here all of a sudden in the middle of the night unless something happened.
Li Nuanchun followed behind and said, "Chen Yanmei said the three dogs are too noisy and wanted to kill them. She argued that you can’t even feed yourself, yet you still want to keep dogs. Moreover, you’ve adopted three of them."
Fearing that Chen Yanmei might harm her dogs in her absence, Tong Yao said hurriedly: "Sister, without keeping anything from you, these three dogs are special. They are intelligent and can understand human language, which is why I keep them."
Most people in this era are superstitious and wouldn’t dare to mess with things that are considered sentient. As long as Li Nuanchun spreads this information, no one would dare to meddle with these three dogs in the compound.
"Is that so?"
Li Nuanchun shivered in fear after hearing what Tong Yao said, considering that everyone had been whispering behind her back that Tong Yao often mumbled to herself. Now, thinking about it, Li Nuanchun got goosebumps and felt like retreating.
When she glanced back and saw the darkness behind her, she quickly sped up to catch up with Tong Yao.
The two quickly reached the entrance where the dogs were kept by Chen Yanmei outside the gate. Despite the dogs’ constant barking, she refused to open the gate. Seeing Tong Yao approaching, Chen Yanmei shrieked, "Where did you find these three stray dogs? I don’t know if they’re rabid or not, making noise here in the middle of the night and scaring our Baodan. Can you take responsibility for that?"
Tong Yao was not in the mood to quarrel with Chen Yanmei. She glared at her and said, "Get out of my way."
"Tong Yao, what is this attitude?" Not only did Chen Yanmei not give way, but she also raised her voice to argue with Tong Yao. "Your dogs disturbed people in the middle of the night, and is this your response? This compound is for people to live in, not for you to raise dogs. You ..."
Without waiting for Chen Yanmei to finish, Tong Yao interrupted her, "If your eyes are useless, you might as well donate them. When did I raise dogs in the compound? Your brother and sister-in-law can come to visit you in the compound, can’t the dogs I raise come to see me?"
When Chen Yanmei heard these words, she was furious, "Who are you comparing dogs with?"
"Are you moving?" Tong Yao didn’t have the mood to waste words, and her face turned cold.
Despite her frail appearance, Tong Yao’s gaze turned cold and intimidating. Chen Yanmei was taken aback, realizing that she had become intimidated by a young girl. Chen Yanmei opened her mouth to speak again, but was pulled aside by Li Nuanchun.
"Why are you blocking the gate? Don’t you let people go out?"
Chen Yanmei threw Li Nuanchun’s hand off and, seeing that Tong Yao left through the gate, she snorted coldly but didn’t say anything else.
When the three puppies saw Tong Yao come out, they got excited and began to pull her toward the main road by tugging at her clothes. Li Nuanchun thought that the dogs were going to bite, she took a closer look and realized that they were merely tugging at Tong Yao’s trouser leg. This made her breathe a sigh of relief.
"What happened?" Seeing the dogs’ reaction, Tong Yao was more certain that something serious had happened. Her face fell as she grew more concerned.
Xiaohei loosened his grip on Tong Yao’s trouser leg and barked at her: "The ground is going to shake. It’s not safe inside."
Da Huang and Xiaohua also chimed in: "Yes, the ground is about to shake. We can’t stay inside. If buildings collapse, people can be crushed."
The ground is going to shake?
Tong Yao’s mind froze for two seconds before her pupils dilated. An earthquake?
Is there going to be an earthquake?
Tong Yao’s siblings, Si Boyi and Si Xiaohui, were still sleeping at home. She took a few steps before suddenly realizing something important. She quickly turned back and said to Li Nuanchun, "Sister, there might be an earthquake tonight. Hurry up and notify the people in the compound and the hospital to vacate to an open space."
She didn’t know what magnitude of earthquake would occur. In an era without the internet, she could only make an effort to notify the people around her.
"What!" Li Nuanchun was frightened and turned pale, "Sis, where did you get this news?"
Tong Yao explained, "Sister, these three dogs are spiritually aware. Animals have a stronger sense of natural danger than humans. Their restlessness now indicates that an earthquake is about to occur."
Seeing Li Nuanchun about to ask more, she hurriedly said, "Sister, don’t waste time. I will explain to you in detail later. First, go and notify Dr. Dai to evacuate the hospital staff to a safe place. I will go inform my brother and sister. You should hurry back and notify everyone. This is a matter of life and death. please don’t take it lightly."
