Shen Yi was once again buried with more workload as soon as he stepped inside his office. Qiao He had been moving around, bringing more documents and contracts for his Boss Yi to check.
As the crucial part of their latest project passed, Shen Yi wouldn't leave the capital anytime soon. However, that didn't mean he was saved from tons of paperwork waiting for him.
He was busy comparing this month's report from the previous one when Qiao He entered his office, looking serious and quite nervous.
\"Is there something the matter?\" Shen Yi asked, not beating around the bush.
It was rare for his right-hand man to act like this anyway. Qiao He was rarely serious about anything, and when he was, it was never a good thing.
\"Headmistress Han just called.\" Qiao He swallowed his nervousness. \"Apparently, there was an accident at the restaurant where Young Madam and Han Yixin are training.\"
Shen Yi's face blanched once he heard what his assistant said. He thought of all the possible things that have gone wrong in the restaurant, and he shivered
He rose to his feet in an instant. Worry and fear that his wife had been injured filled his chest. He moved around his table and went out of his office with Qiao He on tow. He didn't care about his work right now.
All those paperwork and meetings could wait, but his wife couldn't.
\"What accident?\" he demanded.
\"Miss Han didn't give me the details, but she said Young Madam isn't seriously injured. It happened an hour ago. She was sorry she wasn't able to call us earlier.\" Qiao He informed him, but that wasn't enough to calm Shen Yi's nerves.
Didn't his wife, Chairman Tang, and Tang Shui remind him not to overwork himself? That if something came up, he might be the last one to know what happened to the loved ones he left at home?
Shen Yi was starting to regret not taking their advice seriously. He could only hope and pray now that his wife was out of danger.
\"Boss Yi, it was almost time to pick the twins from their school. Madam was supposed to pick them up this afternoon, but…\" His assistant trailed off.
\"We'll take the twins on our way before we go to the restaurant. If something wrong happened, it would be easier to send them back home while we check on Xinxin's condition,\" Shen Yi replied decisively. This wasn't time for him to panic.
A short while later, Shen Yi and Qiao He arrived at the restaurant and paused briefly. There was a crown of people outside, and both men couldn't see what was happening inside. Police were pushing the crowd to make way for the paramedics and firefighters.
They stepped outside the car while the twins with their bodyguard remained inside, but they were able to see what was happening outside through the open window.
\"Daddy, what's happening? Where's Mommy?\" Little Yuyan was starting to sob as she saw paramedics came, and a stretcher was taken to retrieve the injured inside the restaurant's kitchen.
\"I don't know either, Yuyan. Wait here, okay? Daddy will see if Mommy's still inside.\" Shen Yi told her, but the girl went into a full-blown wailing.
\"No! No! Don't leave us! We'll go with you, Daddy! Don't leave us here.\" She begged.
Shen Yi had no choice but to open the door of the backseat and reach down to pick Little Yuyan up before heading inside the restaurant while Shen Zichen clutched Qiao He's hand tightly as they followed Shen Yi and walked through the crowd of people.
Shen Yi pushed his way on the crowd and introduced himself to the authorities securing the scene. Some of them were shocked to see him in person, but Shen Yi didn't pay any attention to it as his mind was solely focused on his wife's condition.
After making sure that the restaurant was safe to enter, they allowed Shen Yi and Qiao He to enter the place. There was still a remnant of smoke with shattered glass and collapsed debris inside the restaurant.
Shen Yi's worry began to grow every second he couldn't see his wife around him. Only when they reached the pathway connecting to the main kitchen did he see Lu Xinyi sitting on the floor next to a familiar woman who ended up being Zhang Qing.
Worry coursed through his body as he looked at Lu Xinyi. Her hair was obviously shorter and disheveled. Her once waist-length hair was now sitting past her shoulders. There were few scratches and dirt on her pale face and arms as she argued with a paramedic to check on Zhang Qing first.
Qiao He was stunned upon seeing the same woman he'd argued that morning, laying on the ground with burns and wounds all over her body.
When the paramedic accepted her request, another one came to help put Zhang Qing on the stretcher before Lu Xinyi heaved a sigh. She held her aching left arm and leaned against the wall, but her sight caught Shen Yi and the twins coming her way.
\"What are you doing here?\" she asked with wide eyes.
Knowing that she'd already seen them, Shen Yi brought down Little Yuyan and rushed to Lu Xinyi's side, checking for serious injuries.
\"I should be the one asking questions. What happened here?\" His voice hint with worry and impatience. Why weren't the paramedics checking on his wife?!
\"There was an explosion in the kitchen. A gas blast, I think. We still don't know what caused it. Han Yixin had finished today's activity and left early as I helped the kitchen staff clean the mess we've left during our training.\" Lu Xinyi paused and remembered how Zhang Qing threw herself to protect her from the explosion.
\"Mommy!\" Little Yuyan wiped her face with the back of her hands, but she couldn't stop herself from crying.
\"Hush, baby. Mommy is safe now. Don't cry anymore.\"