When Wang He Di leaves the small village he grew up in, to find work in the streets of glamourous and dangerous Shanghai, the first thing that catches his eye is the beautiful Shen Yue, a young woman also trying to make her fortunes in the "Paris of...
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The morning is damp with the last remnants of rain. The hotel window is opened and the smell of the sparkling water soaked streets filters into the room. It's a comforting scent filled with the promise of the new day, yet somehow how still coloured with the nostalgia of yesterday. From the window sill, He Di watches a rickshaw runner with no custom, splash into a huge puddle unafraid of what lies beneath and ready to start an honest day's work. Slowly more and more people are edging their way back into the mosaic of daily street life, restoring normalcy through their movements. The sky is still cloudy with slivers of sunlight fighting to shine through, like plant shoots of green, escaping the confines of the mud.
He Di extinguishes his cigarette and glances back into the room. His wife and daughter are still sleeping peacefully, and once again he thanks the gods for keeping them safe from this storm. He is not leaving them alone he decides, he can't bare spending the whole day apart from them. Not after last night... not after what they may confront upon returning home. He needs to go downstairs to call Mr Emmet's house to let him know that he won't be coming in for work. He sighs as he thinks of the walk, he has heard that the Peninsula Hotel has upgraded their system, where guests now have telephones in their rooms, but it is yet to reach the Hong Kong Hotel. He quickly scribbles a note to let Yue know where he is and then makes his way downstairs.
When he gets to the phone, he dials through the operator and waits to be connected. Yang answers,
"The Smith residence how can I help you?"
"Yeye Yang its He Di."
"Oh my boy! I'm so happy to hear your voice, we were really worried about you! What about Yueyue and Qínqín? Are they safe? Is everyone okay?"
"They are both fine, we are at the Hong Kong Hotel. We spent the night there."
"Oh that's good to hear! There has been some reports on the radio this morning about devastation near your neighbourhood."
He Di's heart sinks when Yang mentions this.
"How did you guys fare over at the big house?" He asks.
"Oh we were fine over here, we were quite lucky." Replies Yang.
"I'm grateful to hear that Yeye Yang. May you please put me through to Mr Emmet?"
"Of course my boy, just wait one moment."
It is not long before He Di hears Emmet's voice over the receiver.
"He Di, it's so good that you called. We were worried sick!" He immediately says.
"I'm glad that you are all safe as well." He Di responds.
"Yes that was a terrible typhoon indeed. If I hadn't left work early, I wouldn't have been able to join Jing and Bohai, I hear there were many roadblocks put up after I left town."
