When fate plays its hand

Emery continued, “So, let’s be understanding of each other!”

Although Hansel still looked tense, he stopped making a scene. He clearly took in Emery’s words.

Willow let out a sigh of relief, but still…

The pointing and murmuring from the crowd around them made her feel a little humiliated. After all, her boyfriend just lost his temper in public over another woman. Furthermore, that woman happened to be a classmate from the same college and major but under a different supervisor.

The implications were enough to fuel plenty of speculation. The world never lacked spectators who were eager for gossip. The bigger the drama, the more attention it would get.

Yasmine scoffed at all the fuss everyone was making over Miranda. They were almost up in arms and ready to fight. She sneered and said, “Ridiculous!” Content provided by NôvelDrama.Org.

She had expected some major incident, but was this it? Miranda was still alive, wasn’t she?

They had already located her, so was there really a need for all this commotion?

Hank nodded in agreement. “Exactly. She got herself lost and made so many people search for her in the middle of the night. What, is Miranda some hotshot? Do all of us owe her a debt or what?”

Madison shot back, “How can you talk like that? We’re all from the same faculty. It’s fine if you don’t want to help, but is it necessary for you to spread rumors and provoke everyone’s emotions in public?”

Sebastian added, “If you don’t want to be here, you can just leave. We never asked you to help. Since you feel such a strong grievance, you should head home and sleep. We don’t expect you to lend a hand, but at least don’t drag us down!”

Hank retorted, “Fine, I’ll leave! Do you think anyone wants to stand out here in this freezing cold weather? “With that, he turned and left.

Yasmine rolled her eyes and followed him. “I’m tired. I’m going back to sleep.”

The others gradually dispersed as well. After all, the director was in charge if anything happened. Staying seemed pointless now that there was no drama to watch.

In the end, only Hansel, Wellow, Sebastian, Madison, the staff, and three other supervising professors remained waiting on–site.

At some point, it began to drizzle again. It was quiet but unrelenting. The night wind carried the damp chill through the cracks of the windows, forming a frosty haze on the wooden sills.

Madison pulled her cotton jacket tighter around herself as she walked over to the window. She peered outside through the glass anxiously. The area nearby was illuminated by the lights, but there was only darkness in the distance. She could only see some tree branches swaying in the wind faintly.

Madison prayed that Miranda would turn up safe and sound…

At 2.00 am, the rain eased up, but the temperature started plummeting.

Paul remarked, “It’s probably the temperature control system doing some adjustments.” This zone was

supposed to simulate a tropical climate, so it shouldn’t be this cold.

However, they happened to be in a section simulating a desert in the tropical region. A notable feature of a tropical desert climate was the drastic difference in temperature between day and night.

Paul wrapped Miranda in the jacket Sam handed to him, as he had already given her his own jacket earlier. Still, it didn’t help much.

Miranda’s temperature began to rise, yet her limbs were ice–cold. She was shivering uncontrollably. The wind only made her shiver even more.

At first, she only wanted to close her eyes for a moment. As soon as she did so, it felt like she was trapped in a nightmare. Her rational mind told her she had to wake up, but her eyelids were so heavy she couldn’t open them.

Cold…

It was so cold….

Instinctively, her arms tightened around her body as she curled herself up in a ball. Miranda wished she could wrap herself in a cocoon. Perhaps it might make her feel warmer that way.