The elevator shook lightly again. Isabella Lynn let out another scream, and the small flashlight in her hand fell to the ground with a click. Andrew Brooks bent down to grope for it and picked it up. He tried the switch again, but it wouldn’t turn on—probably broken from the fall. He gave a wry smile. “The quality of these little appliances these days is just terrible.”

Isabella Lynn didn’t answer; only the sound of her breathing grew more tremulous and rapid.

Andrew Brooks asked in surprise, “Editor Lin, what’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”

“I—” Isabella Lynn couldn’t hold back and burst into tears.

Andrew Brooks was taken aback and asked softly, “What’s wrong? Don’t cry.”

“I, I, I, I need to pee, I can’t hold it anymore.” Isabella Lynn was both embarrassed and anxious, her voice barely audible.

“Oh, I see. Editor Lin, it’s a special situation, just go here, I can’t see anything anyway, haha.” Even though Andrew Brooks had “seen a lot” in two lifetimes, he couldn’t help but smile, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.

After hesitating for a while, it seemed she really couldn’t hold it any longer. There was a faint trickling sound in a corner of the elevator, as Isabella Lynn, in front of a young man she barely knew, experienced the most embarrassing and agonizing urination of her life.

Chapter 010: Fame Spreads

Afterwards, Isabella Lynn curled up in a corner of the elevator, covering her face in utter shame, hardly daring to breathe, her heart pounding like a rabbit in her chest. Andrew Brooks understood her embarrassment and said nothing more. The two of them maintained an awkward silence in the dark elevator.

Fortunately, it wasn’t long before the sound of footsteps and voices came from outside the elevator—it seemed the repairmen had arrived. The elevator’s control system had malfunctioned, and the newspaper’s maintenance workers, along with the Binhai fire brigade, worked for quite a while before finally fixing the system.

But although the system was repaired, the door still wouldn’t open.

“Listen, people inside, the elevator door can’t be opened for now. Are you all right?” someone shouted from outside.

Andrew Brooks pressed up against the door seam and shouted, “We’re fine, just hurry up and get the door open.”

There was a clatter of noise outside, total chaos. The elevator shook and buzzed from time to time, making the two people inside extremely nervous. At this point, Isabella Lynn could no longer care about her embarrassment. She fumbled over and tightly grabbed Andrew Brooks’s cold hand, her voice trembling, “We, we…”

“Don’t be afraid, the malfunction is being fixed, we should be fine.” Andrew Brooks comforted her gently, though in his heart he was cursing, “Damn idiots, the controls are out—don’t you know to use a gas torch to cut the door open? Morons, bastards!”

Boom! The elevator door suddenly sounded as if it had been struck by a sledgehammer, and the elevator shook violently.

Isabella Lynn suddenly screamed and shrank into Andrew Brooks’s arms, sobbing softly, her delicate body trembling uncontrollably. She was truly terrified. Andrew Brooks was sure that after this, she’d never dare take an elevator again—if they made it out alive, that is.

Boom! The elevator shook violently again.

“Damn it, you bunch of idiots!” Andrew Brooks couldn’t help cursing inwardly, but then he noticed the elevator door was slowly creaking open.

Blinding light streamed in. Andrew Brooks shielded his eyes with one hand and nudged Isabella Lynn’s shoulder with the other. “It’s open, we’re saved.”

Outside, the doorway was crowded with repairmen, firefighters, and newspaper editors and reporters. When the elevator door opened, everyone cheered together.

……

……

The elevator incident was finally over. Isabella Lynn, looking lost and dazed, was surrounded and led away by several female editors from the editorial center. Andrew Brooks composed himself, walked down the stairs, grabbed a bite to eat at a spicy hotpot stall outside the newspaper office, and then slowly climbed back up to the newsroom.

He was absolutely not going to use that lousy elevator again until it was replaced.

As soon as he entered, the voluptuous Lily Carter walked over to him, her expression somewhat ambiguous. She said in a low voice, “Little Andrew, you’re really something. First day on the job and you’ve already written a major report. Tsk tsk, as expected of the top student recommended by Director Huang. Impressive, very impressive…”

Actually, there was a hint of jealousy in Lily Carter’s tone. But in his previous life, Andrew Brooks had always gotten along well with her, and he didn’t take her little bit of feminine pettiness to heart. He smiled slightly and was about to say something when he suddenly heard Lauren Scott’s familiar gentle voice from behind, “Little Andrew, come here for a moment.”

Lily Carter frowned and muttered something under her breath. Andrew Brooks was close by but didn’t catch what she said. Still, knowing Lily Carter, it probably wasn’t anything nice.

In his previous life, Lily Carter and Lauren Scott had always been “like water and fire”—Lily Carter looked down on Lauren Scott for being opportunistic and becoming someone’s mistress, while Lauren Scott couldn’t stand Lily Carter’s brash and outgoing nature. The two often clashed.

Andrew Brooks chuckled inwardly, but kept a polite and respectful expression. He walked over and stood in front of Lauren Scott’s cubicle, smiling, “Director Scott, you wanted to see me?”