Lu Hui, with his body completely covered in a protective suit, obviously found it a bit cumbersome. He tottered toward the obsolete factory to a distance of about twenty meters from the building. Wei Congjia wore a heavy expression as he stared at Lu Hui’s back. Lu An stood straight as a tree.
Xi Junhong stood next to Rao Feifei, his mouth flapping away restlessly.
Rao Feifei rubbed her eyes, her thin wrists appearing as fragile as porcelain.
“Is this what you’ve been pursuing?” Xi Junhong suddenly asked with a low voice.
Rao Feifei nodded slightly, clamping a hand over her mouth to prevent any sobs from leaking out.
An expanse of white, snowy ground. Some sparrows sat aloft on the bare tree branches. As those little sparrows took flight, snowflakes floated down.
Lu Hui signaled with a waving motion, then took his first step inside the factory’s premises. Then another. And another. One step at a time, he approached the factory building. He squinted and removed his protective goggles, looking at the dark entryway. Ji Fanyang was standing there.
The lighting was too dim, so he could not see Ji Fanyang’s expression too clearly, but felt his heart thump in his chest. A tingling ache spread out from his fingertips, traveling along his nerves to his heart.
Ji Fanyang opened his mouth. Lu Hui could tell that he said the word ‘leave.’ He quickened his steps. He had already reached this step; how could he go back now?”
Lu Hui drew closer and closer. Ji Fanyang closed his mouth in defeat, staring at him intently. Lu Hui couldn’t help but want to laugh. This kid’s mood swings were quite severe.
What Lu Hui was not aware of, however, was that the crowd of people at his back—Wei Congjia, Lu An, Rao Feifei, Xi Junhong, Yang Jie, as well as Gao Zhengchang— collectively clenched their fists. The people accompanying Lu Hui had, unwittingly, grown more and more numerous.
Wearing the protective suit, he stepped inside the factory. He reached out and grabbed Ji Fanyang’s hand. With the separation of the gloves, the touch seemed like a polite greeting. Lu Hui pulled forcefully, making Ji Fanyang stagger. His muscles tensed, his nerves pulled taut. There wasn’t enough time for them to retreat to safety. They could only take cover.
Lu Hui swiftly took action. He pushed Ji Fanyang toward the wall, shouting, “Get down!” Ji Fanyang immediately crouched down and curled up into a ball. Lu Hui covered Ji Fanyang with his body, protecting him.
With a cacophonous explosion, the rickety factory building shuddered. The roof crumbled. Enormous chunks of concrete rained down, burying Lu Hui and Ji Fanyang in the rubble.
The aftermath search-and-rescue team acted quickly. Director Gao stood beside the factory ruins, his brows knitted together.
Several search dogs ran about, barking occasionally.
…
Ji Fanyang fought to lift his heavy eyelids. All he could remember was Lu Hui shielding him from the falling stones. Everything that happened afterward was completely blank in his mind.
“Xiao Yang…” A gentle-looking woman walked over, “You finally woke up.”
“…Mom?” Ji Fanyang tried to raise his head, his stiff neck cracking, “Siii…”
“Don’t move around, your father will be here soon.” Fan Shuqin stroked Ji Fanyang’s forehead, “Director Gao told your father that something happened to you over the phone. Scared me half to death.”
“I’m fine.” Ji Fanyang twisted his neck, but did not shy away from his mother’s hand, “I…what about Chief Lu?”
“Your squad chief, the one who saved you?” Fan Shuqin revealed a regretful expression, making Ji Fanyang apprehensive: “Where is he?”
“He was severely injured and transported to the capital for treatment.” Fan Shuqin sighed, “I overheard the hospital director say that there’s a big chance that he won’t wake up.”
“What?!” Ji Fanyang shook with fright. He propped himself up with an arm, “I have to go see him.”
“You’ll lay there properly!” Ji Lian pushed open the door and walked inside, saying furiously, “Running around like a fool all day, insisting on acting independently. The day you’re brought home in a body bag, how’s your mother supposed to handle that?!”
“I wasn’t…” Ji Fanyang made to refute.
Fan Shuqin covered her son’s mouth: “Alright, don’t be mad at your father. He had to pull out of his meeting and stood up several colleagues because of this.”
“That’s nothing major.” Ji Lian waved his hand, staring at Ji Fanyang, “My son almost died. How could I not go to see him?”
As he looked at the concerned faces of his parents, he endured the burning anxiety in his heart. He laid back down on the bed and closed his eyes.
The Capital Hospital.
Lu An sat on a bench, staring unblinkingly at the operating room.
The red lettering, ‘In Surgery,’ was like the gates of hell, blinking with a light as red as blood.
“Your parents…” Wei Congjia said falteringly as he sat beside Lu An.
Lu An shook her head: “They wouldn’t come.”
“Lu Hui’s their son.” Wei Congjia frowned, “Even a tiger doesn’t eat its own cubs.”
“You know about what happened when that kid was fifteen.” Lu An said, “When I found him, he’d already been lying in the hospital for two days with severe dehydration and a coma. I was a freshman in college then. I called my father and he transferred ten thousand yuan for the hospital bill. He never asked about his situation and only gave me money.”
“Why…” Wei Congjia was puzzled.
Lu An shook her head, not speaking again.
The ‘In Surgery’ sign turned off. The operating room’s door opened, and three nurses pushed a hospital bed out of the room, the doctor following behind them.
Lu An stood up. The doctor walked over: “Miss Lu An.”
“Yes.” Lu An replied.
“The patient’s condition is not optimistic. He must stay under observation in the ICU for a few days.” The doctor said, “His vital signs have stabilized, but his head and spine…the injuries were too severe.”
“Alright, okay.” Lu An’s eyes reddened, “Thank you.”
…
Lu Hui sat in a dimly lit room, a narrow window high up by the ceiling.
He had again returned to that old factory of seventeen years ago. Then the one sitting across from him should be—Yu Feiyang.
Lu Hui pulled himself together. He wanted to see his childhood companion clearly, but it was too dark.
That indistinct figure was curled in the corner. Lu Hui stood up to draw closer. He wasn’t sure whether or not Yu Feiyang had killed himself.
Lu Hui became a policeman, partly because of Yu Feiyang—indeed, it wasn’t to promote anti-morality— and to confront the specter from his childhood. After all, spending two days in the same room as a corpse was not something a fifteen year old could endure.
Lu Hui walked up to the figure. He almost couldn’t recall Yu Feiyang’s appearance, as it had been buried by the passage of time. He pushed on the already frigid corpse. The corpse fell to the ground, revealing—Ji Fanyang’s face.
Lu Hui’s mind ruptured. He scrambled back a couple of steps. The ground underfoot rumbled. A tremendous explosion ripped apart the vision before Lu Hui’s eyes.
The instruments in the ICU room sounded in disorder as nurses hurried about.
“What’s happening?” Lu An suddenly stood up. She had withdrawn from most of her meetings, only leaving the work that she could perform remotely. This was the twenty-third day Lu Hui had been in a coma.
“The patient might be waking up.” The doctor said quickly, his expression solemn, “But he’s still very weak.”
Lu An watched as Lu Hui was wheeled into the operating room once more.