Chapter Fifteen: Fright

After about forty minutes, Xin Gan finally arrived at the station. The place was old and crowded, voices clamoring all around her. She bought a ticket at the window and waited with the others in the boarding area. When the bus arrived, Xin Gan queued up, climbed aboard, and took a seat by the window. She gazed absentmindedly at the scenery outside. As the vehicle started to move, a sudden deafening explosion erupted from the station behind her.

Startled, she turned to see thick smoke billowing up from the building, crowds fleeing in a frenzy. In an instant, the scene transformed into a vision of hell on earth—children's cries and screams of pain rose and fell chaotically.

The bus shuddered to a halt. The driver and passengers were all frozen in shock, until someone finally came to their senses and called the police on their cellphone.

Just minutes later, another earth-shattering explosion thundered out nearby. The blast roared, sending a wave of heat rolling outward from the epicenter.

Xin Gan followed the surging crowd off the bus. People shouted for everyone to run, and she ran with them, her mind blank and her heart pounding so fiercely it felt as if it would leap from her throat. It was the first time she had witnessed anything like this up close, utterly unprepared.

There were three explosions in total, each more powerful than the last.

Xin Gan ran as far as she could, unable to stop, panting for breath as the acrid stench of smoke filled the air all around her, stinging her lungs.

When she finally could run no more, she turned back and saw the station engulfed by rolling black smoke.

Children who had been separated from their families stood crying, rubbing their eyes, pitifully lost. Gritting her teeth, Xin Gan hurried over, scooped up one of the children, and carried him to safety outside the danger zone.

Half an hour later, the police arrived, followed by ambulances.

…

At the hospital, Xin Gan held the boy while a nurse tended to his wounds. Xin Gan herself was unharmed, apart from being badly shaken, but the boy in her arms had been caught in the blast—his arms and face bore various injuries.

The little boy, who had been crying before, had stopped since arriving at the hospital. The nurse praised him for his courage, telling him that this was how a real man should behave.

He listened and nodded, tears still in his eyes.

Once his wounds were dressed, the police came to question witnesses. Xin Gan, being one of them, told them everything she knew. Then she asked, “This child’s been separated from his family—could you help find them?”

The officer replied, “I’ll record his information, but it’ll take some time. We’re short-staffed. Could you look after him for now?”

“I can,” Xin Gan agreed, feeling sorry for the child.

She gave the police her contact information and address, then took the boy for a thorough check-up to ensure he had no other injuries. Only after confirming this could she relax.

After some inquiry, she learned the boy’s name was Asongli, about five years old, a local. His mother, like Xin Gan, was not from the area, so he spoke a little Mandarin—enough for basic conversation, though his accent was so thick at first that Xin Gan struggled to understand him.

Their home was in a town ten kilometers away. He and his mother had come here to stay with relatives, but now his mother was missing and he was alone. Fear haunted his eyes as he clung to Xin Gan’s pant leg; perhaps, because she had saved him, he trusted her completely.

Xin Gan’s phone and wallet had been lost during the explosions and were nowhere to be found. She asked the police for help, hoping they might take them back to the guesthouse in Wuke where all her documents and luggage were kept.

The police declined politely, explaining they were simply too busy and shorthanded.

Xin Gan could only accept this, then asked to borrow a phone. She needed to find someone who could help.

But the only person she knew was Cheng Jiu, and Jiang Tang and Xiao Shi, who were both affiliated with him. She had only just been driven away by Cheng Jiu—how could she possibly ask him for help again?