Chen Yi returned to Pingcheng on the 4th of March. He and Shen Yu had just finished an overseas mission and returned to the army to report. They drove for seven hours from City B and arrived home late at night.
In recent years, Pingcheng had developed rapidly. The old buildings around Pingjiang Mansion in the old city had been demolished by the authorities, and high-rise buildings stood all around. Overpasses were everywhere, but strangely, Pingjiang West Lane, which was just one wall away from the mansion, still stood among the surrounding prosperity, becoming the only old city memory in this modernized area.
After 11 pm, Chen Yi, dressed in black, got out of the car. His shirt was neatly tucked in, and his belt was the standard 07-style issued by the army. Tall and upright, his prominent brow ridge was heroic and firm.
Shen Yu, dressed the same way, sat in the driver’s seat, leaning on the window with his arm. His short and neat hair could not conceal the sharpness in his brows and eyes. “It’s so late, I won’t come in.”
Chen Yi unbuttoned two cuff buttons with one hand and rolled up his sleeve casually. He waved two fingers and said indifferently: “See you later.”
“Good character.”
Shen Yu laughed and scolded, then drove away. The black jeep’s taillights flashed twice at the intersection before disappearing without a trace.
In the late night, footsteps crunching on the ground were exceptionally clear. Chen Yi walked to the mansion’s entrance. The security guard recognized him and personally opened the door for him.
The Chen family lived in the southeast corner in a three-story townhouse combining Chinese and Western styles. The door was lit at night, and the main entrance had a new password lock.
Chen Yi had not been home much these past few years. He tried several passwords, all incorrect. After the last try, the alarm next to him went off, sounding particularly loud in the silence.
He probably could kick down the flimsy door, but Chen Yi looked around and walked calmly to the south corner. He took a few steps back, then charged forward and nimbly vaulted over the wall.
Just then, Aunt Zhang inside heard the alarm and came out in her clothes. Seeing a dark shadow under the wall corner, she was so frightened she was about to scream.
“Aunt Zhang, it’s me.”
Chen Yi emerged from the darkness in three big strides, brushed the dust off his hands, and smiled at the old woman. “I’m back.”
Aunt Zhang sighed in relief amidst her exclamations, both startled and delighted. “Child, you’re back safe and sound yet insist on jumping over the wall instead of using the front door. What if you had fallen?”
Chen Yi just smiled without replying. He supported the old woman’s shoulder as they walked inside. “Grandpa and Grandma are resting?”
“Your grandfather’s been asleep for a while. Your grandma’s at a conference in the city these past few days. Your parents are out working and haven’t returned yet.”
Chen Yi’s father, Chen Shuyu, had run into some trouble recently. An investor in one of his projects was sentenced to death, implicating many others. That project was already halfway complete but had to be halted for investigation because of this incident.
Chen Yi had heard about this from his maternal grandfather before returning home, but he didn’t know the specific details. He only knew that a residential building had collapsed in the suburbs of City B, causing quite a stir.
As for the related interests behind the scenes, he probably knew less than the gossipers.
Upstairs, Chen Yi showered and changed before coming back down. Aunt Zhang had heated up a bowl of chicken soup for him.
“Drink it while hot, then rest early after finishing it.”
Chen Yi sat down at the dining table. “It’s so late. Go rest first. I’ll tidy up after drinking this.”
“Alright.” Aunt Zhang returned to her room.
Chen Yi quickly finished the soup and turned on the TV in the living room, lowering the volume to minimum. He found news coverage of the residential building collapse in City B from some time ago.
The local City B station had done a comprehensive review after the incident ended, from the first responders to the trials of the people involved afterwards.
Chen Yi watched for about ten minutes before hearing a car pull up outside. Soon, his parents Chen Shuyu and Song Jing walked in from outside.
Seeing their son sitting in the living room, the couple was startled. Song Jing changed into slippers first, then walked inside while asking: “When did you come back?”
Chen Yi paused the TV and looked back at them. “On leave.”
Chen Shuyu also came over. “How many days leave this time?”
“About a week.”
Song Jing went to the kitchen for water. “Are you going to visit Grandpa during this leave?”
Chen Yi’s maternal grandfather was a retired general living in a military compound in City B. Chen Yi was currently stationed in a division in City B, and he usually spent his leave at the compound.
“I went, stayed a day.”
Chen Shuyu asked, “How are Grandpa and Grandma?”
“They’re fine.”
Chen Yi glanced at them and rubbed his ear. “They bicker as much as you two.”
Song Jing said, “Nonsense. When have your dad and I ever fought? It’s always him doing something wrong while I state the facts reasonably.”
Chen Yi laughed. “Yes, you’re right.”
The TV was still on. Chen Shuyu glanced at it. Chen Yi followed his gaze. The screen showed a doctor’s profile, but he hadn’t noticed earlier. “Dad, is your project’s matter serious?”
“What’s serious? We didn’t take bribes or make under-the-table deals. Everything’s signed fair and square.”
Chen Shuyu wasn’t worried about the investigation results, just annoyed by the delay in progress. “Now we can only hope they move quickly on their end.”
Chen Yi also felt slightly relieved.
Sitting next to him, Song Jing said, “Since you’re back for so long this time, why not take a day to meet the daughter of Aunt Zhao that I mentioned before?”
Before Chen Yi’s breath had fully relaxed, it tensed up again at his mother’s words. He played verbal Tai Chi with her: “Let’s talk about it later. I still have other things to do in Pingcheng these few days.”
“What could you possibly have to do, cooped up on base and running missions all the time? I haven’t even seen a single female mosquito around you.”
Song Jing had always resented her son’s decision to give up his bright future and join the army after high school. “I just can’t understand why you refused your uncle’s offer to attend military academy after 10th grade and said you wanted to study physics instead.
Fine, you went abroad for competitions and exchange. We didn’t object to that. But then in your third year of college, you silently returned and enlisted.
Chen Yi, what exactly are you thinking?”
Chen Yi met his mother’s accusing gaze steadily. His eyes were as firm as ever. “I’m just doing what I want to do, making the right choices.”
Chen Yi could be considered as growing up in a military family. His grandfather’s side had many relatives who followed the older generation’s path.
Although he respected the uniform and had naive dreams of heroism, he could never understand what wearing that uniform truly represented and why his grandfather, uncle, and other uncles always said they would share glory and disgrace with it.
In 10th grade, he went with his mother to visit his father who was working on a project in the northwest. The astronomy group Chen Shuyu belonged to and the physics group next door were housed in the same dorm building. During that time in the northwest, Chen Yi fortunately got to listen to a lecture by an old professor on the development of domestic nuclear physics, sparking his interest in physics.
After returning, Chen Yi collected relevant physics materials, rejected his uncle’s suggestion for him to go to military school, chose to enter the competition class on his own, and everything went smoothly after that. He also got to go to the school he wanted.
During those two years at UC Berkeley, Chen Yi was always the star pupil in the main professor’s eyes. He let him join the project group to learn from seniors and research difficult problems.
But the repetitive days of data recording and various messy relationships in the project group often left Chen Yi doubting whether his decision back then had been right, and was all this really what he wanted now?
Everything changed in the second semester of sophomore year.
Chen Yi and the professor went to give a presentation at a physics research institute built on the outskirts of Latarkia City. On the way back they encountered riots stirred up by local dissidents and their group of over a dozen were trapped in a shabby little inn at the roadside while they called the embassy for help. Outside was filled with crying and gunshots.
Chen Yi bandaged the injured professor’s wounds. His hands and clothes were covered in red bloodstains. The commotion around made everyone uneasy.
Night fell. The quiet deep night amplified fear and also amplified the sounds around them. The rustling footsteps by the wall made everyone spontaneously grab the existing tables and chairs, vases, etc. as weapons.
Wind blew in through holes in the windows. Chen Yi and a few young, strong boys stood on either side of the large door, sweat sliding from their temples.
At this time, a Chinese compatriot received a call from the embassy and was nearly crying after hanging up. “It’s Chinese soldiers outside! They’ve come to save us!”
Chen Yi breathed a sigh of relief, and repeated it in English. Soft cheers sounded around the scene. The people outside must have heard movement, and knocked on the door signaling in Chinese to confirm safety before rushing in from outside.
The group was quickly evacuated out. The bus drove towards the distance, and through the window Chen Yi saw the silhouettes of the dissidents on the road.
In that instant, he suddenly understood the significance of that military uniform.
To avoid the matchmaking arranged by Song Jing, Chen Yi only stayed home for two days. On the third day he went to the military division in Pingcheng with Shen Yu, then returned to B City after the conference.
On the day of the Luolin earthquake, he had gone to visit his grandparents at the estate. He received the emergency assembly call late at night and hurriedly returned to the troop. 10,000 officers and soldiers all completed long-distance relief mission preparation by 5 AM, setting off from B City towards Luolin to participate in rescue efforts.
At the same time, thousands of miles away Luolin had already become ruins. The four major transportation lines to the northwest, southwest, southeast, and northeast of the provincial region were all cut off. The tall mountains and ranges became the most difficult barrier for rescue teams to enter the disaster area.
Within the disaster area, Ruan Mian and the batch of medical personnel who had come for training spontaneously formed one of the earliest medical teams after the tremors ended, commanded by Meng Fuping and the chief surgeon Jiang Jinhai of Qilu Surgery. But because medical supplies were lacking, some critically ill patients passed away before they could be treated.
Luolin was over 100 kilometers from the epicenter Luosen. The earliest batch of armed police arrived at the outskirts of Luolin at 4 PM, taking nearly five hours to open up a rescue passage.
By then it was 9 PM. The on-site medical teams had recorded over 200 deaths.
The armed police medical team quickly joined the rescue efforts underway, with officers climbing the rubble to rescue the injured buried underneath.
Ruan Mian assisted Meng Fuping, performing two major surgeries back-to-back over more than 10 hours. Meng Fuping left the final suturing to Ruan Mian.
She was the one Meng Fuping had brought into surgery. Meng Fuping had never paid attention to suturing incisions.
The surgery completely finished at 5 AM the next day. By then, the rescue teams on site were no longer just the initial batch.
By noon, two more small batches had arrived. They switched off with the military medical team in the afternoon to rest. Ruan Mian learned from Lin Jiahui that one of those two batches had rushed over from B City.
By then the rain had stopped and cleared up in Luolin, and the haze in the air had been purified somewhat.
Ruan Mian hurriedly finished the compressed biscuits given out and gulped down some mineral water, then threw herself into another rescue job.
After 7 PM, the rescue team saved a batch of children from a collapsed welfare institution for the disabled in Luolin’s north district, and urgently sent them to the temporarily constructed medical center.
After examination, these dozen-plus children were not seriously injured, only some cartilage contusions and abrasions. Ruan Mian only found out later that the only reason these children did not suffer heavier injuries was because when the earthquake happened, eleven teachers at the disabled institution used their bodies to build a safety zone, trading their lives for those of the children.
That night, these children were arranged to rest together in a large tent. Considering their special circumstances, two doctors proficient in sign language were arranged to stay with them.
Ruan Mian was one of them.
These children were already highly sensitive due to their physical disabilities to begin with. On top of the sudden disaster, it was very difficult for them to fall asleep for a while, some even hiding under the covers and crying softly. Only when overcome by drowsiness in the late night did they gradually settle down.
The other female doctor sat dozing on a short stool leaning against the bed. Ruan Mian also felt somewhat sleepy, and was about to go splash some cold water on her face when a little girl with congenital mutism tugged Ruan Mian’s clothes. Her big eyes blinked twice.
Ruan Mian stopped and communicated with her using sign language, finding out she needed to use the bathroom.
She helped the little girl get dressed and carried her outside to the temporary bathroom, then came back. The little girl pulled out a storybook from under her pillow, wanting Ruan Mian to tell her a story.
Ruan Mian moved over a short stool to sit by the bed. Afraid of disturbing the other children, she kept her voice very soft.
Outside the tent, people came and went running about. Chen Yi had been in charge of the rescue at the welfare institution today. After the children were sent to the medical center he went elsewhere, and was just finishing up some things before thinking to come take a look here.
Walking up to outside the tent, he heard a voice coming from inside:
“… ‘You silly fat pig!’ The little monkey patted the fat pig’s bruised face and naughtily said, ‘That’s the best gift!’ The little monkey climbed up the walnut tree and picked many walnuts. It brought the walnuts home and invited the fat pig to eat together. They both loved to eat walnuts…”
Chen Yi listened amusedly. He reached out and lifted up a slit in the tent curtain, only able to see half of the speaker’s profile from this angle.
He strangely felt it was a bit familiar, but didn’t feel right barging in. Letting go of the curtain, he turned and saw teammates who had gone to other rescue sites today coming back. He walked over that way.
Not long after, Ruan Mian came out from the tent, massaging her sore neck as she went to the water pool to splash water on her face. The instant the cold water hit her face, she heard someone call out from behind.
“Chenyi!”
Ruan Mian paused, turning off the faucet and looking back, but only saw a man in military garb walking that way, his tall figure unfamiliar.
She didn’t pay it much attention, withdrawing her gaze.
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