Chapter 14
After Zou Ping hung up the phone, she adjusted the angle of the flashlight on her phone, clenched her fingers tightly, and walked quickly towards the top of the slope.
It was too dark at night and the wind was cold. Her vest was soaked with sweat, her hair stuck to her face, but her eyes were fixed on the front.
Her lips turned pale, and she hardly dared to think about the worst possible scenario. She just told herself over and over again that she would definitely find him, she would definitely be able to.
Not far from the top of the slope was a gravel beach, overgrown with weeds and fringed by woodland, which severely blocked her view. She walked forward on the rocks, her ears filled with the sound of the wind and the rustling of the grass.
She was about to turn to another fork in the road when suddenly, a very thin and weak voice came from the distance.
"teacher……"
Zou Ping was shocked and quickly swept the flashlight in the direction of the sound.
She held her breath, squatted down, and moved forward along the grass. After a few steps, she finally saw a small figure curled up behind a pile of rocks. His face was pale and there was blood around his legs.
"Tang Junrui!" She rushed over, squatted down, comforted him and checked his wounds, "Why did you run here? What's wrong with your leg?"
As soon as the boy raised his head, tears began to fall. His lips turned blue and his voice became hoarse: "A snake...bite...just now..."
Zou Ping's hands trembled, but she forced herself to remain calm and pulled open his trouser legs - there were snake bites and it was bleeding, but fortunately it was not too serious.
Zou Ping lowered her head to examine the child's wound. The bite mark was not deep, just two thin teeth marks with a light red color. There was slight swelling around the wound, but blood flow was normal. There was no obvious necrosis or rapidly spreading bruising.
She quickly reviewed her knowledge in her mind, and her experience told her that this did not seem like a venomous snake bite, but more likely a non-venomous snake commonly seen in the mountains, such as a grass snake or a black-browed rat snake.
As she examined it, she softly comforted him, "It's okay, it's not a venomous snake. It hurts because it bit my skin, but it's not dangerous."
The child, tears still hanging on his eyelashes, sobbed softly and asked, "Really? I won't die?"
"No." Zou Ping took out medical cotton pads and iodine and wiped it. "You're very lucky, it just scared you. All you have to do now is hold on and don't move. I'll help you treat the wound."
Her tone was steady, and she repeated over and over again, "You are safe," "I'm here," like a soothing spell. The child gradually relaxed, and his eyes were no longer so panicked.
At the same time, Zou Ping once again turned on her mobile phone and sent messages to Tang Yuchuan, Shao Yiming and Mai Sheng to update the situation and inform them to update the police.
"You did well. You called me." She bandaged him briefly while lowering her voice. "It's okay. You're very brave. We need to stop the bleeding first, then wait for the police and doctors to arrive."
Tang Junrui's tears fell, and he trembled while pulling her sleeve, "Teacher Zou... I don't want to go home."
Zou Ping paused, looked at him, and softened her voice: "Why?"
"Because... my mother doesn't want me anymore..." He whispered, as if he was telling a secret that no one else could hear. "She moved away, and then our family was just... my dad... My dad wasn't nice to me at all, he always beat me..."
"After they divorced, my mother told me that she wouldn't come back, but she secretly told me that if I ever missed her very much one day, I should look in this direction and I would be able to sense her..."
When Zou Ping listened, her heart felt like it was being gripped by something.
"Have you been here before?" she asked softly.
"Well, my mother brought me here once when I was a child... At that time, she said this place was very close to where she lived when she was a child..."
As he spoke, he sniffed and shuddered in pain, tears streaming down his face. "But as I was walking... I saw a snake... and then... I didn't dare to move."
Zou Ping reached out and hugged him, very gently and carefully, but let the boy bury himself in her arms, as if he had suddenly found a safe place.
She gritted her teeth and lowered her voice: "Xiao Rui, your mother doesn't want you anymore, she just... I think she must have her own reasons for not being able to take you away. But do you know? There are still people in this world who care about you very much."
"Like you?" he asked quietly.
Zou Ping was stunned for a moment, then nodded gently: "For example, me, and everyone else, like Teacher Shao, Tiantian..."
He cried even harder, curled up in her arms, and murmured over and over again: "I miss my mother, I miss her so much..."
Zou Ping hugged him tighter and lowered her voice, "I know. We can go find Mom if we want, but leaving the team without permission and running into the mountains is not the right way. Finding Mom will take a long, long time. We can do it slowly and methodically. Do you understand?"
"Um……"
"The police will be here soon, don't be afraid."
As she spoke, she took out her phone to provide the police with her location information, and then called Tang Yuchuan.
"I found him. He was bitten by a snake, but he's still conscious. It's probably not a venomous snake."
"Send me the location. Secretary Miao and the doctor are almost here." Tang Yuchuan's voice remained calm. "Tell the child not to move. Just in case, don't let the venom spread."
"I know." Zou Ping responded.
"Very good," he said in a steady voice. "You did very well, Zou Ping."
The words "very good" seemed to instantly suppress all the fear in Zou Ping's heart.
She hugged the child tightly in her arms and responded softly, "Thank you, Tang Yuchuan."
The night wind blew through the forest and grass, the sound of police car sirens came from the other side of the tent area, and the halo gradually approached in the night.
Zou Ping looked down at the small body that was still trembling, but no longer struggling.
She held him as if she was holding a lost little soul, light and heavy at the same time, but she had to hold him firmly.
The lights of the police cars and ambulances illuminated the entire mountainside. The faint red and blue lights flickered before her eyes, as if the breath that had been hanging in the air had finally fallen to the ground.
Zou Ping stood up, her back was soaked, and sweat slid down her neck into her collar, but she did not reach out to wipe it. Instead, she bent down and carefully picked up Tang Junrui from the ground.
"Can I carry you into the car?" she asked.
The child shrank back and nodded, tears still in the corners of his eyes.
When the paramedics came over, she handed the child over, but never let go of her hand until the doctor confirmed that "the bite was not from a poisonous snake, and it is not a serious problem. After treatment, the child will be sent to the hospital for further observation." Only then did Zou Ping slowly nod her head.
Shao Yiming briefly explained a few words to Zou Ping, then followed Tang Junrui into the ambulance and left first.
The police briefly inquired about the discovery process. She cooperated calmly and concisely, her expression calmer than anyone else. However, as those people left one after another, she stood there in the dimming light, her fingers suddenly trembled, and she almost dropped her phone.
"Zou Ping!" Mai Sheng walked over quickly, his eyes still filled with panic. "Are you okay? I'm glad you found the child. I was scared to death."
"I'm fine, and the child is safe too." She lowered her voice, "Thank you for helping take care of the other students."
"Don't be polite. Who cares about this right now?" Mai Sheng waved his hand and lowered his voice to ask, "What are your plans next? Are you staying in the camp tonight?"
Secretary Miao spoke first, "I've brought three cars. We originally planned to leave the camp tomorrow morning, but we've had to change the itinerary. The three cars will be divided into three groups. It's getting late, so we'll send everyone to a hotel for the night. Tomorrow morning, someone will take the children back to the studio and arrange for their parents to pick them up."
"Yes." Zou Ping nodded, her voice a little hoarse, but her expression remained calm. "This is the safest arrangement."
Secretary Miao nodded slightly at her, then added, "I just spoke to President Tang on the phone. He apologized for not being able to come in person, but he's leaving me to handle the follow-up arrangements."
Zou Ping pursed her lips imperceptibly and said softly, "Well, he has helped a lot."
The convoy was already lined up on the side, and the children were gradually being loaded onto the vehicles. Some were still crying softly, while others were strangely quiet. Mai Sheng and Zou Ping were taking roll calls and checking the number of people.
Mai Tian held Zou Ping's hand and whispered, "Teacher Zou, I want to ride in the same car with you."
Zou Ping squatted down and touched her head, "Okay."
But before Mai Tian could rejoice for too long, Secretary Miao, standing nearby, interrupted with a smile, "Teacher Zou, my car happens to be empty. I have a few things I'd like to confirm with you in person regarding the follow-up procedures. Would it be convenient for you to take my car?"
His tone was polite and natural, without even a hint of force or deliberateness.
Mai Tian pursed her lips and glanced at Zou Ping.
Zou Ping patted her shoulder gently: "Tiantian, I'm sorry, the teacher needs to take care of something. Can you sit down with your brother?"
She turned to Secretary Miao and nodded, "Okay."
Secretary Miao considerately opened the car door for her, and only closed the door after she sat down.
The vehicle started slowly.
Zou Ping leaned back in her chair and finally let out a deep breath. Her fingertips were still cold, and her clothes were sticking to her back. The sweat had dried, like a cold film. She tilted her head to look out the window. The night wind ruffled the leaves in the forest, and the distant mountains were still shrouded in darkness.
"What's the matter?" Seeing that Miao Zhan had no intention of speaking, Zou Ping was the first to break the silence in the car.
Miao Zhan tapped his knuckles on the steering wheel lightly, as if he was thinking or weighing the pros and cons.
"...Nothing," he said calmly, with the secretary's usual sense of propriety. "I just wanted to say thank you for your hard work tonight. So much happened today, and you handled it so well. No wonder President Tang treats you so well."
"This is what I should do." Zou Ping's voice was calm, but she felt that Secretary Miao was a little strange.
There was a moment of silence in the car. Outside the window, the shadows of the trees passed by in the headlights, the leaves rustling, and the wind blowing through the mountains brought a touch of coolness.
Miao Zhan suddenly spoke again, his tone lowered a little: "Mr. Tang...drank a lot tonight."
Zou Ping glanced at him sideways and said nothing.
"I've been with him for many years." Miao Zhan smiled softly, a smile that was almost emotionless, but concealed a hint of deep meaning. "He's not someone who gets drunk easily, nor is he someone who takes everything to heart."
Her silhouette was reflected on the car window, the outline was quiet, without interruption or questioning.
Miao Zhan paused and wanted to say something else, but when the words came to his lips, he suddenly hesitated as if on the edge of a cliff.
He almost said that this morning, Tang Yuchuan sat there for two hours, staring at the short message without moving. The phone screen dimmed and lit up, but his knuckles were always tense.
I almost said that the message was sent by Tan Jing.
Tan Jing, Tang Yuchuan's only girlfriend.
The content only contained one sentence: "I went to get the marriage certificate with your father today."
He almost said it, and since then, Tang Yuchuan has not spoken again. He locked himself in the office, closing the French windows tightly. Although it was not yet dark, he felt like he was hiding in a completely closed secret room.
Then the bottles of wine were opened one by one, and the sound of the glass bottles colliding was very light, as if they didn't even dare to make a loud noise when they broke.
That kind of silence is not sadness, but the numbness after being torn apart.
Miao Zhan originally wanted to say it out loud.
He wanted to say, "Mr. Tang is not feeling well today," he wanted to say, "He has been holding on for too long and it is too hard," and he even wanted to say, "You are the first woman I have seen him actively approach again and accept and allow to stay by his side."
But he said nothing.
He couldn't say it.
The secretariat has an unwritten rule: Mr. Tang’s personal affairs must not be discussed.
That was the first rule set by Tang Yuchuan, and it was also the bottom line that no one dared to violate.
Even though he really hoped that the woman in front of him could come closer.
But none of this could be said. Tang Yuchuan never allowed anyone from the secretariat to interfere in his personal life; even a subtle hint would be considered a violation of the law.
So he just lowered his head and said softly:
"It's not been easy for him these past few years."
"Sometimes I feel that people like him are too calm, too restrained, and too distrustful of any emotions... Ultimately, they are just too lonely."
His voice was very soft, not like he was trying to persuade or confide, but just like he was stating a fact that was not being noticed.
"If he doesn't say it, then I can't say it either. But... if you're willing, even just caring about him occasionally, it might be a great favor to him."
Zou Ping did not respond immediately.
The wind outside the window blew down from the mountains and forests, rolling up the grass leaves and brushing against the car window, making a slight noise.
She tilted her head, looking at the mountain line that was dimly lit in the dark night. She pressed her fingertips on her knees, was silent for a moment, and whispered, "I understand."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
