Chapter 25: Spring Day Green (8) I can’t go back, I can’t take the exam…
The day of the joint examination soon arrived. Lin Xia followed Zhao Qianyi's arrangement and returned to the provincial capital from Beijing with an aunt named Jin Hui. There was no examination center in Wangchun, so all art students in Wangchun had to go to the neighboring provincial capital to take the examination.
Jin Hui is the relative of Li Wen’s husband, or a friend of a relative. Her daughters Song Xiaojiao and Lin Xia are in the same art studio, but at another campus. It was from her that Zhao Qianyi first learned that she could come to Beijing to study art.
The joint entrance exam was on the 26th. Normally, Lin Xia would take a sleeper to the provincial capital on the evening of the 24th, rest on the 25th, and take the exam on the 26th. However, Jin Hui disagreed, saying her daughter couldn't sleep on the train and had to take a hard seat during the day. Zhao Qianyi, however, felt that sitting in a hard seat during the day on the 25th and arriving that evening wouldn't allow the child to rest well after only one night's sleep. After some negotiation, they decided to move up their departure time to a day on the 24th, taking a hard seat during the day.
Lin Xia felt a little regretful about this, because He Chuan had winter vacation on December 20 and came to Beijing to visit Lin Haisheng on the 24th. She had originally thought that maybe the two of them could meet, but now it seems that they will miss each other completely.
The train departed from Beijing at 9:30 in the morning, but Aunt Jin Hui was in a hurry and arrived at the train station with her daughter and Lin Xia at 7:30, a full two hours early.
However, when they arrived at the train station, they learned bad news. Although Beijing was sunny and windless, there was a heavy snowstorm in the Northeast last night. Most areas of the three northeastern provinces suffered rain, snow and freezing disasters, which made it impossible for trains to run normally. Some passenger trains from the Northeast to Beijing were delayed. Correspondingly, the opposite trains from Beijing to the Northeast were also delayed.
Over the course of the morning, more and more people gathered at the train station, and the waiting room was completely full. As the end of the year approached and the Spring Festival travel rush was about to begin, railway transportation was tense. The train station's throughput was already large, and now the number of passengers stranded at Beijing Station was even greater.
People were everywhere, sitting, standing, on the ground, in the aisles, and even on the platform, waiting passengers were everywhere. The noise and fury were so intense that the electronic screens had collapsed, leaving rows of bright red "Delayed" letters stark and jarring. Fearing the train would resume running at any moment, no one dared to leave. The conductor walked around with a loud speaker, maintaining order and trying to calm the crowd.
Lin Xia seldom traveled far, and had never witnessed such a scene before. She finally found a corner against the wall and stood there for a while. Lin Xuedong and Zhao Qianyi took turns calling her, but distant water could not quench immediate thirst. The only thing she could do was wait. Fortunately, they left a day earlier, so there was still time.
In this situation, the mentality of your companions is very important, because the emotion of collapse is contagious. If the people around you are quiet, you can also calm down. If the people around you are anxious... Unfortunately, Aunt Jin Hui belongs to the latter.
Jin Hui has been renting a house in Beijing to accompany her daughter to study. It is obvious how much effort she has put in for her daughter. If the joint entrance examination is really delayed, all the time and money she has invested in the past six months will be wasted. So she is very anxious and has reached a crazy point. She has been making a lot of noise and asking the staff to give her an explanation. She has had two quarrels with people in front of Lin Xia alone.
During this time, she also kept giving instructions to her daughter loudly:
"Jiaojiao, drink some hot water quickly! Mom finally called and now even the hot water is gone!"
"Jiaojiao, are you cold? Put on some clothes! What's going on here? Why isn't the heater warm at all? What if our Jiaojiao gets frozen?"
"Jiaojiao, there's a seat here, come quickly!"
"Jiaojiao, do you want to go to the bathroom?"
"Jiaojiao, take out your sketchbook and practice! Don't just sit there!"
Lin Xia felt almost suffocated just watching, yet her daughter, Song Xiaojiao, remained silent, like a wooden puppet, following every instruction and moving without even a shred of resistance. It was unclear whether she knew resistance was futile, or whether the long period of suppression had completely extinguished her emotions.
By two o'clock in the afternoon, the train was already more than four hours late, and everyone's anxiety had reached its peak. Suddenly, there was an inexplicable commotion up ahead, and someone shouted, "Tickets can be checked now!" Everyone started to squeeze forward. Jin Hui no longer cared about Lin Xia. She carried her luggage in one hand and dragged Song Xiaojiao with the other, desperately rushing forward, shouting, "Let's go!"
"Make way! Make way! My daughter has an exam! Let my daughter go first!"
Lin Xia was left behind, and in a blink of an eye, the two people disappeared from her sight.
However, it wasn't long before confirmation came that it was just a misunderstanding and the train hadn't departed at all. Several staff members shouted at the top of their lungs through loudspeakers for a long time before stopping people from pushing forward. If a stampede occurred at that moment, it would be no joke.
Lin Xia sighed and prepared to move back to the original corner, but suddenly heard Jin Hui screaming from the front:
"Jiaojiao! Jiaojiao, what's wrong? Jiaojiao! Don't scare your mother!"
Lin Xia was startled and rushed forward, squeezing through the crowd. In a small open space surrounded by everyone, she saw Song Xiaojiao foaming at the mouth, her limbs stiff, her eyes rolled back, and twitching constantly, while Jin Hui was crying and wailing beside her, holding his daughter, not knowing what to do.
Lin Xia couldn't help but gasp. Epilepsy? Epilepsy? Why did she suddenly have this attack?
There was a middle-aged man in the crowd who seemed to be a doctor. He immediately stood up and said loudly:
"Don't hold her so tightly, don't crowd around, spread out! Give the patient some breathing space! Call 120 for an ambulance!"
Then he and the staff who rushed over after hearing the news lifted Song Xiaojiao out, and Jin Hui followed them while crying and staggering.
Lin Xia chased for a few steps but failed to catch up. She stood there blankly, feeling extremely confused and helpless.
Now, what should she do?
Should she continue to wait? Would the mother and daughter ever return? Should she board the train back to the provincial capital? What if the train never ran? What if she missed the exam?
She subconsciously tightened the strap of the painting bag behind her and suddenly found that her right hand was empty.
Where's the painting box?
At that moment, her head buzzed and she felt like the sky was falling.
All her brushes, paints, and supplies were in her paintbox. Without it, what would she paint with? Should she buy a new one? Where could she buy one in time? Her paintbox had been used for a long time, arranged in the order that suited her best. She was used to the shades and depths. How long would it take to get used to buying something new?
The examination room is like a battlefield, and her painting box and painting bag are her weapons!
Without thinking, she turned around and ran, rushing towards the corner where she had just been like a madman. She bumped into many people along the way and was scolded by many people, but at this moment she couldn't care less.
Fortunately, when she ran to the place, her dusty painting box was lying quietly in the corner, inconspicuous and no one cared about it.
When Lin Xia picked up the painting box again and gripped the handle, she felt her legs go weak and she broke out in a cold sweat. The roller coaster-like mood swings of the past few minutes were really too exciting.
Not caring whether the ground was cold or dirty, she slid down against the wall and sat down, slowly calming her rapid breathing and heartbeat.
In a trance, she felt a vibration on her body, and it took her a few seconds to react. It turned out that her cell phone was ringing.
I picked up my phone and saw an unexpected name on it:
He Chuan.
After the call was connected, a long-lost, calm and gentle voice came from the other end:
"Xia Xia, have you boarded the train? I just arrived in Beijing and heard the news on the taxi radio: there's heavy snow in Northeast China and all the trains are delayed. I sent you a message but you didn't reply. Is the signal bad? I'm a little worried, so I called to ask..."
At this moment, hearing the familiar voice, Lin Xia felt both comforted and distressed. She took a deep breath and wanted to tell him she was safe, but she couldn't help sobbing as soon as she opened her mouth.
"No, I didn't get on the train. I'm still at the train station... I'm the only one left..."
.
Lin Xia sat on the ground blankly, holding her painting box and bag, motionless. The passage of time seemed to have lost its meaning. The voices of talking, quarreling, and crying of children around her seemed to be unable to enter her ears. All she could do was wait, an endless wait.
She didn't know how long it had been before a pair of shoes suddenly appeared before her eyes. She was still stunned and had no reaction. Then, she suddenly felt a warm sensation above her head, and a familiar voice gently called out:
"Xia Xia."
Lin Xia slowly raised her head and saw He Chuan standing in front of her with a slight bend, holding a large plastic bag in one hand and gently touching her head with the other. He was sweating profusely, and even his glasses were fogged up, but he still smiled at her and said:
"The ground is cold, get up."
Just now, after she had brokenly and reluctantly explained her situation on the phone, he asked her the number and exact location of the waiting room, and only said one sentence:
Wait for me, don't be afraid.
And now, he really came.
After a four or five-hour flight from Hong Kong to Beijing, and then from the airport to the train station, crossing most of the congested city, he really appeared in front of her.
At this moment, all the fear, helplessness, grievance, and sadness that Lin Xia had endured for so long burst out. Her eyes were hot and her nose was sore. She threw herself into He Chuan's arms without caring about anything, and tears fell down:
"I can't go back. I can't take the exam... I can't get into Qingmei... I shouldn't have come to Beijing to study painting. I hate snowy days..."
He Chuan also hugged her back tightly, using his body to support all her weight, letting her cry and vent, but he just said nothing, gently patting her back to comfort and accompany her.
She cried for a long time like this, and Lin Xia was so tired that she was stunned for a while, then wiped the tears from her face, calmed her sobbing breathing, and slightly pushed the person in front of her.
He Chuan also loosened his arms at the right time, and the two of them returned to a normal talking distance. Lin Xia was a little embarrassed to look at him, and looked away, saying softly:
"Why are you here? I'm fine..."
He Chuan smiled:
"Really?"
Lin Xia also knew that she was bragging, so she didn't dare to look up, and said in a voice that could not be any smaller:
"He Chuan, thank you for coming."
Really, thank you very much.
He Chuan just reached out and touched her head without saying anything.
How could he not come? How could he be so relieved? If he were truly thousands of miles away in Hong Kong, he wouldn't be able to fly to her right away. But since he was so close to her, how could he just watch her face all this alone?
After hearing her crying on the phone, his body reacted without even thinking. When he turned around, he was already on his way to the train station.
From the beginning to the end, he had no way to deal with the tears of the little girl in front of him.
He asked her softly:
"Is the exam tomorrow or the day after tomorrow?"
"the day after tomorrow."
"Don't worry, you'll still make it. I checked previous reports, and while this kind of rain and snow will delay traffic, it won't last more than 24 hours. Compared to planes and buses, the railways will be the least affected and will recover the fastest. After all, this is Beijing, and its dispatching capabilities are stronger than other cities. The Northeast must also have emergency plans for this kind of weather. You'll definitely make it to the exam. Don't worry, I'll be here with you the whole time."
His words were calm, objective, and well-reasoned, and Lin Xia's originally anxious heart really calmed down slowly.
How strange! This was clearly a natural disaster, a large-scale traffic failure. What could He Chuan do alone to change this? But his arrival made her feel at ease. She was no longer afraid or panicked. It was as if she had found a backbone, and her lost rationality and calmness slowly returned.
"Yeah," Lin Xia nodded vigorously and said seriously, "There's still time. I'm not worried. If I can't even handle this little bit of trouble, I'll be even more devastated when I get to the exam room."
"Yes, good things take time. This is all a test for you."
He Chuan took out a pack of tissues from the plastic bag and handed it to Lin Xia. The latter took it and wiped the remaining tears from her eyes. Then she asked curiously:
"What are you carrying? Your luggage? Why are you putting it in a plastic bag?"
"My luggage is temporarily stored. I didn't bring anything with me. These are all bought on the way, in case you need them."
The bag contained bread, instant noodles, sausage, and a few bottles of mineral water—a must-have train meal. He Chuan was truly foresighted. The train station was so crowded that the food stalls were practically empty.
He Chuan asked Lin Xia:
"Are you hungry? Have you had lunch yet?"
Lin Xia shook her head and nodded. She had eaten some biscuits at noon, but she was not hungry. However, she had another more urgent thing to do now.
"I...I need to go to the bathroom..."
She whispered.
She didn't dare to go before because she was afraid of missing the ticket check, and it was really inconvenient because she was carrying so many bags.
Needless to say, He Chuan also understood her, and he said to her:
"If they start checking tickets, it means transportation has resumed. Even if you miss this one, there's always another. Don't worry. I'll go with you."
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