Chapter 41 "Your mom and dad are dead?" "Yes..."
"Jiang Hai, it's you?!"
Jiang Shan originally thought that Chen Yuan or Jiang Tao would answer the phone. A second before she pressed the answer button, she was already prepared to shut her heart and calmly answer any questions they might have.
But the moment Jiang Hai's sobbing voice came through the receiver, Jiang Shan admitted she panicked: "What happened?"
It's best if this is just a joke Chen Yuan and Jiang Tao are playing on her.
They were gambling that she would soften when she heard Jiang Hai's voice, so they deliberately let a young girl like Jiang Hai call to gain her sympathy.
"Mommy and Daddy got hit by a car. They're lying on the ground, and no matter how I call them, they won't answer. But their eyes are still open, staring at me like ghosts, sob sob..."
Jiang Hai kept crying, his voice trembling as he spoke: "So much blood, blood everywhere, sister, I'm so scared..."
The background sirens and ambulance horns, along with Jiang Hai's sobbing words, all matched perfectly.
Jiang Shan's heart skipped a beat.
Oh no, something really seems to have happened.
She jumped out of bed with a "whoosh," ignoring her blurred vision from the change in position, and quickly grabbed clothes from the closet and put them on.
"I heard sirens and ambulances. There are police and doctors at the scene, right?"
Jiang Hai sniffed: "Yes, some kind people saw that my mom and dad were hit by a car and called 110 and 120 for me. Now, the policewoman and the doctor have arrived."
"Let's give the phone to the policewoman first, and she can say a few words to them, okay?"
Jiang Shan tried to keep his tone gentle, afraid that any word he said might offend Jiang Hai's sensitive and fragile nerves, which were still a result of witnessing the car accident firsthand.
As soon as she handed the phone to the police, her tone immediately became businesslike.
"Hello, police officer. I am the little girl's biological older sister. The people involved in the car accident were a middle-aged man and woman. They are my and my sister's parents."
I'm currently out of town. Even if I take the next available flight back, it will take at least six or seven hours. We don't have any other relatives in the area. Could you please look after my sister for a while?
Police have been at the scene for many years, but they have rarely seen such a tragic situation.
The middle-aged couple was covered in blood, with visible bleeding points on their bodies as well. The glaring red blood was splattered all over the ground, and they had virtually no chance of survival.
The little girl who was crossing the street with them only had a few scrapes on her arm.
Perhaps it was the so-called maternal love that was as strong as a mountain; the middle-aged woman was hit by the car and fell unconscious on the spot, but her arms were still tightly protecting the little girl.
The police officer who answered the phone looked at the tearful little girl, sighed softly, and took her hand: "Understood. We'll send someone to accompany the little girl to the hospital. Contact us as soon as you arrive."
Jiang Shan thanked him twice and asked the comrade to hand the phone back to Jiang Hai.
"Xiao Hai, promise your sister you won't go to sleep until I come back, okay?" Her tone was very serious.
"Why?"
Jiang Hai was sobbing. She hadn't felt sleepy before Jiang Shan mentioned "don't sleep," but as soon as Jiang Shan said that, she suddenly felt her eyelids getting heavy.
I don't know if it was because I was tired from crying or because I was so frightened by the extremely bloody scene, but my body instinctively wanted to avoid it.
Rubbing her eyes, she followed a policewoman into the ambulance. Amidst the piercing siren, Jiang Hai sniffed and asked the inexplicably serious-looking officer, "Sister, I'm a little sleepy, can I take a nap?"
"no."
Jiang Shan refused decisively.
Although a person will feel sleepy after crying intensely for a while.
However, if you fall asleep at this time, your brain will embellish the fragments of your experience before falling asleep, especially these bloody and unusual fragments, and deeply engrave them into your memory bank.
Jiang Hai was still young and couldn't quite grasp the meaning of "people have joys and sorrows, separations and reunions, just as the moon has its phases of waxing and waning" [Note]. Having just witnessed such a bloody scene, if she fell asleep now, this scene would definitely become a psychological trauma that she could never shake off for the rest of her life.
"Your sister will be there in six hours at the earliest. During this time, Xiao Hai can play games, listen to music, and chat with the policewoman. Just don't fall asleep. I know Xiao Hai is the best. Hang in there a little longer, okay?"
Jiang Hai's voice was nasal: "I don't know if I can do it... but I will try my best!"
"Okay, I believe you, bye."
Jiang Shan hung up the phone and hurriedly booked the next available flight on the Xicheng app. She had originally planned to pack her things and bring a suitcase back to G City, but she was worried that if she packed, she would miss her flight.
After hesitating for half a minute, Jiang Shan finally grabbed only the three most urgent items: his keys, wallet, and phone, and hurriedly ran downstairs to hail a taxi using Didi Chuxing.
Even though it's not yet the peak travel season of National Day, no drivers have accepted my ride request on Didi Chuxing. Jiang Shan has been walking back and forth at the entrance of the residential area for five minutes, and the screen still shows that they are doing their best to search for nearby vehicles for me.
When she looked up, she saw that the nearby intersections were also blocked by horns, making them completely congested.
Tsk, did we get caught in rush hour?
Let's take the subway to the airport then, at least we won't get stuck in traffic.
Jiang Shan breathed a sigh of relief too soon, so much so that when she rushed to the subway station and saw the crowd of people, shoulder to shoulder, she almost gasped.
The subway is indeed not congested, but there is a risk of not being able to get on.
Never mind, let's try anything, even if it's a hopeless case.
"Excuse me, excuse me." Jiang Shan hadn't had a chance to drink a drop of water since she woke up and answered the phone. Right now, her lips were mechanically repeating this sentence, drier than sand that had been baked in the Sahara Desert for a year.
What are you doing? Why are you pushing and shoving?
An older woman stood directly in front of Jiangshan. She was bumped by Jiangshan's hand as he cleared the way, and she started shouting at the top of her lungs.
All eyes turned to them.
Jiang Shan didn't feel embarrassed at all; he just kept pushing forward while turning his head to reply to her.
"Excuse me, I have an urgent matter."
"What's the rush?" A tall, burly man was rushing to catch the subway when Jiang Shan reached out and touched his waist.
In a mere fraction of a second, he was on the same side as his older sister, exploding like a lit firecracker: "You're so young, why are you rushing home to visit graves? Is your mother dead or your father dead?"
Jiang Shan blinked and told him the truth.
"They're probably dying. They just had a car accident, and the doctor said they're in a deep coma."
The older woman and the man were both speechless, and the people around them who had been listening intently were also taken aback. However, they continued to scroll through their phones as if nothing had happened, instead of crying and shouting to make way for Jiang Shan like a heroine in a TV drama, and sending him onto the subway.
But he didn't stand in front of her and refuse to move aside.
They pretended not to hear, but after hearing Jiang Shan's hoarse "Excuse me, please move aside," they quietly moved to the side.
The resistance to moving forward suddenly decreased. Jiang Shan didn't realize it at first. She kept pushing forward, and due to inertia, she almost fell on her butt.
"Watch out!" The eldest sister who had first questioned Jiang Shan had caught up with her at some point and grabbed her wrist.
Jiang Shan swayed slightly but didn't fall.
She turned around and saw that the person who had helped her was the eldest sister who had spoken to him first, and a look of surprise flashed in her eyes.
"...Thank you." Jiang Shan politely expressed his gratitude.
The older sister's hands were warm, which dispelled the persistent chill on Jiang Shan's wrists. She smiled a little shyly.
"I'm sorry, little girl. I didn't mean to yell at you. I was just annoyed by the crowd and accidentally hurt you... I wish your mom and dad well, and everything will be alright."
"Are Mom and Dad safe and sound...?"
Jiang Shan pursed his lips.
More than her mother Chen Yuan and father Jiang Tao being safe, she hoped that her younger sister Jiang Hai would be safe.
But as the saying goes, family scandals should not be aired in public. Moreover, it is obviously unnecessary for an elderly woman who is just a casual acquaintance at the subway station and may only meet once in her life to explain her strange family relationship in the two minutes she spends waiting for the subway.
The old woman was unaware of the situation; she was just being kind.
Jiang Shan nodded and smiled at the old lady: "Yes, thank you for your kind words."
There are still more good people than bad in the world.
Jiang Shan managed to squeeze onto the subway and caught her breath, only to find the carriage packed with people. There wasn't even a handrail for her to hold onto. She wiped the sweat from her brow and quickly found a corner to lean against.
Phew, thank goodness I made it. If I had waited for the next subway station, I would have been delayed by three minutes.
Some people are scrolling through short videos, listening to the background music that's been trending on Douyin lately, which fills the train carriage like smoke. Others are having long phone conversations with their boyfriends, mumbling something like, "I'm sorry, baby, I'm working so late today..."
Wait, overtime? ...Going to work?
Jiang Shan quickly pulled up the work group and found Zhao Yi's name in the list.
It happened so suddenly, I almost forgot to ask for leave.
She messaged Zhao Yi, who replied quickly, though her tone wasn't very friendly: "Why do you suddenly need to take leave? You used up all the leave you could take this year last week."
Jiangshan speaks the truth.
"I'm sorry, Sister Zhao, my parents were in a car accident. I only have a younger sister in first grade at home. I have to go back and take care of things."
"Well... well, that's fine then." Zhao Yi sent a voice message. She seemed surprised that Jiang Shan would face such a predicament overnight. She paused for a moment before continuing, "How many days do you need to take care of?"
"Can I take three days off first?" Jiang Shan thought for a moment and added, "I'll deduct it from my performance bonus if you want."
Zhao Yi sighed and said, "Alright, you've had a tough time too. I'll give you three days' leave first. Come back as soon as you're done."
The journey was rushed; four hours later, the plane landed in G city.
Jiang Shan stepped out of the cabin and took a deep breath of the humid southern air.
At the end of September, the autumn wind was already bleak in S City, and there was a faint chill in the air. In contrast, G City was very hot, and people coming and going were only wearing short sleeves.
Jiang Shan subconsciously took off his coat, but unfortunately, he hadn't been holding it for long before the taxi on the way to the hospital was so cold from the car's air conditioning that he had to wrap himself back in it.
She turned on her phone and called Jiang Hai's genius watch. After several busy beeps in the Bluetooth headset, Jiang Hai's voice finally came through.
"Sister! Are you almost there?"
"Yes, my sister has arrived; she just got off the plane."
Jiang Shan responded, coughed twice, and then continued, "Is Xiao Hai at the Second People's Hospital of G City?"
She had only drunk two sips of orange juice on the plane, and now her throat was slightly sore. She didn't want to talk much, but the little girl's high-pitched voice was so pitiful that she couldn't help but comfort her.
Jiang Hai covered the microphone and asked the policewoman next to him before answering, "Yes! It's in this hospital!"
Jiang Shan wasn't surprised by the answer. When she landed, the police officer accompanying Jiang Hai sent her the hospital's location. Her asking Jiang Hai was just to reassure the little girl.
"Okay, I understand. I'll be right there."
"Be careful on the road, sister!"
Jiang Hai's voice suddenly tightened, as if touched by a particular word: "Sister, slow down, watch out for cars. Mom and Dad were hit by a car while crossing the road, that's why..."
"Xiao Hai is right, I will be careful."
It is said that twins have a telepathic connection. Although Jiang Shan and Jiang Hai are not twins, they are still biological sisters with the same mother and father. Jiang Shan understands Jiang Hai's personality and guessed what she was afraid of in a second.
"I'll be fine. I'll be with you in half an hour at most. Be a good girl and wait for me, okay?"
"Mmm." There was a rustling sound on the other end of the receiver, which sounded like Jiang Hai wiping away tears. As if she was worried that Jiang Shan wouldn't hear her promise, she gave another "Mmm!" with a thick nasal tone. "Okay, I'll wait for my sister to come."
Jiang Shan didn't hang up the phone. He just listened to the noisy shouts of doctors and nurses, and the groans of patients and their families through the receiver, and sighed softly in his heart.
Sigh, why did Jiang Hai have to go through all this at such a young age?
Jiang Hai is still a few months away from his seventh birthday.
"Miss, is it urgent? I see you're going to the hospital." The driver asked Jiang Shan in broken Mandarin, obviously because he heard her speaking Mandarin on the phone earlier and assumed she was from out of town, not speaking Cantonese.
"Yes, a family member was in a car accident."
Although Jiang Shan has lived in G City for eighteen years, he received Mandarin education at school and is not fluent in Cantonese, which he still struggles to use.
With Jiang Hai on her mind, she wasn't in the mood for anything else. Switching from Mandarin to Cantonese, she chatted with the driver, replying in Mandarin, "You can drive faster as long as it's safe to do so."
"Okay." The driver stepped on the gas, and the ride-hailing car shot off like an arrow.
Jiang Shan was propelled forward by the inertia. She silently grabbed her seatbelt, fastened herself in her seat, and stared intently at the road ahead illuminated by the headlights.
It's true that her hometown is in the bustling city of G, but the place she lives in is closer to a county town, where traffic isn't heavy.
The cars outside the car window were rushing backwards, and the location of the car on the phone was getting closer and closer to the hospital, but Jiang Shan still felt it was slow.
She just wanted the car to go faster, much faster.
"Sister!" Jiang Hai called out from afar.
After being quietly advised by the policewoman next to her that "no noise is allowed in the hospital," she bit her lip, ran over from a distance, and threw herself into Jiang Shan's arms. Her small body was like a cannonball, causing Jiang Shan to take a half step back.
"Sister, you're finally here." The six-year-old girl finally found a relative who could talk and move. She whimpered and was about to cry again, "I've been waiting for you, boohoo, I've been waiting for so long."
"Sister is here, sister is here."
Jiangshan embraced the rivers and seas in one go.
Her arm, which hadn't been used for a long time, cracked with a sound, as if expressing its dissatisfaction through some joint. But she ignored the slight pain and only felt a lump in her throat.
"I'm sorry, Xiaohai, I'm late."
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