Chapter 254 - 115: Courage (Part 2)

Chapter 254: Chapter 115: Courage (Part 2)

"An older woman," Xiaoli recalled. "She said she had to go see her nephew and had some family business, so she left once the ambulance arrived."

"But why would an ordinary person be out on the outskirts?" Zhang Shutong questioned instinctively.

"And for that matter, ordinary people don’t ride motorcycles onto ferries," Xiaoli said with a chuckle. "Why she was there isn’t my concern. I’m just responsible for getting him safely to the hospital."

Just then, his phone rang. Zhang Shutong thought it was his mom calling back, but it was Du Kang. He answered, and the voice on the other end was frantic:

"Shutong, I think Song’s been in a car accident! I’m rushing to the hospital now. Are you anywhere nearby?"

"Wait, how do you know?" Zhang Shutong asked, surprised.

"My aunt came to the island to see me this afternoon. She took the bus, but she gets motion sickness, so she got off to walk for a bit when she felt nauseous. That’s when she happened to see a car accident and helped call an ambulance."

"A little while ago, my aunt was telling my dad about it. She said it was a man, that the crash was terrible—the whole front of the car was practically gone. And you know how Song went out after lunch and wasn’t answering his phone? It got me thinking, so I asked her what kind of car it was. She said it was a small, red car, and I put two and two together... that has to be Song!"

So it was a strange twist of fate that led to Du Kang’s aunt saving Song’s life.

Zhang Shutong explained the whole situation to him: how he had been at the hospital on an IV drip, how he’d run into Song, and how he’d ended up following the ambulance onto the ferry.

"Okay, then. Wait for me in the city. I’m on my way."

"You guys are coming too?"

"No, I’m not with Ruoping and Qingyi. Her dad dropped us off this afternoon and we all went home. I figure Ruoping is with that classmate, Lu. If they came out now, they’d definitely miss the last ferry back to the island. Besides, she’ll just break down in tears if she finds out. You said Song’s going to be okay, right? So let’s just wait until he’s stable to tell her."

"As for Qingyi," Du Kang paused, then said seriously, "Shutong, I’ve never really understood what you’ve been so busy with, but I know it’s something big. I’m not as quick on the uptake as you and Qingyi, and I feel like I haven’t been much help lately. So I was thinking, let Qingyi stay there. He’s full of clever ideas, so he can help you if something comes up. I’ll go to the city and stay with Song. I can keep you guys updated. If I can’t help my friends, the least I can do is not hold them back, right?"

’How much more help could you have been?’ Zhang Shutong thought. ’You were the one who helped me expose Li Yipeng, you rode your bike to the villa to sound out the nanny, and we caught Zhou’s father on the rooftop together.’

But then he remembered, ’All of that has been erased.’

And now, Du Kang was feeling embarrassed, thinking he hadn’t been much help at all.

"You’ve already helped a lot," Zhang Shutong said after a moment of silence. "Don’t worry about it."

Du Kang chuckled.

"Alright, you watch over Song, then. I’ll catch the next ferry. You’re heading to the People’s Hospital, right? Okay, I’m hanging up..."

Zhang Shutong put his phone away and looked at the monitor by the head of the bed. Colorful lines danced across the screen. He didn’t understand the specific meaning behind those waves, but he knew that their frantic jumping was infinitely better than a single, flat line.

Zhang Shutong looked back at the man on the bed. He wanted to say something to him, but he realized Song couldn’t hear him anymore.

’You’re an experienced driver, how could you possibly crash into a tree? Even a rookie driver like me wouldn’t make such a stupid mistake.’

But the man who, just that afternoon, had boasted, "This is nothing. I’ve been through way more than you, kid," was now lying there with his eyes shut.

’How did you end up lying here?’

Zhang Shutong still couldn’t accept it.

He had never imagined Song would end up like this.

Song could have stayed single forever, living a messy life, but he’d always been like the reeds on the lakeshore—resilient and full of life.

He could have been there eight years from now, with his hair slicked back and wearing gold-rimmed glasses, looking for all the world like some high-powered elite.

He could have kept driving that little Ford Fox of his all over the place, with the Bulbasaur that belonged only to him sitting on the dashboard.

Zhang Shutong still didn’t understand what Song had been struggling with all these years. Song understood him, but he had never understood Song.

Not until he could struggle no more.

Zhang Shutong remembered Song’s metaphor about the sheepdog and the sheep. At the time, he’d thought being called the sheepdog was a cleverly disguised insult—that Song was calling him a dog. But wasn’t Song one himself? His parents were far away, his girlfriend had passed away, and he was all alone, teaching on a small island. He had few friends and almost no social life. His biggest expense was treating his handful of close buddies to dinner, his greatest pleasure was holing up in his dorm to watch sports, and the things he knew best were the clutch and gearshift of his little car.

’In reality, this man was the real stray dog.’

Zhang Shutong didn’t understand what Song had been so desperately searching for, or why he had chosen such a life of self-imposed exile. But there were things he’d never said, questions he’d never asked, and now that he wanted to, it was too late.

The nurse, Xiaoli, suddenly shot up, and Zhang Shutong’s heart leaped into his throat. He saw Xiaoli pointing at the monitor:

"Dammit, his heart rate is dropping again!" He glanced at the lake outside, his expression grim. "It’ll be at least another half hour until we reach the hospital, and that’s without factoring in traffic. It’s Saturday, and even if it’s not snowing in the city, the People’s Hospital is right downtown..."

He sighed. "It all comes down to his will to live now. You should prepare yourself."

Zhang Shutong nodded silently.

By the time the ferry finally docked, he was already on his motorcycle. Zhang Shutong hadn’t been in the city for eight years. He still remembered many of the landmarks, but he couldn’t say he knew the roads well.

He squeezed the brakes and deliberately revved the engine with his other hand. The engine roared, and everyone around turned to stare. But that was exactly the effect he wanted. The crowd parted, clearing a path for him. No one dared to stand in the way of a young man on a motorcycle, especially not one his age, riding without a helmet, his expression terrifyingly cold.