Chapter 20 Rescue in the Storm
One blink and it was April.
The teaching program was nearing its end.
But an accident struck on the morning before we returned to A City.
The weather had turned strange this year. The usually dry west saw days of heavy rain.
No one had experience dealing with spring floods.
Urgent knocking woke me in the middle of the night.
Several students stood outside. "Teacher Chen, something happened!"
"What is it?"
"Xiaomi was swept away by the water!"
I quickly pieced together what had happened.
The students had come to see me off since I was leaving tomorrow.
They ran into rising water on the way. A girl named Xiaomi fell in and disappeared.
Xiaomi was a left-behind child. Her parents worked in the city. She lived with her grandmother.
She was smart and hardworking.
She had a real chance at a good university in the city one day.
I threw on a raincoat and ran out without another thought.
Sheng Yan grabbed my arm. "I'll go."
I looked at him. "Together."
The road had turned to mud under the rushing water.
Rescue teams were blocked outside the village and could not get in.
We split into groups and searched along the water for any sign of the missing girl.
Thunder cracked. The rain only grew heavier.
After some time, someone shouted, "Over here!"
Xiaomi was in bad shape.
She clung to a broken tree trunk with water up to her chest.
She had no strength left.
Her head dropped and she let go.
Her small body slipped under the surface. My mind went blank.
Then a shadow beside me leaped into the water.
Sheng Yan moved faster than anyone. He was the first one in.
My chest tightened so hard I could barely breathe.
Could someone born with everything handle this?
I tried to follow but the villagers held me back.
"You're not strong enough. You'd only get yourself killed!"
I could only watch.
More young men went in after him.
Sheng Yan stayed ahead of them all. He fought the current until he reached Xiaomi.
He pulled her up with one arm.
Together we dragged her back to shore.
Sheng Yan collapsed on the ground, spent.
I scrambled over and held him tight.
The rain poured down.
Only then did I realize I was crying hard.