Chapter Fifty-Five: A Drowning Accident and Its Aftermath

Throughout the summer vacation, an oppressive heat baked the very earth, turning the entire world into a scorching cauldron, much like an alchemist’s furnace.

For the left-behind children in the rural areas, who often lacked proper supervision, their hearts, brimming with youthful energy, were always restless, itching for mischief.

Xiao Er, a student in Bai Anguo’s class, possessed a towering physique that naturally made him the undisputed leader within the village’s various youthful cliques.

Just like any other ordinary day, Xiao Er led a few friends to the local convenience store to purchase a pack of cigarettes.

Afterwards, they retreated to the cool shade of a self-built house, where he distributed the illicit smokes, and the group began to puff out plumes of white, ethereal smoke.

The scorching sunlight beat down upon the land, and even within the shadows, waves of oppressive heat shimmered.

Soon, the hot-blooded youths, drenched in sweat, began to shed their shirts, their bared chests and bellies giving them the appearance of common street ruffians.

Among them, a shorter boy named Xiao Dou piped up, suggesting to Xiao Er, “Second Brother, it’s scorching hot today. Why don’t we go for a swim in the river?”

Xiao Er faltered, taken aback by the suggestion.

He had never once ventured into the water, a complete ‘dry duck’ (TL Note: A Chinese idiom referring to someone who cannot swim).

Furthermore, both teachers and parents had explicitly forbidden them from swimming in the river.

“Second Brother, Huzi from the next village even went swimming by the village entrance a few days ago. Look, he even filmed a video and posted it on Douyin (TL Note: A popular short-video platform, similar to TikTok).”

Huzi, the self-proclaimed ‘kid king’ of the neighboring village, was a rival whom Xiao Er and his crew often clashed with.

As the surrounding boys turned their expectant gazes towards Xiao Er, Xiao Dou eagerly pulled out his phone and played the video.

The video showed Huzi, his arm adorned with a floral tattoo, swimming by the river with a few companions.

Xiao Er’s eyes flickered to the like count, noting there were several dozen.

With a decisive grit of his teeth, Xiao Er waved his hand grandly.

“Alright, let’s go! Second Brother will take you all swimming!” he declared.

Beyond the dilapidated exterior of the abandoned book house, the wide river surged eastward, its currents relentless.

On the bank, a rusted, weathered sign, proclaiming ‘NO SWIMMING IN THE RIVER,’ stood forlornly.

Undeterred, the boys eagerly shed their pants, each one diving into the water like a swift swordfish.

To the side, Xiao Er slowly, almost reluctantly, removed his clothes.

Seeing his friends already buoyant on the surface, patiently awaiting him, he gritted his teeth and gingerly waded into the water.

Noticing Xiao Er’s stiff, awkward movements, Xiao Dou quickly interjected, “Second Brother, you can’t swim, can you? You should really get back out! Just take a video for us instead, and we’ll post it on Douyin!”

Xiao Er shot him a defiant glare, a flicker of guilt in his eyes quickly masked by feigned bravado.

“Who says I can’t swim? Nonsense! Just watch me!” he bluffed.

With that, he gurgled and plunged beneath the surface, pushing himself to swim towards the deeper currents.

His friends on the bank cheered enthusiastically, yet Er Gou, an exceptionally skilled swimmer among them, immediately sensed something was amiss.

“Second Brother! The water’s deep over there! And the current’s strong! Don’t go that way!” he shouted, his voice laced with urgency.

Xiao Er’s figure receded further and further, until, to the horror of his friends, he vanished completely from sight.

When Xiao Er’s figure failed to resurface, panic seized the group.

Er Gou immediately swam towards the spot where Xiao Er had disappeared, while the remaining boys scrambled frantically onto the bank, desperately shouting for help.

****

Beneath the relentless blaze of the sun, Bai Anguo, donning a wide-brimmed straw hat and shouldering a heavy hoe, ambled slowly towards his fields.

In the dazzling sunlight, his eyes were mere slits, deeply etched wrinkles accentuating his weathered face.

His steps were unhurried, a testament to his perpetually calm and steady demeanor.

He hadn’t strayed far from home when his phone suddenly rang.

Glancing at the screen, Bai Anguo saw it was one of his troublesome students calling.

‘School’s almost starting,’ he mused, wondering what mischief they could possibly need him for now.

“Hello?”

Once connected, Xiao Dou’s voice on the other end was a frantic, incoherent jumble.

“Bai… Bai… Anguo! Something… something terrible has happened!”

Bai Anguo continued his slow, measured pace, dismissing their antics as minor.

‘What kind of trouble could these boys possibly stir up?’ he thought, ‘At worst, a few days in the police station.’

He calmly advised, “Don’t rush, tell me slowly.”

Er Gou, trembling uncontrollably, snatched the phone, his voice shaking as he cried out, “Bai Anguo, help! We were swimming by the abandoned book house, and now Xiao Er is gone!”

Bai Anguo’s eyes snapped open, a sudden jolt of alarm electrifying him.

He flung the hoe aside and, abandoning his usual leisurely gait, sprinted like a man possessed towards his home.

He needed to fetch his bicycle.

“What in the world were you thinking? Didn’t I explicitly tell you not to go near the water? Have you called the police yet?”

On the other end, Er Gou shivered uncontrollably.

They had always made it a point to steer clear of the ‘hat uncles’ (TL Note: A colloquial term for police officers), so calling the police had been the furthest thing from their minds.

“N-not… not yet…” he stammered.

Bai Anguo quickly flagged down several middle-aged and elderly villagers on the road, then, commandeering a tricycle, sped towards the abandoned book house.

All the while, he cursed into the phone, “Then hurry! Go find more adults nearby for help!”

Once the boys had clambered out of the water, they scattered, desperately searching for assistance.

Already, several passers-by had plunged into the river to aid the search.

However, after alerting others, the more timid boys had fled home, leaving only Xiao Dou and Er Gou shivering on the riverbank.

Watching Bai Anguo leading a dense, dark mass of people rushing towards them, the two boys instinctively hunched their shoulders.

They understood the gravity of their mistake; with Xiao Er’s fate unknown, a profound fear gripped them.

Bai Anguo, gasping for breath and bracing himself with hands on his knees, questioned them urgently, “Where did Xiao Er disappear?”

Xiao Dou was utterly petrified, merely trembling as he stared blankly at Bai Anguo.

Er Gou, however, managed to raise a shaky hand and point towards a section of the river.

It was a deep section of the river where strong currents churned.

Xiao Er, he realized with a sickening lurch, had likely been swept away.

Bai Anguo felt a wave of dizziness wash over him, momentarily wishing he could slap both boys.

“You two wait here for the police,” he instructed, his voice strained. “I’ll take some people downstream to search.”

The two children nodded timidly, and soon after, the police arrived.

A desperate search ensued, with a large group of people immersed in the water.

They searched from the harsh glare of noon until the soft glow of dusk, and from the fading sunlight into the artificial beams of night.

Bai Anguo spent the entire day submerged in the river, until, finally, Xiao Er was discovered washed ashore.

Xiao Er’s skin was ghostly pale, yet, miraculously, he still clung to a faint breath of life.

“He’s found! He’s found! Over here!”

Bai Anguo quickly signaled to those around him.

As medical professionals administered emergency first aid to Xiao Er, he collapsed onto the riverbank, a sudden, weary slump.

Villagers gradually converged, forming a solemn circle.

Xiao Er’s elderly grandfather, supported by others, wept torrentially, his cries echoing like thunder.

“He’s breathing! He has a pulse!”

The villagers swiftly helped to load him onto the waiting ambulance, and gradually, the anxious crowd began to disperse.

In a quiet corner, Bai Anguo sat with his head bowed, the ordeal leaving his high blood pressure flaring and him feeling lightheaded.

He attempted to push himself up, only to discover that his ‘old cold legs’ (TL Note: A common term in traditional Chinese medicine for chronic leg pain, often associated with aging or damp-cold conditions), which had moments ago possessed a surprising strength, were now utterly limp, incapable of bearing his weight.

‘Old age truly makes one useless,’ Bai Anguo mused with a self-deprecating sigh, and simply lay back on the ground.

—Gazing upwards, he found himself staring at the vast, star-studded sky.

‘If I were to die, would anyone even notice?’ Bai Anguo wondered, a profound weariness settling over him.

His body, plagued by countless minor ailments, and his soul, steeped in quiet solitude, felt utterly exhausted.

His forehead felt scorching hot, and as a cold breeze swept over him, he suspected he was falling ill.

Gradually, the last of the crowd dispersed.

Gradually, he drifted into a troubled sleep.

“Bai Anguo! Bai Anguo! Old man!”

Bai Anguo had been mistaken.

He was not without his attachments, and even a brief disappearance had been noticed.

How much more so would his permanent departure be?

In the end, Bai Anguo and his student found themselves admitted to the same hospital, sharing a single ward.

Thankfully, Xiao Er had successfully survived the ordeal.

Unfortunately, however, the stress had triggered a severe flare-up of Old Bai’s (TL Note: A respectful, somewhat familiar way to refer to an elder named Bai) various chronic ailments.

Bai’s Mother sat by his bedside, gently stroking Bai Anguo’s hand, which was connected to an IV drip, while using her other hand to wipe away her tears.

“We recommend hospitalization,” the doctor explained. “The patient’s physical condition is currently quite poor.”