Chapter 56

At 03:15 a.m., the hospital is silent.

Song Yan leans on the wall and sits down on the ground of the corridor. He is calmer. He feels too tired.

Xu Qin passes him a glass of water and he just drinks it all. Yet his lips are still dry.

She sits beside him. Her pajamas trouser just curls up.

Song Yan holds her ankles, they are cold. He just tries to warm it with his hands.

Xu Qin lowers her head and holds his hand. She asks; “What are you preparing to do?”

“I’ll tell the truth.”

“Em.”

“What do you want to say?” He looks at her.

“This is your job’s responsibility. I have nothing to say.” She says.

He still looks at her.

She says: “If there’s an accident during Professor Xu’s operation, someone is dead, and the superior wants to check upon it; As the participator, I would record it according to the facts. It’s not because it’s right or wrong but because of my job’s responsibility. But if no one asks me, then I…… I wouldn’t say it because I don’t care.”

“It’s like you.” Song Yan smiles and asks: “Do you think that I should lie? Wait till I be promoted and do more great things?”

She pauses and considers seriously: “Could you?”

Song Yan looks at her.

She hugs her own legs and leans on her knees. She speaks up: “Xiao Yi Xiao frequently goes to the club. There’s a gaffer named A Lu. I always went with Xiao Yi Xiao around the club, and knows her.”

“I asked A Lu, how could there are a lot beautiful women, how could they have lots of resources. Is it because the boss is too powerful. A Lu said no, it’s because they are voluntary doing it. I am confused. They are really beautiful, how could they choose that kind of life? is it because they have no choice? A Lu said that’s not the reason too.”

“She said that the club recruiters only recruit the receptionist position and the salary is higher than being a white-collared worker. The appliers though they know it’s not a good job, but they think that being a receptionist is quite neat job. They don’t prepare to stay long. They just want to earn money fast and leave then.”

“But after working for a month, the boss would say that it’s better for them to work as ushers, they just need to walk inside few steps. They would no get into the room but the salary will be doubled. Em, earning doubled amount of salary means that they would earn fast and enough money quicker. They could start a new life so they start be the ushers.

Then after a month, the boss would say again, it’s better for them to work as the waitress as they already get into the room by now. They just need to serve the clients drinks and food, and their salary would doubled again. Then they just agree to be the waitress.

Then the boss would say again. If not they should just be the ‘princess’ of the room. As now they are going inside the room. They just need to drink with the clients. Em, for earning more money to leave. They just agree. Then after a month, the boss would say again, just be the ‘princess’ who accompanies client to chat as they need to chat while drinks. Now then they would go even deeper. They would not leave at last, they would be the pr*st*t*t* for a life time. They would continue to work that way.” Xu Qin says. “A Lu also progresses that way.”

The place is quiet.

She understands him so she uses her own way to coo him.

Song Yan is quiet, he just leans closer to her.

This moment their hearts are closer to each other.

She feels that her body also couldn’t help but wanting to get close to him.

She rubs his eyes and feels tired, yet the tiredness makes it easy for her to talk.

“Actually I don’t feel that being that kind of woman is wrong or right, perhaps I’m not a woman with principle. I think that willing to do that is their own choice. But I feel if that person doesn’t want to be that kind of woman, she shouldn’t get into it from the beginning. Because….”

“There’s a baseline, once you retreat, you would get down fast. That things would progress way out of your imagination. Because people are good at making excuse, you wouldn’t able to return.”

She says all of her words and she turns quiet for a long time.

The person beside her also doesn’t response.

She looks at him and he also looks at her. She looks that he is quiet and tired. She notices that he has regained his normal self. Her Song Yan is back to her side.

She smiles and feels proud to be able to coo him. “Are you smiling?”

He smiles.

“What are you smiling?”

“Nothing.” He shakes her head, he could see that she is tired too. He holds her and says: “I feel that you are very good.”

She leans on his embrace and finds a comfortable position. Then she says: “Actually I’m not good. I am selfish, I’m unhappy.”

He sighs. He knows what she is thinking but he wants to hear it directly from her.

“For example?”

She yawns and says slowly:

“I also wonder whether you would betray your principle for me? I am not forcing me to do it, but it seems that doing that would prove something.”

She always minds how would he act for her.

“But the deceased firefighter is still laying there. Your comrades are also still unconscious. If you ignore the deceased and don’t care about the truth. Then you would be too awful, I wouldn’t like that side of you too.”

“…. Moreover, you also feel this way because you consider your promise to me. I could see your struggle. I’m heartbroken but I also feel happy.” She laughs lightly.

He looks at her face and his smile is even bitter.

She rubs her eyes again and yawns.

He lowers his voice: “You are very sleepy?”

“Em, you should be sleepier than me right? You just got into the fire scene, it should waste your energy.”

Song Yan is startled and just notices that his whole body feels so tired.

She raises her head: “Tomorrow you wouldn’t have a rest?”

“The superior would come to the task force.”

“I hope the superior would be upright. Then what we worry would not happen.”

“I wish that I could go home earlier to have a rest.” He smiles.

He should leave now.

“Em.”

He holds her to stand up and wants to send her out. Liu Ye Tan’s group leader comes over.

Xu Qin waves her hand. “Go mind your business, no need to take care of me. I could go home by myself.”

She turns her body and wants to leave. Song Yan holds her hand: “Xu Qin.”

“Em?” She is startled; “Is there something else?”

He looks at her and his gaze is firmer. “Don’t worry. For this matter, I would handle everything well.” Then in next second, he laughs. “……I would not let you down.”

“Em.” Her eyes turn bright, she nods. She trusts him.

He feels like he is alive right now. He smiles and strokes her head.

Xu Qin leaves.

Song Yan watches her leave and withdraws his smile. He looks at the Leader Wu.

He comes over: “We should go home. The sun will rise soon. The group would come and check on us. Before that we should make a clear explanation.”

Song Yan: “Okay.”

Both fo them goes toward the exit.

The leader Wu is on the verge of falling apart, this moment his mood isn’t stable: “Song Yan, I examined the fire scene, the fire shouldn’t be that great. I know that you could see it and I wouldn’t hide it from you. Previously I just knew that the bar is belonged to Fu Er Dai (Children of entrepreneurs who became wealthy under Deng Xiao Ping’s economic reforms in the 1980s), I don’t know that there’s a superior who takes money.”

Song Yan doesn’t disturb him, he just listens to him.

“I know Ye Tan’s group better than you, I could guess who is it. The matter has reached this point, it might ruin our professional image. But it’s hard to avoid it. I wouldn’t let this off. If I let this off, I would have nightmares everyday. I would keep on seeing his face.” The leader Wu chokes: “His Pa Ma are rushing over here by train, I…..” He turns his head away to wipe his tears.

Song Yan: “Don’t be discouraged. No one would be hasty.”

“Yet the our high leader……his family background…..” Leader Wu bites her lips: “This time…..”

They both reach the main exit door and he just stops talking.

They both are wearing their firefighting suit, the time they are out, those reporters come over and surround them.

“Are you guys Liu Ye Tan’s firefighters?”

“How are the condition of the injured firefighters? How are they?”

“How could it explode?”

“Why it’s hard to control the fire, was it because of competency?”

Song Yan just walks and doesn’t mind those reporter.

The leader Wu suddenly stops and calls: “Song Yan.”

Song Yan looks at him and could guess what he wants to do.

“We couldn’t do anything, it’s better if we…..”

Song Yan cuts him off: “Those reporters just think of their own family, they just want to gain benefit from the fire scene.”

“I think that’s a great idea, it has a great power. The leaders would think carefully to manipulate.”

“Calm down.” Song Yan says to him. “If these news spread out, a lot of things would be out of control. Perhaps it would attack those people but it’s possible it would attack the whole group. It would involve unrelated people. Let’s not take this road.”

“We couldn’t do this, we couldn’t do that, tell me what should we do?”

Song Yan ponders and says: “Though we aren’t going to do that, but we could take advantage of this.”

………

In the morning 09:00 a.m., in the meeting room of Liu Ye Tan’s fire department.

The investigation group’s leader, the leader of Nan Cheng country’s political commissar, and all the other leaders also come over.

This time there are three commoner and one firefighter dead because of this fire. It creates a negative image of the firefighters’ competency. The section chief Chen looks unhappy.

Liu Ye Tan’s leader is getting ready to prepare tea for them, but the section chief Chen stops him: “Don’t waste any time, let’s sit down and start the meeting.”

The fire accident is under Liu Ye Tan’s jurisdiction, Liu Ye Tan’s group leader gives a brief summary of what happened. When he is done, the section chief, Chen, asks: “Who is the team leader?”

Team leader Wu raises up his hand.

The section leader chen says: “You were one of the people on the fire scene. From your point of view, give me the summary of what happened on scene.”

The leader of Liu Ye Tan’s face changes.

Team leader Wu isn’t as emotional as before, he explains in systematic and methodical manner. His explanation is identical with the team leader, it’s just at last he mentions:

“If it’s not Shi Li Tai’s Team leader Song’s correct judgement, there would be more victims, there might be around six firefighters died and there would be more injured victim.”

The section leader Chen frowns, he feels even unhappier.

If there’re six to seven firefighters dead, it would be a major investigation.

His expression makes the whole atmosphere turns stiff.

The section leader Chen asks: “Shi Li Tai team leader Song, is he the one that get merit for last time earthquake rescue mission?” He looks around to find Song Yan.

Song Yan nods.

The section leader Chen is turning a bit relaxed: “This time you also get merit……. Have you written the initial report for this fire disaster?”

Song Yan: “Yes.”

The section leader Chen: “Read it.”

Song Yan’s report shows no bit of subjectivity mood or deduction, it’s very smooth.

“The cause of this fire disaster is because of violation of circuit design, it creates short circuit.”

“The great fire could spread rapidly because the architectural design. From the firefighters’ point of view it’s not up to standard, it creates the flame could spread so quickly. In the interior of the bar the circuit isn’t insulated, the material around the bar is inflammable, the flee path is blocked up.”

“Finally the fire scene is explosive and uncontrollable because the invalidity of the smoke detector and waterworks. It leads the area be airtight and the temperature rises quickly.”

He is calm in facing those paled faces.

Song Yan just puts down his report.

The section chief Chen slaps the table: “The boss didn’t abide by the firefighting regulation, you guys as firefighters aren’t investigating it well!”

Liu Ye Tan’s leader and the political commissar immediately admit their wrong: “Yes yes yes, our subordinates are wrong, we would an investigation, we would make a through investigation.”

Song Yan says calmly: “The leader wants to investigate, then you need to speed up. It’s best if you could do an initial result.”

The Liu Ye Tan leader looks over.

Song Yan takes a paper and looks over. He reads: “There’re survivors who tried to use the fire extinguisher, but it’s not working. The fire hydrant has no water on it…..” He flips a paper again and reads: “According to witness, the bar owner is Fu Er Tai (Child of entrepreneurs who became wealthy under Deng Xiao Ping’s economic reform in the 1980s), there’s a suspicious that someone gives him the go-ahead.”

“I saw the news this morning.”

Everyone is stunned at the same time.

The section leader Chen’s face is getting serious. The media online has started to make a rumor. He has read all of it.

Song Yan says: “Though during the scene, we sent the media away. But in this current society, we couldn’t block the news. This time the fire accident gives a nasty effect, moreover because one of our firefighters is dead. It would be the focus of the news. The media is seeking for novelty, the public opinion might attack us. The time we as government official respond, we should be careful if we were wrong or too slow, this matter would be worsen.”

“From my point of view, compared with those media’s groundless accusation, letting the public opinion ferment in unfavorable way would be so hard to deal with later on. It would affect the public trust toward us. This matter might be showed as “After the accident, the government officials are blaming others”, “They are looking for excuse”, “they are hiding the truth”, “they are catching a scapegoat”.

It’s better to act before the media digs out ways to get news or before the public opinion is fermented. Let’s maintain the responsibility and duty, come up with the way to handle it. Let the public now in so we could cut off the rumor. Make prompt decisions so we could win our reputation. It’s just….”

Song Yan slows down and says: “The public’s eyes are very poisonous, their words are mean, they couldn’t be deceived. if not, we would be over soon.”

The meeting room turns quiet.

Those higher authorities’ faces turn pale.

Song Yan seems to give them two chances.

Whether choose to cover all up and at last someone digs the truth. The public opinion might turn unfavorable toward the firefighting department.

Or choose to be ruthless, cut off the faulty part and win over public’s trust.

This choice is not hard.

The section chief Chen looks at Song Yan. This young man …. Hmmm….. he is young but his courage is not little.