Huang Qimin claimed to be sick and refused to go out. He cunningly sent his wife to plead for him.
You Shulang felt sorry for his master's wife's hard work. As the project was at a critical moment, he naturally could not just ignore it. However, he did not agree to Huang Qimin's request, and the position of Chairman of Changling Pharmaceutical remained vacant.
On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, only You Shulang was on duty. He did a set of experiments and was busy until 3 pm when he changed his clothes and walked out of the R&D base.
I promised Tiantian that we would go watch the lanterns together in the evening, and the little guy called me once using his watch to remind me.
The festive atmosphere on the streets is becoming more and more intense, and even in the suburbs, all you can see is a bright red.
You Shulang was waiting for the bus at the bus stop, still leaning against the bus stop sign, his mind a little distracted, thinking about random things.
"Are the fireworks beautiful?" A sharp young man's voice came into his ears from very close. You Shulang glanced and saw a handsome young man leaning on the other side of the bus stop.
It was a cold day, and the boy was only wearing a baseball jacket, with a white ankle exposed between the fashionable ripped jeans and limited edition AJs. He was carrying a backpack, holding a skateboard, chewing gum, and squinting his eyes, and asked again: "Was the fireworks on New Year's Eve beautiful?"
There was only an iron pillar between their shoulders, and the white air exhaled from their mouths seemed to blend together when they spoke.
"It looks good." You Shulang answered boredly, looking into the distance and complaining in his heart, why hasn't the car come yet?
You Shulang's overly casual expression obviously angered the boy, and his voice became colder and colder: "You don't deserve it."
"Fireworks or people?"
"Neither of them deserve it."
You Shulang didn't want to argue with the kid. Just then a bus pulled into the station. Regardless of right or wrong, he followed the crowd and got on, saying only, "Let's talk about whether we are worthy of each other when you are an adult."
At night, the lights are connected, the bright lights stretch for thousands of miles, and it seems like a street market in heaven.
The annual Lantern Festival coincides with the city's anniversary, so it is particularly grand.
There are more than 10,000 lanterns of various sizes placed in the central square. An ice lantern exhibition is also held next to the adjacent pedestrian street, attracting many tourists who linger there.
You Shulang had a hard time walking in the crowd while holding Tiantian. He bought a panda lantern for Tiantian, but it had been squeezed out of shape.
There was a crowd of people in front of them that was as far as the eye could see and was still gathering. You Shulang had no choice but to carry Tiantian into the dark alley and find a relatively spacious and secluded place.
Unexpectedly, there was a wonton stall and a lantern-making craftsman in the alley. Seeing that the panda lantern in Tiantian's hand was deflated, the craftsman took it and fiddled with it for a few times, and the little panda became as cute as before.
Tiantian was happily eating hot wontons while squatting in front of a stall selling lanterns. You Shulang breathed a sigh of relief and decided not to join in the fun.
He was smoking at the entrance of the alley as people kept pouring past him toward the main venue of the lantern festival. You Shulang looked at the increasingly dense and large flow of people and slowly frowned.
The crowd was like a rope that had somehow tied a knot in the front. The crowd that had been moving slowly began to become crowded, with the people in the front unable to move forward and the people behind continuing to pour in.
Some people lost their balance and tilted their bodies, and were accidentally knocked down by the crowds of people rushing in from behind. It seemed that a chain reaction had started, and more and more people fell down, with thousands of feet stepping on them, and suddenly there were wails everywhere!
"Don't push, don't push, someone fell down!"
"My child is missing!"
"Shit, there's danger, everyone retreat, retreat quickly!"
Some people wanted to run out, and more people who didn't know the situation wanted to rush in. The peaceful and warm atmosphere was suddenly broken, and a grand celebration turned into a chaotic and high-risk accident amid heart-wrenching screams!
You Shulang was at one of the entrances to the central square, where the pedestrian street met the square, and naturally there were the most tourists. The shops on both sides of the pedestrian street were playing peaceful music, and the crowds were noisy, so naturally they couldn't hear the ghosts and wolves howling in front.
You Shulang already had some concerns in his mind, so he was very alert. He was standing on high ground, so even if he couldn't hear the sound of people calling for help, he could see that there seemed to be some unusual movements in the crowd ahead.
Suddenly tensing his body, he looked around and saw a ladder standing in the corner of a shop. Without saying a word, he set up the ladder and quickly climbed onto the roof.
He looked up and his heart skipped a beat! More than 200 meters ahead, there was already chaos! The outstretched arms of the tourists seemed to be tangled together, like creatures crawling out of hell.
After climbing down the ladder, You Shulang picked up Tiantian and pushed open the door of a nearby business, saying anxiously, "There's an accident ahead, I need to go over to help, can you please help me take care of the child?"
After he went out, he shouted to the old man making lanterns and selling wontons, "There's a stampede ahead, hurry up and hide in the store!"
Turning out of the dark alley, they saw a steady stream of tourists still pouring into the main venue. Seven or eight young men who looked like college students walked past You Shulang happily, but he stopped them with a stretch of his arm.
You Shulang spoke quickly but calmly: "There's a stampede ahead, I need your help now..."
After a moment, several college students quickly changed direction and, according to You Shulang's instructions, diverted some of the tourists into several dark alleys.
"He said we must not shout loudly to avoid causing panic and not let tourists go back, which could also easily lead to a stampede."
Another college student nodded and said, "Let's get some more people to help. He said we should choose those who are young and strong and look easy to communicate with."
"Did Wang Qingliang go to notify the security personnel at the entrance of the pedestrian street?"
"Yes, after that person finished speaking, Wang Qingliang ran down the path to inform them not to let any more tourists in."
When they looked back, they could no longer see the man who had just assigned the tasks in a clear and orderly manner.
The further they went, the harder it became. You Shulang went against the flow of people and was almost pushed down several times.
After squeezing into the inner circle, he took a quick glance and saw that it was more serious than he had imagined. The stampede occurred on a staircase, which was only three meters wide and two meters long, but there were people stacked on top of each other. He didn't know how many layers there were!
Many people fell down at the foot of the stairs, and the area trampled was still expanding due to the panic and crowded crowd.
Screaming, groaning, and crying, this square that should have been a place of joy has turned into a hell on earth.
There were already security personnel on site trying to evacuate tourists from outside the area, but due to limited manpower, the results were minimal.
Risking being trampled, You Shulang immediately joined them.
Bang! There was a loud noise not far away.
You Shulang, who was evacuating tourists, suddenly turned his head and saw that a wooden observation tower about three meters high had collapsed!
The screams were deafening! The overloaded observation tower collapsed with hundreds of tourists who had climbed up to avoid being trampled, and fell on the crowd on the ground who were also screaming!
You Shulang's world seemed to be silent for a moment, and faces of fear, terror, and regret froze in place! He suddenly saw the doomsday scene that Fan Xiao had described, and saw his trembling and inner demons.
You Shulang was startled by Rulang's screams and quickly came back to his senses. He grabbed a muscular and fat man who was pushing the crowd hard.
"Don't panic! Leave in an orderly manner according to the instructions, and you will be fine."
The situation at the trampling site on the stairs has been basically under control. The medical team that had been on standby outside the square has rushed over and provided preliminary treatment to the injuries of the people involved in the trampling one by one.
At this time, You Shulang was pulling out a woman who was pressed under the stage.
"Can you move your legs? Can you exert some strength? I'll crawl a little further in, you hold my neck, and we'll get out together."
The lookout tower, which was made of a mixture of wood and steel, was already in pieces. In some places, narrow spaces were formed with the ground and it could collapse again at any time.
You Shulang crawled in, crawled on the ground, let the woman hold her arms around his neck, and crawled out little by little with her.
After handing the woman over to other rescuers, You Shulang straightened up by holding his waist.
What I saw was a ruin, or what could be called a purgatory. Tourists fell from the observation deck everywhere. Some were lucky enough to have only minor injuries, some twisted their bodies and wailed while covering their wounds, and some lay motionless on the cold ground as if they were sleeping.
And these are just the people who fell from the platform, there are many more people who are buried under the rubble!
At present, many security personnel and volunteers have participated in the rescue, rescuing trapped tourists at every possible breakthrough point.
An old hand suddenly grabbed You Shulang, and the old woman with gray hair knelt at his feet, tears streaming down her face, and clasped her hands together: "Please save my grandson, save my grandson! Please!"
You Shulang didn't bother to help her. He just said "Don't worry" and leaned over to look at where the old woman pointed.
As he looked up and down, a figure in the distance suddenly came into view. It was broad, strong, and very familiar. You Shulang was slightly stunned, and when he looked again, he saw a mess of figures.
He felt like he was dazzled, and quickly put aside his thoughts in a glance, turned on the flashlight, and shone it into the fragmented gaps.
When the dim cylindrical light swept across, You Shulang's heart trembled. There were so many people crammed into this place of only a few square meters!
The cries of pain and help became even more tragic after seeing the light of the flashlight. You Shulang heard a familiar voice among them. He shone the light of the flashlight over and his handsome eyes widened slightly: "Vice President Xue?"
Xue Baotian was also startled, and then he howled like a ghost seeing his family: "You Shulang! Director You! Please save me, I'm going to be crushed to death!"
You Shulang made a soothing gesture. He quickly analyzed the situation in this narrow area and made a judgment.
"Don't move that part yet. If you do, this place will collapse."
"You're still holding a grudge against me, aren't you? You didn't save me last time, and you won't save me this time, but we've reconciled, haven't we? I've even changed your WeChat group from 'idiot' to 'friend'." Xue Baotian wiped his nose in grievance, "I didn't expect that I was wrong after all!"
You Shulang ignored him and asked the injured person who was easiest to rescue. After learning that his feet were pressed by the wood, he stood up, found a stone two palms wide, and then carefully crawled into the narrow space.
Using stones to prop up the broken wood, he guided the injured man to pull his feet out little by little, and then used the same method he had used to rescue the woman to bring the injured man out of the ruins.
"This is not my grandson." The old woman lay on the cold ground and pointed inside, "My grandson is inside!"
You Shulang looked in the direction she pointed. The flashlight only illuminated a few pieces of cloth. His heart sank. The child was buried so deep, which meant it would be difficult to rescue him in the first place.
He rescued another wounded man whose half body was covered in blood. A piece of splintered wood was stuck in the man's shoulder, and blood was pouring out continuously, dyeing You Shulang's light grey down jacket into a dark red.
There was also blood on his face, which felt sticky and uncomfortable. You Shulang rubbed it with his shoulder and bent down again.
"Shulang!" A loud shout and a cold wind suddenly came, and You Shulang, who was almost exhausted, was suddenly pulled into a familiar embrace.
"What happened to you? Where are you hurt?!" Fan Xiao's voice almost changed. Tears covered his eyes. He wanted to hug You Shulang tightly, but was afraid of hurting him. "I'll take you to the hospital. Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, baby. I'll take you to the hospital now! You'll be fine."
That figure turned out to be him. For some reason, You Shulang, who was nervous, felt his eyes warm up and his emotions were tangled together, and he couldn't tell whether he was happy or angry.
This embrace was so familiar, so familiar that when he leaned into it, all his strength was released.
Fan Xiao seemed to want to be carried like a princess again, but You Shulang held his cold hand and said softly, "I'm fine."
Fan Xiao had fallen into a certain fear and could not receive any information from the outside world. His tears fell and he insisted on taking You Shulang to the hospital.
You Shulang held Fan Xiao's face with both hands, wiped away his tears with his thumb, and blended his warm breath with his. He said word by word: "Fan Xiao, I'm fine, I'm not injured. The blood on my body belongs to someone else. I'm saving people just like you."
He said it twice before Fan Xiao gradually calmed down: "You are not injured? You won't die?"
You Shulang wiped away another warm tear and said solemnly: "He is not injured and will not die."
This time, it was Fan Xiao's turn to lose strength. His legs went limp and he muttered, "I was scared to death."
Suddenly, both people felt a sharp pain in their ankles. When they looked down, they found that they were being poked by a small stick that stretched out from the ruins.
"Can you two do your lovemaking at another time? Please save me, I'm almost turning into a Leshan Buddha."
"Who?" Fan Xiao asked.
"Xue Baotian." You Shulang left Fan Xiao's embrace and said calmly, "Save him."
In the ruins, You Shulang stretched out his hand to Xue Baotian: "Can you move? Where are you hurt?"
Xue Baotian's voice became gloomy at this time: "No one is injured, you can move."
"Give me your hand."
A huge, cold hand was placed in You Shulang's palm: "Take him out first."
Only then did You Shulang realize that there was someone behind Xue Baotian!
He held up the flashlight and saw Xue Baotian leaning sideways, revealing the person behind him. The person was almost lying on Xue Baotian, protecting the person under him in his arms. Just now, due to the obstruction of the messy wood and the angle, You Shulang did not see this person.
"Take him out, sir. He's crushing me to death. He was crushing me before and he's still crushing me now. He's heavier than a piece of wood."
"No." Fan Xiao, who had also leaned half of his body in, refused, "He's behind you, if he moves, you must move first."
"Stop talking nonsense, do you have any status in the family? Listen to Director You."
Xue Baotian's hopeful gaze fell on You Shulang, but he heard a calm voice: "We will take you out first, and then rescue him."
Xue Baotian was the only one who came out of the ruins without any injuries. He patted his dirty mink coat, stuck out his butt and said to the unconscious man inside: "Goodbye, if you are lucky enough to report to the King of Hell today, please tell him that you can be a pig or a dog in your next life, but please don't be a gay, it's too annoying."
After saying this, he dragged the small stick through the messy crowd and disappeared.
Under the ruins, only the man behind Xue Baotian and the buried boy were left. The boy's grandmother knelt on the ground with her hands clasped together, crying and hoping for God's blessing.
"The construction vehicles are stuck on the road. When I went in to rescue people just now, I saw a child bleeding. I'm afraid it's too late to wait for the crane." You Shulang unzipped his down jacket, "I'll go in and check the situation."
"I'll go with you." Fan Xiao also took off his coat. "The people in front have been rescued. The space below is not small now. The child is buried deep and the terrain is complicated. It may be inconvenient to rescue him alone. I'll go with you. We'll try to bring him out the first time we go in."
"Fan Xiao." You Shulang stopped him, looking hesitant and conflicted.
Fan Xiao smiled and said, "Just think of me as putting on a show in front of you. Last time, we rescued Tiantian together. We will definitely succeed this time too."
After saying that, he was the first to lie on the ground and crawl into the ruins. You Shulang was silent for a moment, then followed closely.
The situation inside was more complicated than they had expected. The two men crawled to the narrowest part and could not go any further, but were still an arm's length away from the boy.
Moreover, there were broken pieces of wood of various sizes lying in front of the boy, and his body was stuck in the gap. The bright red blood looked pale even under the flashlight.
"Look over there." You Shulang focused his flashlight on a corner. "We only need to move half a body forward to clear the thin wood around the child's feet and open a rescue passage."
Fan Xiao's body was stuck in the gap. He looked up and down and said, "If we want to get half of our body in, we have to widen the passage. The wood above cannot move. The only thing that can move is the wood below us."
He moved his body closer to You Shulang, leaving the space where he had just been lying, and used the tools in his hand to pry the wood on the ground.
Thin wood is easy to pry open, but thick wood has to be broken into pieces before being pried open. Even the slightest vibration may cause a landslide. Every move Fan Xiao makes is a gamble on God's favor.
He leaned closer to You Shulang again, their two bodies pressed tightly together, exchanging each other's warmth through the thin clothes.
This seemed to be the closest the two had been since Fan Xiao's scam was exposed. Even though they had slept together, fought, and had been at zero distance and negative distance before, they were never as intimate as they were now.
You Shulang watched the sweat dripping slowly from Fan Xiao's temples. He looked away and suppressed the inappropriate thoughts that had arisen in his mind.
"Hmm!" Fan Xiao groaned.
"What's wrong?"
"It's okay. My palms were sweaty and the skewer slipped out of my hand."
The knocking sounds were heard again, and the flesh on Fan Xiao's palm, which was cut by the sharp wood chips, began to bleed rapidly.
After widening the passage, Fan Xiao leaned half his body forward. He used his hands to clear the broken wood under the child's feet, and sure enough, there was enough space to pull the child out.
But the angle is a problem, and forceful dragging will only aggravate the boy's injuries.
You Shulang crawled forward a little further with difficulty. His chest and back were scratched and he felt waves of pain.
Reaching out his hand, he grabbed the child's head, then looked at Fan Xiao.
With just one look, Fan Xiao understood what You Shulang meant. If they dragged the child one by one, they could reduce the secondary harm to the child to the greatest extent.
You Shulang nodded slightly and exerted force on his hands. Fan Xiao also exerted force at this time and pulled the child out of the passage a little.
After repeating this process dozens of times, the child was finally pulled out. Fan Xiao turned sideways and wrapped the child in his arms, then backed away little by little until he finally left the ruins.
"Alive and breathing." When he said this, the crowd cheered enthusiastically. The old man with gray hair on his temples knelt down and thanked Fan Xiao with tears in his eyes: "Buddha bless you!"
Fan Xiao ran towards the ambulance with the child in his arms, looking back at You Shulang as he ran. You Shulang, who had already crawled out of the ruins, took out a cigarette and threw it into his mouth, then waved to him with a slight smile on his face.
Fan Xiao carried the child into the ambulance, and the nurse quickly closed the door, cutting off the gazes between him and You Shulang that were still glued to each other across thousands of people...
The ambulance drove away with the sirens blaring. You Shulang's feet went weak and his body swayed. His strength had been completely exhausted and he no longer had the ability to take part in the rescue.
I found a corner and sat down on the ground, but unexpectedly found Xue Baotian.
"Aren't you leaving?" You Shulang asked casually.
"That person...how is he?"
"Who? The one behind you? The one who protected you?" You Shulang leaned back and exhaled a puff of cigarette. "He was saved by others. I heard he is not dead."
The noisy man was unusually silent for a long time, then gnashed his teeth and said, "Protect me? He wants to suppress me even before he dies! Damn, if he doesn't die this time, I'll kill him next time!"
He stood up and walked away, still cursing: "The King of Hell got off work so damn early that he couldn't catch the No. 2 bus home?!"