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REBORN As A STARVING ORPHAN Girl In 1960, I’ll Save My FAMILY With My SECRET Shopping Mall SPACE! — Transcript

by Golden Rose Manhwa · 19,127 words · 2,785 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

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0:00Dr. Zhang checked my pulse again and
0:02said I need to eat better. Chicken soup,
0:04bone broth, eggs every day. He said the
0:07next 2 years are critical for building
0:09my body back up. Grandpa asked if it
0:12would affect me having children later.
0:14The doctor said if we take care of
0:16things now while I'm still young, it
0:17should be fine. After we left the
0:19hospital, I told Grandpa to wait on a
0:22bench while I ran to the train station.
0:24The ticket seller said we'd need to take
0:26a slow train to the provincial capital
0:28tonight at 8:00 then transfer to an
0:30express train to Beijing at 3:00 in the
0:32morning. Two tickets would cost about 25
0:35yuan total. The money wasn't a problem.
0:38The introduction letter was. On my way
0:40back, I passed my school and stopped. I
0:43might miss the final exams if this trip
0:45takes too long. I borrowed paper and a
0:48pen from the security guard and wrote a
0:50note to Teacher Yang explaining that
0:52Grandpa needs surgery in Beijing and I
0:54don't know when I'll be back. I asked
0:56the guard to deliver it personally. I
0:58ran back to the hospital. Grandpa was
1:01sitting right where I left him chewing
1:03on a cornbread bun. I told him we could
1:05leave tonight if we hurried back to the
1:07village to get the introduction letter.
1:09We caught the bus to town then caught
1:11Uncle Li's oxcart back to the village
1:13just in time. I went straight to the
1:15brigade office for the letter. Grandpa
1:17went home to pack but Grandpa didn't
1:19pack right away. He went into the room
1:22where my mother used to live and closed
1:24the door. Years ago, when he built this
1:26house, he'd hidden something in the
1:28wall. Gold bars he found in the
1:30mountains when he was young. He never
1:32told anyone, not even my mother. He
1:35never trusted my father completely. He
1:37always felt something restless behind my
1:39father's eyes and he didn't want to show
1:42all his cards. He'd saved the gold for
1:44emergencies or maybe for my dowry
1:47someday. Now was the emergency. He
1:50tapped along the wall near the base of
1:52the kang with the back of a firewood
1:53knife until he found on hollow spot. He
1:56carefully pried the loose brick away and
1:59dirt crumbled down, revealing something
2:01wrapped tightly in oilcloth. That's when
2:03I came through the gate. I called out
2:05for him. "Come in here." he said. I
2:08pushed the door open and saw Grandpa
2:11crouching by the kong holding a dark
2:13oilcloth bundle. I quickly shut the door
2:16behind me. He unwrapped it layer by
2:18layer. Inside were three gold bars, each
2:21about a finger long and two fingers
2:23wide, glowing even in the dim light.
2:26Real big yellow fish, as people call
2:29them. My eyes went wide. Keeping private
2:32gold in this era was extremely
2:34dangerous, but I understood this was
2:37Grandpa's last emergency fund. "You had
2:40these hidden all along." I whispered. He
2:42gave a bitter smile. "Hid them when I
2:45built the house. Not even your parents
2:47knew. I meant to save them for you, but
2:49this trip to Beijing won't be cheap.
2:52We'll take them and exchange them for
2:54cash when we get there. Keep the rest
2:56safe for later." I didn't refuse. I took
2:59the gold bars, heavy in my hands,
3:02probably 10 taels each. Three bars like
3:05this were a shocking fortune in this
3:07era. I told Grandpa to patch up the wall
3:09so nobody would notice the hole.
3:11Meanwhile, I went to the kitchen and
3:13pulled out some cornmeal and eggs for my
3:15space. I made cornbread pancakes,
3:18steamed buns, and boiled over a dozen
3:20eggs for the road. After Grandpa
3:22finished the wall, you could barely see
3:24where it had been. I went to pack. I
3:27stored our thick quilts, pillows, and
3:29all my textbooks into the space. Then I
3:32stuffed a cloth bag with black cotton
3:34padded clothes and toiletries to carry
3:36openly. The bag looked full and heavy,
3:39but it was actually light. By 3:00 in
3:41the afternoon,
3:43all the food was ready. We ate a quick
3:45meal of cornbread and eggs, then packed
3:47the rest. While Grandpa wasn't looking,
3:50I swept the kitchen clean, put the
3:52remaining cornmeal, cooking oil, salt,
3:55and even both iron pots into my space.
3:58The kitchen looked completely empty
4:00afterward, like nobody had lived here in
4:02years. Good. If anyone broke in while we
4:05were gone, they'd find nothing worth
4:07stealing and assume we were dirt poor.
4:10We locked both the house door and the
4:12courtyard gate tight, then took the back
4:14mountain path instead of the main road.
4:17Grandpa's legs were bad, but he knew
4:19every inch of those trails. My body was
4:22still recovering, but I had the
4:24willpower for my past life pushing me
4:26forward. We supported each other and
4:29moved faster than I expected. By 7:30
4:32that evening, we made it to the county
4:34train station. The waiting room was dim
4:36and noisy, thick with the smell of sweat
4:39and cigarette smoke. I left Grandpa on a
4:42bench and squeezed through the crowd to
4:44the ticket window with our introduction
4:45letter and household registration. Two
4:48hard seat tickets for tonight's 8:00
4:51train to the provincial capital. The
4:52ticket seller checked our papers,
4:54glanced at me, looked over at Grandpa
4:57sitting nearby, and handed over the
4:59tickets without asking questions.
5:01Holding those two small tickets, I
5:03finally felt a weight lift off my chest.
5:06We had our pass. I helped Grandpa
5:09through the checkpoint and onto the
5:11platform. The old green steam locomotive
5:13sat on the tracks like a massive steel
5:15dragon puffing white steam into the
5:18freezing air. People with big bundles
5:21shoved their way aboard under dim yellow
5:23lights. It was the winter of 1960. I was
5:26a 13-year-old girl holding up my injured
5:29old grandfather, carrying gold I
5:31couldn't tell anyone about, and a secret
5:34dimension no one could know about,
5:36boarding a train north to the capital
5:38toward everything unknown. The whistle
5:41blew long and heavy. The wheels began to
5:43turn, clanking against the rails. Behind
5:46us, back in that little village called
5:49Red Flag Commune Third Production Team,
5:52rumors about me spending all the family
5:54money on illness were already spreading.
5:57The Zhao family's scheming was just
5:58getting started. The train picked up
6:00speed. Outside the window, everything
6:03blurred into darkness. The car was
6:06packed, loud, and smelled terrible. But,
6:09I leaned back against the hard seat,
6:11holding Grandpa's rough, warm hand, and
6:14felt completely calm, even a spark of
6:17the old fighting spirit, like a soldier
6:19heading to war. The provincial capital's
6:21train station was cold and nearly empty
6:24in the early morning hours. I came back
6:26to Grandpa with two hard seat tickets.
6:29Sleeper berths were impossible to get
6:31without connections. Getting hard seats
6:33was already lucky thanks to our
6:35introduction letter and my status as a
6:38martyr's child. We ate cornbread and
6:40boiled eggs while waiting, washing it
6:42down with lukewarm water from our
6:44thermos. I pulled out two thick black
6:46cotton coats from the bag and draped one
6:49over Grandpa. He tried to push it back
6:51to me, but I wouldn't let him. Dr. Jiang
6:53said, "He can't get cold." We wrapped
6:56ourselves up like blankets and huddled
6:58together against the freezing air. Just
7:00after 3:00 in the morning, ticket
7:02checking started. We boarded the green
7:04train and found two window seats.
7:07Grandpa insisted I take the inside spot.
7:10He told me to sleep, said he used to
7:12stay awake for days when he was hunting
7:14in the mountains. I didn't argue. This
7:17body was exhausted. I wrapped up tight,
7:20leaned against the cold window, and let
7:22the rhythm of the wheels knock me out.
7:24When I woke up, daylight was creeping
7:27through the windows. The first thing I
7:29saw was Grandpa's bloodshot eyes, still
7:31wide open. He hadn't slept at all. He
7:34smiled and told me he dozed a little,
7:37but I knew he was lying. I told him to
7:39switch seats and sleep. He refused. So,
7:43I played dirty. If you collapse in
7:45Vegas, who's going to take care of me?
7:47That shut him up. He moved to the window
7:49seat. I headed to the bathroom. The
7:52narrow aisle was already busy with
7:54people washing up and fetching hot
7:56water. There were four or five people in
7:58line at the toilet, mostly women and
8:00children. I stood at the back, head
8:03down, hat pulled low, old habit from my
8:06past life. In unfamiliar places, I watch
8:09more than I talk. And that watching made
8:11every muscle in my body snap tight. Two
8:14people ahead of me stood a man, around
8:1730 years old, wearing a faded gray-blue
8:19padded jacket with patches on the knees,
8:22plain black cloth shoes. He looked like
8:25any other tired traveler, but his feet
8:27gave him away. He stood perfectly
8:29straight with his weight slightly
8:31forward. The distance between his feet,
8:33the angle, textbook military stance.
8:36Even when he tried to look relaxed, the
8:38tension was still there. When the line
8:41moved and he shifted position, I watched
8:43his step pattern, heel down first, then
8:46rolling to the ball of the foot, each
8:48step perfectly even. That's not how
8:50farmers or factory workers walk. Years
8:54of hard labor create a different kind of
8:56movement entirely. It reminded me of
8:58certain people I'd encountered during my
9:00past life on border missions. People
9:02who'd spent years wearing wooden clogs,
9:05whose legs and feet developed a very
9:07specific muscle memory. Japanese. My
9:10heart slammed hard. I forced myself to
9:13stay calm and kept watching from under
9:15my hat brim. His hands hung at his
9:18sides. The fingers were rough, but the
9:20calluses on his left index finger and
9:22thumb were much thicker than the rest,
9:25the kind you get from years of pulling a
9:26trigger. And he was left-handed. A
9:29left-handed man with military training,
9:32a Japanese walking pattern, disguised as
9:34an ordinary passenger on a train heading
9:37straight to the capital. A coincidence?
9:40I didn't believe that for a second. I
9:42turned slightly and scanned the people
9:44around me from the corner of my eye.
9:46Everyone looked ordinary, yawning women,
9:48grumbling workers, a child playing with
9:51a rag doll. But spies rarely work alone.
9:54When the man went into the bathroom, I
9:56watched carefully. He didn't exchange
9:58glances or signals with anyone. He came
10:01out, swept his eyes over the line,
10:04paused on me for less than half a
10:05second, saw my ragged coat, dirty hat,
10:08and timid posture, then lost interest
10:11and walked back to his seat. It was a
10:13few rows ahead of ours on the side. When
10:15my turn came, I locked the bathroom door
10:18and checked every corner, the sink, the
10:21walls, above the toilet. No hidden
10:23devices, no markings for passing
10:25messages. Maybe he really was just using
10:28the bathroom? No. My soldier's instincts
10:31and a lifetime of brushing against death
10:34told me this man was dangerous. Someone
10:36banged on the door impatiently. I
10:39switched to scared, stammering voice. I
10:42said, "My stomach hurts. Almost done." I
10:46went back to my seat. Grandpa had fallen
10:48asleep against the cold window, snoring
10:51softly. I tucked his coat tighter around
10:53him and took over his guard position on
10:55the outside seat. All day I watched the
10:58man in the gray-blue jacket and the
11:00people sitting near him. They ate,
11:03slept, stared out the window. Nothing
11:06unusual on the surface, but I noticed
11:08that even when they slept, they never
11:10truly let their guard down. Their bodies
11:13stayed positioned so they could spring
11:15up instantly. In the afternoon, after
11:17Grandpa woke up, I signaled him with my
11:20eyes not to ask questions. I said a
11:22little louder than normal, "Grandpa, I'm
11:25going to the bathroom." He understood
11:27something was up and just nodded. In the
11:29bathroom, I enter my space. I grabbed a
11:32pencil and plain paper and wrote
11:34quickly, "Car 8, seat 57, and several
11:38suspected accomplices nearby. Spies.
11:41Watch his walking pattern and hand
11:43calluses. Left-handed. Target unknown.
11:47Stay alert. A concerned passerby." I
11:49left my space, folded the note tight,
11:52and hid it in my palm. Walking back, I
11:55passed the train attendant's little rest
11:57area. When nobody was looking, I slipped
12:00the note under the enamel mug sitting on
12:01his small table. Then I went straight
12:03back to my seat. Grandpa moved over and
12:06whispered, "Everything okay?"
12:08I shook my head, meaning don't worry,
12:11and started chewing on a cold, hard
12:13cornbread bun. My eyes looked like they
12:15were watching the fields fly past the
12:16window, but I never stopped tracking the
12:19target area. The train attendant, a
12:21young man called Littley, found the note
12:24when he picked up his mug for a drink.
12:26His face changed for just a second
12:28before he controlled it. His pupils
12:30shrank. He knew this train was special.
12:33In the soft sleeper car, there was a
12:35very important scientist being guarded
12:37by armed soldiers. If there really were
12:39spies aboard, the scientist was probably
12:42the target. Littley stayed calm. He
12:45pocketed the note, grabbed a broom and
12:47dustpan, and started sweeping the aisle
12:49like normal, complaining loudly the
12:51whole time. "Move your feet. Can't you
12:54see I'm sweeping? Stop throwing
12:56sunflower seed shells everywhere." He
12:59grumbled his way through the car, acting
13:01like a lazy worker annoyed with his job,
13:03while his eyes quietly passed over seat
13:0557 and the people around it. He couldn't
13:08stare too long. Couldn't risk scaring
13:10the snake out of the grass. After
13:12finishing, he didn't find anything
13:14obviously wrong, except that those
13:16passengers seemed a little too quiet
13:19compared to everyone else. But he
13:21trusted the note. Someone who could
13:23write spy and give a specific seat
13:25number and physical details wasn't
13:27playing a joke. He grabbed his dustpan
13:30and headed toward the train captain's
13:32office, grumbling loudly about garbage
13:34the whole way. Back at seat 57, the man
13:38in the gray-blue jacket cracked his
13:39eyelids slightly, listened to the
13:41attendant's fading complaints, and
13:43relaxed a little. Just a lazy worker
13:45griping about his job. Nothing unusual
13:48at all. Little Lee carried his dustpan
13:50through two carriages before reaching
13:52the train captain's office. The captain
13:55read the note and his face changed
13:57instantly. Within minutes, he brought
14:00back a tall man in plain clothes with
14:02ice-cold eyes. Captain Xiao head of
14:04special security on this train. Little
14:07Lee reported everything. Captain Xiao
14:09listened carefully, then said whoever
14:12wrote that note must be on the train and
14:14had observed the target up close to
14:15notice details like walking patterns and
14:18trigger calluses. He told Little Lee to
14:20go back and act completely normal,
14:22sweep, complain, do everything exactly
14:25like usual. I watched Little Lee come
14:27back. He tried to look natural, but I
14:30caught the faint relief and excitement
14:32in his eyes. Good. They were taking it
14:34seriously, but I wasn't relaxed. What
14:37were the spies after? Just watching
14:39someone? Or something far more
14:41dangerous? What target on this train was
14:44worth this kind of risk? I reached into
14:46my cloth bag and used my mind to move
14:48the black telescoping iron baton from my
14:50space to the bottom of the bag, right
14:52where my hand could grab it fast. If
14:54things went bad, that was my best
14:56weapon. As darkness fell, I knew we
14:59still had over 10 hours until Beijing.
15:02If they were going to make a move,
15:04tonight was the obvious time. I told
15:06grandpa I needed the bathroom again. As
15:09I stood up, I glanced toward seat 57.
15:12The gray-blue jacket man was still
15:14pretending to rest, but the person in
15:16seat 56 got up and walked toward the
15:19sleeper carriages. I followed at a
15:21distance, pretending to head the same
15:23way. I watched him disappear through the
15:25connecting door into the hard sleeper
15:27car. Before I could decide whether to
15:29follow, I heard more footsteps behind
15:32me. I quickly dropped into an empty
15:34seat, curled up, and pretended to be
15:37asleep. Through the edge of my hat, I
15:40saw seat 57 and two other accomplices,
15:43three people total, also heading toward
15:45the sleeper cars. Four of them gone that
15:47direction. They probably left someone
15:50behind to keep watch in our carriage.
15:52Their target had to be in the sleeper
15:54section, maybe even the soft sleeper. My
15:57heart sank. If they were after someone
16:00important, this wasn't just
16:01surveillance. Sabotage? Kidnapping?
16:04Creating chaos to cause an accident?
16:07From my past life fighting terrorists, I
16:09knew the most dangerous tactic was
16:11creating mass confusion to cover the
16:14real objective. An explosion would be
16:16the most effective way. I couldn't wait
16:18any longer. Once their footsteps faded
16:21completely, I rushed to the bathroom,
16:24locked the door, and entered my space. I
16:27went straight to the pharmacy section.
16:29In my past life with special forces, the
16:31old army doctor taught us how to make
16:33powerful knockout agents from common
16:35medicines. I found sedative compounds,
16:38alcohol solvent, and several supporting
16:41drugs. Working from memory, I ground the
16:43pills into fine powder on a sterile
16:46preparation table, mixed everything
16:47together, shook it hard, and filtered it
16:50roughly. In less than 10 minutes, I had
16:53a glass syringe filled with about 20 ml
16:55of cloudy liquid, no needle attached. It
16:58wasn't proper medical anesthesia, but it
17:01was highly volatile. Anyone who breathed
17:03it in would have their nervous system
17:05shut down fast and drop unconscious
17:07within seconds. I made the concentration
17:10extra strong, so it would work even in
17:12an open space. Then I changed clothes. I
17:15put on tight black athletic wear,
17:17covered it with a long black down
17:19jacket, pulled on a black knit cap, and
17:21a face mask. Only my eyes showed. The
17:24skinny village girl was gone. In her
17:27place was a shadow built for the dark. I
17:29left the space. Back in the tiny
17:31bathroom, I listened. Nothing but the
17:34rumble of the train. I pushed open the
17:37small ventilation window above me.
17:39Freezing wind rushed in. I grabbed the
17:42window frame, pushed off the wall, and
17:45pulled myself through the small bathroom
17:46window onto the roof of the moving
17:48train. The wind hit me like a wall,
17:51freezing, deafening. I pressed my body
17:54flat against the icy metal and started
17:56crawling toward the sleeper carriages.
17:59The roof shook and swayed beneath me.
18:02Every step was like walking a tightrope
18:04over rushing darkness. I moved carefully
18:07across four or five cars, then stopped
18:10and pressed my ear against the cold
18:11iron. Below me, I heard voices speaking
18:15Japanese. Found them. I shifted to a gap
18:18near a ventilation spot and peeked down.
18:21Inside a sleeper compartment, curtains
18:23drawn, lights on, shadows moving. I held
18:27my breath and listened hard through the
18:28train noise. I caught pieces. Soft
18:31sleeper, number three, soldiers, heavy
18:35guard, no chance. Then create one. Car
18:38four, car five, install, explosion,
18:42chaos, strike during confusion. My heart
18:46hammered. They were planning to plant
18:48explosives in cars four and five, create
18:51panic, and then attack whoever was in
18:53soft sleeper number three. I counted six
18:56people inside. All of them had gathered
18:58for the operation. I had to stop them
19:01before they planted anything. I ducked
19:03back and entered my space. I poured the
19:06knockout liquid into a small spray
19:08bottle from the pharmacy, the kind used
19:10for disinfectant mist. The fine spray
19:12would spread fast in an enclosed area.
19:15Back on the roof, the discussion below
19:17sounded like it was wrapping up. They
19:19were about to move. Now or never. I
19:22found the gap again and spotted a window
19:25cracked open for air. They never
19:27imagined anyone would come from above. I
19:29locked one hand on a ridge along the
19:31roof edge, aimed the sprayer at the
19:33crack with the other, and blasted every
19:36drop inside in a wide fan. Then I yanked
19:39the window shut. The whole thing took
19:41less than 3 seconds. What was that
19:43sound? Why did the window close?
19:45Something sprayed in, then heavy thuds.
19:48One body hitting the floor, then
19:50another. Furniture knocked over. In
19:53under 10 seconds, complete silence. It
19:56worked. Before I could breathe, I heard
19:59rapid footsteps in the corridor below,
20:01stopping right at the compartment door.
20:03Captain, this is it. There was noise
20:06just now. A young voice, tense and
20:09quiet. Ready. A cold, commanding voice.
20:13Captain Xiao and his soldiers. They
20:15moved fast. Two loud bangs. The locks
20:18smashed open. The door kicked in.
20:21Freeze. Nothing. No response. A pause,
20:25then Captain Xiao's confused voice. What
20:27happened? They're all unconscious? Check
20:30their breathing. Report, all six are out
20:33cold. Breathing steady. Looks like they
20:36were drugged. Search the room. Check for
20:39dangerous materials. That was my signal
20:41to leave. The soldiers would find
20:43whatever weapons or explosives these
20:46people carried. They'd sweep the rest of
20:48the train. My job was done. I crawled
20:51back across the rooftops to the hard
20:52seat section, slipped back through the
20:54bathroom window, and locked the door.
20:57Inside my space, I changed back into my
21:00old ragged cotton clothes and hat. I
21:02cleaned up the black outfit and the
21:04sprayer. I opened the bathroom door,
21:06head down, and shuffle back to my seat.
21:09Grandpa was awake and worried. "Why were
21:12you gone so long?" I held
21:13[clears throat] my stomach and made my
21:15voice weak. "I think I have diarrhea,
21:17Grandpa." He panicked immediately, made
21:20me sit by the window where it was
21:21warmer, and started fussing. I wrapped
21:24myself in the coat and shivered. This
21:26time it wasn't acting. My body was truly
21:29spent, and the fear was catching up. One
21:32wrong move on that rooftop, and I'd have
21:34been dead. I closed my eyes and forced
21:37my breathing to slow down. The train
21:39kept charging through the darkness.
21:41Somewhere behind us, six enemy agents
21:44lay unconscious in a locked compartment.
21:47Their plan to bomb this train and
21:49assassinate someone important completely
21:51destroyed. I didn't know who was in that
21:53soft sleeper car. I didn't know exactly
21:56what the Japanese spies wanted. And I
21:58didn't know whether Captain Shao would
22:00come looking for the mysterious person
22:01who knocked out six men and left a note
22:04signed, "A concerned passerby." Those
22:07questions floated through my mind, but
22:09exhaustion swallowed everything. Grandpa
22:12murmured beside me about seeing a doctor
22:14as soon as we reached the capital. My
22:16thoughts blurred and faded. Tomorrow
22:19we'd arrive in Beijing. New challenges,
22:22a new battlefield. I was still a
22:2513-year-old orphan girl from a 1960s
22:27village on the outside, but deep inside,
22:30the soldier they once called Night Owl
22:33was wide awake. The train roared on
22:36through the deep night, carrying
22:38hundreds of lives toward the dawn. I
22:40leaned against the cold window with my
22:42eyes closed, but I wasn't really
22:44sleeping. My body swayed with the train
22:47while my mind stayed sharp. Old habit
22:50from my past life. You don't survive
22:52that many missions by truly letting your
22:54guard down. Grandpa's rough, warm hand
22:57rested on my shoulder. I could feel his
23:00fingers gently moving now and then,
23:03tucking the old cotton coat tighter
23:05around us. This man who'd barely left
23:07his mountain village was using
23:08everything he had to protect me while I
23:10rested. I felt all of it without opening
23:13my eyes. The train ran through the
23:15darkness for over 3 hours. I filtered
23:18every sound automatically.
23:21Passengers going to the bathroom, the
23:23attendant on patrol, someone smoking
23:25between carriages, nothing unusual. The
23:28six spies in that compartment were
23:30surely locked down by now. Whatever
23:32Captain Xiao's men found on them,
23:35weapons, explosives, communication gear,
23:38that was their business. I'd done my
23:40part, but the follow-up came faster than
23:42I expected. At 4:20 in the morning, I
23:45sensed something, not the train's
23:47rhythm, but a set of deliberate,
23:50perfectly controlled footsteps, too
23:53light and too steady for ordinary
23:55passengers. My eyes snapped open in the
23:58darkness without a sound. Three figures
24:00entered the carriage one after another,
24:03not attendants. Their steps were too
24:05even, too disciplined. Even in civilian
24:07clothes, they couldn't hide the way
24:09soldiers move. The one in front was
24:12Captain Xiao, tall, broad-shouldered,
24:15every step heavy with authority. As they
24:17passed my seat, his pace faltered for
24:20just a fraction of a second. I didn't
24:22flinch, didn't change my breathing. I
24:25stayed curled up like any sleeping
24:27village girl, half my face buried in the
24:30collar of a worn-out coat, nothing
24:32showing but a dirty hat brim. His eyes
24:34swept over me, paused for less than a
24:37heartbeat, then moved on. I knew what he
24:39was doing. He was hunting for the person
24:42who wrote that note and knocked out six
24:44agents from the rooftop. His instincts
24:46told him that person was still on this
24:48train. He was right, but what he saw was
24:50a skinny 13-year-old kid in rags,
24:53huddled with her old grandfather under a
24:55faded coat, the most ordinary sight on
24:58the whole train. Real disguise isn't
25:00pretending to be someone else. It's
25:02being exactly who you are. His footsteps
25:05faded toward the other end of the
25:07carriage. I closed my eyes and this time
25:10fell truly asleep. At 6:00 in the
25:12morning, light crept across the sky.
25:15Grandpa woke up rubbing his bloodshot
25:17eyes and immediately checked on me. I
25:20was already awake, still pale but
25:22feeling better than last night. "Still
25:24about 2 hours," I told him, glancing at
25:27the clock at the front of the car. He
25:29rubbed his rough palms together
25:31nervously. "Once we get there, we'll
25:33find that Dr. Gu first." Before he
25:36finished, there was a commotion at the
25:38connecting door. My hand went straight
25:40to the iron baton in my bag. It settled
25:43quickly. Little Li, the attendant,
25:45appeared, looking relieved but still
25:47tense. Behind him walked two young men
25:50in plain clothes with stiff, straight
25:52postures. One of them carried a half-
25:55worn canvas bag. I recognized it. Last
25:58night, that bag had been sitting next to
26:00the spy in seat 56 inside the sleeper
26:03compartment. It held the explosives they
26:05never got to plant. The corner of my
26:07mouth twitched up for just a second
26:09before going flat again. Two hours
26:11later, the train whistle blew long and
26:13loud as we pulled into the capital
26:15station. The platform was a flood of
26:17noise. Crowds with bundles, families
26:20meeting travelers, vendors selling
26:22snacks, railway workers in blue
26:25uniforms. Sound rushed into the carriage
26:28like a wave. I helped Grandpa stand and
26:31grabbed our cloth bag from the overhead
26:32rack. It was light, just a few clothes
26:35and leftover food on the surface.
26:37Everything important was safe inside my
26:40space. Grandpa gripped my hand tight.
26:43His palm was damp with nervous sweat.
26:46"It's okay, Grandpa," I said softly,
26:48squeezing back. "We We it." We stepped
26:51off the train onto the platform. The
26:53morning wind hit our faces, carrying the
26:55smell of coal smoke, rust, and breakfast
26:58cooking somewhere nearby. I stood on the
27:01platform of the 1960 Beijing train
27:03station, looking at a scene I'd only
27:06ever seen in old black and white
27:07photographs in my past life. Gray
27:10concrete, green iron benches, crowds in
27:13blue and gray coats, vendors selling hot
27:16soy milk from bamboo baskets, red
27:18slogans on the pillars glowed in the
27:20morning light. No time for feelings. I
27:23stopped a railway worker and asked how
27:25to get to the military district
27:27hospital. He told us to take the number
27:29two bus to Dong Wei Men, then transfer
27:32to the number five. Grandpa whispered,
27:34"Are we really going?" I just squeezed
27:36his hand. We found the bus stop, a row
27:39of cement blocks with rusty tin signs.
27:42After 10 minutes, the green and white
27:45number two bus rattled up. I helped
27:47Grandpa board, paid with loose change,
27:50and we sat by the window. Grandpa
27:52pressed his face to the glass like a
27:54child. Wide streets, gray walled
27:56courtyard houses, Soviet style
27:58buildings, cyclists everywhere. "The
28:01capital is so big," he murmured, almost
28:04in awe. I didn't tell him that the
28:06Beijing in my memory was a thousand
28:08times bigger than this. Skyscrapers,
28:11rivers of traffic, neon lights turning
28:14night into day. But sitting here looking
28:16at this 1960s version, I felt a strange
28:20peace. This was the era my parents'
28:22generation fought and bled for. I come
28:25back to it, just in a different way. We
28:27transferred at Dong Wei Men and rode the
28:29number five bus for another hour until
28:31it stopped in front of a solemn gate.
28:34Gray stone pillars topped with a red
28:36military star emblem. Armed guards stood
28:39at attention. Behind them, white Soviet
28:41style buildings rose between bare poplar
28:44trees, with doctors in white coats and
28:47in bandages moving in and out. Grandpa
28:50stared up at that red star and went
28:52quiet. I could tell he was thinking
28:54about my father, Zhou Weidong, the
28:56son-in-law he never fully understood.
28:58The silent young man with ambition in
29:00his eyes who left for the army when my
29:02mother was still pregnant with me.
29:04Grandpa never quite trusted him, but
29:06now, standing at this military hospital
29:0913 years later, maybe he finally
29:12understood. Maybe my father just chose a
29:14harder road, more dangerous than hunting
29:17or farming, but one worth walking. "Huan
29:19Cheng," I broke his thoughts. He looked
29:22at me, opened and closed his mouth
29:24several times, and finally forced out
29:27the words, "How about we don't get
29:28treated after all?" I looked at him and
29:30said nothing. He pushed on, voice
29:33shaking. "My foot's been lame for over
29:3510 years. I'm used to it. It's fine.
29:39This hospital looks so fancy. It must
29:41cost a fortune. Let's save the money for
29:43your schooling, for your future."
29:45"Grandpa," I cut him off. Not loud, but
29:48it landed hard. I looked him in the
29:51eyes. We took an oxcart from Red Flag
29:53Commune to town, a bus from town to the
29:56county, a train from the county to the
29:58province, then another train for a full
30:01day and night to Beijing. You didn't
30:03sleep a single proper hour. You saved
30:05the food for me. You gave me the warm
30:08coat. We traveled thousands of miles,
30:10and now we're standing right at the
30:11hospital door." I paused, then said it
30:14slow and clear.
30:16"Tell me, why wouldn't we get
30:17treatment?" He opened his mouth. Nothing
30:20came out. He couldn't say it was about
30:22the money. Between the commune's monthly
30:2410-yuan allowance for me, what my mother
30:27left behind, and what he'd saved, there
30:29was enough for a while. But that money
30:31was meant for my school, my future. In
30:34his mind, an old crippled man wasn't
30:37worth spending it on. He couldn't say he
30:39was afraid of being a burden, either.
30:41Saying that would only hurt me more. So,
30:43he just stood there, silent. I held
30:46Grandpa's hand tight, rough, cold, full
30:49of calluses from a lifetime of work, and
30:52pulled him through the hospital gate. We
30:54came all this way. We're standing at the
30:56door. There's no way we're not getting
30:58treatment. My voice was steady, but
31:01Grandpa heard the tiny shake in it, the
31:03part where I was holding back tears. He
31:06blinked hard, swallowed whatever he was
31:08feeling, and didn't argue anymore. He
31:10let me lead him inside. The lobby
31:13smelled like disinfectant and coal
31:15smoke. Benches were packed with patients
31:17and families waiting for their numbers
31:19to be called. I spotted a young nurse
31:21behind the information desk, round face,
31:24kind eyes, early 20s. "Excuse me,
31:28sister." I said, making my voice sound
31:31young and sweet on purpose. "Is Dr. Gu
31:34Hua from the bone department here?" She
31:36looked us over, a weathered old man in a
31:38faded coat with a badly swollen foot,
31:41and a skinny girl who looked like a bean
31:43sprout. She knew right away we'd come
31:45from far off. "He's in surgery, but
31:48she'll be done soon. I'll take you
31:49upstairs to wait." She led us to the
31:52second floor and pointed to an office
31:54halfway down the quiet corridor. Before
31:56she left, she asked where we were from.
31:59I just said, "The northeast." She didn't
32:02push. I could see her eyes go soft. She
32:05understood how far that was. I stood at
32:07the office door, took a deep breath, and
32:10knocked. "Come in." A deep, steady
32:12voice. Inside was a simple room, an old
32:16desk, wooden chairs, a skeleton chart on
32:19the wall, shelves packed with books.
32:21Behind the desk sat a man around 40,
32:24wearing a faded military uniform under
32:26his white coat, glasses perched on his
32:29nose. "Dr. Gu, hello. Dr. Zhong Shermau
32:32sent us." He put down his pen and
32:35studied us. He mentioned that Dr. Jeong
32:38had called him yesterday by long
32:39distance phone, asking him to take care
32:42of us. Jeong had told him the girl was
32:44very special and that he'd understand
32:47when he met her. Gu hadn't thought much
32:49of it at the time. Jeong was
32:50kind-hearted and called everyone
32:52special, but now looking at me,
32:55something shifted in his expression. I
32:57could feel him sizing me up, this
32:59scrawny kid in patched clothes,
33:02exhausted from travel, but standing
33:04there calm and still, meeting his eyes
33:07without flinching. He said later it
33:09wasn't pressure he felt. It was
33:11something he couldn't quite name,
33:13something that made him straighten up.
33:15"Let me see the injured foot." Grandpa
33:17sat down and clumsily rolled up his pant
33:19leg. The swollen, purple-blue ankle
33:22looked terrible. The skin stretched
33:25tight, the whole foot puffed up. Dr. Gu
33:28knelt down and pressed gently in several
33:30spots. Grandpa said, "I'm fine." at
33:34first, then hissed through his teeth and
33:36broke into a cold sweat at the next
33:38touch. The doctor examined the bones
33:40carefully, asking Grandpa questions
33:43about what he could feel. I stood
33:45quietly to the side and watched. After a
33:48few minutes, Dr. Gu stood up and leaned
33:51against his desk. His face was serious.
33:54Dr. Jeong's diagnosis was right. Severe
33:57traumatic arthritis with signs of a
33:59purulent infection. "If we don't operate
34:01soon, this foot" He stopped himself
34:04before saying the worst part, but his
34:06expression said it all. My heart dropped
34:09for a second, then I steadied myself.
34:12"Dr. Gu, we came all the way from home
34:14specifically for this. However you think
34:16is best, surgery, hospitalization,
34:18medication, we'll follow your plan
34:20completely." He looked at me for a long
34:22moment. Later he'd say I didn't talk
34:25like a 13-year-old. I sounded like the
34:27field commanders he'd known on the
34:29battlefield, the ones who stayed calm
34:32and made hard decisions without
34:33blinking. "Admission first," he said,
34:36pulling out a form. "I'll order some
34:38tests and x-rays to get a detailed look
34:40at the bones. Then we'll decide on the
34:42surgical plan and timing." He paused.
34:45"You'll need one person for bedside
34:47care. You're from out of town. Do you
34:49have somewhere to stay?" "I'll stay with
34:50Grandpa in the hospital for now. Once
34:52his surgery is done and he's stable,
34:55I'll figure something out." He nodded
34:57and didn't ask anything more. He started
34:59filling out the admission form, his
35:01handwriting sharp and strong. Grandpa
35:04opened his mouth to say, "Let's not do
35:06the treatment" again, but he looked at
35:08my face and swallowed the words. He knew
35:11I'd arranged everything and we'd already
35:13traveled thousands of miles. Saying it
35:16again would only hurt me. Dr. Guo
35:18finished the admission form, stamped it,
35:21and handed it to me. He told us to pay
35:23at the first floor, then go to the third
35:25floor of the inpatient building. He
35:27called ahead to reserve a bed. Before we
35:30left, he asked my name. "Zhuo Haochen."
35:33He nodded and called a nurse named
35:35Xiaoyu to take us. The ward was a
35:37six-bedroom on the third floor,
35:39bigger than I expected. White sheets
35:41folded into neat squares, south-facing
35:44windows letting in afternoon sun. Three
35:47patients were already there. A young
35:49soldier in his 20s with one leg in a
35:51cast reading a thick book by the window.
35:54A 30-something soldier with a bandaged
35:57arm resting with his eyes closed. And an
36:00old man in his 60s talking quietly with
36:02visiting family. They all looked at us
36:05when we walked in. Outsiders from far
36:07away, obvious at a glance. Grandpa's bed
36:10was second from the window, right next
36:12to the young soldier. He sat down
36:14stiffly. The old man across the room
36:17broke the silence first, asking where we
36:19were from. Grandpa managed a few short
36:22answers. "The northeast. Took the train.
36:25Not too tired." The young soldier
36:26glanced at Grandpa's patched coat and
36:29swollen ankle, then looked at me. I was
36:31putting our cloth bag on the nightstand.
36:33I could feel him watching. When I
36:35turned, our eyes met. He nodded. I
36:39nodded back and looked away. I didn't
36:41want to get close to anyone here. Once
36:43Grandpa's surgery was done and he was
36:45stable, we'd go home. That evening,
36:48after settling Grandpa in, I told him I
36:51was going out to buy dinner. Walking out
36:53of the building, I glanced back up at
36:55the third floor window. He was craning
36:57his neck, watching for me to come back.
37:00I kept walking. I followed the hospital
37:03wall until I found a quiet alley, narrow
37:06with low houses on both sides, stacks of
37:09coal briquettes and winter cabbages
37:11against the walls. A few men squatted at
37:13the base of a wall smoking, their eyes
37:16sharp, sizing up everyone who passed. I
37:19didn't go straight to them. I ducked
37:21into an even narrower side alley, made
37:23sure no one was around, and slipped into
37:26my space. The shopping mall was bright
37:28as always, everything waiting on the
37:30shelves. I grabbed a five jin bag of
37:33white sugar, five jin of rice, two jin
37:35of cooking oil, and wrapped it all in
37:38old newspaper. Then I took out a
37:40half-worn men's cotton hat and a pair of
37:42old-style black-framed glasses, things
37:44I'd prepared before we left. I tucked
37:47all my hair under the hat, pulled the
37:49brim low, put on the glasses, and turned
37:52up my coat collar to hide half my face.
37:54In the mirror, I looked like a scrawny,
37:57dusty kid of no particular age, just
38:00another poor outsider desperate to trade
38:02something for cash. Perfect. I left the
38:05space and walked back into the alley
38:07toward the men. I didn't pick the
38:09sharpest-looking one or the greediest. I
38:12picked the one sitting at the far end
38:14who hadn't said much, a man around 40 in
38:16a dark blue worn jacket with shiny
38:18sleeves, thick knuckles from years of
38:21heavy labor. He smoked slowly, his eyes
38:24calm, not scanning passersby like the
38:26others. I stopped in front of him. He
38:29looked up and frowned at the small,
38:31faceless figure standing there. I opened
38:34the newspaper wrapping just a crack and
38:36let the man peek inside. His eyes
38:38narrowed. White sugar, fine quality,
38:41much better than anything the supply
38:43cooperative sold. "Where did you get
38:45it?" he whispered. "Brought it from
38:47home. Need cash fast." He stared at me
38:50for a few seconds, then asked the price.
38:53I told him three yuan two per jin. He
38:55tried to push me down to 2.8. I didn't
38:58budge. After a short standoff, he gave
39:00in. 16 yuan for five jin of sugar. He
39:04counted out the crumpled bills and told
39:06me his name was Jiang. Said to come back
39:08if I had more. I took the money, handed
39:11over the package, and disappeared around
39:13a corner. I slipped into my space,
39:15changed my outfit, different jacket,
39:17different hat, and went back to old
39:19Jiang with another newspaper bundle.
39:21This time I showed him fine white rice
39:23and cooking oil. His breathing got
39:25heavy. He paid 25.50
39:28without hesitation. I vanished into the
39:31alley and didn't come back. 41.50.
39:35I added it to my stash. Between this
39:37money, the 800 I'd taken from Zhou
39:39Weibai's house, the commune's monthly 10
39:42yuan allowance, and grandpa's lifetime
39:44savings, it was more than enough for the
39:46surgery, the hospital stay, and whatever
39:49came after. I stood in a dark alley in
39:521960s Beijing, looking up at the gray
39:55sky. That 800 from Zhou Weibai's house
39:58bothered me. An ordinary farmer couldn't
40:00save that kind of money. Something was
40:02behind it, but that was a problem for
40:05later. I put my hat back on, smoothed
40:07out my expression, and walked back to
40:10the hospital. Grandpa was sitting on his
40:12bed, craning his neck toward the door.
40:15When he saw me, relief flooded his
40:17wrinkled face. "Why were you gone so
40:19long?" "Had to wait in line for food." I
40:22set down two steaming white flour buns
40:24and a lunch box of millet porridge on
40:26his nightstand. He stared at the buns.
40:29"How much did these cost?" "We brought
40:31dry food. The dry food's gone hard after
40:342 days. You've got surgery tomorrow. You
40:37need something soft." I pushed a bun
40:39into his hand. He held it, but didn't
40:41eat right away. He just looked at me
40:44under the dim yellow light. My thin
40:46face, the dark circles under my eyes. I
40:49hadn't complained once since we left
40:51home. Then he bit into the bun. Soft,
40:54sweet. He blinked hard and kept his eyes
40:57dry. The next morning, Grandpa went
41:00through blood tests, an EKG, and several
41:02X-rays from different angles. I ran
41:05between floors organizing all the
41:07paperwork. Nurse Xiao Yu kept glancing
41:09at me. She couldn't quite figure out how
41:11a skinny village girl handled everything
41:14so efficiently. In the afternoon, Dr. Gu
41:17came to the ward. "Surgery was set for
41:19tomorrow morning at 8:00 first slot. His
41:22body is in decent shape. The surgical
41:25risk isn't high," he told me calmly.
41:27"After proper recovery, he should be
41:29walking normally in 3 or 4 months." I
41:32nodded and thanked him. Grandpa sat on
41:34his bed with a complicated look, half
41:37hoping the surgery would finally fix the
41:39leg that had tortured him for 13 years,
41:42half worrying about the cost. That
41:44evening, I went to the hospital
41:45cafeteria and brought back braised pork,
41:48stir-fried greens, and two bowls of
41:50white rice. Grandpa's eyes went wide at
41:53the glistening pork. "This is too much
41:56money. Surgery tomorrow. You need to eat
41:58well."
41:59I handed him the chopsticks. "You need
42:01your strength." He opened his mouth to
42:03argue, then gave up. He lowered his head
42:06and ate big mouthfuls. The pork melted
42:10on his tongue. The rice was soft and
42:12fragrant. He said it was the best meal
42:15of his entire life. He didn't ask where
42:17all my money came from. Since my mother
42:20died, he'd sensed something had changed
42:22in me. Not a bad change. Something that
42:25made him worry for me and feel safe at
42:27the same time. The young soldier by the
42:30window watched us quietly, then reached
42:32into his nightstand and held out an
42:34apple. "For you, Uncle. My comrades
42:37brought too many when they visited. I
42:39can't eat them all." Grandpa waved his
42:42hands. "No, no, keep it for yourself."
42:44The soldier, his name was Xiao Weigua,
42:46pressed it into his hand. "Take it.
42:49Fruit helps you heal
42:51Grandpa couldn't refuse. He thanked him
42:54over and over. I glanced at Xiao Weigua
42:57after he gave Grandpa the apple. He
42:59wasn't looking at me. He'd gone back to
43:01his book. The cover read Advanced
43:03Mathematics Lectures. That night, after
43:06Grandpa fell asleep, I slipped out to
43:08the hallway bench. I counted the money
43:11from today's trades, 41 yuan 50. Added
43:14to the common allowance, Grandpa's
43:16savings, and the 800 from Zhou Weiba's
43:18house, I had over 900 yuan total. Doctor
43:21Gu said surgery and hospitalization
43:23would cost between 150 and 200. More
43:27than enough, with plenty left over. I
43:30wouldn't waste a single fen. I'd save it
43:32all and bring it home. Sitting there in
43:35the quiet corridor, I thought about what
43:36my mother used to say. "Study hard,
43:39Hunching. Get out of this village. Don't
43:41end up stuck here like me." Back then, I
43:44didn't understand. Now I did. I'd study,
43:47pass every exam, and take Grandpa with
43:49me. That was the only way I could repay
43:52her. The next morning at 6:00, Grandpa
43:55was wheeled into surgery. He looked back
43:57at me from the gurney, nervous, trying
43:59not to show it, and just gave me a small
44:01nod. I nodded back. The gray-green doors
44:04closed and the red light above them came
44:07on. I sat on the bench outside,
44:10perfectly still, hands folded on my
44:12knees. No passing, no fiding, just
44:16waiting. Shao Weigua rolled up in his
44:18wheelchair and stopped beside me. Your
44:20grandpa's in surgery? I nodded. He
44:23didn't say anything else. He just stayed
44:25there, keeping me company in silence.
44:28Two hours later, the red light went off.
44:31Dr. Gu came out and pulled down his
44:33mask. Surgery was very successful. The
44:36joint cavity is cleaned out, all the
44:38loose fragments removed, and the
44:40corrective fixation angle looks great.
44:43He'll be back in the ward once the
44:44anesthesia wears off. I stood and bowed
44:47deeply. Thank you, Dr. Gu. He waved it
44:50off, then looked at me. You're a very
44:52special girl, he said quietly. I didn't
44:55answer. He didn't push it. He turned and
44:58walked away. When they wheeled grandpa
45:00back, he was still half under. His lips
45:03moved, mumbling Hong Cheng and Shao Lan,
45:06my name and my mother's. I held his
45:08hand. I'm here, grandpa. He went quiet.
45:12Shao Weigua had left at some point. On
45:14his nightstand sat a bag of apples and a
45:16net of tangerines, with a note
45:19underneath in neat handwriting. Wishing
45:21Uncle a speedy recovery. I looked at it
45:23for a long moment, then folded it and
45:26put it in my pocket. The day after
45:28surgery, I walked out of the hospital
45:30alone for the first time. Grandpa needed
45:32rest. Nurses checked on him during the
45:35day. I couldn't just sit by his bed, and
45:37I had things to do. The money situation
45:40was stable, but I couldn't let it sit
45:42and shrink. More importantly, I needed
45:45to learn the city. I'd been to Beijing
45:47countless times in my past life, but
45:49that was a hundred years from now.
45:51Skyscrapers, subways, highways, this
45:55gray, coal smoke city was a completely
45:57different world. I had to map it fresh.
46:00Day one, I walked east. I watched
46:03housewives line up at a food shop with
46:05their ration tickets and memorized what
46:07grain coupons, oil coupons, and meat
46:09coupons look like. I counted bus routes
46:12at a stop, numbers 2 5 7 11. I stood
46:17outside a scrap collection station and
46:19watched the people, not the junk. Their
46:22clothes, accents, manners, the way they
46:24walked. Old habit in a new place,
46:27observe first, act later. I bought two
46:30roasted sweet potatoes at noon, ate one,
46:33wrapped the other for grandpa. Day two,
46:35I went west. Day three, south. Day four,
46:39north. Every morning I got grandpa
46:41breakfast, waited for the nurses'
46:43rounds, then headed out. Every evening I
46:46came back with a hot meal, millet
46:48porridge, or steamed buns, or braised
46:51pork from the cafeteria. Grandpa asked
46:53where I went. I said, "Just looking
46:56around the city." He stopped asking. He
46:58watched me come and go each day, my
47:01steps getting lighter, my face gaining
47:03color, and the worry in his eyes slowly
47:06faded. He trusted me. By day seven, I'd
47:10covered every street and alley within 5
47:12km of the hospital. I knew which roads
47:15led where, when the buses were crowded,
47:17which food shops had the best stock, and
47:20which alley corners had men squatting
47:22with sharp eyes, watching everyone who
47:24passed. I especially remembered one
47:26place, Liuluba Hutong, a deep narrow
47:30alley with low houses, coal briquettes
47:32stacked against walls, winter cabbages
47:35piled in corners. During the day, it
47:37looked like any other lane, but every
47:39evening, men gathered there to smoke and
47:42watch. Not always the same faces, not
47:45always the same spots, but the eyes were
47:47always the same, sharp, alert, sizing up
47:51every passerby like hunting dogs. I knew
47:54what Liuluba Hutong was, a black market,
47:57not the kind everyone knows about, but a
47:59hidden transfer point open only to
48:01regulars. The men squatting against the
48:04walls weren't sellers. They were
48:05lookouts. The real buyers and sellers
48:08never showed up at that hour. I didn't
48:10tip anyone off. Every time I passed
48:12through, I was just another scrawny kid
48:15in a ragged coat, head down, no eye
48:17contact. But, I remembered every detail.
48:20Five days after grandpa's surgery, I
48:23made my second move. Just five jin of
48:25white sugar, wrapped in old newspaper,
48:28stuffed inside my coat. I went to the
48:31hutong at 6:30, when the winter night
48:33was already pitch black. Same disguise,
48:36men's clothes, cotton hat low over my
48:39brows, black-framed glasses, collar up.
48:42In the mirror, I looked like a poor
48:44young guy from out of town. This time I
48:46skipped Old Zhang and went straight to
48:48the man crouching deepest in the alley.
48:51Bald, early 40s,
48:53old scar across his left eyebrow. I
48:56opened the newspaper just a crack. He
48:58looked. His pupils tightened. Three two
49:01a jin, he counted out 16 yuan without
49:04haggling. I took the money and walked
49:06away. His stare drilled into my back all
49:09the way to the alley entrance. I didn't
49:11look back. Three days later, I went
49:14again. 10 jin of sugar this time. 32
49:17yuan, no negotiation. When I turned to
49:19leave, he spoke up. Kid, next time you
49:22got rice, flour, or oil, I'll take
49:24those, too. I paused. Deal.
49:27After that, grandpa was recovering well,
49:30and I had more free time. I started
49:32taking inventory inside my space. The
49:35supermarket shelves had everything,
49:37rice, flour, white sugar, brown sugar,
49:41cooking oil. But, I couldn't bring any
49:43of it out in plastic bags and vacuum
49:45packaging from 100 years in the future.
49:48I needed a conversion step. That night I
49:51worked three solid hours in my space. I
49:53dug out hundreds of washed out old
49:55burlap sacks I'd found in the mall
49:57storage area back when I first
49:59discovered the space. They were worn,
50:02patched, frayed at the edges, perfect
50:04for this era. I poured the rice out of
50:07vacuum packs and into burlap sacks, bag
50:09by bag. Same with the flour. For sugar,
50:13I used old wooden crates from the
50:14warehouse, sealed them up, and labeled
50:17them with a brush pen in shaky, barely
50:20literate handwriting. 300 sacks of rice,
50:23200 sacks of flour, 50 crates of white
50:26sugar, 30 crates of brown sugar. I
50:29worked the entire night alone. My back
50:32ached, my hands had two blisters, but
50:34looking at the neatly stacked 1960s
50:37style grain pile, I felt solid. This
50:41batch could fetch serious money. Three
50:43days later, I showed up at the hutong
50:46again. The bald man's eyes lit up. Got
50:49something? Rice, flour, white sugar,
50:53brown sugar. Large quantities. He froze.
50:56I gave him the numbers. His breath
50:58caught. 300 sacks of rice, 200 of flour,
51:0250 crates of white sugar, 30 of brown
51:05sugar. This wasn't a black market deal.
51:08This was a state grain warehouse
51:10inventory. He stared at me hard. Kid,
51:13you serious? I handed him a handwritten
51:15inventory sheet. Sloppy characters
51:18listing items, quantities, unit prices.
51:21He studied it for two full minutes, then
51:23looked up. Where's the goods? Outside
51:25the city. I'll truck it in. Three days
51:28from now, 9:00 at night, the old brick
51:30factory west of the city. He folded the
51:33paper and pocketed it. This is too big
51:36for me to decide alone. I need to talk
51:38to the people above me.
51:39I nodded. Three days. If it's a deal, we
51:43go by the prices on that sheet. If not,
51:46I'll find someone else. I walked into
51:48the darkness without stopping. Three
51:51days later, the old brick factory. I
51:53arrived an hour early and walked the
51:55abandoned building three times,
51:58memorizing every corner, every window,
52:01every escape route. Then I stood in the
52:03center and pulled the entire shipment
52:05out of my space. The sacks and crates
52:08stacked up on the floor like a small
52:10mountain. At 9:00 sharp, I heard
52:12engines. Two trucks and a Jeep.
52:15Headlights swept across the ruins. The
52:18bald man got out first, followed by five
52:20or six big men. From the Jeep came two
52:23people, a man around 50 in a neat dark
52:26gray Zhongshan suit, rolling two walnuts
52:29in his hand, and a younger man in a
52:31black jacket with hawk-sharp eyes. "This
52:33is Boss Wang," the bald man said
52:35quietly. Boss Wang didn't speak right
52:38away. He walked to the pile, crouched
52:40down, grabbed a handful of rice, studied
52:43it, then chewed a pinch. He checked the
52:45flour the same way. Then the sugar,
52:48white and brown. He came back and stood
52:51in front of me, cracking those walnuts
52:53in his fist. "Good stuff," he said. "How
52:56much?" I repeated the total from the
52:58inventory sheet. He didn't haggle. The
53:00young hawk-eyed man handed him a fat
53:03canvas bag. He set it at my feet and
53:05unzipped it. Inside, bundles of cash
53:08neatly stacked. "Count it." I crouched
53:11down and went through it. 10 bundles.
53:141,000 yuan each. 10,000 yuan. I stood
53:18up, bag in hand. "Done." Boss Wang
53:22nodded and waved his men forward. The
53:24bald man and the others started hauling
53:26sacks onto the trucks. I grabbed the
53:28canvas bag and headed for the door.
53:31"Kid."
53:32Boss Wang's voice came from behind me. I
53:35stopped but didn't turn around. "This
53:37batch is clean goods. I've been in this
53:39business 20 years. I know quality when I
53:42see it. Next time you've got stock, come
53:44straight to me. The guys at Liulichang
53:47will cheat you blind. I paused. Deal. I
53:50walked into the night without looking
53:52back. I didn't go straight to the
53:54hospital. I cut through three alleys,
53:56climbed two walls, and made absolutely
53:59sure nobody was following before
54:00slipping into my space. I spread the
54:03cash out on the supermarket checkout
54:05counter. 10,000 yuan. I'd been in this
54:08area long enough to understand what that
54:10meant. A factory worker earned 30 yuan a
54:13month. This was 30 years of wages. I
54:16leaned against the shelf and let out a
54:18long breath. Enough. Grandpa's leg was
54:21being fixed. Our future was secure. No
54:25more risks. This was the first and last
54:27time. The next evening, leaving the
54:29hospital to get food, I caught a figure
54:31in my peripheral vision. Gray coat, 20 m
54:35back, following at an easy pace. I
54:38ducked into a public toilet, waited 2
54:40minutes, and came out. Gone. I switched
54:43routes the next 2 days. The gray coat
54:46didn't reappear, but I knew someone was
54:48looking for me. On the fourth evening, I
54:51went back to Liulichang,
54:53not to sell, just to read the wind. More
54:56people than usual at the entrance. I
54:59walked through with my head down, just
55:00another passerby. As I brushed past two
55:03men squatting by the wall, I caught
55:05their whispered conversation. Still
55:07haven't found the kid? No. Baldy says
55:10there's a 50 yuan reward for whoever
55:12finds the sugar seller. Boss Wang's
55:14people are looking, too. Two groups
55:16searching. Who is that kid, anyway?
55:19Where'd the goods come from? Who knows?
55:22Find him first, figure it out later.
55:24I kept walking, hat pulled even lower.
55:27My heartbeat stayed perfectly steady. I
55:30walked the full length of the alley and
55:31back, right past every lookout. Not a
55:34single one gave me a second glance. They
55:37were hunting for a poor kid who sold
55:39sugar, but none of them knew what that
55:41kid actually looked like. I just
55:43strolled right under their noses twice.
55:46My disguise was solid, but I couldn't
55:48leave things this way. These people
55:50wanted to find me, squeeze me, maybe
55:52take everything I had. If I did nothing,
55:55they'd keep searching. I don't like
55:57being hunted. I looked toward the end of
55:59the alley. A wooden door with peeling
56:02paint and a rusty ring handle. Faint
56:04light leaking through the crack. I
56:06smiled. I didn't use the front door. I
56:09circled behind the alley, climbed a low
56:11wall, and dropped into the shadows of
56:13the back courtyard. I'd scouted the
56:16warehouse location days ago. Moving like
56:18a cat along the wall, I reached the back
56:21window. Old wooden frame, badly rusted
56:24latch. I pulled out my iron baton,
56:27slipped it into the gap, and pried. One
56:30soft click and it opened. Inside, a
56:33kerosene lamp hung from a beam, lighting
56:35up a room packed with goods. Dozens of
56:38grain sacks against the wall, flour,
56:40rice, cornmeal, stacked like a mountain.
56:43Several large clay jars full of cooking
56:46oil. Wooden crates in the corner holding
56:48fabric, sugar, soap, and cigarettes.
56:51Four nearly new bicycles with polished
56:54frames. A dozen brand new thermoses
56:56still in their wrapping paper. Bolts of
56:59cotton cloth neatly folded. Bags of raw
57:02cotton packed tight. Half a side of
57:04fatty pork hanging from a beam in
57:06oilcloth. A guard sat in a broken rattan
57:09chair in the corner, fast asleep,
57:12snoring like thunder. I walked up to him
57:15and chopped the back of his neck. The
57:17snoring stopped instantly. He slumped
57:20and went completely limp. I checked the
57:22back room first. A wooden table with
57:25account books, a chair, and an
57:27old-fashioned safe. I touched them one
57:30by one. The table vanished, the books
57:33vanished, the chair and safe gone. Then
57:36I went back to the main warehouse. The
57:39grain sacks, the oil jars, the crates,
57:42the bicycles, the thermoses, the cloth,
57:46the cotton, the pork. Everything I
57:49walked past disappeared, swallowed into
57:51my space like the darkness ate it. Less
57:54than 3 minutes, the entire warehouse was
57:57empty. Nothing left but dusty burlap
58:00scraps on the floor, wheel marks in the
58:02dirt, and one unconscious man in a
58:04rotten chair. I climbed back out the
58:07window and vanished into the night. In a
58:10quiet alley far from the hutong, I
58:12entered my space and took inventory.
58:14Over 2,000 jin of grain, flour, rice,
58:18and cornmeal combined. Nine big jars of
58:21cooking oil, about 50 jin each. 19 bolts
58:25of fabric, 14 crates of sugar, eight
58:28crates of soap, 17 cartons of
58:30cigarettes, a stack of ration coupons,
58:33and over 300 yuan in cash. I leaned
58:36against a shelf in my space and paused
58:39for a second. I'd only meant to make
58:41some money. Instead, I'd cleaned out
58:43their entire base. Oh, well. I left the
58:46space, pulled my hot low, and headed
58:48back toward the hospital. It was almost
58:519:00 at night, streets nearly empty. I
58:53took a shortcut through a dark alley I'd
58:55walked during the day, quiet but safe,
58:58connecting to the hospital's back gate.
59:00Halfway through, I stopped. The wind
59:03carried the sound of metal clashing,
59:05fast, sharp blades hitting each other. I
59:08pressed myself flat against a doorway
59:11and looked. Four figures formed a half
59:13circle, attacking one man. He was tall,
59:17wearing dark civilian clothes, moving
59:19fast but clearly hurt. His left arm hung
59:22limp, he could only block with his
59:24right, and his footing was unsteady. The
59:27four attackers had short knives. Every
59:29strike aimed to kill. I almost left.
59:33This wasn't my business. I didn't know
59:35these people or what this was about. I
59:38was just a village girl here to get her
59:40grandpa's leg fixed. I should turn
59:42around and take another route. But I saw
59:45the blood on his chest and arm. That
59:47wasn't from a knife. Those were gunshot
59:49wounds through and through, at least two
59:51hits. A man with two bullet holes and a
59:54damaged arm against four armed attackers
59:57wouldn't last much longer. I'd seen this
1:00:00kind of scene too many times in my past
1:00:02life. I knew what to get involved in and
1:00:05what to walk away from. This one I
1:00:07should walk away from. But I was already
1:00:10pulling the telescoping iron baton from
1:00:11my space and wrapping cloth over my
1:00:14face. I didn't make a sound. The first
1:00:17attacker was mid-thrust at the man's
1:00:19throat when I hit his lower back. He
1:00:21dropped like his bones dissolved. Before
1:00:23the other three could react, I was on
1:00:25the second one. Baton to the elbow. The
1:00:28crack of bone echoed through the alley.
1:00:30He started to scream. I kicked him in
1:00:32the gut and cut it short. The third
1:00:35tried to run. I swept his knees from
1:00:37behind. He face-planted into the ground
1:00:40and went out cold. The fourth finally
1:00:43saw me, small, fast like a ghost. His
1:00:46knife hand was shaking. "What What are
1:00:49you?" My baton cracked his right wrist
1:00:51before he finished. He screamed and
1:00:53dropped to his knees. One more strike to
1:00:56the back of his neck and he was done. 20
1:00:58seconds. All four down. Not dead, but
1:01:02finished. I'd hit the exact spots.
1:01:05Knees, elbows, wrists. They'd never hold
1:01:08a knife properly again. Never run. Never
1:01:11walk normally. I felt no pity. The
1:01:14soldier leaned against the wall,
1:01:16bleeding from his chest and arm,
1:01:18breathing hard. He stared at me. I
1:01:21stared back. The alley was too dark for
1:01:23him to see anything but my eyes. "Thank
1:01:26you," he said, voice raw. I didn't
1:01:29answer. I crouched down and searched the
1:01:32four unconscious men. Two short knives,
1:01:35a dagger, five or 600 yuan, and a stack
1:01:38of national grain and cloth ration
1:01:40coupons. I tossed the blades and money
1:01:43into my space. Then I walked over to the
1:01:45soldier. He flinched but had no strength
1:01:48to move away. I looked at his chest
1:01:50wound without touching him. The bullets
1:01:52had already been removed, but he'd lost
1:01:55too much blood. He needed a hospital
1:01:57fast. "Can you walk?" I asked, voice
1:02:00low. He nodded, then shook his head. "I
1:02:04can walk, just not fast." From the alley
1:02:07entrance, I heard voices and footsteps
1:02:09rushing closer. "Captain, Captain Xiao,
1:02:13over here. Hurry, six or seven people
1:02:16running this way." I didn't hesitate. A
1:02:19few quick steps, one hand on the wall,
1:02:22and I vaulted over it. The soldier
1:02:24looked up at me on top of the wall. His
1:02:26eyes shone in the darkness like he
1:02:28wanted to say something but didn't know
1:02:30what. He just gave a small nod. I didn't
1:02:32respond. I dropped silently to the other
1:02:35side and disappeared. The next morning,
1:02:38sunlight poured through the ward
1:02:40windows. Grandpa was holding on to a
1:02:42walker, practicing his steps, look
1:02:45hunching. "Five steps today." He beamed
1:02:48like a proud child, showing off his
1:02:51gap-toothed grin. "A few more days and
1:02:53I'll walk on my own. Then we'll go home,
1:02:56you go back to school, and I'll cook
1:02:58your meals." He rambled on happily. I
1:03:00stood beside him, gently holding his
1:03:03arm, listening. The door opened. Nurse
1:03:06Xiao Yu pushed in a wheelchair. In it
1:03:08sat a young soldier, clean hospital
1:03:10gown, left arm bandaged, thick gauze
1:03:13wrapped around his chest, pale but
1:03:16alert. She wheeled him to the empty bed
1:03:18right next to ours, the window spot
1:03:21beside Grandpa. "Captain Xiao, please
1:03:23rest. The head nurse will come change
1:03:25your dressing soon." Xiao Yu said
1:03:27softly. He nodded. I didn't look at him.
1:03:31I kept my head down, putting away
1:03:33Grandpa's walker, and checking the water
1:03:35temperature in the thermos. He didn't
1:03:37look at me, either. He leaned against
1:03:39the headboard with a military book open
1:03:41in his hands. After a while, he put the
1:03:43book down and turned to Grandpa. "How
1:03:46are you feeling today, Uncle?" Grandpa
1:03:48brightened up. "Much better. Doctor Gu
1:03:51says a few more days and I can go home."
1:03:54The young soldier nodded with a small
1:03:56smile. "Good to hear." Then he looked at
1:03:58me. "What's your name?" My hands paused
1:04:01for just a second. "Xiao Hanching. I'm
1:04:04Xiao Su." I didn't respond. He didn't
1:04:07push. He went back to his book. Sunlight
1:04:10came through the window, falling on his
1:04:12bandaged arm and on the shoulder of my
1:04:14old cotton coat. I knew he wasn't
1:04:16sleeping that night, and I knew why. He
1:04:19was thinking about the alley, the black
1:04:21shadow that took down four armed killers
1:04:24in 20 seconds. He'd been a soldier for
1:04:2610 years, fought in real combat, seen
1:04:29plenty of skilled fighters, but he'd
1:04:31never seen anyone strike that fast, that
1:04:34precise, that ruthless. Every blow
1:04:37landing on the weakest point of a joint,
1:04:39every hit ending the fight completely.
1:04:41He thought it must have been a veteran
1:04:42scout or a retired agent. Then this
1:04:45morning, he got wheeled into our ward
1:04:47and saw me, a skinny 13-year-old in a
1:04:50patched coat peeling apples for her
1:04:52grandfather. His heart must have
1:04:54skipped. Not because I looked like the
1:04:57shadow, because I looked nothing like
1:04:59it, but something bothered him. The way
1:05:01the shadow climbed that wall, the way it
1:05:04moved, and the way I moved around the
1:05:05ward, steady, light, efficient.
1:05:08Something overlapped in his mind that he
1:05:10couldn't shake. I knew he was watching
1:05:13me, not in an uncomfortable way. His
1:05:16glances were light, almost casual, like
1:05:19he was trying to confirm something he
1:05:21couldn't quite believe. I didn't avoid
1:05:24it. I didn't play into it, either. I
1:05:26just let him look. I ate meals, peeled
1:05:29apples, helped Grandpa walk. A
1:05:3013-year-old village girl doing exactly
1:05:33what a 13-year-old village girl would
1:05:35do. No cracks in the surface. By his
1:05:38third day in the ward, Grandpa could
1:05:40walk a full loop around the room with
1:05:42the walker. I counted his steps out
1:05:44loud. 23, 24, 25. He was panting, but
1:05:49grinning. Hunching, "I never thought I'd
1:05:52walk properly again in this life." I
1:05:54just held his arm a little steadier.
1:05:56Xiao Su spoke up from his bed. "Uncle,
1:05:59that's an old injury, isn't it?" Grandpa
1:06:01nodded. "Wild boar got me in the
1:06:03mountains when I was young. Never healed
1:06:05right. Been like this for decades." Xiao
1:06:08Su was quiet a moment. "Your son-in-law,
1:06:11was he a soldier?" Grandpa's head
1:06:13dropped. "Yes. Killed in '47." Xiao Su
1:06:17didn't ask any more. I helped Grandpa
1:06:20back to bed and went to pour hot water.
1:06:22My movements were the same as always,
1:06:25light, steady, efficient. But I knew
1:06:28what Xiao Su had noticed. Yesterday,
1:06:31when Nurse Xiao Yu accidentally knocked
1:06:33over her medicine tray and bottles
1:06:35rolled everywhere, I'd been standing
1:06:37right there. I bent down and caught a
1:06:39rolling bottle in one smooth motion.
1:06:42Side step, drop, single-hand scoop. All
1:06:45in one beat. An ordinary person would
1:06:47have frozen first, then reached out
1:06:49clumsily. My body reacted with trained
1:06:52muscle memory before my brain could tell
1:06:54it to act normal. Xiao Yu thanked me and
1:06:57called me a clever girl. Xiao Su said
1:06:59nothing, but he saw it. On his fourth
1:07:02day, he got a report delivered. Not an
1:07:04official file, just two thin pages of
1:07:07local records, ink printed with a fresh
1:07:09red stamp on the corner. He leaned
1:07:12against his headboard and read through
1:07:14them slowly. Shao Su had gotten a file
1:07:16on me. I knew because of what happened
1:07:19next. Two thin pages, my name, age,
1:07:22hometown. My father, Joe Wei-dong,
1:07:25enlisted in 1946, killed in the winter
1:07:28of '47. My mother, Joe Xiu-lan, died in
1:07:32October 1960 during canal construction.
1:07:35Currently living with my grandfather,
1:07:37Joe Da-shin. County Middle School, first
1:07:40year, ranked first in the grade. Applied
1:07:42to study from home after my mother's
1:07:44death. And then the part that mattered,
1:07:47notes from the train. The crew member's
1:07:49testimony. The note about car eight,
1:07:52seat 57. The spy's walking pattern. The
1:07:55hand calluses. Car eight. That's where
1:07:58grandpa and I sat. He'd put it together.
1:08:01I was coming back from washing my
1:08:02lunchbox when I saw him standing in the
1:08:05hallway, leaning against the wall like
1:08:07he'd been waiting. We stood there, a
1:08:09meter apart, neither of us speaking.
1:08:12Then he said it. That night. It was you,
1:08:15wasn't it? My eyebrow twitched barely. I
1:08:18kept my voice flat. I don't know what
1:08:20you're talking about. He watched my
1:08:22face. I gave him nothing. I stood there
1:08:25holding my old lunchbox, back straight,
1:08:28expression blank, like a confused kid
1:08:31who'd just been stopped by a stranger
1:08:32for no reason. But he wasn't an ordinary
1:08:35person. 10 years of combat had taught
1:08:38him to read eyes the way I read
1:08:40footsteps. He'd caught something in my
1:08:42gaze the instant he asked, a flash of
1:08:44alertness gone before most people could
1:08:47blink. He pressed on, slow and
1:08:49deliberate. On the train to Beijing, you
1:08:52spotted the spies. You wrote that note,
1:08:55didn't you? I looked at him, said
1:08:57nothing, didn't confirm, didn't deny,
1:09:00just stood there. He stared at me and I
1:09:03could feel his certainty wavering. I was
1:09:06too calm. Any normal 13-year-old would
1:09:08have cracked by now, gotten nervous,
1:09:11stuttered, looked away. I gave him
1:09:13absolutely nothing. Then he said the
1:09:16thing that actually rattled me. "I've
1:09:18already reported your case to the
1:09:19military district. In the next day or
1:09:21two, someone will come to talk to you."
1:09:23For one instant, one tiny instant, I
1:09:26froze. He caught it. I didn't give him a
1:09:29chance to say more. I walked past him,
1:09:32pushed open the ward door, and went
1:09:34inside. I set Grandpa's food on the
1:09:36nightstand, handed him his chopsticks,
1:09:39and sat down beside him. My voice went
1:09:41soft. "Eat up, Grandpa. You need it to
1:09:44heal faster." Grandpa picked up a piece
1:09:47of braised pork, chewed it slowly, and
1:09:49his eyes got red. "Hunching, I've never
1:09:52eaten this well in my whole life." I
1:09:54patted the back of his hand and said
1:09:56nothing. Shao Su was watching from his
1:09:59bed. A minute ago, I'd stared at him in
1:10:01the hallway with eyes like knives. Now I
1:10:04was sitting quietly beside my
1:10:06grandfather, peeling fruit, pouring
1:10:08water, speaking softly, looking exactly
1:10:12like any granddaughter taking care of
1:10:13her family. I knew what he was thinking,
1:10:16that the distance I kept, the calm I
1:10:18showed under pressure, those weren't
1:10:20things a 13-year-old could fake. Those
1:10:23came from experience, from living
1:10:25through something. He was right, but
1:10:28what worried me wasn't what he thought.
1:10:30It was what he'd done.
1:10:31He'd reported me to the military
1:10:33district. People were coming to ask
1:10:35questions. From today, my life was never
1:10:38going back to the quiet track I'd
1:10:40planned. Heal Grandpa's leg, go home,
1:10:43study hard, take exams, get out. That
1:10:46plan was already falling apart. The next
1:10:49morning, Nurse Shao Yu came in and said
1:10:51Dr. Gu wanted to see me. I knew what
1:10:53this was really about. I told Grandpa I
1:10:57was going to ask the doctor about his
1:10:58rehabilitation plan after we go home. He
1:11:01waved me off. Don't bother him too much.
1:11:04I put on my old coat and walked out
1:11:06without looking at Xiao Su. The hallway
1:11:08was long and bright with sunlight. I
1:11:10walked slowly. Each step steady. I
1:11:13didn't know what those military men
1:11:15would ask or how much they already knew,
1:11:18but I understood that from the moment I
1:11:20wrote that note on the train, some
1:11:22things were set in motion. I didn't
1:11:24regret it. I just felt sorry for
1:11:26Grandpa. I planned to get his leg fixed,
1:11:28go home, and live a quiet life. That was
1:11:31looking harder by the minute. I knocked
1:11:34on the office door. Come in. Knocked Dr.
1:11:37Gu's voice. Inside sat two men in
1:11:39military uniforms, both ramrod straight,
1:11:42both with battlefield eyes. The one on
1:11:45the left, about 40, round face, warm
1:11:48smile, but I saw through it instantly. A
1:11:51smiling tiger. You never know what's
1:11:54really behind that kind of face. The one
1:11:56on the right, mid-30s, square jaw,
1:11:59serious expression, hawk-sharp eyes.
1:12:02He'd been sizing me up from the second I
1:12:04walked in, like he was evaluating a
1:12:06piece of equipment. Dr. Gu stood to the
1:12:08side. He nodded at me and said these two
1:12:11comrades from the military wanted to ask
1:12:13me some questions. Then he left, clearly
1:12:16curious, but knowing better than to
1:12:18stay. The round-faced one spoke first.
1:12:21Don't be scared, child. Sit down. My
1:12:24name is Meng, and this is Comrade Sun.
1:12:27We're Xiao Su's superiors. We came to
1:12:29thank you personally. I sat across from
1:12:32them, back straight, hands folded on my
1:12:34knees. Meng's eyes flickered when he saw
1:12:37my posture. Too perfect, too practiced.
1:12:40The people on the train who helped Xiao
1:12:42Su, that was you, right? He said, still
1:12:44smiling. I looked at him, then at Sun,
1:12:48then back. You can say what you mean
1:12:50directly. No need to go in circles.
1:12:53Meng's smile froze for a second. Sun
1:12:55glanced at him with a look that said,
1:12:57"Told you. This one's not easy." Sun
1:13:00leaned forward. Fine. We'll be direct.
1:13:04We want to know who taught you to fight
1:13:06like that. How did you recognize a
1:13:07Japanese person's walking pattern? I met
1:13:10his stare without flinching. "My grandpa
1:13:13is a hunter. I grew up running through
1:13:15mountains with him. Having some ability
1:13:17isn't strange." I paused. "As for the
1:13:20note, I just did what any citizen would
1:13:22do in that situation. Nobody needed to
1:13:25teach me that." Sun pressed harder.
1:13:27"Your ability isn't just some"
1:13:30"Shals report is very clear. Four armed
1:13:33killers, you alone. Less than 20
1:13:35seconds. All down. Every strike hit a
1:13:38joint at its weakest point. The
1:13:40precision and force, even veteran scouts
1:13:43with years of training might not manage
1:13:45that." I said nothing. Meng jumped in
1:13:48with his sugar-coated voice. "We're not
1:13:50interrogating you. We're truly grateful.
1:13:53You saved our man and helped catch enemy
1:13:56agents. That's a real achievement." The
1:13:59word achievement came out of his mouth
1:14:01like medicine wrapped in candy. I looked
1:14:04at him. "I don't know what you want from
1:14:05me. I'm a 13-year-old village kid who
1:14:08came here to get her grandpa's leg
1:14:10fixed. I want a quiet life. When he's
1:14:13better, we go home." Meng's smile
1:14:16stiffened. He hadn't expected someone
1:14:18this small to talk this bluntly. Sun
1:14:20spoke again, more seriously this time.
1:14:23"Comrade Joe Haunching, what do you
1:14:25think a quiet life is?" "Simple. Grandpa
1:14:28recovers at home. I go back to school.
1:14:31Nobody watching me. Nobody asking
1:14:33questions." He nodded. "I understand."
1:14:36Then he leaned forward. "But do you
1:14:38really think you can still have a quiet
1:14:39life?" My gaze tightened. "What do you
1:14:42mean?" He pulled a document from his
1:14:44briefcase and pushed it across the desk.
1:14:47Red, classified stamp at the top. It was
1:14:50an intelligence summary. Short, but I
1:14:53understood it immediately. "After the
1:14:55train incident, our side intercepted
1:14:57three enemy radio transmissions. One
1:15:00specifically mentioned a thin person in
1:15:03old cotton clothing, possibly a
1:15:05teenager, who had disrupted their
1:15:07operation. They were actively trying to
1:15:09identify this person." I looked up.
1:15:12"They know it was me?" "They don't know
1:15:13your exact identity yet." Sun said, "But
1:15:16they know someone like you exists. And
1:15:18on that train, someone saw your face."
1:15:21My brow furrowed. I'd been careful on
1:15:23the train. Hat low, no face-to-face
1:15:26contact with anyone. But getting on and
1:15:28off, people would have seen me. If
1:15:30someone drew a sketch, if someone
1:15:32started asking around. "They're looking
1:15:34everywhere for you." Sun said, his voice
1:15:37heavy. "The people on the train, and the
1:15:39ones you took down in the alley, they're
1:15:41the same group. You ruined two of their
1:15:43operations single-handedly. You think
1:15:45they'll just let that go?"
1:15:47I went quiet. He was right. Those four
1:15:50killers in the alley had been
1:15:51professionals. Every strike aimed to
1:15:53kill. People like that don't forgive and
1:15:56forget. I'd been careless. I thought my
1:15:59disguise was enough. I thought they'd
1:16:01never find me. I thought doing those two
1:16:03things and walking away meant it was
1:16:06over. I forgot how persistent and
1:16:08cunning enemy agents in this era could
1:16:10be. I looked down. "I've put Grandpa in
1:16:13danger." My voice came out barely above
1:16:16a whisper. Ming and Sun glanced at each
1:16:19other. I didn't know it then, but their
1:16:21commander had told them before coming,
1:16:23"Keep this girl. A talent like this, if
1:16:25she goes back to the Northeast, she
1:16:28becomes the Northeast Military
1:16:29District's asset." And Ming's warnings
1:16:32had been exaggerated. The enemy knew
1:16:34someone existed, but they had no idea
1:16:36what I looked like, what my name was, or
1:16:39where I came from. He'd made it sound
1:16:41worse to scare me into cooperating, but
1:16:43I didn't know that yet. All I knew was
1:16:45that my grandfather, an old man who
1:16:48could barely walk, was in the crosshairs
1:16:50because of me. Sun's tone softened.
1:16:53"Comrade Zhao Hanching, you don't need
1:16:55to worry too much. If you're willing to
1:16:57work with us, help us track down the
1:16:59enemy's base and wipe them out, you and
1:17:02your grandpa will be safe. We'll station
1:17:04people here to protect him. Nothing will
1:17:07happen to him." I looked up. "What do
1:17:09you want me to do?" He was straight with
1:17:11me this time. "Our intelligence is
1:17:13limited. We don't know where their
1:17:15hideout is, how many there are, or what
1:17:17they're planning next. We need someone
1:17:19familiar with this kind of enemy and
1:17:21this kind of combat to help us analyze
1:17:23clues and make plans." He looked me in
1:17:25the eye. "We believe you're the best
1:17:27person for this." I thought about it. He
1:17:30wasn't wrong. If I did nothing, sooner
1:17:33or later they'd trace everything back to
1:17:35grandpa. I could handle any enemy I met
1:17:38face-to-face, but grandpa, an old man
1:17:41whose leg wasn't even healed, what would
1:17:43happen if they found him? I couldn't
1:17:45bear to think about it. "I'll take a
1:17:47look," I said, "but I can't promise I'll
1:17:50be useful." I paused. "What about my
1:17:53grandpa?" "Zhao Su will stay here," Sun
1:17:56said. "His two comrades will take shifts
1:17:58guarding your grandfather around the
1:18:00clock. I guarantee his safety." I
1:18:02nodded. "I'll come pick you up
1:18:04tomorrow," Meng added with a smile. "Go
1:18:07be with your grandpa tonight. Don't let
1:18:09him worry." I stood up and walked to the
1:18:11door. Then I stopped and turned back.
1:18:14"My grandpa really won't be harmed?" Sun
1:18:17looked at me and nodded firmly. "I give
1:18:19you my word as a soldier." I held his
1:18:21gaze for a few seconds, then gave a
1:18:23small nod and left. After the door
1:18:26closed behind me, Meng leaned back and
1:18:28sighed. "You were pretty smooth today,
1:18:31old Sunday." Sun didn't answer right
1:18:32away. He was organizing files. "Does
1:18:35this feel right to you?" He finally
1:18:37said, "Tricking her like this." Meng
1:18:40blinked. "Tricking her how? The enemy is
1:18:43looking for her. We do need her help."
1:18:45"She's 13 years old." Sun said. Meng
1:18:48went quiet. He thought about the way I'd
1:18:50said, "I've put Grandpa in danger." Head
1:18:53down, voice so light it could break.
1:18:56Then he shook it off. "Did you read Xiao
1:18:58Su's report? On the train, one person
1:19:01knocked out an entire compartment of
1:19:03agents. In the alley, 20 seconds for
1:19:06armed killers on the ground. Is that
1:19:09something a normal child does?" Sun said
1:19:11nothing. "Come on. The commander is
1:19:14waiting for our answer." When I walked
1:19:15back into the ward, Xiao Su was reading
1:19:18on his bed. Our eyes met for a second.
1:19:21He saw something in my look that made
1:19:22him flinch.
1:19:23Not the calm distance from before.
1:19:26Something sharper, like a blade. He'd
1:19:29reported me. Because of him, my quiet
1:19:32life was crumbling. I knew it wasn't
1:19:34fair to blame him entirely. But right
1:19:36then, I couldn't help it. I didn't look
1:19:38at him again. I went to Grandpa's
1:19:40bedside, set down the hot water, and
1:19:43asked softly if his foot still hurt.
1:19:46"Not at all." He waved his hand. "What
1:19:48did the doctor say?" "He said to walk
1:19:50more when we get home." "Slowly?" "No to
1:19:52sink." "I'll walk with you every day."
1:19:55Grandpa smiled wide, wrinkles bunching
1:19:58up. "That sounds wonderful." I poured
1:20:01him water, helped him lie down, took his
1:20:03lunchbox to the washroom to clean it.
1:20:05Through all of it, I didn't give Xiao Su
1:20:08a single glance. I could feel him
1:20:10watching me, wanting to say something.
1:20:12He didn't. Xiao Su was watching me
1:20:15leave. I could feel his guilt from
1:20:17across the room. He was starting to
1:20:19wonder if writing that report had been a
1:20:21mistake. Whether a 13-year-old girl,
1:20:24once she walked through those doors,
1:20:26would ever come back out. Good. Let him
1:20:29wonder. That night I sat by Grandpa's
1:20:32bed without sleeping. I watched his face
1:20:34in the dim light, all wrinkles, white
1:20:37hair, mouth slightly open, breathing
1:20:40deep and steady. I held his hand and
1:20:43listened to the world outside slowly go
1:20:45quiet. Tomorrow I'd leave him, just
1:20:48before dawn.
1:20:50Footsteps came down the hallway, light,
1:20:53steady, military. They stopped at our
1:20:55door. I got up, pulled on my old coat,
1:20:58and slipped out without waking Grandpa.
1:21:00Two young soldiers stood in the
1:21:02corridor, uniforms crisp, cap badges
1:21:05catching the first light. Comrade Zhao
1:21:07Hanching? I nodded. We're here to escort
1:21:10you. I looked back into the room.
1:21:12Grandpa was still sleeping, turned on
1:21:14his side, white hair messy against the
1:21:17pillow. I went back in. He was just
1:21:19waking up, blinking at me. Why are you
1:21:22up so early? I sat on his bed and held
1:21:25his hand. Grandpa, I need to go help
1:21:27them for a few days. Help? Help with
1:21:29what?
1:21:31I hesitated. On the train, I helped them
1:21:33with something small. Now they want me
1:21:35to help again. His face crumpled with
1:21:38worry. You're going alone? Where? For
1:21:40how long? Right here in Beijing, not
1:21:43far. A few days, then I'll be back. You
1:21:47keep doing your rehabilitation. Listen
1:21:49to the doctors. When I'm back, we'll go
1:21:51home. His brow tightened. His lips
1:21:54moved, but he swallowed whatever he
1:21:56wanted to say. I could see it in his
1:21:58eyes. He was remembering the morning my
1:22:01mother died. He hadn't been there. By
1:22:03the time he arrived, she was already
1:22:06lying on a straw mat. His hand gripped
1:22:08mine, shaking. How about we just leave
1:22:11today? Forget my foot. Let's go home.
1:22:14It's safer there. Something squeezed my
1:22:16heart so hard I couldn't breathe. I
1:22:19pressed my face against his rough hand
1:22:21for a few seconds before looking up.
1:22:23It's fine, Grandpa. Just a small favor.
1:22:27I'll be right back. The door opened. A
1:22:29young soldier walked in, snapped to
1:22:32attention, and saluted Grandpa. "Sir, my
1:22:35name is Li Jiang Wo, military district
1:22:38guard company. Your granddaughter helped
1:22:40us catch some bad people on the train.
1:22:43She's a hero. Our commander wants to
1:22:45meet her personally and thank her. It's
1:22:48nothing dangerous." Grandpa's eyes went
1:22:50wide. "Caught bad people? Hanching, you
1:22:54caught bad people?" I said nothing. Li
1:22:56Jiang Wo kept going with a big smile.
1:22:59"Those criminals were planning to
1:23:00sabotage the train. Your granddaughter
1:23:02spotted them and tipped off the crew
1:23:04with a note. Without her, everyone on
1:23:07that train could have been in serious
1:23:08danger."
1:23:09Grandpa stared at me. His expression was
1:23:12a boiling pot. Shock, pride, fear, and a
1:23:16tenderness that hurt to look at. "Why
1:23:18didn't you tell me?" His voice was
1:23:20rough. "It wasn't a big deal. Just
1:23:22something I noticed." He looked at me
1:23:24for a long time. Then he let out a heavy
1:23:27sigh. "Then go. If the army needs your
1:23:30help, we help. That's what we do." He
1:23:33patted my hand. "I'll wait right here.
1:23:36You finish up and come back." I stood
1:23:38and glanced at Xiao Su. He was awake,
1:23:41had been watching the whole thing. "I
1:23:43can help take care of your grandpa," he
1:23:44said. I looked at him. My stare must
1:23:47have hit like a blade because he
1:23:48flinched, but he kept talking. "Don't
1:23:51worry. I'll watch over him. Anything
1:23:53happens, it's on me."
1:23:55I didn't answer. I turned back to
1:23:57Grandpa and pressed a small cloth bundle
1:24:00into his hand. Inside was a thick stack
1:24:02of bills, at least 500 yuan. His eyes
1:24:05went round. "Where did this come from?"
1:24:08"Don't worry about it. These next few
1:24:10days, eat well, buy what you need. If
1:24:12your foot makes it hard to move, ask the
1:24:14soldiers outside to bring you food.
1:24:16Whatever you want." His hand trembled
1:24:19around the money. "This money, Grandpa."
1:24:22I stopped him. Taking care of your foot
1:24:24is the best thing you can do for me. I
1:24:27looked at him one last time. Then I
1:24:29turned and walked out without looking
1:24:31back. The door closed softly behind me.
1:24:34Xiao Si sat there staring at the closed
1:24:36door after I left. I didn't care what he
1:24:39was feeling. I followed Li Jianguo down
1:24:41the long, quiet hallway. On the stairs I
1:24:44asked one more time if someone would
1:24:46really be guarding Grandpa. He said yes.
1:24:49Xiao Si's two comrades, 24-hour shifts,
1:24:52no gaps. I nodded and didn't ask again.
1:24:55Outside, the early morning wind cut
1:24:58through my old coat. We went around to
1:25:00the hospital's back gate, where a
1:25:02military green jeep was parked in the
1:25:04alley. Sun Jianguo leaned against the
1:25:06door, straightened up when he saw me.
1:25:09Get in. I climbed into the back seat.
1:25:12The engine started and we pulled out
1:25:14onto the road. Through the rear window,
1:25:17I watched the hospital shrink.
1:25:19Gray-white buildings getting smaller and
1:25:21smaller until they disappeared around a
1:25:23corner. I turned forward and watched the
1:25:25morning streets slide by. Beijing was
1:25:28quiet at this hour. A few bicycles,
1:25:30state-run shops just opening, old men in
1:25:33blue coats sitting in the sun at street
1:25:36corners. A few days ago I was in a
1:25:38mountain village living a simple life
1:25:40with Grandpa. Now I was in a military
1:25:43jeep heading to an unknown place to meet
1:25:45unknown people. All because of one note
1:25:47on a train. I didn't regret it. I just
1:25:50didn't know what was coming next. Sun
1:25:52glanced at me in the rearview mirror.
1:25:55Your grandpa's taken care of. Xiao Si's
1:25:58arm is still bandaged, but he can watch
1:26:00over someone. His comrades are
1:26:02experienced. Nothing will happen. Then
1:26:05he said something I didn't expect. Some
1:26:07of what I told you yesterday I
1:26:09exaggerated to scare you. I looked at
1:26:11him. He kept his eyes on the road. The
1:26:14enemy is is for you, but not as urgently
1:26:17as I said. They know someone exists, not
1:26:19who you are or what you look like. I
1:26:22made it sound worse so you wouldn't
1:26:24refuse us. I was quiet for a moment. I
1:26:27don't blame you, I said. You have your
1:26:29mission. I have my choices. I just
1:26:32picked the road that was safest for my
1:26:34grandpa. He went silent for a long time.
1:26:37You're a good kid, he finally said. I
1:26:39didn't answer. The city thinned out.
1:26:42Fewer tall buildings, more low houses,
1:26:45bare trees casting thin shadows in the
1:26:47winter sun. I didn't ask where we were
1:26:49going. Grandpa, wait for me. The Jeep
1:26:52turned into an unremarkable alley. Gray
1:26:55brick walls, dead vines, narrow passage,
1:26:58iron double doors. Without Sun bringing
1:27:00me here, I'd never have noticed this
1:27:03place existed. He parked, locked the
1:27:05car, and led me inside a building. The
1:27:08corridor was narrow and dim, but the
1:27:10signs on the walls caught my eye.
1:27:12Intelligence Archives Room, Classified
1:27:15Communications, Records Management,
1:27:18Reconnaissance Division. I looked away
1:27:21and said nothing. We went up to the
1:27:23second floor, all the way to the end of
1:27:25the hallway, to a door left slightly
1:27:27open. Voices, rustling paper, a phone
1:27:31ringing inside. Sun pushed the door
1:27:33wide. I stood in the doorway and looked
1:27:36in. A big room, bigger than any command
1:27:39center I'd seen in old movies. A massive
1:27:42dark wooden table in the center, seats
1:27:44for 20 or more. Gray metal filing
1:27:47cabinets lined the walls, each with
1:27:49white labels. A huge blackboard covered
1:27:52in chalk drawings hung on one side, and
1:27:54next to it a large map of Beijing marked
1:27:57with far more red and blue pins than the
1:28:00one I'd seen earlier. Seven or eight
1:28:02people were scattered around, some bent
1:28:04over documents, some debating quietly at
1:28:07the blackboard, some talking on phones.
1:28:09They wore a mix of military uniforms,
1:28:12civilian clothes, and formal Zhongshan
1:28:14suits, like they'd been pulled together
1:28:16from different departments. The door
1:28:18opening made every head turn, and every
1:28:21pair of eyes landed on me. A 13-year-old
1:28:24girl in a faded cotton coat and plain
1:28:26black cloth shoes, skinny as a twig,
1:28:29standing alone in the doorway while a
1:28:31roomful of intelligence officers stared.
1:28:34I stood in the doorway and let them
1:28:36stare. It didn't bother me. Son, this is
1:28:39the outside help you mentioned. A man in
1:28:42his 30s stood up from the table, sleeves
1:28:44rolled to his forearms, not hiding his
1:28:47surprise. Son nodded. That's her.
1:28:50The room went quiet. A young woman
1:28:52nearby muttered, she's still a child.
1:28:55Everyone heard it. Son ignored her,
1:28:57pulled out a chair at the big table, and
1:29:00told me to sit. The chair was too tall.
1:29:03My feet barely reached the floor, but I
1:29:05sat straight, back like a spear, hands
1:29:08folded on the table. He went to a filing
1:29:10cabinet and came back with a stack of
1:29:13folders half a meter high. Dropped them
1:29:15on the table in front of me with a thud.
1:29:17Everything we have, confessions from the
1:29:20train suspects, items and interrogation
1:29:23records from the alley attackers,
1:29:25intercepted enemy radio communications,
1:29:28suspicious person reports from across
1:29:30the country, our analysis of possible
1:29:32hideout locations. All of it. He paused.
1:29:36Read through it. If you have thoughts,
1:29:38speak up anytime. I nodded, picked up
1:29:41the first folder, and opened it. The
1:29:43room went back to work, but I could feel
1:29:45eyes drifting my way every few minutes.
1:29:48I read fast, not skimming, but scanning
1:29:51every line at a speed much faster than
1:29:53normal. My brow would crease when
1:29:56something caught my attention. My finger
1:29:58would pause on certain lines. Hours
1:30:01passed. People came and went, delivering
1:30:04new files, pulling old ones, arguing at
1:30:07the blackboard, murmuring into phones. I
1:30:10didn't move. One folder finished, placed
1:30:13on the left. Next one picked up, then
1:30:16the next, and the next. The sun shifted
1:30:19across the table. The finished pile on
1:30:22my left grew to nearly half my height.
1:30:24The young woman who'd called me a child
1:30:26sidled up to Sun. Can she actually
1:30:29understand all this? Mind your own work,
1:30:31he said. At noon, someone brought in
1:30:34lunch boxes. Braised pork and cabbage
1:30:37stew with glass noodles. Sun told me to
1:30:39eat. How many left? I asked. Three. I
1:30:43thought about it, then nodded. Before
1:30:46eating, I asked Sun for a notebook and a
1:30:48pencil. He looked surprised, but found
1:30:50them without asking questions. I ate
1:30:53slowly, chewing each bite carefully. The
1:30:56pork was tender, the noodles soft and
1:30:58soaked with broth. Good food. While I
1:31:01ate, my eyes kept drifting to those last
1:31:04three unfinished folders. They were
1:31:06right, I was still a child. And yet here
1:31:09I was sitting in an intelligence office,
1:31:11reading classified files, eating
1:31:13military cafeteria food. I'd planned to
1:31:15play dumb. Stay the helpful but ordinary
1:31:18village girl. Finish this favor. Go
1:31:21home. Live quietly. But after 6 hours of
1:31:24reading, I changed my mind. Their
1:31:27intelligence was a mess. Interrogation
1:31:29transcripts, intercepted communications,
1:31:32field reports, analysis papers, all
1:31:35thrown together with no system, no
1:31:37organization. Contradicting leads piled
1:31:39on top of each other with nobody digging
1:31:42deeper. It was like looking at a jigsaw
1:31:44puzzle with half the pieces turned face
1:31:46down and nobody bothering to flip them
1:31:48over. After 6 hours, I already had a
1:31:51rough outline forming in my head. But I
1:31:53needed to write it down, draw it out,
1:31:56show these people what was hiding in the
1:31:58information they already had. I finished
1:32:00my last bite of rice, set the lunch box
1:32:03aside, and picked up the notebook and
1:32:05pencil. I didn't start writing yet.
1:32:08First, I closed my eyes and took a deep
1:32:10breath. Six hours of reading, a massive
1:32:13amount of information. I needed to sort
1:32:15it all in my head before putting
1:32:17anything on paper. People finished
1:32:19eating and went back to work. I sat
1:32:22still with my eyes closed for about 2
1:32:24minutes, organizing everything in my
1:32:26head. Then I opened the notebook and
1:32:28started drawing. Not words, lines,
1:32:31points, connections, dense annotations.
1:32:35The young woman, I'd later learn her
1:32:37name was Xiao Zhao, a new intern in the
1:32:40intelligence division, crept over to
1:32:42look. Her mouth fell open. I didn't stop
1:32:45or cover anything. I just kept working.
1:32:48I took all those scattered, disconnected
1:32:50pieces and linked them together. The
1:32:53confessions from the train suspects,
1:32:55times, locations, contact methods, the
1:32:58items found on the alley attackers,
1:33:00traces of where they'd been hiding,
1:33:03place names that kept appearing in
1:33:05intercepted radio communications,
1:33:07suspicious person reports from different
1:33:09regions where the timing, locations, and
1:33:12physical descriptions overlapped. A
1:33:14network took shape on the paper, line by
1:33:16line, point by point. Sun walked up
1:33:19behind me at some point. I felt him
1:33:22looking over my shoulder, his breathing
1:33:24getting slower as he understood what he
1:33:26was seeing. I put down the pencil and
1:33:29pointed to a spot I'd circled in red.
1:33:31"Here. What is it?" Sun asked. I wrote
1:33:34two characters next to it, Luluba. His
1:33:37pupils shrank. Luluba Hutong, where Xiao
1:33:40Su had been ambushed. The place they'd
1:33:43been investigating for weeks without
1:33:45results. I moved my finger to the next
1:33:47point, their communications relay
1:33:49station. Then the third, their supply
1:33:52storage. The fourth, their meeting
1:33:54point. I looked up at him. "Connect
1:33:57these four points and you have their
1:33:59entire network. The room went dead
1:34:01silent. Everyone had stopped working and
1:34:03crowded around the table staring at the
1:34:05map. Four lines, four points forming an
1:34:09irregular quadrilateral. Lulu Ba Hutong
1:34:12sat right in the center. Sun stared at
1:34:14it for 10 full seconds. His eyes held
1:34:17shock, disbelief, and something else I
1:34:20couldn't name. You, he opened his mouth
1:34:23but couldn't finish. There's no point in
1:34:25hiding what I can do anymore, I said
1:34:27quietly. He grabbed the paper and ran
1:34:30out of the room. The door slammed. His
1:34:33footsteps disappeared down the hallway.
1:34:35The room stayed frozen. A dozen pairs of
1:34:38eyes locked on me. The skinny kid in the
1:34:40corner with the old coat and the pencil.
1:34:43I was done. The information was out of
1:34:45my head and onto paper. And now that it
1:34:48was out, exhaustion hit me like a wave.
1:34:51My body was still weak, still
1:34:53recovering. Six hours of intense reading
1:34:56and analysis had drained everything I
1:34:58had. I put my head down on my arms and
1:35:00closed my eyes. I fell asleep right
1:35:03there at the table. Around me, the room
1:35:06went quiet in a different way. People
1:35:08tiptoed back to their seats. They turned
1:35:10pages carefully, muffled their coughs,
1:35:13walked on the balls of their feet.
1:35:15Nobody spoke above a whisper. Xiao Zhao
1:35:18stood beside me and looked at my face.
1:35:20Pale cheek pressed against my arm. Dark
1:35:23circles under my eyes. A small hole in
1:35:25my coat sleeve showing gray cotton
1:35:27stuffing underneath. She called me a
1:35:30child earlier. She was right, I was one.
1:35:33But nobody was saying it anymore.
1:35:35Upstairs, Sun burst into the commander's
1:35:37office without knocking. He spread my
1:35:40drawing on the desk. The commander
1:35:42looked down at it. A hand-drawn map on
1:35:45ordinary notebook paper. Pencil lines
1:35:47connecting four red circled points
1:35:49across Beijing. Lulu Ba Hutong. South
1:35:53Small Street. North New Bridge. Outside
1:35:56Dong Zhi Men Gate. What is this?
1:35:58>> Zhao Hanching Druid.
1:36:00>> Sun said, voice tight with excitement.
1:36:03She read through every piece of
1:36:04intelligence we had, then produced this.
1:36:08Four enemy bases in Beijing, all marked
1:36:10right here. Upstairs, the commander
1:36:13studied my map for a long time. Each
1:36:15point had detailed notes, which
1:36:17confession supported it, which
1:36:19intercepted message, which field report.
1:36:21Everything laid out clearly. He'd been
1:36:24in intelligence work for decades. He'd
1:36:26never seen anything like it. Not a
1:36:29report, a complete network, connecting
1:36:31dots that had seemed totally unrelated.
1:36:34"This is a true intelligence genius." He
1:36:36murmured. Then, he told Sun, "This
1:36:39person must stay with us. Someone like
1:36:41her comes along maybe once in a hundred
1:36:44years. If she goes back to the
1:36:46northeast, she becomes their asset." Sun
1:36:49hesitated. He knew what that meant for
1:36:51me. The commander saw his worry. "I'm
1:36:53not saying lock her up. Her grandpa can
1:36:56go home. She can study, but she has to
1:36:59be one of ours." He paused. "You
1:37:01understand?"
1:37:02>> Sun nodded.
1:37:03>> Before Sun left, the commander told him
1:37:05to copy the map and return the original
1:37:07to me. She drew it. It's hers. I didn't
1:37:11know any of this while I slept. When I
1:37:13woke up, my neck was stiff and my arm
1:37:15was numb. The fluorescent light buzzed
1:37:18overhead. The room was still busy, but
1:37:20everyone was moving quietly, tiptoeing,
1:37:24turning pages carefully, whispering. Sun
1:37:27sat next to me with a warm enamel mug.
1:37:29"Drink." I took a sip. "How long was I
1:37:32asleep?" "A little over two hours." He
1:37:35pulled the folded paper from his pocket
1:37:37and handed it back. "The commander had a
1:37:39copy made. This is your original." I
1:37:42looked at it, folded it, and tucked it
1:37:43inside my coat. "What else did the
1:37:45commander say?" "He said rest well.
1:37:48Tomorrow he wants to talk to you again.
1:37:50I nodded. Sun stood up. Let's go. Your
1:37:53grandpa must be worried.
1:37:55At the door I glanced back at the room.
1:37:58The people inside looked at me
1:37:59differently now. The curiosity and doubt
1:38:02from this morning were gone. Something
1:38:04else had replaced them. Something harder
1:38:06to name. We walked down the quiet
1:38:08hallway. At the stairs Sun spoke.
1:38:11Comrade Joe, thank you for today. I
1:38:14blinked. Thank me for what? For the map.
1:38:17For sorting out what we couldn't. I said
1:38:19nothing. At the building entrance I
1:38:21stopped. Comrade Sunday, can I ask you
1:38:24something? He turned. Do you really just
1:38:26want me to help with this one thing? He
1:38:28was quiet for a few seconds. Then he
1:38:30smiled. A complicated smile. Comrade
1:38:33Joe, you're much smarter than I
1:38:35expected. I didn't respond. He pushed
1:38:38the door open and the cold night air
1:38:40rushed in. Get in the car, he said. Your
1:38:43grandpa's waiting. When I got back to
1:38:45the hospital it was fully dark. I pushed
1:38:48open the ward door and found grandpa
1:38:50sitting up in bed chatting with Xiao Su
1:38:53and another young soldier in plain
1:38:54clothes. He was smiling. Wrinkles
1:38:57bunched up. His face lit up when he saw
1:38:59me. You're back. I sat beside him and
1:39:02held his hand. Not finished yet. I have
1:39:05to go again tomorrow. He nodded without
1:39:08complaint. Good. As long as you're
1:39:10helping. He pointed at the empty
1:39:12lunchbox on the nightstand. Captain Xiao
1:39:15had someone bring me dinner. Braised
1:39:17pork, really good. I glanced at Xiao Su.
1:39:20He opened his mouth to say something but
1:39:22stopped. I looked away and went to get
1:39:25myself food. At the door his voice
1:39:27caught me from behind. Xiao Hanching. I
1:39:30stopped but didn't turn. He walked up
1:39:32behind me, kept his distance. Reporting
1:39:35your situation without your permission,
1:39:37that was wrong of me. You have every
1:39:39right to be angry. I turned around. The
1:39:42hallway light was dim on his face. "I
1:39:45just wanted a quiet life," I said. No
1:39:48accusation, no heat, just fact. Your
1:39:51report took that away from me. He went
1:39:53silent. "I don't know how many quiet
1:39:55days I have left," I said. He tried to
1:39:58reassure me. The commander wouldn't
1:40:00force anything. They just wanted help.
1:40:02"Just wanted what?" I cut him off. He
1:40:04couldn't answer. I let out a small sigh.
1:40:07"Forget it." I walked away with my
1:40:09lunchbox. He stood there watching me go.
1:40:13I could tell he wanted to call out, but
1:40:14didn't know what he'd say. Back at
1:40:16Grandpa's bed, I ate slowly. He watched
1:40:19me with that look,
1:40:21all tenderness and worry. "Still going
1:40:23tomorrow?" I nodded. "Then sleep early."
1:40:26I washed the dishes, tucked him in, and
1:40:28sat by his bed with my eyes closed. I
1:40:31didn't sleep. My mind kept turning over
1:40:33what was coming. The commander wanted to
1:40:35talk. I could guess what about, but I
1:40:38didn't know what I'd choose. Before
1:40:40dawn, footsteps in the hallway again.
1:40:43Sun Jae-woo stood outside, hat still
1:40:46damp with morning dew. "Let's go."
1:40:49Grandpa was already awake, watching me
1:40:51from his pillow. "Go on hunting. Don't
1:40:54keep the leaders waiting." He smiled and
1:40:56waved me off. I looked at him one more
1:40:58time. He waved again. I followed Sun
1:41:01out. The door closed behind me. Same
1:41:04green jeep, same quiet morning streets.
1:41:07Bicycle bells ringing in the cold air.
1:41:10State shops just opening up. This time
1:41:12the jeep turned into a different alley,
1:41:15wider, lined with tall bare locust
1:41:17trees. At the end stood a pair of heavy
1:41:20iron gates with two uniformed sentries
1:41:22standing at attention. They checked
1:41:24credentials and waved us through. The
1:41:27compound was big,
1:41:29bigger than yesterday's place. Several
1:41:31gray brick buildings spread across a
1:41:33wide yard with neat rows of winter
1:41:35shrubs. Military jeeps and motorcycles
1:41:38parked in rows. People in uniform
1:41:41hurried between buildings carrying
1:41:42document bags. Sun parked and led me
1:41:45into the main building. This building
1:41:47was grander than yesterday's. Wide
1:41:49hallways, polished dark red wooden
1:41:52floors, paintings of landscapes and
1:41:54leaders every few meters. Sun led me to
1:41:57the third floor to a door with a white
1:41:59enamel sign. Chief of Staff. He knocked.
1:42:03Come in. The voice was deep and carried
1:42:05absolute authority. The office was
1:42:08large, tall bookshelves along one wall,
1:42:11a massive military map covering another.
1:42:13Behind a dark wooden desk sat a man in
1:42:16his 50s. Gray hair neatly combed, square
1:42:19jaw, two deep lines between his brows,
1:42:22eyes sharp as a hawk's. My gaze caught
1:42:25the single gold star on a shoulder. A
1:42:27general. He was studying me, too. Our
1:42:30eyes met and neither of us looked away.
1:42:33Then he smiled and the hard lines on his
1:42:35face softened. Comrade Joe, welcome.
1:42:39Sit. He didn't stay behind his desk. He
1:42:42came around and sat on the sofa across
1:42:44from me with a tea table between us, two
1:42:46enamel mugs steaming. He got straight to
1:42:48the point. We want you to stay and work
1:42:51at our intelligence center.
1:42:53I looked at him. I want to go home. No
1:42:55surprise on his face, just a trace of
1:42:57regret. I know, but hear me out first.
1:43:01He leaned forward. Your map, I saw it.
1:43:04And people above me saw it, too. Do you
1:43:06know what they said? I shook my head.
1:43:09They said you're a genius. The kind that
1:43:11comes along once in a hundred years. He
1:43:13paused. You're 13. With proper training,
1:43:17I can't even imagine how far you'd go.
1:43:19But I know you could do things for this
1:43:21country that nobody else can. His eyes
1:43:23held something strange, part hope, part
1:43:26pleading. The nation needs people like
1:43:28you right now. I I down at my hands.
1:43:31Thin, rough, with small calluses forming
1:43:34on the knuckles. I thought about Grandpa
1:43:37in his hospital bed, eyes turning red
1:43:39over a bowl of braised pork, waving me
1:43:42off with a smile. I opened my mouth to
1:43:44answer, but the door was knocked on.
1:43:46Report. A young soldier marched in and
1:43:49saluted. Sir, last night's operation was
1:43:53a complete success. The general's eyes
1:43:55lit up. Go ahead. The soldier pulled out
1:43:58a file and read from it, glancing at me
1:44:01once with a complicated look. Based on
1:44:03the intelligence provided by comrade
1:44:05Zhao Hanching, we simultaneously struck
1:44:08all four target locations at 10:00 last
1:44:10night. Liulibao Hutong, three enemy
1:44:13agents captured, one radio, two pistols,
1:44:16intelligence documents seized. South
1:44:18Small Street, two agents captured, one
1:44:21radio, one codebook seized. North New
1:44:24Bridge, one agent captured, 10 kg of
1:44:26explosives, five guns, and ammunition
1:44:29seized. Outside Dongzhimen Gate, two
1:44:32agents captured, one map and contact
1:44:34information seized. He closed the file.
1:44:37Zero casualties on our side. Report
1:44:39complete. The room went silent. The
1:44:42general took the file and turned every
1:44:45page slowly. Then he looked at me. Not a
1:44:48single miss, he said quietly. Every
1:44:50point you identified, dead accurate. I
1:44:53said nothing. I suddenly felt exhausted.
1:44:56Not my body, my mind. I just wanted to
1:44:59take Grandpa home and live a simple
1:45:01life, but one thing kept leading to the
1:45:03next, pushing me further from that. The
1:45:06door knocked again. This time a man in
1:45:08his 60s walked in. White hair, but
1:45:10strong posture, straight as iron. My
1:45:13[clears throat] eyes went to his
1:45:14shoulders. Three stars. A senior
1:45:17general. The chief of staff jumped to
1:45:19his feet and saluted. Sir.
1:45:22The old general waved him down, then
1:45:24turned his gaze on me. He smiled. So,
1:45:27this is the young comrade." He walked
1:45:29over and looked down at me. I stood,
1:45:32back straight, meeting his eyes. He
1:45:34chuckled warmly. "Seat, seat. Don't
1:45:37stand." We all sat. He leaned back and
1:45:41studied me. "I know everything." he
1:45:43said, his voice gentle, much softer than
1:45:47his rank suggested. "The train, the
1:45:49alley, the map you drew yesterday." He
1:45:52paused. "Xiao Su's report, too. Four
1:45:55armed killers, you alone, 20 seconds."
1:45:58He leaned forward. "Tell me, child, who
1:46:01taught you how to fight like that?" The
1:46:02old general looked at me with genuine
1:46:04curiosity, not testing, not persuading,
1:46:07just wanting to know. "My grandpa is a
1:46:09hunter." I said. "I grew up running
1:46:12through the mountains with him." He
1:46:13nodded and didn't push further. Then,
1:46:15after a pause, he said something I
1:46:17didn't expect. "I'd like to invite you
1:46:19to a training program, a close selection
1:46:22course for the nation's highest-level
1:46:24special forces unit. I stared at him.
1:46:27"Training?" "If you pass, you join the
1:46:29special forces. If you don't pass, you
1:46:31go back to the northeast, finish school,
1:46:33and after graduation, you work in
1:46:35intelligence." He looked at me steadily.
1:46:37"This is the best option I can offer
1:46:39you." I was quiet for a long time,
1:46:42staring at my thin, rough hands. "Is
1:46:45there no other choice?" His voice
1:46:46dropped low. "The country needs people
1:46:48like you right now, and you have a
1:46:50responsibility, too." I thought about my
1:46:53mother, always telling me my father was
1:46:55a hero fighting at the front. Her smile
1:46:58under the kerosene lamp, the wound on
1:47:00her forehead when she lay dead on that
1:47:02straw mat. I thought about grandpa
1:47:05limping through the mountains all day to
1:47:06save up my school fees, pushing crumpled
1:47:09money across the table, waving from his
1:47:11hospital bed saying, "Go on, I'll wait
1:47:13right here." "What about my grandpa? He
1:47:15can work as a gatekeeper here. Full
1:47:18security. I personally guarantee his
1:47:20safety." I went quiet again. The office
1:47:23was still. Winter sunlight made bright
1:47:26squares on the floor. I need to think
1:47:28about it, I finally said. He nodded.
1:47:31Take your time. At the door, I turned
1:47:33back. How long is the training? He
1:47:35paused. Three years. I nodded and walked
1:47:39out. In the Jeep, I leaned against the
1:47:41seat and stared out the window without
1:47:43seeing anything. His words kept circling
1:47:45in my head. Three years of close
1:47:48training. Special forces if I passed.
1:47:51Intelligence work if I didn't. Grandpa
1:47:54as a gatekeeper. I thought we'd be in
1:47:56Beijing a month at most. Fix Grandpa's
1:47:58leg, go home, live quietly. Now,
1:48:02everything had changed. Sun drove
1:48:04slowly, watching me in the mirror. He
1:48:07wanted to say something, sorry maybe, or
1:48:09this is for your own good, but nothing
1:48:11came out. He just kept the car steady
1:48:13and quiet. At the hospital, before I got
1:48:15out, he said, "If you need anything,
1:48:17call me anytime. I left the number with
1:48:20your grandpa." I nodded and went inside.
1:48:23When I pushed open the ward door, Xiao
1:48:25Su looked up from his book and something
1:48:27in my face made him flinch. Not
1:48:29tiredness, not coldness, something
1:48:32heavier. Grandpa noticed, too. "What's
1:48:34wrong? You're back early. Not busy
1:48:37today?"
1:48:38I sat beside him. "Grandpa, let me take
1:48:40you for a walk outside." His face
1:48:42brightened. "Good. Good. I've been lying
1:48:45here so long, I'm tired of lying down."
1:48:48I helped him into his shoes and we
1:48:49walked slowly out of the room. I could
1:48:52feel Xiao Su watching us leave. The
1:48:54garden behind the inpatient building was
1:48:56small. A few bare old locust trees,
1:48:59stone paths crossing each other, benches
1:49:02where patients sat in the sun, dozing or
1:49:04chatting quietly. I found an empty bench
1:49:07and helped Grandpa sit down. He patted
1:49:10the spot next to him. "Seat, Hongxing."
1:49:13I sat beside him. We were quiet for a
1:49:15while. He didn't rush me. He knew me.
1:49:18I'd always been the kind to speak when I
1:49:20was ready. I looked up at the winter
1:49:22sky. High blue, a few white clouds
1:49:26drifting lazily. "Grandpa, what if we
1:49:28don't go back home? What if we stay
1:49:30here?" He blinked. "Not going back?
1:49:33Where would we go?" I said, "What if?"
1:49:36He relaxed. "Then we don't go back.
1:49:38Wherever you are, that's where I'll be.
1:49:41I'd love to go back to the mountains
1:49:42free and easy. But you need school. You
1:49:45need a future." He looked down at his
1:49:47bandaged leg. "Once this heals, maybe
1:49:50I'll find some work or clear a little
1:49:52patch of land and grow vegetables."
1:49:55Something heavy sat in my chest.
1:49:57"Grandpa, they want me to do a few years
1:49:59of close training. After that, they'll
1:50:01give me a job." He perked up
1:50:03immediately. "Training? That's
1:50:05wonderful. Your mother always wanted you
1:50:08to study and make something of yourself.
1:50:10And they'll arrange a job, too. They
1:50:12also offered you a position guarding the
1:50:14gate of their compound." He waved both
1:50:16hands. "No. No. Don't worry about me.
1:50:20Just take care of yourself. I'll go back
1:50:22to the village. I'll be fine." I shook
1:50:25my head. "My condition was if they don't
1:50:27arrange something for you, I don't go."
1:50:29His neck turned red. "You can't
1:50:31negotiate with the commander. Just worry
1:50:33about yourself." I looked at him. "I
1:50:36want to go back, too, but I can't
1:50:38anymore." He froze. "Can't? Why?" I
1:50:41lowered my head and said nothing. He
1:50:44stared at me for a long time, then
1:50:46sighed deeply. "Hanching, your mother
1:50:49paid for your schooling so you could
1:50:50leave that village and make something of
1:50:52yourself. This chance is right in front
1:50:55of you. If you turn it down, how do you
1:50:57face her?" "But if I go, I won't see you
1:51:00for years." He laughed. "So what? When
1:51:03you went to county school, I only saw
1:51:05you once a month. I'm used to being
1:51:07alone in the mountains. Don't worry
1:51:08about me. It's different this time." His
1:51:11voice dropped. Is it dangerous? I didn't
1:51:14answer. His face changed instantly. Then
1:51:17we're not going. Come back to the
1:51:19village with me. We'll go into the
1:51:21mountains. I know every trail. They
1:51:23won't find us. I held his hand. Grandpa,
1:51:27it's not that simple anymore. There are
1:51:29only two paths. Three years of training,
1:51:32if I wash out, I finish school and get
1:51:34assigned to intelligence work. If I
1:51:36pass, I stay in the special forces.
1:51:39Either way, there's a job. No danger? I
1:51:42nodded. Nothing too dangerous. He
1:51:45slapped his thigh and his whole face
1:51:47opened up. Then it's all good. A job no
1:51:50matter what. He grinned wide, showing
1:51:53his missing teeth. Your mother dreamed
1:51:55you'd make something of yourself. We
1:51:57came to Beijing for my leg and look,
1:51:59you've already made it. He got more
1:52:01excited as he talked. When I go back,
1:52:04I'll visit your mother's grave and tell
1:52:06her everything. Her hunching turned out
1:52:08better than she ever imagined. His eyes
1:52:11were shining. That same light I'd seen
1:52:13when my mother watched me bring home
1:52:15good grades. When Grandpa pushed his
1:52:17crumpled savings across the table toward
1:52:19me. Hope. Prede. The knot in my chest
1:52:22loosened a little. In my past life, I'd
1:52:26never been afraid of bullets or death
1:52:28because I had nobody waiting for me. Now
1:52:30I did. Grandpa was my one tie to this
1:52:33world. But if he was safe and settled,
1:52:36what was there to fear? I'd done this
1:52:38work before in another life. This time I
1:52:41had my space, my past experience, my
1:52:44skills. I'd even better. And I knew what
1:52:47was coming in this country. The
1:52:49turbulent years ahead. Over a decade
1:52:51where no job was safe. Workers laid off,
1:52:54officials sidelined, farmers going
1:52:57hungry. But soldiers were different.
1:53:00Especially special forces. Grandpa,
1:53:03since the commander arranged work for
1:53:04you, just accept it. If you go back to
1:53:07the mountains alone, I'll spend the
1:53:09whole 3 years worrying about you instead
1:53:11of learning. He sputtered, "I've lived
1:53:13in those mountains for decades. What's
1:53:16there to worry about?" "It's different
1:53:18now. Before, I knew you were safe. Now,
1:53:20if you're alone out there and something
1:53:22happens, how can I focus?" He opened his
1:53:25mouth to argue. "If you don't go, I
1:53:27don't go. I'll tell the commander right
1:53:29now we're both going home." "You little
1:53:31are you threatening me?" I just looked
1:53:33at him. He glared at me for a long time.
1:53:36Then he deflated. "Fine. Fine. I'll go."
1:53:39he sighed. "I just didn't want to be a
1:53:41burden." "If the commander arranged it,
1:53:43it's not a burden." He looked at me and
1:53:45suddenly smiled. "Thanks to my
1:53:47granddaughter, this old man has a real
1:53:49job now." He laughed, then his eyes went
1:53:52red. "Your mother had no luck. If only
1:53:55she could see this." I squeezed his
1:53:57hand. "I'll take good care of you,
1:53:59Grandpa. Always." He blinked hard,
1:54:02pushing back the tears. "Enough of that.
1:54:05Let's go inside. It's cold." I helped
1:54:08him stand and we walked back slowly.
1:54:11Sunlight filtered through the bare
1:54:12branches, falling on us in patches of
1:54:15gold. At the door, he stopped, hunching.
1:54:18"Yes." He looked into the distance.
1:54:20"Your mother would be so happy." I
1:54:23didn't say anything. I just held his arm
1:54:26and walked him inside.

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