"What? An old man pushed a wheelchair across the road?"
Xiao He repeated the sentence in disbelief.
"Yes." Officer Yang's expression was complicated as he spoke, while gently warning, "We're still investigating. The details need further confirmation."
—But basically, that was the situation!
It turned out there really was more to this traffic accident than met the eye! The police traced nearby surveillance footage according to the scene and questioned the surviving drivers, and only then discovered the reason the tanker truck suddenly flipped over — while the tanker was driving normally, an elderly couple suddenly darted out from a nearby intersection. The old woman was pushing a wheelchair with the old man sitting in it. The two of them were moving surprisingly fast; they not only ran the traffic light, they ducked out from in front of a very large bus and lunged across the road. By the time the tanker driver noticed the danger, it was already too late.
In fact, if the driver had been more experienced and a little colder, he would have kept going — the cost of continuing straight would have been less than the cost of swerving. But this driver happened to be filial; seeing the trembling (yet steady-stepping) old woman pushing the old man across the street, he was reminded of his own parents and felt sympathy. He reflexively turned the steering wheel — and that single compassionate impulse at the critical moment destroyed several families' happiness.
At that time the tanker was empty, so the chance of tipping was far greater than a loaded tanker. It was essentially a high-center-of-gravity, no-load "mobile bomb." Drivers even have a saying: "A tanker full is a tank; empty, it's a seesaw." Of course, this tanker collided with another vehicle while turning, so it flipped over and even dragged along the ground for a distance, sweeping across the entire intersection! The scene became a chorus of wails, strewn debris everywhere!
Who could have imagined…
Who would have thought… that the cause of all this was…
Xiao He took a deep breath; silent fury burned in his chest, but there was nowhere to vent it.
"And what about the two elderly people?" Xiao He asked.
Officer Yang: "Uh, we're still tracking their whereabouts."
Xiao He: ?
"This is indeed rather unexpected. The old woman was frightened at the intersection and fell down, but she quickly got up and pushed the person away from the scene."
Xiao He: ...
For a moment, Xiao He almost wanted to ask sincerely: why didn't the accident kill them? But after silently repeating to himself that he was a good, positive person, he stopped himself and softened his tone: "They actually didn't die…"
Officer Yang: ...
Rarely, Officer Yang understood the unsaid venom behind Xiao He's clenched-teeth remark.
Officer Yang: "I know this truth is heartbreaking, but please remain calm and don't spread this outside. We will confirm the details once we find them."
"They caused such a huge scene and didn't even stay to look back?" Xiao He said, feeling his blood pressure rising again.
Officer Yang sighed helplessly. It was obvious that the old couple probably didn't realize they had anything to do with the accident and would only pin the blame on the driver. If the surveillance footage hadn't faithfully recorded everything, they might not have admitted anything when the police came to ask. Even more despairing was their age: from what he'd learned so far, both elders were over seventy-five, which complicated follow-up accountability…
Officer Yang already had a rough idea of the outcome. He looked toward the farther end of the corridor, where family members of the injured were collapsed in a heap, weak and weeping, and felt deeply troubled. People in his profession had seen too many such things. There was nothing they could do to change what had already happened; for now they could only soothe the injured and their families' emotions.
"We'll continue investigating. We'll definitely give everyone an explanation." Officer Yang could only say that.
Xiao He inhaled and did not press Officer Yang further: "Understood. Thank you, Officer Yang. I appreciate your hard work. If there are results, please notify me as soon as possible."
"All right. Thank you for your cooperation." Officer Yang quickly left with others to speak to more injured family members.
"Officer, you must catch that offending driver!" A woman wailed, almost kneeling on the ground, grabbing Officer Yang's sleeve with one hand and speaking through quivering sobs: "She was only nineteen! She just got accepted to Beijing University this year! Her whole life was just beginning!" "I hate it! I really hate it! Why did I let her go out?" "Wah—my child!" "I'll make that bastard pay in blood!"
Many people still did not know the truth of the accident; all their anger was directed at the tanker driver. Did the driver make mistakes? Yes—he made a wrong judgment during the incident and failed to drive defensively or anticipate such an occurrence. But that's an evaluation from hindsight; when things happen, most people can't calmly make the right choice. The real culprit—
Officer Yang, helpless, supported the woman and tried to explain, but he simply couldn't bring himself to speak it. He had seen the girl on the footage: she wore her helmet according to the traffic rules, and even when waiting to cross at the light she got off her non-motorized vehicle and waited correctly. She followed the rules the whole time; she was a sensible, well-behaved girl. Yet disaster struck in an instant. The merciless calamity cruelly took someone who had been obeying the rules.
At that moment Officer Yang didn't even know what he was thinking; his emotions churned and he felt unusually somber. But as a police officer, his duty was to serve the people. He had to stay calm to better help everyone — at the very least, let everyone know the truth.
Listening to the endless sobs in the hallway, Xiao He blinked and sighed. Fate, it always seemed to relish tormenting people this way.
"Xiao He!" An anxious voice called from a distance.
Xiao He looked over and saw Yan Shaohan and the others arriving. Not only Yan Shaohan, but Assistant Director Fan Congwen, as well as Guo Xinya and her young assistant.
"You all made it?" Xiao He asked, worried. "Is the crew all right?"
"Sigh, the shoot was basically finished for today anyway!" Yan Shaohan waved a hand. "And since you're one of our cast members and this happened here, of course we had to come check on you."
"Where's Sister Liu?" Guo Xinya scanned the area, growing more serious when she saw a family member fainting in tears.
"Sister Liu is okay. She cut her head and the doctor wants to observe her a bit longer."
Xiao He spread his hands and gestured at himself: "Xiao Chen and I are fine."
"That shirt of yours…" Yan Shaohan's expression was complicated.
Xiao He looked down and tugged at the bloodstained clothes he was still wearing, sighing: "I haven't had a chance to change yet. I already called Sister Liu's assistant."
Xiao He wasn't the type to enjoy showy displays or need grand arrangements, so their team hadn't brought many people to Beijing. Apart from his usual assistant who followed him around, Xiao Chen, Liu Rulan had brought a private assistant to handle some of her day-to-day tasks. That assistant was currently at the hotel, and after receiving the news was already on the way.
"You do look kind of alarming." Yan Shaohan said, then turned to Fan Congwen. "Senior Brother, watch over things here. I'll go buy Xiao He a change of clothes—"
"No need." Guo Xinya was more thoughtful and had prepared in advance. She motioned for her assistant to show a shopping bag: "I already had my assistant buy you some clean clothes ahead of time. If you don't mind, you can change for now."
Xiao He's eyes lit up: "Thank you, Sister Xinya!"
It really was Sister Xinya who could be relied on!