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The Extraordinary of Ordinary People
墨書 Inktalez
Chapter One: The Incident
Zhang Qiu stood by the vast, boundless sea, gazing at the distant horizon where water met sky, the sound of crashing waves echoing in his ears. Reflecting on the past, he found it hard to believe how incredible his life had been. It was supposed to follow a path of college entrance exams, a job, marriage, and children. However, that sudden change altered the trajectory of his life, leaving him with no choice but to move forward step by step.
Since then, what awaited Zhang Qiu was filled with passion, excitement, countless beautiful women, heavy responsibilities like mountains, and dangers lurking in the shadows that could strike at any moment. Zhang Qiu clearly remembered that day—it was the 15th of the month.
(Don't be impatient; the passionate scenes will appear later. Autumn Wind guarantees excitement and thrills—just check the table of contents. Hehe, our story is about to begin here.)
...
"Zhang Qiu, come out for a moment."
In his senior year class, Zhang Qiu was deep in thought while working on a Mathematics Test. Hearing his homeroom teacher call for him, he put down his pen and looked toward the front door where Teacher Zhao Guohong stood with a serious expression.
The classroom for the graduating class was already quiet, and with the teacher's arrival, it became so silent that one could hear a pin drop. Zhang Qiu felt his heart racing as he pondered why Teacher Zhao would call for him. Although he often made mistakes, he hadn't done anything against the rules recently.
After thinking for a while without coming up with an answer, Zhang Qiu decided to stand up from his seat. No matter what it was about, since the teacher had called for him, he had to go.
Zhang Qiu's seat was in the second-to-last row against the wall. As he walked past, the top students remained focused on their studies without paying him any mind, but many classmates secretly glanced back and forth between Zhang Qiu and Teacher Zhao.
When Zhang Qiu reached the doorway, Teacher Zhao gestured for him to follow. The two of them made their way to a corner by the stairs where they could talk without being overheard in the classroom. Whether discussing student performance or reprimanding those who misbehaved, teachers often preferred to call students to this spot. Of course, Zhang Qiu was frequently called here for the latter reason.
Teacher Zhao Guohong was a history teacher and also served as the homeroom teacher for Class Eighteen of senior year. He had seen many students like Zhang Qiu over his years of teaching—students who didn’t commit major offenses but were constantly making small mistakes. Zhang Qiu wasn't a bad person; he just liked to have fun. Most of the students seated in the back rows were similar. At this critical juncture in their senior year, fairness took a backseat; those who performed well sat in front—that was considered the greatest fairness.
What set Zhang Qiu apart from other students was his love for casual reading, especially during political science and history classes. Because of this interest, Teacher Zhao often called Zhang Qiu to this stairwell corner. However, this time there was another reason for calling him; thinking about it made Teacher Zhao sigh involuntarily.
"Your mother called; she wants you to go to the hospital at noon. Your father is injured."
"Ah?" Zhang Qiu was taken aback, and after realizing it, he hurriedly asked, "Is my dad seriously hurt?"
"He has a broken leg. I'll give you a leave note; you should hurry to the hospital." Zhao Guohong took out a signed leave note and handed it to Zhang Qiu.
Zhang Qiu took the note, thanked the homeroom teacher, and rushed out. Zhao Guohong watched Zhang Qiu's departing figure and called out, "Be careful."
With only a few months until the college entrance examination, such an incident could definitely affect a student's mood. Although Zhang Qiu wasn't the best student, he should be able to get into an average second-tier university. Zhao Guohong hoped this incident wouldn't disrupt his review and sighed before returning to the classroom.
Zhang Qiu rushed downstairs and sprinted toward the school gate. After handing the leave note to the security guard and quickly filling in his name in the register, he exited the school. Zhang Qiu headed straight across the road where his electric vehicle was parked outside a shop.
He hopped on his electric vehicle, twisted the throttle in anxiety, and soon arrived at the hospital. Entering the lobby, Zhang Qiu found a nurse on duty and asked, "Excuse me, where is the patient with a broken leg?"
"Zhang Qiu?" The nurse looked up at him.
Zhang Qiu observed the girl in front of him; she appeared to be around his age, with delicate features and a lively demeanor. More importantly, there was a sense of familiarity about her.
"Do you still remember me?" The nurse asked again, her big watery eyes sparkling as she looked at Zhang Qiu.
Zhang Qiu carefully examined the girl before him: a pretty face, large eyes, long eyelashes, and two rosy dimples when she smiled. If he recognized her, she must have been a former classmate. He racked his brain trying to recall people from his past until finally a name popped up: "Are you Wang Jinghan?"
"You remember!" Wang Jinghan seemed pleasantly surprised.
"Yes." Zhang Qiu nodded, his father was still in the hospital, and he wasn't in the mood for small talk.
"By the way, you just asked me to help find someone, right?" Wang Jinghan recalled Zhang Qiu's words.
"Yes, he's hospitalized with a leg fracture."
"What's his name? I can look it up for you."
"Zhang Zhi Hua."
"He is..." Wang Jinghan stared blankly at Zhang Qiu.
"My dad."
Wang Jinghan felt a sinking sensation in her heart. As soon as she heard that name from Zhang Qiu, she suspected it might be his father, but she didn't expect it to be true.
"Room 7 on the 5th floor. I'll go with you." Wang Jinghan said as she looked at the search results on her phone. Without waiting for Zhang Qiu to respond, she left the counter and walked briskly toward the elevator. Turning back to see Zhang Qiu still standing there in a daze, she called out, "Come on!"
"I'm coming." Zhang Qiu quickly followed her.
The elevator ascended slowly. Zhang Qiu looked at Wang Jinghan, whom he hadn't seen in two years. He vaguely remembered her short hair and how she liked to tuck her hair behind her left ear. At that age when he was first experiencing love, he had even written her a love letter, but it didn't lead anywhere. It seemed Wang Jinghan noticed him staring and suddenly turned to face him. Zhang Qiu hurriedly looked elsewhere and said, "Your system here is quite advanced; you can even check things on your phone. Last time I was at a hospital in Nanhua, it took forever to look something up."
"This system has only been in use for a year. The hospital initially didn't want to adopt it because it's not cheap and requires dedicated maintenance. It was Director Chen who insisted on it to build a modern and technologically advanced hospital. But it is indeed very convenient," Wang Jinghan replied.
"Oh." Zhang Qiu, hearing Director Chen's request, did not want to continue the topic. This Director Chen had come in and immediately started pushing for demolitions. The streets were filled with red slogans proclaiming, "Big Demolitions Promote Big Constructions, Big Constructions Promote Development." They were even posted at the school gate. The political teacher had once commented during an economics lesson, "Look at that slogan at our school gate; it’s clearly written by someone lacking in ability. It’s a typical waste of social resources."
Of course, this was not the reason Zhang Qiu disliked Director Chen. The real reason was that Zhang Qiu's home was facing demolition, and a notice had been posted at their entrance. However, the compensation offered was low, and there were rumors that if they didn’t sign, forced demolitions would occur, causing widespread anxiety. Recently, people claiming to be from the Task Force had been going door to door to conduct ideological work, making every household uneasy.
Arriving at the hospital room, Zhang Qiu pushed the door open and immediately saw his father lying on the hospital bed. Zhang Zhi Hua was leaning against the headboard, with two pillows behind his back and his leg wrapped in bandages, suspended by a rope. His mother was sitting on a nearby stool peeling fruit. Upon seeing Zhang Qiu enter, she greeted him, "Son, you’re here?"
"Mom." Zhang Qiu called out and then looked at his father lying in the hospital bed. "Dad, how did you get hurt?"
Zhang Zhi Hua waved his hand dismissively. "Don’t worry; I wasn’t careless."
Looking at his father's leg, which was wrapped in several layers of bandages and supported by a splint, Zhang Qiu found it hard to believe his father's words. Tentatively, he asked, "Really? Dad, tell me the truth; how did it happen?"
"It’s just that I wasn’t careless," Zhang Zhi Hua replied. "Why don’t you believe your dad?" Seeing that his father was unwilling to elaborate, Zhang Qiu turned to his mother for help. "Mom, can you please tell me the truth? How did my dad get hurt?"
He Mei appeared somewhat troubled; she glanced at Zhang Qiu and then turned back to look at her husband for guidance.
The reactions of both parents made Zhang Qiu increasingly certain that there was more to the story. Eager to know the truth, he pleaded, "Dad, please just tell me what happened!"
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