Chapter 29: The Curious Morning and the Viral Rescue

The night passed quickly.

Hao Yang slowly opened her eyes. She glanced around, noticing the sky outside was already faintly lit. A quick look at the wall clock confirmed it was almost 7 o’clock.

Hao Yang slowly sat up from the chair. Her head, for some reason, felt quite dizzy.

Waking up with dizziness was never a good sign. It might have been a lingering effect of her recent fever, the discomfort of sleeping on the iron chair, or perhaps a combination of both.

She rubbed her temples, gradually recovering from the prolonged stillness on the hard bench.

Hao Yang casually glanced around again. The police officer at the front desk was still smiling, engrossed in their phone, though their spirits seemed noticeably low.

Hao Yang glanced out the glass door again, immediately noticing something amiss. At least a dozen people were standing in the police station’s courtyard. All of them were women, clearly made-up, and dressed quite formally.

Behind them, a cameraman followed. The elegantly dressed women held microphones, giving them the distinct appearance of reporters.

Hao Yang watched these people outside, who either resembled reporters or truly were, with considerable curiosity. Why were they standing idly by the entrance? Were they waiting for someone? And if so, for whom?

Questions inevitably arose in Hao Yang’s mind. In her sixteen years of life, she had never encountered such a situation and couldn’t fathom what was happening.

Yet, even if she couldn’t understand the situation, she presumed it had nothing to do with her. Thus, she dismissed it from her thoughts, deciding to focus on her own immediate concerns.

Hao Yang hopped down from the iron chair and headed towards the clearly marked restroom. The front desk officer glanced at Hao Yang, seemingly understanding her intention, and said nothing.

Upon reaching the restroom, Hao Yang hesitated for a moment before finally entering the women’s lavatory.

The restroom was impeccably clean; even the floor gleamed. Hao Yang was quite pleased with its condition. She found a stall further inside, opened the door, entered, and locked it securely.

She then pulled down both her pants and underwear simultaneously, before squatting.

A small patter of sound ensued, and a look of profound relief spread across Hao Yang’s face.

Once finished, Hao Yang hesitated again, then tore off a piece of toilet paper to clean herself. She pulled up her pants, flushed, and leisurely returned to her chair.

Honestly, ever since she had become this little girl—or rather, this loli—even urinating required her to squat, a habit she truly found difficult to adjust to.

Fortunately, apart from the change in how she used the restroom, a tendency to cry more easily, and reduced physical strength, this new body didn’t seem drastically different from her previous male one. It wasn’t a major issue.

Hao Yang then settled quietly onto the iron bench, awaiting the arrival of the police officer named Wang.

****

Wang Jian finished dressing, then leisurely left the dormitory, preparing to clock in for work. The police dormitory wasn’t within the station itself but several blocks away.

Wang Jian bought breakfast, eating it as he ambled towards the police station.

Just as Wang Jian was about to reach the station’s entrance, he spotted a throng of people swarming the doorway from afar. His brows furrowed.

He intended to inquire about the situation, but the moment the crowd noticed him, they immediately surrounded him.

“Officer Wang Jian, we’d like to interview you,” one began. “What compelled you to help a child so urgently in the dead of night?”

“Comrade Wang Jian, what was going through your mind when you rescued the child?”

“Comrade Wang Jian, what were your feelings after helping that child late at night?”

Wang Jian was utterly bewildered. He couldn’t comprehend what these people, holding microphones, were asking. He understood nothing. What exactly did these individuals want?

Still dazed, Wang Jian continued walking towards the police station. The reporters, with their cameraman, kept their lenses fixed squarely on him, making him incredibly uncomfortable.

He had no idea what this group intended, but to avoid being late for work, he decided to clock in first before figuring out what was truly happening.

Entering the police station, he scanned his face at the time clock. The machine instantly confirmed a successful punch-in.

Checking the time, he saw he wasn’t late, and only then did Wang Jian finally breathe a slight sigh of relief.

He then turned his head and addressed the group of reporters.

“Excuse me, what are you all talking about?” Wang Jian asked, simultaneously straightening his somewhat disheveled clothes, which he’d hastily donned to make it on time. “I don’t understand anything you’re saying.”

The moment he finished speaking, the surroundings fell silent. Everyone exchanged glances, until finally, one person spoke up.

“Officer, you don’t know yet?” a seemingly delicate young woman said, mustering her courage. “You’re trending! We came specifically to interview you.”

“Trending? What trend?” Wang Jian countered, utterly perplexed.

“This!” The delicate young woman quickly pulled out her phone, opened Douyin, and tapped on a video to show him.

The screen displayed a phone recording. It showed a hospital lobby, eerily quiet, with the time stamp indicating it was around midnight a few days prior.

In the late, silent hours, everyone present appeared more or less drowsy.

Amidst this profound quiet, a sudden shout pierced the air.

“Doctor! Doctor! There’s a child here who needs emergency care!”

A figure in a police uniform was seen rushing towards the nurses, cradling a child bundled in an adult’s down jacket. The nurses quickly reacted, taking the child from his arms.

The video then ended.

Wang Jian suddenly remembered. It was the scene from that day, when he had brought the child to the hospital.

Wang Jian casually glanced at the video’s likes, and was instantly stunned. The video boasted a staggering nine million likes and tens of thousands of comments.

Only then did Wang Jian realize why these reporters had sought him out. In an era dominated by traffic and virality, it was hardly surprising that they would come to interview him.

“Comrade Wang Jian, would you be willing to grant me an interview?” The delicate young woman, emboldened, spoke up again.

“Ah… this?” Wang Jian stammered, nervously glancing around. It was then that he noticed a child sitting on the public iron bench by the entrance, staring at him with a face full of curiosity.