When A Snail Falls In Love

Ji Bai & Xu Xu Short Story 4

Rain. Continual, torrential rain.

Holding his gun, Ji Bai pressed against the wall. The rainwater flowed unceasingly down his face.

At his side, Zhao Han whispered urgently, "Chief, he's here!"

Ji Bai growled, "Move out!"

Two shadowy forms charged forward in an instant. The rain had been pouring for days on end, and the streets were flooded with at least a foot of water. The suspect on the opposite side turned tail and ran. As the three of them grappled in the water, the resulting spray and misty rain became indistinguishable.

They subdued him very quickly. Zhao Han had suffered most of the blows from the suspect. Ji Bai wiped the water off his face. They were unable to start the police car and had to walk back to the police station.

"Behave yourself!" Zhao Han berated the suspect in a low voice.

Ji Bai strode on ahead, looking at the sheets of rain. It was really as if someone was pouring basins of water down on them.

With this kind of rain, how on earth would the little woman get back home?

Ji Bai was moving through the flooded streets with steady strides when he suddenly became aware of an unusual ripple effect in the water. He was gripped in a moment of panic as Xu Xu's words to him just that morning popped up in his mind:

"Third Brother, when it rains torrentially like this, you must be alert when you are outdoors and pay special attention to safety. Do not drive your car down from high bridges or viaducts and try your best to avoid having to go through water. If you have to go through water, check that there are no downed power lines in the vicinity. In addition, watch out for manholes or well covers. Be on the lookout for eddies or whirlpools, or places where water is coming out from some place. Don't go near them. These are the cruel* traps of the city."

*吃人不吐骨 (chi ren bu tu gu) – lit. devour a man without spitting out the bones; fig. treat people ruthlessly and cruelly.

As always, her voice had been low and warm, and her descriptions were scrupulous in their attention to detail*. At that time, Ji Bai had not paid much attention to her words, but now, he quickly turned on his handphone and shone its light downwards. There, right by his feet, was a yawning circular hole, its cover having been swept away who knows when.

*一板一眼 (yi ban yi yan) – lit. one strong beat and one weak beat in a measure of music; fig. follow a prescribed pattern to the letter; scrupulous attention to detail

Ji Bai led Zhao Han and the suspect carefully around the hole. The men all thought about what might have happened, and felt a frisson of fear. Even if one's body and spirit were sound, even if one possessed great skill, once fallen into the pit, one's dead body would never have been recovered.

"Chief, thank goodness for your sharp eyes and wits!" Zhao Han exclaimed, his voice still trembling with an undercurrent of fear.

"It's not that I was sharp," Ji Bai laughed as he replied. "It's because someone who was scrupulous about even the smallest details warned me specifically."

—-

Rain. Heavy rain.

Standing by the window, Xu Xu suddenly felt a little fretful.

Ji Bai hadn't returned from his assignment yet, and she was unable to call him in this rain. What if, by some impossible odds, he had been struck by lightning? He was so tall.

As she walked around in circles for a while, Da Hu came running up the stairs, saying, "Gosh, the streets are all flooded. The water has risen to at least half a body's height." Looking at Xu Xu, he asked, "We can figure out a way to get out, but how are you going to get home? Chief is not back yet?"