The dog- no, it was a pup. A little one that might be around 3-4 months old?
It didn't look that much cute nor appealing, at least not from the back. Plus it was a regular village dog puppy one could see literally anywhere. A breed that wasn't exactly famous for being model material with lethal doses of attractiveness.
'...'
Later, when she thought back to what happened that day and why she was suddenly overcome with this unexplainable curiosity towards a random puppy on the roadside, Luo Jingya couldn't help but think that maybe it might have been her deeply hidden instincts acting up.
No, not her stress acting up. Instead, she felt as if her intuition was trying to point out an abnormality or was it just giving her a warning ahead of time?
Or maybe it was simply the way the little dog was acting.
It sat outside the front entrance to the Xinshi 1st compound -which already had its heavy iron gate removed by this time-, staring intently inside.
'...'
There was something about its posture, something that struck a chord within her– of the unmoving, focused stance as it patiently sat waiting outside.
'Really… a well-behaved baby.' Luo Jingya couldn't help a smile. No matter their looks, she was generally fond of such adorable furry animals.
But was the puppy's owner working inside?
Now feeling even more curious, Luo Jingya walked a little forward in the direction of the Xinshi 1st compound.
But… wasn't this puppy looking a little worse for wear? As she walked closer and finally came to a stop a few steps behind it, a frown gradually overtook Luo Jingya's smile as she realised that it wasn't just a case of appearing just a little dirty and scruffy.
This little dog- it looked clearly wounded ah!
A broken leg. Wounds on another limb- and was that wound behind its ear… were that ma-maggots in it?
'...'
'!!!'
Luo Jingya stared until a chill broke her from her trance. The sun seemed to have climbed even higher in the sky, shining bright and glaring fiercely, but didn't seem able to dispel the cold feeling in her body.
"CRASH!!"
"Aaargh!!"
A loud crash, followed by the pained scream of a man came out of the demolition site, nudging her awake from the trance. Luo Jingya stiffly raised her head and looked inside.
At one point, one of the scaffoldings set next to the wall of the still-intact fourth building had caved in, and the young worker who had been wearing all black– she couldn't see him anymore.
Within seconds, the demolition site was bustling and shouts of men could be heard. The workers gathered in droves on the ground somewhere close to the 4th building where the scaffolding had given way. It wasn't clear what they were saying, but the wild gestures implied something serious had happened.
'Did he fall?' Looking at the height of the scaffolding, Luo Jingya shivered. Falling from that height…
The road running in front of Xinshi's old Danwei compounds had always been one that had been frequently used. Not just by the residents of the old Xinshi residential complex, but people living in some of the nearby villages would also use it as a shortcut to reach the town centre.
Within moments, the commotion at the demolition site drew a crowd eager to learn the gossip.
She didn't even know when, but an elderly lady had approached Luo Jingya's side, her eyes filled with an excited look. "Little girl, do you know what happened? Did somebody die?"
"..." Uh? Seriously?
Luo Jingya stiffly stared at the old woman she had never even met before this day, but was talking to her as if they were close acquaintances of many years and pulled her trembling arm out of the other's hawk-like hold.
"Ah-"
After staring at each other for a few more seconds fraught with silence, the old lady finally turned away with a slightly ashamed look on her face. But Luo Jingya thought she heard something that sounded suspiciously like "kids these days!".
She even felt that there was a remarkable show of strength imbued in the way the old lady pushed her way to the front of the crowd, unbefitting of one her age and stature.
'...' The people sure do love some tea, as always.
Luo Jingya would have laughed if it were some other time, but her mind was too preoccupied now as she turned to look at the little dog– or whatever it was, once again.
And in the few seconds it took her to look away, a man had already stepped in through its broken hind leg and was standing… inside its stomach -or where it looked like its stomach was located-. All the while, this uncle kept loudly complaining to the young mother standing next to him, cursing the terrible weather as he furtively kept rubbing his lower leg.
"One minute it's hot. Then cold. I tell you- it must be the weather ah! That kid proly had a heat stroke!"
"Yes yes yes! My husband works in the XYT factory and always complains about the heat these days. The big people should do something about this!"
As if the authorities could bring an end to the unbearable heat if they put their mind to it! Which, according to this young woman with a kid hanging to her side, was the case. It wasn't that the big people couldn't do anything. But that they weren't doing anything oh~
"..."
As she was absentmindedly listening to this absurd conversation, Luo Jingya met a pair of eyes. Or to be more precise, only one. It looks to be… a dark brown in colour. Vigilant, untrusting and definitely canine. And as for the other eye…
Wincing at a sudden flash of sunlight reflected off the wing mirror of the dusty crew cab that came flying out of the site's front entrance, Luo Jingya looked down, blinking, when one thing came to her focus. And then she just… froze when she finally realised what it was.
It was her Buddha beads bracelet. The very one that had looked quite fine and undamaged barely an hour ago when she checked it.
But now, exposed under the bright sunlight, what could be seen was a…
'...'