His mother, who found out from TV that her son was alive, went to the hospital on May 17 and saw him with only one hand.

He consoled her: "Mother, don't be sad. I knew I would lose my right hand if were saved."

Soon visitors would come cola in hand, including Zhang and He, who saved him.

"We brought you cola, you see, as we promised", they said the moment they saw Xue.

Xue, hearing the familiar voices that accompanied him for 48 hours, did not say much, but pulled their hands and murmured: "Let me see you."

The minute he was pulled out of the rubble, he was blindfolded to protect him against light; and it was the first time Xue was seeing his saviors.

When his mother asked Xue to thank them, Zhang said: "No need to say thanks between friends."

The duo said it is they who should thank Xue for providing a silver lining amid death and destruction.

"We'll wait for you to recover and buy us ice creams," Zhang said as he left.

Xue is receiving further treatment, and is full of hope.

"My next wish is to watch Yao Ming play basketball at the Olympics."

"And I will learn to use my left hand to continue with life. I love mathematics. I want to be a scientist."

(China Daily May 28, 2008)