Gong Feilan, who hadn’t appeared for nearly a month, once again came to the squad without warning.
She arrived at a very opportune time—just after they had finished their morning training and during the free activity period before lunch. Clearly, she had already figured out the squad’s daily schedule.
The firefighters in the squad all knew her. The moment they saw her, they began teasing her.
“Little sister Feilan, long time no see! Can’t finish your summer homework?”
Gong Feilan let out a soft snort. “I finished it ages ago.”
Ren Yi patted her on the head. “Does your brother know you’re here?”
“He’s not my guardian. Why does he need to know?”
“Then I have to tell him.” Ren Yi pulled out his phone.
“He knows!” Gong Feilan hurriedly said. “I just came from his house.”
“Hm? He didn’t stop you?”
“I brought lots of delicious things for everyone.” Gong Feilan pretended not to hear Ren Yi’s question and dumped everything in her hands onto the table.
Ren Yi said helplessly, “Feilan, I’ve told you many times. Don’t bring things here.”
“It’s just food. It’s not worth much money. Besides, I didn’t bring these myself.”
Ren Yi raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised. Could it be…
“Uncle Sheng asked me to bring them.”
Ren Yi inexplicably felt a little disappointed. “Uncle Sheng is too polite.”
“He knows you’re the firefighter who saved me, so he insisted that I bring all these pastries over.” Gong Feilan waved everyone over. “Come on, everyone, have some.”
“Time to improve the meals!” someone shouted excitedly.
Qu Yangbo laughed and cursed, “The squad’s food is already good enough. How much better do you want it to be? A gout-inducing feast of sea cucumber and shark fin at every meal?”
A group of people laughed and joked as they divided up the pastries.
Gong Feilan sat beside Ren Yi, holding out a piece of pudding to him. Her eyes sparkled as she looked at him.
Ren Yi took it and ate a bite. “Mm, delicious. You should be starting school soon, right?”
“Soon. Captain Ren, Uncle Sheng can’t stop praising you. He said you actually investigated a case together with my cousin and even went to my cousin’s house.”
“Yes. The bar fire case a while back doesn’t really count as investigating together. The leadership asked me to assist him with the fire-related investigation.”
Gong Feilan said happily, “My cousin has never brought an outsider home before. I never thought you two could become friends. That’s wonderful.”
“We’re not…”
Gong Feilan suddenly clapped her hands and said seriously, “Then if we get married in the future, our families will become even closer!”
Ren Yi immediately choked on his pudding, his entire face turning red. After coughing several times, he rasped, “Kids shouldn’t say nonsense…”
Gong Feilan giggled. “I came here today specifically to tell you that I haven’t given up. Since you’ve become friends with my cousin, I have even more opportunities now.”
Ren Yi was already too exhausted to explain that he and Gong Yingxian weren’t friends.
“I’m really happy.” Gong Feilan’s expression softened. “I’m especially happy that you and my cousin are friends. I’m not just happy for myself—I’m happy for him too, because you’re an exceptionally, exceptionally good person. Everyone is relieved that he can have a friend like you.”
Ren Yi frowned slightly. “He… never had any friends?”
Gong Feilan shook her head. “He closed himself off. Even relatives have a hard time getting close to him.”
“Why is he like that? Was he born that way?”
“Of course not. Who’s born like that?” Gong Feilan sighed. “My cousin is the most handsome and smartest person I’ve ever met in my life. Someone like him should have been very popular, but…”
Ren Yi quietly looked at Gong Feilan.
“My cousin’s family passed away when he was very young.”
Ren Yi froze for a moment. “…Why?”
“I don’t know. It happened before I was born. The adults refuse to tell me, as if they’re all afraid to bring it up. Anyway, my cousin has had a pretty miserable life.” Gong Feilan pursed her lips. “I know he can be really hurtful sometimes, but I still hope you won’t take it personally.”
Gong Yingxian’s usual cold and distant manner toward others surfaced in Ren Yi’s mind, and for a moment, he felt dazed.
Childhood trauma could indeed completely change a person. He hadn’t expected Gong Yingxian to have such a painful past. No wonder his personality had become so…
Ren Yi took a sip of water to conceal his emotions. “Don’t worry. I won’t hold it against him.”
Gong Feilan smiled. “I knew you wouldn’t. Maybe you’re the only person who can get along with my cousin.”
“We don’t really get along that well.” Ren Yi couldn’t help correcting her.
“See? Today I told him I was coming to visit you, and he didn’t stop me. He only told me to come home early because he trusts that you’re a good person.”
Ren Yi carefully considered Gong Feilan’s words and suddenly felt a little pleased.
When he and Gong Yingxian had first met, they had truly been at daggers drawn. At the time, Gong Yingxian had even suspected that Ren Yi had improper intentions toward his underage younger cousin. Yet now, he was willing to let his younger cousin come and play with him.
Perhaps, in Gong Yingxian’s heart, Ren Yi really was a little different.
Just then, another group of people entered the dining hall.
Qu Yangbo called out, “Li Sa, come try some pastries.”
Gong Feilan turned her head and immediately widened her eyes in surprise.
“Ah! There’s a female firefighter here?”
Li Sa was equally surprised. “Why is there a little girl here?”
Gao Ge and the others looked at Ren Yi and snickered.
Ren Yi rolled his eyes at them. Sun Dingyi cleared his throat.
“This is the person Captain Ren rescued at the café last month. She’s also the younger sister of one of Captain Ren’s friends.”
“Hello.” Li Sa smiled and greeted her.
“Wow, Big Sister, you’re so cool! Why did you become a firefighter?”
Li Sa answered without hesitation, “Because I wanted to become a firefighter.”
Gong Feilan’s eyes lit up. “Then can I become a firefighter too?”
“Of course you can.”
“How do you become a firefighter…”
Watching the two of them chatting enthusiastically, Ren Yi smiled knowingly.
At noon, Gong Feilan had lunch with them. After eating, several people gathered together to play Legends of the Three Kingdoms.
Liu Hui yawned. “Captain Ren, is there a prize for winning or losing?”
“There is. Whoever loses has to wash the winner’s car and maintain their equipment.”
“Good, good, good! It’s my turn this week anyway. I absolutely have to win.” Liu Hui slammed a card onto the table and shouted majestically, “Fire Attack!”
“Eight Trigrams judgment—hey, it’s red.”
“Indulgence.”
“Why are you playing that on me again?” Ren Yi shouted. “I didn’t even get to play a card last round.”
Li Sa said, “Captain Ren, if you lose, you have to wash the car too. You can’t get special treatment.”
“I won’t lose.”
“That’s hard to say.” Sun Dingyi grinned mischievously. “You can’t use your goddess to cheat anymore.”
“Who’s the goddess?” Gong Feilan shouted. “Captain Ren doesn’t have a girlfriend!”
Everyone burst out laughing.
Seeing that he had only one hit point left, Ren Yi began thinking about stealing a card. A squad captain washing fire trucks was embarrassing enough. This was all because he had run his mouth earlier.
Just as he was about to take advantage of Gong Feilan getting caught up in asking questions and sneak a Peach card, the alarm suddenly rang.
The firefighters immediately stood up and ran downstairs. Gao Ge still remembered to shout, “We’ll continue when we get back!”
Ren Yi deliberately slowed down a few steps and was the last one to leave. On his way out, he casually mixed up all the cards on the table.
Gong Feilan pointed at Ren Yi. “You…”
Ren Yi winked at her. “Go home early.”
Downstairs, the communications officer on duty reported to Ren Yi.
“Captain Ren, there’s a fire at the Gangan Paper Mill’s storage stacks. The company’s fire brigade attempted to put it out but failed.”
“The Gangan Printing Factory?” Ren Yi shouted while putting on his gear. “Li Sa!”
“Here!”
“Change clothes and come with the first truck.”
Li Sa’s face lit up with excitement. She shouted, “Yes!”
Once they were in the truck, Ren Yi asked Li Sa, “Did you happen to finish surveying the area around the Gangan Printing Factory recently? Any temporary route changes?”
All three new recruits were familiarizing themselves with their jurisdiction, but each had chosen different routes. Ren Yi vaguely remembered the contents of Li Sa’s report from Monday.
“No. Mian Tai East Road is the shortest route, but there might be traffic at this time. Cutting from Haide Road to Fengyuan Road might be faster.”
“Take Haide Road.” Ren Yi then asked, “Didn’t the environmental authorities already require all paper mills to relocate outside the Sixth Ring Road?”
Li Sa nodded. “Yes. Gangan moved its production elsewhere, but the raw material warehouse might not have been relocated yet. The last time I went there, it was deserted. Apart from the security guards, I didn’t see anyone. I’m seriously questioning their firefighting capabilities.”
As they approached the area, a faint column of smoke could already be seen rising into the sky. Judging from the size of the smoke, the fire wasn’t too large yet.
The fire truck stopped in front of the burning warehouse. The warehouse had a considerable span, and one of the stacks inside was glowing red with flames.
Several security guards stood helplessly holding fire extinguishers.
“Captain, there’s no water in the fire hydrants. We can’t put it out with extinguishers.”
Ren Yi asked, “Only you few people here? Is anyone trapped inside?”
“No.”
“Gao Ge, get the water ready. Sun Dingyi, come in with me and take a look.”
“Captain, can I go too?” Li Sa asked.
Ren Yi glanced at her. “Come along.”
Several people entered the warehouse.
Inside were stacks of papermaking raw materials such as straw, sugarcane bagasse, and jute. They were piled one after another, all highly combustible materials.
Ren Yi shouted, “How did you store this stuff? It’s so messy and packed so tightly. The temperature inside the warehouse is so high—why haven’t you done anything to dissipate the heat?”
Several security guards looked at one another.
“Li Sa, explain the firefighting requirements for storing stacks of solid combustible materials.”
“The raw materials must be stored according to category. If it’s impossible to guarantee that a warehouse stores only one type of raw material, different materials must at least be separated into designated areas. The distance between stacks must not be less than one meter, and the distance from walls must not be less than half a meter. Each stack must occupy no more than one hundred square meters.” Li Sa spoke quickly. “When the temperature of this type of papermaking raw material exceeds sixty degrees, the stacks must be dismantled and spread out to dissipate heat. You haven’t met a single one of these requirements.”
Ren Yi nodded.
The security guard looked miserable. “The higher-ups issued an order requiring us to relocate before a certain deadline. The factory has been chaotic lately, and some things were just put wherever there was space.”
“In weather this hot, the raw materials probably caught fire through spontaneous combustion. That’s incredibly irresponsible.” Sun Dingyi said, “The fire is about to spread to the third stack. The heat radiation here is too intense, and it could easily cause the other stacks to ignite spontaneously.”
Ren Yi gave his orders. “Go outside and connect to the fire hydrant. Deploy two water lines to suppress the ignition point, then deploy another water-mist line to cool the entire area. Move away as many of the nearby stacks as possible.”
“Our factory only has one vehicle right now…”
Ren Yi pressed his radio.
“Headquarters, this is Phoenix Squad. A paper mill’s raw material stacks are on fire. We need to relocate combustible materials. Requesting engineering vehicle support.”
“Received.”
Gao Ge led a team in suppressing the flames and preventing them from spreading. Sun Dingyi organized the engineering vehicle crew to move the raw materials near the fire, one stack at a time.
The warehouse was already unbearably stuffy from the hot weather, and the intense heat of the fire made it even more difficult to endure.
The firefighters silently carried out their assigned tasks. After three hours, they had cleared a large open space around the three burning stacks. Once all the combustible materials in the stacks had burned away, the fire was finally extinguished.
The paper mill owner arrived later and followed behind Ren Yi’s heels, explaining and pleading for mercy. Ren Yi ignored him.
Fortunately, the fire had broken out in the warehouse. The entire papermaking production process involved large quantities of hazardous chemicals and pressurized equipment, making it a highly flammable and explosive environment. A warehouse fire was already a blessing in disguise.
However, a fire involving material stacks was also extremely dangerous, as it could easily develop into a chain reaction of spreading fires. Fortunately, they had responded quickly and prevented significant losses, but a substantial fine was unavoidable.
After the fire was extinguished, every firefighter involved was covered in black soot. The protective suits weighed over forty kilograms, and after wearing them for several hours in the high-temperature fireground, sweat and ash had blended together, writing resilience and exhaustion across every face.
Ren Yi caught sight of Li Sa’s “ghost face,” which looked like comical smoky makeup, and burst out laughing.
Li Sa wiped a hand across her face, looked at the ash covering her palm, and laughed too.
Ren Yi teased her, “You’re such a pretty girl. Why did you have to come do this kind of work?”
Li Sa looked directly at Ren Yi, her eyes exceptionally bright.
“Did I do a good job? Captain?”
“Good. You performed very well today.”
“I can do the job I chose for myself well.” Li Sa smiled.
Ren Yi patted her shoulder. “Keep working hard.”