Ren Yi and the others were all discharged from the hospital on the third day. Only Sun Dingyi had inhaled a larger amount of toxic gas and needed to remain hospitalized for treatment.
After being discharged, Ren Yi held a debriefing meeting to review why their comrades had been injured during this operation and what could be improved during the rescue process.
After the meeting ended, Ren Yi called Li Sa back. He asked, “Feeling better?”
“Captain Ren, don’t worry. I’m fine.”
“This was your first time participating in a rescue as a firefighter. You were given an assignment in an emergency, and you performed very well.”
“Thank you, Captain Ren.”
“But the situation this time was rather special. You saw it yourself. Usually, you get along pretty well with everyone, but when it comes to work, most people still have some reservations because of your gender. This isn’t something that can be resolved overnight. I hope you can keep a level head about it.”
Li Sa pressed her lips together. “I understand.”
“When we get the opportunity, I’ll have you enter a fire scene once. If you can earn everyone else’s trust this year and let them know that you’re a qualified firefighter rather than a woman who needs to be taken care of, then next year I’ll consider transferring you out of the Special Operations Squad.”
Li Sa nodded vigorously. “Yes!”
After the meeting, Ren Yi returned to his office to write the report. Whenever a firefighter was injured during a call, the report needed to provide an especially detailed account of the circumstances, so writing this report was once again a headache-inducing process for him.
After writing for two hours, the alarm bell rang, and Ren Yi ran downstairs.
When the dispatcher informed them that someone had called the fire department to catch a snake, everyone assumed Ren Yi wouldn’t go. Normally, for incidents with low risk and little technical difficulty, the company commander did not deploy personally. But Ren Yi had been feeling stifled from writing the report and wanted to get some fresh air, so he went along anyway.
When they arrived at the scene, two of them put on protective suits and quickly caught the snake with snake tongs.
It had been raining continuously lately, so snakes had been particularly active. Although this red-spotted keelback was not venomous, it looked quite frightening. They put the snake into a burlap sack, preparing to send it to the forestry department.
On the way back, the vehicle happened to pass the Hongwu Precinct. Ren Yi hesitated for a moment before saying, “Drop me off up ahead. I’m going to stop by the Hongwu Precinct. I’ll make my own way back later.”
After getting out of the vehicle, Ren Yi suddenly realized how stupid he had been. He should have called first to ask whether Gong Yingxian was there. Otherwise, wouldn’t he have made the trip for nothing?
Since he was already there, Ren Yi decided to go inside and take a look.
Coincidentally, Gong Yingxian was at the precinct, but he was in a meeting, so Ren Yi sat in the reception area and waited.
He had not waited long when the meeting-room door opened, and several police officers filed out. When Gong Yingxian came out, Ren Yi was just about to call out to him when he saw him turn around and smile at the person behind him.
Ren Yi froze.
He had never seen Gong Yingxian smile like that before. The moment that smile bloomed, all the coldness and aloofness surrounding him seemed to fall apart. It was a smile that could almost be described as gentle.
Walking out with Gong Yingxian was a woman—a woman with long, wavy hair, a tall and graceful figure, and strikingly beautiful features. Not only was she beautiful, but her bearing was exceptional as well. She looked mature, elegant, intelligent, and capable.
Gong Yingxian standing beside her looked like a movie poster frozen in time.
The two of them stood in the hallway talking about something. Gong Yingxian nodded from time to time and smiled faintly, his attitude extremely gentle.
Ren Yi stared blankly at them, unable to come back to himself for a long time.
So Gong Yingxian had another side like this. So Gong Yingxian could have that kind of gaze and that kind of smile. He just had never seen it before.
Suddenly, Gong Yingxian caught sight of Ren Yi from the corner of his eye. Ren Yi awkwardly stood up, nodded as though nothing had happened, and walked over.
“Captain Ren, what brings you here?” Gong Yingxian was still his usual self when facing Ren Yi.
Ren Yi felt a little uncomfortable. “Oh, I came to ask about the progress of your case. And this is…”
“Captain Song retired. This is the new commander of the Third Squad, Qiu Yan. Sister Yan, this is Ren Yi, the commander of the Phoenix Squad.”
“So you’re Captain Ren.” Qiu Yan extended her hand. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”
“Hello.” They shook hands, and Ren Yi smiled. “I didn’t expect the new squad commander to be so young and beautiful.”
“You flatter me.” Qiu Yan smiled. “I’ve always heard that you’ve helped us quite a lot. You also assisted Xiao Gong in solving the case some time ago. Captain Song had nothing but praise for you.”
“It was nothing. It was what I should have done.”
“Sorry, Captain Ren, but I have another meeting to attend.” Qiu Yan glanced at her watch. “You came to see Xiao Gong, right? You two carry on. We’ll have a proper chat another time.”
“Sure. See you later.”
After Qiu Yan left, Ren Yi raised his eyebrows slightly and teased, “Such a beautiful squad commander. You’re pretty lucky.”
“What’s so lucky about it? We’ve known each other since we were kids,” Gong Yingxian said.
“Really?” Ren Yi smiled. “Then aren’t you childhood sweethearts?”
Gong Yingxian frowned. “Are you really this free?”
“I’m just being nosy. I’ve never seen you treat anyone so nicely before. Don’t tell me it’s because…”
“That has nothing to do with you,” Gong Yingxian said coldly.
Ren Yi could not help feeling irritated. He restrained his smile. “I came to ask you about the progress of the case.”
“I have to go out now. After I finish what I need to do…”
“Okay, then go take care of your business. I’ll leave first.” Ren Yi turned around and walked away without looking back.
Gong Yingxian watched Ren Yi’s retreating figure, deep in thought.
——
The Day of the Martial Arts Tournament
There were a total of thirteen fire stations under the Hongwu District Fire Brigade. Every station was required to register for the team events, while the individual events were voluntary. In addition to brigade-level tournaments, there were also headquarters-level tournaments. The headquarters-level competitions had stricter requirements, with each brigade selecting its most elite firefighters to compete, and the results counted toward evaluations. The brigade-level competitions were more relaxed; family and friends could be invited to watch, and there was more of a sporting atmosphere.
Following the competition schedule, Ren Yi coordinated the personnel rotations so that everyone could take turns being on duty. After all, no matter what time it was, a fire station always had to be able to respond to an emergency immediately.
Ren Yi brought his firefighters to the venue early. There were four team events in total. In the morning, they competed in rapid water deployment and fire suppression, along with several individual events.
They took second place in that event, while the individual events had their own wins and losses.
During the lunch break, Ren Yi discussed the afternoon competitions with the firefighters, occasionally glancing at his phone.
Since the last time they had seen each other at the Hongwu Precinct, he and Gong Yingxian had not been in contact again. It had been almost half a month, right?
Ever since they had met, they had never gone this long without contacting each other. Ren Yi did not know what exactly he was thinking. Perhaps he was feeling a little aggrieved.
More than one person had either openly or indirectly told him that Gong Yingxian treated everyone the same and was not deliberately targeting him. Maybe that was true, but there was still an exception. That beautiful, young, and promising Qiu Yan was an exception.
Qiu Yan’s existence made him realize that Gong Yingxian could actually be gentle, polite, and smiling when dealing with someone.
What bothered him was that he had been so tolerant and helpful toward Gong Yingxian, even being ridiculously saintly about wanting to become friends with him, yet Gong Yingxian had never really taken him seriously.
Gong Yingxian definitely wouldn’t come today either, right?
Whatever. He genuinely just wanted to know how the Cai Wan case was progressing. Other than that, he didn’t particularly care whether he had any further involvement with Gong Yingxian.
The afternoon team event was coordinated fire suppression using water cannons and hoses. They had to put out a burning temporary building that had been ignited with gasoline. The rankings would be determined by each team’s completion time. Ren Yi would also participate in this event.
After the lunch break, Ren Yi led the firefighters through their warm-up and preparations.
The teams ahead of them had all finished. They were the final group. Ren Yi encouraged everyone. “Let’s try to break last year’s record. If we do it, I’ll let you off half a day of training.”
“Only half a day?”
“You think that’s too little?”
“Wouldn’t dare, wouldn’t dare.”
“Captain Ren.” Ding Qing gave Ren Yi a meaningful look and glanced behind him.
Ren Yi turned his head and saw Gong Yingxian had appeared at the competition venue at some point.
He had changed into a dark navy casual outfit and snow-white sneakers and was walking toward them at an unhurried pace. Beside him was Gong Feilan, bouncing along excitedly.
“Captain Ren!” Gong Feilan ran over excitedly. “I came to cheer you on!” She waved vigorously at the firefighters. She had visited the fire station several times and had already become familiar with everyone.
Ren Yi smiled. “Thank you.”
His gaze remained fixed on Gong Yingxian.
Gong Yingxian walked up to them. “She heard about it somehow and insisted on coming.”
Ren Yi’s dissatisfaction with Gong Yingxian instantly disappeared. He looked him up and down and teased, “It’s rare to see you wearing such relaxed clothes. Doesn’t wearing a suit every day get tiring? Isn’t this much better?”
“What’s so tiring about putting on clothes?” Gong Yingxian said. “Have you started competing yet?”
“Almost. It’ll be our turn soon.”
Gong Feilan happily bounced around Ren Yi. “Captain Ren, you look so handsome today. You’re definitely going to get first place.”
“Really? How do you know?” Ren Yi teased her. “We’re competing in martial arts, not a beauty contest.”
“You’d get first place in either one.” Gong Feilan blinked. “I said you will, so you will.”
“All right. I’ll take your good wishes.” Ren Yi stretched his body and lifted his chin toward Gong Yingxian. “What about your good wishes?”
“I don’t have that kind of blind confidence.”
Gong Feilan pursed her lips at Gong Yingxian.
“Figures that’s what you’d say.” Ren Yi took a deep breath and shouted, “Everyone, get ready! Someone says we can take first place. Can we take first place?”
“Yes!”
“Someone else says we’re blindly confident. Are we?”
“No!” the firefighters roared again.
Gong Yingxian snorted.
“Let’s go. Let’s take first place!” Ren Yi led his firefighters toward the staging area.
Gong Feilan shouted, “Go, Captain Ren! Go, Phoenix Squad!”
Gong Yingxian quietly scolded her, “Stop shouting. You’re a young girl. Be more refined and reserved.”
“No! I want to cheer for Captain Ren.”
“He’ll win even without you cheering for him.”
Gong Feilan stared at Gong Yingxian with her eyes wide, looking completely incredulous.
Gong Yingxian looked straight ahead without turning his eyes.
“Wow, Cousin, so you’re actually this confident in Captain Ren? And yet you said I was blindly confident.”
“I have factual evidence. That’s different from you making an emotional judgment.”
Gong Feilan asked doubtfully, “Huh?”
“The Phoenix Squad is the only Special Operations Squad in the Hongwu Brigade. It’s an elite squad. They should naturally have the strongest abilities.”
Gong Feilan laughed. “Why didn’t you tell him that just now? Your compliment sounds so much better than mine.”
Gong Yingxian gave a cold snort and did not answer.
Meanwhile, Ren Yi and the firefighters were already in position. A familiar alarm bell rang, and they changed into their firefighting gear at top speed, climbed into the fire truck, and drove toward the burning temporary building one hundred meters away.
Gasoline fires could not be extinguished with water, so they were using a fire truck equipped with a dry-chemical extinguishing system. After parking, they first opened the cannon-port cover and carried out the routine safety inspection. Then Liu Hui operated the dry-chemical cannon handle, adjusting the elevation and horizontal direction, before checking the air-source pressure. Only after everything was ready could they begin spraying, and they had to control the spraying intensity according to the fire conditions.
The equipment on a fire truck, especially its larger components, required repeated practice and complete familiarity with every parameter before they could be operated properly in the field. Therefore, the requirements for the operators were also extremely high.
Once the dry-chemical cannon began spraying, everyone else, under Ren Yi’s command, put on their masks and used portable dry-chemical extinguishers to surround the flames from all four sides, gradually reducing the size of the fire and striving to extinguish it as quickly as possible.
Everyone remained calm, composed, nimble, and fast. Their coordination was seamless. This was a high-quality team forged through long-term, rigorous training.
When the remaining flames had been completely extinguished, the judge timing them shouted, “Excellent! One minute and forty-three seconds! First place!”
Everyone cheered at the same time.
Liu Hui laughed loudly. “Two seconds faster than last year!”
From far away, Gong Feilan let out a scream and grabbed Gong Yingxian’s arm, shaking it vigorously. “Cousin, they won! They really won!”
Gong Yingxian had a smile at the corner of his mouth. “It’s only one event. There are several more.”
“They’ll definitely win the others too!” Gong Feilan covered her flushed face. “Captain Ren is amazing. Cousin, isn’t Captain Ren amazing?”
“…” Gong Yingxian gave an almost inaudible “Mm.”
Just then, Ren Yi turned around and waved toward them. Gong Feilan also bounced up and down as she waved enthusiastically at him, her pretty twin ponytails swaying.
Gong Yingxian nodded at Ren Yi.
Ren Yi felt rather pleased with himself.
Actually, their squad won the overall championship almost every year, so winning one event was not enough to make them overly proud. But this year was different.
Gong Yingxian was watching, so…
They won.
Very good.