Practice proved that Yan Jue’s fire station did indeed have a slightly more intense training regimen than theirs. However, no one wanted to lose face by admitting they were tired. It was only after morning training that Gao Ge secretly told Ren Yi that they absolutely must not let Yan Jue get involved again.
In the afternoon, Ren Yi took Yan Jue on a tour of their jurisdiction. After dinner, Qu Yangbo organized another movie night in the recreation room.
Once the movie ended, the firefighters all went to bed. Ren Yi was stretching his arms when Qu Yangbo came over and said quietly, “Sihuo, it’s time to write the report.”
Ren Yi stiffened.
The report Qu Yangbo meant was undoubtedly the incident report for the Wenhui Mall fire. That was the standard report. There was also a separate, more detailed report required whenever a firefighter under a commander’s leadership died in the line of duty. As the commanding officer, Ren Yi would have to provide a thorough account and submit a review of the incident.
He had been putting it off, but he couldn’t keep delaying it forever.
Seeing his expression, Qu Yangbo sighed softly. “I don’t want to rush you either, but…”
“It’s fine. I know. I’ll write it tonight.”
Yan Jue walked over. “Let me help. I’ll organize the materials for you so you can write the report much faster.”
“That’s too much trouble for you.” Ren Yi grinned. “At this rate, I’ll owe you several more meals.”
Yan Jue smiled. “You can pay me back slowly.” He gazed at Ren Yi, his eyes warm and bright.
Qu Yangbo pushed up his glasses, wearing a mysterious smile.
The two returned to Ren Yi’s office, where Ren Yi handed the documents over to Yan Jue to organize.
An incident report involved a great deal of tedious work. They had to draw a diagram of the scene, mark the positions of fire hydrants and fire engines, record the routes taken by every team, and document the progression of the fire and the firefighting operations. Most of the detailed work was handled by the special operations team, but Ren Yi still had to produce a comprehensive report from his own perspective as the commander. The evidence Yan Jue was organizing now covered everything from the moment Ren Yi’s team entered the burning building until they left.
With Yan Jue’s help, the work proceeded much more efficiently.
As he typed, Ren Yi remarked, “I reckon incident reports are what every fire station captain hates the most.”
“Pretty much. I hate the damn things too.” Yan Jue raised his chin toward Ren Yi. “Aren’t I good to you? I took leave specifically to come help you write this report.”
“You really are a great brother.” Ren Yi knew that everyone was accommodating him and helping him because of what had happened to Sun Dingyi. It warmed his heart and moved him deeply.
Yan Jue propped his chin on his hand and watched Ren Yi. “I feel like we have a lot in common. It’s interesting.”
“Mm, yeah.” Ren Yi continued clacking away at the keyboard.
Yan Jue gazed at Ren Yi’s handsome, sharply defined profile, and something stirred quietly in his heart.
Ren Yi sensed that intense gaze. Without warning, he suddenly turned his head. Yan Jue was startled and immediately straightened up.
Their eyes met, and a flicker of awkwardness passed through both pairs of eyes.
“…A-are you finished?” Ren Yi glanced at the documents in Yan Jue’s hands.
“Oh. Yes, I’m done.”
“Then go back and get some rest. It’s so late already.”
“It’s so late already. Shouldn’t you be getting some rest too?”
“I’ll finish this bit first.”
Yan Jue glanced at the computer. “Forget it. That’s not just a little bit. You’re not going to finish it tonight.”
Ren Yi relaxed his shoulders and said quietly, “I’m having trouble sleeping.”
“What do you want to do? I’ll keep you company.”
Leaning back in his chair, Ren Yi thought for a moment. “I’ve been sitting too long, and I’m feeling restless. Some of the equipment needs oiling.”
“Let’s go.”
The two headed to the garage. Ren Yi turned on the lights and looked at the enormous fire engines lined up before him. Suddenly, he let out a long sigh.
He had grown up in the residential compound for firefighters’ families. When he was little, his favorite place to visit with his friends had been the fire station. The fire engines, aerial ladders, equipment, and all kinds of tools had seemed impossibly cool to them. If the adults let them play with the equipment for even a little while, they would be excited for days afterward.
He had idolized his father since childhood and vowed that one day he would wear that uniform, climb aboard one of those magnificent vehicles, and go out to save the world.
Now his childhood dream had come true. But only after becoming a firefighter had he truly understood the weight of the responsibility, heavier than a mountain. He no longer felt excited by all of this. Instead, he felt profound reverence for it.
Ren Yi walked over to a fire engine and took out a toolbox and some lubricating oil. The two sat down on small stools and got to work.
Casually, Ren Yi asked, “Yan Jue, why did you become a firefighter?”
“Me? I originally planned to join the navy. I grew up in Qinghai—its name literally means ‘Blue Sea,’ but there’s no actual sea there. I’ve longed to see the real ocean since I was a kid. But through a series of twists and turns, I ended up being assigned to the fire service. At first, I wasn’t too happy about it. Later, I realized this might actually be where I was needed most. In peacetime, this is the only place with a real battlefield.”
Ren Yi clicked his tongue twice. “You’re so competitive. How did you ever become an officer?”
“Because I’m damn good,” Yan Jue replied smugly.
Yan Jue was also a special operations fire station captain, and he had attained the position at roughly the same age as Ren Yi. Calling himself “damn good” wasn’t an exaggeration.
“What about you? Following in your father’s footsteps?” Yan Jue asked in return.
“Mm.”
“The old captain really was incredible. Every firefighter has studied those rescue operations of his.”
Ren Yi sighed. “Unfortunately…” He hesitated, but ultimately decided not to mention his father’s current condition. He and Yan Jue weren’t that close, and bringing it up would feel like pouring out his troubles unnecessarily. There was no need.
Yan Jue didn’t press him. Instead, he edged a little closer to Ren Yi. “Have you oiled this valve yet? Let me see.”
“I’ll do that one last. I need to maintain the other components first.”
“I don’t think your order is quite right. If you do it that way, it’ll be difficult to put everything back together later.”
The two discussed the work back and forth. Because of their profession, they never seemed to run out of things to talk about. They also understood each other’s perspectives and difficulties particularly well.
After they finished oiling the equipment, Yan Jue shook his dirty gloves and pretended to reach for Ren Yi’s face.
“Should I put some oil on here too?”
“Get lost. My skin is great. I don’t need any.”
“Haha, come on. Just a little. This oil is imported.” Yan Jue reached toward him.
Laughing, Ren Yi leaned away to dodge him. Unfortunately, he lost his balance on the small stool and toppled backward.
Yan Jue quickly grabbed his wrist to stop him from falling. Naturally, all the lubricating oil smeared across Ren Yi’s sleeve. Refusing to be outdone, Ren Yi kicked Yan Jue’s stool out from under him. Yan Jue pitched forward, and the two of them fell to the ground together, with half of Yan Jue’s body landing on top of Ren Yi.
“Fuck!” Ren Yi grumbled. “I’m filthy! I’ll have to use gasoline to get this stuff out, you bastard!”
Yan Jue, however, said nothing. His breathing had noticeably grown heavier.
Ren Yi raised his head and found Yan Jue staring straight into his eyes.
Those eyes were sharp and focused, possessing a force that seemed capable of holding someone captive. An unusual atmosphere flowed between them.
Suddenly, Ren Yi remembered a time during their training period when Yan Jue had lain on his bed and played games with him. There had been one moment when things had seemed a little…
Ren Yi frowned and pushed Yan Jue away. “Get up already. There’s no underfloor heating in the garage.” He pretended nothing had happened and busied himself checking the lubricating oil on his clothes.
Yan Jue also got up from the floor, silently brushing the dust off his trousers.
Ren Yi gathered up the tools. “It’s too late. Let’s go to bed.”
Yan Jue raised his head and gazed deeply at Ren Yi. “Do you want to know where I first saw you?”
Ren Yi instinctively felt that he probably didn’t want to know. But he could tell Yan Jue wanted to tell him. He pressed his lips together and said nothing.
“Morning Star Bar.”
Ren Yi immediately froze.
It was a gay bar he used to frequent.
Yan Jue flashed a mischievous grin and waved. “Good night.” With that, he turned and walked away with a carefree stride.
Ren Yi irritably rubbed his forehead.
Yan Jue left early the next morning. They even had breakfast together in the canteen, but when they met, they both behaved perfectly normally, as though nothing had happened the previous night.
It was only after Yan Jue left that Ren Yi received a WeChat message from him:
We’re still friends. You don’t need to feel any pressure.
Ren Yi stared at the message for a long time, not knowing how to respond. He couldn’t even figure out what Yan Jue meant by it or what his intentions were. If Yan Jue was interested in him, it didn’t seem quite enough to say so outright. But if he wasn’t interested, that didn’t seem right either.
After thinking it over, Ren Yi decided that not replying would be inappropriate, so he sent back an “OK” emoji.
Unexpectedly, Yan Jue quickly sent another message.
Officer Gong doesn’t seem like your boyfriend, but he doesn’t seem like just an ordinary friend either. I’m curious about your relationship.
This time, Ren Yi didn’t reply.
Although the matter annoyed him, he didn’t dwell on it too much. He and Yan Jue rarely had opportunities to see each other, so the awkwardness would gradually fade.
What truly bothered him was Yan Jue’s perception of his relationship with Gong Yingxian.
Yes. His relationship with Gong Yingxian was ambiguous and difficult to define. He didn’t like that either.
During the final days before the Lunar New Year, Ren Yi was busy preparing for the holiday: arranging duty schedules, organizing time off for the personnel, and buying New Year supplies. Since they planned to celebrate the New Year together this year, there were also many family members who had come from out of town who needed accommodation. He had plenty to keep him occupied.
He had two plans for the holiday.
The first was to bring his father from the hospital to the station so they could all celebrate the New Year together in a lively atmosphere.
The second was something he had been contemplating for a long time. After Yan Jue’s comment, he had become even more determined: he was going to confess his feelings to Gong Yingxian.
There was no doubt that the two of them had grown increasingly intimate. Whatever Gong Yingxian might have thought about gay people in the past, he had at least accepted Ren Yi now. In fact, he had gone beyond mere acceptance and had even begun taking the initiative himself.
Even if Gong Yingxian’s first step toward him had stemmed from sexual curiosity, with Ren Yi being the ideal person to experiment with because he was someone Gong Yingxian wouldn’t have to take responsibility for, Ren Yi was now certain that Gong Yingxian enjoyed everything that happened between them.
Perhaps he could encourage Gong Yingxian to take another step forward, to explore an emotional experience that went beyond physical pleasure.
So he decided to confess.
Gong Yingxian’s desire for him, his concern for him, and the trust he placed in him had given Ren Yi all the courage he needed.