Ren Yi ran back to the car, yanked open the door, and was about to drive off. He had even forgotten that Qu Yangbo was still with him. It was only when Qu Yangbo pounded on the car window that Ren Yi seemed to snap out of a dream. He slammed on the brakes and stared blankly at Qu Yangbo through the glass. His usually sharp, confident eyes were now filled with panic and fear.
Qu Yangbo pulled open the car door and ordered, “Get out. I’m driving.”
“I…”
“Get out!” Without giving him a choice, Qu Yangbo dragged Ren Yi out of the driver’s seat. “Do you seriously think you’re in any condition to drive right now?”
Ren Yi stumbled two steps as Qu Yangbo pulled him out. At last, a sliver of clarity returned to his utterly chaotic mind.
He had always been confident in his ability to remain calm and decisive in a crisis. He had undergone rigorous training, and no matter how dangerous an incident became, he allowed himself to feel fear and concern while still facing the situation with composure.
Only now did he understand how easily concern for someone you loved could throw you into disarray.
He walked around to the passenger side and got in. His long, thick eyelashes trembled with unease.
Qu Yangbo started the car, then reached over and gave Ren Yi a firm slap on the chest.
“Make the calls first. I’ll get us there as fast as I can. Captain Chen should be with our old company commander. They’ll be fine.”
Clutching his phone, Ren Yi called Ren Xiangrong. No one answered. He tried Chen Xiaofei next, but again, there was no response.
His heart sank, and his face turned deathly pale.
“Yangbo, do you have Aunt Xu’s number?”
“Yes.” Qu Yangbo found her number on his phone and called. The call connected quickly, and Ren Yi heard him say, “Aunt Xu, did you go out to dinner with Captain Chen and the others? What? Mm… I… I understand.”
After hanging up, Qu Yangbo looked grim as well.
“She didn’t go.”
“What?”
“She said Captain Chen only told her he had a dinner engagement today. He never told her where he was going.”
Ren Yi drew in a sharp breath.
“But Captain Chen explicitly said that day he was going to bring her along to visit my dad. Why did he change his mind at the last minute? And now neither of them is answering their phones. What the hell happened?”
Chen Xiaofei had arrived at four in the afternoon. Now he was alone with Ren Yi’s father. Given that the police suspected Chen Xiaofei in connection with the case, how could Ren Yi not let his imagination run wild?
He was frantic with worry.
Qu Yangbo had naturally thought of the same possibility, but he hadn’t been involved in the investigation of the original case and had no idea how strong the suspicions against Chen Xiaofei really were.
“Don’t get too worked up,” he said reassuringly. “Just because they aren’t answering their phones doesn’t necessarily mean something has happened. Feilan was fine, wasn’t she? And the traffic has cleared up now. We’ll be there soon.”
Ren Yi nodded stiffly, like a mechanical puppet. It was as though if he kept giving Qu Yangbo these affirmative responses, what Qu Yangbo said would somehow come true.
The car sped along the road.
Dusk descended from the horizon. The enormous, blood-red sun struggled to release its last warmth and light as it sank toward the horizon. Everywhere they looked was bathed in its dying glow, but even that radiant energy could last only a few short minutes before it inevitably faded into silence before their eyes.
Night fell completely.
Just as he had promised, Qu Yangbo drove toward the nursing home as fast as he could.
When they were almost there, they suddenly heard a familiar sound behind them—the wail of a fire engine’s siren.
Both men instinctively looked in the rearview mirror, but the view was limited. Ren Yi simply rolled down the window and leaned out to look.
Sure enough, a fire engine was approaching behind them, and the vehicles ahead were scrambling to move aside and make way.
Qu Yangbo pulled Ren Yi back into the car. His own hands were trembling slightly.
“We’re almost there. Just turn this corner.”
As they rounded the bend, the tall buildings no longer blocked their view. At the far end of the road, the sprawling nursing home came into sight.
They could clearly see thick black smoke rising into the sky.
No further confirmation was needed. Every one of their worst fears had come true.
Ren Yi felt his blood turn to ice in an instant.
They had gone after his father after all.
Was it revenge? Was there some other motive? Or both?
Qu Yangbo was breathing heavily. The long street seemed to have no end. Why couldn’t they reach the destination in the blink of an eye?
They rushed through the nursing home’s entrance. Two police cars were already parked in front of the main administrative building. The scene was chaotic. Several police officers were helping doctors and caregivers evacuate the elderly residents, while the sound of the approaching fire engine grew louder behind them.
Ren Yi jumped out of the car. At once, he spotted Gong Yingxian’s vehicle parked beside the police cars, as well as Qiu Yan, who was making a phone call with an anxious expression.
“Captain Ren!” Qiu Yan saw him and hung up. “You…”
“Where’s my dad?” The only color left in Ren Yi’s face came from his bloodshot eyes.
“Captain Ren, please calm down first…”
“Where’s my dad?!”
Ren Yi had already determined from the exterior of the building that his father’s room was in the section engulfed in flames and thick smoke!
“Yingxian went to look for him.” Sweat poured down Qiu Yan’s face. “He… he just grabbed a fire blanket and put on a gas mask, and then he…”
It was the worst possible news, piling more agony onto an already unbearable situation.
Ren Yi didn’t even wait for her to finish. He turned and charged toward the building.
Qu Yangbo grabbed him from behind and held him tightly, shouting, “The fire engine is almost here! It’ll be here any second!”
“Let go of me!” Ren Yi struggled like a trapped beast, driving his elbow hard into Qu Yangbo’s chest.
Qu Yangbo’s face contorted with pain. He cursed furiously, “Are you even a firefighter anymore? You don’t have a single piece of equipment on you! Are you trying to save someone or get yourself killed? No one’s going to let you inside like this!”
He wrapped his arms around Ren Yi’s waist and forcefully threw him toward the ground.
Both men crashed to the ground. Qu Yangbo clung to Ren Yi, refusing to release him. His voice was already choked with emotion.
“The fire engine is here! Once you put on your gear, I’ll go in with you!”
Ren Yi let out a cry of anguish. His heart felt as though it were being scorched and fried in boiling oil, the pain almost unbearable.
The two most important people in his world were both inside that inferno.
The fire engine pulled up behind them, and fully equipped firefighters jumped out one after another.
Qu Yangbo scrambled to his feet and hauled Ren Yi up with him.
“Mao-ge! Get us two sets of equipment!”
Cheng Mao, the captain of the Bali Fire Station, looked at them in surprise.
“What are you two doing here?”
Qu Yangbo shouted urgently, “Ren Yi’s father is in there! Hurry up and get us two sets of equipment!”
Cheng Mao’s eyes widened. He looked at Ren Yi, who seemed utterly beside himself, and shook his head firmly.
“He’s in no condition to enter a burning building.”
Ren Yi forced himself to draw a proper breath beneath the crushing weight pressing down on him. He rubbed his face hard, trying to regain his composure.
“Brother Cheng, let me go in. My dad is in there.”
“I know, but you’re not in the right state of mind. If anything happens to you in there, I’ll be held responsible.”
Cheng Mao began directing his firefighters to set up the aerial ladder and prepare the water hoses for the rescue operation.
Ren Yi followed him.
“I promise I’ll follow your orders.”
“We’ll get your father out.”
“Brother Cheng!”
Ren Yi grabbed Cheng Mao by the collar and pleaded desperately, “Please. I’m begging you. I’ve never asked you for anything in my entire life, but I’m begging you this once. Please!”
Cheng Mao sighed. He hesitated for a moment before instructing the firefighter beside him, “Get two sets of equipment from the truck.”
Then he turned to Ren Yi and spoke sternly.
“You’d better keep your word. Otherwise, I will never forgive you.”
Ren Yi grabbed the equipment handed to him by one of the firefighters and quickly began putting it on.
Ever since the negative news about him had been exposed online, nearly three months had passed without him wearing his rescue gear. Yet he had performed this sequence of movements thousands upon thousands of times. It had long since been etched into his bones, becoming muscle memory.
Perhaps one day he might, like his father, forget how to run.
But he would never forget how to put on his firefighting rescue gear.
Cheng Mao divided his personnel into three teams. One would operate the aerial ladder, another would prepare the water hoses and stand by, and the third would enter the residential care building to search for and rescue anyone trapped inside. Two more fire companies were already on their way.
“What caused the fire?” Qu Yangbo asked Cheng Mao.
“We don’t know yet. But it’s spreading very quickly. We can’t rule out arson involving an accelerant.”
“It was definitely arson.” Ren Yi was so furious that he could almost grind his teeth to dust. If Purple Flame were standing right in front of him, he would tear the bastard apart with his bare hands.
“You’re that certain?” Cheng Mao seemed to recall something. “Does this have something to do with that criminal organization the police and firefighters in Hongwu District worked together to investigate last year?”
Before Ren Yi could answer, a tremendous explosion suddenly erupted overhead.
They were running toward the entrance of the residential care building when the blast went off above them. The ground shook beneath their feet, and window after window shattered under the force of the shock wave.
“Run!” Cheng Mao shouted, charging toward the building.
Glass fragments rained down like countless blades. Some were even larger, falling in whole sheets like guillotines, far more devastating than knives.
Everyone ran with their heads covered. During those few brief seconds, adrenaline flooded their bodies. The sound of shattering glass exploded repeatedly behind them as they practically threw themselves into cover.
Cheng Mao got back to his feet and turned to check on his firefighters.
“Anyone injured? Speak up!”
Everyone called out that they were safe. But when they looked at the ground they had just crossed, now littered with broken glass, they couldn’t help shuddering at how close they had come to disaster.
“The natural gas valve has already been shut off. It’s possible the residual gas in the pipes exploded. Be extremely careful once we get inside.”
Ren Yi could not bear to wait another second, but he forced himself to stop, using every ounce of reason he had left to hold himself back.
Cheng Mao gave his instructions.
“This building has four floors. Three people per floor. Ren Yi, Yangbo, you’re coming with me to the third floor.”
The third floor was where Ren Yi’s father’s room was located.
It was also the floor where the fire had started.
The three of them ran upstairs, each carrying an extra mask that could be connected to an independent breathing apparatus. Then they entered the burning building.
Ren Yi knew that Gong Yingxian always kept firefighting equipment in his trunk: fire extinguishers, gas masks, fire blankets, insulated heat-resistant gloves, and so on.
But those things could only protect him for a little while.
What tormented Ren Yi most was the fact that this was a fire scene—a real, raging fire.
Gong Yingxian couldn’t even bear to get close to a lit stove.
How could he possibly dare to enter a burning building?!