Ren Yi stared at Gong Yingxian’s face, momentarily lost in thought.
Gong Yingxian, however, paid no attention to him. “Feilan, I’ll take you home.”
Gong Feilan lowered her head and said nothing.
“Go to my place first. I’ll talk to Auntie.”
“What is there to talk about?” Gong Feilan sneered. “Even if I never go home for the rest of my life, she wouldn’t know.”
“Come with me first.” Gong Yingxian shot Ren Yi a sidelong glance. “Don’t come to this kind of place again.”
Ren Yi came back to his senses and thought, What a waste of such a good-looking face. How can someone be so damn irritating?
“What do you mean by ‘this kind of place’?” He crossed his arms over his chest and looked provocatively at Gong Yingxian. “This is the Phoenix Special Operations Firefighting Squadron of the Hongwu District Public Security Fire Brigade in Tianqi City. This is a place that protects the lives and property of the people within a twelve-square-kilometer area. Do you have a problem with ‘this kind of place’?”
“This is a place that fails to meet hygiene standards, occupied by a group of people who fail to meet hygiene standards.”
Gong Feilan stood up. “Cousin, stop.”
“Which one of your eyes saw that we don’t meet hygiene standards? I shower every day.” Ren Yi glared at Gong Yingxian. “Oh, sorry. I don’t shower with alcohol, so I guess I don’t meet your hygiene standards.”
“How many people are in your squad?”
“Forty-two. What, are you planning to ‘disinfect’ every single one?”
“As a sample in a random hygiene-standard inspection, you are only one forty-second of the total, which is indeed insufficient to provide statistical support. But as the captain of this squad, you represent the average standard of the group you lead.” Gong Yingxian scanned Ren Yi from head to toe and gave a cold snort. “Your shoes alone could be used for ecological sampling of the Phoenix Road area.”
Ren Yi instinctively glanced at his shoes. They were indeed a little dirty.
He cursed inwardly and shot up from his chair. “Are you fucking crazy?”
“First define ‘normal.’”
“Cousin.” Gong Feilan pushed Gong Yingxian back. “I’ll go home with you. We’re leaving now.”
She looked at Ren Yi, her face full of guilt, and mouthed, I’m sorry.
“Did you come here looking for trouble? Did I offend you? Or do you treat everyone like this?” Ren Yi angrily said. “I saved your sister. Fine, you don’t have to thank me, but why are you being such an asshole?”
Gong Yingxian’s sword-like brows furrowed slightly. “You saved my sister, not me. Why should I thank you?”
“You…” Ren Yi was so angry he wanted to hit someone. “Even if you don’t thank me, you can’t just falsely accuse me, either. As it happens, the person involved is right here. Feilan, isn’t there something you should tell your brother?”
Gong Yingxian lowered his head and looked at Gong Feilan.
Gong Feilan pouted aggrievedly. “He’s not my boyfriend.”
Ren Yi spread his hands. “Heard that?”
Gong Feilan then said firmly, “But sooner or later, he will become my boyfriend.”
“He won’t.” Gong Yingxian grabbed Gong Feilan and was about to leave.
“Stop right there.” Ren Yi raised his voice.
Gong Yingxian stopped and looked at Ren Yi expressionlessly.
“You heard everything. Don’t you think you should apologize for wrongly accusing me and coming to my home to question me?”
“In theory, yes.”
“…Then apologize.”
“But I don’t want to.”
Ren Yi’s eyes widened. “You… You know you were wrong, but you still don’t want to apologize to me?”
“Yes.”
Gong Yingxian’s expression was completely calm and composed, with an utterly unapologetic attitude that seemed to say, What are you going to do about it?
Ren Yi took a deep breath. Using every ounce of self-restraint he possessed, he held back from swearing in front of a minor. He nodded and waved the two of them away. “Go. Hurry up and leave.”
“Big Brother Ren, I’m sorry…” Gong Feilan called out.
Gong Yingxian pulled Gong Feilan along and left without looking back.
Ren Yi wiped his face, feeling the little flame of anger inside him continually rising. He turned the chair around and repeatedly punched the seat cushion with a series of heavy blows.
Ren Yi was so angry that he skipped dinner. He holed up in his dormitory listening to music. He normally preferred rock, rap, and similar genres, but today, for the first time in his life, he actually put on soothing light music.
Just as he was becoming drowsy and about to fall asleep, his phone rang.
Ren Yi glanced at the screen. It was Fu Kai. He pressed the answer button and said a listless “Hello.”
“Ren Four-Fire, what’s wrong with you?” Fu Kai teased. “Why are you so weak?”
“You’re the one who’s ‘weak.’ What do you want?”
“You’re asking me what I want? You were frantically asking me for Gong Yingxian’s phone number this afternoon. What the hell is going on? How did you end up getting involved with him?”
“It’s a long story.”
“Then make a long story short.”
Ren Yi lazily gave him a brief account of what had happened.
“Wow, no wonder he’s a firefighter heartthrob who’s been in promotional videos. His charm is limitless.”
“I don’t have the energy to bullshit with you right now. That dumbass pissed me off half to death this afternoon. What planet did he come from? Are your police forces really that short-staffed? You’ll recruit just anyone, whether they’re human or dog?”
“Oh, come on. I’ve been a cop for so many years, and honestly, he’s the person I’ve met who is least likely to become a police officer.”
“Why?”
“I heard his family is in the chemical business. They’re filthy rich. Over the years, they’ve donated more than a hundred million yuan worth of equipment to the Criminalistics Department and Fire Investigation Department. Why do you think someone like that would come to be a cop?”
“Huh? I’ve only heard of people donating money to get into college. You can donate money and become a cop now?”
“Dream on. He has a master’s degree in criminal investigation from the Public Security University and a PhD in chemistry from MIT.”
“A PhD? Him?” Ren Yi exclaimed. “He doesn’t look that old.”
“Twenty-four or twenty-five, probably. He probably skipped grades through college.”
Ren Yi thought of that exquisitely sculpted face and found the information difficult to digest for a moment.
Are highly intelligent people all kind of eccentric? That’s how they’re always portrayed on TV, anyway.
Thinking of this, Ren Yi felt a little more at ease.
“Why do you think he became a cop? He has enough money to spend for the rest of his life. He could work for the family business, or do academic research. Become a cop? A job that’s hard, exhausting, and dangerous?” Fu Kai said with a bitter laugh. “Anyway, none of us can understand it.”
“Hasn’t anyone asked him?”
“You’ve just dealt with him. Do you think he’s the kind of person who would sit around and shoot the breeze with you for no reason?”
Ren Yi snorted through his nose. “True. He’s fucking nuts.”
“He is pretty strange, but he doesn’t violate regulations, and he really is capable. Anyway, don’t take it personally. He wasn’t targeting you. He treats everyone like that.”
Ren Yi scoffed. “I don’t give a damn anymore. I just hope his sister doesn’t come again. What the hell did I do to deserve this?”
“Enough, don’t let it bother you. We’ll have a drink together sometime.”
After hanging up, Ren Yi thought about what Fu Kai had said, still filled with a sense of unreality.
Why did Gong Yingxian want to become a police officer?
After that, Gong Feilan never sent Ren Yi another WeChat message, nor did she come to the fire station again. Ren Yi figured she had accepted the lesson and that the matter was over.
There were two calls that week, but Ren Yi did not go to either one.
Responding to emergency calls was a very strange thing. Sometimes everything would be peaceful for one or two weeks; other times, they could go out several times in a single day without a break. He had two deputy captains under him, and some accidents that were less dangerous and less complicated were directed by the deputy captains. Once he had trained his people up, things became easier for him as well.
That afternoon, just as Ren Yi was planning to go home to check on his father, an emergency call suddenly came in—a freight truck had overturned, and the asphalt on the truck had buried a small sedan.
Ren Yi brought all three firefighting squads and rushed to the scene.
According to the public reports, the small sedan had illegally changed lanes and cut off the large truck. The overloaded truck overturned when it made a sharp turn to avoid it.
The situation at the scene was extremely bad. The truck had crushed the sedan underneath it, but the truck had not completely overturned. The tires on the cab side were suspended in the air. The asphalt on the truck had almost completely covered the sedan and had even spilled across an area stretching dozens of meters.
The truck driver was uninjured, but he was obviously terrified out of his mind. He was crouching beside a police car, clutching his head, completely motionless.
The area was surrounded by onlookers, who kept taking pictures with their phones.
Ren Yi surveyed the scene, his brows tightly furrowed.
Over the years, he had seen all kinds of bizarre accidents, but this was his first time dealing with asphalt. In weather this hot, the temperature of the asphalt was probably about the same as boiling water. If the people inside the car had not been crushed to death, they had very likely already suffocated or been burned to death.
But no matter what, as long as there was even the slightest chance of survival, they had to race against death every second.
Ren Yi ordered, “Ding Qing, take two people and assist the traffic police in controlling the crowd. Cui Yisheng, get the dry-powder fire extinguishers ready. The high-temperature asphalt could easily ignite leaked engine oil. Everyone else, grab shovels and dig!”
“Yes!”
Ren Yi took off the upper half of his rescue uniform and tied it around his waist. Wearing only a white tank top, his upper body was lean yet muscular. From his chest and abdomen to his arms, every inch of muscle was filled with strength and beauty.
He picked up a shovel and began shoveling the asphalt away.
The three special-operations squads, around twenty men in total, swung their firefighting shovels beneath the scorching sun in temperatures approaching forty degrees Celsius, slowly digging the sedan out of the pile of asphalt bit by bit.
Above their heads was the vicious sun; beneath their feet were high-temperature asphalt granules. Ren Yi estimated that the temperature they were actually experiencing felt at least fifty or sixty degrees Celsius. He watched his own sweat fall crackling onto the rubber-smelling asphalt, only to evaporate completely in an instant.
Halfway through digging, Ren Yi already felt intense soreness in both arms, and he became somewhat dizzy. He straightened his back and took a drink of water.
Suddenly, he saw the overturned freight truck tremble slightly. The weight pressed against the pile of asphalt, producing a creaking sound.
Ren Yi froze. “Wait. Everyone stop.”
The firefighters all stopped. Their cheeks were flushed, and they were panting heavily.
Ren Yi walked around the scene once, his expression solemn.
Gao Ge said, “Captain Ren, what’s wrong?”
“This pile of asphalt is supporting the weight of the freight truck. If we dig out the asphalt, the freight truck will completely crush the sedan.” Originally, he had planned to dig away the asphalt and pull the people out first. Now it seemed they still had to deal with the truck first.
Gao Ge carefully examined the situation. “That’s right. We need to move the freight truck first. The passenger side of the sedan hasn’t been crushed yet. There’s a good chance the person inside is still alive.”
“Go get the equipment.”
Gao Ge took some people to the truck and brought back tow cables. They used two iron hooks to secure the freight truck, with the other end attached to their twelve-ton medium water-tanker truck.
This was the vehicle they used most frequently when responding to calls because it had many functions and was not too large. It could enter relatively narrow alleyways and was suitable for rapid rescue operations.
Once everything was secured, the driver got into the vehicle and stomped hard on the accelerator, pushing the engine to full power. The scene filled with the piercing sound of tires scraping against the ground.
The freight truck was slowly pulled upright. Then, with a loud boom, its tires hit the ground.
“Keep digging!”
They dug for more than an hour. A small fire even broke out once during the process, but it was quickly extinguished. Finally, they dug the sedan out of the pile of asphalt.
The driver’s side of the car had been completely crushed flat. Red-and-white flesh and bluish-black asphalt were mixed together, making it impossible to distinguish one from the other.
Sun Dingyi shouted, “Captain Ren, there’s someone in the passenger seat!”
“Hydraulic cutter! Quickly!”
Sun Dingyi used the hydraulic cutter to pry open the deformed car door. The instant the door opened, asphalt poured out of the car with a splash, and a woman fell out along with it.
Sun Dingyi caught her in one motion. After only one glance, an expression of unbearable pity appeared on his face. Her entire body was covered in extensive burns, and she was red all over like a fully cooked shrimp.
He took off his glove and pressed his fingers against her artery. “She’s still alive!”
Ren Yi said, “Get her out. Be careful. Don’t use the shovels.”
Several firefighters put on gloves and carefully dug away the asphalt covering her lower body. Finally, they carried her out.
She let out a painful groan.
The emergency medical personnel had been waiting for a long time. She was placed onto a stretcher and sent into an ambulance.
Sun Dingyi wiped away his sweat and looked at Ren Yi. “Can she survive?”
Ren Yi shook his head. “Don’t think about that. Get the other person out too.”
The person in the driver’s seat had been crushed and deformed beyond recognition. Flesh, skin, tendons, and bones had fused together with the asphalt. The smell of blood mixed with the stench of rubber and asphalt. Ren Yi was probably going to remember that scene and that smell for the rest of his life.
Half of the squad consisted of young firefighters who had only recently enlisted. They had never witnessed such a scene before, and one of them directly vomited.
They endured their discomfort and cleared the person out of the pile of asphalt.
By the time they returned to the squad, the sun had already set. The firefighters collapsed in the garage, so exhausted that they could barely stand for a long time. Every one of them was dirty and smelly, and all had suffered some degree of minor burns.
Ren Yi was lying on the ground with his eyes closed, resting, when suddenly something cold was pressed against his face. It felt incredibly comfortable.
He opened his eyes and saw that it was Qu Yangbo.
Ren Yi took the bottle of water from Qu Yangbo’s hand, clicked his tongue, and handed it back to him. “Such terrible service. You didn’t even unscrew the cap.”
Qu Yangbo smiled and unscrewed the cap for him. “Do I need to feed you too?”
Ren Yi stretched out his hand. “Help me up.”
“You’re too dirty. Get up yourself.”
Ren Yi grabbed Qu Yangbo’s snow-white arm with his filthy hand. “Don’t you dare start acting like that lunatic.”
Qu Yangbo helplessly helped him up.
Ren Yi took the water and gulped down the entire bottle in one go. The cold water flowed down his throat, temporarily taking away the burning dryness. He felt like his energy and spirit had returned somewhat as well.
“I heard about it. Someone was buried in asphalt?”
“Yeah. It was awful. The people at the scene said the sedan changed lanes recklessly and hit one of these heavy freight trucks. If you’re driving around these big trucks, you really need to be careful. Seriously…”
“At least we got one person out. Don’t think about it anymore. By the way, the chief of staff called just now. He said there’s a case at the Hongwu Public Security Bureau that needs your assistance with the investigation. It’s related to the emergency call you responded to two months ago. Go over there tomorrow.”
“The one where the person jumped off the building and ended up hanging on the railing?”
“Yeah. The police suspect it might not have been suicide.”
“Okay. I’ll go tomorrow.”
Qu Yangbo patted Ren Yi on the shoulder. “You’ve worked hard.”
Ren Yi smiled tiredly.