CH 25

“It’s on fire! It’s on fire!” The scream came from outside the store, on the fifth floor.

Song Yan rushed out of the restaurant immediately. Xu Qin and the waiter also came out.

Outside the restaurant window, the shopping mall that was leisurely and orderly just a moment ago started to pick up speed in an instant. Everyone moved quickly, gathering in one direction like a small magnet.

The young women and men on the fifth floor held hands and ran towards the place where the screams were heard, while those on other floors flocked to watch from an open angle, some tentatively walked up the escalator.

Many people held up their mobile phones to take pictures or make calls.

The accident took place in the papercraft studio on the northwest corner of the fifth floor. The papercraft teacher was leading the students in a class when the fire started.

According to a customer who escaped from the store, someone secretly smoked in the back of the classroom and accidentally lit a papercraft on fire. In a panic, he picked up a stack of paper to fan at the fire, but with the movement the papers fell apart and sparks scattered, igniting a large area of surrounding paper products.

The classroom was full of paper, which burned extremely fast. The young women panicked and ran out screaming, joining the crowd of onlookers around them.

Song Yan pushed through the crowd and rushed to the glass door of the studio, only to see that a girl was left alone and trapped in the fire. Song Yan slapped the glass violently, the girl turned her head in panic, and Song Yan made a gesture to her.

The girl immediately understood, and quickly pushed away all the papers around her.

Song Yan turned around and ran out of the crowd again.

Xu Qin asked the waiter, “Where is the fire hydrant in this mall?”

The waiter looked confused: “Fire hydrant? I don’t know.”

Xu Qin gazed through the running crowd, looked around, and caught sight of Song Yan on the opposite side of the mall.

Song Yan had already observed the location of the fire hydrants when he entered the mall, this had become his habit. Just now he had roughly observed the place where the fire broke out, and after instructing the trapped girl, he went straight to the fire hydrant. At this moment, he had already opened the fire hydrant, took off the water gun, took off the fire hose, fastened one end to the sluice gate, and laid the pipe all the way across.

During this series of events, his reaction time was only forty seconds.

Song Yan: “Get out of the way!”

When the people around the store turned their heads and saw Song Yan coming quickly with a rolling hose, they gave way one after another, not knowing where this man came from.

Although the fire had broken out within a minute and a half, the situation in the store was special. The paper on the wall panels were all lit up, like burning paper lanterns. The floor-to-ceiling windows were full of jumping flames, which were very frightening. The trapped girl hid inside and cried.

People were taking pictures and calling the police, the crowd was impenetrable.

A large roll of hose was fully unrolled, Song Yan installed the water gun at the end of the pipe, looked back at the fire hydrant, and was about to call the people over there to open the gate.

Xu Qin was already standing there, holding the valve tightly with both hands, and shouted at him: “Which direction?”

Song Yan: “Clockwise!”

Xu Qin exerted all her strength and twisted it hard, the valve opened, and the tap water rushed into the pipe quickly. The deflated hose stretched into a round shape and poured straight into the water gun in Song Yan’s hand.

Song Yan pulled on the water hose, and aimed the water gun with both hands at the papercraft studio. The water burst forth.

The man was tall and long-legged, with a stern face, and his posture holding the water gun was explosive. The onlookers, men and women, were all dumbfounded, taking pictures with their mobile phones.

Song Yan walked into the entrance area, first sprayed out an isolation zone along the display window, saw that people were still watching, and shouted annoyedly: “Get the fuck back!”

The young women were blushing and hearts racing after being reprimanded, they backed away obediently while continuing to protect their phones.

The girl trapped in the fire huddled in the corner and did not dare to move, Song Yan strode up and grabbed the girl’s hand to pull her over.

The girl screamed and threw herself into his arms and hugged him.

Song Yan held the water gun in one hand, grabbed her with the other, carried her to the door like she was a baby chick, and pushed her out vigorously.

The girl’s friend hurried forward to pick her up.

After saving the girl, he walked into the fire scene alone, and all the young women couldn’t help but exclaim:

“Don’t go in!”

“It’s dangerous!”

Song Yan didn’t turn back and went into the room. The fire burned most fiercely in the inner room, and this studio was partitioned by a larger shop. If the fire was not extinguished as soon as possible, the shop next door would also suffer.

When Xu Qin rushed over, she saw water flowing against the glass windows. On the other side, orange flames jumped, sparkling and translucent water splashed everywhere, colored paper and black ash were scattered by the water gun, flying around all over.

Song Yan stood in that world among the water and fire, bits of paper, wood and ashes; his figure was tall and firm, with his back to everyone.

The people outside surrounding the glass window didn’t know when it started, but they were all silent.

The man in gray shirt and long trousers was obviously just like every ordinary person outside, on vacation, shopping, and eating. Like every ordinary person outside, he was not made of steel or iron, but blood and flesh. The heat would burn his airways, and the flames would burn his hands.

A girl nudged Xu Qin: “Are you two together?”

Xu Qin came back to her senses, but before she could answer, the other party looked adoringly: “He’s like a hero.”

Another girl corrected: “What do you mean like? He is.”

“Yes, he is.”

Xu Qin saw the girl who was rescued and walked over: “Are you injured?”

The other party had her face flushed with water, all the mascara had melted, she shook her head: “Just a small burn, it’s not a big deal.”

Xu Qin checked her arm and said, “It’s not serious, just go to the pharmacy and buy some medicine.”

While speaking, the fire was quickly extinguished.

Song Yan’s voice was hoarse, and he shouted outside: “Close the sluice.”

The people on the outside seem to have received instructions, and they quickly sent messages one after another:

“Close the sluice.”

“Close the sluice.”

After several passes, the man closest to the fire hydrant closed the gate.

The interior was in a mess, with black water running along the ground.

Song Yan was covered in black ashes from head to toe. He removed the water gun, washed his face with the water in the pipe, and started to collect the hose.

Xu Qin immediately went over and looked at him up and down: “Are you injured?”

Song Yan walked directly past her without looking sideways.

Xu Qin stayed where she was. There was a pitch-black scene in front of her, and the scorched room was covered with water, such a sorry sight to behold.

She finally turned around–– the crowd followed Song Yan all the way, admiring and grateful, but the man was obviously in a bad mood today, and treated them as air, turning a blind eye and turning a deaf ear, just focusing on collecting the hose.

A few girls handed him tissues to wipe off the water on his face and the ashes on his clothes, he didn’t refuse the kindness and took the tissues from the bystanders.

Song Yan quickly restored the hose and water gun to its original shape, rolled it up and put it back on the fire hydrant.

The management personnel of the shopping mall also came running, thanking him non-stop.

Song Yan asked coldly: “Are there any issues with the fire alarms in your shopping mall?”

The person in charge was silenced on the spot, he tried to pull him aside to talk alone, but there were too many onlookers, and the Si Xi Di Fire Squadron had already arrived.

Song Yan quickly handed over everything to his colleagues in Si Xi Di, and left without saying another word.

People still gathered around the railings on all floors of the mall to watch him leave.

Xu Qin walked into the sightseeing elevator silently by herself, and saw Song Yan standing on the escalator gradually descending, still standing straight, jaw clenched, this time looking slightly lower than his line of sight, she didn’t know what he was thinking about.

The elevator went down quickly, and suddenly sank into the negative floors underground. Xu Qin was unprepared, and Song Yan disappeared from sight.

……

Song Yan went down to the first floor, headed out of the mall, called the inspection department of the Si Xi Di Fire Brigade, and got straight to the point:

“During the acceptance inspection of the fire department in Si Xi Di, did someone in the team take a bribe?”

There was silence on the other end: “How so?”

“The fire alarms in the shopping mall, come back to check it as soon as possible.” Song Yan said, “As for your dirty tricks, be grateful, exercise some restraint, if something big happens then it’ll be all over.”

The other end was silent for a while, then whispered: “I’ll go check soon––”

“As soon as possible. Don’t fucking take the lives of people under you so lightly.” Song Yan hung up the phone.

Fire inspection and fire prevention were all the responsibility of those at the top, it was an easy job with a lot of avenues. The people under ran around from fire to fire, they didn’t accept any dirty money but had be a scapegoat for that dirty money and lose their lives, so fucking ironic.

He walked into the revolving door of the shopping mall, and saw through the reflective glass that his expression was dark, he looked like he was going to eat someone. The phone rang again, it was Li Meng calling.

Song Yan was thinking that the head of Si Xi Di had filed a complaint with Shi Li Tai so soon, and was worried that he had no place to vent his anger and had to head back to base, but it turned out to be about his transfer and promotion.

Two years ago, the larger brigade of his detachment had considered promoting Song Yan several times, but he had refused on the grounds that the officers and soldiers under his lead were too young and didn’t have enough firefighting experience in the field.

After all, in the fire department, soldiers who had some connections at home were reluctant to come, and they all tried to get transferred away. Those who were assigned to do this were really the non-native kids who suffered the most. If there was a shortage of personnel, even eighteen or nineteen year olds could be sent over to fight fires. Song Yan was soft-hearted and couldn’t let go of this group of little kids, so he continued delaying his promotion.

This year, he took the initiative to submit an application.

“You’ve passed the political record examination. Although the position has been pre-approved, it will have to wait until next year to be announced. You will still have to stay in your original post.” Li Meng said, “There was an opportunity before, but you refused and insisted on being a front-line worker, saying that it was too bureaucratic. Now you’ve suddenly thought it through?”

Song Yan only said: “I’ve reached that age now.”

Li Meng pondered for a while, and asked: “It’s not for her, is it?” A few months ago, that was the time when he had met Xu Qin again.

Song Yan was irritable for no reason, and frowned: “It has nothing to do with her.”

Hearing that he was really angry, Li Meng was taken aback, and immediately changed her words: “Prepare well, the political commissar is a good position, and you may be able to reach the seventh bureau in a few years.”

“Thanks.” Song Yan was in no mood to chat and hung up the phone.

……

All the officers and soldiers of the Shi Li Tai Fire Squadron walked on ice for several days in a row. After their Captain Song had returned from his vacation, his whole being felt different.

A face covered with frost, his whole body was cold, and anyone who looked at him could get a hole pierced in their body. No matter how the intensity was during training, physical fitness, skills, basics……he was like clockwork and never got tired.

Everyone complained endlessly, but they didn’t dare to be negligent at all. No one was foolish enough to ruffle the lion’s fur.

Coincidentally, several nurses in the emergency room of the Third Military Hospital also experienced a state of trepidation similar to theirs.

Although their Doctor Xu was usually not very talkative, her expression was so blank it made one wonder if there was something wrong with the nerves on her face.

However, “indifferent” and “cold” were still distinguishable by others.

During the minor surgery that day, Xu Qin had said, “Suture needle.”

Both Xiao Xi and Xiao Bei thought that the other party would hand it over, so they were two seconds late in their response. When Xu Qin slightly raised her eyes, the cold look was, in Xiao Si’s words, sharper than a No. 11 scalpel blade, which made her bones go cold from fright.

No. 11 scalpel blade

(I was curious and thought I would share)

The relationship between the nurses and Xu Qin was limited to work, and they couldn’t figure out what was on her mind.

Xu Qin herself didn’t think she had something on her mind, it was just that the weather was getting colder and colder, making people more used to silence.

The days without seeing Song Yan were not much different. She was so busy with work non-stop, who had time to think about what there was and what there wasn’t. When she ran to find him feverishly before, it was because she was on vacation and it was empty and boring.

In the first few days, a video of Song Yan fighting a fire in a shopping mall was posted on the internet, causing heated discussions in the city, and countless netizens liked it. Xiao Nan and Xiao Bei also had discussions in their spare time. Xu Qin deliberately didn’t watch the video, and also deliberately avoided everyone’s discussions.

She didn’t let herself think about him anymore. She didn’t think about him again, until, late one night, when she came home from a late shift, when Xu Qin was boiling water, the water accidentally overflowed. When she moved the pot away and wiped the water stains with a rag, she stared at the rag for a long time for no reason. Her mind was empty, and she didn’t think about anything. After finally regaining consciousness, she turned around and saw the empty living room. For a moment, the image of Song Yan mopping the floor that autumn afternoon appeared before her eyes.

The sun was bright and warm that day, she still remembered. His shadow was refracted on the floor along with the sunlight.

And now it was a cold winter night.

In the past half a year since she had reunited with him, the number of times she met him couldn’t be considered many, but they also met unexpectedly from time to time. However, almost a month has passed since the last time they parted in Si Xi Di, and they hadn’t seen each other again.

Patients with burns and in car accidents were still sent to the emergency room, but she never saw Song Yan again.

In the middle of the night, Xu Qin stood in her silent home with dimly lit lights, and a belated agony spread all over her body— perhaps, their fate was over.

This cognition burned Xu Qin’s nerves like a raging fire. She began to subconsciously pay attention to the fire hydrants and sirens around her. She would search for the sound of fire trucks on the road and pay special attention to ambulances in the hospital.

However, it was futile.

She never saw Song Yan again, and once even followed the truck to the scene to see firefighters from all over, but he was not there.

Several times, she unconsciously took out her mobile phone, and when she regained consciousness, she found that she was staring at his number. But besides looking at it, there was nothing more that could be done.

……

One day at the end of the month, when Xu Qin was about to leave work, someone knocked on the door.

“What’s wrong?” Xu Qin looked up.

It was a pretty girl of similar age to her, with a smile on her face and a graceful look, who didn’t look like a patient.

The girl leaned forward: “You should be off work, I’m not bothering you am I?”

Xu Qin: “Yes. You—”

“You don’t remember me?” She came in and sat down, and put her Hermes Birkin bag on the ground casually, “The Si Xi Di papercraft studio that caught fire, you asked me if I was injured.”

Xu Qin had a strong impression of her.

She watched Song Yan save her from the fire. He took her hand, and she threw herself into his arms and held him tightly.

Xu Qin stared at her and said: “It’s a little fuzzy.”

“My name is Zhan Xiaorao.”

Minister Zhan’s daughter.

“You’re Xu Qin, right? I know your brother and Xiao Yixiao very well.” Zhan Xiaorao’s eyes flickered when she laughed, and she was very pretty, “Do you know that firefighter? What’s his name?”

“Song Yan.”

“Song Yan.” Zhan Xiaorao chanted a little, “That’s a nice name, suits him. Do you have his phone number?”

Xu Qin: “What?”

“I’ve been looking for him for a long time. Fortunately, a white-collar worker at the scene recognized you that day and said that you were a doctor from the Third Hospital and that you knew him, so I tracked down the clues.” Zhan Xiaorao said, “He saved my life. I have been looking for him, and I want to invite him to dinner to express my gratitude.”

Xu Qin looked at her, and suddenly wondered if the emotion in her eyes were as obvious as those in this girl’s eyes when she invited Song Yan to dinner.

There should have been none. She was buried too deep, and her eyes were a pool of stagnant water, unlike hers, which were shining, bright and boldly filled with desire.