The air still carried a faint scent of alcohol.
Normally, it would take at least two hours for a fire to grow so large. However, with an accelerant, things were entirely different.
Meng Ting’s bedroom was the last to catch fire. The doorway was nearly engulfed in flames.
Opening the door now would cause an air current, potentially allowing the inferno to swallow her whole in an instant. Meng Ting covered her nose and mouth, retreating a few steps into her bedroom.
The memory of being surrounded by fire in her previous life, the suffocating agony of fainting in thick smoke, suddenly became crystal clear.
Back then, she had already escaped, but she heard Shu Lan crying for help.
Meng Ting had rushed back into the inferno, wrapped in a wet blanket. She had tightly bundled Shu Lan and carried her out.
Afterward, the pain was excruciating – her body ached, her face burned.
Meng Ting’s heart pounded. The butterfly effect should have only required a small change, yet the fire still occurred in this life. It was happening in the dry summer, not in winter like last time.
This meant the fire was deliberate.
It was Shu Lan!
Gritting her teeth, Meng Ting poured water from the room’s kettle onto a pillowcase, then covered her nose and mouth.
The blaze produced a wave of black smoke; half the house was already aflame.
She could only crawl along the floor where the fire hadn’t yet reached, inching towards the main door. If the glass windows shattered, the room would instantly become an inferno.
Most people don’t die from the flames themselves, but from inhaling large amounts of thick smoke before the fire claims them.
The air temperature soared above fifty degrees Celsius.
The water in the cloth evaporated quickly. She gradually began to smell the acrid smoke of burning materials.
By the time she reached the door, the cloth had almost completely dried out.
Opening the door was her only chance for survival.
Meng Ting grasped the doorknob. Its scorching temperature caused tears to stream down her face. With a click, the door unlocked, but before she could feel relief, she realized she couldn’t pull it open.
The security door was like an immovable boulder, blocking her path to safety.
Suppressing her fear, she turned back with tears in her eyes.
The flames had already spread to her location.
Meng Ting could only crouch down, trying her best not to lose consciousness. But as the last moisture evaporated from the cloth, she used all her strength yet still couldn’t pull open that door.
Meng Ting was terrified.
The fear of being consumed by the flames made her want to wail. But crying wouldn’t help. She held back, not making a sound. There was no turning back now; this door had to open.
The oxygen was rapidly depleting.
As breathing became difficult, many thoughts raced through her mind.
She thought of the pain from her previous life, the anguish of knowing her face was burned, and Shu’s father’s resolute decision to pay for her treatment. She wept silently.
Later, Shu’s father passed away, and Du Dongliang came to collect debts.
Life is so fleeting. So short that before she could grow up before she could experience all the warmth and joy the world had to offer, it came to an abrupt end.
That autumn, she should have been stepping onto a university campus, studying, working, then falling in love and getting married.
But instead, she was forced to leave her hometown, striving to become happy and strong once again.
She thought of many, many things.
Finally, she remembered Jiang Ren from her previous life, that year.
Back then, she didn’t like him as much as she did now. When she was trapped in fear and despair during the fire, he had been on his way back to B City. She never saw him again.
But this time, Meng Ting wished he was on his way home.
That boy who had waited for her for days and nights in the pear-blossom-filled town, who would eat her leftover buns in the early morning.
Tears flowed as Meng Ting realized she had never imagined that in the face of life and death, the person she thought of most would be Jiang Ren.
Just Jiang Ren.
As Meng Ting’s consciousness began to fade, the last thing she heard was the approaching sound of fire engines.
But faster than the fire trucks came a cold embrace.
Amidst the all-encompassing flames.
The roof beams creaked ominously.
The glass windows finally shattered under the intense heat.
After the piercing, terrifying sound of the explosion.
The world plunged into complete darkness.
She seemed to be in someone’s arms, and the world fell silent. Time slowed to a crawl. In the scorching heat, his damp embrace felt icy cold.
Only on her cheek fell a single scalding drop. It made her heart tremble gently.
Chaotic footsteps approached.
Gradually, light returned.
In her hazy state, she heard a hoarse yet gentle voice: “Tingting…”
Mm, don’t be afraid, I’m fine.
That dream seemed to have lasted an eternity.
“Tingting!”
Who was calling her?
When she woke up, the nurse sighed in relief. The smell of disinfectant replaced the scent of thick smoke. Each breath brought a sharp pain to her throat.
The young nurse quickly said, “Hey, hey, don’t move. You inhaled a lot of toxic gases during the fire, and your throat was swollen. Yes, breathe slowly, don’t rush.”
Fortunately, the young girl was smart and knew not to inhale toxic gases, avoiding suffocation.
Seeing Meng Ting slow her breathing, the nurse cheerfully said, “We’ve examined your body, and there’s nothing major. I’ll go call the doctor. Oh, and your family is still outside. They’ve been watching over you for quite a while. Don’t worry, your family is safe.”
Meng Ting mouthed a thank you.
Her throat hurt too much to make a sound.
Meng Ting had many questions she wanted to ask. For instance, who had carried her out in the end? In her previous life, it was a brave firefighter captain who saved her. Was it the same this time?
She raised her hand and touched her cheek.
The afternoon sunlight streamed in through the window. Occasionally, a few sparrows would land briefly before flying away.
The cheek under her palm was soft. Apart from her painful throat and dizziness, she felt no pain anywhere else. Compared to the extreme agony she experienced upon waking in her previous life, this fire felt like a long, bizarre dream.
She was unharmed, and her face wasn’t disfigured.
When Shu’s father entered with red-rimmed eyes, he didn’t know where to put his hands and feet. The middle-aged man held back tears upon seeing her and spoke gently, “Tingting, is there anything uncomfortable?”
Meng Ting smiled and shook her head, then pointed to her throat, telling him — I’m fine, just unable to speak for now.
Many people came to visit.
The fire had spread rapidly, affecting not only the house Shu’s father had rented but also the floors above and below.
Shu Yang silently looked at Meng Ting, his eyes red-rimmed but his face pale. The young man’s face was smudged with soot. His eyes were calm.
Shu’s father seemed to have aged years in an instant.
He gently stroked Meng Ting’s hair. “Get some rest. Dad will go buy you some porridge.”
Meng Ting struggled to ask in a whisper, “Who saved me?”
Shu’s father replied in a tone used to soothe children, “It was the firefighter uncle.”
Meng Ting nodded and closed her eyes.
She was exhausted.
Shu Yang closed the door and punched the wall hard. His voice trembled, “Dad, it was my sister who started the fire. When I saw our home burning, I rushed back, but she stopped me. I haven’t seen her since.”
Shu Zhitong wiped his face, remaining silent. No one could understand the pain in his heart at that moment.
Meng Ting was his daughter, and so was Shu Lan. But because he hadn’t raised her well, a young girl would set fire to harm her sister.
Thank goodness Tingting was unharmed.
But what Shu Lan did was a crime!
Shu Zhitong’s hands trembled. After a long while, he said, “We should report it to the police.”
He hoped it wasn’t Shu Lan, but if it was her, regardless of who it was, they should face the appropriate punishment.
Shu Yang turned his head away. “For a fire, this big, people upstairs and downstairs have already called the police.”
Shu Zhitong didn’t respond. He mustered his strength and went downstairs to buy food for Meng Ting.
Over the next few days, Meng Ting’s hospital room became quite lively. Her homeroom teacher and classmates all came to visit. The fire had nearly made it to the news, and the school had even organized a donation drive for their family.
Teacher Fan stroked her hair, his usually stern face showing unprecedented gentleness. “Take good care of your throat. Come back to school in a few days. Everyone misses you. Here’s the school’s donation. It’s not much, just fifty thousand yuan, but it’s everyone’s goodwill.”
Meng Ting nodded, the corners of her lips curving up, her tea-colored eyes pure and gentle.
She said softly, “Thank you, Teacher.”
Her hoarse voice tugged at everyone’s heartstrings.
Zhao Nuancheng lay on the edge of the hospital bed, grinning. “Don’t be sad, Tingting. Everything will get better. Many classmates asked me to bring you messages. Look at this little notebook. It’s full of everyone’s well-wishes for you.”
Meng Ting took the notebook. Each page was filled with different handwriting.
The classmates had written very sincerely.
There were messages like “Get well soon,” “Meng Ting, our goddess, stay strong,” “Recover quickly,” and so on.
The last four characters read — “We’re waiting for you.”
“That annoying second-place guy in our class said you need to get better soon, or else he’ll become first,” Zhao Nuancheng added.
Meng Ting’s eyes stung. She hugged the white notebook and nodded with a smile.
After Zhao Nuancheng and the others left, many uncles and aunts from Shu Zhitong’s laboratory came to visit.
Meng Ting’s condition wasn’t severe. She only needed observation due to inhaling harmful gases, to prevent any potential effects and her sore throat. The uncles and aunties brought flowers and fruits, nearly filling up the hospital room.
Shu Zhitong thanked each of them.
This was the warmth and coldness of the world.
The good people one encounters are always more numerous than the bad.
When everyone had left, the hospital room finally quieted down. Shu Yang sat by her bedside, peeling an apple for her. Sunlight streamed in, illuminating her delicate and beautiful profile. Due to her illness, she had an almost fragile and ethereal appearance.
Meng Ting picked up a pen and wrote on paper —
[Where’s Jiang Ren?]
Shu Yang’s apple-peeling motion paused. The apple peel broke, and he picked it up to throw it in the trash. “I don’t know. He hasn’t been here. I’m not lying to you.”
Meng Ting had been asking this question every day since she woke up.
She would always quietly write on paper —
[Where’s Jiang Ren?]
[Did he come today?]
After receiving a negative answer, she wouldn’t ask again. She was unnaturally quiet and obedient. Shu’s father hadn’t had a good night’s sleep in a long time. It wasn’t until her condition gradually improved that Shu Zhitong finally breathed a sigh of relief and took a short nap.
But today, she was unexpectedly persistent. Her graceful handwriting wrote again [Why hasn’t he come?] Her eyes were clear, her skin somewhat pale. She looked like a porcelain beauty, her tea-colored eyes reflecting Shu Yang’s image. Suddenly, Shu Yang felt a bit sad too.
He pressed his lips together. “I don’t know. Many people have come, but he hasn’t. He already has a bad reputation. He was probably just playing around. If he doesn’t come, then forget about him, Sister.”
It was the first time he called her “Sister.” He looked up to see her big eyes brimming with tears.
She lowered her gaze, tears falling onto the notebook as she wrote word by word, with utmost seriousness. The tears blurred the writing, but he could make out what she wrote —
[He’s not like that]
Meng Ting got out of bed and put on her shoes.
It was the height of summer, with the sun hanging high outside.
She was still wearing the blue and white striped hospital gown.
The young girl’s skin was very fair, her lips tinged with a faint pink. Her waist was slender, and the arms exposed by the gown looked delicate and fragile.
Her sudden action startled Shu Yang. “What are you doing?”
She lowered her eyes, her fair feet visible as she put on her shoes. Her voice was hoarse: “I’m going to find him.”
She always felt that it wasn’t just a dream, nor was it a hallucination born from her desperation.
If it wasn’t him, then what was that cold yet tight embrace, the scalding tear that fell on her cheek?
But if it was him.
Why did everyone say it was the firefighters who arrived in time and carried her unconscious body out?