The two of them turned their heads at the same time when they heard the sound. Nobody knew when Han Qing had arrived. He was wearing his suit for the wedding later that day, but his cuffs and collar were creased since he had run over in a haste. His forehead was also slightly perspiring; although he was breathing heavily, he still suppressed his breathing.
“Han Qing, Yan might still be in there. There’s a fire inside.” Looking at Han Qing, Luo Huimei burst into tears.
Gasping for air, Han Qing answered, “I know. Madam, Sir, please move to the side. I’ll see if I can barge through the door.”
“Alright, alright.” Luo Huimei quickly moved aside, and so did Mr. Zhou.
Since the door lock had been broken, the door could not be opened at all. At this point in time, Han Qing could not get his hands on any tools to smash the door lock either. Under such emergency circumstances, he could only barge through the door. Han Qing was young, and he also worked out on a regular basis. Thus, he was rather strong. The door managed to open after he had slammed himself against it several times, but it had also caused a huge commotion.
Every time he banged into the door, Luo Huimei felt like Han Qing’s flesh and bone were in pain. Nonetheless, Han Qing had a sullen look on his face, pursing his lips while slamming into the door with all his might.
Bang! The moment the door opened, a suffocating smell drifted out; there were even flames creeping out from the door. Luo Huimei wanted to run inside at that instant, but Mr. Zhou had managed to grab a hold of her. “The fire is too big; you can’t go in like this.”
Infuriated, Luo Huimei rebuked, “Are you dicing with death, you old man? Why are you even thinking about this right now? Your daughter is inside.”
Luo Huimei had completely lost her rationality, but Mr. Zhou had not. At this moment, Han Muzi had also rushed over. Seeing the raging fire, she was astounded. “Madam, the fire is too big. Even if you go in there, you can’t rescue Yan,” she swiftly added.
“Then, what should we do…” The moment she finished talking, the trio looked ahead and realized that Han Qing was no longer at the entrance.
“Han Qing!” Shocked, Han Muzi subconsciously walked forward.
Mr. Zhou quickly grabbed a hold of her. “You can’t go in. The fire is too big.”
Han Muzi could only feel her heart beating so rapidly that it was on the verge of leaping out of her chest. Out of nervousness, she bit her lower lip. “When is help going to arrive?”
“I’ve called the fire department earlier, but they also need time to rush over. I’m not sure how long they’re going to take,” murmured Luo Huimei while wiping away her tears.
Remembering that Yan and her family were all inside, Han Muzi felt light-headed all of a sudden and had nearly lost her balance. This fire was so big; how could one possibly come out after going in? Her vision went blurry, but just when she felt like she was about to collapse, a pair of strong arms held onto her.
When Han Muzi smelled the familiar scent, she lifted her head and realized that the person holding her was Ye Moxuan; she had no idea when he arrived. Little Bean was also standing beside him, and there was worry and anxiety written all over his face. When she saw Ye Moxuan, her fingers grabbed into his collars tightly, seemingly as though she was holding on for her dear life. She wanted to say something, but she choked and her tears began falling.
Ye Moxuan pursed his thin lips when she saw her being in this state. His pitch-black eyes had turned dull. Then, he lifted his gaze and saw the raging fire inside the room. The fire had become so big that they could not see the people inside. They would surely be burned if they went into the room at this moment. However, the people she cared for were all inside.
Ye Moxuan let go of Han Muzi at the thought of this and said to Little Bean, “Take good care of your mother.”
Hearing this, Han Muzi knew what Ye Moxuan was about to do. She immediately hugged his arm in an unwavering manner and said, “No. I won’t allow you to go in there.”
Han Qing had already gone in there. The fire was so big, but she did not dare to overthink things. Nevertheless, she could not let three of the most significant people in her life go through the peril at the same time.
“Good girl.” Ye Moxuan gently caressed the back of her head before lowering his head to give her a soft kiss on the forehead. “Your husband managed to survive when he drowned in the sea. It’s just a blaze now, and it can’t stop me. What is there to be afraid of?”
“No, no way. I will not allow it no matter how you’re going to convince me.” Han Muzi shook her head and bit her lower lip. Seeing the raging fire inside, she made a decision. “From now onward, nobody is allowed to enter the room until the fire department is here.” Although she was very worried about the situation inside, she could not be selfish and let other people face the risk.
With such a raging fire, bravely charging into the room did not mean they could do anything about it; it would only put one more person in harm’s way. She did not want to see Yan being stuck in there, but she also did not manage to stop Han Qing from going in there as well. So, the only thing she could do right now was to wait for them to come out and anticipate the fire department’s arrival.
Ye Moxuan stared at her with pain in his eyes. “Why do you want to torture yourself like this? You’re clearly worried about them too.”
Han Muzi then bit her lower lip. “I cannot let you guys take the risk; just think of it as me being selfish.”
…
After Han Qing had stormed into the fire, the flames that greeted him roasted the moisture on his skin dry. The flames swiftly climbed up the curtains, and the items in the hotel were being burned by the fire until they started making crackling noises. Slowly, these scenes started to change. There were deafening sounds of shouting and screaming for help amidst the blaze. One by one, the items around them started disintegrating. The strong smell was so suffocating that it made people shed tears.
Standing in the middle of the blaze, Han Qing seemed like he had traveled back to the inferno when he was little. He was still little at that time, but he had witnessed his loved one die right in front of his eyes just to rescue him. That year, there was a power outage in their home, so his mother lit a candle and asked Han Qing to sit down obediently, not wanting him to run around and move about carelessly.
It was his birthday that day, so young Han Qing was causing a scene. He wanted to eat a sweet cake. However, the power outage occurred just when his mother was about to leave the house. Han Qing’s mother was Madam Han back then, and she was worried about letting him stay at home. However, since Han Qing’s father was resting in his room, she let her guard down. She let Han Qing stay there by himself and asked him to look for his father if he was bored. Then, Madam Han left the house to buy a cake.
Young Han Qing obediently sat in front of the candle; his eyes were filled with excitement for the cake. Like other kids, he liked the sweet taste of cakes, especially the ones with soft, smooth, and sweet icing all over it. Similarly, he was very excited about that. The most important thing was that it was his birthday today—he turned five years old. So, he could stick five candles on his cake. He also wanted to make three wishes before blowing out the candles this year. His first wish was that he hoped he could grow up faster. This way, he did not have to wait for his birthday before he could eat a cake.
His second wish was that he hoped his grandfather would accept his father soon. If not, his father looked so unhappy the entire day because his mother had to go through hardships with his father. However, his father did not want his mother to endure any hardships with him. His grandfather was rich and treated him extremely well. However, Han Qing’s grandfather despised his father, so he hoped that things would turn around for the better.
His third wish was that he hoped his parents could lead a healthy life. That way, they would be able to celebrate every birthday together. However, he never expected that he would lose his father forever on his birthday.
