Back then, after obtaining Zuo Ying’s consent, Mo Qingyan purchased an apartment near Zuo Yang’s school.
Here, he tutored his little one on homework, prepared three meals daily, and listened to her cheerful laughter.
Her vibrant energy allowed him to experience the warmth of ordinary life he had never known before.
From then on, Mo Qingyan rarely stayed at Mo Yuan, considering this small yet incredibly cozy apartment his home.
Since being diagnosed with an incurable illness, Mo Qingyan had been sleeping lightly or suffering from complete insomnia.
But surprisingly, with Zuo Yang by his side and sleeping in this apartment filled with her scent, he could always fall into deep sleep effortlessly, sleeping soundly until morning without waking once.
When Zuo Yang went on her graduation trip, Mo Qingyan still didn’t return to Mo Yuan, continuing to stay in this apartment permeated with the girl’s milky sweet fragrance.
After ending the call with Zuo Yang, Mo Qingyan handled some work matters before going to rest.
Breathing in the girl’s scent, Mo Qingyan quickly fell asleep tonight as well.
In the apartment, only Mo Qingyan remained.
Typically, Yu Ning only appeared when there were matters to attend to.
Otherwise, without Mo Qingyan’s instructions, Yu Ning wouldn’t come.
The area around the school at one in the morning should have been completely silent.
But now, the streets were crowded with people.
All because a warehouse storing fireworks and firecrackers had caught fire.
No one knew when it might explode—even the warehouse owner didn’t dare act rashly, let alone anyone else.
Since it was late at night, everyone had already gone to bed.
When the fire first started, no one noticed.
Later, as the flames grew brighter, it was someone awakened by the need to urinate who discovered it first.
That person hurriedly pulled up their pants, ignoring their bursting bladder, and rushed out of their home.
Afterward, the warehouse owner arrived, and more and more people were awakened.
But by then, the fire had already spread rapidly.
Most of the buildings in this school area were old, dilapidated houses that couldn’t withstand such a fierce blaze.
Coupled with the night wind, the fire quickly spread to surrounding buildings.
When Zuo Yang arrived, she saw the warehouse owner desperately pounding on the apartment door.
That was her and Mo Qingyan’s home!
The warehouse owner was shouting loudly: “Is anyone home! There’s a fire! Is anyone there!”
While calling Mo Qingyan, Zuo Yang rushed forward.
Before she could reach the apartment entrance, a tremendous explosion blew the warehouse apart.
The blast wave knocked down both the owner and Zuo Yang, who were closest.
Zuo Yang’s phone was thrown from her hand, its screen shattered.
The owner immediately shielded Zuo Yang with his body, but she still sustained injuries, though not too serious.
The owner was more severely injured, but fortunately not in critical condition.
“I’ve already called the fire department! They’ll be here soon!”
Gritting his teeth, the owner tried to pull Zuo Yang away, but how could she be willing?
Because the explosion had just plunged the apartment before them into a sea of flames, leaving the old building precarious.
“It’s too late! The most important person in my life is in that apartment! He has limited mobility—I have to save him!”
Breaking free from the owner’s grasp, Zuo Yang scrambled up and charged toward the apartment door.
Quickly unlocking the keypad, she rushed inside without regard for the devouring flames.
Inside the apartment at this moment…
When Mo Qingyan discovered the fire outside, he didn’t panic. He didn’t use the nearby crutches but remained seated in his wheelchair—this would be faster.
He had been sleeping too deeply. Under normal circumstances, he would have detected the fire the moment it started.
Just as he reached for his ringing phone, before he could touch it, a deafening explosion shook the building.
Mo Qingyan was struck by a suddenly collapsing bookshelf, with his neck taking the hardest hit. Darkness clouded his vision as he fell from the wheelchair onto the floor.
In his dazed state, he saw a petite figure rushing toward him.
“Mo Qingyan!”
Zuo Yang mustered all her strength trying to shift the bookshelf.
But the bookshelf was far too heavy.
The fire continued to spread rapidly.
Thick smoke filled their noses and mouths.
If this continued, both she and Mo Qingyan would perish.
Pinned beneath the heavy bookshelf, Mo Qingyan bit his tongue until it bled, trying to stay conscious. He attempted to exert force but found it impossible.
The blow to his neck had nearly shattered his awareness entirely.
“…Go, child, be good and leave quickly!”
“I will never abandon you!”
Zuo Yang once read a report about someone on the brink of death whose adrenaline surged wildly, leading to an incredible turn of events—the person survived, snatched back from death’s grasp by adrenaline.
In this moment, Zuo Yang seemed to experience that same miraculous sensation. Though usually weak, she now felt an inexhaustible strength coursing through her body!
The bookshelf she had failed to move multiple times was finally shifted aside.
Despite her hands being scraped raw, she remained remarkably calm, helping the nearly unconscious Mo Qingyan back into his wheelchair.
Then she swiftly pushed—or rather, pulled—Mo Qingyan toward the exit.
Because Zuo Yang was backing away while pulling Mo Qingyan, using her own body to shield him from the raging flames.
She felt no pain from her burning skin.
When a falling beam, severed by the fire, struck her head hard, Zuo Yang only staggered momentarily, aware of something wet flowing from her scalp.
She knew it was blood.
Yet she still felt no pain. Shaking off her dizziness fiercely, she continued rushing outward without pause.
She had only one thought: Save Mo Qingyan! She would never let anything happen to him! She must ensure his safety!
Years later, those who witnessed this scene would never forget it.
That petite girl, her body already swaying unsteadily, severely burned all over, face covered in blood—when she pushed the man in the wheelchair out of the inferno, her eyes shone with astonishing brightness! Radiating soul-stirring determination!
As if in that moment, nothing could defeat her!
At life’s most critical juncture, those who love you most will always charge toward you without regard for their own safety.
This is love.
Love can transcend everything, surpass all limits.
As if infected, moved, and awed by her actions, everyone else cast aside their fear of the devouring flames and rushed forward to take the man in the wheelchair.
At that moment, the girl seemed to know the man was safe. Suddenly, like a withered leaf, she collapsed completely.
Not long after, they learned the girl had died.
Severely burned, combined with the critical head injury, she ultimately couldn’t hold on and passed away.
That heart-wrenching scene was so deeply etched in their memories that even after so long, they still felt pained by the girl’s death, unable to forget it for the longest time.
They thought, since the girl had saved her beloved with her own life, she must have departed with a smile, without regrets.
But what about those left behind? What were they to do?
It meant being eternally separated from their loved one—a pain that could never be erased from their lifetime…
The ambulance and fire truck finally arrived, and the area was cordoned off with caution tape.
The injured were taken to the hospital by ambulance.
And the fire took a long time to be fully extinguished.
Later, the investigation results were announced—it was all an accident.
The warehouse owner had always prioritized safety, making it a habit to carefully inspect everything every night before bed.
For so many years, there had never been a single mistake.
But that very night, just as the owner finished checking and closed the roll-up door, a scrap collection cart happened to pass by.
The rider casually tossed away a finished cigarette butt, and at the exact moment the roll-up door closed, it landed inside the warehouse.
Thus, the fire was caused.
Everyone also heard that the man in the wheelchair came from a prominent family. After the death of his beloved girl, he intended to make the warehouse owner and the scrap cart owner pay with their lives.
It was the girl, in her final moments, who persuaded the man, which led him to spare the two.
During that period, Bei Cheng was constantly raining, as if even the heavens were weeping in sorrow over the girl’s death.