"You should light the candles before eating the cake, no, you should turn off the lights first."

Li Huiran pressed the light switch with a "snap," and the whole room was instantly plunged into darkness.

But soon, a glimmer of light appeared in the darkness.

Lin Simiao carefully moved the lighter to the edge of the cake.

He specially paid extra to exchange for number candles, which were glittering gold, with a "1" and an "8" standing together, representing the best years of a young person's life.

The candles were lit, and the orange flames illuminated the faces of everyone present.

"Xiao Zhen, it's your turn to make a wish. Teacher Lin, Gong Yao, let's sing the birthday song together."

"Ahem, happy birthday to you~ happy birthday~"

Li Huiran started, and Gong Yao and Lin Simiao quickly joined in as well.

For a moment, a slightly off-key version of Happy Birthday echoed throughout the small house.

Strangely enough, upon closer reflection, Lin Zhenzhen couldn't recall how she celebrated her 18th birthday.

At worst, it's just about rushing to announcements, filming, studying, then rushing to announcements and filming again. Perhaps it's because it's all so ordinary that it doesn't leave me with any special memories.

But now, the night outside the window is dark, and the candlelight inside is dim.

The view inside the house was reflected in the glass window.

The girl had her eyes closed, her chin slightly drooping, and a smile on her lips.

The cake placed in front of me was small and exquisite, with the candles on it flickering like dancing fairies.

She was surrounded by her family and friends, who looked at her with smiles and love.

Lin Zhenzhen suddenly became a little greedy.

She couldn't control how long she stayed there, so she could only silently wish that these happy days could last a little longer.

Li Huiran suddenly twitched her nose.

"Can you smell smoke?"

"It looks like something is burnt."

Lin Simiao suddenly stood up and rushed to the window: "There...it's on fire!"

-

Flames roared skyward.

Half the sky was stained blood-red, and thick smoke billowed out through the cracks in the tightly closed doors and windows.

It was as if countless twisted, terrifying black shadows were desperately trying to break free of their cage.

School staff who rushed over stopped Lin Zhenzhen from rushing into the fire.

"Go, go, go! It's dangerous here, don't cause trouble!"

Li Huiran stepped forward and shouted, "We're not causing trouble, we're here to rescue people!"

The staff member's expression changed: "You saw someone inside?"

The fire started in the girls' dormitory of Class 3, Grade 12. The homeroom teacher has just confirmed that no one was absent from evening self-study today.

The English teacher rushed over at that moment: "One of our students is missing!"

The school administration was completely thrown into a panic, and the scene descended into chaos.

The staff were busy coordinating order at the scene and organizing rescue efforts. When they turned around, they saw the two people still standing there.

“You can’t help by standing here, so go back.”

“My dad is still inside.”

"What?"

Lin Zhenzhen's face was as pale as paper.

"My dad just rushed in to save people."

Someone recognized her as the top student in her senior year and exclaimed in surprise, "You mean Ms. Lin is inside?"

"Yes. Ten minutes ago, the fire wasn't this big."

Lin Zhenzhen looked up, her voice trembling slightly: "Gong Yao from Class 2 of Senior Three also went in with him."

-

It will take time for firefighters to arrive at the scene, and until then, the school can only try its best to carry out self-rescue work.

However, the fire was too big, and the fire started on the third floor. The fire had already spread to the first-floor stairwell, so they could not get close to the source of the fire. They could only stand on the makeshift wooden boxes and carry water up the stairs in a relay.

Lin Zhenzhen also joined in.

Li Huiran was initially helping, but she ran out of energy after only a couple of rounds.

Most importantly, because of the close proximity, there will be an intense burning sensation on the face. Even without rushing into the fire, it is very easy to get burned.

"Xiao Zhen, do you want to get down and rest for a while?"

Lin Zhenzhen shook her head slightly: "I'm fine."

"Your lips are all white, how could you be alright?! Don't be stubborn, come down quickly."

The buckets that were initially filled with water, after accounting for the losses during transportation, were reduced to only three-quarters full by the time they reached the top.

Even so, Lin Zhenzhen still found it very difficult to carry.

She took the bucket of water from the person in front of her, her voice loud and clear, without the slightest hesitation: "No."

"Why are you so stubborn!" Li Huiran stamped her foot anxiously from below. "Does she really think she's invincible?"

omnipotent?

No.

Lin Zhenzhen hadn't felt this helpless in a long time.

Indeed, without the system's cheat-like advantages, she was just an ordinary person. Faced with the ever-spreading fire, she was as insignificant as a grain of sand.

However, even if her strength is weak and her efforts are of little use, she must stay.

Because she had a reason to fight to the very end.

Suddenly, someone in the crowd shouted, "Hey, look over there, isn't that Gong Yao? The girl he's carrying on his back is that right?"

Lin Zhenzhen suddenly raised her head.

The rising heat overlapped and coalesced into a blurry shadow. A vague black figure emerged from the orange-red sky.

Lin Zhenzhen's eyes instantly welled up with tears.

"It's him."

Everyone hurriedly and scrambled forward to greet them.

To everyone's surprise, after handing the girl over to the nearest teacher, Gong Yao turned around without hesitation and rushed back into the fire.