With a smile on his face, Xia Chuhe endured the excruciating pain and transferred the cigarette ash from his palm into the room.
The bed was covered with flammable materials that Xia Chuhe had prepared—tissues, unused book pages, clothes stained with alcohol, and quilts.
She placed the cigarette ash on a tissue and gently covered it.
Xia Chuhe wiped his burned palms with his alcohol-soaked clothes, then wrung out the clothes and dripped the remaining alcohol onto Mingxiang's sweater.
The crackling sound of static electricity as he took off his sweater brought a joyful smile to Xia Chuhe's face once again.
Unfortunately, the alcohol concentration was too low, and the static electricity did not ignite the liquor immediately.
Xia Chuhe diligently rubbed the sweater to generate static electricity and heat through friction.
However, the amount of liquor was too small and the ethanol content was too low, so the sweater did not burn.
Fortunately, the tissue covering the cigarette ash slowly turned black...
Even the quilt under the tissues had blackened marks from being smoked.
Xia Chuhe carefully covered the book pages with the tissue. As the black mark expanded, a small flame appeared on the book pages.
A flame is often a symbol of hope.
However, sometimes it can also bring disaster.
But isn't it a joyful thing to suffer the misfortune of one's enemy?
In particular, this calamity was brought upon his enemy by his own hands.
Xia Chuhe hung the clothes above the flames, and in a moment, the flames deftly leaped from the paper onto the clothes.
Xia Chuhe let go, and the clothes naturally fell onto the quilt.
The show is about to begin.
Xia Chuhe stepped back and watched the flames burn quietly.
It must be said, fire... is truly a magical thing. As long as it has flowing air and enough combustible material, it will never go out.
The flames gradually consumed the quilt, and the temperature in the room rose, even the corners without fire began to burn.
The door was suddenly turned open, and Xiao Ai stood by the door.
However, she arrived too late.
When a flame burns indoors, it can cause a phenomenon called flashover.
When a fire breaks out, a deflagration can occur when the concentration of combustible gases and unburned gases in the room reaches a certain level. Other combustible materials may also ignite even if they are not in contact with the flame.
"boom--"
The sofa in the living room and the storage cabinet in the kitchen spontaneously combusted without a flame.
The fire extinguishers outside the door were not enough to stop the fire.
After analyzing the situation, Xiao Ai immediately made the judgment of minimizing casualties.
She opened the door and said, "Please leave immediately through the emergency exit."
Then Xiao Ai plunged into the bathroom to rescue Mingxiang, who was still happily taking a bath.
With Xiao Ai's abilities, even if the fire gets bigger, she can still carry Ming Xiang down from the outside of the wall.
Xia Chuhe didn't linger and immediately left down the stairs.
She wasn't the only one who left down the stairs.
The flames were particularly bright at night. The sight of apartment 901 on fire was seen by other residents in the community. Someone had already called the police, and the residents upstairs and downstairs, worried that the fire would spread, quickly escaped.
A group of people stood downstairs watching the commotion.
Xia Chuhe mingled among the crowd.
She approached a kind-looking young woman and politely asked, "Hello, could you please call the police for me? The owner of apartment 901 in building 12 has kidnapped a woman."
The young woman called the police with some skepticism.
Those around Xia Chuhe began to whisper among themselves upon hearing his words.
"Really? If that's true, then they deserved the fire, it's karma!"
"No way, I've met the guy from 901, he seems like a very honest person."
"Who is this girl? Could she be...?"
The topic gradually veered towards Xia Chuhe, and the furtive glances became increasingly obvious.
Xia Chuhe remained calm, pretending not to hear.
Seeing that there was nothing juicy goings going on, the group started talking about the fire again.
Firefighters were the first to arrive at the community.
As the firefighters rushed upstairs, Xiao Ai was carrying the naked Mingxiang downstairs.
The fire spread quickly, and Mingxiang didn't have time to put on clothes. He only grabbed a jacket and tied it around his waist to cover himself up.
In late autumn weather, a coat is hardly enough to keep out the cold wind, and more importantly, being naked is too embarrassing.
Those discussing the fire immediately turned their attention to Mingxiang.
"Is that him? The kidnapper?"
"What a disgrace! He seemed like a perfectly good young man, yet he did something like this!"
"..."
Mingxiang didn't know exactly what had happened, but the whispers and disapproving looks from those around him stung his pride.
Mingxiang wished he could shrink into a crack in the ground. He lowered his voice and fiercely ordered Xiao Ai, "Take off your clothes and give them to me!"
Xiao Ai was only wearing long pants and a short-sleeved shirt. Without hesitation, she grabbed the hem of her shirt and tried to take it off and give it to Ming Xiang.
Xia Chuhe emerged from the crowd, walked behind Xiao Ai, and pressed her hand down: "Wear it properly, to protect... everyone's eyes."
Xiao Ai tilted her head in confusion.
Xia Chuhe sarcastically remarked, "Some people can see naked men, but they can't stand seeing naked women."
Xiao Ai didn't quite understand Xia Chuhe's meaning, but "protecting everyone's eyes" and "protecting Mingxiang's dignity" meant that more people would win against one.
Mingxiang was used to ordering Xiao Ai around, and he couldn't tolerate her disobedience.
Just as he was about to lose his temper, the police arrived.
Assisting in rescue and evacuation...
The firefighting operation proceeded smoothly, and Mingxiang was also given a blanket and politely invited into the police car.
Soon, another police car arrived.
This time, I'm here to handle a kidnapping case.
Xia Chuhe pulled Xiao Ai to the police car: "I called the police. I was kidnapped by Ming Xiang, the resident of 901, and held captive by him for almost a week. This robot recorded everything. Please be sure to preserve it as evidence."
The policewoman next to the police car stared at Xia Chuhe and suddenly asked, "Are you Chen Wushuang?"
The unfamiliar name made Xia Chuhe pause for a moment before realizing, "Yes, it's me."
"Your family has reported you missing... We'll notify your family after we finish taking your statement." The policewoman asked gently, "Are you alright?"
"No, that robot protected me."
Once the police were seen, most of the matter was over.
After Xia Chuhe finished giving his statement, he waited quietly for Chen Wushuang's family to come and pick him up.
The people who came to pick them up were Chen Wushuang's sister and father.
As Mingxiang had predicted, Chen Wushuang came from a well-off family, and Chen's father decided to hire the best lawyer to ensure that Mingxiang would receive the maximum sentence.
After the police retrieved the video footage, they used the robot Xiao Ai as Ming Xiang's personal property to compensate Chen Wushuang, who suffered "severe emotional distress."
Xiao Ai's ownership has changed from Ming Xiang to "Chen Wushuang," and she will no longer be subject to Ming Xiang's control and manipulation.
As for the fire, it was just an accidental fire caused by a bit of soot, and had nothing to do with "Chen Wushuang".
Protect Chen Wushuang, protect Xiao Ai.
Xia Chuhe did it.
After Xiao Ai was sent to the Chen family, she said something to Xia Chuhe.
She said, "You're not her, so who are you?"
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