Actually, the place where the two parted ways was still some distance from Li Huanhuan's home. Because it was very late, the buses had stopped running, so the two had no choice but to take a taxi.
The taxi quickly arrived at Li Huanhuan's apartment complex. Leng Yue had originally planned to take the taxi to another location, but Li Huanhuan invited her to stay the night, saying she was scared. Leng Yue didn't refuse and agreed.
Leng Yue checked the time; it was already 10:30. Perhaps it was because the neighborhood was relatively old, or perhaps everyone was already asleep, but in any case, the neighborhood was very quiet now.
There was no elevator, so Leng Yue and Li Huanhuan climbed the stairs one floor at a time.
"Which floor do you live on?" Leng Yue asked, holding her phone as she looked ahead.
"Sixth floor." Li Huanhuan climbed up with great effort, and answered Leng Yue's question casually.
"Sixth floor? That should be the top floor, right?" Leng Yue glanced around; they had only climbed two floors.
"No, it's the seventh floor, but the top floor is probably deserted. People here who have a little money have bought houses elsewhere because they think this place is too old. Especially the seventh floor, it's probably practically empty now."
Li Huanhuan didn't actually live here all along; they only moved here a few years ago. She only found out about this by overhearing the old ladies downstairs chatting.
"Is there hardly anyone here?" Leng Yue asked again.
“Yes, so the housing prices in this neighborhood are relatively cheaper. My mom bought this house here because it was cheap and in a good school district. Also, it's relatively close to her workplace, so we haven't moved here yet,” Li Huanhuan explained. “We used to live in the suburbs, and we moved here later.”
"What time does your mother get off work? Will it be inconvenient for me to suddenly stay at your house?" Because she felt it was quiet, Leng Yue chatted with Li Huanhuan.
"It's okay, my mom is a very nice person, she should be home waiting for me now." Li Huanhuan smiled.
The two chatted and laughed as they quickly arrived at the sixth floor.
The hallway was quiet, not even a cat meowed. Because of years of disrepair, the corridor lights weren't very bright. The dim lighting made it feel like watching an old movie from the 1950s or 60s.
"Is it always this quiet here?" Leng Yue is a night owl and this is the first time she has seen a neighborhood like this. It seems like there is no nightlife at all.
"Yeah, more or less. Most of the people here are elderly, so it's always been pretty quiet." Li Huanhuan said, as if it were nothing out of the ordinary.
Reaching the door, Li Huanhuan took out her keys. As she opened the door, she said curiously, "Huh, isn't Mom back yet? Why aren't any lights on?"
As Li Huanhuan spoke, she prepared to turn on the light. Leng Yue, however, sensed something was wrong and pulled her out.
"What's wrong?" Li Huanhuan asked, puzzled.
"You don't smell, but you do?" Leng Yue said, gently opening the door and sniffing again. "Oh no, there's a gas leak!"
Then Leng Yue shouted, "Don't move!" She then covered her mouth and nose and rushed in, quickly opened the doors and windows for ventilation, turned off the gas cylinder, and then searched everywhere for Li Huanhuan's mother and grandmother.
Finally, Leng Yue found Li Huanhuan's mother and grandmother in the bathroom. Carrying one of them in each hand, Leng Yue quickly led them outside.
Seeing her mother and grandmother both unconscious, Li Huanhuan was so frightened she almost cried, "Mom! Grandma! What happened to you?"
"Quick, call 120." Leng Yue told Li Huanhuan to call an ambulance while moving the two of them to a well-ventilated area.
Upon hearing Leng Yue's words, Li Huanhuan quickly took out her phone, but her hands were trembling uncontrollably. Crying, Li Huanhuan pounded her hands, pleading, "Don't shake, don't shake, I beg you, please don't shake!"
However, the more anxious Li Huanhuan became, the more her hands trembled. She swiped back and forth several times, but couldn't even type out the number.
At that moment, Leng Yue, who was loosening the collars of the two women and performing basic first aid, saw Li Huanhuan like this. Ignoring everything else and the risk of exposure, she immediately contacted her organization, "Requesting backup. Two patients suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning on the sixth floor of Xinyue Residential Complex."
After hanging up the phone, Leng Yue said to Li Huanhuan, "Don't worry, your mother and grandmother are breathing and their heartbeats are normal."
Continue performing first aid on the two individuals. First, raise their right arms and place them to the side of their heads, place their left hands on their right shoulders, bend their left legs, and then turn them into a right lateral decubitus position.
After doing all that, Leng Yue knew it wasn't enough, but she was still worried about leaving Li Huanhuan alone. So she asked Li Huanhuan to knock on the door and ask a neighbor to help keep watch while she went back to get ice and towels to apply to their heads.
After thinking for a moment, Leng Yue went back to get a blanket and covered the two of them to prevent them from catching a cold.
"Huanhuan, your mother and grandmother have suffered carbon monoxide poisoning? We need to get them to the hospital right away!" The neighbor who came out was an old man. He had been trying to speak while Leng Yue was busy, but he had been ignored.
Seeing that Leng Yue had stopped, he quickly came over and said.
Leng Yue smiled and said, "Sir, the call has already been made. These are simple first aid measures."
Li Huanhuan stayed by her mother and grandmother's side, not speaking or looking at them, but occasionally touching their hands.
Leng Yue knew she was frightened, so she didn't stop her. Instead, she started talking to the old man.
The old man nodded and asked Leng Yue, "Are you Huanhuan's friend? I've never seen you before."
"This is my first time here," Leng Yue thought for a moment, "Thank you for your help just now."
"No, no, I didn't do anything when I came out. But you, you were so organized. Kids these days are really something." The old man waved his hand and looked downstairs. "Why hasn't the ambulance arrived yet? Should we urge them again? Did they go to the wrong place?"
Leng Yue had already received the notification and dared to reply, "No need, no need, it should be soon." Sure enough, as soon as Leng Yue finished speaking, the sound of an ambulance wailed downstairs.
Leng Yue looked at the old man and smiled, "Look, we've arrived."
The organization acted quickly; in fact, it only took five minutes to get downstairs. But because we were in a hurry, it felt like a long time, and the people we were waiting for were taking forever to arrive.
A minute later, people came upstairs carrying a stretcher. After confirming who it was, Leng Yue took Li Huanhuan and left. Before leaving, she greeted the old man, "Sir, thank you for your trouble, we're going to the hospital now."
"Alright, alright, go ahead." After watching them go downstairs, the old man turned and went back to his room.
They got into the ambulance and stayed there until the doctor arrived, where he put them on IV fluids and oxygen. He told them, "The patient's vital signs are good, please don't worry."
Li Huanhuan covered her mouth and burst into silent sobs. Leng Yue hugged Li Huanhuan and patted her, "It's alright, it's alright, it's alright."
Li Huanhuan shook her head desperately, sobbing uncontrollably. But because she didn't want to disturb others, she remained silent throughout.
Leng Yue waited until she had cried enough before handing her a tissue and saying softly, "Grandma and Mom are counting on you now, you have to be strong."
Originally, Leng Yue thought she could protect these people. Now, she realizes that there are always exceptions; even tigers sometimes doze off. None of them can be completely foolproof!
At times like this, Leng Yue could only hope that Li Huanhuan was strong, brave, and preferably powerful enough. This was reality—a situation she could neither help nor resist.
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