Zhou Shuhuan and his son Zhou Quanxiong were carrying tools to smash the burglar-proof net on the living room balcony. Ma Sufen was also helping, trying to pry open the net with a rolling pin.

This house was bought by Zhou Shuhuan for Ma Sufen and his wife for their retirement. The floor is not high, and for the sake of safety and theft prevention, sturdy anti-theft nets are installed on all the doors and windows.

As long as the security net is broken, the whole family can jump out of the building and escape.

At the same time, the fire alarm sounded from a distance.

Seeing that there was hope of escape, Qiao Ya no longer cared about Shen Baolan, and pulled her two children, one on each side, and ran to the living room.

Seeing Qiao Ya was about to run away, Shen Baolan hurriedly flicked the lighter in her hand.

Looking at the dancing flames, Zhou Fu, who was still standing there, was completely frightened.

He didn't expect that Shen Baolan would be serious and really want to set them on fire to death.

He wanted to run, but his feet seemed to be rooted and he couldn't move! He wanted to beg for mercy, to ask Shen Baolan to let him go, but he couldn't bring himself to do it, because he looked down on Shen Baolan, his biological mother, from the bottom of his heart, and even regarded her as a shame.

"None of you can escape! Die, all of you!!"

Along with Shen Baolan's hysterical roar, a wisp of light yellow flame spread to Zhou Fu's feet at lightning speed.

In a moment, he turned into a huge fireball.

“No, ah! Save me, I don’t want to die! I was wrong, Mom, I was wrong, ah ah ah——”

Sharp screams echoed throughout the corridor.

…

"…So far, the fire scene has been initially controlled, the fire in the entire residential building has been extinguished, and firefighters are carrying out intensive rescue operations…"

Watching the news reports on the TV screen, Shen Mingzhu felt a chill.

She always knew that Shen Baolan was crazy, but she didn't expect her to be this crazy.

Pei Yang came in from the balcony holding his phone, his expression heavy, "Shuhuan has been rescued, but the burns on his body are too large, and he is not out of danger yet. He is currently under observation in the ICU."

"What about the others?"

Pei Yang shook his head. "The fire was too big. The entire Zhou family was engulfed in flames. There was no way to save them."

In this man-made arson, except for Zhou Shuhuan, all seven people died, including Ma Sufen, Zhou Quanxiong, Qiao Ya, Zhou Fu, the two children born to Qiao Ya and Zhou Shuhuan, and Shen Baolan.

When pouring gasoline into Zhou's house, Shen Baolan herself was also covered in a lot of it. Once the fire started, she couldn't escape.

It is said that after the fire was put out, the firefighters who entered the fire scene were choked by the tragic scene and the smell of burnt corpses and vomited continuously.

Fortunately, other residents in the same building suffered no casualties, but the entire building became a dangerous building.

For ordinary families, it is an unexpected disaster.

Although Zhou Shuhuan managed to survive, his condition was not much better. His lower body was severely burned and had to be amputated. His face was also disfigured, and he had to lie in bed and be taken care of for the rest of his life.

Everyone who knew Shen Baolan and the Zhou family felt heavy and depressed by this tragedy.

But time will slowly smooth everything out.

…

"Mom, when will those reporters outside leave?"

Looking at the reporters squatting at the gate of the community, Pei Tang complained to Shen Mingzhu in frustration.

The story of Shen Baolan setting fire to her ex-husband's family caused a national sensation and made the small town of Shenjiagou famous. Reporters from various TV stations and newspapers flocked to the area, all wanting to dig up first-hand reports about Shen Baolan, the arsonist and murderer.

No one knew who leaked the news that Shen Mingzhu and Shen Baolan had been sworn enemies since childhood. Many media heard the news and surrounded her, wanting to interview her.

Shen Mingzhu hasn't been to the factory for several days and works from home every day through QQ online and telephone conferences.

In order to prevent her daughter from being harassed by the media, Shen Mingzhu also asked for leave for her daughter to study at home.

Pei Tang was quite happy during the first two days at home. He could sleep in every day and didn't have to do exercises or attend physical education classes.

But teenagers are at an age where they are lively and love to play, so how can they stay at home?

Pei Tang shook his head like a rattle, "I don't want to do that. I'm so small, I'll be eaten alive by them if I show up."

Shen Mingzhu touched her daughter's head without even looking up, "Not bad, you are very self-aware."

Seeing that she was busy, Pei Tang stopped pestering her and got up to go back to his room to play computer.

I logged into QQ, clicked on my brother's chat box, and typed: [Brother, when will you come back? It's so boring to be alone at home]

Unexpectedly received a reply, [soon]

[Are you not busy today? When will you be back? ]

Even after replying to all the messages from other friends on QQ, Pei Tang still did not receive a reply from his brother. He closed the QQ interface unhappily, clicked on the adventure online game newly developed and launched by Pei Ziheng's company, put on headphones, and immersed himself in the world of the game.

"Are you all made of wood? You didn't even know how to dodge the boss's skills. You are so stupid. Why are you playing games? Go home and eat walnuts to replenish your brain!"

Once again, the whole team was wiped out in the last level, and Pei Tang couldn't help but curse.

Halfway through the scolding, the headphones on his head were taken off.

This work is organized and uploaded by Liujiu Book Bar~~

She turned her head angrily and met her brother's deep and smiling eyes.

She immediately smiled with curved eyebrows, like a little wild cat retracting its sharp claws and teeth, revealing its cute and harmless side, "Brother, when did you come back?"

Glancing at the computer screen that was reloading the game, Pei Ziheng sneered, "Didn't you say you were bored at home alone? I see you're having a lot of fun."

"Wrong, you play games to relieve boredom, okay?"

Pei Ziheng was wearing a pure black shirt, a blue and white plaid tie, and slim-fit trousers of the same color as the shirt. It was obvious that he didn't even have time to change his clothes after returning.

His eyebrows and eyes were slightly tired, and his tall and straight body was lazily leaning on the desk. He lowered his eyes to look at the girl and asked softly: "Do you want to go out?"

Pei Tang was eager to get out, but soon he was worried again: "How can I get out? There are reporters all over the gate of the community. Last time they followed me to school, and they are like flies buzzing around."

Pei Ziheng rubbed her head lovingly, "Change your clothes, I have a solution."

"Um!"

In the kitchen, Shen Mingzhu was facing the ingredients in the refrigerator, planning to make something delicious for lunch to reward her son whom she hadn't seen for some time.

When she heard her son say he was going to take her daughter out, she was a little annoyed: "You're running out right after you got home, and you're not tired at all."

Pei Ziheng explained with a good-natured smile: "I have booked a nice restaurant. We will eat outside at noon, which will save you the trouble of cooking."

Shen Mingzhu glanced at her watch and said, "Forget it, you guys go ahead. I have a conference call at one o'clock."

"Mom, I'm grown up now and I have the ability to take care of you for the rest of your life. You don't have to work as hard as before."

Looking at her tall, handsome and warm-hearted son, Shen Mingzhu felt indescribably relieved and satisfied.

"No matter how busy I am, I will go home on time and eat on time. But you, I heard from Lin Fei that you had stomachache again a few days ago? Don't think you can ignore your body just because you are young. If you really damage your body, no amount of money can cure it."

Perhaps because of her age, Shen Mingzhu has become nagging, but Pei Ziheng does not feel impatient at all. Instead, he enjoys this kind of care and listens very carefully.

"There are reporters at the entrance of the community, so be careful when you go out."

"Um."

As the mother and son were talking, Pei Tang, who had changed his clothes, came running downstairs skipping.

The fifteen-year-old girl has grown into a graceful young lady, and the hem of her red pleated skirt dances as she walks, like a red rose blooming in the corner of the yard.

Knowing that Shen Mingzhu would not go out with them, Pei Tang pulled his brother and was about to leave, "Brother, let's go."

Pei Ziheng grabbed his sister's wrist with his backhand and said in a lazy voice: "Don't be impatient, wait a little longer."

"Waiting for what?"

As soon as I asked, I heard a rumbling sound coming from outside.

(End of this chapter)