Chapter 2
Yao Yingmo did not immediately inform Li Yicheng of his decision.
There is no reason to accept a cooperation invitation received in the morning before noon.
Li Yicheng usually spends more than this amount of time reviewing documents and conducting market assessments for copyright inquiries. Yao Yingmo often receives notifications two or three days later, and after Li Yicheng's careful screening, all the applications are naturally approved.
But this time...
Yao Yingmo was worried about Li Yicheng's enthusiasm. The other party would know about it the next second after she sent the message of consent.
She didn't want the other person to think she was impatient.
Putting the radio drama adaptation aside, Yao Yingmo opened the document he had been writing recently and prepared to code today's update.
After years of writing, she went from having no drafts to having full drafts, and now she's back to having no drafts. Fortunately, her outline is quite detailed, so she doesn't have to worry about not being able to write the code and interrupting the update. She just decides to update one, two or three chapters based on how she feels that day.
Even though he has been hailed as a top online novelist and his works have been collected in the millions, Yao Yingmo is still very productive, writing at least two books every year. The non-serial period is also used to polish the outline and modify the content of the physical publication.
After all, as Li Yicheng said, she is still raising an "older child".
I don’t know if her “older kids” are coming this weekend.
Yao Yingmo planned to call and ask after she finished typing. If he would be back, she would clean up the guest room and wash the bedding. However, she felt that the chances of him coming back were not high. After all, school had just started and there must be a lot to do. She was afraid that he would not have time to come back.
Yao Yingmo wrote down the phone call on a piece of note and officially started working.
Unfortunately, my sleep-deprived brain wasn't working fast enough, and the high-concentration black coffee wasn't helping much either. I typed on the computer for two hours, but my progress was less than one-third of what I'd expected.
Yao Yingmo sighed and decided to stand up and move around. Perhaps a cup of strong tea could help her mind clear up a little.
In order to refresh herself, she added a lot of tea leaves. The bitterness far outweighed the aroma. She didn't know whether it was the caffeine that refreshed her or the taste buds that were shocked by the bitterness.
Back in front of the computer, Yao Yingmo felt much better.
It’s impossible to write three chapters today, but there’s still hope for two.
Try harder.
A sharp and piercing alarm sounded, Yao Yingmo shuddered all over, and a line of garbled characters appeared on the computer screen.
"Help! Someone, save him!" "Run!" "Mom!"
Several different cries clamored in my head, louder than the alarm echoing through the stairwell.
Yao Yingmo bit her lower lip. The taste of rust in her mouth made her distinguish between illusion and reality, and also calmed her down.
She clicked save, grabbed her phone and ran to the door.
The door handle is not hot.
She opened the door a crack and smelled smoke.
Must escape.
Yao Yingmo followed the instructions in his mind, closed the door, and quickly went downstairs.
After walking half a floor, she suddenly felt something was wrong.
Didn’t her next-door neighbor come out?
There was a young boy living next door.
It seemed that there were only hoodies in his wardrobe, and he had to pull up his hat whenever he went out. He always wore a black mask on his face, with only his eyes exposed.
She had met him a few times, but still didn't know what he looked like.
Yao Yingmo suspected that this person was a socially anxious person like the "older child" in her family.
Besides that, this person's schedule was just as chaotic as hers.
He never had a fixed time to go out, but once he went out he would not come back until at least ten hours later. He rarely turned on the lights when he was at home, probably because he was catching up on his sleep.
The last time I heard the next door door enter was when I just woke up in the morning, and there was no movement after that.
Yao Yingmo had a very bad guess.
Could it be that this person is still asleep and didn't hear the alarm?
Do you want to shout?
"terribly sorry. "
The funeral music and the apologies from the hospital echoed in my mind at the same time.
Yao Yingmo gritted her teeth and continued walking down.
She won't repeat the same mistake.
"elder sister. "
After taking only two steps, another voice appeared in her mind. It was the voice of her "older child" calling her sister with full trust.
"Forget it, this is hereditary." Yao Yingmo laughed at himself.
She couldn't move downstairs, and she couldn't escape on her own. She quickly turned around and ran upstairs to knock on the door next door.
She knocked hard, practically hammering the door with her fists, and kept shouting, "Fire! Get out! Get out! Fire!"
People began to run downstairs one after another, most of them just glanced at Yao Yingmo, and a few neighbors urged her to escape.
"Miss Yao, please come downstairs quickly. The young man who lives here is often not at home."
The old man who was speaking lived on the floor above Yao Yingmo's. He went out for a walk every day and had never seen the light on in this room.
"I know he's home," Yao Yingmo said. "I'll wait a minute. If no one comes out, I'll go downstairs. Old man, please hurry downstairs first and be careful not to fall."
"Okay, you hurry downstairs too."
The door hadn't been opened yet, the alarm was still going off, and the smell of smoke was getting stronger.
Thankfully, she didn't see the thick black smoke rising. There was still time.
Yao Yingmo shouted even louder.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The sound of impact and the shrill alarm pierced my ears.
Shi Xuze woke up in shock.
He was suddenly woken up and his head was still a little dizzy. He could not quite understand what the person outside the house was shouting.
You have to go out and take a look.
He fell off the bed, and when he subconsciously looked for a fulcrum with his hands, he also overturned the small cabinet beside the bed.
The sounds outside could finally be heard clearly.
"Fire?"
The alarm had been ringing for who knows how long, but he didn't hear it at all.
Shi Xuze climbed up using both hands and stumbled out of the house.
What should you pay attention to during a fire?
By the way, touch the door handle first. If it’s hot, you can’t run away.
It won’t get hot.
That's right, the people outside were still shouting at him to run. There was still time to escape.
As he turned the door handle, he suddenly thought that the most terrifying thing about a fire is the thick smoke.
His voice was his livelihood, and he couldn't afford to choke on it.
So he withdrew his hand, took out a mask from the mask box by the door and put it on before he dared to open the door.
A woman with wavy hair stood outside the door, looking impatient.
She looks so fierce.
Yao Yingmo shouted for several minutes before finally calling the person out.
I clearly heard the sound of the doorknob turning, but I had to wait for another half a minute before someone came.
The person in front of me was wearing pajamas, but the mask was already welded to his face.
It turns out that this person ran to the door and didn't come out, just to wear a mask?
Is this what they call a level 10 social anxiety disorder? His life is not as important as this mask?
Yao Yingmo complained in his heart that the black mask might have saved his neighbor's life, but he didn't waste time cursing because the smell of smoke had begun to choke his nose.
If she doesn't run away, she will lose her life here for saving this guy.
The boy was obviously still in a daze, so Yao Yingmo grabbed his wrist and half-pulled, half-dragged him downstairs.
"Stop being in a daze and run for your life."
He staggered a few steps before catching up with Yao Yingmo.
White hands, red nail polish, unquestionable strength and tone. Shi Xuze's mind was completely unable to function, and he could only let the woman in front of him pull him away.
After finally escaping from the building, Yao Yingmo let go of him and began to breathe.
Her heart was beating so fast that she took several deep breaths before she could finally calm down. After she relaxed, she realized that her legs were a little weak.
I haven't exercised for too long.
The fire brigade that had just arrived rushed in to put out the fire.
Yao Yingmo looked up and saw thick black smoke coming out of a building. It looked like the fire was quite big.
The young child cried for his mother, and the woman holding him had tears in her eyes. Both were covered in black and gray dirt, looking utterly awful. It seemed their home was burning.
Yao Yingmo lowered his eyes and looked away, and saw his neighbor staring at his wrist in a daze, with no reaction to the noise around him.
He seemed to be frightened.
Saving a life but not receiving any thanks was something that was worth getting angry about, but when Yao Yingmo saw him standing there in a daze, he couldn't feel angry at all.
This person always reminded her of her own "older child," who was more afraid of crowds than alarms. Yao Yingmo couldn't forget the first time she saw that child in the hospital: his skinny little body, shivering, clutching his coat, his eyes blank. That image led her to make the most impulsive decision of her life, one she won't regret: she had a younger brother.
Her neighbor has the same temperament. For him, the mask that seems to be glued to his face may be a necessary protective shield.
Yao Yingmo didn't know whether it was the sudden fire that made him withdraw into himself, or the lively atmosphere of the elders and children in the entire building gathered together.
She kept quiet with good intentions, but she couldn't resist the fact that most of the people who were not working in broad daylight were enthusiastic elders. They would come over to greet her without anyone approaching to say hello, and she couldn't avoid them.
"Xiao Yao, are you scared?" It was Aunt Liu who lived downstairs from Yao Yingmo.
The neighbor silently took a step back and stood behind Yao Yingmo. Yao Yingmo raised an eyebrow, becoming more and more certain that his guess was correct.
She stood in front of him helplessly, pretending not to know how funny it was to have someone who was more than ten centimeters taller than her behind her, and greeted Aunt Liu calmly.
"Why are you so slow? I've been downstairs for two or three minutes and haven't seen you. I was almost scared to death." Aunt Liu kept looking behind Yao Yingmo, observing him in a way she thought was inconspicuous. "There are only two young people living on your floor, and they both like to sleep in broad daylight. I thought you were asleep and didn't hear the alarm."
"I heard the alarm, but I was too slow," Yao Yingmo said. "Thank you for your concern."
"I saw you dragging the person downstairs. You are a good boy." Aunt Liu patted Yao Yingmo's shoulder and sighed with relief.
Yao Yingmo understood immediately. No wonder Aunt Liu kept staring at her neighbor. She wondered if Aunt Liu's eager, inquiring gaze would make him feel helpless and ashamed.
Yao Yingmo moved his feet to slightly block Aunt Liu's gaze. "I can't just run away like this. If anything happens, I'll regret it for the rest of my life."
"Don't be so modest. There aren't many good kids like you who are so kind-hearted." Aunt Liu changed the subject and said, "There's only one bad thing about you."
Aunt Liu once again looked over Yao Yingmo's head and said, "You two are the same. Young people should go out more often to get some sunshine. Don't sleep in the daytime. Staying indoors all the time will make you moldy, and it's not good for your health."
Yao Yingmo smiled awkwardly. She knew her work style was difficult for her elders to understand, so she didn't explain much. She just said politely but perfunctorily, "I will."
"That's good." Aunt Liu nodded with satisfaction and went to chat with the next person.
Yao Yingmo vaguely heard a long exhale behind him, like a sigh of finally letting out the air after being nervous for a long time.
The fire raged for a while, and Yao Yingmo knew she wouldn't be able to finish the update she'd planned for today. She was mentally mulling over the Weibo post she'd be posting later, not noticing her neighbor's gaze had shifted from his wrist to the back of her head.
"The fire has been completely extinguished. No casualties have been reported. All residents except those affected are welcome to return home. Inspections have been conducted and there are no safety concerns."
"We would also like to remind all residents to pay attention to fire safety. Never leave the scene when a fire is raging, do not place flammable objects near sockets, and always pay attention to the sockets to prevent dust accumulation."
"Thank you all residents for your cooperation."
Everyone dispersed.
Yao Yingmo waited until all the elders had entered before walking inside, and did not forget to bring his neighbors with him when he left.
"Let's go, we can go back now."
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