Chapter 9

Fire stations often receive expressions of gratitude from the public, but they usually politely decline them as a matter of protocol.

So when Tang Weiyi said, “That sleepwalking kid you rescued last time—he came specially to thank you in person,”

Qin Lie didn’t even look up. “Message received.”

He thought the visitors had already been diplomatically turned away by Tang Weiyi. After all, that had always been their way of handling things over the years.

But Tang Weiyi continued, “This time is different. The kid insisted on thanking you face to face! He’s already here—in the reception room!”

Qin Lie finally looked up, his brows furrowed, clearly disapproving of the decision.

Tang Weiyi added, “It’s a 4-year-old kid, came all this way with a banner just to thank you. He’s the future flower of our great nation—we can’t be cold-hearted. Besides, you’re not busy right now anyway…”

His voice trailed off.

Though they were colleagues—and Tang Weiyi was technically the supervisor—when Qin Lie got serious, his expression alone was enough to make anyone nervous.

Qin Lie shot him a cool glance, his eyes clearly saying: This better be the last time.

Then he stood up and walked out of the office.

—

In the reception room, little Shi Yan was surrounded by a group of firefighters.

Their lives were usually dull—training, eating, sleeping, and going on missions. So when a cute kid suddenly showed up at the station, it was a refreshing change of pace.

Since they weren’t in training at the moment, everyone had gathered around.

Despite the attention, Shi Yan wasn’t the least bit nervous. He spoke clearly and confidently as he asked them questions:
“What’s the name of the firefighter who rescued me last time?”
“I came specially to thank him, and I even brought a gift. Will he come see me?”

The firefighters exchanged amused glances. If the station chief really didn’t show up and ended up breaking this adorable kid’s heart, that’d just be cruel!

“But the chief’s always like that. Have you ever seen him be warm to anyone?”

“Yeah, but this is different! It’s a little cutie! He’s the blooming flower of our nation!”

“Let’s just wait and see if the chief shows up.”

…

Their eyes darted around until Wang Shuai suddenly caught sight of the chief walking past the window. He quickly nudged the person next to him, then stood at attention facing the door and shouted loudly:
“Chief!”

Little Shi Yan immediately lit up with an exaggerated “Wow!” expression. He jumped down from the table and ran over to Qin Lie, shouting enthusiastically:
“Chief Uncle!”

Qin Lie: “……”

He felt like the whole situation was surreal. He had come intending to gently send the kid on his way. But somehow, he’d ended up giving the future flower of the nation a tour of the fire station—and even explaining various rescue tools and techniques along the way.

All because of one innocent line from the child:
“Chief Uncle, you’re so cool! There’s so much here I don’t know. Can you teach me?”

Their Lingshui Fire Station hosted students from different school levels every year, including kindergarteners, so Qin Lie actually had experience in this area. He did his best to explain things to Shi Yan in simple, easy-to-understand terms.

What he didn’t expect was that, although the kid was only just over four, he had incredible memory, keen observation, and quick comprehension.

Shi Yan was also highly sensitive to others’ emotions. Once he noticed that Qin Lie was no longer rejecting him, he seized the opportunity and suddenly clambered onto him, asking to be carried.

He moved so fast and unexpectedly that even Tangguo didn’t have time to stop him.

By the time she tried to coax him down, the little guy had already wrapped his arms tightly around Qin Lie’s neck, raising his head proudly:
“I want Chief Uncle to carry me! When I grow up, I want to be a firefighter too!”

Tangguo: “……”

You’ve got such big dreams—does your mom know about this?

Qin Lie was actually amused and asked, “Why do you want to be a firefighter? It’s a tough and exhausting job.”

Shi Yan replied without hesitation, “Because it’s cool!”

Qin Lie: “……”

Tangguo: “……”

And he didn’t stop there. After thinking a bit, the little guy added,
“Boys should be cool! Girls should be pretty! My mom is really pretty, but her job is tiring too! So it’s the same for boys and girls!”

Tangguo instantly understood—
In his little world, being “cool” and being “pretty” both came at the price of hard work and exhaustion.

She didn’t quite know how to respond. But she was worried the kid might push his luck and annoy the fire chief, so she stepped in to coax him down:
“It’s getting late—we should go. Come on, Xiao Yan, time to get down.”

Qin Lie glanced at her, then looked at Shi Yan, but said nothing.

Instead, Tang Weiyi chimed in to help:
“No rush—it’s open day today anyway.”

Qin Lie subtly glanced between the two of them.

Shi Yan hesitated, but eventually climbed down from Qin Lie on his own.

He was a well-behaved child. He knew he’d had a great time at the fire station today—he’d met lots of firefighters, seen fire trucks, and learned about rescue equipment. He was satisfied and knew it was time to leave.

But just as he stood there looking up at Qin Lie, his lips began to quiver.

Qin Lie raised an eyebrow. “You don’t want to leave?”

Shi Yan sniffled and then looked up again, unconsciously moving closer, pressing his tiny body against Qin Lie’s leg. His little hands gripped Qin Lie’s pants as he softly asked:
“Chief Uncle, can I come visit you again?”

Qin Lie didn’t answer directly. “You’re still little—you have to listen to your parents.”

Shi Yan pouted and suddenly said,
“I dreamed about the firefighter uncle before. In the dream, he was teaching me how to climb buildings…”

Qin Lie immediately thought of the time he rescued the boy after he had sleepwalked out a window.

He didn’t know much about the psychology of sleepwalkers, so he didn’t respond right away.

Shi Yan continued,
“Chief Uncle, can I add you on WeChat? When you’re on vacation, I’ll come find you. You can teach me how to climb trees instead. Then I won’t dream about them teaching me anymore.”

Qin Lie frowned. If this kid weren’t so young, innocent, and adorably soft, he would’ve suspected he was being blackmailed!

Before he could respond, Tang Weiyi stepped in:
“Give him your WeChat! But only on the condition that he can only message during holidays or rest time—he can’t disturb you at work, got it?”

He leaned in and whispered to Qin Lie,
“It’s just a kid—what’s the harm in giving him your WeChat? Don’t be so uptight.”

Qin Lie: “……”

This isn’t about harm… Something about this just feels off…

But in the end, he gave him his WeChat.

Shi Yan had a high-tech kids’ smartwatch with WeChat on it. He couldn’t type, but he could send voice messages and video call.

He even had Tangguo set the contact name as “Chief Uncle.”

—

After they left, Qin Lie asked Tang Weiyi,
“What’s your relationship with him?”

Tang Weiyi’s heart skipped a beat, but he quickly smiled and replied,
“With observation skills like yours, it’s a shame you didn’t go into special ops!”

He didn’t give a direct answer and just vaguely said,
“That Tangguo girl—she’s my cousin.”

And with that, he bolted off, using an inspection round as an excuse.