Chapter 6

Shi Yan had remained calm the entire time, barely moving. But just as Qin Lie was watching him, the boy suddenly tilted his head.

Originally, both his hands were gripping the window frame, his body pressed against the iron bars, his face positioned perfectly in the gap between them.

But now, with his head tilted, it leaned right against one of the iron rods, exposing most of his side profile.

The child’s skin was delicate, and under the sunlight, it seemed as if the soft, downy fuzz on his face shimmered with a faint halo—tender and adorable.

Qin Lie’s heart suddenly skipped a beat. The emotion came out of nowhere.

He was just a child, and yet Qin Lie couldn’t help but study him closely, as though there was something else hidden behind that innocent little face.

Such a thought was absurd.

And completely inappropriate.

He didn’t dwell on it, taking a deep breath to pull himself back from that fleeting surge of emotion.

By now, the safety air cushion below had already been set up. Qin Lie couldn’t help but let out a breath of relief; his taut nerves finally eased a little.

Wang Shuai had also arrived on the rooftop, bringing a set of safety ropes.

Leaning out the window, he followed Qin Lie’s instructions and quietly fastened the rope to him as gently and silently as possible.

The firefighters let out a collective breath of relief.

But Tang Guo was still trembling all over in panic, her voice shaking: “When he… when he sleepwalks, whatever he grabs onto—no one can make him let go…”

Right now, Shi Yan’s hands were tightly gripping the iron bars!

Wang Shuai grew anxious upon hearing this—if the child wouldn’t let go, how could the station chief carry him back?

Forcing the bars open wasn’t an option. Not only was the position difficult to work with, but even if they managed, it would almost certainly wake the sleepwalking child!

And children aren’t like adults—if he got scared and panicked, any sudden move could be fatal for both him and the station chief.

Besides, there was an old saying: waking someone up during sleepwalking could even kill them.

Qin Lie had been closely observing Shi Yan’s state. Although the child was clearly asleep, his physical reflexes weren’t completely limp—his hands and feet were firmly positioned to protect himself.

Otherwise, he would have fallen long before Qin Lie arrived.

Still, he had to let go.

Qin Lie gently tried to cover the child’s tiny hands with his own, hesitating—should he try softly coaxing him to release his grip?

Just then, the little hands that had been tightly clenching the iron bars began to gradually loosen under his palm.

Qin Lie didn’t dare use force—he simply held steady, feeling the child slowly shift direction in his grip.

And then, all of a sudden, that soft, tiny hand firmly grasped his ring finger.

Qin Lie’s brows twitched hard, almost involuntarily.

He braced his feet more firmly and used his other hand to repeat the process. Sure enough, the other tiny hand, as if it had a will of its own, instinctively chose the warmth and security of Qin Lie’s big hand—letting go of the cold, unfeeling iron and instead grabbing tightly onto one of his fingers.

Qin Lie took a deep breath. While stabilizing himself, he gave Wang Shuai a signal:

Pull.

Wang Shuai and the other firefighters felt their hearts leap into their throats.

The chief had both hands occupied—he was now completely vulnerable, with no way to protect himself. It was too dangerous!

If the child so much as squirmed or made a wrong move, they’d both fall!

They dared not delay or make a single error. All at once, they pulled together, with full coordination—and still tried their best to make no noise, for fear of waking the child.

They carefully lifted Qin Lie up and onto the rooftop. His back hit the surface, grounding him in solid reality. Only then did he look down at the child in his arms.

He hadn’t noticed when the boy had opened his eyes—maybe he’d just woken up. His gaze was hazy with sleep.

In that instant, Qin Lie felt sure his earlier instinct had been right—this child really was incredibly soft and adorable.

But with things as they were, he wasn’t sure if the boy would be scared. After all, he was just a four-year-old kid.

Shi Yan stared at Qin Lie for a long while, blinking, before suddenly speaking:
“You’re a firefighter uncle. You came to rescue me, didn’t you?”

Qin Lie answered cautiously, “That’s right. Were you scared?”

Shi Yan’s tiny arms hugged Qin Lie’s arm tightly. He shook his head:
“Not scared. Mommy said firefighter uncles protect us. No matter what trouble we’re in, we can always ask them for help.”

Qin Lie finally let out a breath of relief. He slowly sat up, carefully setting the boy down to sit beside him.

Shi Yan kept looking at him, then suddenly said, “Thank you, firefighter uncle.”

His tone was serious—oddly calm and composed for a child his age.

Qin Lie blinked, surprised. He studied the boy’s expression, about to ask further—

When Tang Guo, who had been anxiously waiting, suddenly rushed over and scooped Shi Yan into a tight hug, crying uncontrollably:

“Xiao Yan! Are you okay? Were you scared? Are you hurt anywhere? Does anything hurt?”

Shi Yan squirmed in obvious disgust and resistance: “Your snot and tears!”

They were all over him. He was wearing the Disney pajamas that Xia Xia had just bought for him—he really liked them!

With a dramatic sigh, he rolled his eyes like the world had ended.

Wang Shuai and the others, who were packing up their gear nearby, couldn’t help but burst into laughter at the sight of him.

Qin Lie gave the boy another look, then turned to Wang Shuai and said,
“Go file the incident report. Let’s wrap up.”

At the fire station, they dealt with all kinds of incidents daily—situations ordinary folks couldn’t handle. But a four-year-old sleepwalking himself into danger outside a high-rise building? That was a first.

It was strange and rare, to say the least.

The team was made up of energetic young men in their twenties. When they had downtime, they couldn’t help but gossip a little.

Back at the office, Instructor Tang Weiyi finished reading the day’s report. When he saw Qin Lie walk in, he frowned in disapproval:

“Today was way too dangerous! You climbed out without even wearing a safety harness—do you have a death wish?!”

Qin Lie, always calm, saw that Tang Weiyi was genuinely upset and gave it some serious thought.
“The situation was too urgent. I didn’t think it through.”

That’s his idea of serious reflection?

Tang Weiyi was so mad he nearly exploded. “No matter how urgent, you have to ensure your own safety!”

Qin Lie replied, “Yes. It won’t happen again.”

Tang Weiyi was speechless. Won’t happen again? So he did expect it to happen again?

Qin Lie added, “Alright, it’s getting late. You should get some sleep.”

He gave Tang Weiyi a pat on the shoulder and was about to leave when his gaze drifted across the computer screen.

It showed the report of the child he’d saved earlier.

Shi Yan, 4 years old.

Guardian: Tang Guo.

Tang Weiyi noticed his eyes lingering on the screen and instinctively glanced at the name “Tang Guo.” He cleared his throat and asked, “What is it? Is something wrong?”

Qin Lie: “Nothing.”

Then he turned and walked out.