BXBX NOVEL Chapter 183: Fire!
"Hurry! Knock on every door!"
"There’s so much smoke! I can’t see clearly!"
The whole building was on fire. Qin Guan’s roommates jumped out of bed and rushed into the corridor with their most valuable belongings.
Dense smoke filled the whole corridor. Scared students were everywhere. Qin Guan picked up a thermos from the table and wet some towels.
"Cover your mouths and noses with them! Bend down! We have to rush out along the side wall."
They did as Qin Guan told them.
"It’s so hot! It’s boiling water!"
Liu Xiaoyang burst into tears. I shouldn’t have trusted him. His calmness misled me!
Shocked by Liu’s misfortune, the others silently blew at the steam rising from their towels. It was almost bearable now.
They sneaked along the wall in a line, heading towards the exit of the building. Scared students had formed a crowd downstairs.
After confirming that everyone was safe, they let out a long sigh of relief. Liu Xiaoyang sat on the ground, feeling cold between his legs. He looked down and realized...
It was bedtime, so nobody was dressed properly. They were wearing shorts, briefs, bedsheets, some of them nothing.
Mu Lejiang looked around and saw that nobody had noticed. "The fire..." he whispered to his roommates.
"It can’t have been us. I put it out after dinner."
"Did you put on the special cover?"
"What was that for? Could the stove rekindle?"
They exchanged several glances before changing the topic.
"Fine day, isn’t it?"
"Yes, It’s cool."
Before the fire truck could arrive, the dormitory staff had already put out the fire with the fire extinguishers. It was said that the origin of the fire had been a tiny kindling point.
They all observed the stove carefully and reached the wonderful conclusion that they hadn’t committed arson.
The tired boys felt relieved. They lay down and fell asleep soon.
Ye Dong didn’t return to the dormitory until the next day. He told them that the fire had been a fine example of "no zuo, no die" [1].
Several students had held a firework party on the rooftop of their building after the celebration. They’d had all kinds of fireworks and beer.
They had drunk beer under the stars and watched the colorful fireworks in the sky. It had been really cool.
They had forgotten that there were piles of colorful ribbons, paper flowers and posters left after the celebration though.
A small firework had silently started burning under the posters, producing stinky, dense smoke, although it had not been burning fiercely.
Aware that they’d been enveloped in smoke, the students had run away instead of checking the source of the smoke.
According to the staff, they had found nothing but a lump of plastic emitting thick smoke. That had been the origin of the fire.
If they’d had a clear mind, the students could have prevented a tragedy by pouring water on it. Their drunk brains had made them all idiots though.
Qin Guan was packing his luggage, complaining without any guilt, "Those guys don’t take public safety seriously. They brought prohibited items into our dormitory without scruple."
What about your spirit stove and the cheap water heater?
Ye Dong agreed with Qin Guan and added, "Our college will do a general inspection. The tutors in charge will check our dormitories for any prohibited items. They’ll search each room one by one."
"What?"
"What?"
"When?"
"Now! Building No. 2 has already been inspected. If I’m right, the inspection group has to be in the corridor."
"What the f*ck..."
"Ye Dong, could you be more practical? You’re talking rubbish all the time. This is a big thing..."
Ye Dong was confused. "We only have a water heater. They’re not interested in that kind of thing."
Li Jie covered his face sadly. "I just wanted to eat instant noodles. I’m not to blame. My investment will go to waste now..."
He pulled the spirit stove from under the bed.
"My political career will be ruined!" Ye Dong yelled desperately. "We must destroy all evidence!"
"Use your high IQ! Or do you use it only for food?"
Qin Guan had gotten dressed by then. He picked up his suitcase. "I’m leaving. Put the alcohol in the plastic bucket and take the stove apart. I’ll put the parts in my trunk."
Remaining calm was the best strategy. As Qin Guan was about to go out, he saw the tutors and inspectors walk towards his dormitory.
Translator’s Thoughts
Lan Lan
[1] Funny Chinglish. "If you’re obedient, you won’t die".