Chen Hao showed up at school with dark circles under his eyes. The moment he sat down in class, he slumped over the desk and immediately fell asleep.
"Chen Hao, did you see the news?" Li Yang shook him awake as soon as he arrived.
Chen Hao groaned. He didn't want to deal with this guy right now. But after being deskmates for three years, he knew exactly what kind of person Li Yang was. If he ignored him, he'd only get more persistent.
Rubbing his eyes, Chen Hao lazily looked up and said, "I'm exhausted. Let me sleep. Whether the school belle got a new boyfriend or the school stud just dumped another girl—I don't want to hear any of it."
"This time it's not gossip," Li Yang said, lowering his voice. "It's about the fire at Tianlang Residence. Happened around seven last night. They dispatched over a dozen fire trucks."
Tianlang Residence?
Chen Hao blinked. He quickly cross-referenced the event with the memories in his head, then glanced at the date on the wall clock.
Everything lined up.
He had forgotten about the fire that happened at Tianlang Residence more than a decade ago.
But now, the memory returned with horrifying clarity.
A total of five people had died in that fire.
The blaze broke out in Unit C of Tianlang Residence. It was during dinnertime, and most families were at home. The fire started on the fifth floor and spread like wildfire, knocking out the elevator's power almost instantly.
Panic followed. When the residents realized what was happening, they tried to escape via the stairs—but hundreds of people rushing down at once created chaos.
The elderly and children were quickly trampled in the stampede. Fear turned into frenzy.
Some tried to run back upstairs to escape the smoke, but the fire only grew fiercer. And before the firefighters even arrived, some people jumped from the higher floors in desperation.
When the fire was finally extinguished, five were dead, dozens injured.
After that, Building C became a ghost structure. No one dared live there. It remained empty until the developer tore it down and rebuilt it ten years later in 2016.
Chen Hao had hoped that his rebirth would bring about some changes—maybe even prevent that fire. But fate hadn't shifted.
"I heard thirty-four people died," Li Yang added, his voice low and tense. "I was watching the news live. The fire lit up the whole sky. Black smoke kept pouring out. People were jumping from the building… it was horrifying. I had nightmares."
Chen Hao hadn't known. He'd spent all night working on his manga, completely unaware of what had happened.
"But even scarier than the fire…" Li Yang said, lowering his voice even more, "were the firefighters. They went straight into the flames. No hesitation. I couldn't do that."
Chen Hao couldn't either. Not many could.
As more students trickled in, the classroom began buzzing with chatter. Everyone was talking about the Tianlang fire—even the usually strict morning reading session was forgotten.
With Li Yang distracted by the group discussion, Chen Hao no longer felt sleepy.
Their first period was homeroom, and as usual, Chen Hao didn't pay attention. He took out a blank sheet of paper.
In his mind, he imagined a striking scene—firefighters in full gear, charging into the smoke while everyone else ran the other way.
His pencil moved swiftly.
First, he sketched the outline of a figure. Then came the uniform. One firefighter. Then another. Eventually, he drew a full team—eleven in total—rushing against the flow of the escaping crowd.
On paper, the contrast was clear: ordinary people fleeing for safety, and those few heroes moving in the opposite direction.
"Whoa, Chen Hao—what are you drawing?"
Li Yang leaned over and snatched the paper before Chen Hao could hide it.
"You know how to draw? Since when?" Li Yang looked amazed.
"I know a lot of things," Chen Hao said flatly. "Unlike you, who only knows how to sleep through every class."
Li Yang scoffed. "As if you don't sleep."
"I study in my dreams."
"Yeah, right."
Li Yang snorted loud enough to draw the attention of the students in front. One of them, Pang Ming, turned around and noticed the drawing in Li Yang's hand.
"Huh? That looks pretty good. Who drew it?" Pang Ming asked.
"Chen Hao," Li Yang answered before Chen Hao could stop him.
Pang Ming stared at Chen Hao in disbelief. "You can draw like this? Why didn't you join the school art competition?"
"Wasn't interested," Chen Hao replied.
Pang Ming didn't push further. He was absorbed in the drawing.
The firefighters, the fleeing crowd, the simple but powerful message written at the top:
"The Coolest Heroes Go Against the Flow."
Just as Pang Ming opened his mouth to say something, the homeroom teacher, Ms. Chen Qiumei, began walking down the aisle.
Reacting quickly, Pang Ming slipped the comic under his textbook.
Too late.
Ms. Chen stopped at his desk and reached for the hidden sheet. She took one glance and froze.
"Who drew this?"
"It—it wasn't me!" Pang Ming blurted out, pointing at Chen Hao like he'd just been caught with contraband. "He did!"
Ms. Chen turned to Chen Hao.
"You drew this?"
Chen Hao nodded.
"What made you draw this?"
He hesitated a moment, then answered honestly. "Li Yang told me about the fire during morning reading. I was thinking… when there's danger, it's always the firefighters who rush in. It left a deep impression on me. So I just… drew what I felt."
Ms. Chen was quiet for a moment, then nodded.
"It's very good."
The comic was simple, but it carried weight. A tribute to courage.
"This should be seen by more people," she said. "I'll have it published in the school paper."
"Uh…" Chen Hao hesitated. He hadn't drawn it for attention—but since the teacher had already decided, it was hard to say no.
Ms. Chen folded the comic carefully. "Still, even if you draw well, don't ignore class time."
"…Yes, ma'am."