Survival in the Class: I'm the Only Boy on the Bus

Jiang Chen stood in front of Zhang Zhengyang, his eyes filled with admiration.

Zhang Zhengyang stroked his chin, his gaze sweeping over Jiang Chen's arms, shoulders, and thighs.

Lin Wanfeng, sitting nearby, covered her forehead with her hand when she saw her husband scrutinizing another man's physique:

"Damn... Old Zhang's acting up again... He sees a good candidate and wants to recruit them into his fire brigade..."

Zhang Zhengyang reached out and patted Jiang Chen's arm, which was strong and firm. He then squeezed Jiang Chen's shoulder, nodded slightly, and showed a hint of appreciation in his eyes.

"Young Jiang Chen, with your physique, you'd be perfect for a firefighter! Interested...?"

Before he could finish speaking, Lin Wanfeng interrupted him with a light cough.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Zhengyang immediately changed the subject:

"Ahem, I'm getting off-topic... You're really wasting your talents here..."

His expression tightened again, and he regained his serious look.

"Comrade Jiang Chen, I can't say much more. All I can say is, do your best to survive and do your best to clear the highest level dungeon."

Zhang Zhengyang stared into Jiang Chen's eyes and said, word by word:

"Remember! Don't do anything outside of the instance, and don't kill innocent people indiscriminately."

Jiang Chen nodded.

He cherishes every opportunity to learn about the world of road survival, and keeps it in his heart.

Jiang Chen firmly believed that the more he learned, the greater the chances he and the girls would survive.

Looking at Jiang Chen's serious face, Zhang Zhengyang, this tough guy who always kept a stern face in front of his comrades, rarely smiled and reached out to pat Jiang Chen's shoulder heavily:

"Take them with you and let them live well, then go to where the people need them most..."

Jiang Chen replied casually:

"good!"

Despite Jiang Chen's expressionless demeanor, he had already memorized all of Zhang Zhengyang's words.

Zhang Zhengyang took out three soft Honghe cigarettes from his pocket, but still pulled out two more and handed them to Jiang Chen.

When he offered Jiang Chen a cigarette, his professional instincts kicked in, and he suddenly put on a stern face and spoke in a serious tone:

"Don't smoke in the car."

Although Jiang Chen doesn't smoke, he still took one of the cigarettes as a sign of respect for Zhang Zhengyang.

Some things don't need to be said much between men; a simple action is enough.

A firm pat on the shoulder and offering you a cigarette are the highest forms of respect, requiring no further words.

Zhang Zhengyang withdrew his hand, preparing to put the cigarette pack back into his pocket.

The next second, he felt a chill down his spine.

That familiar killing intent pierced straight into his back from behind.

Zhang Zhengyang stiffened his neck and turned his head to see what was happening. Sure enough, it was his wife staring at him intently.

Lin Wanfeng was sitting in his seat, his eyes fixed on the cigarette pack in his hand.

A chilling smile played on her lips, making Zhang Zhengyang's heart pound with unease.

Zhang Zhengyang's fingers trembled, and the cigarette pack almost fell to the ground.

He served for fifteen years.

He rushed in and out of the fire more than 3,000 times.

They were swept away by the flood during flood relief and rescue operations.

He dug through the rubble of the collapsed building until his fingers bled.

He was never afraid of any of these things.

But he couldn't afford to offend any of the three women in his family: his mother, Feng'er, and his daughter.

I'm afraid they'll get angry, afraid they'll be unhappy.

I'm afraid I might not be able to come back one day, leaving the three of them behind...

Zhang Zhengyang quickly stuffed the cigarette pack back into his pocket, strode over to Lin Wanfeng and sat down next to her. Only then did he lean close to her ear and whisper his explanation:

"Feng'er, I...I didn't smoke, I was just offering a cigarette to the young comrade."

Lin Wanfeng rolled her eyes at him and ignored him.

She snorted coldly, stood up, and sat down next to Bai Nuonuo.

"Nuonuo is still the cutest."

Lin Wanfeng turned to look at Bai Nuonuo, a smile returning to his face:

"Come on, let's chat. I have a daughter who's about your age..."

The other firefighters, seeing their captain acting so cowardly, all suppressed their laughter and each thought about the saddest thing that had ever happened to them.

Lin Wanfeng took a photo out of his pocket.

In the photo, Zhang Zhengyang and Lin Wanfeng are wearing navy blue casual clothes.

Behind the two was the entrance to the Chuanbei Fire Brigade. (The author has changed the place name to "Chuanbei".)

There is a couplet at the entrance of the fire station:

Right couplet: If you seek pleasure and stability, go elsewhere.

Left-hand couplet: Those who fear death should not enter this gate.

Horizontal inscription: Those who serve the people come.

In the photo, Zhang Zhengyang's face no longer had its usual seriousness; instead, it was filled with a heartfelt smile and pride, his eyes almost squinting into slits with laughter.

Lin Wanfeng smiled gently, her eyes filled with pride.

She was holding a girl in her arms.

The girl had a cool, short haircut and was holding an acceptance letter in her hand.

However, this admission notice wasn't from Tsinghua or Peking University, but from Huaxia Fire and Rescue Academy.

Lin Wanfeng smiled and handed the photo to Bai Nuonuo:

"Nuonuo, this is our daughter."

She gestured with her chin towards Zhang Zhengyang:

"Old Zhang, he says he doesn't want his daughter to be a firefighter, but look at the way he's grinning!"

"His smugness was practically overflowing from his eyes."

As he spoke, Lin Wanfeng laughed first, covering his mouth, his shoulders shaking.

Zhang Zhengyang sat in the front, his ears turning red, and awkwardly scratched the back of his head.

The other four firefighters couldn't hold back any longer and burst out laughing.

Who in the team doesn't know that Captain Zhang is a doting father to his daughter?

Bai Nuonuo listened to Lin Wanfeng's words and nodded blankly.

Bai Nuonuo's adorable big eyes were fixed on the badge on Lin Wanfeng's chest, staring at the dark blue color, completely unaware of the photo in Lin Wanfeng's hand.

Bai Nuonuo's pupils suddenly contracted when Lin Wanfeng handed the photo to her.

She raised her hand blankly and gently touched Lin Wanfeng's face in the photo with her fingertips.

The scene in the photo is what she has always dreamed of: taking a nice photo with her parents.

In Bai Nuonuo's eyes, the girl in the photo slowly changed her appearance and became herself.

She held the teddy bear her parents had given her in her left arm and held her Tsinghua and Peking University admission notice high in her right hand.

Standing beside him were his parents, who were smiling and rubbing their heads.

Bai Nuonuo's eyes immediately reddened, and she hugged the little bear in her arms tightly.

She stood up from her seat, pursed her lips tightly, lowered her head, and spoke in a muffled voice:

"Sister...sister, could you let Nuonuo have a turn?"

Lin Wanfeng was stunned for a moment.

Looking at Bai Nuonuo's eyes, which were tightly shut with tears, her heart skipped a beat.

Did I... say something wrong?

She quickly stood up and made room for Bai Nuonuo.

Bai Nuonuo lowered her head, hugged her teddy bear, and slowly walked out of the passageway.

The carriage fell silent.

Zhang Zhengyang and several firefighters stared blankly at the little girl's retreating figure, their faces full of doubt.

Why is this girl suddenly unhappy?

Jiang Chen sighed softly. The glutinous rice ball he had finally managed to coax was about to cry again.

There's nothing I can do but try to comfort her myself.

When Lu Wanzhou saw Bai Nuonuo's appearance, he immediately wanted to stand up and walk over to hug her.

Sitting next to her, Wen Ruyan gently took Lu Wanzhou's hand and shook her head with a smile:

"Let Jiang Chen do it..."

Lu Wanzhou glanced at Jiang Chen, who had already squatted down and opened his arms to Bai Nuonuo, nodded, and sat back down in his seat.

Bai Nuonuo sniffed while holding the teddy bear, then slowly walked up to Jiang Chen and couldn't hold back any longer, throwing herself into his arms.

Her face was buried in Jiang Chen's chest, her shoulders heaving, her voice broken and choked with sobs, yet she managed not to cry out loud.

"Brother Jiang Chen...I'm...I'm sorry...Nuonuo...couldn't hold back...I'm sorry..."

"Nuonuo doesn't blame her parents... but... but I miss them so much... so much..."