He stormed back into the house and reignited the stove.
He grabbed a cushion from the living room and set it alight.
Then, he hurled the burning cushion towards the curtains.
The open flame met the fabric, and thick white smoke quickly billowed out.
Watching the curtains burst into flames before their eyes, everyone panicked.
For a moment, they seemed to see Peng Fei's fate in the flickering firelight, and their own as well.
Being minors whose minds had not yet fully developed, they stood frozen outside the door, too scared to speak.
Although Xiang Si Yuan was a bit braver than the others, seeing how things had escalated, he was also very flustered.
But since it was done, he couldn't admit he regretted it. He could only brace himself and continue.
The few children weren't foolish. Knowing they would suffocate if they stayed inside, they retreated to the yard.
Billowing white smoke seeped through the window cracks, looking terrifying from a distance.
Next door, in the Zhan family's residence, the butler, while driving the nanny to buy groceries, suddenly applied the brakes in confusion.
"Do you smell something? It smells like something's burnt. Is there something cooking?"
The nanny replied no, they had just finished lunch and everything was tidied up, so it was impossible.
"Then could something be on fire?"
Startled, the two feared something had happened to the young lady and turned the car back.
As the car was turning around, the nanny spotted the white smoke rising from the yard next door.
"Oh my, isn't that Miss Chen and Mr. Xiang's house? It looks like it's on fire!"
"When did they move in? I don't know if they're okay. This is terrible, hurry, hurry, go over and take a look!"
The driver pulled the car up to the main gate and banged on it repeatedly, but the door was locked, and there was no response from inside.
This was bad. No one was home, but the house was on fire.
Without wasting any more time, the butler drove the car back into their own yard, intending to get the lawn sprinkler hose to help extinguish the fire next door.
However, standing outside, they could see the smoke over the two-meter-high courtyard wall, but couldn't see or reach anything.
The nanny anxiously went to fetch tables and chairs for him. As the two of them bustled about in the garden, Zhan Jing Chun finally heard the commotion and came out.
"What are you doing?"
While everyone was busy trying to help put out the fire, Peng Fei had returned to the villa's entrance.
He knew that after he left, those few rascals would definitely not behave, especially Xiang Si Yuan, who didn't respect him at all. He was sure they would cause trouble in his absence, so he had hurried back.
Without regard for the price, he went to a brand store and picked out two stylish outfits, then immediately took a taxi back.
From the moment he entered the main gate, he sprinted, climbed over the courtyard wall, and indeed, something major had happened.
The few children were all on the lawn in the yard, some squatting, some sitting.
The house was emitting thick black smoke, whatever they had done inside.
Seeing him return, they all looked tense.
Peng Fei glanced around and sternly asked, "Did it catch fire?"
Seeing a perfectly good villa about to be destroyed, and that they were responsible, the youngest child couldn't bear it and burst into tears.
Peng Fei understood everything.
Without time to question whether it was intentional or an accident, he immediately dropped the clothes and rushed towards the sprinkler hose on the lawn.
He couldn't lose his job; he had to save the house!
Fortunately, he had returned in time. Only one room was on fire; the living room was just filled with smoke and had not been affected.
Peng Fei covered his nose and mouth with one hand, pulled the hose inside, aimed it at the room door, and then went to find something to protect himself.
He rushed into the kitchen, found a towel, wet it, covered his face, and then went back to spray the water everywhere.
The smell of smoke was so suffocatingly unbearable, his respiratory tract, lungs, and eyes burned, and he could barely keep his eyes open.
But the fire wasn't out yet, he couldn't leave!
Chen Jiao Jiao trusted him so much, giving him such a big job, and just gave him twenty thousand yuan. He couldn't betray her trust for anything!
Just as he was struggling alone, suddenly, some water splashed onto his face.
Although Peng Fei couldn't see clearly, he could feel a strong water pressure coming through the window crack from the opposite side.
What was going on? Could it be that those little brats had a change of heart and were putting out the fire from outside?
He didn't have time to think about it and sprayed the water with all his might, spraying...
After a long few minutes, the fire was finally extinguished.
He couldn't wait a moment longer and dropped the hose, running outside.
Seeing him looking like a soot-covered demon, with only the area around his mouth and nose slightly lighter, his entire face and arms blackened beyond recognition, the children were utterly stunned.
Once he recovered, wouldn't he beat them to death?
They all looked to Xiang Si Yuan as their leader and squeezed behind him.
Xiang Si Yuan, facing the man who looked like a grim reaper, was also terrified, but his first reaction was to deny everything.
"It wasn't us! You must have forgotten to turn off the stove when you left! Otherwise, how could it have caught fire out of nowhere? You should be grateful we're all okay, otherwise, even with eight hundred lives, you couldn't compensate. Hurry up and find a way to fix it!"
Although Peng Fei looked terrifying at the moment, he was just a paper tiger.
He had inhaled so much smoke that his nose, respiratory tract, and eyes burned fiercely, and he couldn't utter a single word.
He knelt on the ground in pain, rubbed his hands on the grass, took off his jacket, and used the slightly cleaner sweater underneath to wipe his eyes vigorously. Only then did he feel a little more comfortable.
As everyone watched him with worried expressions, the sound of banging on the main gate was heard again from outside.
A man's voice shouted forcefully.
"Miss Chen, Mr. Xiang, is anyone home? There are clearly people in the house, why aren't you opening the door? Is the fire out? Open the door quickly so I can help!"
Xiang Si Yuan recognized the voice as that of the butler from Uncle Zhan's house!
He felt as if he had seen a savior and immediately ran to the door.
However, no matter how hard he pulled, he couldn't open it.
"I'm here! I'm Xiang Si Yuan! My mother locked the door, and I can't open it. Can you find a way to open it and let me out?"
"Ah? Young Master Xiang, you're there? What happened inside just now? Are you alright? Are you the only one inside?"
"Oh, stop talking so much! If you don't open the door soon, I'll be in real trouble! Hurry, find a way to open the door for me!"
To facilitate movement and assistance between the families, the homeowners had each left spare keys with their butlers and nannies.
They had forgotten in their haste, but upon hearing Young Master Xiang's urgency, the butler remembered he had a key.
"Alright, alright, I'll go get the key to open the door for you. Please wait a moment."
Xiang Si Yuan was so happy his soul felt like it was flying.
He was saved, he would be able to get out soon, heaven had eyes!
But Peng Fei, upon hearing this news, became agitated.
Although his eyes still hurt and he couldn't see clearly, he immediately stood up.
"You are not allowed to leave. Your mother said you must stay here every day until the New Year. If you dare to leave, I will break your legs today."