Chapter 9

Thinking about the fact that he and the girl were now hanging at the height of the fourteenth floor, Su Le suddenly felt a chill. If they fell from this height, they would probably be smashed to pieces. He had come all the way from Huinan to Nanwu, not to seek death. Even if there was a beautiful woman to accompany him, it wouldn't be worth it! So Su Le hit the elevator wall even harder and shouted even louder: "Help! Help!"

The scene was somewhat comical; it should be the beautiful woman calling for help, not him.

The girl's voice was very gentle but calm: "Don't hit it. It won't help. If you really break the elevator, we'll both die."

Su Le inhaled sharply at the word 'die.'

The girl turned on her phone, a Nokia N70, which illuminated the elevator brightly. She pressed the emergency alarm button on the elevator, but it didn't respond. She then dialed the emergency number, but after pressing a few numbers, she heard the familiar power-off tone, and the screen went black. She said dejectedly, "Damn! The battery is dead." In the darkness, she whispered, "Do you have a phone?"

Only after she asked did Su Le remember. He hurriedly pulled out his phone from his pocket: "Yes, yes, thank goodness I have a phone." He turned on his phone and smelled the faint fragrance from the girl, who had moved closer to him. This was phototaxis, and humans were no exception. Smelling the girl's fragrance, Su Le's mind began to wander. Being trapped in the elevator with this girl for the rest of his life wouldn't be so bad. Wasn't this an opportunity created by heaven for him?

Su Le's Nokia 3210 became their lifeline. The girl gave him a number, and Su Le immediately dialed it, but the phone only made a beeping sound, indicating a fault and unable to connect.

The girl asked, "What network is your phone?"

"China Unicom!"

The girl sighed, "There's no signal from China Unicom here!"

Su Le was stunned. With the weak light from his phone, he saw the girl shake her head and lean against the opposite side of the elevator, looking dejected.

They both fell silent for about a minute. Su Le said, "Isn't this the power company's dormitory? Why is there a power outage?"

The girl replied, "Anything can go wrong."

Su Le said, "What bad luck!" He thought for a moment. Now, they could only rely on shouting. He gathered his courage and shouted loudly, "Help! Help! Help!"

This time, the girl didn't stop him. In fact, besides calling for help, they had no other options. But hearing Su Le's pitiful cries, she couldn't help but laugh. At first, she held back, but eventually, she couldn't help it and giggled.

Su Le stopped when he heard her laugh: "You're still laughing? This is a matter of life and death. If the elevator drops, we're both done for."

The girl said, "It's not that serious. Someone will soon notice the elevator is broken." She was quite confident about it.

Su Le said, "You should have said that earlier. I wouldn't have wasted my energy." After the elevator lost power, it quickly became hot inside, like a steam room. They had been trapped for over twenty minutes, and no one had come to rescue them. Su Le's clothes were drenched in sweat, and the girl probably wasn't in much better shape. However, she was drenched in fragrant sweat, while he was drenched in sweat. Su Le took a banana from a plastic bag and offered it to her.

"What are you doing?" The girl was very cautious.

Su Le said, "I'm offering you something to eat! To replenish your energy!"

The girl shook her head, "No, thanks!"

Su Le laughed. He stood opposite her, leaning against the elevator, and was already drenched in sweat. He took a bite of the banana and said, "I'm Su Le, from Suzhou, and I'm from Huinan. I'm here to visit my relatives. My uncle lives on the fifteenth floor, Su Jianjun." Su Le wasn't the type to share everything, but he explained himself clearly to gain her trust and prove he wasn't a bad person.

The girl hummed but didn't reciprocate by giving her name. Su Le felt a bit awkward in the darkness. It seemed he was putting himself out there for nothing. Thinking about the word 'buttocks,' a thought began to stir in his mind. This was such a good opportunity; something should happen between him and the girl.

The elevator was getting hotter. Su Le said, "We're in this together. Do you think no one will notice us all night?" As he spoke, he heard a thud. He quickly turned on his phone to see that the girl had fainted inside the elevator.

Su Le went over and gently patted the girl's shoulder, "Hey! Hey! Wake up!" He smelled his own sweat and hoped the girl hadn't fainted because of it.

The girl's eyes were tightly closed, and she didn't say a word. She had fainted. Su Le was a bit panicked. The girl had probably fainted from heatstroke. He found a bottle of mineral water in his backpack and sprinkled some on her face, but it had no effect. Su Le started by gently shaking her shoulder, but eventually, he had to use more force. However, the girl still didn't respond.

Su Le shouted, "Help! Help, someone's really in trouble!" He checked the girl's breathing but couldn't feel any. Su Le was scared. If the girl died here, he wouldn't be able to explain. He remembered the emergency first aid training he had received in school and knew how to perform CPR. Su Le knelt beside the girl, pinched her nose, took a deep breath, and looked at her cherry-like lips. He hesitated, but finally, he made up his mind, took another deep breath, and leaned down, preparing to press his lips to the girl's soft and moist lips. As he got closer, his heart raced, almost jumping out of his throat. Although it was CPR, Su Le's mind was filled with thoughts of his first kiss. "Heaven, earth, this is my first kiss! I shouldn't give it away so easily, but to save her, I have to make a sacrifice. Actually, he felt a sense of joy in making this sacrifice. He even began to consider whether he should put his tongue in during CPR. However, his rationality quickly reminded him that he wasn't a gentleman, but he shouldn't do such a dirty thing.

Just as Su Le's lips were about to touch the girl's, the elevator door slowly opened. Three people stood outside, and they saw Su Le leaning over the girl. Su Le was genuinely preparing to perform CPR, but they didn't see it that way.

A young man immediately rushed in and grabbed Su Le by the collar, "Pervert, you dare to bully Tang Shi!" He pulled so hard that Su Le's T-shirt ripped. Su Le wasn't that foolish. Seeing the punch coming at his face, he bent his body, slipped out of the torn T-shirt, and dodged around the man. Although Su Le hadn't formally learned martial arts, he had always been physically strong. Behind the man were a maintenance worker and a security guard, but they hadn't formed a complete encirclement.

Su Le grew up on Chunfeng Street. Due to his mother, he had experienced such scenes of being surrounded and chased many times. He had a lot of experience in single combat and fighting against multiple opponents. Although he hadn't received professional training, the practical experience he had gained from countless street fights was invaluable. He made calm judgments in various situations. Clearly, he had been misunderstood. He was trying to perform CPR on the girl, but these people thought he was a pervert. In such a heated situation, there was no need to explain. Even if he explained, he would still get beaten. The only option was to run. Su Le, though young, had a clear and flexible mind and a similarly agile body. Taking advantage of the fact that the security guard and the maintenance worker hadn't formed a complete encirclement, Su Le slipped through the gap between them and fled down the emergency stairs.

While running, Su Le shouted, "Misunderstanding! I was trying to save her, saving her is important, saving her is important!" This was his smart move. He explained the misunderstanding while reminding them to focus on saving the girl, diverting their attention and giving himself time to escape.

Su Le was known for his running at school. He quickly ran down to the fourteenth floor and, before pushing open the unit's security door, he peeked through the window. Sure enough, there were security guards waiting outside. Su Le frowned, turned around, and climbed up to the second floor, where he climbed out through a ventilation window onto the roof of the unit.

He carefully moved along the building's outer eaves, trying to leave quietly and find a safe place to hide until the situation cooled down. Unfortunately, his plan didn't last long.

Two beams of light suddenly shone on him, and a deep voice from below said, "Don't run, we see you!"

All seven security guards from the power company's residential area were mobilized to catch this suspected pervert. To be precise, Su Le surrendered himself. Since he couldn't escape, he had no choice but to be captured. He argued, "You've misunderstood. I was trying to save her, I didn't do anything!"

Before he could finish, he was hit hard on the back of the head, "You still say you didn't do anything? We saw it!"

The young man who had torn his collar was about to attack Su Le, but several security guards held him back. Su Le retorted, "Kid, don't let me catch you again!"

The power company's residential area hadn't been so lively in a long time. Hearing that a pervert had been caught, many residents came out, indignant and pointing fingers. Some elderly people even tried to tear Su Le apart, as if their own daughters had been molested.

Su Le said, "I swear, I didn't do anything!"

Pang! A boy threw an egg at his head, "Pervert!" The