Zhang Yi feigned confusion, saying, "What's wrong? I didn't do anything bad!"
Lin Caining said, "Are you stupid? The whole city's sealed off by snow now, and we've almost run out of food at home. If you send over some nice food right now, isn't this the perfect time to show your loyalty to Yuqing? If I were you, I'd send all the good stuff—steak, lobster, whatever you've got! Once Yuqing is moved, won't your chance come?"
Zhang Yi looked at Lin Caining's message and could already picture that gold-digger's greedy expression. He sneered. What's the difference between this and begging? The funny thing was—they acted like it was him begging them! As if giving them food was somehow his honor, not theirs. That kind of shameless face made Zhang Yi want to slap them a few times. Pathetic.
Zhang Yi decided to play along and toy with the two green-tea bitches a bit. He said, "But we don't have much food at home either! Just enough for me to eat."
Lin Caining frowned immediately and scolded, "Idiot! How long can this snow disaster last anyway? If you skip a couple of meals and use this chance to get Yuqing on your side, you'd make a huge profit! You're not even willing to make such a small sacrifice. I think you're not sincere about our Yuqing at all!"
Zhang Yi laughed harder. These two women—one playing good cop, the other bad cop—really thought they were clever. Unfortunately for them, he had been reborn and had long since seen through their cheap tricks. Facing Lin Caining's emotional manipulation, he just replied faintly with an "Oh," then tossed his phone aside and ignored her.
Lin Caining exploded when she saw that single word. "Oh? What do you mean 'Oh'! I've been talking to you for ages and that's all you've got to say? Hurry up and send the food to me! I want steak and lobster too!"
Lin Caining was a total foodie. She hadn't eaten anything decent in days, and seeing Zhang Yi enjoying gourmet meals had made her drool with envy. She originally planned to use Fang Yuqing's name to trick Zhang Yi into sending her some good food. But the way things were going now was completely different from what she expected. That "Oh" nearly made her lose her mind.
Could it be... he wasn't interested in Yuqing anymore?No, impossible!
Lin Caining quickly recalled how Zhang Yi had simped over Fang Yuqing for years and immediately shook her head. "He must just be out of his mind for a bit!"
Still fuming, Lin Caining went to Fang Yuqing and told her an exaggerated version of what had happened. Of course, she made it sound as if she'd only been asking Zhang Yi for supplies to help Fang Yuqing.
Fang Yuqing's face turned cold and haughty. "Hmph. Who's Zhang Yi? Do I even know him? Don't mention him to me again!"
Now, if Zhang Yi wanted to be her simp again, he'd have to crawl back, apologize, and pay a hefty price for her so-called forgiveness.
Lin Caining nudged her and said, "Forget him then. You've still got other simps, right?"
In their community, several of their former coworkers who lived nearby were also Fang Yuqing's admirers—especially Zhou Peng, the one most hopelessly obsessed with her.
Fang Yuqing knew exactly who Lin Caining meant. She curled her lips disdainfully. That Zhou Peng didn't even count as a backup to her. Back when they worked at Walmart, he didn't even own a house in Tianhai City—he still rented! She only used him for small favors, never had any feelings for him.
Lin Caining said persuasively, "It's freezing out there and we can't buy food. Why not use him for now? Make him fetch stuff for us."
Fang Yuqing thought about it and found the suggestion reasonable. So she sent Zhou Peng a message.
To her surprise, less than five minutes later, Zhou Peng came running over eagerly, carrying a backpack full of food. Since he worked in the Walmart warehouse, he'd stocked up on discounted goods before. With just one word from Fang Yuqing, he was instantly fired up, carefully selecting the best things to bring her.
Zhou Peng patted his chest and promised, "Yuqing, just say the word. Whatever you want me to do, I'll do it! For you, I'd do anything!"
Fang Yuqing smiled sweetly. "Thank you, Zhou Peng. You're so kind."
A few sugary words later, she sent him off again. The moment the door closed, she dropped the act. "Tch, still dreaming about me? In your next life, maybe!"
The entire building's atmosphere had become increasingly tense. Even with the heaters running nonstop, the extreme cold dragged the indoor temperature below zero. For the southerners of Tianhai City, it was unbearable. Worse yet, few families had stocked up on supplies. Just two days of freezing weather had emptied their refrigerators.
Aunt Lin still bragged that everything would be fine and the snow disaster would soon pass, but everyone was worried deep down.
Zhang Yi watched all of this quietly, feeling pleased. In this apocalypse, all his preparations had paid off. His life was more comfortable than before the disaster. He was like an outsider, watching a grand play unfold.
Chen Zhenghao and his gang hadn't come looking for trouble again since Zhang Yi's lesson. They already knew breaking into his place was impossible. Chen's leg was also ruined—without medical treatment, he'd be crippled in a few days.
As for the other small fry, after being drenched to the bone, they'd all caught colds and fevers. Without proper heating, they were suffering badly. They probably wouldn't starve to death, but they might die of fever first.
Zhang Yi stayed home, passing the time with games and group chats. When he got bored, he worked out—he had plenty of high-end gym equipment at home. Other times, he read the survival books he'd downloaded: The Barefoot Doctor's Handbook, The Civilian Military Training Manual, and others. Better to be prepared. With this kind of knowledge, you hoped never to use it—but in an emergency, it could save your life.
Outside, the snowstorm raged on. The sky was a constant gray blur; you couldn't even tell day from night.
On the third morning, Zhang Yi got out of bed, eating a plate of Bianyifang roast duck while glancing at the clock.
"It's about time," he said softly. "The good show's about to begin."
At that moment, the group chat on his phone completely blew up!