Chapter 21 The Smiling Man

Jiang Yan actually didn't need to buy anything else, but withdrawing the money was still better than letting it sit in the bank as mere digits.

Additionally, she planned to retrieve the jewelry her mother had stored in the vault under her name tomorrow.

After replying to all the delivery confirmation texts, it was still early before bedtime, so she decided to take a look inside her dimension first.

Just as she was about to focus her thoughts to enter the dimension, someone started pounding on her door—hard.

Yes, pounding.

And with great effort at that.

Jiang Yan frowned and picked up her tablet to check the surveillance feed.

Her security system was top-of-the-line, offering not only high-definition video but also audio capture.

Outside stood a burly middle-aged man with a rough face and a slightly thinner, round-faced woman with her hair in a bun.

The woman held a palm-sized carved white porcelain plate with a slice of yellow peach cream cake and a small transparent plastic fork.

The heat had caused the cake's frosting to melt, and the peach pieces on top had turned into a sticky mess sliding down the sides.

Both of their faces were flushed, and beads of sweat dotted their foreheads—clearly suffering from the sudden heatwave.

Most locals in An Ming were accustomed to the mild, climate-controlled environments of their homes and had little resistance to such extreme weather.

Moreover, very few households had air conditioning installed—mostly just west-facing apartments or commercial spaces like hotels.

It was easy to imagine how unbearable the heat must be for ordinary people.

Jiang Yan glanced at the screen. The man's steps were unsteady, and his eyes were noticeably glazed—likely drunk.

No one visits without a reason.

What could possibly bring a couple to her doorstep so late at night?

If they were delivering cake for a child's birthday, knocking at nearly 10 p.m. seemed rather odd.

Besides, the Apocalypse hadn't even officially begun yet, and here she was, already experiencing the clichéd "neighbors knocking on the door" trope straight out of a novel.

Though she might be overthinking it, Jiang Yan arched an eyebrow and pretended not to hear.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

The pounding grew louder, and the woman raised her voice, "Little sister, I know you're in there. Could you open the door, please?"

"Yeah, little sister, we're your neighbors from 3203. Mind opening up?" the man chimed in politely.

The moment he finished speaking, the woman shot him a glare and hissed under her breath,

"Zhou Guangfu, you sound like some old creep! Since when is it your place to call her 'little sister'?!"

The man's jowls quivered as he chuckled, "Honey, I was just following your lead..."

Ignoring him, the woman turned back and resumed knocking, her voice even louder now, "Little sister, please open the door! We have something urgent to discuss!"

Seriously? They weren't giving up.

Well, the Apocalypse hadn't started yet. Might as well see what this couple was up to.

With that thought, Jiang Yan stood up, grabbed a medical mask from the entryway, and unlocked the inner door with a creak.

She had installed two doors—the inner one was a solid slab of bulletproof steel.

The outer door had a metal mesh covering the upper third, with wires as thick as a little finger, allowing a clear view of anyone outside.

This mesh could actually be electrified, though Jiang Yan hadn't activated it yet.

Her foyer had also been specially modified, positioned just behind the door to block any view of the interior.

As soon as the door opened, a wave of scorching heat rushed in, making Jiang Yan feel as if half her head had suddenly been thrust into a sauna.

Meanwhile, the cold air inside seeped out through the mesh holes, instantly cooling the faces of the couple standing outside.

They exchanged a meaningful glance before instinctively stepping forward.

But Jiang Yan's icy stare made them pause.

The woman, Zhang Chunmei, craned her neck in an attempt to peer past Jiang Yan into the living room. Failing, she withdrew her gaze and offered an awkward smile.

"Hello there, little sister. I'm Zhang Chunmei from next door, unit 3203, and this is my husband, Zhou Guangfu. Could you open the outer door too? It's our child's birthday today, and we saved a piece of cake for you. We'd love for you to share in the celebration."

She added, "We're sorry to disturb you like this. Actually, we @'ed you in the homeowners group earlier, but since you didn't reply, we decided to knock."

They say you don't hit someone who smiles at you, and Zhang Chunmei was counting on Jiang Yan to follow that principle.

Homeowners group?

During her overseas stockpiling trip, Jiang Yan had deleted and left nearly all her chat groups and cut ties with so-called friends—completely severing connections with her past self and unnecessary relationships from her previous life.

The only group she kept was the one for Lakeside Bay's homeowners.

After Du Ziteng helped her complete the property purchase, a man named Zhang Qiming from the homeowners' committee had added her and invited her into the group.

Though Jiang Yan had lurked silently, she never considered leaving.

After all, knowing yourself and your enemy was the key to victory.

Even if she planned to hunker down in her dimension and apartment once the Apocalypse arrived, she couldn't afford to isolate herself entirely.

Staying in the group would allow her to monitor the situation—how the neighbors were faring, how the authorities responded—once disasters struck.

As for being @'ed in the group? There was no way she'd check.

After listening to Zhang Chunmei's spiel, Jiang Yan remained expressionless and replied coolly,

"Thank you both, but I'll pass on the cake. Save it for your child. If there's nothing else, I'll close the door now. Also, I dislike being disturbed, so please refrain from knocking in the future. Thanks."

Without waiting for a response, Jiang Yan turned and walked away.

Zhang Chunmei's smile faltered briefly before she quickly plastered it back on. "Wait a moment, little sister. There's something I'd like to ask—"

Hah!

Of course. The cake was just bait—a weasel paying respects to a chicken.

Wait, no.

She wasn't a chicken.

Jiang Yan stopped and turned, her sharp gaze slicing toward Zhang Chunmei. "What?"

The woman flinched under her unreadable stare, and her tone instantly shifted—her casual "you" turning into a deferential "you."

"Here's the thing, sister. Today An Ming suddenly got extremely hot, and the temperature inside our house has reached almost 42 degrees. We've never experienced anything like this before with our two children and two elderly parents. The elderly especially have heart conditions and can't take much more of this. My husband did order an air conditioner from JD.com, but installation won't happen until tomorrow at the earliest.

I noticed you recently had two air conditioners installed in your home, so I was wondering if our elderly parents and children could stay in your living room just for tonight.

Please don't worry—the children are well-behaved, and the elderly are very clean. We won't make a mess or cause any trouble. If necessary, we can even pay you the equivalent of a hotel fee plus electricity costs."

Cough cough cough!

Jiang Yan ignored her, suddenly covering her mouth with her hand as she erupted into violent coughing.

He Chunmei and Zhou Guangfu glanced at the light blue medical mask she was wearing, momentarily stunned before instinctively taking a large step backward.

(End of chapter)