Chapter 22: Messing With Me?

Jiang Yan observed their expressions and gestures, thinking they would give up. To her surprise, He Chunmei gritted her teeth and declared confidently:

"Little sister, it's fine! I'll have the elderly and children wear double masks! If they get infected, we won't blame you!"

"Yeah, yeah, little sister. The main thing is no other homes have AC installed. The budget hotels outside do, but my parents have some underlying conditions. Plus, we just saw in the homeowners group that deadly Blood Mosquitoes were found in Building D. Staying nearby makes it easier for us to care for their daily needs," Zhou Guangfu quickly added with an ingratiating smile.

The couple performed like a comedy duo—one playing straight man, the other the funny man.

Since Jiang Yan had nothing better to do, she simply stood behind the door, quietly watching their act.

As soon as Zhou Guangfu finished, He Chunmei took over, even lecturing:

"Little sister, how about we pay extra? Would 100 yuan per night cover the lodging and AC electricity? We'll bring tents and won't stay long—just until the AC gets installed tomorrow or the day after.

They'll return home for showers and toilet needs, and we'll include your meals too, so you won't have to cook alone.

Besides, as neighbors, we should help each other out. After all, everyone faces tough times now and then, right?"

He Chunmei's performance and lines were rather clumsy, and Jiang Yan had finally seen enough.

"You're right, big sister. Neighbors should indeed help each other!"

Then her tone shifted, and her eyes gleamed mischievously:

"Big sister, my credit card and mortgage payments are about to default. How about you help me pay those first?!"

He Chunmei had been beaming at the first half of Jiang Yan's response, ready to seize the moment and ask her to open the door. But the second half hit her like a bucket of cold water. Her throat tightened, and her face flushed with anger.

Still, she quickly recovered and raised her voice, "Little girl, that's not the same thing at all—"

Before He Chunmei could finish—before the words "Messing with me?" even left her lips—Jiang Yan had already slammed the door shut with a loud "bang" and walked back inside.

"This—"

He Chunmei was a mid-level manager at her workplace and the primary breadwinner at home, where she called the shots. She had never been dismissed like this before.

Unable to suppress her anger, she lifted her foot to kick the door but hesitated halfway, recalling Jiang Yan's icy glare. Instead, she stomped her foot hard on the ground.

Zhou Guangfu gently patted her shoulder and consoled her, "Alright, dear, I told you this approach wasn't right. Who'd want to live with strangers anyway?"

"But it's an emergency! We only need to borrow the space for a day or two. Besides, I know the layout of our complex—her master bedroom has an ensuite bathroom. We'd just set up tents in the living room without disturbing her!

And we're offering 100 yuan a day for one room! Think about it—where else can you find shared housing that expensive?! The interns at my company share a four-bedroom apartment for just 1,500 yuan a month—that's only 10 yuan per room per day!"

"Alright, alright, dear. If they don't want to take us in, there's nothing we can do. Let's just go home." Zhou Guangfu just wanted to keep the peace and quickly tugged at He Chunmei's sleeve.

"Hmph! What's there to be so arrogant about?! She's clearly just a shameless mistress being kept by some man! I saw it with my own eyes when that man accompanied her to view the property! How else could a young girl afford such a large house?! And every time I see her going out, she's all covered up—must be because she can't stand the light of day!"

"Alright, dear, keep it down. Someone might hear you." Zhou Guangfu's drunkenness had mostly worn off by now, and seeing He Chunmei getting more and more outrageous, he quickly tried to coax and pull her toward home.

"So what if they hear? I'm not afraid of anything! Honestly, how did I end up with such a cowardly, useless man who can't even earn money!" He Chunmei, with no outlet for her anger, turned her frustration on Zhou Guangfu.

As she spoke, she didn't forget to give his arm a vicious pinch.

The pinch was so hard that Zhou Guangfu grimaced in pain, but he didn't dare say anything, only forcing himself to endure it as he said:

"Let's just go home first. Your parents' pension will be deposited tomorrow, and I'll talk to them about handing it all over to you, alright? Don't get too worked up—it's bad for your health, okay?"

"That's more like it!" He Chunmei snorted through her nostrils, shoved the cake plate into his hands, and stormed off, swaying her hips as she went to open the door.

Jiang Yan didn't hear their bizarre conversation. After closing the door and entering her home, she stepped into the dimension.

In the Planting Zone of the dimension, the black soil lay mostly empty except for a few lonely rose bushes.

The pile of saplings she had bought earlier was stacked to the side, not yet planted.

But the saplings were in excellent condition, merely paused in their growth.

In the White Area's Living Zone, aside from a chaise lounge and a set of study furniture, there was nothing else.

Tomorrow, Jiang Yan would place the custom-designed, luxury mobile Apple Cabin she had previously commissioned here.

The Apple Cabin was designed in a healing-style resort aesthetic and even included an outdoor swimming pool.

The cabin had three floors, totaling over a thousand square meters, occupying exactly half of the White Area's Living Zone.

A standard Apple Cabin cost around 3,000 yuan per square meter, but hers was built with the finest materials and furnishings—like Hansian bathroom fixtures, Pasta Country furniture, and Turkish carpets—bringing the cost to nearly 6,000 yuan per square meter.

Bedrooms, living room, kitchen, bathrooms, a multimedia entertainment room, gym, outdoor pool—everything was fully equipped.

The Holographic Projection Room for firearms training would also be set up in the multimedia room, which was why it took up the largest space.

Tomorrow, Jiang Yan would also need to visit the warehouse early to retrieve some of the solar panels stored in the dimension and have them installed directly on the Apple Cabin's roof.

That way, when she moved the Apple Cabin into the Living Zone of the dimension, she could shift part of her daily life inside.

After spending some time in the dimension, Jiang Yan returned to her room.

She booked a ride-hailing service for the next day, adjusted the air conditioning to sleep mode, and climbed into bed.

After a month of drifting abroad, she really needed to catch up on sleep.

-

The next day, Jiang Yan woke up a little after seven.

After glancing at the thermometer and the weather app on her phone, she was stunned to see the outside temperature had soared to a staggering 45 degrees Celsius.

Checking several countries and cities, she found that apart from a few desert regions with even higher temperatures, most places showed nearly identical readings.

This was truly beyond ridiculous.

Wondering how the public and authorities were reacting, she decided to check the news first.

The moment she opened a popular

news app, several trending posts with millions of likes and comments immediately popped up.

(End of Chapter)