Zhang Ye feigned confusion and said, "What's wrong? I haven't done anything bad."
Lin Cainin replied, "Are you stupid? The city is sealed off by snow, and we've nearly run out of food at home."
"This is the perfect time to bring over some good food and show your loyalty to Yuqing!"
"If I were you, I'd bring all the good stuff—steaks, lobsters, everything."
"When Yuqing gets moved by your gesture, won't your chances improve?"
Zhang Ye read the message and could already picture that gold-digger drooling at the thought.
He let out a cold laugh.
How was this any different from begging?
What made it laughable was that they were begging while still trying to act like they were doing him a favor—as if by giving them food, Zhang Ye was being granted an opportunity.
The audacity of it made Zhang Ye want to slap them both across the face.
Disgusting!
Zhang Ye decided to have a little fun with these two green tea bitches.
He replied, "But I don't have much food left either. Just barely enough for myself."
Lin Cainin frowned and instantly criticized, "You're such a fool! How long can this snow disaster last? If you go hungry for a day or two and win Yuqing over, it'll be totally worth it!"
"If you can't even sacrifice this little bit, I don't think you really love Yuqing at all!"
Zhang Ye laughed even harder.
One plays the good cop, the other the bad. They were really running their CPU at full throttle.
Unfortunately for them, Zhang Ye had lived through all this before—he had already seen through their shamelessness.
Facing Lin Cainin's manipulation, he simply replied with a cold "Oh," and tossed his phone aside.
When Lin Cainin saw that single word—"Oh"—she almost exploded.
"Oh? What do you mean by 'Oh'?!"
"I've been talking to you all this time, and that's all you have to say?"
"Get the food over here now! I want to eat steak and lobster too!"
Lin Cainin was a total foodie. Not having eaten anything good in days, the sight of Zhang Ye dining like a king had her drooling.
She had planned to use Yuqing's name to trick Zhang Ye into bringing them all his delicious food.
But things had gone completely off-script.
That one "Oh" nearly shattered her ego.
Could it be… he wasn't interested in Fang Yuqing anymore?
No, no, impossible!
Lin Cainin thought back to how diligently Zhang Ye had courted Fang Yuqing over the years and shook her head.
"He must've just lost his mind temporarily!"
Frustrated, Lin Cainin ran off to Fang Yuqing and told her everything—of course, with her own dramatic flair.
She told Yuqing that she only contacted Zhang Ye to help her ask for supplies.
Fang Yuqing wore a cold expression and said haughtily, "Hmph, who's Zhang Ye? I don't even know him. Don't mention him to me again!"
If Zhang Ye wanted to become her simp again, he'd have to grovel, apologize, and pay a hefty price before she'd even consider forgiving him.
Lin Cainin nudged her, "This Zhang Ye isn't getting it. Don't you have other simps?"
There were quite a few people in the neighborhood who worked in the warehouse—among them was one of Fang Yuqing's other admirers, Zhou Peng, the most devoted of them all.
Fang Yuqing knew exactly who she was talking about.
She sneered—Zhou Peng didn't even qualify as a backup option.
Even though they both worked at Walmart, Zhou Peng didn't own property in Tianhai City and was still renting. Fang Yuqing only used him to get freebies. She had zero actual interest in him.
Lin Cainin urged, "It's freezing outside, and the snow is getting worse. We can't go out to buy anything. Why not use him for now? Get him to help us out!"
Fang Yuqing's eyes flickered. She had to admit, Lin Cainin made a good point.
So she sent Zhou Peng a message.
To her surprise, he showed up in under five minutes, practically skipping, with a backpack full of food.
Since he worked at the Walmart warehouse, he often took home discounted items—so he had stock at home.
A single message from Fang Yuqing had him energized, picking out the best things to bring her.
He even thumped his chest and said, "Yuqing, whatever you need, just say the word. You know I'd do anything for you!"
For once, Fang Yuqing gave him a smile.
"Thanks, Zhou Peng. You're so sweet."
A few sweet words and she had him eating out of the palm of her hand.
But as soon as she returned indoors, her expression changed completely.
"Pfft, you actually think you have a chance with me? Maybe in your next life!"
…
Across the entire apartment building, the atmosphere was becoming strange.
The extreme cold meant that even with the heater on, indoor temperatures remained below zero.
For people in southern cities like Tianhai, it was unbearable.
And since they didn't have the habit of stockpiling supplies, just two days of this ice age had emptied most of their fridges.
Even though Auntie Lin was still trying to reassure everyone that the snow disaster would pass quickly, doubt was spreading through the crowd.
Zhang Ye, however, saw it all with amusement.
In this apocalypse, he was better prepared than anyone—he was living more comfortably now than he did before the end of the world.
Like an outsider, he sat back and watched the drama unfold.
After Zhang Ye had taught Chen Zhenghao and his lackeys a lesson, they stopped coming around to bother him.
They knew Zhang Ye's place was not easy to break into.
Besides, one of Chen Zhenghao's legs was basically crippled. Without a hospital, he'd be permanently disabled in a few days.
As for his minions, after being soaked with cold water, they had all come down with severe colds and fevers.
Without a way to stay warm, they were more likely to die of illness before they starved to death.
At home, Zhang Ye passed the time playing video games and watching chat group dramas.
When he got bored, he worked out.
He had tons of high-end gym equipment at home, all top international brands.
Sometimes, he studied the professional handbooks he had downloaded online—like the Barefoot Doctor's Manual and the Militia Training Handbook.
Better safe than sorry. It was good to have these skills, even if he never had to use them—one day, they might save his life.
Outside, snow fell endlessly. The sky was covered in clouds, making it hard to tell day from night.
On the morning of the third day, Zhang Ye crawled out of bed, a fragrant roasted duck from Bianyifang in his arms, and checked the clock.
"It's about time. The real show is about to begin."
He said this calmly.
And right at that moment, his chat groups completely exploded.