Chapter 2

But… even a dog could make you grow attached to it, and my girlfriend of more than a year was having such a hard time that I still softened and let her bring her family over.

I thought they would have the self-awareness of people living under someone else’s roof, but the saying that people from poor, remote places could be especially difficult to deal with turned out to be completely true.

They took over my house without the slightest shame. Relying on their numbers, they treated me like a servant and bullied me.

In the end, my girlfriend pushed me out of the house and told me I couldn’t come back unless I bought food. I was so hot that I knelt outside the door and begged her to let me in.

No one answered me.

Outside, my whole body swelled from the heat and my head spun. Inside, they had the air conditioner running while eating watermelon, and their laughter came clearly through the door.

“So what if he’s some rich city boy? He still has to work like a mule for our family. In my opinion, men need to be disciplined. Amy, you need to train him properly from now on and make sure he listens to you instead of causing trouble!”

“Exactly. City people are all like that. They don’t have a brain. All you have to do is sweet-talk them and they’re yours.”

Remembering those humiliating words made my whole body tremble with rage.

I opened the SnapChat call that had been ringing nonstop, deleted and blocked Amy, and did the same with all her other contact information.

I never wanted to see anything related to her again.

I opened Amazon and ordered the newest door barricade, making preparations to protect myself during the coming heat wave.

My parents were vacationing abroad, so I called them internationally and told them to prepare all kinds of supplies for the heat wave and stop traveling around outside.

In my previous life, only my country experienced the ten-day heat wave. There had been no similar news overseas.

But I didn’t dare take that chance. I repeatedly urged my parents to take precautions and not go outside to risk their safety.

“It’s better to lie in your hotel for ten days than gamble on the possibility that something dangerous might happen.”

My voice had never been more serious. My parents were both touched and relieved. They sighed that their son had finally grown up, then transferred two hundred thousand dollars into my account so I could stock up on supplies, stay home, and avoid putting myself in danger.

After hanging up, my eyes were a little red.

I had clearly grown up in a family surrounded by love. I had never lacked affection from my parents or relatives, and my friends had always looked after me. How had I ever fallen for a cheap, manipulative woman like Amy?

Just thinking of her made me feel sick again.

I shook my head, trying to drive away those disgusting memories, put on a mask and a hat, and went to the largest warehouse-style supermarket to buy supplies.

It was summer vacation, so there weren’t many students around the university district, and the supermarket was nearly empty.

That made it convenient for me to buy as much as I wanted.

I bought too many frozen foods, so I ordered a large freezer on the spot in case my refrigerator couldn’t hold everything.

When the manager of the appliance section saw such a huge order, his face practically split into a grin. He followed me enthusiastically, asking if I needed anything else.

“Give me three wall-mounted air conditioners, two electric fans, an ice maker, a milk tea machine, and an ice cream machine.”

I wouldn’t have to worry about buying too much and not using it. I had been planning to open a milk tea shop next to the university after graduation, so I could use all of it later.

I called over the fresh-food distribution manager and ordered enough vegetables, meat, rice, flour, and cooking oil to last a month. I had everything delivered to my home in their delivery trucks.

My apartment was the only unit on its floor, so even if there was a lot of commotion, the neighbors wouldn’t know exactly which unit it came from. I also hadn’t joined the homeowners’ group chat, in case I saw other families’ miserable situations and softened, then gave away my supplies.

I bought enough water for an adult to drink for a month. I also bought instant noodles and self-heating rice meals, so I wouldn’t starve if I didn’t feel like cooking.

After thinking it over, I felt I had covered everything.

The heat-wave warning predicted ten days, but I had stocked up for a month. That should be more than enough.

Besides, I still had some snail noodles, rice noodles, and other food I had bought online before, along with plenty of snacks. No matter how I calculated it, I had more than enough.