After listening to Lin Caining's persuasion, Fang Yuqing found it quite reasonable. But the most important reason was that she was too hungry.
When she thought about the pictures Zhang Yi had sent her before—those steaks, Australian lobsters, and snacks with fruits—her mouth began to water.
All her pride could be set aside for a bite of food.
She took out her phone, found Zhang Yi's WeChat, and sent him a voice message, trying to sound as gentle as possible.
Zhang Yi was sitting on his couch at home, watching TV. Almost all major TV channels worldwide had stopped broadcasting, but he had already downloaded plenty of classic movies and variety shows to pass the long, boring hours.
"Ding-dong!"
His phone rang. Zhang Yi glanced at it and saw that it was from Fang Yuqing. A playful smile crept onto his face.
So, this woman's pitiful pride had finally crumbled.
He opened the voice message and immediately heard Fang Yuqing's trembling, babyish voice.
"Hmph, Zhang Yi, you naughty boy! You haven't chatted with me in so many days; you're so mean!"
"I only said a couple of things to you the other day, and I regretted it immediately!"
"But you know how it is, I'm a girl, so it's hard to be the first one to speak. You naughty boy, you don't even know how to care for me!"
As a seasoned flirt, Fang Yuqing had a talent for acting cute and charming. In their past lives, she had Zhang Yi wrapped around her finger with this routine.
Admittedly, hearing her sweet, coquettish tone made Zhang Yi feel a little weak in the knees.
He gritted his teeth—this vixen! If he didn't know how cruel she was inside, he'd really be tempted to give in!
Zhang Yi sent her a message in response.
"I haven't been feeling well lately. I think I'm sick, so I haven't bothered to check WeChat."
When Fang Yuqing heard this, she quickly asked, "Sick? Did you catch a cold in this freezing weather? You need to stay warm."
"No, it's heatstroke."
Zhang Yi replied.
Fang Yuqing stared blankly at the message.
Heatstroke?
Are you kidding me?
In her apartment, the temperature had dropped to minus 50 or 60 degrees. She and Lin Caining were huddled under blankets, shivering together, struggling to sleep due to the cold.
Heatstroke? Seriously?
"Zhang Yi, stop joking. It's freezing; how could you get heatstroke?"
Zhang Yi replied with a "curious" emoji.
"Is it cold? Oh, I have a fireplace in my house, so I don't really notice it."
"This thing burns so hot that it's unbearable in the room sometimes. Maybe I got sick because I accidentally fell asleep by the fire a few days ago."
With that, Zhang Yi took a picture of his roaring fireplace, casually including his bare legs in the shot. He also made sure to capture the piles of snacks on his coffee table, as well as the leftover lamb ribs and chicken drumsticks.
Then, he sent the photo to Fang Yuqing.
When Fang Yuqing saw the picture, if the previous ones had made her a little envious, this one made her eyes burn with jealousy!
A fireplace!
This was the ultimate way to stay warm! Even in the distant north, people could survive in subzero temperatures with a fireplace. Its heating power was even stronger than central heating because you could sit right next to it!
Fang Yuqing had been freezing for days, her body almost numb.
Besides food, warmth was what she craved the most right now.
A few days ago, she and Lin Caining had burned a chair in the house just to keep warm for a short while. Though the fire only lasted for a few minutes, the warmth had moved her to tears.
But there was hardly anything left to burn in the house. Once it was gone, she could only reminisce about the warmth.
Who would've thought that Zhang Yi would have a fireplace at home?
Tianhai City was in the south, where people didn't even need to wear down jackets in winter, so who would install a fireplace in their house?
Fang Yuqing didn't bother thinking about that. Her eyes were glued to the photo, and she had only one thought: she wanted to go to Zhang Yi's house!
Seeing Zhang Yi lounging casually with his bare legs and the mountain of food on his table, Zhang Yi had now become Fang Yuqing's only hope!
Lin Caining, who was curled up under a blanket nearby, noticed the change in Fang Yuqing's expression.
She leaned in for a look and was soon just as stunned.
"Oh my god! This picture must be photoshopped, right? How could anyone live so well in times like these?"
"This place is paradise!"
Fang Yuqing suddenly snapped out of her daze.
"Yeah, everyone's struggling with hunger and cold. How could Zhang Yi be living so comfortably?"
"Maybe this photo, along with the others, was just photoshopped."
An idea popped into her head, and she video-called Zhang Yi.
The truth would be clear with just a glance.
Lin Caining also leaned in closer, her eyes fixed on the screen.
Zhang Yi saw the video call invitation, his expression playful.
He was quite curious to see how this manipulative woman would beg him for help.
If he couldn't watch her slowly despair, how could he avenge the tragic death he suffered in his past life?
So, he answered the call.
When the call connected, both sides saw each other's current state.
Zhang Yi had just finished working out and was lounging lazily on the sofa, shirtless.
The room was brightly lit, with fitness equipment behind him, and the kitchen was filled with food supplies.
Sometimes, he cooked for fun, so his kitchen was stocked with boxes of scallops, fish maw, abalone, premium ramen, and gourmet items like caviar and truffles.
For him, these were just snacks to indulge in occasionally.
But to the two women on the other side of the screen, these were the most coveted foods in the world!
Compared to Zhang Yi's comfort, Fang Yuqing and Lin Caining appeared extremely disheveled.
Both of them were bundled up in thick blankets, and because the cold had made many of their beauty products unusable, they looked a bit worn out. They no longer had the polished appearance they usually displayed.
When Zhang Yi saw Fang Yuqing, a hint of disappointment flashed in his eyes.
The goddess he had once chased after, it turned out, was no more than a six out of ten without makeup.
Thinking back on how he had been infatuated with this false beauty for so long, Zhang Yi cursed silently to himself: "Shakeit! Damn it!"
The two women, however, were too distracted to notice Zhang Yi's expression.
Their eyes were glued to the luxuries in Zhang Yi's home.
His bare torso indicated the temperature inside was comfortable. The bright lights—something they hadn't seen for more than an hour at a time during daily power outages—were unthinkable.
After all, the authorities had restricted the use of high-powered appliances, or risk a forced blackout.
And the pile of food in his kitchen? To two women who had been surviving on rations for days, it was nothing short of a dream come true!