Zhang Yi sighed, "Does this woman really think I'm a garbage collector?"
Though Fang Yuqing was a "green tea bitch" with a white lotus act, at least she knew how to act coquettishly and dress up well.
But Lin Caining, aside from being a self-absorbed narcissist, what else did she have going for her?
Still, for the sake of amusement, Zhang Yi smiled wickedly and said, "Oh, really? But I just gave Fang Yuqing a serious scolding. You two are good friends, right? If you end up with me, won't that affect your relationship with her?"
Lin Caining's eyes lit up, thinking there might be a chance.
Without hesitation, she replied, "Friends? We're just roommates."
To earn Zhang Yi's trust, she started spilling all of Fang Yuqing's dirty secrets.
"You have no idea how much I despise her!"
"This woman is so lazy, these days she says she's cold and won't even go to the bathroom. She uses a water bottle to pee, it disgusts me!"
"Don't let her act all innocent—she goes to nightclubs every night looking for men."
"If she meets a rich second-generation heir, she'll do whatever it takes to throw herself at him."
"If she's broke, she'll sell herself. After all, she only makes 5,000 yuan a month—how else can she afford all that makeup and designer bags?"
"She charges 1,500 yuan for one night. So cheap! Hmph, I can't stand women like her."
Zhang Yi was hearing this for the first time. He gritted his teeth, growing even more disgusted by how absurd the world was.
Luckily, he wasn't an idiot. Even though he'd pursued Fang Yuqing, he was far from being a pitiful simp like Zhou Peng.
Lin Caining continued to expose Fang Yuqing's secrets to gain Zhang Yi's trust.
"She acts all pure, but she's had multiple abortions."
"In college, she had several construction bosses taking care of her for four years."
…
Zhang Yi quietly listened and recorded their chat.
Clearly, Lin Caining had long held a grudge against Fang Yuqing.
After all, Fang Yuqing was better at playing cute and was prettier, which made Lin Caining nothing more than a sidekick.
What woman is ever happy to be someone else's "green leaf"?
That's why in college, those popular girls always had ugly, fat friends—they made the pretty girls look even better by comparison.
After venting about Fang Yuqing, Lin Caining continued to confess her feelings for Zhang Yi.
"Zhang Yi, you don't know how painful it's been for me watching you chase after Fang Yuqing all these years."
"Now I finally have a chance to confess. Let me be your girlfriend! I'll love you well from now on."
"And right now, you must be so lonely at home, right? Having a woman around can help with so many things. (^ω^)"
Lin Caining was clearly hinting to Zhang Yi that if he let her into his home, she was open to anything.
But unfortunately, Zhang Yi didn't have any interest in her.
He quickly forwarded the entire conversation to Fang Yuqing.
Then he said to Lin Caining, "I'm flattered, but let's just forget about it."
Lin Caining wasn't giving up. She asked, "Why? Don't you need a woman right now?"
Zhang Yi, fighting the nausea, said into his phone, "I do like women, but you're too ugly!"
After saying that, Zhang Yi muted his phone and tossed it aside.
When Lin Caining heard the voice message, she turned pale with rage.
He... he actually said she was too ugly?
What an insult! That was outright slander!
Every time she posted her edited photos online, countless people praised her as a beauty!
Just as Lin Caining was seething with anger, she heard a shrill, furious scream.
"Lin Caining, you slut!"
Fang Yuqing had just seen the things Lin Caining had said about her, and she snapped.
The two women started fighting, pulling each other's hair, scratching each other's arms.
They didn't stop until they were exhausted, but their eyes still burned with hatred.
If it weren't for the cold weather and the need to share a roof, they might have killed each other.
Lin Caining, of course, understood what had just happened. She was equally furious with Zhang Yi.
But like Fang Yuqing, instead of hating Zhang Yi, she felt more envy.
If Zhang Yi would just let them into his house to eat some food, they'd both throw away their dignity and crawl to him like dogs.
Meanwhile, Zhang Yi continued to live a simple, albeit prosperous, life.
Every night, he'd turn on the TV to watch news he'd never cared about before.
Although the news still had plenty of fluff, it did provide some outside information.
"Tianhai City's official announcement: To meet the public's demand for electricity, there will be power supply from 1 to 2 PM every day."
"High-power appliances cannot be used, only low-power devices like kettles and phones will be powered."
"Currently, all major power plants are shut down. Power is scarce, and we ask everyone to reduce their electricity usage to prevent widespread and prolonged power outages."
Zhang Yi raised an eyebrow as he read this news.
Over the past few days, there had been intermittent power supply, sometimes only lasting for an hour, sometimes just ten minutes.
At this point, the government was willing to supply power to the general public, even for just a short time. It was probably the best they could do under the circumstances.
Most power plants around the world had shut down, and until the Ice Age passed, energy would only get scarcer.
However, what caught Zhang Yi's attention wasn't the news itself, but the tone of the female anchor and the way the news was presented.
This time, the news anchor's tone was serious, and the content was no longer aimed at comforting the public.
This indicated that the authorities had given up on concealing the extent of the national disaster.
When they could no longer control the situation, the only option was to release the information to the public, so people could understand the reality and start planning for their own survival.
Sure enough, when Zhang Yi opened his phone, he saw that the various chat groups were already blowing up.
Some were angrily criticizing the government's inaction, others were crying in despair, and many were now buying and selling supplies at high prices.
The price of instant noodles had risen from 2,000 yuan per pack just two days ago to 5,000 yuan per pack!
Zhang Yi could only feel speechless.
The greed of humanity was truly laid bare. Even though everyone knew the world was at the brink of collapse, money had no use in the short term.
But people still wanted to trade food and drink for cash.
Zhang Yi didn't say anything. He was just a detached observer, watching everything unfold.
Life had to go on, even without hope. No one wanted to die, and even if it was just surviving, that was better than nothing.
So, despite the cursing and chaos, people would still keep fighting to survive the next day.