Lan Jin carefully read through the instruction manual. The clothes needed to be worn directly against the skin to achieve the best results. Whether the outside temperature was seventy degrees above zero or seventy below, it would automatically adjust to keep the body at a steady twenty-five degrees.
Of course, if the temperature went beyond that seventy-degree range, the effect would weaken. But even then, wearing it would still be better than not wearing it at all. And seventy degrees in either direction was already extreme, so in most situations, wearing it would be more than enough.
Lan Jin thought the manual sounded just as exaggerated as the advertisement. A difference of seventy degrees was enormous. Still, since she had bought it, she would test it for herself. She set the manual aside and took the clothes out of the box for a closer look.
The design was similar to the thermal underwear worn in winter, with a lower neckline—probably for easier layering with other clothes. To prevent the neck from getting cold, it came with an… admittedly unattractive neck warmer.
It looked like someone had chopped the collar off a turtleneck and handed it to her. Strange and ugly, but if the clothes worked as advertised, who would care about appearances?
After holding it up and examining it for a bit, Lan Jin put it on.
The fabric was very thin yet incredibly stretchy, wrapping snugly over every inch of her skin. A moment ago, she had felt a faint chill. Now, everywhere covered by the material warmed instantly.
She paced around the bedroom for a while and truly felt no trace of cold. Opening the window, she let a blast of icy wind rush in. The covered areas of her body stayed toasty, but her neck was another matter. The sharp contrast convinced her on the spot of the garment's effectiveness.
"This is worth it," she murmured. "Expensive things have their reason for being expensive."
With this on, she no longer needed layers of bulky clothing. She put on only a thin outer layer and stored the rest away in her space.
She glanced at Qiao Qiao, who was sitting on the bed watching her. "Mama's clothes are really good. I have fabric for you too. Mama will make you some later. Then you won't have to wear so many layers. This morning you said it was too tight, remember?"
Hearing there was a set for her, Qiao Qiao's eyes lit up. "Okay! Okay!"
…
That afternoon, Lan Jin got everything ready and began cutting the fabric.
She had a small hand-cranked sewing machine at home. It didn't take up much space. She had bought it to make crafts for fun, but it had never been used—until now.
The clothes were harder to make than she had imagined. She spent hours practicing before daring to cut the fabric. But once the pieces were ready, sewing them together was simple. Before long, the set of temperature-regulating clothes was finished and on Qiao Qiao's body.
Her sewing skills couldn't compare to professional work, but since these would be worn underneath, they didn't need to look good. Even if they were ugly, it didn't matter.
Once the clothes were on, not only was Lan Jin satisfied, but Qiao Qiao was overjoyed. She ran around the room several times before exclaiming, "Mama! No cold!"
"Yes. This is called a temperature-regulating outfit. It keeps you at twenty-five degrees. That part's not important—you don't need to understand it. Just know you won't have to wear as many clothes anymore. As for how it looks, we won't worry about that. Mama's not a real tailor."
Qiao Qiao, too happy about wearing fewer layers, didn't even notice the rough stitching.
…
After several more days of relentless rain, the floodwaters reached the twenty-third floor.
No one could believe it. In just two months, the water had risen this high. Yet the truth was right there. Not that it mattered how high it got—life for those trapped inside the buildings had never been easy. Before, even at lower levels, people couldn't leave. Now it was even less possible.
Lan Jin's group of four still had enough food. But others in the building…
Any edible supplies had run out half a month ago.
Without food, yet desperate to survive, some turned to ruthless methods.
The proof was in the air: the scent of cooked meat drifting up almost daily, and the screams that could be heard every few days.
Perhaps afraid of the "toy" in Lan Jin's hands, no one dared to come upstairs and bother them, no matter how bad things got. Naturally, Lan Jin had no intention of meddling in other people's business.
After all, sticking her nose in could very well cost her life.
…
Aside from that, the strangest thing in the past half-month had been the wild swings in temperature. It sounded unbelievable, but in the daytime it could drop to just two or three degrees, while at night it could climb to twenty-nine or thirty. The sudden changes made people sick easily.
And, of course, there was no medicine.
Fortunately, Lan Jin had made the clothes in time. She and Qiao Qiao barely noticed the changes while wearing them. But the thermometer on the balcony confirmed the truth—yes, the temperature really was jumping like that.
…
Just as Lan Jin was wondering what strange weather might come next, it happened.
In the middle of the night, when everyone thought it would be just another ordinary evening, the temperature suddenly plunged. Before going to sleep, she had seen it at twenty-eight degrees. Now, it had dropped to five below zero.
Even so, the two slept soundly thanks to their clothes. The first to notice something was wrong was Nana, curled up at the foot of her bed.
Nana paced the floor once, then stood by the window for a while. After confirming something was off, he leapt onto Lan Jin and woke her up.
Lan Jin opened bleary eyes. "What's wrong, Nana?"
Then she froze. A biting cold was creeping along her neck. Her teeth were chattering, and it felt as if her jaw was starting to lock.
She touched her face and neck, then gasped. "Why so cold?"
She hurried to check Qiao Qiao. Her body was warm, but her face and neck were icy, just like herself.