Li Yiyi stared at the willow branches swaying outside the hospital window, filled with regret.
She was dying.
If she had taken better care of her body instead of working overtime and staying up late, drinking two cups of milk tea and two cups of coffee every day, and relying on takeout for all three meals, she would not have developed terminal stomach cancer before even reaching the age of twenty-four.
If heaven gave her another chance, she would definitely cherish her health.
She regretted it so much. She was unwilling to die.
【Ding! Strong will to survive detected. Would you like to enter Apocalyptic Escape? As long as you survive until the end, you will have a chance to restore your health in the real world.】
Apocalyptic Escape was an apocalypse novel Li Yiyi had read while hospitalized. Besides zombies, there were terrifying extraterrestrial mutated monsters, and humanity was nearly wiped out.
There was a Scheming Female Cannon Fodder in the novel who shared the same name as her and died before the apocalypse even began, so Li Yiyi remembered her particularly well.
Li Yiyi would not let go of any chance to survive. Without hesitation, she clicked, “I’m willing.”
“Get… get away from me. Don’t touch me!”
The moment Li Yiyi opened her eyes, she heard a hoarse male voice filled with disgust.
She blinked.
The man in front of her had very fair skin and was wearing a white shirt. His bearing was distant and aloof, and he was exceptionally handsome. At that moment, however, his face was unnaturally flushed.
Then she looked at herself.
She was dressed provocatively and kept moving closer to him.
“Get out!” he shouted sharply.
Li Yiyi remembered him. This man was Jiang Jibai, her husband’s brother, a university professor and an aloof, untouchable beauty.
The original owner had entered into a business marriage with her husband. They had no feelings for each other, and the person she actually liked was his best friend.
In order to win over this gentle and distant man, the original owner had slipped something into the hot pot everyone was eating during their trip to Antarctica. Then, under the cover of darkness, she had sneaked into Jiang Jibai’s room.
Why had she put something in the hot pot?
Because Jiang Jibai would never eat anything given to him by the original owner, so she had no choice but to put it in a dish everyone would eat.
She had almost succeeded.
In the end, however, she was thrown out of the villa. The temperature in Antarctica at night dropped to minus fifty degrees Celsius, and she was wearing so little that she was instantly frozen into an icicle.
Jiang Jibai claimed that she had accidentally fallen out herself.
Her family would originally have investigated the matter, but the apocalypse arrived soon afterward. Her parents were too busy trying to survive themselves, so no one pursued the matter.
Thinking about this, Li Yiyi shuddered.
She had read more than half of this novel, so she knew that Jiang Jibai was like a glutinous rice ball with a black heart. He looked harmless on the outside but was ruthless underneath.
She absolutely would not provoke someone like him.
Using the last of her strength, she ran out of Jiang Jibai’s room and pulled open the door next door.
The room next door.
Her husband was sitting against the headboard with one leg propped up. His black silk robe was slightly open, revealing his exquisite collarbones. His Adam’s apple rose and fell with each breath. Under the dim light, he looked incredibly seductive.
Li Yiyi had watched countless handsome-men videos, yet her heart still skipped a beat.
This was Fu Sizhe, the male lead of the novel and her favorite character when she had been reading it. His combat ability was exceptionally powerful, and he was extremely doting toward the female lead.
She was not the female lead. She was not even important enough to be considered a supporting female character.
She heard her husband say coldly, “Who let you in? Get out.”
They had entered into a business marriage and had only met for the first time on their wedding day.
In order to expand the Fu family’s business into the southern market, Fu Sizhe had been forced to register his marriage with her as soon as he returned from the military. Their marriage had always existed in name only.
The original owner had always liked the refined and gentle Jiang Jibai.
Fu Sizhe did not actually dislike the original owner. After all, she had the kind of appearance he liked, with a tall, curvaceous figure and a pure yet alluring beauty.
But the original owner had never treated him kindly. She thought he was too fierce and cold. On top of that, she was selfish and had sabotaged several projects belonging to the Fu family. Gradually, Fu Sizhe stopped bothering with her.
Li Yiyi thought differently.
She felt that Fu Sizhe was incredibly strong and capable. Having spent so much time bedridden because of her illness, she particularly loved his healthy, solid muscles.
His warning did not frighten her. Instead, she walked toward Fu Sizhe.
As she drew closer, she caught a strange, indescribable scent.
Fu Sizhe did not tell her to leave again. He simply looked at her with a dark, unreadable gaze.
Li Yiyi pressed herself against his chest and said sweetly, “I don’t want to go out. We’re legally married.”
She thought that this way, she would not be thrown out of the villa. Besides, if she became intimate with the male lead, he would not abandon her. That would give her a better chance of surviving until the end.
Fu Sizhe had already been forcing himself to endure.
After eating that hot pot, he had returned to his room and developed a fever. Now, with the faint fragrance coming from the woman in his arms and the softness against him, the veins on his forehead bulged as his well-defined hand slowly wrapped around her waist…
The next morning, Li Yiyi was awakened by the cold. Her body still ached slightly.
She looked over.
The blanket had already been folded into a perfect square, while her husband was leaning against the headboard with his arms crossed, staring at her with a trace of murderous intent.
She swallowed.
Surely it wasn’t that serious?
“Li Yiyi, did you drug me?” Fu Sizhe’s voice was cold. His chiseled features were sharp and intimidating, naturally carrying an air of menace.
Li Yiyi trembled, sat up, hugged his solid arm, and said softly, “I was wrong. I just wanted to get closer to you.”
Fu Sizhe’s body stiffened.
Li Yiyi had read the novel, so she knew that Fu Sizhe responded to softness rather than force. He especially could not resist coquettish behavior and tears. Even though the female lead in the novel was quite willful and spoiled, whenever she cried and acted sweetly, he would forgive her.
Sure enough, Fu Sizhe did not question her any further. He only said, “If you do this again, I won’t let you off so easily!”
So this time, he was letting her off.
When they reached the living room, Li Yiyi learned that Jiang Jibai and his friends had already left.
They had come to Antarctica to retrieve some data from a research base, and they had already arrived at the base.
Fu Sizhe had also come to Antarctica for business. He was here to collect krill samples. A new drug being developed by his company required krill extract, a substance that could make cells younger.
Li Yiyi was the only idle person among them.
Knowing that Jiang Jibai would be coming, she had cried and made a fuss until they agreed to let her come along.
At this point in the original novel, she had already been frozen into an icicle.
But now, she had survived.
“Pack your things. We’ll leave first thing tomorrow morning.”
Fu Sizhe sat by the window handling work emails. Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows was the frozen silver-white landscape of Antarctica.
They were currently staying on an island in Antarctica, which was Fu Sizhe’s private island. There was a villa and various living facilities on it, and a butler usually stayed there to manage everything. After they arrived, the butler had returned to the mainland.
Li Yiyi knew they would not be able to leave tomorrow morning.
The apocalypse would begin tonight.
When that happened, the Antarctic glaciers would melt at an unimaginable speed, and everyone would die.
Li Yiyi did not know whether Fu Sizhe would abandon her, so she could only do her best to improve his impression of her.
She took out some coffee beans and put them into the coffee machine. The aroma of coffee soon spread throughout the villa, where a fireplace was burning warmly.
Fu Sizhe was sitting by the window, dealing with emails from the company’s executives.
“I made you some coffee. Don’t work too hard.”
Li Yiyi’s voice was gentle, and her pleasant appearance made her especially endearing.
The slight furrow between Fu Sizhe’s brows relaxed.
Ding-dong.
He received an email.
It was from Jiang Jibai.
【Something’s wrong. Come to the research station immediately.】
Fu Sizhe put on his windproof clothing and protective goggles and was about to leave.
“Where are you going? I’m coming with you.”
Fu Sizhe frowned at her, unable to understand why she was suddenly being so clingy.
Li Yiyi knew that the safest place was wherever Fu Sizhe was.
If she stayed alone in the villa, once the glaciers melted, she would sink into the sea along with the house.
Ding-dong.
Another message arrived.
【Don’t come anymore. The glaciers are melting too quickly. Leave Antarctica immediately!】
What?
Fu Sizhe looked out the window.
The towering icebergs that had been frozen solid only moments ago had already shrunk noticeably.