The pig they bought needed processing, and the entire following day was consumed by that single animal.
The whole apartment smelled of raw pork. Cong Yixing’s hands never rested; he had to clean the organs—which had only been roughly prepped—and deal with the stubborn bristles left on the pig’s legs and head.
Jiang Ting hated the texture of raw meat, so she limited her role to retrieving items from the space when Cong Yixing needed them and putting the semi-processed pork back inside.
While acting as a human storage unit, she also had to scurry back and forth to the bathroom to store water. She was kept running in circles.
Cong Yixing didn’t even have time to drink water; the smell of the offal made him want to gag.
Jiang Ting took a can of cola from the fridge, poured it into a glass filled with ice cubes, and fed it to him through a straw.
“It’s so hot. Should we start stockpiling some ice cubes?”
Cong Yixing took several large gulps of cola and glanced at Jiang Ting, who had put on a mask at some point to block the stench. “Get me a mask too. I can barely breathe.”
With a thought, a box of masks appeared in Jiang Ting’s hand. She pulled one out and sent the box back.
Inside the space, the box landed precisely in its original spot, surrounded by medical and protective supplies.
After putting the mask on Cong Yixing, Jiang Ting said with a touch of pride, “I have great control now, don’t I? I can find whatever I want instantly!”
Cong Yixing looked warily out the kitchen window and cautioned her, “Don’t use the space while standing near the window next time. You never know if someone from the opposite building is looking this way.”
Jiang Ting was unconvinced. “I’m being very careful! There’s a green belt and a parking area between us and Building 15. They’re so far away!”
Cong Yixing didn’t yield easily. “Caution is never a mistake. We aren’t just protecting the space; we’re protecting you. Think about it—if someone discovered something that defies science like this, what would happen? If they took you away to study you, how could I save you?”
Knowing he was right, Jiang Ting stopped being stubborn. “Mhm, I’ll be more careful.”
With the mask covering half his face, Cong Yixing’s eyes crinkled with a smile. Picking up on her previous suggestion, he said, “Fortunately, everything from the fridge has been moved into the space, so the freezer is empty. If you want to hoard ice, find the spare ice trays. Boil a kettle of water, let it cool, and freeze it in the trays.”
Jiang Ting suggested, “That’s too slow. Why don’t we order a bunch of milk tea and ask the shop for some extra ice?”
Cong Yixing asked curiously, “Are milk tea shops still open?”
Jiang Ting checked her phone. Most shops on the delivery apps were closed, but a few milk tea shops were still hanging on. However, there were no delivery drivers; you had to go for in-store pickup.
Cong Yixing thought for a moment. “Maybe we should just buy a home ice maker. I’ll look for one when I go to the electronics mall tonight.”
The usually frugal Cong Yixing had suddenly become quite extravagant, willing to buy whatever they needed without hesitation.
Jiang Ting understood. After all, she had been exactly the same when she first inherited the space—whenever she saw something delicious, she wanted to buy it and pack it away!
An ice maker wasn’t a guaranteed find, so Jiang Ting decided to start making some ice in the fridge in the meantime. Every little bit helped.
When Jiang Ting returned after putting the water on to boil, she didn’t expect Cong Yixing to still remember her earlier boasting. He combined the two topics and praised her: “Our baby has been so hardworking lately. Not only are you helping me, but you’re also taking the initiative to find tasks. More importantly, you’re so obedient—you rearranged the space exactly how I wanted and remembered every location. You’re amazing!”
Jiang Ting lost herself in the shower of praise. During the next stage of food prep, she even took it upon herself to chop and prep the vegetables, significantly reducing Cong Yixing’s workload.
At 8:30 PM, after the sun had set, Cong Yixing prepared to head out.
He put on his heat-insulating suit and, at Jiang Ting’s insistence, took a bottle of cooling spray. Jiang Ting told him, “If you get too hot, spray your face. Remember to close your eyes.”
He agreed with a slight chuckle. Since the weather turned strange, Jiang Ting—who used to take a very relaxed approach with him—was gradually turning into a worrying mother hen, constantly fretting and fussing over every detail.
Right before he left, Jiang Ting transferred some money to him via her phone. “Your ‘slush fund’ must be running dry, right? Don’t be shy about it. Everything you buy goes into my space, so it’s essentially being bought for me. It’s perfectly fine to spend my money!”
Cong Yixing’s bank balance was indeed hitting rock bottom, so he didn’t refuse her. However, he was shocked when he saw the transfer amount. “Why so much?!”
Jiang Ting had transferred 200,000 yuan to him! He didn’t even earn that much in a year. Where did she get this much money?
Jiang Ting grinned.
Cong Yixing was transparent about his finances with her, but he had never asked how much she had. Over the years, Cong Yixing had covered most of their shared expenses. Jiang Ting only had to pay her share of the rent and occasionally buy snacks. Her income from video editing was more than enough for those costs, and she even had a surplus. The money her grandmother had left her remained largely untouched, sitting in the bank collecting interest.
While the feeling of saving money was good, they were about to become a family. Using it to buy supplies and provide a better life for their family was the true value of money.
She gave a generous wave of her hand. “Go on! Spend it boldly. Your wife is loaded!”
Cong Yixing left with a look of existential confusion. After her display of generosity, Jiang Ting looked at her balance—which had dropped by a quarter—and felt a twinge of heartache. She thought: Did I overdo it with the grand gesture?
Cong Yixing didn’t return until after midnight.
When Jiang Ting received his message and went downstairs, there were still a few people scattered about the complex taking walks. Cong Yixing hadn’t parked directly in front of their building; instead, he had pulled into a corner near Building 18, with the car facing a wall for better concealment.
Jiang Ting tripped as she got into the car. Cong Yixing unbuckled his seatbelt to catch her and whispered, “Careful. The car is packed; there’s only room in the front.”
The light was dim, so Jiang Ting couldn’t see exactly what everything was. Regardless, she pulled everything—except the seats—into her space in one fell swoop.
The two remained silent throughout the process. Once she finished, Jiang Ting got out quickly. Cong Yixing saw her into the stairwell before heading back to drive the car out of the complex.
Jiang Ting was very worried about him going to the parking lot alone so late. Before his return, she had no heart to check what he had bought; she only knew she had collected several large items and various smaller ones.
She calculated the time: how long to drive out, how long to get into the underground lot, and how long to walk back. After about twenty minutes, Jiang Ting began pacing the room anxiously.
At lunch, she had seen a news story about two girls who went to the supermarket at night and were robbed by three men with knives on their way home. Not only were their money and phones taken, but their grocery bags were snatched too. One girl even had her arm slashed as a warning not to call the police.
They eventually did report it, of course.
With surveillance cameras everywhere in modern society, the police quickly caught the three robbers using street footage.
However, the two girls were severely traumatized. The girl who had been cut was quite brave; she shared the entire experience on social media, uploading photos of her wound being treated at the hospital and her police report.
The story gained a lot of traction, with many netizens sharing their own encounters with suspicious individuals in the comments.
Societal instability inevitably caused psychological chaos. The oppression of daily life led to many spontaneous crimes; people who usually seemed law-abiding might commit a tragedy due to a sudden dark impulse.
Crimes of opportunity like these were impossible to prevent entirely. Consequently, the government was looking for ways to soothe the restless public. Jiang Ting heard that a second distribution of supplies would happen soon. She sincerely hoped this measure would work and prevent the situation from deteriorating further.
Hearing familiar footsteps in the hallway, Jiang Ting checked the time. The entire process had taken 30 minutes. Cong Yixing was home.
Jiang Ting didn’t open the door immediately. Even though the footsteps sounded familiar, she waited until Cong Yixing knocked and called out her name before unbolting the door.
This was what they had agreed upon at lunch. After reading several similar news reports, Cong Yixing had told her, “Wait until you hear my voice or receive a message from me before opening the door. If it’s a stranger, ask what they want. You should only open the door if I’m home. If I’m out, don’t open it even if they claim to be from the community office or the police.”
Jiang Ting, being naturally cautious, had nodded and promised to follow this strictly.
Cong Yixing stepped from the dim hallway into the bright apartment. Under the lights, his face was drenched in sweat. In just a few hours, a layer of dry skin had formed on his lips. While outside, his hair had been repeatedly soaked with sweat and then dried by the car’s AC; now it was greasy and plastered to his scalp.
He used his arm to keep Jiang Ting—who was leaning in for a hug—at a distance. “Wait a second. I’m covered in sweat.”
Jiang Ting followed him closely into the bathroom, watching him wash his hands and face.
Cong Yixing wiped his face and, seeing Jiang Ting following him like a shadow, he leaned down slightly. He cupped her small face with his damp, large hands and asked softly, “Were you scared, waiting for me at home alone?”
Jiang Ting pursed her lips, her voice trembling as if she were about to cry, though her words remained stubborn: “No. It’s just that you were 10 minutes late.”
Cong Yixing couldn’t help himself; he pinched her protruding lips and said, “Duck-billed Jiang Ting.”
Jiang Ting slapped his hand away. Her voice stopped trembling as she shouted his name in annoyance: “Cong Yixing!!”
Cong Yixing wanted to hug her but was mindful of the sweat on his body. He apologized first: “I’m sorry, baby. I didn’t mean to be late. The barrier at the parking lot was broken, and there was no one at the guardhouse. I had to call the duty number to find someone to fix it.”
He knew ten minutes was enough for Jiang Ting to imagine all sorts of things. She must have been worried but didn’t dare call him for fear of alerting someone to his location if he were in danger. He asked with a grin, “What scenario did you cook up this time? That I was being chased by someone with a machete, and I finally found a gap to crawl into, but was too afraid to message you because the bad guys might hear the notification?”
He had hit the nail on the head; Jiang Ting really had imagined a series of him being in peril.
Exasperated, Jiang Ting stomped on his feet several times, refusing to admit she had been scared by her own imagination or that she had missed him and wanted a hug the moment he returned.
But Cong Yixing knew her too well. He said, “Go to the living room and take out everything you just collected. Then make me a glass of iced lemon water. I’ll take a quick shower, and then I’ll come hug you, okay?”
Jiang Ting looked at his parched lips and nodded sullenly.