She resumed her routine of walking the dog, jogging, and buying breakfast.
At the same time, she wandered through supermarkets to see if there was anything she had forgotten to stock up on.
Xia Sisi discovered that Dahei had an astonishing appetite and especially loved meat.
Before this, Lieutenant Ren had already told her that this breed was expensive to raise because all that muscle required a huge amount of protein.
Normally, it was best to boil meat for him regularly.
So every morning, besides dog food, Xia Sisi would boil beef, chicken breast, and other meats for him.
But he always ate at incredible speed, like a starving ghost reincarnated.
After feeding him for the past couple of days, Xia Sisi even noticed that he had actually gotten a little thinner.
With no other choice, she called Lieutenant Ren to ask about it, only to find out… she simply hadn’t been feeding him enough.
So this morning, after returning from their walk, Xia Sisi watched Dahei bury his entire huge head into the pot, devouring food wildly, and thought to herself that she would need to buy far more meat than she had originally planned.
And once the apocalypse arrived, meat would become a scarce resource. People would even fight violently over a single piece of meat or one sausage.
After dealing with Lin Yi’s matter today and arranging the renovation workers tomorrow, she planned to take Dahei to the slaughterhouses in the suburbs.
Xia Sisi remembered that there were several large slaughterhouses in the outskirts of the city that processed cattle, sheep, and pigs.
Today’s tasks were also extremely heavy.
During the day, she supervised the workers she had hired for the renovations.
The doors and windows were relatively easy to install, but the walls needed modifications. Anti-corrosion materials had to be carefully applied to both the inside and outside walls, including the rooftop of Xia Sisi’s top-floor apartment. On top of that, Xia Sisi also planned to wrap the building with additional protective materials.
Earlier that morning, Xia Sisi had already reported the renovation work to the property management office. They didn’t ask many questions, only reminding her not to affect the overall appearance of the building.
At around ten in the morning, Xia Sisi received a furious phone call from Lin Yi.
But after Lin Yi said only a few words, Xia Sisi immediately adjusted her emotions and spoke in a tearful voice:
“Brother Lin Yi… I-I sent the wrong room number yesterday. I was so nervous that I turned off my phone because I was afraid of receiving a rejection message from you… Later, when you never came, I thought you had refused, so I just fell asleep. I only saw the messages from you and Rou Rou this morning.”
Lin Yi fell silent on the other end of the line.
Xia Sisi had always been strong and restrained, rarely crying.
Hearing her sound as if she wanted to cry but was desperately holding it back made Lin Yi panic a little.
He had originally prepared a lot of insults to throw at her, but suddenly found himself speechless.
Xia Sisi sneered inwardly, knowing she had successfully stunned Lin Yi, and continued:
“And I saw the messages Rou Rou sent me too. I also think my previous idea wasn’t thought through properly. Since fate made me send the wrong room number, that must mean heaven doesn’t want me making such a rushed decision. I think… I should wait until after our engagement.”
The moment Lin Yi heard that, he became anxious.
But no matter what he said afterward, Xia Sisi stubbornly clung to the ideas of “Rou Rou persuaded me” and “this is heaven’s arrangement,” refusing to bring up sleeping together ever again.
In the end, Lin Yi could only hang up helplessly.
The moment the call ended, Xia Sisi almost couldn’t hold back her laughter anymore!
Nearby, Dahei tilted his head, looking utterly confused as Xia Sisi curled up on the floor clutching her stomach from suppressing her laughter.
It took Xia Sisi a long while before she finally calmed down.
When she lifted her head, she found herself face-to-face with Dahei’s big black dog face.
“Dahei, you’ll never understand the joy I’m feeling right now.”
After hearing Xia Sisi’s explanation, Lin Yi probably wouldn’t completely fall out with Hao Rou, but he would definitely start harboring resentment toward her.
And Hao Rou, in order to calm Lin Yi down, would surely “serve” him well tonight.
That would make it the perfect opportunity to carry out the next step of the plan.
Besides, seeing the cheating couple suffer made Xia Sisi feel incredibly satisfied.
After calming herself down, she continued staying busy.
By the afternoon, Xia Sisi went to a building materials market to choose a door.
The entire door was made of pure copper and extremely heavy—ordinary knives wouldn’t be able to chop through it. Xia Sisi also asked the shop owner to further reinforce the lock before finally feeling satisfied.
After a whole day of work, the doors and windows were basically finished. Tomorrow she would supervise the application of the anti-corrosion materials.
At seven in the evening, seeing that the time was about right, Xia Sisi headed to the Lin residence to pick up Old Madam Lin.
Originally, Old Madam Lin wanted Xia Sisi to stay and eat at the house, but Xia Sisi said she had recently discovered a very good restaurant. Since she was taking the old lady out for a drive anyway, they might as well go eat together.
The Lin family’s housekeeper and Lin Yi’s younger sister, Lin Xinran, also wanted to come along, and Xia Sisi didn’t stop them.
Xia Sisi genuinely did know a very good restaurant—a Cantonese-style establishment whose head chef had been specially recruited. Rumor had it that he came from a family of chefs whose craft had been passed down for generations.
The moment Old Madam Lin stepped into the Cantonese restaurant, a trace of emotion appeared on her face.
The corners of Xia Sisi’s lips curved upward slightly.
Back in the day, Xia Sisi’s grandfather had been an excellent cook, and the cuisine he was best at was Cantonese food!
She had heard that Old Madam Lin had fallen for Xia Sisi’s grandfather precisely because of his superb cooking skills.
The restaurant’s décor also carried a nostalgic atmosphere, themed around the 1950s and 1960s.
Seeing Old Madam Lin’s expression, Xia Sisi knew she was thinking about her grandfather again.
The dinner with Old Madam Lin went very pleasantly.
During the meal, Xia Sisi told quite a few amusing stories about her grandfather in his old age, making Old Madam Lin laugh heartily.
Beside them, Lin Xinran pouted unhappily, clearly disliking Xia Sisi very much.
When Xia Sisi went to the restroom, Lin Xinran followed after her.
“Xia Sisi, what are you trying to do? Why do I feel like you’re asking my grandma for something today? You’re even playing the emotional card and bringing up your grandfather!”
Lin Xinran wasn’t stupid, but Xia Sisi didn’t want to explain anything to her. She simply smiled faintly in response, which made Lin Xinran stomp her feet in frustration.
After Lin Xinran stepped outside to answer a phone call, Old Madam Lin picked up a plump white shrimp dumpling and placed it into her mouth. Her sharp eyes fixed on Xia Sisi.
“Sisi, if there’s something you want to say, just speak plainly. This old lady is tired too, and I’ll be heading back soon.”
Looking at Old Madam Lin, Xia Sisi sighed softly and asked,
“Grandma Lin… have you truly been happy in this life?”
Old Madam Lin froze for a moment. After a while, she finally replied,
“I have children and grandchildren all around me. What is there to be unhappy about?”
“But what if… back then, you had ended up with my grandfather? Or if… Grandpa Lin had never…”
Xia Sisi left the rest unsaid.
Chairman Lin’s affair with a girl over twenty years younger than him had once been known to everyone.
Back then, Old Madam Lin had acted swiftly and decisively, directly sending the mistress overseas. However, rumors said the woman had been pregnant at the time, leaving behind a lingering hidden danger.
And in recent years, it was said that the child had already grown up and was now in their twenties, likely planning to return to the country to fight over the family inheritance.