Jiang Xun held her close and whispered, “Big Brother only loves you.”
“Touch Big Brother. Touch my heart.”
“It’s filled with nothing but you, baby. Do you want Big Brother to take it out and give it to his good girl? Hmm? I’ll give you everything. My baby… you’re mine…”
He clumsily tried every possible way to prove how much he loved her.
Li Tong responded to each of his words.
This time, instead of pushing him away, she chose to do her best to reassure him and satisfy the insecurity in his heart.
…
The frozen surface had become solid enough to walk across.
Without any means of transportation, they could only travel on foot.
Their destination was the same shopping centre as before, the closest one nearby. There were plenty of wooden furniture pieces inside.
In weather like this, no one would venture outdoors, so they naturally had the entire building to themselves.
The group of more than ten people chopped all the furniture they found into pieces of firewood before tying the bundles together with hemp rope.
Once most of the wood had been packed, they left three people behind to continue scavenging while everyone else dragged the supplies back.
Taking advantage of the dense fog and the absence of other survivors competing for resources, Jin discussed the matter with Xiong Ji. They decided to keep making trips until their homes were filled with enough fuel.
At noon, they simply gathered together and made do with a few pieces of compressed biscuits and rainwater that had been filtered and boiled.
It was bitterly cold.
The group lit a fire, warmed themselves for barely ten minutes, and then immediately returned to work.
They kept working until after eleven o’clock that night before finally heading home.
In the corridor, Shan Cheng told everyone they would continue again the following morning.
Xiong Ji and the other two nodded before impatiently returning home.
After the three of them cleaned up inside the Small World and approached Jiang Xun’s bedroom, they heard…
They pushed open the door and saw…
Qin Shuo cursed under his breath before stepping forward, intending to snatch Little Sister away.
Jiang Xun refused to give an inch.
Nan Qi…
Xiong Ji and Qin Shuo reluctantly gave up and returned to their rooms to rest.
Jiang Xun sat on the edge of the bed and finished an entire bottle of mineral water in one breath before taking out another cup of well water and holding a mouthful in his mouth…
Li Tong was far too sleepy to care anymore.
Before long, she drifted off to sleep.
The following morning…
After finishing breakfast inside the Small World, the brothers prepared to leave.
This time, Xiong Ji stayed home.
Before departing, Qin Shuo knelt on one knee beside the bed and kissed Li Tong before reluctantly leaving.
As soon as the front door closed, Xiong Ji carried his little sister into his own bedroom.
Looking at the marks covering her body, jealousy surged inside him.
He couldn’t wait for her to wake up…
…
Around noon, Li Tong slowly opened her eyes in a drowsy haze and found Xiong Ji gently taking care of her.
“Big Brother…?”
Her voice was terribly hoarse, but hearing it only ignited an even fiercer fire inside him.
Xiong Ji’s gentle care gradually turned into playful teasing…
“Big Brother, have you all thought about what I told you?”
He gave a quiet nod.
“Mm.”
“As long as we survive the initial stage of the extreme heat, we can leave.”
“All right. We’ll do whatever Little Treasure says.”
“In another half month, no one will be able to go outside anymore. It’ll happen very soon, Big Brother.”
Two hours later, the two of them finally returned to the outside world.
Xiong Ji carefully dried her hair with a hairdryer, and the two of them ate lunch in bed.
He insisted on holding her while feeding her.
Unable to refuse him, Li Tong took out a small folding table and set it on the bed.
She sat sideways across his lap while Xiong Ji leaned against the headboard, patiently feeding her spoonful after spoonful.
It was already three o’clock in the afternoon.
This was her first meal of the day.
She was eating cumin lamb over rice.
The delicious aroma was irresistible.
Already starving, Li Tong finished the entire large bowl without leaving a single bite.
Only after making sure his little sister was full did Xiong Ji finally pick up his own meal.
“Big Brother, slow down. Chew your food properly. It’s better for your health!”
Her adorable reminder made Xiong Ji smile.
He nodded obediently and genuinely slowed down as he ate.
Seeing how obedient he was made Li Tong very happy.
Nestling comfortably in his arms, she took out a small notebook and began writing across its pages.
“What are you writing, Little Treasure?”
“I’m writing down everything I’ve foreseen, along with all the scattered details and scenes I remember.”
Three months later, the temperature would begin to rise again, causing the frozen surface to melt.
Before anyone had even a moment to catch their breath, the hailstorm would arrive immediately afterward.
Each hailstone would be as large as a human head.
Without the protection of reinforced concrete buildings, survival would be impossible.
The mortality rate would be one hundred percent.