July 15, 12:15 PM.
Outdoor temperature: 62°C (still rising).
Ground temperature: 85°C.
At the entrance of the half-mountain villa, a ridiculous scene of “dying struggle” was unfolding.
“Ahhh—! Open the door! Lin Chu! I know you’re inside!”
“I’m your husband! You can’t just watch me die! Open the door!!”
Gu Yan had completely abandoned his CEO image.
His expensive Italian bespoke suit was soaked through with sweat, clinging tightly to his back like a suffocating plastic sheet, making it hard for him to breathe.
His face was burned red by UV rays, already starting to peel. The stinging pain made him scratch repeatedly, leaving bloody marks.
The worst part was his feet.
Even high-quality leather shoes couldn’t withstand 85°C heat. The soles were softening and deforming, each step like stepping on a red-hot iron plate, forcing him to jump in place like a monkey.
“Brother-in-law… I can’t… I’m going to die…”
Lin Wan was even worse.
She had worn a revealing sleeveless dress, intending to “take over the house.” Now, large areas of her exposed skin were directly scorched by the sun. Her shoulders and back were covered in blisters, horrifying to look at.
She wanted to retreat into the car, but the door handle was burning hot like a branding iron. The interior was likely even hotter—like an oven.
The two of them could only huddle in the tiny shadow of the villa gate like stray dogs, desperately pounding on the heavy steel door.
“Lin Chu!! You poisonous woman!”
“We’re here to take back the house! I also own part of it! Who gave you the right to lock us out!”
Gu Yan roared hoarsely, his throat dry and cracked like broken metal.
He hated this.
They had come to humiliate her after her “bankruptcy,” seize the villa, and enjoy the air conditioning before the bank sealed it.
Who could have imagined the weather would turn like this?
One second he was planning revenge—next second he was about to be roasted alive.
Inside the villa.
Indoor temperature: 26°C.
Humidity: 55%.
A soft, elegant “Blue Danube” melody filled the air.
Lin Chu wore a silky wine-red nightdress, barefoot, sunk into a cloud-like leather sofa.
Her hair was still damp, scented faintly with rose oil.
Where the “trash scene” had been staged earlier, there was now an elegant folding dining table.
On it lay a true feast.
The main dish: Beef Wellington.
Golden, flaky pastry wrapped around tender filet mignon and rich truffle mushroom sauce. She cut it open gently—pink juices immediately flowed out, filling the air with fragrance.
On the side: chilled caviar and a bowl of cream of mushroom soup.
And in her hand—not wine—but an ice-cold glass of cola.
Condensation dripped down the glass.
Just looking at it felt refreshing.
“Crunch…”
She took a bite of steak.
Crisp pastry, tender beef, rich truffle aroma—exploding on her tongue.
Then she took a large sip of cola.
“Burp—”
Carbonation burst through her throat, washing away all heat.
“Perfect.”
She narrowed her eyes in satisfaction and turned up the volume on the surveillance feed.
On screen, Gu Yan was pressed against the door gap, screaming desperately:
“Water… give me water… Lin Chu, please… we were married once…”
Lin Chu smiled faintly.
She pressed a red button on the coffee table—External Speaker System.
A second later, her calm, lazy voice echoed from hidden speakers outside the villa.
“Well, well… isn’t this my ‘ex-husband,’ Mr. Gu?”
Outside.
Gu Yan and Lin Wan froze, as if they had heard a lifeline.
“Chu Chu! It’s you, Chu Chu!”
Gu Yan rushed toward the camera, ignoring the burning heat.
“Open the door! We’re dying! I won’t divorce you anymore! I still love you!”
“Yes, sister!” Lin Wan cried. “We’re family! Let us in!”
A faint laugh came from the speaker.
Cold. Emotionless. Full of mockery.
“Family?”
“Gu Yan, when you forced me to sign the divorce papers yesterday, you didn’t say that.”
“Lin Wan, when you called me trash and told me to crawl away, you didn’t say that either.”
Gu Yan panicked.
“It was a misunderstanding! We were acting! Chu Chu, you’re the kindest person—I know you can’t just watch us die, right?”
“Kind?”
Inside the villa, Lin Chu sliced another piece of steak.
In her eyes, those two faces were already dead.
In her past life, kindness had gotten her pushed into boiling floodwater.
This life—
Her kindness had been fed to the dogs.
She pulled a raw steak from her space and tossed it to the plush cat at her feet.
“You don’t want to watch us die?”
Her voice turned icy.
“No, Gu Yan. You’re wrong.”
“I spent 200 million building this fortress and installing this surveillance system…”
“…just to sit in air-conditioning, eat steak, and watch in high-definition as you slowly get roasted alive.”
“That—”
“Is your ending.”
Click.
She cut off the microphone.
No matter how they screamed, cursed, or pounded the door—
It was all just meaningless noise against half-meter-thick steel and soundproofing.
She raised her glass toward the screen.
“Day one.”
“The show has only just begun.”
She finished her cola in one gulp, eyes sharp and fearless.
Outside, the city burned.
Civilization collapsed.
And inside this steel fortress—
She would walk over the bones of her enemies into a new era.