Faced with the question, Tang Xiaoman only gave a light, indifferent smile.
“I’m renovating it for a friend. He has paranoid delusions.”
“…Oh, I see.” The renovation company manager hadn’t expected that answer, but he tactfully didn’t ask further.
The customer is god. As long as the money is in place, almost any requirement can be met.
Tang Xiaoman then finalized more details: dig a deep well in the courtyard, install a boiler in the villa, build an underfloor heating system, and even construct a large fireplace in the master bedroom.
The manager’s face turned red as he held back the urge to ask—Are you building an apocalypse survival shelter?
But in the end, he swallowed the question.
After all, the client already said her “friend with paranoid delusions” needed it.
Rich people could be as eccentric as they wanted.
Tang Xiaoman walked out with the signed contract. It was already completely dark, but the summer heat still lingered heavily.
A faint aroma of food drifted through the air, making her stomach growl.
In the harsh apocalypse of her past life, food and resources were extremely scarce. Most people starved—or even resorted to cannibalism.
She couldn’t even remember the last time she had eaten a full meal.
Swallowing hard, she walked into the nearest restaurant and ordered more than a dozen of her favorite dishes in one go.
Garlic butter shrimp, chili fish head, steamed crab, Dongpo pork, braised pork knuckle, soy-braised pig trotters… and two cans of ice-cold cola she had craved for years.
The waiter looked at her in surprise. “Miss, how many people are you waiting for?”
“I’ve invited friends. They’ll be here soon,” Tang Xiaoman replied, casually inventing nonexistent friends again.
Dish after dish arrived, filling the entire table.
Of course, no friends came.
She had the feast all to herself.
Picking up her chopsticks, she devoured everything like a storm.
The long-lost flavors exploded on her tongue, intoxicating her completely.
Tears and saliva came at the same time. She cried from excitement.
In this new life, she would live beautifully and comfortably.
And those who harmed her in her previous life—none of them would be spared.
When she was finally too full to continue, she finished the remaining half can of cola.
“Waiter, pack it up.”
Tang Xiaoman returned to her rented apartment near Gu Corporation.
She had deliberately rented near the company for convenience in overtime work—now it seemed like a joke.
In her past life, she had given everything for a man who wasn’t worth it, only to end up dead without a complete corpse.
This time, she would make him repay everything—with interest.
She put the packed food into her space, then turned on the air conditioner.
Cool air flowed out, pushing away the damp summer heat, making her feel much better.
She ordered lemon water through a food delivery app, and it arrived quickly.
The pre-apocalypse world really was wonderful. Anything you wanted could arrive at your door in minutes.
Too bad… that kind of life would soon disappear forever.
After drinking half the lemon water, she considered going out to shop more, but her body felt weak.
Thinking about how she had worked herself to exhaustion for Gu Heng—the cold-blooded wolf who never gave anything back—she almost wanted to slap herself.
She decided to treat herself better.
Sleep first.
Perhaps because she had been exhausted all day, Tang Xiaoman slept deeply her first night after rebirth, without a single nightmare.
When she woke up, she felt fully restored.
She washed up, then took out last night’s packed dishes from her space. After reheating them in the microwave, the aroma filled the room.
Her mouth watered instantly.
After surviving four years of starvation in the apocalypse, she had developed an almost obsessive attachment to food. Not a single grain of rice could be wasted.
After breakfast, she let out a satisfied burp and picked up her phone.
Just then, a call came in.
“Hello, Tang Xiaoman!” Shu Jia’s threatening voice came through. “Mr. Gu asked me to tell you—if you don’t come back to work today, you’re fired!”
Tang Xiaoman almost laughed. “Oh? Fired?”
Heh. Getting anxious already?
“Mr. Gu never goes back on his word. If you don’t want to be fired, come to the company on time. There’s an important meeting at nine—you must attend.”
“I’m. Not. Free.”
“W-what?!”
“Then tell Gu Heng to fire me,” Tang Xiaoman said calmly, then hung up and blocked the number.
In a private hospital VIP ward, Gu Heng’s face darkened when he heard that Tang Xiaoman had skipped work again and blocked Shu Jia.
Lying on the bed, Su Rou looked uneasy.
“Why did sister suddenly treat you like this? Could it be… she found out something?”
Gu Heng remained calm, though annoyed. “Even if she did, it changes nothing. Your father already kicked her out. She has nowhere else to go but Gu Corporation.”
Although Tang Xiaoman carried her mother’s surname, the family company had already been transferred to the Su family. She had no inheritance rights and no money.
Her biological mother had already passed away.
Her father, Su Cheng, was a live-in son-in-law who had successfully taken control of the family assets.
Now Tang Xiaoman, who bore her mother’s surname, had been pushed out as an outsider.
Gu Heng believed he had “taken her in,” and she should be grateful.
Su Rou gently said, “Ah Heng, I know you keep your promises. Since you’re engaged to her, maybe you should treat her better and coax her a little.”
Gu Heng didn’t care. “Rou’er, you and I grew up together. You should understand my feelings. Keeping Tang Xiaoman around is just to use her as your mobile blood bank.”
Su Rou had severe kidney disease and often needed blood transfusions. Coincidentally, Tang Xiaoman’s blood type matched hers perfectly.
“If your condition worsens into kidney failure, she can even donate a kidney to you,” he added casually.
Tears welled up in Su Rou’s eyes as she leaned into his arms. “Ah Heng… I knew it. Your heart only belongs to me.”
The two lingered intimately for a while.
Then Su Rou asked uneasily, “But sister always used to be devoted to you. Why would she suddenly rebel?”
Gu Heng sneered. “Just throwing a little tantrum to get my attention. Watch—she’ll definitely show up at the nine o’clock meeting.”