They’d rather freeze than sleep close together.
Still looking at each other with disdain, neither willing to give the other the time of day.
Neither of them spoke.
Outside, the moonlight was bright, streaming through the window. The countryside night wasn’t quiet either—the chirping of insects came in waves, lulling one to sleep.
Lin Shiqi had done physical labor during the day, so before long, she couldn’t hold out any longer and drifted off.
Zhou Lang had been cooped up in the house playing the fool all day, never stepping outside, so he wasn’t that sleepy.
He quietly watched the sleeping Lin Shiqi by the moonlight, unable to fall asleep for a long time.
This woman, her heart was really big.
A night breeze blew in, and Zhou Lang shivered. After a moment’s thought, he draped the quilt over Lin Shiqi.
Then he closed his own eyes.
…
Lin Shiqi woke up in the middle of the night from the cold. The moment she woke, she found herself chilled to the bone—the quilt had all ended up on Zhou Lang.
Hah, you thieving bastard!
She yanked it back with all her might.
As a result, when Zhou Lang tugged back, she rolled over onto him, quilt and all.
That bastard was ridiculously strong.
She swung her big palm and slapped him right across the face.
Waking Zhou Lang up.
“Are you sick? Why the hell did you hit me?” Zhou Lang sat up. “And here I was, covering you with the quilt before I went to sleep. You’re completely heartless…”
Before he could finish, he noticed the quilt was tightly wrapped around himself.
He was used to sleeping alone.
Every time he slept, he’d wrap himself up in the blanket…
This slap wasn’t undeserved.
“It’s all because the Zhou family is too poor—if we had two down comforters…” His arrogance deflated, and he muttered under his breath.
Lin Shiqi couldn’t help but laugh at him.
In this broken-down thatched hut, he wanted two down comforters!
Dream on!
This quilt was already patched in countless places—thin, stiff, ragged, and small. It really was only enough to cover one person.
And Zhou Lang was a domineering young master who had never endured such hardship…
“Hey, Zhou Lang, let’s try the Tongxin Lock again…” Lin Shiqi had a sudden idea.
Zhou Lang picked up the Tongxin Lock, and the two of them tried again.
This time it was super easy.
The moment the two halves of the Tongxin Lock joined, there was an immediate reaction.
Their eyes lit up, and they entered Lin Shiqi’s home once more.
Bright lights, pristine white walls, a comfortable big sofa…
“It works! It works again!”
This time, they had experience. They didn’t dare let go of the Tongxin Lock in their hands.
They moved together, staying in sync wherever they went.
That way, the scene didn’t change—they remained in Lin Shiqi’s home.
“Grab some food and drinks from the fridge, then go to the bedroom and grab the blankets…”
This was their top priority right now.
The problem of food and warmth.
“Alright. Get a bigger bag to pack things in…”
This was Lin Shiqi’s home, and she knew where everything was. So Lin Shiqi led the way, and Zhou Lang, for once, cooperatively followed step by step.
Afraid that if the Tongxin Lock separated, they’d be pulled back.
Lin Shiqi quickly found a large cloth bag, then went to clear out the fridge.
Because Lin Shiqi was a food video blogger, she often made delicious things, and she also had a habit of hoarding supplies. So the big fridge was stocked with plenty of ingredients—fruits, fresh produce, drinks, yogurt, snacks, and more. There were also homemade milk buns and homemade pure milk cake. She swept everything into the cloth bag.
“Oh no, Zhou Lang, can you feel it? It seems like the energy is running out—the Tongxin Lock is about to crack.”
“I can feel it too.”
Lin Shiqi made a snap decision and stopped looking for food.
“Grab the phone, the power bank, the blankets, the flashlight…”
Unfortunately, the Tongxin Lock’s energy ran out just like that.
It was Zhou Lang who reacted quickly, snatching a blanket from the sofa.
The next second, their vision blurred, and they were back in the old Zhou family’s broken-down hut.
Lin Shiqi was clutching the bag of food tightly in her hands.
It was heavy.
Zhou Lang had a blanket in his hands.
“We stayed longer this time than last time. I don’t know why the energy suddenly ran out—maybe it’s because we were carrying things…” He began to analyze.
Lin Shiqi’s head ached. “I was hoping that if we didn’t separate the Tongxin Lock, we could go back and not come over anymore. Looks like that won’t work. We can only return home for a short time—if the lock separates, we get bounced back. And even if it doesn’t separate, the energy is limited and can’t sustain us for long.”
The two now had two experiences of returning to Lin Shiqi’s home.
For now, that was all they could figure out.
The path of using the Tongxin Lock to go home was a dead end.
They could only survive here.
Both of them realized this.
Their expressions were grave.
Fortunately, neither of them was the type to be easily discouraged or defeated by hardship.
“Let’s just take it one step at a time. Look at it from another angle—even though we can’t go back, we can use the Tongxin Lock to return to my place and grab supplies. That’s already pretty amazing. We’re basically people with a Golden Finger.”
Lin Shiqi was optimistic and cheerful.
Zhou Lang’s face was expressionless, but he didn’t object.
No matter the difficulty, the priority was to survive.
“I’m hungry. Let’s get something to eat.”
The two began rummaging through their spoils.
Lin Shiqi had only cleared out the top of the fridge—the fresh produce section—which only had fruits, snacks, drinks, and bread.
The fruit included apples, pears, grapes, and oranges—a few common varieties—totaling about five or six catties.
There were two loaves of bread and two cakes, all homemade, each about the size of a bowl.
A pile of snacks, all bought from a bulk snack store, included grilled sausages, braised chicken feet, candies, small biscuits, and more. Lin Shiqi liked to snack while binge-watching shows.
The most plentiful drink was yogurt—her favorite—along with various fruit juices and milk beer, totaling seven or eight cans.
Under normal circumstances, Zhou Lang wouldn’t have given any of this a second glance.
As the young master of a prominent family, everything he ate was refined and high-class—how could he ever touch something so cheap and casual?
But now, he was different.
He was someone who would fight over a bowl of mixed-grain rice.
“This bread isn’t bad!”
“Peel me an orange, and don’t give me any sour ones.”
“Peel a sausage for me too…”
…
Lin Shiqi rolled her eyes at him. “Eat it or don’t, I don’t care. You’re getting spoiled! And besides, all this stuff is mine—I either bought it with my own money or made it myself. So kindly transfer the money to me from now on.”
Zhou Lang instinctively reached for his phone. “I’ll transfer you a million. Is that enough?”
He didn’t pull it out.
“Enough!”
“Put it on my tab!”
Lin Shiqi also felt regretful. “I was just about to find a phone to play with, but I couldn’t find one either. I remember there’s a spare phone at home, but I can’t recall where I put it.”
She patted herself again and pulled out a flashlight.
“Hehe, I found the flashlight. Now we won’t have to fumble in the dark when we get up at night.”
In ancient times, resources were scarce and lamp oil was expensive, so people rose at dawn and rested at dusk.
The eldest branch of the Zhou family had scholars, so they had oil lamps. Granny Zhou and the other elders also had one in their room, but none of the other rooms did.
Lin Shiqi’s family was the fourth branch, and Zhou Lang was a fool, so neither of them got that privilege.
At night, they had to feel their way in the dark when getting up.
Lin Shiqi ate her food while showing off her flashlight.