Staring at the buzzing phone on her pillow, Su Muqing froze for two seconds before lunging forward to grab it.
The caller ID showed "Song Ranran."
Su Muqing felt her heart racing as her trembling fingers swiped several times before finally hitting the answer button.
"Hello? Ranran?"
First came a burst of noisy background sounds from the other end of the line, followed by Song Ranran's energetic, loud voice: "Qingbao! Where are you! You promised to have dinner and go grocery shopping with me today—I even went to your place and no one was there! Your phone was unreachable too. Did you get called into the emergency room again late at night?"
Su Muqing opened her mouth, only to feel an indescribable bitterness welling up in her heart. How could she explain this to her best friend? In modern time, her life had already ended at the moment of her sudden death, yet to Ranran, she was merely breaking another promise due to work.
"Ranran," Su Muqing sniffled, trying to keep her voice as normal as possible, "I… might not be able to make it."
"Huh? What's wrong? Did your department head rope you into overtime again?"
"No…" Su Muqing hesitated, glancing around this strange space. In the end, she decided to reveal the truth—Ranran was the only person she could trust now. "Ranran, what I'm about to say might make you think I've gone crazy, but please, you have to believe me."
Song Ranran fell silent on the other end, a sense of foreboding creeping in.
Su Muqing spoke quickly, briefly recounting how she had worked overtime until she died suddenly, only to wake up as Li Zhaodi, and how this family was scheming to squeeze every last bit of value out of her.
There was a long silence on the other end, so long that Su Muqing thought the call had dropped or that Ranran believed she had lost her mind from overwork.
"…Qingbao," Song Ranran's voice finally came through again, tinged with a sob, "You're saying… you died and came back to life? And you're in 1968 now? And you're about to join the production team?"
"Yeah." Su Muqing nodded heavily, even though the other couldn't see her.
"Damn it!" Song Ranran suddenly cursed, her voice frantic and angry. "What the hell kind of adoptive parents are they! Ten gold bars! How dare they! Qingbao, don't be afraid. Let's figure out a way to steal those gold bars—take as much as we can, leave nothing for them!"
The bitterness in Su Muqing's heart eased slightly at her friend's words. She almost laughed but then noticed the previously silent door making a sound, followed by the clatter of keys being tossed into a small ceramic bowl near the entrance.
She quickly stood up and rushed over, only to find the door still closed. However, the ceramic bowl emitted a faint glow, and three seconds later, the spare key she had once given Song Ranran appeared inside it.
"Ranran! Did you… just enter my house?!" Su Muqing exclaimed excitedly.
Her voice was so loud that she momentarily missed Song Ranran muttering, "Why does this story sound a bit familiar…"
"Yeah, I just came in. Let me put my things down, and we'll figure out what to do next! We absolutely can't let that scummy couple get away with this!" Song Ranran was still cursing on the other end as she placed her bags on the coffee table.
Su Muqing held her breath and counted to three. Sure enough, a glow appeared on the table in front of her, followed by plastic bags filled with daily necessities and snacks materializing before her eyes.
She excitedly reached out, randomly opened a plastic bag, and pulled out a pack of cucumber-flavored chips from inside. "Ranran, forget about them for now. Look at the bags on the table—can I take a pack of chips?"
"Huh?" Song Ranran followed her words and looked down, also noticing the fluorescent packaging wrapped around the chips. Three seconds later, the chips disappeared.
Song Ranran lunged forward to search, dumping the entire bag onto the sofa, only to find that the pack of cucumber-flavored chips was indeed gone. "Yes, yes, Qingbao! The chips on my side are gone!"
"So, I can get modern supplies here?" Su Muqing's eyes lit up.
Song Ranran grew excited. "Qingbao, quickly check if you can take the chips out! If you can, I’ll sweep up some things for you!"
Su Muqing responded, clutching her phone and the chip packaging in her hands, closed her eyes, and tried to return. When she opened her eyes again, she was still in the shabby, stuffy house, and she indeed had a pack of chips in her hand, but her phone hadn’t come with her.
She returned to the apartment again, where her phone lay on the bed, the call still connected. She hurriedly shared the news with Song Ranran.
"If you can take things out, that’s great! What do you need? Money? Coupons? Food? Weapons? I’ll figure out a way to get them all for you!" Song Ranran said.
Su Muqing rubbed her forehead. "Weapons aren’t necessary… Wait, can you get me a stun gun? It’d be good to have for self-defense. But most importantly, I need various coupons and cash—preferably ones that are usable nationwide, but local Beidahuang coupons will do too. Old paper currency from the '50s or '60s, nothing too large in denomination."
"Got it, I’ll make sure to get them for you! I’ll also fill up your fridge and snack cabinet so you won’t go hungry!" Song Ranran, full of energy, was about to head out again when Su Muqing stopped her.
"Ranran, listen to me first. In the hidden drawer of my wardrobe, take out my bank card. I have some savings—use that to buy things. The password is my birthday."
"Hey, don’t be so formal! Buying a few things, how could I take your money?" Song Ranran didn’t mind, but Su Muqing was serious.
"Ranran, listen. If it were just once or twice, I definitely wouldn’t bring this up. But it looks like I won’t be able to return anytime soon, and I don’t know how long I’ll need your help. It’s better to settle things clearly from the start. Besides, that money is practically useless to me now."
Song Ranran thought it over and agreed. She didn’t have much savings herself, and Su Muqing had to start from scratch over there. Those old coupons were now collectibles and might cost more, so she found Su Muqing’s salary card and hurriedly left.
With this hope in mind, Su Muqing felt much more at ease. She had no doubt that Song Ranran would run off with her money—though Song Ranran didn’t have much savings herself, her family background was far better, and she wouldn’t care about the thirty or fifty thousand in Su Muqing’s account.
At the same time, she was grateful she hadn’t listened to advice and bought a big house, opting instead for this Small Apartment. The mortgage had only been for five years and was already paid off. Otherwise, the house might have been repossessed, and she wouldn’t have been able to get things through Ranran now.
Thinking this way, she wasn't as anxious anymore. She sat down at the small desk, opened the snacks Song Ranran had brought, and stuffed bread into her mouth to ease her hunger while pondering how to deal with that family of three.
Time quickly passed until midnight.
When she reached for the next piece of bread, she noticed that the two empty bread wrappers in front of her were glowing with a strange fluorescence, just like before. Slowly, they sealed themselves and swelled up.
The supplies had refreshed.