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Chapter 18 – The Sudden High Fever

“Huh?”

Li Huanhuan, carrying a bag with roast duck, turned her head toward door number 150 across the hall, a slightly flustered expression on her face.

At this moment, Qin Shi, who had stayed up all night making duck, was running on fumes. After hanging the roast duck on Li Huanhuan’s door, he collapsed into bed and fell asleep.

In his dream, Qin Shi saw Li Huanhuan receiving the duck, her admiration for him reaching new heights. She passionately invited him to dinner. In the dream, she chose him—and poor Fox sat on the floor, crying in heartbreak.

As for reality…

Li Huanhuan was amazed by the taste of the duck.

How to describe it?

Though the technique and recipe may not match the “special” roast duck she had previously enjoyed, the flavor was unique—something no other roast duck offered. It was so special and appetizing that she couldn’t stop eating it.

Before she realized it, she had eaten more than half the duck.

“Meow~” Her cat, after trying and failing to beg for food for a long time, swished its fluffy tail and went off to the living room to eat its kibble.

Li Huanhuan didn’t notice.

Burp. She gave a satisfied belch.

This roast duck from her neighbor at 150 was so unique that she decided to write a note to ask where they had bought it. If the flavor was consistently good, she’d stick with this place.

Of course, a new dilemma arose.

She scratched her head.

Her neighbor had played the [Mysterious Roast Duck Card]. What card could she play next to outdo them?

Although Li Huanhuan loved eating, she was a hardcore homebody with very few chances to go out and find gourmet food. Most of her meals were takeout or recommendations from friends. Now that her food sources were drying up, she reached out to her besties—Xiao Jing and Da Hua—for help.

Thankfully, they came through.

Xiao Jing recommended a well-reviewed salted duck shop. Da Hua suggested a place with great spicy grilled duck that she had tried before.

Li Huanhuan packed up the remaining roast duck to eat later and settled onto the couch to look up directions to those two duck shops.

Just as she sat down, something felt off.

She pinched the soft flesh on her stomach.

“What the heck? Did I gain a ring of fat?” she muttered in confusion.

“Meow~”

The cat had finished its food and perched on the couch’s backrest, licking its paws and washing its face.

Li Huanhuan got up and stepped onto the scale.

Two minutes later, she stood in the bathroom, lifting her shirt and staring at her reflection. Uh-oh. She’d definitely gained a few pounds. Probably from staying up too much lately, plus age slowing her metabolism, and staying home without exercise—all leading to fat buildup.

Another reason? Likely those “gourmet exchanges” with her neighbor at 150.

She used to occasionally indulge in greasy food, but her regular diet was quite light.

Now with the food-sharing spree and no portion control, of course she gained weight.

“Time to lose weight!”

Li Huanhuan realized the situation was dire.

She grabbed her phone, searched for at-home, neighbor-friendly workout tutorials, and began her fitness journey.

At first, she gritted her teeth with confidence.

5 minutes in, she started lagging.

10 minutes, she was gasping.

15 minutes in, she questioned her life.

18 minutes later, she collapsed on the couch…

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“Heh.”

Li Huanhuan laughed bitterly at her own stamina.

She turned off the workout video. At least she lasted 18 minutes, right? Maybe next time she’d make it to 20?

Xiao Jing: “What’s the point of working out at home? Get moving! Aren’t there several parks near your building? Go run, walk, or exercise in the park—morning, noon, and night! You’ll see results in two weeks!”

0.0: “Sis, do you think I can do it?”

Xiao Jing: “Nope! You’re such a shut-in!”

Xiao Jing saw right through her.

She was a lazy homebody, a complete slacker.

Forget three times a day—just going downstairs once daily was already a major challenge.

Xiao Jing: “So, how’s it going with your ‘mysterious neighbor’?”

0.0: “What do you mean ‘how’s it going’?” [Suspicious emoji]

Li Huanhuan had mentioned the neighbor from 150 to Xiao Jing before.

Xiao Jing: “Like, their height, weight, looks—are they single?” [Picking nose emoji]

0.0: “…”

0.0: [Throws a husky at you emoji]

Xiao Jing: [Nope, throwing it back emoji]

Xiao Jing: “Don’t tell me you don’t feel anything? You two exchange food, leave each other notes, but never say it out loud. That kind of unspoken connection is totally romantic! The ducks are basically your play props!”

Xiao Jing: “Poor ducks, sacrificed for love. Today, I mourn all the roast, braised, sweet-skinned ducks you’ve eaten together~”

She was really leaning into the drama.

0.0: “Alright, alright, enough.”

But behind the phone screen, Li Huanhuan did seem a bit dazed. She wasn’t sure—was her food-sharing with neighbor 150 really that ambiguous?

Buzz.

Her phone buzzed—her salted duck delivery had arrived. No time to dwell on it. She grabbed her phone and keys and headed downstairs.

While waiting for the elevator, she overheard a few elderly ladies gossiping on the sofa nearby. Apparently, someone in their building got robbed yesterday. The victim checked the hallway security footage with the building manager and discovered the thief was actually her ex-boyfriend, who lived in the neighboring complex.

The woman confronted him that night, making a huge scene. Now both apartment complexes were buzzing with the drama.

What exactly happened, Li Huanhuan didn’t find out—the elevator arrived.

She returned, hung the salted duck on 150’s door, and left a sticky note asking where that delicious roast duck had come from.

She quickly received a reply:

[It’s a secret family recipe!
—Neighbor at 150]

“Secret recipe?”

Li Huanhuan stared at the note.

What kind of secret? Could it be… 150 made it themselves?

She turned toward 150’s door, curiosity rising—Xiao Jing’s words echoed in her mind: “That kind of connection is very ambiguous.”

Suddenly, she found herself wondering about her neighbor’s true identity. But she quickly shook the thought away.

She rubbed her nose awkwardly. Sure, “gentle friendships are like water,” but if the neighbor turned out to be really unusual-looking, could she still keep things “pure”? Probably not.

She wasn’t a saint. She couldn’t claim looks didn’t matter.

“Forget it.” She shook her head, picked up the grilled duck that 150 had left on her door, and went inside.

She had originally planned to send grilled duck next. Didn’t expect 150 to beat her to it. Now she was curious—how good was their grilled duck? Better than the one her friend Da Hua recommended?

The weather was warming up, so she’d taken off her heavy winter clothes.

But then, a spring rain brought a sudden high fever.

Li Huanhuan dragged her feverish body to the cupboard. She was burning up, dizzy, her thoughts sluggish. She remembered having fever medicine in there—but when she opened it, there was nothing.

“Meow~” Her cat sensed something wrong and paced nervously around her feet, rubbing her legs.

“I’m… cough, fine,” she mumbled.

Even her breath was hot.

One hand on the cabinet, the other on her cheek—no good. She needed to buy medicine. There was a clinic just outside the community gate.

“Your Majesty,” she told the cat, “I’m going out.”

Enduring the pain, she grabbed her phone and keys, shuffled to the entrance, put on her shoes, and headed for the door. Her body grew heavier with every step. By the time her hand touched the doorknob, her heart was racing, her vision spinning.

She had to make it downstairs.

She had a tiny social circle—no one ever visited. Her mom lived out in the countryside. If she collapsed behind this door, no one would find her until her body started to rot.

If she died, no one would feed her cat.

She’d read that starving cats might eat their owners’ corpses. If that happened, would her cat start from her face? Or her toes?

The face was too tender. It would hurt. If she went to the afterlife, she’d be a disfigured ghost. Toes would be better—farther from her heart. Maybe she could handle that.

Why was she thinking this now? Occupational hazard of being a content creator?

“Phew~”

No, she couldn’t die here. She was an “awakened NPC.” The world gave her a purpose. She hadn’t even seen her mom make it through the “plot danger zone” yet. She couldn’t die early.

Hand on the doorknob, she pressed down hard.

Click.

The door opened. Li Huanhuan stumbled out, the world spinning. She nearly collapsed, but caught herself on the wall and shut the door behind her.

Her breathing grew heavier, her fever higher. Limbs weak, she leaned against the wall and inched toward the elevator.

At that moment, the elevator doors opened.

The world flipped.

She fainted—falling straight forward.

“Woof!” a dog barked.

Before hitting the floor, she was caught around the waist.

In a haze, she thought she saw Qin Shi’s anxious face.

Then, everything went black.

“Li… Huan… Huan?!”

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