“My mom really likes you. Once we’re married, you won’t have to work anymore—there’s not much money anyway.”

“After marriage, you’ll live in my family’s villa. Our house is huge; you could fit an entire soccer team in it.”

“College graduates nowadays aren’t worth much, there are so many of them everywhere.”

“My dad’s factory, that management trainee position, all filled by people from top universities like you.”

At the Western restaurant, the man sitting across the table kept opening and closing his mouth, his eyes sticky as they stared at the woman’s neckline.

Yu Xifeng felt a bit dazed.

The Western restaurant was exquisitely decorated, but her gaze was soon drawn to the steak in front of her.

It was meat.

She swallowed it down in a few bites.

She didn’t feel hungry, but the sense of hunger was etched deeply in her soul, and the moving shadows around her made her nerves tense.

She didn’t savor the steak’s flavor—the salty aroma and the fullness it brought was enough to satisfy her.

How many years had it been since she last ate fresh beef?

Yu Xifeng couldn’t even remember.

Under the many disasters, the survivors’ staple food was black bread.

A food made from grass seeds and a small amount of wheat flour, it was also the main currency for trading.

Yu Xifeng quickly finished the pasta and a fruit salad, then finally looked back at the man across from her.

He looked decent—more like a man than a dog—but his eyes held pride and an unmistakable lewdness.

She felt like she had seen him somewhere before.

Yu Xifeng tilted her head. “You’re not dead?”

Zheng Chengfan looked at her like she was crazy.

Yu Xifeng glanced around, then something from her distant memory clicked.

She was at a matchmaking meeting, introduced by her stepmother, Ye Qingrou.

This era was later nostalgically called the Golden Age by survivors.

Favorable weather and abundant resources.

Zheng Chengfan sat opposite Yu Xifeng, clearly infatuated with her beauty and alluring figure.

Yu Xifeng’s words seemed strange to him, but he quickly dismissed them.

Even if she was crazy, it was still worth having fun.

Zheng Chengfan forced a casual smile: “If you like it, want another helping?”

Yu Xifeng stood up. “No thanks.”

If this was a beautiful dream before death, she didn’t intend to waste time on someone so ridiculous.

Zheng Chengfan got angry, slammed the table, and stood up.

“Are you crazy? I’m willing to come see you because I think highly of you!”

He pointed accusingly at Yu Xifeng.

Yu Xifeng frowned, grabbed his finger as he jabbed at her, and expressionlessly bent it backwards.

“Ah—!” Zheng Chengfan knelt down in pain, dragging the tablecloth as the plates shattered on the floor.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry! Please, don’t hurt me—”

Yu Xifeng’s gaze paused on the table knife.

For some reason, she restrained her urge to kill.

At that moment, a cold shiver ran down Zheng Chengfan’s back; his hairs stood on end, overwhelmed by a terrifying feeling.

Like a hunted prey locked in a trap.

And this fear came from a woman barely in her twenties.

And a very pretty woman at that.

Zheng Chengfan felt a strange sense of dissonance in his heart.

Yu Xifeng ignored his thoughts. Before the waiter arrived, she released her grip and left the Western restaurant.

The huge circular mall had a glass canopy overhead, filled with the noise of bustling crowds.

Yu Xifeng immediately spotted a cake shop across the way and almost couldn’t move.

Pure white cream, soft cakes, dazzling pastries—the sweet aroma of food filled the air.

Food everywhere.

Yu Xifeng reluctantly tore her eyes away; she wanted to go home first.

The basement of the shopping district was the subway.

The subway gave Yu Xifeng a strange, long-lost unfamiliar feeling, even somewhat unreal.

Fortunately, her memory was good.

Though it had been seven years, she still found her way home smoothly.

She didn’t often return here. After her biological father remarried, her stepmother had given birth to twins.

In this family, she was the redundant one.

Yang Sizhu was at home. She looked up in surprise. “Sister, why are you back so early? Weren’t you supposed to be at a matchmaking meeting today?”

Yu Xifeng said, “I came back to get something.”

“How’s that guy? Dad said his family runs an agricultural products factory. If you marry into that family, you’ll enjoy a lifetime of comfort.”

Yang Sizhu came closer with a smile.

This little sister was only two years younger.

In her innocent age, Yu Xifeng had once sincerely cared for her.

Back then, she hoped that by caring for, even pleasing, this sister who was favored by their dad,

She might get more attention from him.

What kind of person was Zheng Chengfan? In his thirties, useless and arrogant, with a record of attempted rape.

Didn’t dad, Aunt, or this early-smart little sister know about any of that?

Yu Xifeng gave Yang Sizhu a deep look and walked straight to the master bedroom.

“That’s Mom and Dad’s bedroom. Dad will get mad if you go in,” Yang Sizhu warned.

Yu Xifeng pretended not to hear.

She opened the bottom drawer of the wardrobe and pulled out a locked box.

She didn’t find the key in the room and didn’t waste effort looking for it.

She knew very well that it held things left by her mother.

And her biological father would never give her the key.

She found a hairpin in the dressing mirror, twisted it into wire, and picked the lock in a few moves.

Survivors searching ruined cities for usable supplies learned basic lockpicking skills.

Inside were two property ownership certificates—one for a residential house and one for a storefront in the city center.

Both in her name.

There were also some jade and gold jewelry. Not to mention the gold, the jade was simple in style and translucent.

Yu Xifeng recalled hearing by chance that her maternal grandmother’s ancestors came from the royal court.

These pieces of jewelry had to be kept hidden over the years and ended up in her mother’s hands.

One bracelet stood out—its beads were exceptionally beautiful. In her past life, it had appeared on Yang Sizhu’s wrist.

“What are you doing?” Yang Sizhu screamed.

She stared at the dazzling glow of the jewelry inside the box, amazed; her eyes fixed on the beads and wouldn’t look away.

Yu Xifeng’s heart stirred.

She shoved the bracelet into her pocket, counted the other jewelry, tucked away the property certificates, and prepared to leave.

“How dare you steal!” Yang Sizhu followed, incredulous.

“This is my mom’s stuff. If I don’t take it, should I leave it for you?” Yu Xifeng said.

“Look in the mirror and see how shameless you are.”

Yang Sizhu was both angry and uneasy. She hadn’t cared much about the jewels in the box, but the thought of that bracelet falling into Yu Xifeng’s hands unsettled her.

Like some kind of ominous warning.

“Aren’t you afraid Dad will be mad?” she asked.

Yu Xifeng glanced back and smiled.

Yang Sizhu’s heart skipped a beat. Today’s Yu Xifeng seemed very different from before.

There was no trace of hesitation or timidity in her expression, only a hint of stubbornness.

Like she had changed into someone else.

In that brief moment of hesitation, Yu Xifeng had already opened the front door and walked away with confidence.