He turned toward Zhou Qingsha and said, “Miss Zhou, this is top-quality Qingbai jade—plenty of water content, beautiful color. It was personally crafted by Master Zhang Hu. There are fewer than ten such pieces in existence.”

Zhou Qingsha smiled. “I know. I have one of the same style at home.”

Of course, the Zhou family’s collectibles were never fakes.

The man with the buzz cut’s face turned pale, then flushed, then pale again.

It actually went well with the Qingbai jade in his hand.

By the time the tea tasting event ended, the man beside Zhou Qingsha was replaced by someone younger.

That younger man had bigger, rounder eyes, like a kitten’s.

Zhou Qingsha personally saw Yu Xifeng out, and the younger man smiled sweetly, calling Yu Xifeng “older sister.”

Yu Xifeng was a little dazed by his smile.

Soon she felt it was a bit rude to stare so much at Zhou Qingsha’s male companion, so she quickly looked down.

Zhou Qingsha’s laugh was like the tinkling of silver bells. She leaned close and whispered, “If you like this kind, I can introduce you.”

Yu Xifeng fled.

The things she bought would be delivered to her by people Zhou Qingsha sent.

After putting this batch of items into her space, Yu Xifeng planted winter jujube trees in the expanded flowerbed area.

Winter jujubes are great—big, crisp, and sweet.

They bear fruit all over the tree.

Yu Xifeng also took out two chicks and handed them to Dabai to take care of.

As for why goslings hatched into chicks…

Don’t ask. It’s a secret trick.

At that tea tasting event, she drank a lot.

She tossed and turned half the night, feeling energetic enough to do two sets of martial arts in place.

Finally, she drifted into a daze.

She dreamed someone called her “older sister.”

That person’s face seemed covered by something, making it hard to see clearly.

Yu Xifeng chased after them.

The person stopped, took off a mask, revealing Zhang Qiu’s face.

Zhang Qiu said, “Older sister~”

Yu Xifeng got goosebumps all over.

When she woke up, she stared silently at the ceiling in the darkness for a long time.

If she remembered right, Zhang Qiu was two years older than her.

Yu Xifeng thought again about that “older sister” voice that sent shivers up her spine, and felt a ripple of emotion.

Zhang Qiu was much more attractive than Zhou Qingsha’s young companion.

His features were clear and elegant yet still striking, with a natural fragrance of medicinal herbs.

Yu Xifeng’s mind wandered.

If Zhou Qingsha liked Zhang Qiu, would she go with the flow and sell Zhang Qiu for a good price, or be the heroine rescuing the beauty and offering herself in exchange?

After having this absurd dream, Yu Xifeng didn’t go back to sleep.

She got up and did standing meditation.

It was still early, so Yu Xifeng opened her phone screen, distractedly checking the outside surveillance.

Dabai slipped between her legs.

She had already made standing meditation a daily habit—no longer as easy as eating or drinking, but no longer something impossible to stick with.

After about ten minutes, Deng Feiyu appeared outside the door.

It wasn’t yet time for the underground shelter power supply to activate, but in the night vision from the camera, Deng Feiyu emerged from the darkness, his eyes two gray-white beads.

He stared fixedly at Yu Xifeng’s side.

Through the screen, Yu Xifeng and Deng Feiyu made eye contact.

Deng Feiyu looked for a while, then turned and left.

The direction he went was not toward the rescue team’s check-in point.

Behind him, Yu Xifeng quietly opened the door and followed, like a wild goose maintaining a not-too-close, not-too-far distance, stepping silently.

In no time, she reached District Five.

Yu Xifeng thought for a moment: Sister Zhang and Deng Feiyu had indeed originally come from District Five.

Deng Feiyu entered a room.

The room was tightly surrounded by opaque cloth, so Yu Xifeng couldn’t get too close, only watched from afar.

Then seven or eight others entered one after another.

Yu Xifeng changed into a shabby jacket and pretended to go to the bathroom, passing by the door.

Faint singing floated out.

Deng Feiyu came out from inside, with a mark on his forehead that hadn’t been fully erased.

Yu Xifeng understood.

Deng Feiyu was walking the same old path as his mother.

The Sun God Cult.

When Deng Feiyu went to the rescue team for hard labor, Yu Xifeng didn’t follow anymore and went home.

She acted as a helpful survivor and reported this matter to the patrol team.

She was received by Xiao Rong, who worked with Wang Anmin.

“…The Sun God Cult has brought great losses to all of us. According to the new rules of the underground shelter, I suspect Deng Feiyu attended an illegal gathering of a cult. I’m worried he might cause harm to society, so I reported it immediately.”

Xiao Rong nodded repeatedly. “Sister, your awareness is really high.”

Wang Anmin came out of his office, took the notebook from Xiao Rong, and said in his usual cold, harsh tone, “I know the situation. You can go back now.”

Yu Xifeng nodded and left.

Wang Anmin looked down at the notebook, which contained Yu Xifeng’s verbal report.

He tore off that page and quickly shredded it into scraps.

He instructed Xiao Rong, “Pretend this person never came today, understood?”

Xiao Rong was confused but still agreed, “Yes.”

Wang Anmin returned to his office.

He took a deep breath and pulled a case file from under his desk.

Last time, the massive riot stirred up by the Sun God Cult was manipulated.

The person behind it held a high position, clearly had evidence in hand, but could only seal the case file.

His own subordinates were still being controlled by Zheng Weiyang.

Every promotion of Zheng Weiyang trampled on justice, life, and rules.

Wang Anmin clenched his fists tightly, his thin lips pressed into a line.

The only thing he could do was erase the clues reported by Yu Xifeng.

If this blew up, anyone could be blamed—except Yu Xifeng.

Wang Anmin took off his hat and placed it neatly on the desk.

Xiao Rong knocked, “Boss, the chief is here.”

The old chief came in immediately, slammed a resignation letter into Wang Anmin’s face, and scolded him thoroughly.

Wang Anmin, taller than the old chief, lowered his head silently.

“You, ah…” the old chief sighed.

“In two months at most, I’ll have you transferred to the central office. The base there is already being planned. Keep yourself in line for two months.”

“This is an order. Understand?”

“…Yes.”

Yu Xifeng’s report to the patrol team was like a stone thrown into the ocean—no ripple at all.

Based on her understanding of Wang Anmin, this was not like him.

Yu Xifeng thought about it for a while with no leads, so she put the matter aside for the time being.

She became even more wary of Deng Feiyu.

She installed another camera directly aimed at Deng Feiyu’s residence.

Sister Yun came over that morning to take away the last batch of fuel.

“We’ve been very sparing with usage. Hey, I heard outside it’s still minus sixty something degrees,” Sister Yun said. “Don’t know if this will last until the cold wave passes.”

The cold came violently and suddenly.

The warming was very slow.

When the ice and snow melt, who knows how many bodies will surface.

Yu Xifeng said, “Since the temperature is already starting to rise, there will be a day to go out.”

“What good days could there be out there?”

Yu Xifeng had no answer to that.

According to her memories from her previous life, going out really meant no good days.

“There will be some peaceful days, at least for a while,” Yu Xifeng said.

Between one disaster and another, there is a brief vacuum, seemingly left so humans can survive a bit longer.

Sister Yun sighed and said that no matter what, life must go on.

“I originally wanted to invite you to my place for a meal, but there’s really nothing worth showing. When the ice melts, we’ll get together again. Fatty has found a channel, maybe he can bring back a bottle of beer.”

Yu Xifeng said, “Great, beer with roast duck. Maybe then I can raise a couple of ducklings.”