Hearing this, Sister Meng looked regretful and sighed.

“Don’t even mention it, Xiao Hou. Xiao Su is in big trouble. Looks like you don’t know, do you?”

She looked a little puzzled.

Hou Rui was stunned. “What happened? Youyou didn’t tell me anything.”

Sister Meng said, “It seems Xiao Su owes loan sharks. She even sold her house overnight and no one knows where she went. To make matters worse, I heard she even lost her job. Such a pitiful girl. She may have a father, but with that stepmother of hers, it’s basically a death sentence. The two of them bought her house dirt cheap, and I heard they’re planning to renovate and move in.”

“Xiao Hou, if you hear any news about Xiao Su, you must tell us.”

“Of course, of course.”

Hou Rui forced a stiff smile, his mind buzzing, then turned and left.

Loan sharks? Even sold the house?
How could Su You owe that much money? If they got married in the future, that would all be his money!
Hou Rui’s heart ached terribly.

At the same time, he felt a wave of relief. Luckily, he had prepared in advance. He immediately pulled out his phone and messaged another senior sister, asking if she was free to hang out tomorrow.

As for Su You—this relationship was over. He wasn’t going to bother about whether she lived or died.

---

Su You, of course, had no idea what Hou Rui was up to, nor did she intend to care about that scumbag.

To her, wasting even a shred of energy on Hou Rui was a complete waste of time.

Early the next morning, Su You woke up, went to the boxing gym to train for a while, keeping her body sharp before the apocalypse came.

Then she pulled out her phone, dealt with some matters regarding the supermarket and pharmacy, and finally saw the screenshots Amber sent her.

Amber moved fast—just one night, and it had already stirred up small discussions in niche survivalist circles.

There were even a few new forum threads, though most were just people joining in for fun.

Su You, of course, didn’t expect any big results in such a short time.

But as long as she showed her face in the survivalist community, news would inevitably trickle into media accounts. That would spark small discussions, maybe even lead some curious netizens to track down the website.

That already fulfilled part of her plan.

After finishing all that, Su You checked the time and saw it was exactly the appointment hour.

With the reputation of being a supermarket owner, a lot of things became easier for her.

This morning, she had arranged to meet a sales rep from an inflatable boat manufacturer to purchase a batch of rubber boats and life-saving gear.

The sales rep suggested she first visit their offline store before placing an order. Su You found that reasonable and delayed her livestream by a day.

As soon as she entered, the rep greeted her warmly:

“Boss Su, you’ve come to the right place. Our factory’s rubber boats and assault boats are among the very best in the country—top quality and leading in sales, especially loved by fishing enthusiasts.”

“Take this model here, for example. It’s our newest release—three-layer reinforced, explosion-proof, with anti-collision strips made from the latest international nano-materials. It’s resistant to rocks, hooks, and other sharp objects. The design has been upgraded for stability—perfect against wind and waves. We have lengths ranging from 1.7m to 3.5m, seating 2–7 people, to meet all your needs.”

He was pointing to a black rubber boat in front of Su You. Fully inflated, it looked solid, full, and very secure.

Su You nodded. “Any other recommendations?”

The rep continued explaining a few more. Su You quickly got a general idea of the products.

She ended up purchasing a batch of the latest models—rubber boats, assault boats, and kayaks, along with essential pumps, paddles, and life-saving gear.

Rubber boats were her best choice for stockpiling right now.

They had few restrictions, were durable, and easy to learn. With her supermarket-owner status, it was easy to win the factory’s trust.

It wasn’t that she hadn’t thought about buying a yacht or ship, but the paperwork was too complicated and the skill requirements too high. For now, she shelved that idea. Maybe later, if she had the chance.

Seeing the store also carried skis, tents, sleeping bags, and other outdoor gear, she made an impulsive decision—since she had money to spare, she bought a batch of those too.

While she was busy shopping, she didn’t notice a man and a woman entering the store.

The moment the young man saw her, his expression changed. He quickly dragged the girl back outside.

The girl looked puzzled. “What’s wrong? Hou Rui, didn’t you want a rubber boat? Why aren’t we looking?”

Hou Rui forced a smile. “Senior sister, I suddenly feel a bit thirsty. Let’s grab some milk tea first. I just saw a shop nearby—let’s sit there a while.”

He definitely didn’t want to run into Su You. Last night, he had been left freezing outside by her, then learned she owed a huge debt. Hou Rui wanted to avoid her at all costs, not run into her face-to-face.

After dawdling for quite a while, Hou Rui finally returned to the outdoor store entrance under his senior sister’s urging.

Only after confirming Su You was no longer inside did he breathe a sigh of relief.

Maybe because of that encounter, he seemed distracted while looking at kayaks.

Seizing a chance, Hou Rui pulled aside a store clerk and asked, “Excuse me, earlier I saw a girl here wearing a black trench coat and a black baseball cap. She looked like a friend of mine. Did she come here to apply as a staff member?”

The clerk thought for a moment, then smiled as realization dawned.

“Sir, you must be mistaken. That lady wasn’t applying for a job. That was Boss Su. She owns a large supermarket in Shenzhen. She came today to check out the factory’s products and placed a massive order before leaving.”

Hou Rui was shocked. “Are you sure? Was her name Su You?”

The clerk thought a bit. “I think so.”

Hearing this, Hou Rui felt completely disoriented.

He was certain—the person just now was Su You.

There was no way he mistook her.

So what was going on?
Could Sister Meng have lied to him that night in the stairwell?

Hou Rui completely lost interest in shopping. He used the excuse of feeling unwell and left early.

Instead of going home, he went to Su You’s neighborhood. There, he personally saw Su You’s stepmother directing a group of renovation workers to redo the place.

He felt a strange relief. It seemed Su You really was broke. She had spent so much effort decorating that apartment—there was no way she would have given it up willingly.

But then, how had Su You become Boss Su, the owner of a supermarket?
The thought weighed heavier and heavier on his chest.

He pulled up the WeChat contact of the new store clerk and said that Boss Su was an old high school classmate of his. They hadn’t seen each other in years, and he hadn’t dared to approach her just now. Now that he was certain, he just wanted to reconnect.

So he asked: which supermarket did Boss Su own?

Though the clerk was a little puzzled, he still gave him the address.