Late at night.  

Su Ling clearly felt the temperature changing. Even inside the grocery store, a chill began to creep in, though it was quickly suppressed by the floor heating.  

“Ugh, this drop is unusually sharp,” Su Ling remarked, glancing at Hua Hua curled up nearby.  

Hua Hua sighed. “It’s because of the settings. Plus, this world is a fusion of multiple worlds, which is why the temperature drop is so severe.”  

Su Ling, feeling the comfortable warmth, lowered her eyes slightly. “With such extreme weather, I wonder if some people will be able to endure it.”  

Hua Hua yawned widely. “No need to worry about that. Thanks to Little Baozhu’s kindness, good luck covers everyone. At most, they’ll suffer a bit, but no one will die.”  

Hearing this, Su Ling felt relieved.  

Hua Hua closed her eyes. “Sleep, host. For the next three months, there definitely won’t be any major unexpected incidents—just hardship.”  

Su Ling slowly closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep.  

…

Not far from the small shop, inside a dilapidated house.  

Though the broken-down house had been lined with aluminum foil in many places, the cold still seeped in, chilling to the bone.  

Wang Zhaodi had anticipated this. She raised a bed plank, set up a tent on top, secured it, then wrapped another layer of aluminum foil around it. Thick bedding was laid down, topped with an electric blanket, and then another layer of bedding.  

With all these layers, the inside of the tent remained warm and cozy.  

Wang Zhaodi slept soundly inside, completely undisturbed. But Liu Guihua was miserable.  

Liu Guihua had been unwilling to spend money on anything, determined to save it for her son’s future house. Now, she shivered under her thin blanket, too cold to move.  

Wang Dagen wasn’t faring much better. The two could only huddle together for warmth.  

The situation at Wang Baozhu’s house was far more comfortable. Every family member had their own electric blanket and thick bedding. The walls had been lined with aluminum foil early on, and hot water bottles were kept close by for warmth at any time.  

The village chief’s household was similarly well-prepared, having followed Wang Baozhu’s lead, so they slept peacefully through the night.  

But others in the village weren’t so lucky. Despite the village chief’s repeated warnings, some had been too stingy to prepare properly. Now, they spent the night sleepless, enduring the cold, or waking up shivering after finally dozing off.  

….

The educated youth dormitory.  

After countless arguments between Zhang Xiu and Zhang Miaomiao, Zhang Xiu had moved out of their shared room. Now, only Zhang Miaomiao, Li Juan, and Zhou Yan remained.  

All three had electric blankets and had fashioned “boxes” out of aluminum foil to trap the heat, making their sleeping areas exceptionally warm.  

Zhou Yan even felt she had never been so comfortable in her life. It turned out that redirecting the kindness she once gave others to herself could bring such happiness.  

She really should have realized this sooner.  

Zhang Miaomiao and Xie Linfeng’s relationship was lukewarm at best, but out of basic decency, she had recommended that he buy an electric blanket.  

After that, their relationship improved slightly. But if Xie Linfeng didn’t change his ways, she wasn’t going to cling to him forever.  

There were plenty of other options in the world.  

Li Juan happily nestled in her warm cocoon, thinking that if she worked a little harder, she could soon afford to keep the electric light on all day and eat hotpot whenever she wanted.  

……  

In the male educated youth dormitory, aside from Feng Qi and Xie Linfeng, everyone else curled up, shivering uncontrollably.  

Chen Li, trembling, kept preaching about mutual aid, trying to guilt-trip the others. But Feng Qi just buried himself deeper under his blanket, pretending not to hear, nearly making Chen Li lose his temper.  

Xie Linfeng was even less concerned. His tent blocked out the sight of the others, and he had no patience to care about their survival.  

He had warned them, after all. If they hadn’t taken it seriously, they could suffer the consequences themselves.

In the Town

Zhu Ying tucked the corners of the quilt tighter around her daughter, who was sleeping soundly, her little face rosy and warm.  

Just as Zhu Ying was about to close her eyes, loud banging erupted at her door. A neighbor was begging to borrow her electric blanket.  

Zhu Ying rolled her eyes. She only had one—how could she lend it out?  

Besides, she knew better than to get out of bed to explain. If she did, they’d only push further, saying anything to guilt her, even resorting to shameless demands or outright theft.  

She wasn’t about to get involved in that mess.  

The neighbor wailed a few more times, but when Zhu Ying refused to open the door, they finally left, eyes red from crying, body trembling from the cold.  

“Heartless! Won’t even open the door! If anything happens to my child, I won’t let you off!”

“That little brat is living cozy while my son’s freezing! Damn selfish people!”

Cursing through clenched teeth, the neighbor moved on to knock on other doors—but not a single one opened.  

Everyone in the building knew: if you opened the door, it’d be hard to refuse them. But if you pretended not to hear, you could always claim ignorance later. Better to avoid the trouble and just queue up at the vending machine the next day.  

The neighbor must have realized this too, because their despair only deepened. Shivering, they returned home, weeping about their miserable fate—until their tears froze on their face, making them even colder.  

……  

By morning, countless people were filled with regret—but at least they’d survived. Now, taking advantage of the slight daytime warmth, everyone rushed to line up at the vending machines.  

This cold was truly life-threatening.  

…

Wang Zhaodi’s Side

Wang Zhaodi had slept peacefully all night—so comfortably, in fact, that she felt like she’d never had such restful sleep in either her past or present life. It was almost hard to get up.  

But she did. After a quick wash, she took out her electric hot pot, deciding to treat herself to a luxurious meal of hotpot meatballs.  

Li Juan and her roommates had the same idea. Having slept soundly until noon, the three of them gathered around a single pot, cooking up a feast.  

“I’ll grab the bowls!”

Li Juan opened the door, only for a freezing gust of wind to slam into her, making her teeth chatter.  

“Ugh, it’s so cold!” Clenching her jaw, she dashed to the kitchen, snatched their usual bowls and chopsticks, then bolted back.  

Zhang Xiu caught a whiff of the delicious aroma and peeked through the door crack just in time to see Zhang Miaomiao cooking meatballs. Instantly, she acted like she’d caught them red-handed.  

“Zhang Miaomiao! What are you cooking in there, hiding away? Don’t you know everyone’s starving?”

Zhang Miaomiao strode to the door, stopping Zhou Yan from stepping in to defend her. She stared Zhang Xiu down.  

“If you keep harassing us, I won’t hold back.”

With that, she slammed the door shut—and locked it.  

Zhang Xiu paled. Spotting other onlookers, she put on a pitiful act.  

“I’m just upset that they’re eating behind closed doors while the rest of us suffer! How can they be so selfish?”

“Oh, so you want free food now?” Li Juan shouted through the door crack. “Got no shame?”

Zhang Xiu’s face darkened. Just as she was about to retort, Xie Linfeng emerged. Instantly, she perked up, as if she’d found an ally, and rushed over with exaggerated distress.  

“Xie Linfeng, look at Zhang Miaomiao! She’s hoarding good food in her room!”

Xie Linfeng glanced at her, his expression icy.  

Zhang Xiu shrank back slightly but quickly straightened. “I just feel bad for you. You always share with her, but she’s eating alone in secret!”

Xie Linfeng let out a deep sigh and looked at her squarely.  

“My stance has always been clear. You just chose to ignore it.”

Zhang Xiu’s heart lurched with unease.  

Xie Linfeng spoke firmly. “Zhang Xiu, men are shallow and calculating. They either want beauty or usefulness. Maybe there’s such a thing as unwavering love between men and women—but not here, not now.”

Every day as an educated youth was a struggle for survival. Who had time for romance?  

Whatever mutual fondness existed between him and Zhang Miaomiao was based on mutual attraction and capability—a conscious choice, not some desperate emotional impulse.  

With that, Xie Linfeng walked away.  

Zhang Xiu stood frozen in place, the cold wind piercing straight through her heart.