Chapter 34: Be Sweet When You See Brother Wang

An Nan stared at the screen for a while, suddenly finding the hair fluttering in the wind on the screen especially beautiful.

What color is that?

Cool tea brown?

She thought for a moment, then rummaged through her space with her mind. Sure enough, she found some hair dye among the supermarket supplies she’d collected earlier.

With nothing better to do, why not dye her hair?

Following the instructions, she squeezed the dye into a small bowl and picked up the dye brush, measuring it against her hair.

How did Tony the stylist do it again?

Counting the four years from her previous life, it had been ages since she’d done anything with her hair. In her early twenties, who didn’t love looking good?

In her last life, not long after the apocalypse began, she’d cut her hair herself with scissors.

There was no choice—long hair was impossible to maintain in the end times. With no water or electricity and no hair products, her hair was always greasy, sticky against her face, and constantly tangled.

When she was first reborn, she’d considered chopping her hair short again for convenience. But after some thought, she gave up on the idea. She loved her smooth, long hair best. In this life, she was determined to maintain the highest quality of life and not compromise, not even a little.

Her hair would be as long or as short as she wanted!

Why cut it? She had conditioner and nourishing hair oil—she had the means now!

Upstairs, An Nan was excitedly trying her hand at dyeing her own hair, while downstairs in 801, Qian Yinger’s shrill scream rang out.

“Ahhh! Don’t touch my hair!”

She clutched her messy, bird’s nest hair, backing away desperately.

Bai Wenbin frowned and shouted at her, “What are you being so dramatic for? Look at you, with that head of dead grass—what do you think you look like?”

Qian Yinger’s eyes filled with tears. “My hair was styled by the chief stylist at Phoenix Illusion…”

Bai Wenbin, holding the scissors they used to scale fish, snapped at her impatiently, “Is this really the time to worry about hairstyles? Hurry up and cut off this disgusting mess!”

He grabbed Qian Yinger and pressed her down. “Do you want to disgust Brother Wang so much that he leaves, and then starve yourself to death?”

At his words, Qian Yinger bit her lip and quieted down.

As Bai Wenbin cut her hair, he reminded her, “When you see Brother Wang tomorrow, be sweet to him. Don’t waste your effort—try to get as much food as possible.”

“…Got it.”

Qian Yinger watched in the mirror as the hair she’d once cared for so meticulously was ruthlessly chopped off by her cousin, falling to the floor like her pride and dignity.

Her eyes brimmed with tears.

Brother Wang was a resident of Building 12 in their complex. He was an outdoor enthusiast and had all kinds of gear at home, including a kayak.

So, when disaster first struck, he’d gone out and stocked up on plenty of food.

Later, he found even more kayaks at an outdoor gear company in an office building, brought them back, and rented them out at high prices to neighbors in his building in exchange for more food.

Gradually, Building 12 became the most well-off building in the entire complex.

Since there were many able-bodied young people in the building and they were united, no one dared to rob them.

Bai Wenbin and Qian Yinger had met them while out scavenging for supplies.

Both groups had their eyes on the same office building. Qian Yinger, relying on her looks, tried to flirt and act cute to get a share of the supplies.

Naturally, she failed. In times like these, only a fool would hand over supplies.

But as they parted, Brother Wang gave her a meaningful look.

“If you really run out of food, you can come help out at my place. I’ll pay you.”

He even winked at her.

They were all adults. Qian Yinger had dated before—she wasn’t some naïve little girl. She knew exactly what he meant.

She’d thought that as long as they could rob Zhao Ping’an and An Nan with Sun Peng, they wouldn’t have to go hungry or suffer this kind of humiliation.

Who would have thought that even with so many people charging upstairs, they’d still end up empty-handed?

Thinking of An Nan, Qian Yinger’s face twisted with resentment.

Hate! She really hated her!

Why did that little tramp get to live so well?

And not only that, she had so much good food at home, yet refused to let her and her cousin stay over.

Such a selfish, heartless bitch!

“Ahhhhh!” At this thought, Qian Yinger couldn’t help but scream again.

Bai Wenbin frowned and smacked her on the back of the neck. “What are you freaking out about now? Don’t mess things up tomorrow. Even if you have to fake it, act like a lady!”

“Wuwuwu…” Qian Yinger sobbed as she nodded.

1402.

An Nan finished dyeing her hair, washed it, and blew it dry.

Looking at her cool tea-brown hair flowing down her back in the mirror, she nodded in satisfaction.

“An Fugui! Come see if your big sister is pretty!”

Fugui, hearing his owner call, ran over with his wrinkly dog face, gave her a few half-hearted pats, then went back to lie on the sofa.

“You lazy thing!” Unhappy with his lack of enthusiasm, An Nan pounced onto the sofa, scooped up the dog, and smothered him with cuddles.

Looking at the dog, now all fluffed up from her roughhousing, she giggled and turned on the TV to keep watching her variety show.

Life passed peacefully like this.

Ever since she’d driven away those troublemaking neighbors, no one had come to bother her again.

An Nan started focusing on her health and adjusting her daily routine.

She got up at seven every morning, drank a big glass of warm water to wake up, then did a set of Baduanjin exercises on an empty stomach. By 7:30, she’d be in the kitchen making herself a nutritious breakfast.

She spent her mornings practicing martial arts—strengthening every part of her body, honing her movement and combat skills, and even made her own target to practice shooting.

For lunch, she ate high-protein foods to replenish her energy, then stood to watch an episode of a TV drama while digesting, before heading back to her room for a nap.

Afternoons were her leisure time. If she felt motivated, she’d watch tutorial videos and learn new skills; if not, she’d read downloaded novels to pass the time.

The only thing that bothered her was the lack of anyone to talk to.

Before, she could write comments on novels and chat with fellow readers. When she was in a good mood, she’d even watch ads and send free gifts to authors.

Now, she was left to amuse herself. Luckily, she still had her dog to talk to, so she wouldn’t lose her ability to speak.

In the evenings, she’d cuddle her dog while watching dramas, movies, or variety shows.

When her eyes got tired, she’d experiment with making new and interesting foods, storing them in her space to enjoy later.

Every night at 10:30, she’d go to bed on time, giving her liver plenty of time to rest and recover.

An Nan was very satisfied with her current life—no work, no rat race, plenty of food, a great mood, her skin getting better and better, and even her periods had become regular.

Unlike her last life, where long-term malnutrition meant she stopped menstruating before she was even thirty.

In the blink of an eye, half a month passed.

One day, as usual, An Nan got up early and was practicing Baduanjin at home.

She had just reached the fifth movement when suddenly, there was a rapid knocking at the door."