Chapter 94: Sinister

As soon as she stepped through the door, Fugui came bounding over.

An Nan didn’t have time to react and was nearly knocked off balance by the dog.

...

“An Fugui! You’ve gotten even fatter!”

She picked Fugui up and roughly estimated its weight—it had to be over forty pounds!

For a dog of its breed, the usual weight should be around fifteen to twenty pounds, thirty at most.

You’re supposed to be a small dog, sweetie!

Now you’re practically the size of a medium dog!

If you keep growing like this, are you going to end up as big as a golden retriever?!

An Nan studied her dog’s ugly little face.

“…Standard poodles that size are called giant poodles, and they’re still beautiful. But if you get that big, you’ll just look like a giant white pig!”

She shook the dog gently. “You better think this through!!”

Fugui ignored her scolding, still wriggling in her arms and trying to lick her face with its tongue.

An Nan: “…Get away from me, silly dog!”

She put the dog down and went to her room to change into loungewear.

As soon as she came out of the bedroom, she saw Fugui wobbling over, carrying its food bowl in its mouth.

A not-so-subtle reminder that it was time for dinner.

“Silly dog! All you ever think about is eating!”

She said that, but checking the time, it really was time to feed him.

Looking at his much bulkier body, An Nan hesitated, then only filled half the bowl.

Fugui cocked his head at her, confused.

“What are you looking at? That’s all you’re getting, there’s no more!”

Fugui gave her a look of utter disbelief.

You were gone all night and this is all you brought back??

Seeing him just staring at the food and not eating, An Nan’s mouth twitched and she added a bit more.

“Awwooo~ Awwooo~”

She had no idea what he was whining about, but judging by his expression, he seemed pretty upset.

An Nan hesitated, then added a little more.

After all that back and forth, she’d ended up giving him almost as much as usual.

Watching the dog eat with gusto, An Nan wondered if she was spoiling her “child” too much.

She was still thinking about it when someone knocked on the door.

Chu Peipei’s voice came from outside: “Nannan, are you back?”

An Nan walked over and opened the door.

Chu Peipei smiled. “You’re finally home! I actually came by earlier.”

She handed over a bowl of mung bean soup. “Here, have some to cool off before you go to sleep.”

An Nan hadn’t expected her to be so thoughtful.

She’d only mentioned drinking mung bean soup together as an excuse to get her to accept that bucket of water, but she hadn’t expected Chu Peipei to actually make the soup and bring it over.

An Nan didn’t say much, just accepted the bowl.

Then she asked, “How did things go last night? Did you run into any trouble?”

Chu Peipei replied, “No more highway robbers, at least. The two of us found some metal barrels at an abandoned factory, so we kept collecting oil. But we didn’t get as much as the night before—barely filled two carts.”

An Nan asked, “Why’s that?”

Chu Peipei said, “A lot more people are out looking for oil, just like us.”

An Nan nodded. “Makes sense. Looks like everyone’s realized how important fuel is. There’ll probably be more and more people searching for it from now on.”

Chu Peipei looked a bit anxious. “Then we’d better work faster.”

An Nan reassured her, “Don’t worry, just get as much as you can. The weather’s so hot—you need to take care of yourself.”

Chu Peipei nodded. “I know! Actually, if I use the fuel sparingly, I’ve already got enough for several months. But who knows how long this will last, so I want to stockpile as much as possible.”

An Nan thought for a moment and suggested, “You could try heading out to the ring road. There are big trucks out there, and their tanks hold way more than regular cars.”

Chu Peipei’s eyes lit up. “That’s a great idea! I’ll switch locations tonight.”

An Nan reminded her, “Be careful with storage.”

Unlike An Nan, who could store fuel safely in her space, Chu Peipei could only keep it in her apartment. With that much fuel, if anything exploded, the whole building would be gone.

Chu Peipei blinked. “Don’t worry, I know what’s at stake. At first, when we couldn’t find metal barrels and only had plastic ones, we didn’t dare use them! I guarantee all the fuel is sealed in metal barrels, kept in a shaded room far from any fire sources.”

An Nan nodded.

Then Chu Peipei remembered something. “Oh, right—yesterday at noon, a few groups suffering from heatstroke came knocking. They said they knew there was a doctor on the 14th floor.”

An Nan frowned. “What happened?”

Chu Peipei said, “I have no idea! They came up calling for ‘Dr. Chu,’ asking me to treat them and to lend them water. I sent them away.”

An Nan said, “Next time, just ignore them. If anyone gets too pushy, make an example out of them.”

Chu Peipei nodded. “I’ve never seen those people before, and I don’t know who told them, but they came straight to the 14th floor.”

An Nan thought for a moment. “Who in our complex knows you’re a doctor?”

Chu Peipei said, “I’ve never told anyone… Wait, last year my mother-in-law stayed here for a while and used to chat with the neighbors. She probably told a lot of people.”

An Nan said, “But not many people know you moved to the 14th floor, right?”

Chu Peipei thought about it. “Then it’s probably someone from our building.”

A face suddenly popped into An Nan’s mind.

Chu Peipei’s eyes lit up too. “Could it be Sun Peng?”

An Nan nodded. “Very likely.”

Chu Peipei was puzzled. “But why would he do that? He and I are enemies—why would he tell the neighbors to come to me for treatment?”

Having lived an extra lifetime, An Nan understood Sun Peng’s ways pretty well.

“He’s probably trying to stir up trouble for you. With the way things are now, heatstroke is hard to treat. If you agree to help, but can’t cure them, they’ll blame you. If you refuse, they’ll resent you even more.”

That Sun Peng really was sinister.

He’d never messed with her directly, but his way of doing things made An Nan dislike him intensely.

She knew Chu Peipei had a grudge against him.

But she wouldn’t interfere or help Chu Peipei get revenge.

Everyone has their own demons to face; only by dealing with them personally can they truly heal.

Chu Peipei frowned. “I haven’t even settled the score with him, but he hasn’t forgotten about me! He’s so sly and devious. I can’t match him in cunning or strength, but I’ll find a way to avenge my husband!”

An Nan knew that, even though Chu Peipei had been busy scavenging and struggling to survive, she’d never let go of her hatred.

She reminded her, “He’s a deep, crafty one. Be careful—don’t underestimate him.”

Chu Peipei nodded.

She wouldn’t dare underestimate him.

Sun Peng was both sneaky and cautious to the extreme.

Getting rid of him wouldn’t be easy.

But it was something she was determined to do.

“As soon as I finish collecting fuel, I’ll figure out a way to send him to hell.”"