Chapter 12: Stepfather’s Mistress

Down payment?!!

Didn’t the Jiang family always buy villas with a wave of the hand, paying in full every time?

Du Zitong’s heart skipped a beat.

He’d always wanted to ask Jiang Yan a certain question, but had held back, thinking it might be inappropriate.

But now, seeing her driving a second-hand mini truck, anxiously selling off a sprawling villa of several hundred square meters, and moving into a top-floor apartment that most people wouldn’t even consider buying, he couldn’t suppress his curiosity any longer.

He gritted his teeth, took a quiet breath, and finally spoke up:

“Yan-jie, you’re selling your villa in such a hurry and even changed your car. Are you… running into some kind of trouble? Is there anything I can help with? I mean, I can’t compare to you financially, but I’ve managed to save up a little over the years. If you need anything, just say the word—” Du Zitong’s words came to an abrupt halt when he saw Jiang Yan looking at him with a smile, and he started to stammer:

“Yan, Yan-jie, what’s wrong? I didn’t mean anything by it. It’s just that, back when my father had cancer, President Jiang and President Li organized the whole company to donate money to my family, and they even paid a lot of the medical bills themselves. Even though my father didn’t make it in the end, I’ll never forget the kindness your family showed us.”

What he didn’t mention was that his real estate agency had also benefited greatly from Jiang Yan’s mother.

After all, when Jiang’s mother was handling those properties, she always gave the business to his company. That was actually his first pot of gold after quitting his job to start his own business.

But now, seeing Jiang Yan like this… Could it be like those TV dramas, where the rich heiress’s assets get frozen or something?

Jiang Yan saw his earnest, sincere expression and said, “Du Zitong, do you trust me?”

Du Zitong didn’t hesitate at all, nodding like a pecking chicken: “Of course I do!”

“A wise man told me that the apocalypse will arrive in three months. So, I’m only telling you this: in these next two months, stock up as much as you can on rice, flour, grains, and oil at home, and buy some basic medicines too. That’s all I can say.”

Honestly, Jiang Yan didn’t expect him to believe her.

Before she was reborn, hadn’t she also heard about things like the Mayan prophecy, predicting the end of the world in such-and-such year?

But when she looked back, those dates had already passed by ten years or more.

Sure enough, after hearing her, Du Zitong let out a quiet “ah” and looked at Jiang Yan with disbelief in his eyes, and even a hint of barely detectable sympathy:

Miss Jiang is a bit pitiful.

President Li’s death must have hit her so hard that she’s having mental problems.

Sigh, whether rich or poor, every family has its own troubles!

But he was quick-witted. Even as he sighed inwardly, he quickly steered the awkward, heavy conversation in another direction:

“Ah, Yan-jie, you want to stock up again? To be honest, I still have a ton of ibuprofen left over from when we stocked up during the mask shortage, and a mountain of salt too. My wife was just teasing me yesterday, asking when I was going to cook up my ‘salt-baked ibuprofen,’ hahaha.”

Du Zitong deliberately avoided the “apocalypse in three months” topic.

After all, with the sun shining and a gentle breeze outside, talking about the end of the world did seem a bit much. But he couldn’t bear to rub salt in Jiang Yan’s wounds.

Hearing his lame joke, Jiang Yan didn’t laugh. Instead, she grew serious, looking at him earnestly:

“Old Du, this time, listen to me.”

Some things, there’s no point saying more.

Seeing her so solemn and serious, Du Zitong scratched his head awkwardly and said, “Yan-jie, I’ll listen to you. I’ll tell my wife to buy some when I get home. Anyway, rice, flour, grains, oil, and medicines—we’ll need them sooner or later.”

Jiang Yan just grunted in acknowledgment and said nothing more.

Building A soon came into view.

The five buildings of Shallow Water Bay were arranged in a pyramid shape, with Building A at the very tip of the pyramid.

At that moment, a moving truck was parked at the entrance. Workers in blue uniforms were busily carrying a leather sofa downstairs.

Not far away, a strikingly beautiful young woman in black, holding the hand of a seven- or eight-year-old boy, was standing to the side, directing the move.

The woman’s eyes were red from crying. Both her right arm and the boy’s left arm wore black mourning bands.

Jiang Yan instinctively glanced at the woman’s face, and a surge of anger shot through her.

The beautiful woman was none other than Zhang Qiqi.

The mistress that her vile stepfather, Song Deming, had kept hidden all along.

If it hadn’t been for the apocalypse in her previous life, when Song Deming brought her and his son to that villa on the mountainside, she would have died in ignorance, just like her mother.

But in her previous life, Zhang Qiqi had always lived in a villa that Song Deming rented for her.

She didn’t know why, but now Zhang Qiqi was moving into this ordinary apartment complex.

Talk about searching high and low, only to find her without any effort!

Thinking of her mother, who died at sea with no remains, and her own miserable fate in her last life, Jiang Yan felt suffocated, as if her heart was being gnawed by thousands of ants.

She wished she could just go up and end this shameless woman right now.

But now wasn’t the time to kill Song Deming and Zhang Kai.

This was a society ruled by law—she had to endure for now.

She clenched her molars, squeezed her fingers hard, and took several deep breaths, forcing down her urge for revenge.

Now that they were in the same building, she wouldn’t even have to seek her out.

Just endure a little longer. When the apocalypse comes, she’ll deal with her then.

Another thought suddenly flashed through her mind:

Could it be that because she was reborn and Song Deming died, Zhang Qiqi’s life path had changed as well?

The so-called wheels of fate had been set in motion.

If that’s the case, would the timing of the disaster also be affected?

Looks like she’d have to get all her preparations done as early as possible.

“Hey! Be careful with that! That’s imported calfskin, worth tens of thousands! If you break it, you can’t afford to pay for it!” Zhang Qiqi’s voice instantly revealed her true colors.

Du Zitong glanced at her, pressed the elevator button, and muttered under his breath, “People like that, I really can’t stand them. Where does that sense of superiority even come from?”

Jiang Yan’s face was grave, and she said nothing.

Her hat and mask covered her face completely.

Zhang Qiqi, of course, didn’t recognize her.

Not that she was worried if she did.

Soon, Zhang Qiqi led the movers into the freight elevator.

Jiang Yan followed and took a look, also checking out the stairwell.

After the disaster, with no water or electricity, the elevators would be useless, and everyone would have to use the stairs.

Even though she planned to hole up in her room as long as possible, she still needed to have backup plans.

The stairwell was right next to the freight elevator, dimly lit, with cigarette butts and trash scattered in the corners, and a faint smell of urine.

Jiang Yan frowned and quickly turned back.

Meanwhile, the freight elevator slowly stopped at the seventh floor.

“Yan-jie, what’s up?” Du Zitong was surprised to see her suddenly head toward the freight elevator."