The pair who had just left were clearly no good. On their way downstairs, they suddenly turned their attention toward Lan Jin. Their eyes kept drifting to the stairwell leading to her floor, filled with barely restrained curiosity.
The woman leaned close and whispered to the man, "Hey, I heard that one's just a woman with a kid. Bet she's got a lot of supplies in there. What if we...?"
"Hold on. Maybe wait until tonight," the man said.
The woman frowned, clearly disagreeing. "At night, everything's too quiet. Even the smallest sound can be heard loud and clear. Better to do it now while there's noise. Even if it doesn't work, no one will notice."
She had a point. If anything did happen, it would cause less of a stir during the noisy daytime. But if they waited until evening, when everything had settled down, the whole building would likely hear any ruckus.
If no supplies had been handed out today, it would be easier to come up with an excuse. But since the distribution had just happened that morning, going around begging for food at night would make people suspicious. Their lives in this building wouldn't be easy after that.
After a brief discussion, the pair decided not to go downstairs just yet. Instead, they headed up toward the thirty-second floor to test the waters.
So, just after Lan Jin finished replying to Huang Jinghe's message, she heard a knock at the door.
"Hello? Anyone home? I'm your neighbor from downstairs."
Their tone was polite. Much better than how they acted upstairs. At least here, they didn't just knock and curse. That made sense. Lan Jin was an adult, not some teenage boy. She wasn't someone they could easily fool, so they had to play it more carefully.
Since they were being so polite, ignoring them might look suspicious. Lan Jin took a few steps and unlocked the front door.
She didn't open it all the way—just far enough to see their faces through the security gap. Her eyes scanned the pair. "What is it?" she asked plainly.
The woman had originally planned to lie, say she worked for the community staff and needed to come inside to take a record. But the moment she saw Lan Jin's face, her heart sank.
Lan Jin had been standing right behind her in the supply line earlier. There was no way she'd believe the lie now. That plan had to be scrapped.
So she switched to Plan B: no plan at all.
"Hello, I'm your downstairs neighbor," the woman said with an awkward smile. "Sorry to bother you, but I have a bit of a request. You see, we've got a lot of people in our household, and the supplies the community gave us aren't enough. I saw it's just you and your child, and small kids don't eat much. So I was wondering if we could borrow a bit of food. Just for now. Once we're allowed out, we'll pay you back."
Lan Jin gave a small, humorless laugh. "Really? They just handed out supplies this morning. You already ran out?"
"No, no," the woman said quickly. "We didn't run out. It's just not enough with so many mouths to feed. I thought we'd borrow a little first."
"Supplies are given based on headcount," Lan Jin said flatly. "If you eat a week's worth in a single day, that's your business. But funny coincidence—I just finished my own week's worth of food too. Maybe try someone else."
Before they could say another word, Lan Jin slammed the door shut.
The sound echoed through the hallway.
The two outside were left stunned and angry.
The man cursed, loud and furious. "What the hell was that? Who does she think she is? If she doesn't want to give it, fine. No need to throw attitude."
What had started as a casual attempt to borrow food now turned into resentment. Their bruised egos hardened their resolve. The woman tugged the man aside and muttered, "We'll come back tonight. Still got the tools, right?"
"Of course," the man snapped. "But she's got a dog. Might be trouble."
He was mad, but not so mad he forgot that detail.
But the woman gave a smug little smile. "You didn't look closely, did you? I did. That dog's only three or four months old. Just a pup. What can a puppy do? When the time comes, I'll throw a cloth over it and knock it out. We can even eat it afterward."
At the mention of meat, both their mouths watered.
In times like this, people went weeks without a proper meal. The thought of dog meat made their stomachs churn with desire.
Grinning, the woman added, "They only give out supplies once a week. The community staff won't be back until next week. Even if something happens tonight, it won't be discovered until then. There aren't any cameras in the stairwells. After a week, no one can prove it was us. If there's still time left, maybe we hit that boy upstairs too."
The man nodded with approval. He liked her thinking.
Having made their plan, the pair left with light steps and cheerful hearts, heading home to prepare the tools they'd need for the night.
Inside her apartment, just after the loud slam of her door, Lan Jin received another message.
[Huang Jinghe]: Sister Lan, what happened? Why did you open the door?
[Lan Jin]: Their attitude was too polite. Not opening the door would've made them suspicious. But now they've left. Still, be careful tonight. They might come back to break in.
[Huang Jinghe]: Got it. I'll stay alert. If you need anything, just message me, okay? I'm right upstairs. I'll hear it. If you don't want to yell, just send a text.
But she didn't need him coming down. If Huang Jinghe really showed up, she'd have a hard time doing what she had to.
[Lan Jin]: No need. Even if you hear something, don't come down. Keeping yourself safe is the most important thing.
[Huang Jinghe]: Okay.
He agreed easily, but his mind was already racing. Now that he knew those two were planning something, he couldn't just sit around doing nothing.
He quickly messaged his parents, telling them everything that had happened. He also let them know what Lan Jin had warned him about.
He hadn't expected a reply. He just wanted them to know what was going on.
But to his surprise, his phone rang almost immediately.
"Son, are you home right now?" his father asked.
Huang Jinghe's heart nearly burst with emotion. "Dad, Mom, I'm here. I'm in the top-floor apartment I bought. You won't believe it—if it weren't for Sister Lan, I might've fallen for those people's tricks."
His parents were anxious about their son living alone in such a dangerous situation, but there was nothing they could do. They couldn't get to him right now.
"If this Sister Lan seems trustworthy," his father said, "it's not a bad idea to stay on good terms with her. The two of you are on the thirty-second and thirty-third floors, and she's got a child. Helping each other out might be useful. But you have to use your own judgment. We can't be there to decide for you. You have to protect yourself."
"I will, Dad, Mom," Huang Jinghe replied.