Honestly, she had to admit, Ren Xing really had shown up at the perfect time. If he had come even a day later, she wouldn't have been able to deal with him so cleanly. And all of it was thanks to the two idiots who were so eager to mess with Lan Jin.
But after Ren Xing vanished and didn't show up again for several days, Meng Ying started to get irritated. What was going on? Had Ren Xing decided to stay with Lan Jin and enjoy some happy little life with her?
Fine, even if he wanted to break up, shouldn't he at least tell her? Just tossing her aside like this—what was that supposed to mean?
More importantly, Meng Ying knew Ren Xing's nature. If there was nothing good to gain, he would never stay with Lan Jin. Which meant, during these miserable months when everyone else was barely surviving, Lan Jin must have been doing pretty well.
And that was the real problem. Ren Xing was gone, and his ex-wife was somehow living comfortably. That little family of three might even continue having a decent life. How could Meng Ying accept that?
But that still wasn't the worst part.
The place Meng Ying lived now was a rental she and Ren Xing had found together. The owner and their family had all died in the floods, leaving the apartment unclaimed. Because of that, Meng Ying had no official hold on it. And in a time like this, how could she live alone in a vacant apartment?
It was a three-bedroom unit, over a hundred square meters—far too large for what she and Ren Xing could afford under normal circumstances. But they had rented it to show off and make Lan Jin jealous. It had been barely within their means, but they had managed.
Now, with the housing shortage, even apartments half that size—around 50 or 60 square meters—were being split between three or four families. A place this big? Unthinkable. Meng Ying had done everything she could to hold on to just the smallest study room for herself.
The rest had been carved up. A family of six moved into the master bedroom. A family of four took the second bedroom. A young couple squeezed into a corner of the dining room. And in the living room, partitioned with a makeshift divider, a family of three had set up their spot.
In a space just a bit over a hundred square meters, five different families were now crammed together. Men and women all mixed in. At times, Meng Ying felt like she couldn't even breathe.
But she had no way of finding Lan Jin. Ren Xing had never told her where those other apartments of Lan Jin's were. And with J City being so huge, where was she supposed to start looking?
So from the moment other people moved into her rented space, Meng Ying had been suffering. Every single day, she cursed Ren Xing and Lan Jin from morning until night. Lan Jin, meanwhile, didn't spare Meng Ying a single thought.
The funny thing was, in her previous life, Meng Ying had never suffered like this. Back then, to prevent others from moving into the rental, Ren Xing had actually gone so far as to get his mother to buy the property outright. After all, if strangers were living there too, how could they have used the kid to threaten Lan Jin?
Why hadn't they just moved into Lan Jin's home? That woman lived alone, didn't she?
Because the last time they tried that, Lan Jin had come at them with a knife. The two of them were honestly terrified she might sneak in at night and kill them in their sleep. So they didn't dare live under the same roof.
Whatever had happened in their last life didn't matter now. Ren Xing had disappeared, and no one was handling Meng Ying's housing problem anymore.
Once everyone had been assigned a place to live, the repairs to the power and water systems were finally completed.
And for the first time since the disaster, at the end of August, people finally got to use electric fans again.
As for air conditioners? They used too much electricity. No one knew if the newly repaired grid could even handle the load. So air conditioners were completely banned.
But having electric fans was already a blessing. The heat they had suffered through was unbearable. And even more important than that—bathing.
Almost as soon as water was restored citywide, people rushed into bathrooms everywhere. Hot or cold, it didn't matter. Everyone just wanted to scrub the stink off their bodies as fast as possible.
People on lower floors had it easier. For those in high-rises like Lan Jin, the water pressure was so weak it barely trickled out. The flow was laughably small.
It took two whole hours before the pressure finally normalized, probably because everyone who had been desperate for a bath had already finished. Only then did the upper floors finally get usable water.
Lan Jin and Ren Siqiao didn't join in the chaos. They had water in their space. Even if the thatched hut didn't have a water heater, as long as they had water, they could bathe. The mother and daughter had stayed clean the whole time and saw no need to rush.
Once the water pressure returned to normal, Huang Jinghe contacted her over the walkie-talkie.
Yes, walkie-talkie. Even though power and water were back, mobile signals still hadn't been restored. So they were still using walkie-talkies to communicate.
But it wouldn't be long now. One or two more days, maybe.
Lan Jin said, "What's up?"
Huang Jinghe replied, "Sister Lan, do we still need to store water? I've been so nervous about it. Even with water back, I keep worrying it'll suddenly stop again."
Technically, they didn't need to anymore. But with the heat continuing to rise, the authorities would likely start rationing water again soon. And it wouldn't be long before that happened. Lan Jin thought for a moment and said, "I think we should keep storing some for now. With how things are outside, there's no telling what could happen."
Huang Jinghe agreed. "Alright, I'll just keep doing what I've been doing. Use some, store some, make sure there's always water at home."
Lan Jin said, "Good. Better to be safe. And while you've got power, charge your phone. Once the signal comes back, your parents are probably going to call. It's been over a month. They must be worried sick."
Huang Jinghe replied, "I know, Sister Lan. I'll do it."
They chatted a bit more, and once there was nothing left to say, they put down the walkie-talkies. Truth be told, having them around really was convenient during emergencies.
The next night, just after 9 p.m., the long-lost signal was finally restored. At almost the same moment, everyone took out their phones—some to check news, others to call family.
Lan Jin didn't have anyone she needed to contact.
But Ren Xing's parents were still alive. They hadn't been able to reach him, and after hearing from Meng Ying that he had supposedly "gotten back together" with Lan Jin, they immediately called her.
Lan Jin answered, "Oh? No, Ren Xing hasn't come looking for me."
Ren Xing's mother sounded surprised. "Really? But Yingying said you two got back together."
Yingying? That's quite the affectionate nickname. Lan Jin had been married to Ren Xing for years, and his mother had never once called her anything other than "Lan Jin." Clearly, those two were getting along well.
Lan Jin responded coldly, "Auntie, why would I get back together with Ren Xing? He's the one who cheated and made me divorce him. If I went back to him now, I'd have no self-respect."
Ren Xing's mother was clearly displeased by her tone. "Lan Jin, I was your mother-in-law. Is that how you talk to me?"