The "trained in martial arts" in question naturally referred to someone with real combat ability.
People who had been practicing martial arts for years carried a presence that made them stand out from the average person. Everyone on the thirty-third floor had at least some sense of awareness. After all, it was the top floor. No one with bad intentions would bother coming all the way up here without reason.
When it came to people with unusual presence, Huang Jinghe actually had someone in mind. He said, "Sister Lan, you mean the folks in unit 3301, right? That guy's always in a tank top. His arm muscles are ridiculous. If there's anyone on this floor who looks like they've trained, it's definitely him. But Sister Lan, you don't think there's something wrong with him, do you?"
"Don't get so nervous. I just met the neighbor in unit 3203 when I went to buy the batteries. She's a coach at a boxing gym. Turns out the gym's still running. When we parted ways, she mentioned her boss lives upstairs. That caught my interest, so I came to ask you about it."
Once Lan Jin explained, Huang Jinghe relaxed. But when he heard the boxing gym was still open, he perked up with curiosity.
"Sister Lan, are you thinking about learning to box? If you are, I'll go with you. Doesn't matter if it ends up being useful or not. Just learning it might give us a bit more peace of mind. What's the pricing like over there?"
"I haven't fully decided yet. But if you're going too, it'd be great to go together. I asked earlier. You just pay per visit. It's twenty contribution points for two hours, or five packs of instant noodles. And the gym's not far. Just on the second floor of the office building across from us. Easy to get there and back."
"Well, if it's like that, what's there to hesitate about? We can just try it out. If we like it, we keep going. If not, we just don't go back. It's not a big deal."
Lan Jin had already been interested. Now that Huang Jinghe was in, she didn't hesitate any longer.
"Alright. I'll go downstairs and let her know. Once we've settled on a time, I'll message you."
"Got it," Huang Jinghe said. Then he glanced at the batteries and added, "Thanks, Sister Lan."
"No need to thank me."
Lan Jin hadn't given him the batteries out of generosity. It was simply because she'd accepted his invitation. In a way, the two of them were tied together now. Once the rainy season ended, they would drive together to the Beijing base. Who knew what dangers they might face on the road? Learning some basic fighting skills couldn't hurt. Even if it wasn't life-saving, it offered peace of mind.
After heading downstairs, Lan Jin knocked on the door of Ling Jiang's apartment.
An elderly grandmother answered. Lan Jin had seen her around before, and they recognized each other enough to exchange greetings.
Lan Jin offered a polite smile. "Hello, Grandma. I'm the neighbor next door, my name's Lan Jin. I'm here to see Ling Jiang."
The old woman smiled warmly and nodded. "Hold on, dear. Jiang'er, someone's here to see you."
Ling Jiang soon came to the door. She was surprised to see Lan Jin again so quickly.
Lan Jin said, "I just got back from upstairs. There's a young guy living up there. When he heard your gym is still open, he said he wanted to come with me. Would tomorrow work?"
"Sure," Ling Jiang replied. "Didn't think you'd be the action-taker type. If you're coming tomorrow, let's say nine in the morning. Just come straight to the gym. Once you're in the office building, it's easy to find."
"Alright."
At Huang Jinghe's place.
After Lan Jin left, Huang Jinghe immediately called his parents.
It wasn't a total blackout, just power restrictions. The signal towers were still running. As long as your phone had power, you could still use it. The limits only applied to household appliances.
Still, his call didn't go through. So he sent a message instead, explaining what had just happened and asking them to reply when they could.
Since he had already accepted the battery, Huang Jinghe didn't dwell on it. He put down his phone and got to work.
Just like Lan Jin, he placed the battery in front of the living room balcony window to soak up the most sunlight and charge fully.
No doubt about it—having electricity again made life so much easier. It wasn't just about running a fan. Now he could use his phone and laptop freely. He even dared to put a bottle of cola in the fridge. As for games, large online titles were still out of the question, but single-player ones were fine for killing time. He even had some novels stored on his Kindle. With all this, he had plenty of ways to get through the day.
Once he got into the groove of it, the day flew by. Before he knew it, it was time to go fetch water in the afternoon.
Meanwhile, things were much less pleasant for Meng Ying.
On the way back to the Ren family home, she was fuming. Even though Mother Ren had come to pick her up, Meng Ying still felt out of place. After all, she wasn't married to Ren Xing. Living there gave her a constant sense that she was just a guest. No matter how much Mother Ren liked her, there was always a wall between them. And Meng Ying wasn't blind—she could tell exactly how sincere that affection really was.
She knew her situation clearly. She hadn't gone from a crowded place to a better one. She had just moved to a quieter area. It was safer, sure, but she could still be thrown out at any time.
Day after day, nothing seemed to go her way.
By the time she got home, her mood was still sour. But when she saw Mother Ren sitting in the living room with a grim face, she had to force a smile.
"Auntie, I'm back."
Mother Ren didn't care about reading her expression. Even if she had noticed, she wouldn't have acknowledged it.
She asked bluntly, "Did you run into Lan Jin? You pushed me to get her address. If you knew where she was, why didn't you stay there and wait? What are you doing back already?"
Her tone wasn't pleasant. She was clearly annoyed that Meng Ying had begged her to track Lan Jin down, only to return home early instead of confronting her.
But the only reason Meng Ying had come back was that she had found her.
She glanced at Mother Ren, then said in a low, bitter voice, "I found her. Your ex-daughter-in-law is doing more than just fine. I don't know who she managed to cling to, but she's living just like before. Maybe even better. I'd say she's doing extremely well these days."
In fact, Lan Jin looked even more beautiful than she had before. How could that be possible unless she had someone powerful backing her? Meng Ying added sourly, "Maybe she was already seeing someone behind your son's back before the divorce. You just didn't know about it. And you still let her walk away with all that money."
Mother Ren frowned. She had never liked Lan Jin, but she had looked into the situation at the time. Otherwise, she never would have let Ren Xing hand over everything.
"Don't talk nonsense if you don't have proof. Back when she caught you cheating, why didn't you catch her too? If you had something on her, why didn't you use it then? But she caught you red-handed, and you got nothing. If you didn't get any money, that's on you. No one else to blame."