Putting on a Show, Loving the Act

The hotel they were staying in now was not as luxurious as the last one. The two bedrooms shared a single bathroom with a bathtub, and the living room area was cramped as well.

The sisters simply bathed together. Ming Jiu helped her younger sister wash her long hair, which was nearly down to her waist, then glanced at herself in the mirror.

Her own hair was long too, and curly hair required upkeep. Clearly, she did not have the time for that now. She needed to find time to have it cut short.

After drying their hair, Ming Jiu tucked her sister into bed before returning to her own room. She lay flat, sent her mental power into the space, and began planting and harvesting vegetables.

Ever since upgrading the farm to Level 1 last time, she had barely grinded at all. The farm's upgrade progress bar sat at a pitiful (2.56/300).

It was rare for her to have no tasks tonight. Ming Jiu planned to keep at it until she got sleepy, then go to bed. She was severely sleep-deprived.

She worked from a little after nine until eleven. In just over two hours, she earned a total of 43 gold coins. The instant her mental power withdrew from the space, Ming Jiu fell asleep.

After a rare good night's sleep, Ming Jiu opened her eyes feeling as though she had been fully revived.

The first thing she did was pick up her phone and check the date and time—January 27th, 7:30 in the morning.

Blizzard countdown: 11 days. Spring Festival countdown: 8 days.

Taking a deep breath, Ming Jiu kicked off the blanket, got out of bed, washed up, and changed clothes.

That was one good thing about the north: the indoor heating was plentiful, so getting out of bed was no struggle.

Ming Rong had not slept in either. Her schedule was practically synchronized with Ming Jiu's.

The hotel breakfast was mediocre, so the sisters went out to eat.

A little after eight, Ming Jiu dropped Ming Rong off at 2501.

The post-renovation cleaning crew arrived promptly at nine. After confirming the details with them and repeatedly reminding Ming Rong about safety precautions, Ming Jiu finally left and headed to the hotel parking lot.

Ming Rong's task today was simple: supervise the workers and receive deliveries.

Ming Jiu started the car. While letting it warm up, she took out her phone to confirm that the home surveillance was functioning normally—the cleaners had already begun working in an orderly fashion, while Ming Rong sat on the couch watching her tablet.

Noticing the pet camera move, she lifted her face toward it and greeted it, using sign language to tell her sister that she was fine.

Ming Jiu turned on the navigation. The roads were a little congested, but she hurried over and arrived at the agreed-upon café right on time.

Things went smoothly. Ming Jiu had already chosen the appliances, so the designer's main responsibility was selecting the various soft furnishings for the villa. Ming Jiu's requirements were not high: practicality came first, and making it look good came second.

More than design, what she truly needed was someone to supervise the work. After tomorrow, she would have no time to keep running between Yunjing Scenic Area, the city, and the suburbs near City L.

They signed the contract a little after eleven. Without wasting time, Ming Jiu drove the young designer straight to the villa district to inspect the house.

By the time they finalized the details, it was already 12:30 in the afternoon.

Ming Jiu locked the villa gate and handed one of the keys to the young designer. When she turned around, she saw a Cayenne drive past her front door before turning into the yard of the villa right next door.

Two trucks followed shortly after, parking outside that villa's yard.

Through the fence, Ming Jiu watched the Cayenne's doors open. A man and a woman stepped out from the driver's seat and passenger seat respectively—the woman was a stranger, but the man's build was very familiar.

Ming Jiu shifted slightly, using the gatepost to hide herself without obstructing her view of next door.

Hardly anyone lived in these vacation villas, and the surrounding area was quiet as death. Ming Jiu heard the man speaking.

"Sis, it's all taken care of. I'll send you the design plans..."

His voice was familiar too. Ming Jiu could now almost certainly confirm that the man who had stepped out of the Cayenne was the one she had encountered in the elevator last night.

"Miss Ming, is something wrong?"

Seeing Ming Jiu remain silent, the young designer could not help glancing toward the neighboring yard as well.

"Nothing." Ming Jiu came back to herself. "Let's go. We'll get in the car first."

Ming Jiu drove the designer to an intersection where it would be easy to catch a taxi, then drove back into the city herself.

[System Sister, help me look into the residents on the 25th and 24th floors of Dragonview Court. I want the details.]

[And look into the household next to mine in the vacation villa district.]

System: [All right.]

[Does the host suspect something?]

Ming Jiu: [A little.]

The two trucks full of cardboard boxes outside 2404 last night had seemed suspicious—every box was the same size. They did not look like furniture, nor did they look like luggage or personal belongings. Thinking about it now, could they have been stockpiled supplies?

And today, she had run into the man from 2404 at the vacation villa. Ming Jiu could not help but think more deeply about it.

How many people in all of City B could afford homes in both Dragonview Court and the vacation villa district?

She could hardly avoid suspecting that their purpose might be the same as hers—that they were both preparing for the coming catastrophe.

The man and woman who got out of the Cayenne were probably siblings. Who exactly were they? If her suspicions were true, where had they learned about the coming natural disasters?

Ming Jiu took a deep breath, forced herself to calm down, and focused on driving.

After returning to the city, Ming Jiu went to Dragonview Court first. The post-renovation cleaning was already in its final stages, and the house was spotless.

The entryway was piled high with deliveries. Ming Rong was using a small knife to open them one by one, checking each item and confirming receipt after opening it.

Ming Jiu put on shoe covers and walked through the house. Only after confirming there were no problems did she pay the remaining balance.

Without disturbing Ming Rong, who was busy opening packages, Ming Jiu sat on the couch, closed her eyes, and slowly reviewed the information System Sister had found.

She was not interested in the other neighbors for the moment. It was not yet time to deal with them.

2404: registered owner, Chu Lanning.

2504: registered owner, Chu Lanning.

The vacation villa district was a medium-sized development with 178 villas in total. It was divided into east, south, west, and north sections, with six or seven rows in each section.

East District 303: registered owner, Chu Lanning.

East District 304: registered owner, Chu Jingning.

And hers was East District 302.

Chu Lanning... Why did that name seem so familiar?

Ming Jiu continued digging through the information.

System's voice suddenly rang out: [Strictly speaking, the Chu siblings are related to you as well.]

Ming Jiu: ?

[Chu Lanning is your future cousin-in-law.]

Ming Jiu remembered all at once.

She was not close to the Zuo Family. She only knew that Zuo Junhao had an heiress fiancée. As for exactly who that fiancée was, she had never cared enough to find out.

The reason Chu Lanning's name had seemed familiar was because of the novel she had seen after her death.

In short, Chu Lanning was a cannon fodder character who was not much better off than Ming Jiu herself—and a villainous cannon fodder at that.

In the novel, Zuo Junhao and Chu Lanning got engaged through a business marriage alliance. Zuo Junhao had no real feelings for her, but he still fulfilled his responsibilities as a fiancé.

Dates, preparing surprises, maintaining an intimate relationship... even as the novel kept emphasizing that "Zuo Junhao had absolutely no feelings for Chu Lanning."

Ming Jiu had only one comment on that—Zuo Junhao was damn good at putting on a show. He sure loved acting.