She casually bought a multigrain jianbing from a food stall, then picked up a cup of milk tea.
She wandered from one end of the street to the other, strolling around and taking in the sights.
Along the way, she took out her camera and snapped plenty of night shots.
She really loved browsing night markets, with their bustling crowds and bright lights. As she wandered through the streets and alleys, she enjoyed that feeling of being out of step with all the bustle.
Watching other people enjoy themselves was a pleasure in its own right.
She made the most of it while society was still stable and everyone was coming out at night.
The night market was even busier and livelier than before, and she came downstairs every evening to immerse herself in the atmosphere.
She would have some barbecue and a beer.
Or buy a few snacks and eat as she wandered around.
After strolling for a while, Jiang Ci drove out again. Today was her last trip to collect supplies.
She settled her bills with the various shop owners, bringing her supply gathering to a close.
Today was the last day of August. Tomorrow would be September 1.
But the forty-five-degree weather was not the last of the high temperatures.
Jiang Ci was ready to face the extreme heat again.
This time, she had made thorough preparations. Things were completely different from her previous life.
When she returned from collecting supplies, Jiang Ci was not sleepy at all, so she simply stood on her balcony and joined the residential complex's singalong.
A young man in their building knew how to play the guitar. He often played and sang on his balcony at night, prompting people in several surrounding buildings to spontaneously join in.
These huge community concerts had quite a vibe, and Jiang Ci really liked them.
With so many people singing, one more or one less made no difference. No one cared if she blended into the crowd and joined the fun.
She brought out her lounge chair and lay on the balcony, listening to the chorus around her.
From time to time, Jiang Ci sang along for a couple of lines. She even recorded a video of it.
She also posted it in the Happy Family group chat, sharing her current happiness.
"Friends walk together for a lifetime, those days will never come again, one word, a lifetime, a lifelong bond, a cup of wine..."
Si Jianhua: [Oh, sweetheart, your complex is so much fun. Unlike Fragrant Orchid Cottage-it's boring to death here.]
Wen Qianyue: [Yes, I'm tempted to stay at your place for a couple of days. It's too quiet here.]
Jiang Ci: [Come on over. You're welcome anytime.]
Listening to the revelry outside, Jiang Ci could not help feeling a little wistful. None of them had realized that a crisis was approaching.
They only thought this summer was a little too hot. They had no other troubling thoughts at all.
Everyone believed the heat would eventually pass and life would go back to the way it had been.
In early September, Si Beichen left the military and returned home.
He had probably caught wind of something. Once he returned, he went out every night to stockpile supplies.
Jiang Ci only learned what Si Beichen was doing when she happened to hear Dad Si complain that the basement was packed full and even the garage was being used as a storeroom.
By the middle of the month, the temperature had reached fifty degrees Celsius.
The government began issuing notices and warnings, urging residents to stock up on food, drinking water, and daily necessities at home, as even hotter extreme weather was still to come.
Doomsday talk also began appearing online, but very few people believed it. Most thought it was alarmist nonsense.
September should have been the month students returned to school, but the extreme weather forced all schools to postpone their return dates.
Some schools had even begun holding classes online.
At the end of the month, the sustained heat caused an electrical fire at the power bureau, sparking a blaze that knocked out power across the city.
The government spent three full days carrying out emergency repairs to the electrical system.
Outside, the fifty-degree heat had even melted the asphalt on the roads.
Suddenly deprived of air-conditioning, more and more people in the neighborhood group chat began suffering from heatstroke.
After closing the doors and windows, Jiang Ci took a small generator out of her space, followed by an evaporative air cooler.
She sat in front of the cooler and ate ice cream to cool down. Only then did she feel a little more comfortable.
She took out her phone and called Dad Si.
"How are you all doing?"
"How are you doing, sweetheart? Your mom, your brother, and I are staying in the basement now. Your brother bought a backup generator. We're fine, so don't worry. If you can't manage, wait until the temperature drops tonight and come stay here."
"I'm fine. Don't worry. I'll come back if I need to."
Jiang Ci had a reason for not planning to go back.
Later, when riots broke out over food and water, the wealthy people in the villa districts would be the first targets for looting.
Not only did she have no intention of going back, but she would also have to bring them all over to her place later.
She browsed through her phone.
The neighborhood group chat already had over ninety-nine unread messages. She tapped it open and scrolled through them.
[Does anyone still have Huoxiang Zhengqi liquid? My child has heatstroke. I'll pay a lot for it.]
[All the meat in the fridge has gone bad. We really can't go on like this.]
[It's too hot. When exactly is the power coming back?]
[Where's property management? We pay you so much in management fees, and you don't dare say a word?]
[Thank goodness the water is still running. Make sure you drink plenty of water, neighbors. It'll be bad if you get dehydrated.]
[This water is scalding too.]
[Do any of you big brothers have backup power at home? Could you let this little sister come over and sit for a while? I'm really dying of heat.]
[Doesn't the complex have a backup generator? It's such a huge complex, and you don't even have this basic precaution in place?]
[Residents, please remain calm. Following instructions from higher authorities, the complex's backup power will be supplied for three hours daily, from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.]
Jiang Ci put away her phone, finished her ice cream, and enjoyed another comfortable sleep.
Night fell, and ambulance sirens sounded again and again.
Cooking was torture in weather this hot.
She took a serving of liangpi and a roujiamo out of her space.
She ate dinner by the bright moonlight outside.
Tonight was exceptionally quiet. Apart from the ambulance sirens, there were no other sounds.
After all, with the whole city without power, it was pitch-black and hardly suitable for setting up stalls.
Even those with backup power supplies or generators at home did not dare advertise it now.
It was too hot for anyone to cook during the day, but some people were cooking at night. The aroma of food drifted into her apartment through the gaps around the windows.
There was even the smell of meat.
Ever since the power went out, meat in the fridge had been the hardest thing to preserve.
Whose family could still stir-fry meat? Weren't they blatantly telling everyone they had electricity?
They were really courting death.
Although she had no interest in finding out who was stir-frying meat, she was sure someone in the complex would be interested.
In the latter half of the night, the complex gradually quieted down, and the ambulance sirens finally stopped.
Those who needed dinner had eaten their fill. Those who had been unable to sleep in the daytime heat felt a little more comfortable now, and everyone began drifting off to sleep.
Then, the next morning, a piercing howl tore through the sweltering air and reached everyone's ears.
Jiang Ci opened her phone and browsed the neighborhood group chat, eating melons online.
It turned out that someone had pried open the door of a household on the ninth floor the previous night and stolen all their food, along with a generator.
There was no electricity and no surveillance footage. Besides, everyone had been sound asleep in the latter half of the night, so no one knew who had done it.
The family of four on the ninth floor woke that morning to discover they had been robbed and nearly went mad with anger.
They immediately called the police, who merely took their statement over the phone and told them to wait for news. Nothing more came of it.