Zhou Junming's mother and the other man's wife were frantic. In the end, the two police officers from the government supermarket had to step in to pull the brawling men apart.
The police had enough trouble looking after themselves these days and could hardly be bothered with such petty disputes. After separating the two sides and giving them a stern lecture, they sent them home.
Zhou Junming ignored his mother. After the lecture, he hoisted Zhao Yunqiu's water bucket onto his shoulder, took her hand, and went back with her.
His mother was furious. Right then and there, she swore that once she finished collecting water, she would go back and teach Zhao Yunqiu a lesson.
Only after queuing for two whole hours did Jiang Ci and Si Beichen finally collect their four buckets of water.
Si Beichen went to the government supermarket next door and paid to rent a small cart.
They loaded the four buckets onto the cart and pushed it home together.
When they reached the foot of their apartment building, they could take the cart no farther and had to use the stairs.
Si Beichen told Jiang Ci to stay downstairs with the cart and watch the water buckets.
He hoisted a bucket onto his shoulder and headed upstairs.
He made four trips in all, running up and down the stairs until he was drenched in sweat.
Jiang Ci told Si Beichen to go home and take a bath first while she returned the cart to the government supermarket.
Si Beichen refused, insisting that Jiang Ci go home and let him return it.
In the end, they went together.
On their way back after returning the cart, Jiang Ci ran into Li Weiwei.
Li Weiwei was nestled sweetly in a man's arms. He had one arm around her and was pushing a shopping cart with the other hand. Chatting and laughing, they were just about to join the water queue.
For some reason, when Li Weiwei saw Jiang Ci, she actually waved at her with a smile and even greeted her. "Hi."
Jiang Ci paused. Before she could react, Li Weiwei and the man had already brushed past her and walked away.
She could faintly hear the man ask Li Weiwei, "You know her?"
"Yeah, she's my neighbor on the same floor."
Seeing Jiang Ci standing there in a daze, Si Beichen glanced in Li Weiwei's direction and asked, "You know her?"
Looking utterly speechless and bewildered, Jiang Ci said, "No, I don't. That woman is so weird. I think we've only run into each other twice. We've never even spoken."
She looked up at Si Beichen and asked in confusion, "Running into someone twice means you know them? Do neighbors have to know each other?"
Si Beichen shook his head, not taking these irrelevant people seriously at all. "Come on, let's go home."
Jiang Ci wasn't short of water. She had plenty in her space, but she still had to keep up appearances by collecting water. Having water to use all the time without collecting any might arouse suspicion.
She filled the water tank on the little balcony and told Si Beichen to take a bath.
The weather was so hot that the sun had heated the water in the tank until it was scalding without needing to be heated.
Jiang Ci had just added some cold water, so the temperature was now perfect for bathing.
Si Beichen took out a bathtub, filled it with water, and went to take his bath.
The bathwater wouldn't go to waste afterward, either. They could save it to flush the toilet.
After finishing his bath, Si Beichen told Jiang Ci to take hers.
Jiang Ci shut the bathroom door and entered her space.
She drank water, bathed, washed her clothes, and used the toilet in the house inside her space.
All the water outside was left for Dad Si, Mom Wen, and Si Beichen.
Every few days, she would fill the water tank on the little balcony.
Those three clearly knew something was off about the water in the tank, but not one of them asked her about it.
Instead, they became much more frugal with water than before.
They avoided using it whenever possible and reused whatever they could.
It wasn't until after six in the morning that all the water had finally been collected.
The moment she finished collecting water, Mrs. Zhou eagerly took her husband, Zhou Dafu, and stomped up to the thirteenth floor to find Zhao Yunqiu.
Her son, Zhou Junming, was staying at Zhao Yunqiu's place and wouldn't even come home.
That shameless vixen knew no bounds. She had completely bewitched her son.
The bang, bang, bang of pounding on the door echoed through the stairwell, sounding exceptionally loud.
Jiang Ci opened the inner door, carried over a little stool, and sat behind the security door, cracking five-spice sunflower seeds as she eavesdropped.
It was so hot that even eating sunflower seeds left her sweating all over. The moment she opened the door, a wave of heat hit her in the face.
She moved the generator and evaporative cooler from her room to the doorway and switched them on. Only then did she feel a little more comfortable and could happily enjoy the drama again.
Wen Qianyue was also unbearably bored every day. She couldn't go out, and aside from cooking and knitting, there was so little to do that she felt stifled.
So she followed Jiang Ci's example, brought over a little stool, and sat beside her, eating sunflower seeds while enjoying the drama.
Si Jianhua knew Wen Qianyue was bored out of her mind. In fact, he was too, so he quietly joined the audience.
People kept running up and down the stairwell.
They were probably all residents coming to watch the drama.
Wherever you went, there were always older men and women who loved a good spectacle.
All the more so now that the internet, electricity, and water were cut off, leaving everyone cooped up at home without any entertainment.
As long as they weren't dragged into it themselves, everyone was happy to have someone provide a little entertainment to talk about.
There was no movement from 1102, but Li Weiwei in 1103 had secretly cracked her door open to listen.
The matter between Zhou Junming and Zhao Yunqiu had spread throughout their building. After all, everyone had seen and heard everything clearly while waiting in line for water.
They were all curious about what would happen next.
Zhou Junming opened the door. Zhao Yunqiu stayed inside without showing herself.
At the sight of her son, Mrs. Zhou became so agitated that her heart raced and she struggled to breathe.
Between her anger at her son and the heat, she felt as though she was about to pass out.
She pleaded earnestly, "Junming, don't keep going down this path. Your father and I worked so hard to raise you. Look at you-you're tall and handsome, you play the guitar, and you sing so well. You should have a limitless future! How could a widow like her possibly deserve you?"
Zhou Dafu was furious too, but most of his anger was directed at Zhao Yunqiu.
He was a man, so he understood men better than anyone. His son was too innocent. They had sheltered him too well, and he'd had no experience with women. Now that vixen had bewitched him!
He just needed some time. Once he took his son out to broaden his horizons, that vixen would no longer have him under her spell.
"Junming, come home with us first. I have something to tell you."
Zhou Junming felt that his parents were pressuring him and couldn't take in a word they said. With an impatient look, he said, "Whatever you have to say, say it here!"
Zhou Dafu was infuriated by his son. The obedient boy he used to know was truly gone for good!
Mrs. Zhou panted and wailed, "Zhou Junming, do I have to die right in front of you before you'll come home?"
Then she turned her fire on the woman inside. "Come out here, you vixen! What kind of woman hides behind my son and urges him to abandon his parents? Come out and face me!"
Zhao Yunqiu's sugary voice came from inside. "Mom, Junming and I have already done the deed. I might already be carrying a child of the Zhou family. For your grandchild's sake, please stop making a scene."
"Who are you calling Mom, you slut? Who's your mom?" Mrs. Zhou was so furious that her chest tightened. With the heat on top of that, she couldn't catch her breath and actually passed out.
Chaos broke out on the thirteenth floor. Zhou Junming hadn't completely lost his senses. Only when he saw his mother faint did he finally become frightened. In the end, he helped his father carry her home to give her first aid.
Hearing footsteps thundering down the stairs from above, Jiang Ci hurriedly shut the door.