Wu Ya and her boyfriend, Jiang Chengrong, were shopping for clothes on the shopping street.
By chance, they spotted a familiar figure standing beside the fountain, taking pictures of it.
Wu Ya's eyes lit up. She jogged over to Jiang Ci and slung an arm around her neck.
"Hey, Xiao Ci, out shopping too? Are you on your own?"
"Yeah, just me."
Jiang Ci didn't resist and let Wu Ya keep her arm around her. They had been deskmates in high school, and in college they had chosen the same major and even ended up in the same class.
She was her only close friend.
"Where's Jiang Chengrong?"
Wherever Wu Ya was, Jiang Chengrong was sure to be there. The two were inseparable, always glued to each other.
Wu Ya pouted and tipped her chin toward a spot not far away. "There he is."
Jiang Ci followed her gaze. A tall, handsome young man was strolling over with a helpless expression.
It was none other than their class monitor, Jiang Chengrong.
He walked over with a smile and pulled Wu Ya away from Jiang Ci and into his arms.
Only after ruffling Wu Ya's hair did he turn to Jiang Ci. "Hey, Jiang Ci. What a coincidence."
Jiang Ci wore a fake smile. Hah.
What coincidence? Not only were all three of them classmates, but the couple's rented apartment was in the same residential complex as hers.
They just lived in apartment 302 of Building 1 in the Jiaxing Residential Complex.
Seeing the two of them reminded Jiang Ci of something she had forgotten.
I'm still a student! I have classes tomorrow, on Monday!
How terrifying. I've been away from my studies for three years, and the natural-disaster apocalypse is coming in six months. Who still wants to go to class...
At that thought, Jiang Ci lost interest in taking pictures.
She told Wu Ya, "Something's happened at home, so I'm planning to take six months off school. Since I ran into you today, I thought I'd let you know first."
Although they were close friends, they had never really learned much about each other's families.
Wu Ya didn't ask what had happened at Jiang Ci's home. She simply nodded and told her, "If there's anything Jiang Chengrong or I can help with, give us a call."
Jiang Ci had good grades. Taking six months off wouldn't slow a top student like her down at all.
Although Wu Ya wanted to help, she knew full well that if something really happened, there wouldn't be much she could do.
As long as she didn't cause her friend any trouble, that was enough.
It was the weekend, so Jiang Ci would have to wait until tomorrow to go to school and complete the paperwork.
The three chatted a little longer before Jiang Ci left.
She didn't want to be an unwelcome third wheel, so she quickly said goodbye and headed off.
After parting with them, Jiang Ci returned to the snack street.
The stall owners all worked quickly and deftly. Twenty portions were a piece of cake for them.
She walked from one end of the street to the other, making several trips before she had carried everything into her car.
She drove away, found a deserted spot, and put all the snacks into her space.
Then she went back and ordered twenty portions a day from each of the stall owners.
She would collect them every evening and pay on delivery.
Leaving the shopping district, Jiang Ci went to a car club.
Her BMW Mini would be completely useless after the natural disasters, so she would have to leave it shelved after that.
She had already called the club's owner yesterday. His surname was Wang, and he was an old acquaintance of her father's.
Boss Wang was not only the owner of this car club but also held dual membership in the International ADAC Club.
Whatever vehicles Jiang Ci wanted, Boss Wang would definitely have the connections to get them for her.
When she arrived at the club, Boss Wang was attending to a group of rich second-generation heirs.
She waited a while before she got to see him.
Boss Wang took her to his office, and after exchanging a few pleasantries, they got down to business.
They were both straightforward, intelligent people, so there was no need to beat around the bush.
As long as the money was there, there wasn't a vehicle he couldn't get. Boss Wang asked bluntly,
"What kind of vehicles are you after, niece?"
"An RV with two slide-outs, a Hummer, a helicopter, and a small yacht. All modified."
Jiang Ci dispensed with further pleasantries and stated her requirements directly.
Boss Wang was a little surprised. He had originally thought that, at most, Jiang Ci would ask him to get her a limited-edition luxury car.
He looked Jiang Ci over carefully. Seeing that she was serious and not joking, he finally grew solemn.
"What sort of modifications?" he asked seriously.
"Bulletproof glass and added bulletproof steel."
Then Jiang Ci added, "Price isn't an issue."
"Any other requirements?"
"No."
Boss Wang was straightforward too. After thinking for a while, he readily agreed.
"All right. Wait to hear from me."
Jiang Ci didn't drag things out either. Boss Wang immediately had his assistant print the contract, and once they both signed it, she transferred one hundred million to the club's account.
Neither the helicopter nor the yacht was particularly expensive in itself. The modifications were the main expense.
The maintenance afterward would also cost quite a bit.
So one hundred million was definitely enough to buy all four.
After leaving the club, Jiang Ci rented a truck and a van for six months.
By the time she finished, it was nearly six. She left her BMW Mini at the rental agency and drove the newly rented van to the large restaurant where she had ordered food.
All two hundred portions were neatly packed in disposable takeout containers.
The servers helped her load them into the van.
On the way to the next large restaurant, Jiang Ci found a deserted corner and secretly put all the dishes into her space.
This restaurant had also prepared two hundred portions. After loading them into the van, Jiang Ci once again found a deserted corner along the way and put everything into her space.
Next was the frog and fish restaurant, with the lamb rice noodle shop and barbecue restaurant beside it.
The three establishments were next to each other, so Jiang Ci collected all three orders in one go, loaded them into the van, and drove home.
On the way, she found another deserted spot and quietly put all the food into her space.
When she reached the foot of her apartment building, she loaded the buns from the breakfast shop and the rice noodles from the rice noodle shop into the van.
She drove out for a loop and put everything into her space before turning around and driving the van into the complex's underground parking garage.
After parking, Jiang Ci went home, showered, and changed into spring pajamas.
She took a serving of pork rib and corn soup out of her space, finished the entire portion, and tossed the disposable takeout container back into her space.
Jiang Ci picked up her phone, called a renovation company, and gave them her address.
She climbed under the covers and began browsing forums and discussion boards.
The natural disasters were still six months away. Everything online was calm, without any sign of what was coming.
After browsing for a while and finding little of interest, she started scrolling through short videos.
Handsome men weren't necessarily what beautiful women most enjoyed watching. Jiang Ci was one example.
What she loved watching most was beautiful women: fair skin, gorgeous faces, long legs. Ah~ absolutely perfect!
Especially Lisa. So seductive!
She watched Leap of Faith another three or four times, then downloaded it to her phone.
When she checked the time, it was already ten at night. She turned off the lights and went to sleep.
At 6:30 in the morning, her alarm rang right on time.
After washing up and getting ready, Jiang Ci had a meat bun, a pickled cabbage bun, and a cup of soy milk.
Then she drove to school to arrange her leave of absence.
She didn't return to her classroom, instead going straight to the administration building.
The procedure for taking a leave of absence was relatively simple. She only needed to submit an application form to the school.
Once the school stamped it with its approval, that would be it.
Because Jiang Ci was beautiful and had outstanding grades, she was the school belle, and practically all the teachers knew her.
When they heard that she wanted to take six months off, they all looked at her in confusion.
Jiang Ci didn't explain much. She only said something had happened at home and promised that taking time off wouldn't affect her studies.
The teachers didn't make things difficult for her and soon completed her leave-of-absence paperwork.