Chapter 10: Confronting the Sycophant

Zhou Peng stood beside Fang Yuqing, fawning over her with great enthusiasm. However, it was clear that Fang Yuqing had no interest in a man like him. In terms of financial standing, Zhou Peng was significantly worse off than Zhang Yi; he didn't even own his home and lived in a rental.

Despite this, Fang Yuqing still smiled at him and said, "Thank you, Zhou Peng, but I happen to have plans with a friend that night. What a coincidence!"

A flash of disappointment crossed Zhou Peng’s face. He had spent an entire month’s salary on those two concert tickets! He had intended to use the concert as an opportunity to confess his feelings to Fang Yuqing, but now it seemed his efforts had been flushed down the drain.

Seeing this, Zhang Yi wore a mocking smirk. He knew that a "simp" like Zhou Peng would never get anywhere. Noticing Zhang Yi’s smirking expression, Zhou Peng, already feeling dejected, felt his anger boil over. To deflect his own embarrassment, he walked over and said to Zhang Yi, "Zhang Yi, that’s a pretty low move, even for you! A grown man letting a woman help him carry heavy things? Do you have no shame? Yuqing has been complaining of back pain since she came to work today. I hope you don't bother her with things like this again!"

Zhang Yi glanced at Fang Yuqing. So, she was the one who had spread the story. Fang Yuqing played the part, saying hypocritically, "It’s fine, it’s fine. Actually, there’s nothing seriously wrong with me. It’s just that I’m not used to manual labor, and I think I might have strained my waist a little." As she spoke, she rubbed her waist and frowned, putting on a pained expression.

Eager to display his masculinity before her, Zhou Peng pointed at Zhang Yi and declared grandly, "You need to give Yuqing 500 yuan right now for her medical expenses."

Unexpectedly, Zhang Yi’s gaze turned icy. He glared at Zhou Peng and snapped, "She volunteered to help me carry those things; I never asked her for help. Besides, who do you think you are, pointing fingers at me? Do you actually think you’re someone special?"

Zhang Yi’s fierce retort was so sharp and relentless that both Zhou Peng and Fang Yuqing were stunned into silence. Zhou Peng was just an ordinary clerk in the warehouse, without power or influence. He had only dared to lecture Zhang Yi because Zhang Yi usually had a mild temper and preferred not to haggle with others. Seeing Zhang Yi truly enraged, Zhou Peng immediately lost his nerve.

"You... why are you yelling so loudly? I was just trying to talk it over with you."

Zhang Yi sneered and turned to walk away. He couldn’t be bothered to waste any more words on Zhou Peng. To Zhang Yi, looking at anyone now felt like looking at a corpse. In a month, 99% of the people around him would be dead, claimed by the extreme cold of the apocalypse. Why bother arguing with the dead?

After Zhang Yi left, Zhou Peng scurried over to Fang Yuqing and whispered, "Yuqing, I told you that Zhang Yi isn't a good person. You should stay away from him in the future."

Fang Yuqing frowned, feeling puzzled. In the last few days, Zhang Yi seemed like a completely different person. He no longer greeted her when they met, nor did he message her at night to say goodnight. "Something is definitely strange," she thought to herself.

...

After work, Zhang Yi drove to a five-star hotel in Tianhai City, the Hongfu Tianxia, where he had previously placed an order. When the manager heard Zhang Yi had arrived, he immediately arranged a room for him with a beaming smile. A room at a five-star hotel cost over a thousand yuan a night, but Zhang Yi didn't feel a hint of regret. He still had several million in his account; he would only consider it a waste if he didn't manage to spend it all.

That night, the "white lotus" Fang Yuqing broke tradition and initiated a message to Zhang Yi.

Fang Yuqing: "Zhang Yi, I passed by your place today and saw people doing renovations!"

Zhang Yi curled his lip. "Yeah, that's right."

Fang Yuqing: "You’ve been acting so strange lately, hoarding things and renovating your house. Is something going to happen soon?"

Zhang Yi raised an eyebrow. Although this "white lotus" was malicious, she wasn't stupid. It seemed his recent behavior had finally caught her attention. However, Zhang Yi didn't care; the opinions of others meant nothing to him now.

"It's nothing," he replied coldly, then tossed his phone aside.

On the other end of the line, Fang Yuqing felt unsettled by Zhang Yi’s indifference. For the past two years, Zhang Yi had been incredibly good to her, always attentive and finding excuses to chat with her every single night. Lately, however, he had become like a different person—not only was his attitude cold, but he had stopped reaching out to her entirely.

This made Fang Yuqing feel very uncomfortable. She might not be interested in Zhang Yi, but she absolutely could not tolerate him losing interest in her. In her eyes, that meant one of the fish in her pond had escaped. Although Zhang Yi wasn't a wealthy heir, he was a decent, stable middle-class prospect. If she couldn't find a rich husband in the future, she still wanted the option to keep Zhang Yi as a backup.

Fang Yuqing picked up her phone and sent another message: "It feels like we haven't been in touch much lately. I'm feeling a bit lonely."

But after waiting for a long time, she received no reply. Fang Yuqing bit her lip, feeling a surge of irritation. "That damn Zhang Yi, has he lost his mind? I reached out to him, and he actually dares not to reply!"

Nearby, her roommate Lin Caining heard her grumbling and walked over with a giggle. "That Zhang Yi has been acting really weird lately. Who knows why he’s buying so much food and drink, and ordering all those banquets from hotels? It’s like he thinks there’s going to be a shortage of supplies."

Fang Yuqing frowned at this. She said to Lin Caining, "Ningning, do you think something might actually happen? Maybe Zhang Yi got some inside information and that’s why he’s hoarding supplies?"

Lin Caining was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter, clutching her stomach. "Yuqing, have you lost your mind? If something were actually going to happen, the authorities would have issued a notification. We should just stay calm; if we start hoarding supplies, people will just laugh at us for being fools."

Fang Yuqing laughed at herself in agreement. "I suppose you're right."

...

Zhang Yi spent several days in his five-star hotel suite. He didn't go anywhere. During this time, he spent his days aggressively purchasing banquets from major hotels and practicing the use of a compound bow and crossbow in his room. Fortunately, Zhang Yi had enjoyed hunting in the past and had a solid foundation. Now, his accuracy within fifteen meters was exceptionally high. With a professional-grade compound bow, such modern equipment could allow an ordinary person to shoot with the precision of an ancient master archer. It wasn't just for dealing with humans; even if he encountered wild boars, jackals, or large dogs, he could inflict significant damage.