12: The more you spend, the less likely you are to escape.

When getting off work, Si Nan swept up the clearance goods again, not being picky and taking everything.

Just as she drove away, a private car appeared behind her. This time Gao Ming was smart and had Xu Songquan borrow a friend's car to drive over. In fact, Xu Songquan had come with him but had been hiding in the car without getting out.

Winding all the way to Luo Sen's villa district, Si Nan drove through the main gate, and Gao Ming couldn't follow anymore.

This discovery made Gao Ming and Xu Songquan even more excited: "Good heavens, Si Nan actually lives in such a high-end villa district. Any villa in here is worth tens of millions. She really is a hidden second-generation rich."

I guess Si Nan probably isn't an orphan. Can't you tell by this villa? She couldn't possibly afford this; her parents must have bought it."

"No, Si Nan is an orphan." Gao Ming stared at the high-end gate of the villa district, his eyes burning with heat and unquenchable hatred. Si Nan never spoke about her past and only said she was an orphan, and he had believed her. It turned out he was the one being played like a fool. Dammit!

No matter what method he used, he had to coax this fat sheep Si Nan back. Even if they broke up, he had to squeeze every possible benefit out of her first, then break up. Otherwise, it wouldn't be fair after Si Nan deceived him for three years.

Xu Songquan's excitement cooled by half at Gao Ming's words. "If Si Nan really is an orphan—do you mean the reason she's in such a hurry to break up with you is that she met a Boyfriend richer than you? Or she's being kept as a mistress?"

His mouth hung open, feeling he had hit upon the truth.

"Hmph, I don't care if she met some rich young master or is being kept by some old geezer. I just know I can't let her off easy. She tricked me so badly."

Gao Ming gritted his teeth, his heart itching like it was being scratched by a cat. Now that he knew that Fat Pig Si Nan lived here, they would have plenty of chances to meet.

On the way back, the two discussed how to deal with Si Nan. Gao Ming flipped through his phone's photo album, hoping to find some compromising photos of Si Nan, but there were hardly any photos of her at all. The only few were work photos she had sent him to have printed at a photo studio.

He quickly checked Si Nan's WeChat Moments again, only to find he had been blocked and couldn't see anything.

"Buddy?" Xu Songquan reminded him, "Isn't there still Si Nan's best friend, Xia Mi? Tomorrow, dress yourself up to be dashing and invite her out for a good meal."

I can see clearly that Xia Mi is more charming than Si Nan. The way she looks at you is like she's secretly flirting. As long as you sacrifice a little bit, and after a few drinks, what information couldn't you get out of her?"

"Makes sense. Tomorrow, I'll use this face to charm her to death and dig up all of Si Nan's secrets to plan my next move. I still don't believe she could grow up overnight."

Gao Ming was still deluding himself. No matter how Si Nan struggled, she couldn't escape his grasp. He had plenty of time to take it slow.

But over the next three days, he experienced a profound sense of frustration. For some reason, Xia Mi's phone was always unreachable, no matter which phone he used to call. He froze like a dog while staking out the villa gate and Century Department Store, but didn't see a sign of Si Nan or Xia Mi.

Instead, he was spotted by Century Department Store's surveillance and was nearly hauled off to the police station by security as a thief casing the joint. It ended miserably.

"Achoo! Once I catch that Fat Pig Si Nan, I—achoo!—must make her compensate me for these days of lost wages and medical expenses... achoo!" Gao Ming had caught a severe cold, and he spat out threats while covered in snot and tears.

Driving the car, Xu Songquan wished he could get out and buy a board to partition the front and back seats. "You'd better think about how to get over this severe cold quickly. Your face is as red as a monkey's butt from the fever."

"What else can I do? Take me to the hospital to wait in line. There's no cold medicine left at home or in the pharmacies," Gao Ming said, pulling out eight tissues to cover his nose.

How could he have known? After Si Nan finished exercising that day, she drove out through the back gate because the supermarkets near the front gate had already been mostly cleared of the goods she needed, so she had to change locations.

Besides, she also had to stock up for Luo Sen. She even gave Luo Sen half of the toilet paper. However, she had been using Luo Sen's Black Gold Card lately.

Whenever Luo Sen looked at the spending records, he wasn't angry; instead, he was in a good mood: "The more you spend, the less you can escape. Hurry up and spend the hundred million inside."

How could Si Nan know there was a hundred million in there? She was an honest and well-behaved girl and hadn't checked. For large amounts, she used her own money.

As it happened, Xia Mi had also caught a severe cold like Gao Ming. She had taken leave from both her workplace and Century Department Store. Finding her phone too noisy, she had put it on airplane mode, so of course Gao Ming couldn't get through.

So for seven days straight, no one bothered her, and stocking up was incredibly satisfying. She ran between two places: stocking up in the morning and sitting in the warehouse in the afternoon to receive goods, then closing the door and putting every single item into her Space without exception.

"17 days until the Apocalypse arrives." That afternoon, after receiving the goods, Si Nan returned to her small villa to check on it. Since the renovations began, she hadn't been back for a long time.

When she walked to the main gate of the residential area, a familiar voice called out to her, "Xiao Nan? Is that you? Xiao Nan?"

"Hmm? This voice is... the Security Sister?" Si Nan turned around and saw a familiar face, though she was a size larger than ten years ago. "You're still working here? I thought you'd quit long ago."

The Security Sister was also extremely excited to see Si Nan. "No, no. Oh my, it really is Xiao Nan. You're a young woman now. Time really flies."

Xiao Nan, you've finally come back to live. During the shift handover, they said your house was being renovated. I didn't believe it and specifically went to take a look. It's quite a big project, hahaha!"

Oh my, why did you buy so many things? Give them all to me. I'll take them over for you in the patrol car, and we can chat along the way."

Si Nan looked at what she had—cleaning tools and two large bags of snacks she had just bought at the entrance of the residential area. She didn't stand on ceremony and handed them all to the Security Sister. "Alright then, sorry for the trouble, Sister."

"Why have you become so polite now that you're grown up? Don't be a stranger, Xiao Nan, hahaha!"

This Security Sister was a very good person, warm and enthusiastic. When her parents had their accident, this Sister had helped her with many things. Thinking of this, she took the opportunity to give a kind warning:

"Yes, yes, buying more things. Sister, I heard reports that there will be a rare cold snap this winter. Look how the flu outside is getting more and more serious. It's already hard to buy cold medicine at pharmacies. It's going to be very tough."

So I've stocked up on all sorts of things. You should stock up a bit too, Sister. Instant noodles, self-heating meals, mineral water, and anything else that lasts. What if the flu gets so bad it turns into a deadly virus and we can't go out? We have to have something to fill our stomachs. Don't worry about the money."

Si Nan thought that she had made the warning so obvious; if the Sister still didn't understand, she really wouldn't be able to save her.