She hadn't forgotten about renovating the basement.
She couldn't afford folding screens that cost hundreds or even thousands, but cement and bricks? Those were well within budget.
Twenty minutes later,
Chu Yian returned home with a full cartload of cement and bricks.
It was 11:00 a.m., and the outdoor temperature had already hit 50°C (122°F)!
She cleared out everything that had been stored in the basement, then hauled the cement and bricks down and stacked them in the middle of the room.
Just two trips outside had nearly roasted her alive.
Feeling the symptoms of heatstroke, she rushed back inside and chugged a bottle of Huoxiang Zhengqi Liquid.
It was cheap, sure. But it tasted disgusting.
One little bottle downed in a gulp—it shot straight up to her brainstem like a firecracker.
But it worked. Her dizziness quickly faded.
She immediately started mapping out how to partition the basement.
Bedroom, storage area—
At minimum, she needed these two sections.
The entire basement was about 50 square meters. She spent the whole afternoon carefully sectioning it off and successfully built one-meter-tall dividing walls, all for just 200 yuan.
Honestly, the job wasn't hard. Once you got the hang of it, it was surprisingly doable.
Chu Yian figured bricks and cement would still come in handy, so she planned to buy more from the workers.
To avoid the worst heat, the construction workers now operated from 6:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.
Not wanting to be out after dark, she left at 5:40 p.m., right before their shift began.
By then, the outdoor temperature was 47°C (116°F).
Even the wind outside felt like it was blowing straight from a furnace.
Chu Yian sat inside her vehicle—no A/C, just a tiny desk fan buzzing hopelessly. She was drenched in sweat, her head pounding, and her vision kept going black.
She only made it a third of the way before she was forced to stop.
She pulled over into the shade and staggered out, panting heavily.
The interior of the Foton Five-Star felt like a damn steamer basket—hot enough to cook a person alive.
Even the bottled water inside was lukewarm when she cracked it open.
The heat was deadly.
The ground scorched her feet. To cool off, Chu Yian poured two full bottles of water over herself and crouched in the shade, waiting for the temperature to drop.
She squatted there, soaked and panting, drenched in sweat. The dizziness and nausea confirmed it—she was definitely suffering from heatstroke.
But in over thirty minutes, not a single person passed by this road. There was no one to ask for help.
If this kept up, she'd have to call the police.
Just as she pulled out her phone to dial for help—
A black blur suddenly darted across her field of vision.
BANG!
A black minivan slammed into a road sign just five meters ahead.
The sound of the crash snapped her wide awake. She looked up and saw that the front of the minivan had completely caved in.
The two young men in the driver and passenger seats were already crushed—twisted in ways that no human body should be.
There was almost no chance they were still alive.
Gasoline began to drip from the underside of the vehicle.
Chu Yian instinctively reached out—but when her hand touched the car's metal frame, the scorching heat made her yank it back immediately.
A very bad feeling crept up her spine.
She backed away, preparing to run to a safe distance.
But then—through the broken glass—she saw someone in the back seat.
Were they still alive?
Chu Yian sprinted to her vehicle, grabbed the steel rebar rod, and smashed the back window open.
Inside was a face she recognized instantly—
"Teacher Lu!"
What the hell—
Lu Qingyuan?!
Of all people, it had to be him.
Blood dripped from his forehead, and his face had gone pale. He was completely unconscious.
Even worse—black smoke was starting to pour from the front of the van.
Chu Yian wasted no time. She opened the back door and dragged Lu Qingyuan out.
They'd barely made it three or four meters from the vehicle when the entire van exploded into flames.
In just two seconds, fire engulfed the whole vehicle.
Boom—!
The blast sent a wave of searing heat toward them.
Metal shrapnel went flying—
One sharp fragment grazed Chu Yian's cheek, and blood gushed instantly, her vision going red.
Even she didn't know where she found the strength.
She not only managed to drag Lu Qingyuan to safety, she even moved her own trike farther away from the blast radius—
Then finally got through to emergency services.
"District 3 of Changyun Road, outskirts of City X! There's been a crash—two dead, two still need help. Please hurry! I can't hold on much longer."
And she really couldn't.
The heat, dehydration, nausea, the choking smoke—
Her head pounded like it was about to explode.
She gasped for air like a fish out of water—
And then everything went black.
By the time she opened her eyes again, she was—
In the hallway of a hospital.
The place was overflowing with patients.
Every room was already full, and the overflow had spilled into the corridors.
"Doctor, this one's awake."
"Alright, stretch out your arm. Let's do a quick check."
…
A doctor and a nurse hovered around her, running tests.
"Vitals are okay. You were brought in early enough. Nothing serious. Take your meds and rest at home. You're being discharged."
The hospital was so overwhelmed, they were kicking people out early to make room.
Someone pulled Chu Yian up from the makeshift bed.
The moment she stood, a new patient was wheeled into her spot.
She immediately thought of Teacher Lu, whom she'd rescued before blacking out.
But he was nowhere in sight.
She quickly grabbed a nurse who was about to leave. "Excuse me—where's the man who was brought in with me?"
"He woke up before you. Said he was heading toward the hallway."
Chu Yian followed the direction the nurse pointed. On her way, she passed a doorway and saw the date posted on the sign.
So she'd only been unconscious for one night.
Still, she couldn't believe this game had gotten her hospitalized.
She calmed herself.
Then she spotted Lu Qingyuan, forehead bandaged, standing by the window. He was on the phone, brows furrowed.
"Yeah, I missed the last flight. Took a hit, but it's no big deal."
"…I know."
"…Book a hotel for me first. I'll handle the rest."
He looked up mid-sentence and noticed her approaching.
He hung up immediately.
"Thanks for helping me yesterday. I'm Lu Qingyuan."
"I'm… Chu Yian."
Teacher Lu still didn't recognize her.
Again.
Chu Yian let out a silent sigh.
"No need to thank me," she said. "It was the right thing to do."
"I've already paid your medical expenses. If there's nothing else, I'll be heading out."
He handed her a pre-written note with a name and number on it. "This is my assistant. If you ever need help, feel free to reach out."
Even after she'd saved his life, Teacher Lu remained distant and aloof as always.
Chu Yian accepted the note. She was about to speak again when—
Everything went black.
A citywide power outage.