On the morning of the 7th, the Summers Family contacted the moving company again. With the experience from last time, the move went much faster.

Just as they had almost finished moving everything, they saw Joanne White and Austin Hale arrive.

Joanne looked all around the house while discussing her plans with Austin. "Austin, I want to change the bedroom windows to floor-to-ceiling ones, and I want to completely redo the living room’s decor. I’m going to buy a small, pure white sofa with that cream-colored aesthetic, and the dining table and chairs have to be switched out for cream-colored ones too..." 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

Melody Summers considered it for a moment. Thinking of the four million they’d paid, she decided to offer a piece of advice. "I’d advise against changing the windows to floor-to-ceiling ones for now."

Joanne was stunned for a moment, then immediately put on a tearful expression. "Summers, are you trying to mock me? Are you still holding a grudge because I stole Austin’s love?"

Seeing this, Austin Hale also frowned. "Melody Summers, Joanne is a city girl and an art student. Her taste in decor is definitely better than yours."

’You can’t talk sense into people who are determined to court disaster!’

Melody Summers instantly decided to let them face their own destiny.

Joanne looked at Melody, then suddenly lowered her head with a shy smile. "Summers, I’m pregnant."

’?’ Melody was completely baffled. ’What does that have to do with me?’

"Although we’ve had some unpleasantness in the past, we were still classmates. Now that I’m pregnant, I hope you won’t pester Austin anymore," Joanne continued. "Besides, Austin said he only likes gentle women. Even without me, you and Austin would never have been happy together."

Melody chuckled. "Don’t worry, I don’t take back the trash. I think you two are a perfect match. I wish you all the happiness."

Watching Melody’s retreating back, Austin Hale felt a complicated mix of emotions, but he knew there was no turning back. This house had drained his family’s savings and bound him irrevocably to Joanne White.

*

The Summers Family and the moving company made their way to The Metropolis Residences.

When they arrived in front of the villa, Melody Summers got out of the car and saw Hollis supervising the construction. She walked over with a red envelope and said with a smile, "Hollis, thank you for your hard work. My family is back now, so you can go home and rest. This is a little bonus for your trouble. Thanks for everything these past two days."

"You’re too kind, Miss Summers. Well, in that case, I won’t be shy. If you need anything in the future, just give me a call." Hollis took the red envelope, waved, and left with a smile.

"This villa is huge! It must be several hundred square meters, right?" Grace Sutton remarked in awe as she looked at the villa.

"Why is the yard all enclosed? It’s such a nice yard, but now we can’t plant vegetables," her grandmother said.

"We can still plant vegetables even with it enclosed, Grandma. Let’s go inside first." Melody helped her grandmother and Miss Lowell into the house.

Her uncle handed a few cigarettes to the renovation workers and followed them inside.

"The first floor has the living room, dining room, kitchen, and a storage room."

"The second floor has two large rooms with balconies. Grandma and Miss Lowell can stay in these two. It’s more convenient for them to get downstairs from the second floor."

Melody introduced the house as she led everyone on a tour. "Mom, and you, Uncle and Auntie, can stay on the second or third floor. There are plenty of empty rooms. We’ll be living here long-term from now on, so let’s get everything properly set up. We’ll see what furniture we’re missing, and I’ll go buy it all. Whatever makes us most comfortable."

’I never thought I’d get to live in a villa in my lifetime.’ Grace Sutton looked around excitedly, but she also knew it wasn’t right for her family to stay here long-term. She planned to just stay for a few days, find a suitable house, and then move out.

Their luggage had been packed a week ago at their old home on Mount Anworth, and now it could finally be unboxed and see the light of day.

Since the villa came fully furnished and equipped with household goods, the family put some of their unneeded items into the storage room.

By the time the family was settled, it was already evening, and the renovation workers had gone home.

At the dining table, Melody confessed to her family that she was the biological daughter of the Lancaster Family, explaining the whole story in detail.

The family was so shocked they were speechless.

"Th-then, Melody... does this mean you’ll be going back to your birth parents’ home?" Colin Summers asked in shock.

"The Lancasters are a prominent family. A daughter born into a family like that would surely have been attended by many doctors, nurses, and nannies. How could they have mixed up the babies? It’s truly strange," Miss Lowell said, puzzled.

Winnie Summers said nothing, feeling lost and helpless. When she had found Melody by the roadside, she was just a tiny bundle. She never imagined she was actually the daughter of the wealthy Lancaster Family.

’If Melody wanted to go back to them, of course I would support her,’ Winnie thought. ’After all, the Lancasters are a powerful family and could give her a much better life. But Melody is my only daughter. If I lost her... wouldn’t it just kill me?’

Melody saw Winnie’s distress and squeezed her hand tightly. She turned to Colin Summers and said, "No, Uncle. I’m not going anywhere."

"The Lancaster Family has been trying to get me to come home these past few days, but it’s not because they love me. They just can’t stand the idea of a Lancaster child being out in the world. They don’t care about me at all. They only like the daughter they mistakenly raised."

"I went to see them a few days ago. Before I could even say a few words, their switched-at-birth daughter started making sarcastic, passive-aggressive remarks at me, and my biological parents immediately joined in to scold me. Their son even called me a country bumpkin."

"And I don’t like them either. In my heart, you are my only family."

Her grandmother pulled Melody into her arms, sobbing uncontrollably. "Our poor Melody, you’ve been wronged. Good, don’t go back. We won’t go anywhere. You just stay here at home. As long as Grandma is here, no one can bully our Melody."

Miss Lowell sighed. "While many parents can’t treat their children with perfect equality, it’s rare to see parents who are this biased."

Once everyone had calmed down, Melody spoke again. "Uncle, Auntie, Mom, Grandma, Miss Lowell, the matter with the Lancaster Family isn’t important.

"I have a friend who works at the meteorological department. She told me that there will be a series of severe weather disasters in the near future. The mudslide on Mount Anworth was just a warning."

"In early April, there’s going to be a nationwide tornado event, followed by other, even more severe disasters. That’s why we need to fortify this villa."

"Uncle and Auntie, don’t be in a hurry to buy a house and move out. I don’t know exactly where the tornado disaster zones will be. If you happen to buy a house right in the middle of one, your whole life’s savings will be washed down the drain."

"Auntie, Uncle, I know you don’t like to impose on others, but we’re a family. And in hard times, a family is supposed to pull together and support each other to get by. If you really want to move out, it’s not too late to look for a house after this period passes and the weather returns to normal. Until then, please just stay here and make yourselves at home."

Her grandmother and the others also nodded. "Grace, just settle in and stay."

Hearing this, her uncle and aunt exchanged a look. Although they were conflicted, they still nodded. If what Melody said was true, then now was definitely not the time to be buying a house. If they chose the wrong location, more than half a lifetime’s worth of savings would be gone for nothing.

After that, Melody held a meeting with the Summers Family and clearly explained the villa’s fortification plan.

The family decided that starting tomorrow, her uncle and mother would supervise the house fortifications, her grandmother and Miss Lowell would plan what vegetables to grow in the yard, and her aunt would return to her job at the clothing factory for the time being.

*

That night, after returning to her room, Melody took a look around the Arcadian Space. The cabbages in the field had grown quite a bit, the sugarcane was visibly taller than before, and the chili peppers were almost ready to bear fruit.

Melody took a bag of corn she had just bought today from the warehouse, cut down a few stalks of sugarcane from the field, and went to the processing workshop. She operated the machine according to the system prompts.

She put the corn and sugarcane into the feed mill and pressed the "Process" button.

[Congratulations, Host. You have obtained a multipurpose feed.]

’Now I don’t have to worry about feed anymore.’ Melody filled the troughs in the livestock farm with the processed feed. All the animals ate happily, especially the ten little piglets, who gobbled it all down, clearing a huge pile of feed in an instant.

[Host, two of the female rabbits are pregnant.]

Melody was delighted to hear this. She pulled up a cabbage from the vegetable patch and gave the rabbits an extra treat.

After finishing all this, Melody finally left the space and fell into a deep sleep.