After hauling all the necessary supplies over, the family worked together to get organized. They put everything in its place and planted the vegetables, one by one, into styrofoam boxes.

After a flurry of activity, by around three in the afternoon, the new home was more or less set up.

Exhausted, the whole family collapsed onto the living room sofa to rest, discussing what to have for dinner.

Grace Sutton clapped her hands and said excitedly, "We’re having dumplings! This is our first meal in our new home! It has to be dumplings!"

Hearing this, Ian Summers scratched his head and asked hesitantly, "Making dumplings is so much trouble, Mom. If we start now, when will we even get to eat?"

Grace Sutton slapped Ian on the forehead. "You brat! I’m a pro at making dumplings! I guarantee you’ll all be eating in no time. Just you wait, I’ll go make the dough right now!"

Seeing her enthusiasm, the rest of the family nodded in agreement, rolling up their sleeves to help make the dumplings.

Melody Summers, however, suggested she go back to the villa first to take care of some finishing touches.

Worried that it wouldn’t be safe for Melody to go alone, Ian insisted on going with her.

So the two of them went downstairs and drove the SUV and the off-road vehicle back to the villa. It was supposed to snow in a few days, and it would be safer to park the cars in the villa’s garage.

After parking the cars in the underground garage, Melody first went upstairs to check the windows and doors of every room, making sure they were all shut tight.

Then, she and Ian took out the dust covers they had prepared earlier and draped them over the furniture in each room.

Once that was done, they went out to the backyard. Staring at the fruit trees, Melody felt a pang of regret.

For over a year since the cataclysms began, these trees had been the family’s heroes, supplying them with all kinds of fresh fruit. She didn’t know if they could survive the extreme low temperatures that were on their way.

Melody thought for a moment, then fashioned a wicking system out of a towel. The device would slowly draw water from the pool and direct it to the fruit trees.

Melody prayed silently, ’I hope the water from the Arcadian Stream works its magic and saves these trees.’

Finally, while Ian wasn’t looking, Melody moved several freezers from the basement directly into her space and shut off the villa’s generator.

After taking care of everything, Melody thought for a moment and decided she should let Sophie Thorne know what was happening.

She took out her phone and sent a message to Sophie, telling her that she and her family had moved to the residential area up front.

Melody hesitated, but decided to add that there would likely be heavy snow over the next few months. Lower floors were at risk of being buried, so she should make plans soon.

’Besides, plenty of experts were making the same prediction, so her warning wouldn’t seem too out of the blue.’

After sending the message, Melody put her phone away and said to Ian with a smile, "Alright, all done. Let’s go back for dumplings!"

Melody started to head out, but Ian suddenly grabbed her arm.

As Melody watched in confusion, Ian pulled a bank card from his pocket and handed it to her. "Take this," he said. "You can spend the money on it however you like."

Melody glanced at the bank card in Ian’s hand, shook her head, and said, "I don’t want it. I have money. You should keep this for yourself."

Money was the last thing Melody was short on right now.

Thanks to the advertising Paige Walsh had done for the Arcadia Store at the Nimbus Hotel, everything the store listed now sold out in seconds, no matter how high the price. Melody’s bank account held an astronomical sum.

But Ian forced the card into Melody’s pocket. He lowered his gaze to look at her and said earnestly, "I’m always moving around with the army, so I have no use for money. Everything is so expensive these days, and there are costs for everything. Just take it."

When Melody tried to refuse again, Ian pressed on. "If... I mean, if something were to happen to me, my death benefits would be deposited into this card. And then... I’d have to ask you to take care of my parents after they’re gone."

Though Ian and Melody weren’t blood-related, they had grown up together—eating, playing, and squabbling just like any other brother and sister.

Once Ian returned to his unit, he would have to continue traveling for disaster relief efforts. He didn’t know if he would come back alive. Entrusting his parents’ future to Melody was the only way he could find peace of mind.

Melody’s eyes shot wide open at his words. She immediately yanked the bank card out of her pocket and shoved it back at Ian.

Then she took a deep breath and landed two solid punches on Ian. "THWACK! THWACK!" She frowned and cursed, "Ian Summers, are you sick in the head?! Why are you spouting such nonsense? Who jinxes themself like that?!"

Ian rubbed the sore spot where Melody had punched him and raised his hands in surrender. "I was just talking about a worst-case scenario... Stop, stop! I’m sorry, I was wrong!"

Melody snorted. "I’m here at home. You just focus on your work and stop worrying about pointless what-ifs!"

Seeing the anger in Melody’s eyes, Ian sighed and said softly, "You’ve always been smarter than me, and you handle things with more maturity and composure. I know that as long as you’re here, nothing will go wrong at home."

As a child, Ian had been fair-skinned and good-looking. He was quiet, polite, and very gentle. Among the rough-and-tumble rural boys, he stood out like a crane among chickens, so many of the other boys in the village liked to gang up on him.

After Melody found out, she went door-to-door, following the list Ian provided.

No one knew what Melody did. All they knew was that from that day on, no one ever dared to gang up on Ian again.

Now, watching Melody arrange everything for the family so methodically, and seeing how she’d stockpiled so many hard-to-get supplies, Ian knew he didn’t have to worry about home in the slightest. As long as Melody was there, she would handle everything.

But Ian still insisted, "Just take the card. The country deposits my stipend in there every month, and I have no use for it. It’s more useful with you than with me. Besides, I’ll rest easier knowing you have it."

Looking into Ian’s bright eyes, Melody finally nodded and took the bank card.

Only after watching Melody put the bank card in her pocket did Ian break into a grin. He took her by the arm and said, "Alright, let’s go. Time to head home for dumplings!"

The two siblings left the villa and started walking toward the residential area, but as luck would have it, they ran right into Zara and Yuri Walsh.

Melody felt a headache coming on just from the sight of the two of them.

Ever since they had parted on bad terms at the Nimbus Hotel banquet, Yuri had sent her a string of apologetic messages, all of which Melody had brushed off with noncommittal replies.

It wasn’t that Melody had anything against Yuri personally. It was his sister, Zara, with her inexplicably passive-aggressive attitude, that made Melody subconsciously want nothing to do with him. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Since her rebirth, her tolerance for complicated relationships had plummeted, and she’d developed a penchant for guilt by association.

Yuri’s gaze traveled slowly from Ian’s handsome young face to the hand he had on Melody’s arm. His brow furrowed slightly.

Melody was debating whether to pretend she hadn’t seen them or just offer a cursory greeting, but Zara beat her to the punch. "Well, well, found yourself a boyfriend? Weren’t you just swearing up and down that you never wanted to get married? Turns out it was all just a holier-than-thou act to fool everyone."

Zara then looked Ian up and down. Even with her discerning eye, honed from seeing countless men, she had to admit he was very handsome. But... his clothes made him look like some poor kid without a penny to his name!

So Zara said to Melody with a sneer, "So, it looks like you didn’t manage to marry up after all. But maybe this is for the best. Sticking to your own station is much better than constantly trying to claw your way into a class where you don’t belong."

Ian was completely confused by her words. He looked at Melody, his eyes asking, ’What’s going on?’

Yuri also watched Melody without a word, his brow slightly furrowed and a look of dejection on his face—

’Seeing Melody so close with another man, especially after how cold she’d been to him, made Yuri suddenly feel a keen sense of defeat.’

But Melody just gave a cold laugh, her words striking right at Zara’s heart. "Mind your own business," she said. "And another thing—even if he was in your league, Zane Simmons still rejected you!"

"You!" Rage instantly shot to Zara’s head. She glared at Melody and yelled, "How dare you talk to me like that!..."

Just then, a phone rang, interrupting Zara.

Melody took out her phone and saw it was Winnie Summers calling.

Forgetting all about Zara, she quickly answered the phone. "Mom, what’s wrong?"

On the other end of the line, Winnie’s voice was laced with anxiety. "Melody, there are people outside! They won’t stop knocking, and some woman keeps shouting that this is her house! She’s insisting on buying it back from us! What are we going to do?!"

Melody frowned. "Mom, whatever you do, don’t open the door. I’m coming home right now! Wait for me to handle it!"

With that, she paid the Walsh siblings no more mind, grabbed Ian, and took off running toward home...