Joyce Lawson covered her face, sobbing uncontrollably.

Melody Summers was at a loss when she saw this. She was truly terrible at comforting people!

She could only try her best to comfort Joyce, saying, "Joyce, please stop crying. The temperature is too low right now. Crying like this can easily damage your eyes..."

Joyce Lawson raised her head and looked at Melody Summers, tears streaming down her face. "Tell me, why are there parents in this world who are so biased? Am I not their child, too?"

Joyce Lawson seemed to be asking Melody Summers, but also herself.

She had originally thought that now that she could earn money and support the family, her parents and grandparents would see her value and no longer favor her brother so heavily.

She had originally thought that after she happily bought a house and brought her whole family to live with her, she would be able to rely on them and take care of each other during the apocalypse.

But she never expected to be viciously backstabbed by the family she trusted most.

Even though she had always known her family was somewhat biased towards men, Joyce Lawson still couldn’t describe how she felt at this moment.

Melody Summers sighed, took a pack of tissues from her pocket, handed it to Joyce Lawson, and asked softly, "So what are you going to do now?"

During an apocalypse, people were unpredictable. You even had to be wary of your own flesh and blood. Melody Summers had learned this lesson the hard way in her past life.

’With parents as biased as Joyce’s,’ Melody Summers thought, ’they might even do something to harm her when supplies become scarce later in the snow disaster.’

Hearing this, Joyce Lawson shook her head, her gaze vacant. "I don’t know..."

Joyce Lawson truly didn’t know what to do now.

’She had used all her savings to buy the apartment, and it was already registered in her brother’s name. Even if she went back and had a huge fight with her family, what could she possibly get back?’

’It’s the middle of an apocalypse. If she has a falling out and gets kicked out by her family, where else could she go?’

Seeing Joyce Lawson in this state, Melody Summers didn’t know how to advise her either.

’You can’t judge another family’s quarrels. For something like this, Joyce Lawson would have to figure it out on her own.’

******

Back in the apartment building, Melody Summers first walked Joyce Lawson back to 1601.

Before they parted, Melody Summers gave Joyce Lawson her contact information and told her to get in touch if she ran into any trouble.

Back at her own door, Melody Summers was just about to open it when she heard a commotion from downstairs. It sounded like someone was moving things.

A little curious, Melody Summers turned and went downstairs to check it out.

...

Mrs. Vance, bundled up in a down jacket and clutching a hot water bottle, was standing at the door of 1505 as if to watch the show. She watched several movers in work uniforms carrying things in and out of 1506.

Melody Summers walked up and asked, "Mrs. Vance, are your neighbors across the hall moving in?"

Mrs. Vance’s face lit up when she saw Melody Summers.

She pulled Melody Summers over, stuffed the warm hot water bottle into her hands, and answered with a smile, "Yes, they are! 1506 has been empty this whole time, and suddenly someone’s moving in today. I was just asking the movers, and they said the owner just bought the place a few days ago!"

Melody Summers nodded in understanding.

Ever since experts predicted several months of extreme cold and blizzards, owners of single-story houses and lower-floor apartments had been divided into two camps.

One group of lower-floor owners felt they should trust the government’s disaster relief capabilities. They were confident in the country’s advanced de-icing and snow removal technology and believed the government would clear the snow in time, making it unnecessary to move.

But the other group felt that Terra’s climate had already been abnormal for over a year. This blizzard would surely be unprecedented, and they feared the government wouldn’t be able to clear the snow in time. Moving to a higher floor was the safer bet.

For those who wanted to move and had the money, the first choice was high-rise residences downtown or near the municipal government building. After all, those areas were densely populated, had the best supply guarantees, and were relatively safer.

But not everyone could afford to move downtown. The property prices and rent there were exorbitant. After the start of the apocalypse, most people’s savings were nearly depleted. Who had the money to afford such expensive rent?

For those with less money in their pockets, their only option was to choose a place in other districts.

Quite a few people noticed that The Metropolis Residences was also a good choice, as the property prices and rent here were quite reasonable.

Although many people thought it was too remote, being close to the suburbs, many others didn’t care. It was an apocalypse; were they really going out shopping every day? What difference did it make if the place was remote? Besides, The Metropolis Residences had always been well-supplied.

Thus, in the past few days, quite a few new residents had moved into The Metropolis Residences, Joyce Lawson’s family being one of them.

Mrs. Vance pursed her lips again and whispered in Melody Summers’s ear, "I heard from the movers that a wealthy family is moving in across the hall. They used to live in a villa! Look at all the furniture and color TVs they’re moving in, tsk tsk, all high-end stuff..."

Mrs. Vance thought about how her own family had sold off all their furniture while the people across the hall were still so wealthy, and she felt a pang of bitterness.

’Ah, people... even though we all live under the same sky, we truly do have different fates!’

Hearing this, Melody Summers’s brow twitched. She looked at Mrs. Vance and said warily, "Mrs. Vance, you’re not thinking of... again, are you?"

The thought of Mrs. Vance’s "glorious feat" of climbing the balcony with her bare hands gave Melody Summers a headache. She was afraid that Mrs. Vance, seeing that her new neighbors were rich, would stage another "Spider-Man" farce.

Mrs. Vance saw the look on Melody Summers’s face, understood what she meant, and quickly waved her hands, whispering, "No, no! I definitely won’t do that again! Miss Summers, you can rest assured. Since you’ve given an old woman like me a chance, I’ll definitely turn over a new leaf!"

Mrs. Vance was telling the truth. She had been possessed by greed back then, but she wouldn’t make the same mistake again.

Besides, thanks to the sweet potatoes, potatoes, milk powder, and calcium tablets Melody Summers had given them, Susan Warren’s complexion had improved a lot. Mrs. Vance definitely wouldn’t resort to stealing anymore.

Just then, the elevator doors slowly slid open with a "DING."

Mrs. Vance heard the sound and turned to see two men and a woman walk out of the elevator. They looked like a family.

The family was dressed in a very refined and elegant manner, clearly from a well-off background and of no ordinary status.

Mrs. Vance stared at the trio for a few moments, then turned back to whisper to Melody Summers, "Those three who just got off the elevator must be the owners of 1506... Look, they’re dressed so respectably."

Hearing this, Melody Summers also turned to look.

Then, her eyes flew wide open—weren’t those Ethan Sutton and his parents?!

The new owners of 4-1506 were actually The Suttons?!

Melody Summers was stunned. ’Why would Ethan Sutton’s family move to The Metropolis Residences??’

’They didn’t move here in my past life!’

While Melody Summers was still dazed, the Suttons had already walked over.

What surprised Melody Summers the most were Mr. and Mrs. Sutton. The couple looked as if they had aged a dozen years in an instant.

Mrs. Sutton’s once-straight back was now slightly hunched, as if she had weathered many storms. Mr. Sutton’s once-black hair was now streaked with obvious silver strands.

Ethan Sutton’s appearance was also a far cry from how Melody Summers remembered him.

He had gained a significant amount of weight. His once sharp, chiseled jawline was gone, replaced by a somewhat round face. His formerly deep-set, three-dimensional features, which had almost looked mixed-race, now appeared flat and plain due to a slight facial puffiness. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

Melody Summers didn’t know that Ethan Sutton had put on weight due to hormonal changes after being castrated. She just lamented to herself, ’The apocalypse is here, and everyone’s short on food and water, but this guy’s diet seems to have gotten even better...’

Just as Melody Summers was sizing up Ethan Sutton, he happened to turn and look at her.

The moment their eyes met, Ethan Sutton blurted out in shock, "What are you doing here?!"