By the time Melody Summers emerged from the Arcadian Space, it was nearly dinnertime.

Carrying a small bucket filled with moon snails, small crabs, scallops, and razor clams, she slipped into the kitchen and dumped them all in with the seafood Sophie Thorne had delivered.

Compared to the king crab, lobster, sea urchin, and abalone from Sophie Thorne, the small haul Melody Summers had dug up on the beach seemed a little pathetic...

But she had caught these with her own hands, and they came from the Arcadian Space, so Melody Summers was still very excited to taste them!

Watching the little crabs scuttling about in the basin, Melody Summers thought to herself, ’Once the deep freeze sets in, the oceans will freeze solid, with ice hundreds of meters thick.’

’When that happens, the only place to get fresh seafood will be from the ocean in my space!’

******

Around six in the evening, the aroma of seafood filled the kitchen of Apartment 1606.

With practiced hands, Grace Sutton chopped the lobster into chunks and methodically broke down the crab.

She heated the oil in the wok until it was sizzling, then tossed in the succulent lobster and crab. They instantly turned a brilliant, tempting red that was enough to make anyone’s mouth water.

Meanwhile, Miss Lowell washed the fresh sea urchins, carefully cracked open their shells, and scooped out the golden roe from within.

She then whisked some eggs with water and salt, poured the mixture and the sea urchin roe back into the empty shells, and placed them one by one into a steamer.

Grandma used a small knife to gently pry the abalone from their shells, sliced the meat thinly, and stir-fried it with olive oil and seasonings until fragrant.

The small sea creatures Melody Summers had gathered were all fresh and lively. As the saying goes, the best ingredients require the simplest preparation. Grandma carefully cleaned the shellfish and small crabs, arranged them neatly in a pot, and prepared to make a simple steamed seafood dish.

Melody Summers sat happily in the living room, cradling Albus and watching TV as she waited for the seafood feast to begin.

Just then, the doorbell to Apartment 1606 rang.

Puzzled, Melody Summers got up and walked to the door. ’Who could that be at this hour?’

A moment later, Ivan Warren’s face appeared on the intercom screen.

Melody Summers was speechless.

Her brow furrowed slightly as she spoke into the intercom, "Ivan Warren, what are you doing here?"

On the other side of the door, a wide, happy grin spread across Ivan Warren’s face when he heard Melody Summers’ voice.

He marveled to himself, ’Even her voice is beautiful. She’s perfect for the woman who’s about to become my lover!’

At that thought, Ivan Warren cleared his throat and said, "Student Summers, open the door. I have something to tell you!"

Melody Summers frowned. She couldn’t imagine what she and Ivan Warren could possibly have to talk about.

Back in college, Ivan Warren had been Austin Hale’s bootlicker. When Austin was pursuing Melody, Ivan had shamelessly called her his ’sister-in-law’ and sucked up to her relentlessly.

Later, after Austin cheated on her with Joanne White and Joanne started cyberbullying her, Ivan did a complete one-eighty. He took the lead in spreading lewd rumors about Melody all over campus.

He falsely accused her of using her looks to seduce rich men, even claiming she charged 1,000 yuan a night.

Melody reported Ivan’s slander to the department heads, but all they did was try to muddy the waters.

Despite the evidence she presented, the department heads just told her, "The palm and the back of the hand are both made of flesh," urging her to just endure it, keep the peace, and not blow things out of proportion.

Since that was their attitude, Melody refused to just let them walk all over her.

She hired someone to find stills from gay porn featuring an actor with a similar build to Ivan, then had Ivan’s face photoshopped onto them. She fought fire with fire, spreading rumors that he was a top-selling male escort who charged 100 yuan a night.

After she’d thoroughly muddied the waters, Ivan realized Melody wasn’t a pushover and finally backed off, not daring to spread any more lies.

Just thinking about all the bullshit with Ivan back in college made Melody feel sick to her stomach.

So, Melody frowned and replied coldly, "I have nothing to say to you. Go away."

Melody thought she’d been clear enough, but Ivan, acting as if he couldn’t understand plain English, kept knocking. "Student Summers, just open the door!" he said. "Let me say a couple of things, I promise you won’t regret it!"

Seeing that Ivan clearly wasn’t going to leave unless she opened the door, Melody grew irritated. She couldn’t let him keep pestering her.

With that, she grabbed a down jacket, threw it on, opened the front door, and stepped out, pulling it shut behind her. Even though the kitchen doors and windows were sealed tight, she was worried the smell of seafood might escape and attract unwanted attention.

Melody stood in the hallway, looking at Ivan with an impatient expression. "Whatever you want to say, say it fast," she snapped, "and then get lost."

Ivan’s heart leaped with excitement when he saw Melody finally come out.

His eyes, glinting with greed, were locked onto her.

Melody was wearing a loose set of white cotton pajamas with a down jacket thrown over top. Her long hair cascaded over her shoulders, with a few stray strands framing her delicate face.

Suppressing his excitement, Ivan lowered his voice. "This isn’t the place to talk. Follow me."

With that, he walked a few steps to the nearby stairwell, stopped under the light, and turned to look back at Melody with an expectant expression.

Melody’s expression soured. She had no idea what kind of game Ivan was playing.

She wordlessly followed him into the stairwell and asked with the last of her patience, "All right, what is it?" 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

Instead of answering, Ivan let out a sleazy chuckle.

Then, under Melody’s impatient gaze, Ivan pulled out a bag he’d been holding behind his back.

He held the bag out in front of Melody, a mysterious smile on his face. As he slowly opened it, he whispered, "Take a look. See what this is."

Melody glanced quizzically at the open plastic bag. Inside was a bundle of green long beans with a few sweet potatoes resting on top.

Staring at the contents of the bag, Melody was utterly baffled.

She looked up at Ivan, her eyes full of confusion. "What... is this supposed to mean?"

’Why is he showing me this?’

’They’re just long beans and sweet potatoes. What’s there to see?’

Sure, these things were incredibly rare in the apocalypse—half a kilo could cost hundreds or even thousands of yuan—but to Melody, they were nothing special.

She had them in abundance at home, with a huge pile sitting in her Arcadian Space warehouse. She wasn’t just tired of eating them; she couldn’t even be bothered to grow them anymore...

Ivan, however, mistook her confusion for awe. He puffed out his chest proudly and said, "Student Summers, I bet it’s been a long time since you’ve eaten anything like this, right? Have you forgotten what they taste like?"

Melody was momentarily speechless. Her first instinct was to agree that yes, it had indeed been a long time.

After all, they had so much food at home these days. Grandma and Miss Lowell were constantly making her favorite dishes in all sorts of new ways. She wasn’t a huge fan of long beans or sweet potatoes, so naturally, they rarely cooked them.

Seeing Melody remain silent, just staring dazedly at the food in the bag, Ivan assumed she was tempted.

With that, Ivan slowly pulled the bag back. He cleared his throat twice and said in a low voice full of vocal fry, "As long as you agree to be my woman, I can give you this much every single week!"