This Yvonne York was the same woman from the community square who had pulled out a lighter and threatened to burn the government’s winter relief supplies.

She and her husband, Gene Young, were the ones who took over Crystal Mart in her previous life.

Seeing Yvonne York and Joyce Lawson walk out, Mrs. Vance turned and whispered in Melody Summers’s ear, "See that woman with the curly hair? She’s the new owner who just moved in!"

Melody Summers’s eyes widened slightly in surprise.

The situation was far from what Melody had expected. She had never imagined that the people moving into 1501 would be Yvonne York and her husband.

’The couple didn’t live here in my past life!’

’And... how did Joyce Lawson get involved with Yvonne York?’

While Melody was still pondering this, she saw Yvonne York smile and pat Joyce Lawson’s shoulder. Yvonne whispered something in her ear before handing her a bag.

Joyce Lawson took the bag, thanked Yvonne York with a smile, and then turned to leave.

Seeing this, Melody quickly said goodbye to Mrs. Vance and hurried downstairs.

At the door to 1601, just as Joyce Lawson was taking out her key to open it, Melody called out to her, "Joyce!"

Joyce turned at the sound of her name. Seeing it was Melody, she quickly greeted her, "Summers! Perfect timing! Come here, I’ve got a bag of sweet potatoes. You should take a couple!"

Melody glanced down at the bag Joyce offered. It held five or six sweet potatoes. For Joyce to be willing to part with two of them was already quite generous.

But Melody gently pushed the bag back, shaking her head in refusal. "Thank you, Joyce, but I’m fine. You have a big family, so you should keep them."

Then, Melody changed the subject. She looked at Joyce and asked softly, "By the way, Joyce, what’s your relationship with that woman from just now? ...Do you know her?"

Joyce looked stunned, as if she hadn’t processed the question. She asked, confused, "Woman? What woman?"

Melody explained, "The woman who gave you something just now, in front of 1501."

Realizing who Melody meant, Joyce let out an "Oh" and replied with a smile, "You mean her? She’s my aunt!"

Joyce Lawson’s mother was named Yuan, and she and Yvonne York were cousins. Generationally speaking, that made Yvonne York Joyce’s aunt.

Joyce continued, "Actually, our families don’t really keep in touch, aside from getting together back in our hometown for the New Year. So we had no idea my aunt’s family lived in this complex, and they had no idea we’d moved here either!"

"I just happened to run into her when I went out today and found out her family had moved in right below me. So I went in to help them with their luggage."

As a thank-you, Yvonne York gave Joyce some sweet potatoes.

In truth, Joyce had been a little surprised to receive the sweet potatoes. She knew that because her aunt’s family was well-off, they were always worried about "poor relatives" taking advantage of them and were notoriously stingy. She never expected her aunt to be so generous this time and give her so many sweet potatoes.

Looking at the bag of sweet potatoes, Melody felt that something was wrong.

’Thinking back, I moved into 1606 with the Lancasters after the flood in my past life. I don’t remember ever running into Joyce Lawson in this building. And Yvonne York and her husband didn’t live here back then, either.’

’So what’s different this time around? Did the timeline change, or did some accident after the blizzard make them all move away?’

Just as Melody was lost in thought, Tate’s voice came from behind her. "Miss Summers, thanks for waiting!"

Melody snapped out of it and turned to see Tate jogging over, having finished moving the furniture. He said with a smile, "I’m all done here, Miss Summers. Let’s head to the sales office together!"

Melody nodded. Buying the apartment was the priority right now. She said goodbye to Joyce Lawson and left with Tate.

...

Joyce Lawson carried the sweet potatoes, opened her front door, and walked to the bedroom, planning to roast them on the stove.

But as soon as she opened the bedroom door, she was shocked to find everyone inside fast asleep. The window, which she had deliberately left cracked open, was now completely shut.

A cold sweat instantly broke out on Joyce’s back. Fearing that her family was suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning, she scrambled to the window and threw it open to air out the room.

Cold wind poured in through the open window. Her younger brother, Gregory Lawson, who was closest to it, shivered from the blast of cold air and jolted awake.

Gregory rubbed his drowsy eyes. When he saw that it was Joyce who had opened the window, he immediately started cursing, "Useless girl! Who told you to open the window? It’s freezing out there! Are you trying to freeze me to death?!"

Joyce shot Gregory a glare and snapped, "The charcoal in the stove is burning so hot, you won’t freeze to death! But if we don’t open a window for ventilation, you could get carbon monoxide poisoning! If that happens, then you really might die!"

The argument between Gregory and Joyce woke the others in the room. Next to Gregory, Yuan slowly opened her eyes. Her head felt groggy, and her chest was tight.

Hearing Joyce talk back to him, Gregory’s face flushed red. He yelled at her, "Useless girl! You dare jinx me? You’re the one who’s going to die! You could die a hundred times, and I still wouldn’t!"

As if he couldn’t stand it, Gregory, red-faced, continued to shout, "Useless girl! So what if you know a lot? So what if you went to college? You’re still a useless girl even with a degree! I don’t need to study to be the pillar of this family!"

Yuan struggled to lift a hand to rub her aching forehead while patting Gregory comfortingly. "There, there, my boy. Don’t be angry. It’s all your sister’s fault."

Then Yuan looked at Joyce with displeasure and chided her, "Joyce, you’re a grown woman. Why are you still arguing with your little brother? He said he’s cold, so just close the window a bit. Don’t let him catch a chill."

Joyce grew anxious. "Mom! Gregory is young and doesn’t know any better, but don’t you? It’s dangerous not to ventilate when you’re heating with charcoal! More than ten people died in Building 7 of this complex because they didn’t have proper ventilation while burning charcoal!"

Before Yuan could speak, her husband, Mason Lawson, cut in irritably, "That’s enough, you damn girl. Stop with the constant fearmongering. You think you’re so special just because you went to college? Does that give you the right to boss your family around?"

Joyce’s grandmother snorted, her face stern. "I knew it. It’s useless for you girls to get an education. Back when we lived in the countryside, we used a stove for decades and never opened a window. Did anything ever happen to us? No!"

Joyce frowned and retorted, "Grandma, our old house didn’t even have a proper front door! It was drafty all over. How can you compare that to this apartment? Modern buildings are sealed tight. You have to open a window for ventilation!"

Hearing this, Joyce’s grandmother didn’t know how to argue back, so she just pursed her lips and fell silent.

Yuan looked at Joyce’s stubborn expression, sighed, and said in a disappointed tone, "Joyce, what’s happened to you? You used to be so well-behaved and obedient as a child. Why are you always fighting with your family now? ...You’re making your mother so, so disappointed."

Joyce had wanted to take this chance to clearly explain the importance of ventilation to her family, but seeing the disappointment in Yuan’s eyes, she felt a lump form in her throat, and the words wouldn’t come out.

Just then, Joyce’s grandmother’s eyes darted around and settled on the bag in Joyce’s hand.

A sharp glint flashed in her cloudy eyes as she asked Joyce, "Joyce, dear... what’s that you’re holding? Is it something to eat?"