Annan stared at the screen for a while, suddenly feeling that the wind-swept hair in the footage was exceptionally beautiful.
What color was that?
Cold tea brown?
She thought for a moment and began searching in the space for hair dye, which she had found among the supplies she had previously scavenged from the supermarket.
Bored, why not dye my hair?
Following the instructions, she squeezed the dye into a small bowl and held the comb to her hair, hesitating for a moment.
What technique did Tony use again?
It had been many years since she had last done anything to her hair, even counting the four years from her past life. When she was in her early twenties, youth and beauty were inseparable.
In her previous life, not long after the disaster struck, she had cut her hair herself.
There was no way around it—long hair was hard to maintain during the apocalypse.
With the water and electricity cut off and no shampoo or conditioner, her hair was greasy and stuck to her face, constantly tangling.
When she first reawakened, she wondered whether she should keep her hair short, neatly trimmed.
But after some thought, she abandoned the idea. She loved her long, silky hair, and in this life, she would maintain the highest quality of life, not depriving herself of anything.
Her hair could grow long or short whenever she wished!
No more cutting—conditioners and hair oils were ready; after all, she wasn't without the means!
Upstairs, Annan eagerly experimented with dyeing her hair, while downstairs, in room 801, came the sound of Qian Ying'er's sharp scream.
"Ahhhh! Don't touch my hair!"
She clutched her disheveled, messy hair, retreating backward.
Wei Wenbin furrowed his brows and shouted at her: "Stop being dramatic! Look at you, your hair is a frizzy mess!"
Qian Ying'er's eyes filled with tears: "This hairstyle was designed by the chief stylist from Huang Zhi Huan..."
Wei Wenbin, holding a pair of scissors that were once used to scrape fish scales, growled at her impatiently:
"Of all times, you're still worried about your hairstyle? Hurry up and cut off this disgusting mess!"
He grabbed Qian Ying'er by the arm. "You want to make Brother Wang sick and starve to death? Is that it?"
Upon hearing this, Qian Ying'er bit her lip and reluctantly quieted down.
Wei Wenbin continued to cut her hair while instructing, "Tomorrow, when you meet Brother Wang, sweeten your words a bit. Don't waste your energy—bring back as much food as you can."
"I know…"
Qian Ying'er stared at her once carefully maintained hair in the mirror, being ruthlessly cut away by her cousin. It was like her face and dignity, which she had so carefully upheld, was falling apart.
Tears welled up in her eyes.
Brother Wang lived in building 12 of their complex. He was an outdoor sports enthusiast and had all the necessary equipment at home, including kayaks.
When the disaster first began, he had gone out and stockpiled quite a bit of food.
Later, he found more kayaks at an office supply company and rented them out to neighbors in the same building for a high price, exchanging them for more food.
Gradually, building 12 became the most well-off in the entire complex.
Because the building had many strong, young people who were united, no one dared to rob them.
Wei Wenbin and Qian Ying'er met them once when they went out to look for supplies.
Both groups had their sights set on the same office building. Qian Ying'er, relying on her looks, tried to use charm and flattery to secure some of the supplies.
Naturally, she failed. In such times, only a fool would hand over supplies.
But just before parting, Brother Wang had looked at her meaningfully.
"If you're really struggling to find food, come to my place and do some housework. I'll pay you."
And he had winked at her.
They were all adults, and Qian Ying'er, having had several boyfriends, wasn't some naive little girl. She understood exactly what his look meant.
She had originally planned to solve her hunger by joining Sun Peng in robbing Zhao Ping'an and Annan, avoiding the humiliation of doing housework for food.
However, many people stormed upstairs only to return defeated.
Thinking of Annan, Qian Ying'er's face twisted with hatred.
She hated her! She really hated her!
That little vixen, why did she get to live so well!
It was bad enough she was living well, but she refused to take her and her cousin in to borrow food.
What a selfish, despicable woman!!
"Ahhhhhh!" Screaming in frustration, Qian Ying'er couldn't hold back.
Wei Wenbin furrowed his brows, giving her a hard slap on the neck. "What the hell is wrong with you now? Tomorrow, don't mess things up. Even if you're pretending, pretend like a lady!"
"Uuuu…" Qian Ying'er sobbed, nodding.
1402.
Annan finished dyeing her hair, washed it, and blow-dried it.
Looking at her flowing cold tea brown locks in the mirror, she nodded in satisfaction.
"Anfu Gui! Come look at how beautiful your sister is!"
Hearing his name, the dog, with its wrinkled face, lazily trotted over, gave her a few uninterested nudges, then returned to lie on the sofa.
"Lazybones!" Annan, displeased with its indifferent response, jumped onto the sofa, grabbed the dog, and proceeded to shower it with affection.
With her dog's fur all ruffled from her loving treatment, she smiled mischievously and turned on the TV, resuming her variety show.
And so, the days passed peacefully.
Since driving off the group of troublesome neighbors, no one had dared to disturb her.
Annan began to focus on her health, adjusting her lifestyle.
She woke up at 7 a.m., drank a large cup of warm water to wake up her body, then performed a set of Baduanjin exercises on an empty stomach. By 7:30, she was in the kitchen preparing a nutritious breakfast.
The mornings were dedicated to strengthening her body.
She worked on reinforcing each part of her body while practicing movement and combat skills. She had even made a target to practice shooting.
For lunch, she ate high-protein foods to replenish her energy, then stood to watch an episode of TV before digesting and taking a short nap.
The afternoons were for relaxation. When she felt motivated, she would watch video tutorials to learn professional knowledge; on lazy days, she watched downloaded shows to pass the time.
The only thing she found a bit frustrating was the lack of communication.
In the past, she had written reviews and chatted with fellow readers. On good days, she even watched ads and gave free gifts to her favorite authors.
Now, it was all about self-indulgence. At least she had her dog to talk to, preventing her from losing the ability to speak altogether.
Evenings were spent cuddling with the dog and watching dramas, movies, or variety shows.
When her eyes grew tired, she experimented with creating new dishes, storing them in her space to savor slowly.
Every night at 10:30, she went to bed promptly, ensuring her liver received the rest and nourishment it needed.
Annan was very satisfied with her current life—no work, no competition, abundant food, a happy mood, and her skin was glowing. Even her menstrual cycle had become regular.
This was so different from her previous life, where malnutrition had caused her to lose her period before she was even thirty.
Soon, half a month passed in the blink of an eye.
One morning, as usual, Annan woke up early and practiced Baduanjin at home.
She had just reached the fifth movement when a hurried knock on the door suddenly broke her concentration.