Chapter 78 "Your Xiao Shuang has ascended to heaven!"...

During summer vacation, students return home from all over the country like birds returning to their nests.

When she first got home, Song Rushuang was completely unaccustomed to it. She always felt that at six o'clock, her bracelet would go off with a death alarm, urging her to go downstairs for a morning run.

Therefore, although she woke up at 5:30 because of her biological clock, she still lay in bed and patiently waited until 6:01.

I always feel that the day isn't complete until I'm woken up by the alarm clock.

However, perhaps considering that everyone had their own plans during the summer vacation and also had to make various preparations for the apocalypse, the principal thoughtfully canceled the daily morning exercise reminder, which disappointed Song Rushuang.

Helpless, she had no choice but to get out of bed, change into her workout clothes, and go downstairs for her morning exercise.

First, she did her daily five-kilometer run without fail. Then, she did some exercise in the community's fitness area using the equipment—she did crunches with her legs on one side of the parallel bars and pressing her feet down with the other side, then did pull-ups on the horizontal bar, then did dips on the parallel bars, and finally found a platform nearby about thigh height to do box jumps—she did several sets alternately until she completed her daily goal before stopping to stretch.

This is a method that Song Rushuang learned online. She can do high-intensity training in the fitness area downstairs from her home, without having to make a special trip to the gym, which saves a lot of time.

Since the start of summer vacation, she has persisted for several days and it seems to be working well. Song Rushuang also shared the method on the forum, which was enthusiastically promoted by her classmates and became a hot post on the forum.

After finishing all that, it was already 7:30. Song Rushuang wiped her sweat with a towel and headed towards her home, planning to buy some steamed buns at the door to take back before waking her parents up.

When Song Rushuang returned from her summer vacation, Song Jianguo was still planning to "not waste the summer vacation" and to help his daughter get fit, intending to take her out for a walk every morning. But when he set his alarm and got up the next day, he found that his daughter had already returned with breakfast, full of energy, and he immediately wilted.

Song Rushuang, on the other hand, was very interested in her father's sudden suggestion to exercise, and even wanted to get Xu Mingyu involved as well.

The couple were both reluctant to move around. During the holidays, they would stay home and scroll through their phones. They even drove to the shopping plaza on the corner. They were completely different from the energetic middle-aged people they saw online.

Song Rushuang had tried to persuade her parents several times throughout the year without success. Taking advantage of the long summer vacation at home, she decided to completely change her parents' lifestyle.

After much persuasion, it took a couple of days to finally convince Xu Mingyu and Song Jianguo to agree to come downstairs and accompany her for her morning exercise.

When the couple walked into the fitness area, they saw their daughter gripping the horizontal bar with both hands, one leg hanging off it, her hair all over her face, spinning around like a whirlwind using her core strength—exactly what a fitness fanatic in popular online videos should look like. The couple's immediate reaction was: "???"

Song Jianguo recalled his original plan for a heartwarming exercise session where he and his daughter would take a walk together to strengthen their bond, and his pupils dilated in shock.

Ms. Xu angrily stated, "Song Rushuang, if you want to murder your own mother, just say so. You don't need to be so evasive."

Song Rushuang: "..."

She was just bored while waiting and wanted to try it out casually...

In short, after that, the couple refused to exercise with them anymore, letting their daughter do whatever she wanted and not disturb their sleep.

They live in a residential area close to their workplace, so they often don't get up until almost eight o'clock every day.

The parents sleep in late, while their daughter buys breakfast; the roles of the family of three are completely reversed.

Song Rushuang was also helpless, but she couldn't tell her parents about the impending apocalypse. All she could do was frantically forward videos from @TeacherFang's Talk to them every day.

Mentioning this WeChat public account makes Song Rushuang even more upset.

Ever since the principal asked Xu Mingyu and her companion to help with the publicity, they have been very proactive in completing the task, sharing each video to their WeChat Moments and collecting hundreds of likes... But Song Rushuang suspects that they haven't even watched these videos themselves! They've taken the hypocritical and compliant style of seasoned office workers to the extreme.

On her way home carrying the steamed buns, Song Rushuang was still thinking about this.

It has been almost a year since the pedestrian street collision incident, and for Xu Mingyu and her companion, it was just a sudden accident that was not worth being wary of.

Is there any other way to persuade them?

She was somewhat troubled.

Song Rushuang's family lives in an old neighborhood. They have lived there since she was born. The neighborhood was built early and consists of eight-story buildings. The residents are mostly from the same workplace or retired employees and their families, and they all know each other.

On her way home, Song Rushuang ran into her grandmother, who had taken good care of her when she was a child, and they stopped to chat for a while.

After entering middle school, Song Rushuang went through puberty and became somewhat reluctant to communicate with her elders. However, since entering Fangzhou, she has started to say a few more words to relatives and acquaintances whenever she sees them.

Grandma was concerned about her studies, and after she answered the questions carefully, she said warmly.

"Shopping on my phone is so convenient these days! The xx app even gives you a membership for the first time, and you get discounts on select items. Grandma, give me your phone next time, and I'll stock up on rice and noodles for you!"

As she spoke, Song Rushuang showed her grandmother the page: "Look, we offer home delivery, and some items are even 20% off during the summer special, plus various coupons. It's a great deal!"

Song Rushuang knew that Grandma Zhang lived alone, and her daughter and son worked in another city and abroad respectively, rarely coming back. It was almost impossible to expect them to come back to find Grandma Zhang after the apocalypse.

At that time, she, an elderly woman in her seventies, will likely have to live alone for a long time—and that's the best-case scenario.

Grandma Zhang used to give her snacks every time they met when she was little, and Song Rushuang wanted to help her as much as she could.

For elderly people of this age, mobile phones are a novelty. They can't even understand how to use chat apps, let alone the various other apps and coupons.

Using this as an excuse, Song Rushuang could help them buy things they might need in the future.

As soon as she heard that they could deliver to her door, Grandma Zhang immediately became interested.

She lives alone, and the most inconvenient thing for her is going to the supermarket. Even with the stroller her daughter bought her, it still takes her most of the day to walk around and stop, and she can't buy too many or too heavy things at once.

Wouldn't it be so convenient if it could be delivered right to my door?

"Can you really deliver it?" Grandma Zhang asked curiously. "How much will it cost? Is it expensive?"

“Yes!” Song Rushuang showed, “It’s free. If you buy more, you can get free delivery if you spend over 200 yuan.”

She tried every trick in the book to get Grandma Zhang to buy more things, so that if she couldn't finish them all at once, she could just stock up on them.

This way, she can also buy things with a long shelf life.

Grandma Zhang was indeed tempted, but hesitated: "But I'm all alone, I can't finish eating too much..."

"Okay, I'll buy you some vegetables, fruits, meat, eggs, and dairy products. For the rest, I'll buy some rice, noodles, cooking oil, and seasonings. They have a long shelf life and won't spoil easily; you can always use them if you keep them in a cool, dark place at home," Song Rushuang urged her. "If we combine them with coupons, we can get a 30 yuan discount, which is practically like getting a free bottle of oil!"

Grandma Zhang, wearing her reading glasses, looked carefully and was surprised to find that it was indeed true!

Is it possible to buy things online for such low prices? A 900ml bottle of cooking oil costs 30 yuan offline, but with various coupons and discounts online, I can buy it for just over 20 yuan.

The old man felt as if a new world had opened up for him.

She immediately asked Song Rushuang to help her with the process, and Song Rushuang happily agreed. With quick eyes and hands, she added a lot of canned luncheon meat, canned eight-treasure porridge, canned tomatoes, and other things. She also bought vacuum-packed rice for a longer shelf life.

As for steamed buns and the like, which need to be frozen to be stored for a long time, Song Rushuang didn't buy too many, considering that the power would be cut off in less than a month after the apocalypse. She asked the old woman what she liked and bought her a bag to eat in the next couple of days.

Seasonings like salt and sugar are hard to expire and inexpensive, so Song Rushuang, under the guise of stockpiling, bought several bags for her grandmother.

The two stood under the shade of a tree by the roadside. As the sun rose higher, Song Rushuang was busy with her work, and her forehead was covered in sweat. Grandma Zhang felt sorry for her and fanned her several times with her palm-leaf fan.

After finally finishing her shopping, Song Rushuang proudly showed her grandmother the items, saying, "Look, I saved over sixty yuan this time. They even delivered it to my door without any shipping fees. Since I placed the order in the morning, they said it would arrive around four o'clock in the afternoon."

Grandma Zhang was overjoyed: "This is so convenient, Xiaoshuang, thank you so much!"

She was a little smug, and covered her mouth with her hand while laughing, "My daughter doesn't even have time to help me with these things. She's always in a rush when she comes back, and I have to help her look after her granddaughter—Xiaoshuang, you're more considerate than my own children. I'll brag to your Grandpa Li and the others about it in a bit."

Song Rushuang suddenly had a flash of inspiration. She remembered that the elderly people living alone in the community seemed to like to get together and chat every day. Because there were many elderly people in the community, in order to prevent them from secretly playing mahjong, the property management had specially built an activity room for the elderly, equipped with air conditioning, tea, ping-pong tables and the like.

Perhaps... she could use this place for something?

“By the way, Grandma Zhang, why don’t we talk to the community about organizing a special event in the senior activity room to help with ordering?” Song Rushuang pondered for a moment and suggested, “Grandpa Li and the others must also have shopping needs, right?”

The elderly were having a very difficult time in the apocalypse, and Song Rushuang was happy to help out.

"Won't this be too much trouble for you?" Grandma Zhang asked hesitantly.

"It's no trouble at all," Song Rushuang said with a smile. "You've practically watched me grow up, so what's the big deal?"

That's how it was in the old-style family compound; neighbors helped each other and knew each other well. If someone's fruit tree bore fruit or they cooked too much food, they would knock on the door and give it to the neighbor. When Song Rushuang was a child, she would fall while running and jumping, and her grandparents would take her home and help bandage her wounds.

Besides, most of the elderly people in the courtyard were colleagues before retirement; they are all highly educated and not the kind of people who are unreasonable and domineering. Song Rushuang estimated that by organizing such a large-scale event, the elderly people would feel embarrassed and try to buy all the necessary items at once.

Instead, it encouraged hoarding.

Upon hearing this, Grandma Zhang immediately said that she would discuss it with Grandpa Li and the others, and then tell Song Rushuang when a time was set.

She didn't need to worry about the time, place, or participants; she just needed to set aside an afternoon.

Her grandparents would also bring her fruit and snacks.

Song Rushuang happily agreed.

However, holding just one event is not enough.

The event was advertised as "helping elderly people living alone." Other residents wouldn't participate, but most would likely notice the event.

When the apocalypse arrives and food runs out, the younger, stronger residents might turn their attention to the elderly.

Elderly people living alone are practically the easiest group to bully in the apocalypse.

The neighborhood is harmonious now, but with the crisis looming, no one can predict what others might do.

She couldn't let her good intentions backfire.

While Song Rushuang was still thinking of a solution, Grandma Zhang grabbed her wrist and insisted on inviting her to her home: "I have so much fruit at home that we can't finish it all. Xiaoshuang, take some back for your parents."

Song Rushuang: "..."

Oh no, I think I forgot something.

She awkwardly picked up the plastic bag in her hand, looked at the steamed buns inside that had gone from hot to lukewarm, and finally remembered that her hungry parents were still waiting at home.

"No need, Grandma, my parents are still waiting at home for breakfast," she said hurriedly.

Before he could finish speaking, a woman carrying a bag of fruits and vegetables hurried past. She glanced up casually, and the plastic bag in her hand fell to the ground with a thud. Her face paled as she exclaimed in shock, "My God! There's a child there!"

The woman covered her mouth and saw that the window of a family on the sixth floor of a nearby residential building was half open. A toddler, about one or two years old, was peering out of the window, his hand poised as if to lunge forward. The sight was terrifying.

Grandma Zhang looked up and saw this scene. She was so shocked that she clutched her chest and took two steps back: "Ouch..."

Passersby were extremely anxious.

Whose child is that?

"My goodness, where are the adults at home?! Why aren't they watching the kids properly?!"

"Who's young and fast? Go knock on the door!"

"Call the police, no, we need to call the fire department..."

"Quick, quick, is there a sheet or something to catch it? It might fall..."

A young man who was about to go to work threw down his breakfast and rushed into the building, probably to knock on the door.

The other two women were in a panic. They saw a bed sheet hanging out to dry nearby and rushed to take it down. One of them even tripped and fell. Ignoring her injury, she quickly pulled the sheet downstairs and called a few people over to help straighten it.

Soon, several enthusiastic people gathered around.

Song Rushuang glanced at it and felt that this wouldn't work.

The sheet was a thin summer blanket, made of very light and thin fabric. In addition, the child upstairs was no longer a baby of a few months old. A one- or two-year-old child would be heavier. If he fell from the sixth floor, such a thin sheet might not be enough to catch him.

Moreover, if the catch is not made accurately, any part of the hand, foot, or other body part could hit someone nearby, resulting in at least a fracture.

She made up her mind and handed the steamed bun to Grandma Zhang: "Grandma, could you hold this for me?"

Grandma Zhang was still anxiously watching the child's every move when suddenly several fragrant steamed buns appeared in her hand. She paused, then saw the little girl beside her wipe the sweat from her palms on her tracksuit, glance up and down at the building, and then, with a running start, dash straight towards the air conditioner unit of a first-floor resident—

Grandma Zhang: ???

Her mouth was half open as she watched Song Rushuang leap up and kick the exterior wall of the building—the wall was made of pebble-dash cement mixed with small pebbles, creating a great deal of friction. She kicked up the wall, turned around and grabbed the protective edge of the air conditioner unit. Taking advantage of her light weight, she stepped on the air conditioner unit, bent over and leaped up. With her excellent jumping ability, she directly grabbed the security bars of the second-floor resident, and then used the momentum to step on the protruding waistline of the second-floor building, climbing up a floor in the blink of an eye.

The houses on the first to third floors all had security bars installed, making it quite easy to climb up. After repeating the process several times, Song Rushuang had already reached the fourth floor.

People downstairs finally realized that someone had climbed up from the side with their bare hands, and screams erupted one after another.

Grandma Zhang almost fainted on the spot when she saw Song Rushuang's light and agile movements.

She tried to calm her chest, looked at the steamed bun in her hand, slapped her thigh, and headed straight for the Song family.

On the way, she was still shouting in a trembling voice, "Xiao Song! Xiao Xu! Come out quickly, your Xiao Shuang has gone to heaven!"

...

On the other side, Song Rushuang found it difficult to climb up to the fourth floor.

The exterior of her apartment building didn't have many fancy decorations, and the waistline was just a narrow, raised strip. Without anything to hold onto, it would be difficult to find a foothold. If it weren't for the air conditioner unit and the fact that the child could fall at any moment, Song Rushuang wouldn't have dared to climb it with her bare hands.

When the audience below saw her stop, they quickly realized that the security bars were gone and became worried for her.

From their perspective, Song Rushuang acted on impulse but got stuck halfway through.

At that height, with no safety measures in place, looking down must be terrifying...

Some people covered their eyes, too afraid to look, but Song Rushuang wasn't in a hurry. She gently bit her lower lip, still pondering how to climb the road ahead.

She had climbed similar walls countless times throughout the year, and even if she couldn't get up, she always found a way to get down, unlike the reckless behavior that onlookers imagined.

She ignored the chatter and commands from her subordinates, remaining completely calm and unaffected.

Listening to instructions from non-professionals in such situations may actually disrupt the flow of things.

As Song Rushuang was lost in thought, the window next door suddenly opened.

The other person seemed afraid of startling her, so they didn't dare to open the window too roughly, and carefully stretched out a hand from the window: "Girl, come here quickly."

Song Rushuang was taken aback and saw an aunt standing in the window, who seemed extremely anxious: "Be careful, I'm holding your hand."

Song Rushuang felt a warmth in her heart and smiled reassuringly, "Auntie, it's alright. I'm a rock climber, and I'm really good at it."

But her aunt's actions reminded her.

Song Rushuang looked up and shouted in a strong voice, "Fifth floor, could you please open a window for me?"

The resident on the fifth floor had already been drawn out by the commotion and was standing by the window watching. However, from his perspective, he couldn't see anyone climbing the wall. Song Rushuang shouted twice before realizing that he was being referred to, and quickly opened the window and poked his head out: "Who is it?...Oh my god!"

He finally saw Song Rushuang, who was perched on the air conditioner unit like Spider-Man.

Song Rushuang's eyes lit up: "Great, great, leave the window open like that!"

After saying that, she gently stepped on the air conditioner unit under her to make sure it was stable and could support her weight. After seeing the landing point, she used the momentum to jump up again.

The woman inside the window was startled. She covered her eyes, wanting to scream, but was afraid of startling Song Rushuang, so she could only peek at her in terror through her fingers.

The resident on the fifth floor was so frightened that they hid inside. After dawdling for a while, they came back with a stool in their hand: "Will it be easier if you stand on this?"

He estimated that Song Rushuang was still some distance away from the child on the sixth floor.

Song Rushuang chuckled: "Thank you."

However, the stool was not very stable, so she didn't dare to step on it and ended up climbing up herself.

Seeing that Song Rushuang had finally climbed to the sixth floor and found a foothold, and then carefully pressed the child's head back down, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

This terrifying scene so early in the morning is really bad for your heart!

The child's figure disappeared through the window. Song Rushuang glanced down and decided not to go back the way she came.

Otherwise, I'm afraid I'd scare everyone half to death again.

The window in the sixth-floor apartment is a sliding window. If it wasn't locked, a child's weight could certainly open it. It's unlikely that anyone in the family opened the window intentionally, but...

Song Rushuang felt the cool breeze from the air conditioner through the open window.

The air conditioner is on, so there should be someone inside.

Why hasn't the other party come out yet?

The doorbell was still ringing incessantly. The boy who ran upstairs rang the doorbell and knocked on the door, shouting, "Is anyone home? Your kid is playing by the window, hurry up and check on him... Is anyone home?!"

The room was quiet. The child sat on the windowsill, sniffed, and looked into Song Rushuang's eyes.

She slowly frowned.