Chapter 2
For the next two days over the weekend, I happily kept the air conditioning running at a constant temperature 24/7, slept until I woke up naturally, and spent my time at home watching shows and playing games. When it was time to eat, I’d cook myself a dish and stew some soup, comfortably enjoying a vacation at home.
Until Monday.
…
I was sleeping soundly when suddenly my phone rang, waking me up. I looked at the screen-it was my colleague, Huang Ling.
“Qingqing, why didn’t you come to work today?”
“I took a leave, a long one. You won’t see me until next month.”
I let out a long yawn.
Huang Ling sounded shocked: “Seriously? HR said you used up all your annual leave and compensatory days, but I didn’t believe it. Did something happen at home?”
She’s the one I’m closest to at the company.
I quickly sat up.
“It’s nothing. It’s just too hot, I don’t want to go to work. I want to take a break, so don’t worry.”
“Girl, you’re skipping work just because it’s hot? Are you crazy? It’s not the end of the world.”
“Extreme heat is like the end of the world, haven’t you heard?” I chuckled.
“Tsk, I really envy you for being able to take leave now. I still have to wrap up my project, otherwise I’d want to take time off too. You know what? On my way to work this morning, the back of my hand got sunburned.”
Huang Ling complained for a bit and then hung up.
I glanced at the time: 8:45 a.m.
Is the sun already this fierce so early?
I got out of bed, pulled open the blackout curtains, and opened the window to feel the air. Instantly, a wave of heat hit me, and everything I could see outside looked a bit distorted.
Damn!
I quickly shut the window and drew the curtains.
This is ridiculous, it’s way too hot!
How are people who have to work outdoors supposed to survive this weather?
I checked the weather forecast-it showed 39 degrees, but it quickly refreshed to 40 degrees. The temperature predictions for the next few hours were all on the rise.
10 a.m., 41 degrees. 11 a.m., 41 degrees. 12 p.m., 42 degrees. 1 p.m., 43 degrees. 2 p.m., 43 degrees.
Am I the one going crazy, or is the weather forecast insane?
Yesterday’s high was 40 degrees, and today it’s going up to 43?
Feeling anxious, I made myself a simple breakfast, ate it, then tidied up the trash, planning to take it out before it got even hotter.
As soon as I opened the door, I ran into Xiao Chen from Property Management, who had just knocked on the door across the hall.
“Perfect, you’re here too. Let’s listen together.”
He turned and saw me, giving me a smile.
I smiled back and looked at my Neighbor, whom I’d never met before.
He was a man with slightly long hair and dark circles under his eyes, looking like he’d just woken up.
Our eyes met, and we nodded at each other.
“Here’s the situation: I’m here to inform you that due to the extreme heat, there’s a high chance of a power outage in the coming days. If the power goes out, don’t panic. Our community has solar power equipment. It takes about ten minutes to start up after an outage. Also, please try to conserve electricity during this period, and set your air conditioners to at least 26 degrees.”
Xiao Chen explained.
“Will there be a water outage?” I asked.
“Not sure yet, but it’s best to store some drinking water at home. This heat is just too extreme, and Property Management can’t guarantee anything for now. Sorry about that. Here’s a flyer, please take a look.”
“Got it.”
The Neighbor nodded, took the flyer, and closed the door right away.
Doesn’t seem like a particularly polite person.
Xiao Chen didn’t mind. He handed me a flyer as well. I asked if he wanted to come in and rest for a bit, but he declined, saying he needed to notify the rest of the building face-to-face as quickly as possible, so no one would miss the notice.
“You’re taking out the trash, right? Just give it to me, I’ll throw it away for you.”
He even took the trash from my hands.
The 20 yuan per square meter Property Management fee is definitely worth it-the facilities are advanced, and the service is attentive and considerate.
After seeing him off, I went back inside and saw that the communication screen by the door was indeed displaying a warning about possible power outages due to extreme heat, just like the flyer in my hand. If Xiao Chen hadn’t knocked, I probably wouldn’t have noticed it at all.
Ee-oo, ee-oo-
Ee-oo, ee-oo-
There were noticeably more ambulance and fire truck sirens passing by today.
I curled up on the sofa with the air conditioner running, eating ice cream, and somehow felt a bit guilty.
News online began to scroll with reports of disasters caused by extreme heat across the country, and one video was pinned to the top.
It showed a reporter. For the first thirty seconds, he wasn’t wearing a hat, braving the blazing sun to do a live broadcast outdoors. At the thirty-first second, smoke suddenly started rising from his head, and then it actually caught fire. Luckily, a staff member nearby quickly doused it with bottled water.
“Thank you for your concern, I’m fine. In high temperatures, please don’t use too much hair wax, and don’t work under the sun for too long.”
That was the top comment.
I wanted to laugh, but couldn’t quite manage it.
I had a vague feeling that something was seriously wrong with the world.
43 degrees, 44 degrees, 45 degrees…
Sure enough, in the days that followed, the temperature kept rising. A week later, the daytime high reached a staggering 46 degrees, and even at midnight it was still 39 degrees.
All outdoor work had been suspended, almost every company switched to remote work, and only a few essential workers were still holding out on the front lines.
Yesterday’s hottest news was a mother collapsing on the road while holding her feverish child; the skin that contacted the ground was badly burned. Today’s top story was about a heroic electrician who died of heatstroke while working under the blazing sun, and countless people quietly offered virtual white flowers online.
No one even used the candle emoji – it was just too hot.
As the heat persisted, power failures occurred in many places, and news of people dying from the heat became more frequent.
Authorities launched emergency measures, opening all air-conditioned school auditoriums, gymnasiums, and shopping malls as 24-hour shelters for those without air conditioning, but the number of heat-related deaths continued to climb with the temperature.
Hospitals were overflowing, fires broke out frequently in cities and villages, and the internet was flooded with videos pleading for help.
Ever since the holidays started, I’ve called my parents almost every day to check on their situation. Although they live up in the mountains, the highest temperature in recent days had still reached 40 degrees. When I called them today, I learned they finally turned on the air conditioner.
“Qingqing, don’t worry about us. You must remember to use the air conditioner, don’t worry about the electricity bill, Mom and Dad have money.”
Now it was them urging me to turn it on.
“I’ve got it on, don’t worry.”
I replied.
“Do you have enough to eat? Should we send you some food? Who knows when this disaster will end.”
Mom sounded deeply worried.
“I have plenty, I told you, didn’t I? I stocked up before my vacation, enough for three months, and Property Management delivers groceries every day.”
After the call, I took photos of the contents of my two refrigerators and sent them to my parents.
Because of this severe disaster, I haven’t had much appetite lately and haven’t eaten much. The two refrigerators were only missing some fruits and vegetables; after rearranging them, they still looked full.
Buzz…
Just after I sent the photos, the TV suddenly went black and the whole room fell silent.
I flicked the light switch a few times and confirmed it was a power outage. Thankfully, Xiao Chen from Property Management had warned me earlier, so I wasn’t too worried.
Once the air conditioner stopped, the temperature in the room quickly rose, the air grew stuffy, and every breath felt much hotter.
A few minutes later, I was drenched in sweat. I hurried to grab an ice cream from the fridge, sat on the floor, and waited for the power to come back.
I finished the ice cream, but the electricity still hadn’t returned.
I ate another one.
Still no power.
I started to get restless and was about to use the intercom to call Property Management and ask about the situation…
Ding dong-ding dong-
The doorbell rang.
Peering through the peephole, I saw the man from across the hall, still with those dark circles under his eyes, drenched in sweat, standing at my door.