The Apocalypse Took Everything, This Time I Hoard It All First
Chapter 3: Going Home

Chapter 3: Chapter 3: Going Home

Her shoulders were still heaving violently as tears streamed down her chin and onto her collar. Her voice was choked with quiet sobs, each sentence breaking into breathy, intermittent sounds, still thick with the sound of crying.

After hanging up, she did a final sweep of the house, upstairs and downstairs, to make sure she hadn’t left anything behind. Then, with a thought, she sorted the items on the grassy field in her space and moved them to the area behind the yard.

She took one last look around the home she once thought she would live in for the rest of her life, then turned and walked out the door.

She pressed the elevator button, and the car quickly ascended. Her building had one elevator per household, so even at 8 AM, she didn’t have to wait long.

She went straight down to the garage on the B1 level, got in her car, and started it. Her first stop was the real estate agent, Sister King. Sister King had helped her buy this apartment, so Luna figured she’d be the best person to help her sell it quickly.

It was late August in Southen, still during the summer vacation. By 8 AM, the sun was already scorching.

The roads were filled with morning commuters. Half an hour later, she arrived at the real estate agency. Sister King and a few of her colleagues were comfortably chatting in the air-conditioned office.

Luna Dawson pushed the door open. Hearing the noise, Sister King turned and saw her. "Miss Dawson? What brings you here?" She quickly stood up to greet her and pour her a glass of water.

"Miss Dawson, are you looking to purchase another property?" Sister King asked with a smile.

Sister King was in her forties, about the same age as Luna’s mother, which made Luna feel a sense of warmth when talking to her.

"I want to sell my apartment. Sister King, I’ve sent the pictures of the property to your phone. I sent the door code as well. You can show it to potential buyers anytime."

Luna Dawson said this while taking the property deed out of her bag to photograph it. "Also, I’m in a hurry to sell. I’m willing to go 500,000 below market price. It’s newly renovated, just two years old, and comes with two deeded parking spaces."

"So suddenly? That duplex is truly beautiful. Shouldn’t you talk to your mother about it?" Sister King was puzzled why she was in such a rush to sell after living there for only a year, but she was tactful enough not to pry.

"I just spoke with my mother," Luna Dawson said calmly. "I also need to rent a very large warehouse with cold storage for half a year, preferably near the farmers’ market. Do you have any listings?"

"Yes, yes! There are many in the logistics park near the farmers’ market, all sizes. Let me show you the information." Sister King inwardly rejoiced at the new business and happily started showing Luna the options.

Luna Dawson settled on a 10,000-square-meter warehouse. She decisively signed the contract on the spot and paid six months’ rent in one lump sum.

Immediately after, she got back in her car without a moment’s rest and set off to sell her gold.

"My surname is Dawson. I have a 10 o’clock appointment with your Mr. Palmer," she said to the young lady at the front desk upon entering the company.

"Of course. Please follow me." The pretty receptionist led the way.

By a stroke of luck, she had met Wayne Palmer while browsing a new-energy vehicle expo, thinking of buying a car for her brother. He worked in a related industry, and they had even discussed some promotional collaborations before.

Figuring his factory would need gold as a raw material, she had already settled most of the details with him over the phone while driving.

After arriving at his company and signing the contract, she successfully sold nine kilograms of gold. Seeing the 8.3 million yuan deposited into her bank account, Luna Dawson couldn’t help but grin, her eyes crinkling with joy.

With those two tasks completed, Luna Dawson drove for nearly an hour, heading straight for the old house in the countryside.

After getting off the highway, she bought lots of fruit from the villagers selling by the roadside orchards. She stuffed it all into her car, and whenever it was full, she moved everything into her space.

Luckily, she drove an SUV. She had chosen this vehicle precisely because it was big and safe enough to fit her cats and dogs, and her whole family.

’I must have been terrified of starving in my past life!’ Now, whenever she saw food on the road, she couldn’t resist buying it all up. She had filled the trunk and back seat several times over.

The car drove along the familiar country road. The three-story house gradually came into view, its blue tiles and white walls glowing softly in the sunlight, looking exactly as she remembered.

The bamboo fence outside the courtyard was covered in morning glories. Their pink and purple petals, adorned by the midday sun, swayed gently in the breeze, releasing a faint floral scent into the hot air.

After parking the car, she pushed open the small courtyard’s wooden gate. On the second-floor balcony, freshly washed bedsheets were hanging out to dry, fluttering in the wind and carrying the clean scent of her mom’s favorite old-brand laundry detergent.

She pushed the main door open and entered. In the living room, the old mahogany sofa had been polished smooth by the passage of time.

Approaching the stairs, she looked at the picture frame on the landing. The family portrait had yellowed slightly with age, but it was still clear.

Then, a familiar sour aroma hit her nostrils—the smell of her mother’s pickling jars.

Her long-held yearning and recent frantic efforts all melted into scalding tears. Her fingertips traced over the familiar furniture, her heart filled with the overwhelming joy of having it all back after losing it.

She was home!

"Mom! *Sob*... Miles! I’m home! *Waaaah*..." Luna Dawson’s choked voice echoed through the living room.

Rosalind Dawson walked in just in time to see her daughter wiping her eyes. She quickly placed the freshly picked longans on the coffee table.

Luna Dawson turned to see her mother, and it felt as if a lifetime had passed. She ripped off her glasses and dove into her mother’s arms.

She buried her face in her mother’s warm embrace, feeling the familiar yet strange heartbeat and body heat. Her tears flowed even more fiercely, soaking her mother’s apron.

All the grievances she had suffered over the years, all the late-night longing, dissolved into silent sobs.

"What’s wrong? Who bullied my darling Luna? You were fine when you visited last week. What happened?"

Rosalind Dawson gently patted Luna’s back, her tone then shifting to an anxious shout directed at the second floor.

"Miles Dawson... you get your butt down here! Your sister’s been crying her eyes out! Are you still in your room playing games?! Three... two..."

Her mother’s furious roar exploded next to Luna’s ear, making her hiccup a few times through her sobs.

"Coming, Your Majesty! Sis, I’m coming, I’m coming..."

Luna was still whimpering in her mother’s arms when she heard steady footsteps on the stairs, accompanied by that familiar yet distant, cheerful voice.

She snapped her head up and met a pair of bright eyes.

The young man before her had long since shed his boyishness. He was tall and straight, his figure overlapping with the fuzzy image in her memory. His broad shoulders and narrow waist gave him a sharp, handsome aura.

His sun-kissed, wheat-colored skin made his features look even more chiseled and defined.

His sharp eyebrows slanted up towards his temples, his nose was high and straight, and his jawline was well-defined. When he smiled, the corners of his mouth lifted into a slight curve, revealing a single canine tooth that gave him a lingering, youthful vitality.

"Miles..."

She froze for a moment. Tears were still on her cheeks, but the corners of her mouth turned up uncontrollably.

Pent-up longing and surprise flooded her entire being. She walked forward quickly, raising a hand to touch his face.

As her fingertips touched his warm, slightly rough skin, she was struck by the realization that the little tagalong who used to always follow her around had grown into a man who could shelter her from the storm.

"Sis, what’s wrong with you? Huh? Where are Rollo and Little Tiger?" Miles looked out into the yard, puzzled. Suddenly, his brow furrowed, and he anxiously started to walk outside, saying, "Ah... Don’t tell me Rollo ran off?!"

Luna paused, then quickly grabbed her brother’s arm. "No, that’s not it. Come back inside first." As she spoke, she firmly closed the half-open door.

She had her mother and brother sit on the sofa, her expression solemn as she looked at her family. After much thought, she decided it was best to tell them sooner rather than later so they could all prepare together.

"Mom, Miles, I have something very important to tell you!"

The two of them didn’t know why she was being so tearful and serious today, a complete contrast to her usual cheerful and lively self. They exchanged a look, then numbly nodded in unison.