Janton University was a top-tier private university in Janton, and most of its students were either rich or from powerful families.
And where there was demand, there was supply. The surrounding shopping malls and facilities were all built to the highest standards, fully equipped with anything and everything one could possibly desire. There were even private golf courses, various high-end clubs, and an exclusive, members-only racetrack.
Flora Bloom first went to a large shopping mall that had everything from supermarkets to entertainment venues. To avoid arousing Shelton Underwood's suspicions, she headed to the large supermarket first.
As soon as she entered, she went straight to the baby and infant section.
Diapers of all sizes, formula for every stage, baby bottles, water bottles, small towels, baby clothes for all four seasons, children's toys, writing tablets, and alphabet picture books—all of it went into her shopping cart.
A sharp-eyed employee saw Flora Bloom's determined shopping and thought, 'Whoa, this girl means business.' The employee then pushed two large shopping carts over to her, ready for instructions.
Flora Bloom needed the help, so cart after cart was filled. She bought everything from staples like rice, flour, and vegetables, to meat, eggs, and milk, to snacks and drinks. She even grabbed smaller items like pots, pans, bowls, shampoo, body wash, toothpaste, toothbrushes, and towels. Finally, she stopped, but only because she was drawing too much attention and couldn't possibly fit anything more.
After paying at the supermarket and arranging for paid delivery of her purchases to her apartment, Flora Bloom headed for the clothing section.
Flora Bloom didn't go to the designer or high-fashion stores. She needed to buy clothes for her parents and her younger brother, Joel Bloom, in addition to herself. Instead, she picked a store with reasonable prices but good quality and cleared out their entire stock of clothing for all four seasons. Then, she found a Nike store and bought out their inventory as well.
Feeling the card in her hand practically burn from being swiped at the POS machine, Flora Bloom felt an incredible sense of satisfaction.
'Shelton Underwood should be getting the transaction alerts by now,' she thought.
'Just you wait, Shelton. This is only the beginning.'
Flora Bloom moved quickly through the mall's stores, stocking up on necessary supplies. In between, she called her parents and her brother, telling them in a very serious tone that the apocalypse was coming.
Unfortunately, Flora Bloom's "sweet and simple" image was so deeply ingrained that even her own parents and brother thought she'd gone crazy from watching too many movies or reading too many novels. They laughed it off and hung up.
In the end, Flora Bloom had to resort to throwing a fit on the phone—crying, screaming, the whole nine yards—before her parents finally agreed to do as she asked. They would immediately go to the nearest supermarket to buy some non-perishable food like rice and flour, stock up on water, and then take time off work to stay home.
Flora Bloom told them that if nothing happened after a few hours, she would willingly accept the blame and let them punish her however they saw fit.
Flora Bloom's family wasn't wealthy, but they were happy. Her parents thought her request was ridiculous, but they had always doted on their daughter, so they relented and did as she asked.
'It's only for a few hours,' they figured. 'We'll just play along with our sweet, simple daughter's little game.'
Her brother, Joel Bloom, however, just hung up. Flora Bloom called him three more times, but he didn't pick up.
Flora Bloom frowned.
'That brother of mine has been closer to Belle Bloom since we were kids. He never really liked his 'sweet and simple' older sister. No wonder. Looking back now, the original Flora Bloom really was annoyingly naive.'
With an uneasy heart, Flora Bloom sent a text message to her brother. The message was stern and precise, its sentiment profound and sincere, with clear self-awareness and a lucid analysis of the situation.
She hit send.
'If that little brat still doesn't listen after this, then I don't know what else to do. We're too far apart for me to reach him right now. I can only hope that, just like in my past life, he can survive the first three years of the apocalypse.'
Flora Bloom swept through most of the daily necessity sections in the mall, even buying several solar-powered multifunctional generators. Although the sun would grow weaker ten years into the apocalypse, solar power would still be viable for at least a decade.
Finally, with a smirk, she drove to a car dealership near the university.
"I want your fully-loaded Jeep Wrangler. Do you have one in stock?"
The salesperson had initially dismissed the young woman who walked in. But the moment Flora Bloom spoke, three or four salespeople instantly surrounded her, all vying to explain the features of the high-end off-road vehicle.
Flora Bloom didn't listen to a word they said. All she cared about was that they had one in stock. She casually picked a salesperson she liked the look of, took out her card, and swiped for over two million without a hint of remorse.
She also accepted the dealership's complimentary gifts: an off-road backpack and an umbrella.
Meanwhile, Shelton Underwood was eating in the university cafeteria. Looking at the transaction alerts on his phone, a smug smile spread across his face.
'This woman... we've been together for months, but she never lets me touch her. She's even hesitant about a simple kiss. It's cute and innocent, sure, but after a while, it's gotten so bad I can't even hold my head high in front of my friends.'
'I thought she was a girl with high standards and firm boundaries, but just now, the card I gave her started getting charged.'
As more and more transaction notifications came in, the smile on Shelton Underwood's face widened.
'I don't care how pure and innocent you pretend to be. You've taken my money, so you think you can still refuse to let me touch you? Tonight, I'm going to pin you down and show you just what this young master is capable of.'
However, as the notifications continued to flood his screen, a final charge of 2.4 million made Shelton Underwood's expression change.
His family was rich, but his parents were still strict about his spending as a university student.
The card he had given Flora Bloom was a supplementary card to his own credit card, but the charges were ultimately billed to his father's primary account.
'Two and a half million isn't a huge deal, but if this woman keeps swiping nonstop, who knows? She might bankrupt my family!'
'If my father questions me about this, I won't know how to explain it.'
And so, the usually calm and collected Shelton Underwood frowned for the first time as he picked up his phone and dialed Flora Bloom's number.
But all he got was a busy signal.
He tried again. Still busy.
He called over a dozen times in a row, but the line was always busy.
'Could Flora have lost the card? Knowing how scatterbrained she is, it's definitely possible.'
So, he called Flora's number again. This time, the voice prompt told him the phone was off.
Now Shelton Underwood started to panic. He wasn't worried about his card being maxed out, but about the possibility that Flora Bloom had been kidnapped.
'Will the kidnappers use her to demand a ransom from me?'
Deeply worried, Shelton Underwood ran through a few scenarios in his mind before calling his father for help.
It had to be said that Shelton Underwood was genuinely worried about Flora Bloom at this moment. Although there were rumors that she had betrayed him and cheated, he knew her naive and innocent personality too well. He was completely confident that she would never do anything to wrong him with another man.
Meanwhile, Flora Bloom had just arrived at a wholesale seed store when she discovered that her phone had run out of battery and died, drained by Shelton Underwood's incessant calls.
After picking out all sorts of vegetable seeds and fruit tree saplings, she found that Shelton Underwood's card still worked.
'This idiot still hasn't canceled the card? Well then, I might as well keep using it.'
After directing the seed store employees to load her purchases into the trunk of her new car, Flora Bloom drove off toward her apartment.
'My other purchases should have arrived by now,' she thought.