Our college was surrounded by mountains and was quite remote. The last time my classmates and I headed up to the mountains to train, I found a cave by accident when I got engrossed with the scenery and got separated from the rest.

The cave was cool and spacious, and even had a little pool with spring water flowing into it from a crevice. This was the perfect hiding spot.

After deciding on the hiding spot, I quickly began my plan to hoard provisions. I started by visiting the supermarket nearest to the college and bought most of the bottled water they had in stock. After that, I bought ten boxes each of instant ramen and canned food, as well as several large packs of snacks and chips.

I also purchased large quantities of medical supplies for common illnesses like heat stroke and fever from the drugstore. I had to forgo items such as ice cream due to a lack of proper equipment.

When the store owners questioned my purchase, I told them that there was an upcoming college activity and I had to buy enough for all the students. After that, I borrowed a van from one of the owners to move my purchases to the mountain.

Before I left, I hinted to the owner about the upcoming heatwave. “My parents work in the meteorological bureau, and they warned me about a major heatwave striking in several days. I'm not sure how long it's going to last, but I'd advise you to watch over your provisions and prevent others from robbing you."

He might think I was crazy if I told him the temperature would rise about 100 degrees Fahrenheit. There was no other choice but to save myself first, and that was the best I could do to warn him.

I arrived at the cave soon, and the moment I stepped inside, I could feel the chill in the air and hear the sound of flowing water. I spent half the day sorting out my purchases in the cave, and by the time I was done, it was night.

Initially, I wanted to spend the night inside the cave, but I had nowhere to sleep and no clean clothes to change into. The cave was filled with hard rocks that were not suited for sleeping on. Moreover, I still had five huge boxes of bottled water back in the hostel. What if they found my water and managed to get through the heatwave? The thought of this was worse than getting killed.

There was no other choice but to return the van to the store owner and make a trip back to college. Before I left the store, I thought of something and bought another huge box of items from the store owner.

It was getting dark, and just as I was about to sneak away with my things, Howard suddenly appeared in front of my hostel. "Do you have any idea what time it is? Why are you back so late?" He questioned sullenly.

"We're all adults, and it's not even nine yet. Why are you being such a control freak?" I replied unhappily.

"You're a smart mouth, aren't you? Can't you see I'm just worried for your safety? Besides, you might be sneaking out to do something illegal. I've seen lots of village hicks like you. One look at a glamorous city, and you get seduced like a simpleton," Howard said while looking at me condescendingly.

Even though I was angry, I held back my temper. "You're mistaken, Mr. Enders. I went out to myself to buy a box of bottled water because I'm not used to the water in college." With that, I showed him the box of bottled water in my hand.

"You're pretty dainty for a man, aren't you? What a standard sissy. You probably have problems with an erection too. I'll give you a chance to reinstate your manliness. I'll invite some ladies over for a get-together later. As the only male student present, you should show them what you're made of."

I frowned at the suggestion. "Actually, I'm a little tired. Why don't we do this another day?"

"Another day?! Stop dilly-dallying! All the ladies are waiting for you. Don't you have any team spirit? You never learn, do you?"

Team spirit? The mention of this only enraged me.

Where was his team spirit when I was forced to hand in all of my bottled water in my past lifetime, and ended up so thirsty that my throat cracked, and eventually left burning alive under the sun? However, I had tolerated him this far, and another one or two hours more would not make a difference. I would just have to find a chance to sneak off later.

"Fine. I'll be there." The only thing left to do was to give in to his demand.

Besides Howard, seven other women were not back yet. Even though Howard and Yvette were the ones who left me under the sun to die in the field, none of the other women felt sorry for me, and they watched me dehydrate and die.

Sometimes, one could be an accomplice by being silent, and there was no reason for me to warn them about what was to come.

"Is this the servant you got for us, good-looking? Is one enough for all of us to order around?" One of the women said unhappily.

"What servant?" I questioned moodily.

I was out having supper at this time in my past lifetime. Naturally, I had no idea what Howard was up to.

"Didn't I tell you before? Ladies need to be pampered. If you want to win their hearts, you need to treat them like princesses! I'm teaching you how to get the girl. What are you waiting for? Hurry up and serve these princesses!" Howard yelled at me.

Every woman around us instantly voiced out their agreement.

"Mr. Enders is such a charmer! It's no wonder the ladies love you so much."

"You're what we call a real man! Unlike someone selfish who thinks he's so great!"

"Some men are fakers. They pretend to push women away, yet lust after them secretly, but not Mr. Enders."

I did nothing since I arrived, but every woman rolled their eyes at me, especially my girlfriend, Yvette, who looked at me like I was a failure.

"We live in modern times now, and there are no longer any princesses. We're all equal!" I said while trying my best to hold back my anger.

"Look at yourself. Didn't I say women would find you repulsive? It's a wonder that you managed to find yourself a girlfriend. I bet she still refuses to let you touch her," Howard said gleefully.

All the women around laughed immediately, and Yvette turned red from embarrassment. She turned her face away, refusing to look at me. Their horrible words hurt my ears. "You're an instructor. How can you allow them to speak that way?"

"Come on. Are you mad over a couple of words? You're a man. The woman is always right, and you're wrong. Apologize to the princesses right now!" Howard rolled his eyes, placing the blame on me instead.

I tried hard to suppress my anger. I had to remember not to ruin my plan at this critical moment.

"Fine. If you refuse to apologize, consider using actions to demonstrate your remorse. How about massaging every princess' feet?" Howard said while raising an eyebrow. His suggestion won the cheers of the women.

"That sounds like a great idea! I've had an exhausting day, and I need someone to pamper me."

"But he's Yvette's boyfriend. How can he massage other women when he has a girlfriend?"

"It's fine. We're all Yvette's besties. If he can't treat us well, how could he treat Yvette well?"

All the women started shouting, acting as if they could not wait to tear me apart.

"No! No way!" I threw an upset glance at Yvette, hoping she could help me out of this. Even though she caused my death in my past lifetime, we had grown up together, after all, and we had been together since graduating from high school.

Even if her feelings for me were not deep, there was no way she could tolerate others treating me this way, but Yvette's next words made my heart sink. "Mr. Enders is right, Nathan. You're just a self-absorbed faker who pushes women away when you're really lusting after them."

"What do you mean?" I was shocked.

"Am I wrong? You're the only guy among us, but you refuse to do something simple like serving up drinks to the girls here. What's with the high and mighty attitude? I've never noticed this before, but after chatting with Mr. Enders, I realized you're just the typical guy who tries to brainwash me into giving you babies. Don't you know this is modern times? You have no right to decide what I do with my body!

"That's not your only problem. You're always so possessive of me. All I did was go drinking with a few good friends who happened to be men, and you threw a huge tantrum because of such a small matter. It's my freedom to be friends with whoever I want. Who gave you the right to control me?

"If you still want to marry me, you need to prove yourself by changing your attitude. Only then will I consider talking about marriage with you."

Yvette listed down all my wrongdoings matter-of-factly, and her words made me laugh with anger. Who gave her the confidence to be so full of herself?

"Do you think I want to marry you? Well, we're over!" With that, I turned to leave.

Yvette did not expect me to react this way, and it stunned her.

That was when Howard kicked me to the ground. "What the hell! You're asking for it, you jerk! How dare you hurt a great girl like Yvette? You're too much!"

Yvette snapped out of it when she heard Howard yelling at me. She grabbed me by the shoulders angrily. "How could you say such an awful thing? Don't even dream of ever marrying me! If you dare walk out of here, I won't ever forgive you, even if you knelt at my feet and admitted your mistake!"

"All right!" I patted invisible dust off my shoulder and walked out the door after pushing her away.

"Nathan Sanders!" She screamed at me.

That was when the lights suddenly turned off, and the classroom was in complete darkness. The air-conditioning stopped working, and not long after, the cool air was replaced by burning heat.

"What happened? Why isn't there electricity? It's getting freaking hot! I thought I could get a free massage, but I guess I should go to bed."

"Go to bed? How are you supposed to sleep without air-conditioning? Not to mention as well, there are mosquitoes everywhere."

I grabbed the opportunity to rid myself of Yvette. Just as I was about to leave, Howard turned on a flashlight and blocked my way. "I'll give you a chance to make up to Yvette. Go to her hostel, fan her to sleep, and make sure the mosquitoes don't get her. You should take care of her until she falls asleep."

"What did you say?!" I said in surprise.

"Is there a problem? I'm teaching you how to win your woman's heart! Treat her well, and she'll marry you happily. You should learn from someone experienced like me."

I was about to object when an idea popped into my head. "Fine. I'll do it."

Howard threw Yvette a gleeful, yet sleazy glance. "What do you think, Yvette? I'm pretty good, aren't I?" He looked just like a concubine trying to please her man in a conservative society.

"You should learn from Mr. Enders, Nathan. That's how a man should act, but it's fine. It's good enough that you're making up for your mistakes. Come on, let's go." Yvette held my hand gleefully and walked out with me.

Not long after, I arrived at Yvette's hostel.

"Wow, Yvette, that's impressive. All you need to do is beckon, and you have your boyfriend wrapped around your little finger!" Yvette's roommate said.

I could see Yvette's delighted face as the moonlight shone on her.

"Of course. He might be stubborn about it, but he loves me to death! He can't bear to leave me."

"You're really popular. I noticed how close you are with Mr. Enders as well. You aren't going to marry two husbands, are you?"

Laughter echoed in the hostel. Yvette did not deny it but smiled wider. After that, she gently stroked my face and said, "This is how you should act to be good enough to be my husband, Nathan."

"I know…" I replied softly.

It was not long before everyone in the hostel fell asleep. I quickly got up and glared viciously at Yvette. After today, she would never be attended to by any man.

I started searching her hostel while thinking about this. I packed all their food and drinks for myself and threw away everything that I could not take with me. After I was done, I quickly returned to my hostel to open up my box of bottled water.

This was the big surprise I prepared for everyone. I wanted to see if they could survive the apocalypse with whatever was in the box, which was more than twenty bottles of hot sauce.