A little bit of stubbornness can go a long way, especially when it comes to annoying household rules.

When this house sitter’s stepdad told them not to touch the thermostat, they took those words to heart — right up until the house turned into an icebox.

Read on for this coldhearted tale of petty revenge!

The time my parents told me not to touch the theromostat

A few years back, I was watching my parents’ house while they went out of town.

My stepdad is a decent dude, but they were supposedly having issues with the thermostat.

(I say “supposedly” because my grandmother was also living with them, and the three of them never agreed on temperature.)

This rule really wasn’t up for debate.

When they were getting ready to leave, he told me, “Don’t touch the thermostat.”

I responded with something like, “Well, what if it gets too hot or cold?”

“No, just don’t touch it.”

Got it.

For context, they live in the South, so we usually had (and currently have) the AC running.

But then the weather took an unexpected turn.

Well, lo and behold, a “cold” (nothing crazy) front came through.

I don’t prefer the cold, but I sure do enjoy being in blankets when it’s cold.

So the house sitter continued to follow his instructions to the letter.

So as the temperature dropped, I just added another blanket to my hibernation pile.

But I sure as heck wasn’t going to touch the thermostat.

He made that very clear.

When they returned, they were in for quite a shock.

By the time they got back, the thermostat was at 50 degrees.

When they walked in, they immediately were like, “What the heck? Is the thermostat broken?”

I looked directly at them and said, “I don’t know. You told me not to touch it.”

This house sitter did exactly what they were told!

What did Reddit have to say?

This commenter clearly sees the humor in the situation.

Some people are extremely territorial about their thermostats.

This leads some people to take drastic measures.

Some lessons are best served cold.

If you liked that post, check this one about a guy who got revenge on his condo by making his own Christmas light rules.