Chapter 69: A Kiss

When a person got used to having superpowers but couldn’t use them, it was no different from having a healthy hand yet being unable to use it. It was extremely uncomfortable.

Bai Chen Zhu carried the unconscious Jiang Ye on his back as he climbed the stone steps, stepping carefully on the slippery stones until he reached the rock closest to the shore.

He had always been an office worker. His most common exercise was casually working out at the gym to build some slim muscles. It was only with great difficulty that he awakened his superpowers, but they hadn’t given him a body full of rippling muscles.

Heaven really favored some and discriminated against others.

As a result, after walking a stretch of road, Bai Chen Zhu almost wanted to throw the person on his back into the water, but reason stopped him.

That was Jiang Ye.

Looking out, zombies shambled along the streets, seeking out all food rich in mental power. The shore was lined with elevated bamboo houses, many still bearing signs like ‘XX Boutique Hotel’, ‘XX Inn’, or ‘XX Little Nest’. Ordinary residences were few and far between.

Bai Chen Zhu stood on the stone slab closest to the shore, his eyes already fixed on a building. It had a large sign on the second floor: Riverside Inn.

The name was straightforward enough.

The reason he chose it was that it was the only one with stairs on the outside. From the first floor, one could go straight up a spiral staircase to the second floor. The second-floor balcony had tables and chairs, while a wooden door and huge floor-to-ceiling windows separated the room from the balcony.

Although he couldn’t use mental power, using just a tiny bit probably wouldn’t attract that monster, right?

Bai Chen Zhu hesitated several times before making his decision. He quickly formed a small ball of mental power and tossed it out.

Sure enough, the nearby zombies were drawn over. He seized the moment to go ashore, rushing to the staircase in one breath and heading up to the second floor.

He set Jiang Ye down and kicked hard several times. Cracks spread across the glass until it shattered with a bang, scattering fragments everywhere.

Bai Chen Zhu lowered the arm he had used to shield his head. Several new scratches adorned it.

There was no one inside the room. Bai Chen Zhu jumped in, grabbed a clothes drying pole to use as a weapon, and smashed open the door. There were no zombies outside. He breathed a sigh of relief, found another room, carried Jiang Ye inside, and placed him on the double bed.

That whole sequence of actions had already left him bent over with his hands on his knees, gasping for breath.

His clothes were soaking wet. In his pants pocket, he only had a few pieces of candy he habitually carried and the Alien Race translator he had tossed in yesterday after washing his backpack.

Nothing useful.

Bai Chen Zhu had no choice but to look for clothes and a first aid kit.

By the time he found the dusty first aid kit, treated his and Jiang Ye’s wounds, stripped off Jiang Ye’s wet clothes, and put a simple bathrobe on him, it was already completely dark outside.

Bai Chen Zhu turned on the light and sat in the rocking chair inside to rest. The chair swayed gently as he rested his head against the rattan, gazing at the zombies outside the glass window while pondering what to do next.

Jiang Ye was still unconscious and showed no signs of waking soon. The car was destroyed, and they were a long way from Deer Cry Mountain. He didn’t know how Sister Zhuohua and the others were doing, or if that monster was still in the Ancient City…

Bai Chen Zhu rubbed his temples, realizing that the situation had spiraled out of control.

At that moment, his stomach growled loudly.

Aside from some bread in the morning, he and Jiang Ye hadn’t eaten anything all day.

Without the car, things had suddenly become tricky. Even satisfying basic physiological needs was difficult.

Bai Chen Zhu took the clothes pole and went out, feeling his way down to the first floor. The first floor had a self-service laundry area, kitchen, and lobby, where a pair of zombie couple wandered. Hearing the noise, they came seeking the mental power of the living.

Bai Chen Zhu dodged their fingers at the fastest speed, then smashed their heads in retaliation. Red and white matter splattered everywhere, reeking foully.

He tossed aside the weapon in his hand, covered his nose, stepped over the filth, and rummaged through the snack cabinet. He hugged a pile of instant noodles back to the room.

—

Crunch crunch. The sound filled his ears. Jiang Ye groggily opened his eyes and saw Bai Chen Zhu sitting across from him, cheeks puffed out as he ate something. His hair was disheveled, with wet marks still on his neck.

It looked like he had just taken a shower not long ago.

Crunch crunch.

Jiang Ye moved his hand and felt soreness all over his body, as if a mountain had pressed down on him heavily. He drew in a sharp breath and struggled to sit up. He found himself dressed in the hotel’s standard bathrobe, leaning against the bedside table. He even had the mood to joke, “What are you eating? You look like a hamster.”

Bai Chen Zhu stopped chewing. His dark eyes fixed firmly on him. “You’re awake?”

“I only found instant noodles. I was too hungry to wait for water to boil. Get up and eat some.” He had checked Jiang Ye’s breathing every so often, fearing he might turn into a corpse.

Jiang Ye tilted his head back to look at the ceiling, his attention shifting. “There’s still water and electricity here?”

Bai Chen Zhu expressionlessly bit off a corner of the crispy noodle cake. “The water and electricity systems have a high degree of automation. In theory, as long as there’s no manual intervention or malfunction, they can keep running normally. The Ancient City fell not long ago, so of course there’s still water and electricity.”

Jiang Ye turned his head to look at him and suddenly said, “You really do look like a hamster.”

Bai Chen Zhu: …

Was it because he was eating too loudly?

Jiang Ye laughed twice. “Don’t pull such a long face. Was my joke not funny?”

Bai Chen Zhu took a deep breath and viciously finished the last bite, crumpling the packaging with a crunch. “Jiang Ye, if you keep messing around, your dinner will become my extra snack.”

Jiang Ye immediately stopped laughing. “Don’t!”

He struggled to sit up. There were two packs of instant noodles by the bed. He simply wolfed one down like Bai Chen Zhu had.

Bai Chen Zhu came over and felt his forehead. “Looks like the fever medicine isn’t working.”

Jiang Ye rummaged through the medicine box. “Eating more will make it work.” He tore open the packet and tilted his head back to swallow the pill.

Bai Chen Zhu’s mouth twitched. He snatched the pill from his hand. “Do you want to die? You can’t increase the dosage in the short term!”

“Don’t worry, I won’t die.” Jiang Ye shook his somewhat groggy head and held out his palm to him. “My recovery is strong. A higher dose is fine.”

“Who says it’s fine?”

“I used to eat them like candy.” Jiang Ye put down his hand and leaned back on the bedding with both hands, indifferently saying, “I never had any problems.”

Bai Chen Zhu stared at him for a moment, then stuffed the medicine back into the box and confiscated the whole first aid kit. “That’s because no one was watching you.”

Jiang Ye grinned cheekily. “Hey, that’s right. Now you’ve got me under your watch. I even get to enjoy having a wife for once.”

But Bai Chen Zhu fell silent. He only looked down at him, his eyes shadowed under his messy bangs, his tone hoarse. “Jiang Ye, don’t always say things like that.”

Jiang Ye was in the middle of feeling smug when he heard this and lifted his chin. “You’ve said stuff about me before.”

“Mm.” Bai Chen Zhu murmured, “But you don’t seem to have learned your lesson.”

Jiang Ye hummed a little tune as he looked at him. His sword-like brows pressed down over his eyes, making him look a bit fierce and untamed, as if asking: So what if I haven’t learned?

So cocky.

Bai Chen Zhu set down the medicine box and suddenly knelt on one knee between Jiang Ye’s legs at the edge of the bed. Jiang Ye was just about to pull back when Bai Chen Zhu cupped his face.

“Don’t move.” Bai Chen Zhu commanded.

So Jiang Ye really didn’t move. His dark eyes flickered as they turned. “What are you doing? You’re acting weird.”

Bai Chen Zhu almost laughed from frustration.

Who was acting weird?

He forcibly turned Jiang Ye’s face, making him look up at himself. “Jiang Ye, I originally thought it didn’t matter. We had plenty of time. But now…”

But now, monsters roamed outside, and only this small room held a warm light.

He suddenly felt that life was truly insignificant. He was like a tiny grain of sand in the flow of time, liable to die unknown anywhere.

Or perhaps he had simply fainted from exhaustion, his vision blurred, so at this moment, he inexplicably wanted to act recklessly, ignoring time and place.

He wanted to share all his worries and entanglements with Jiang Ye.

Bai Chen Zhu grabbed his collar and, at the fastest speed, leaned down to brush his lips against Jiang Ye’s in a light kiss, like a dragonfly skimming water.

It was very quick, just skin touching skin. Bai Chen Zhu only felt he had touched something scorching. It probably didn’t even last two seconds.

Yet it was enough to strike Jiang Ye like a critical hit.

What was that? That was a kiss, something humans only did to people they liked. Jiang Ye’s eyes widened. For a moment, his soul seemed to leave his body as he stared blankly at Bai Chen Zhu, who was so close.

What had just happened?

It was a dream, right? It was a dream!

“Y-you-you…”

Bai Chen Zhu let go of his collar and said lightly, “What’s with me?”

“You just kissed me, right?” Jiang Ye immediately grabbed his wrist in return and demanded.

“Mm. Are you going to hit me?” Bai Chen Zhu’s lips curved up. He shook the hand on his wrist and looked at him with a half-smile.

Jiang Ye stared at the smile by his lips, his breath catching. “Don’t you like men?”

That was a funny question.

Bai Chen Zhu tilted his face slightly, pinched his chin with two fingers, and locked eyes with him intently. His gaze reflected Jiang Ye’s shocked and incredulous expression. He countered, “Aren’t you a man?”

“No, I mean…” Jiang Ye didn’t know what to say. He took several deep breaths and finally realized something, stammering, “D-do you like me?”

Bai Chen Zhu paused. He withdrew his hand, his fingers clenching and unclenching. He opened his mouth, then closed it, unable to say those words for a long time.

It felt like once he said them, the last fig leaf would be torn away, exposing him completely to Jiang Ye.

In the end, he gave no answer. He crossed his arms and threw the question back. “You guess.”

Guess? Guess what? Jiang Ye’s heart pounded wildly. His eyes unfocused on the white wall in front of him, his mind a blank.

Seeing him like this, Bai Chen Zhu’s former certainty wavered. He frowned. “Jiang Ye, do you dislike men in general, or just me?”

“Of course it’s…” Jiang Ye grabbed his wrist without thinking.

Bai Chen Zhu’s gaze swept downward. He couldn’t help but curve his lips, full of confidence. “Your hand is faster than your brain.”

Jiang Ye abruptly pulled his hand back, and the smile on Bai Chen Zhu’s face faded.

Jiang Ye suddenly realized his withdrawal looked wrong. “Don’t be mad.”

“Why would I be mad?”

Jiang Ye sneaked a peek at his expression and saw Bai Chen Zhu’s face was indifferent.

This was bad. Alarm bells rang in Jiang Ye’s head.

Seeing Jiang Ye so troubled because of him, Bai Chen Zhu stopped pressing. He simply got up to tidy things.

Busy here and there, he didn’t know what to do. Just sharing a room with Jiang Ye made him feel awkward, but it was dangerous outside.

So he put on a cold face, packed up the medicine box, and went to sweep the floor.

Jiang Ye reached for his broom. “A’Zhu…”

Bai Chen Zhu dodged his hand and said casually, “Since you’re awake, go clean yourself up. You sweated a lot while feverish. You’re starting to smell sour.”

As he said this, he paused. “We’ll talk when you come out.”

In just a few words, they seemed back to their usual dynamic. Jiang Ye frowned. “I don’t want to. I’m so tired. I have no strength.”

He sneaked a glance at Bai Chen Zhu, his mouth running ahead of his brain. “Unless someone helps me wash.”

As soon as he said it, he reacted. After what had just happened, how could he say something like that to Bai Chen Zhu?

Wasn’t that harassment?

Damn mouth! What are you saying!

Too used to banter. Once the words were out, they couldn’t be taken back.

Now it seemed not just the hand—even this guy’s mouth was faster than his brain. Bai Chen Zhu was silent for a moment, looking down at the person who had dug his own pit. “Are you sure?”

Jiang Ye hesitated. “Uh.”

Not so sure now.

“If it’s your request.” Bai Chen Zhu rolled up his sleeves. Jiang Ye had a bad premonition. The next second, Bai Chen Zhu reached out to him.

Bai Chen Zhu’s hand extended toward Jiang Ye’s waist. His stiff forearm ached with soreness. That day, there had been the cliff fall, swimming, carrying Jiang Ye for that stretch, fighting zombies and foraging—even iron would wear out.

For some reason, he thought of the embarrassing scene of accidentally dropping Jiang Ye. He changed direction and directly grabbed Jiang Ye’s two ankles.

With a thud, Jiang Ye fell onto the wooden floor. It didn’t hurt much, just jarred him, making his head spin. Before he could recover, Bai Chen Zhu gripped his ankles and dragged him toward the bathroom, like dragging a corpse. It was simple and rough.

There was no romance or tenderness at all.

“Wait!” Jiang Ye hurriedly clawed at the floor, blurting out, “Is this how you treat someone you like!”

Bai Chen Zhu paused. His face heated up, his expression grew colder, and he used even more strength. “You’re not a girl. Do you want a princess carry or something?”

Resistance was futile. Bai Chen Zhu directly dragged him into the bathroom, hauled him up, and tossed him into the bathtub. He turned on the showerhead, and icy water sprayed down on Jiang Ye’s body.

Jiang Ye shivered from the cold. “Why not turn on the hot water?”

“There’s only cold water.” Bai Chen Zhu half-squatted down, lifted Jiang Ye’s shirt with one hand, and used the showerhead with the other to rinse inside, meticulously scrubbing what was essentially a ‘humanoid object’.

He had truly detached his emotions, pretending that what lay before him was just a hunk of pork.

Yeah, he was just washing pork. Bai Chen Zhu kept hypnotizing himself like this. His movements were efficient, detached, and devoid of desire.

Jiang Ye lay in the bathtub like a dead pig and weakly raised a hand. “A’Zhu, I think I can manage it myself.”

“Didn’t you say you had no strength?”

“I’ve rested a bit now and got some back.” Jiang Ye said with a bitter face.

Bai Chen Zhu glanced at him, a knowing smile tugging at his lips. “No hot water, so make do. Hurry up, or you’ll catch another cold.”

With that, he set down the showerhead, directly stripped off Jiang Ye’s shirt—knowing he’d been plenty considerate—stood up, patted his hands, and awkwardly shuffled out. He even remembered to close the door behind him.

Bai Chen Zhu sat back in his rocking chair. Through the frosted glass of the bathroom door, he vaguely made out a figure—Jiang Ye climbing out of the bathtub. From the posture, he was taking off his pants.

His heart skipped a beat, and he quickly looked away, staring intently at the wall painting above the bed.

He found it amusing to think back on how the two of them had just messed around so chaotically, both dazed and confused, unsure of what they were even doing. But then he sank into thought.

Hmm… Had he just ruined the mood with what he did?

Bai Chen Zhu started regretting it again, running through at least ten alternative reactions he could have had.

For instance, wouldn’t it have been better to just help him up?

The wall painting depicted a seaside at sunset. Staring at it for a while, Bai Chen Zhu was slightly taken aback as his thoughts drifted back to the shores of Luozhou City.

The earlier tension vanished completely. Amid a room surrounded by zombies, he actually felt a rare sense of peace.

It was only in this one room, though.

The room was brightly lit, while outside was pitch black, with strange noises cropping up from time to time. The mutants here weren’t limited to zombies.

The Ancient City’s nightscape, once a dazzling spectacle, now lacked its lanterns and colored lights, swallowed by an unknown darkness.

Bai Chen Zhu realized he’d zoned out again staring into the darkness outside. He yawned. How long was this guy taking to wash?

He gave it a casual thought and understood: Jiang Ye, this guy whose brain was missing a few screws, actually had times when he was scared too…

He got up to boil some water.