Chapter 108

Chapter 108

After walking for another half hour and confirming no zombies were following, everyone finally stopped to drink water and rest.

"Do your feet hurt?" Feng Chen asked Yan Bubu.

Yan Bubu, holding a cup of water, shook his head, "No, they don't hurt. But with the sky still dark, it feels like midnight, and sitting down makes me want to sleep."

Feng Chen said, "We can't sleep now."

"I know, just saying," Yan Bubu yawned, then suddenly thought of something and asked Cai Tao and the others, "Didn't you say you had a car before? Where is it?"

Binunu, who had been slumped against the black lion, suddenly looked over.

Ding Hongsheng touched his head, looking somewhat embarrassed: "Actually, we did have a car, but it got crushed in the avalanche."

Cai Tao added, "And we're not even on the same route now." Seeing Yan Bubu's skeptical face, Binunu bared his teeth in anger, so he quickly added, "But there's not much of the journey left. Just ahead is Jing'an City, and two days past that is the central city."

"Are there going to be zombies all over Jing'an City?"

Cai Tao replied, "No, Jing'an City is a must-pass for anyone traveling from the central city to the south. Ding and I passed through it too, and it's very safe. Even if there were zombies once, they've been completely cleared out."

Ding Hongsheng said, "Just hold on a little longer, we'll soon reach the central city."

In the afternoon, the group entered Jing'an City.

The entire city was deserted, with new green vines climbing over the ruined walls and flood marks on the walls.

"Where did all the people in this city go? Are they still alive?" Yan Bubu quietly asked Feng Chen.

Jing'an City wasn't a major city; before the earthquake, it didn't have underground shelters like Haiyun City. He didn't know how the people here survived the initial high temperatures.

He picked up a half-buried picture frame, wiped the dirt off the glass, and saw a photo inside.

But the photo had faded due to the high temperatures, barely showing any image.

"Some people always find a way to survive, maybe they left for the central city, since it's not too far away," Feng Chen said, looking at a group of wolf-dog-like mutants approaching in the distance, his hand touching the dagger at his waist. "If these wild dogs can survive, surely people can too."

Over a dozen mutated wild dogs darted through the ruins, charging towards the group. Four quantum beasts confronted them, meeting the mutants about a hundred meters away.

Claws clashed and shrill howls filled the air.

With several mutants falling, the rest fled, ending the brief skirmish in less than three minutes.

Dinner was settled within the city.

As the city was a key transit point to and from the central city, it was relatively safe despite some mutants, with no zombies in sight. The houses were well-preserved, so the group split into two neighboring houses for lodging.

Feng Chen circled the room, finding both a kitchen and a bathroom. The showerhead in the bathroom was intact, though there was no water.

The black lion fetched a bucket found in the kitchen and filled it with water from a nearby well. After heating the water, Feng Chen drilled a hole in the bucket and attached the showerhead, creating a makeshift shower.

Yan Bubu cheered in the bathroom, "Wow, I can take a shower!"

"You go shower first, I'll cook."

"Okay."

Although the kitchen's gas stove was no longer functional, they could use their portable Li stone stove and set up a pot on it. Feng Chen felt that cooking in this kitchen, surrounded by cabinets, added to the experience.

After Yan Bubu finished showering and stepped out of the bathroom, Binunu went in, followed by the black lion carrying a bucket of hot water.

"Are you going to shower too, despite the rough conditions?" Yan Bubu asked while drying his hair with a towel. "Quantum beasts don't sweat or shed skin flakes, a quick wipe with a towel should suffice, right?"

Binunu ignored him, and once the black lion entered, shut the door with a bang.

Yan Bubu asked the closed door, "Are both of you taking a shower?"

There was no response from inside the room, just the sound of running water.

Yan Bubu walked to the kitchen, where he saw Feng Chen cooking on a small stove. He topped his head with the towel and hugged Feng Chen's waist from behind, his face pressed against his back stickily, saying, "I want to complain."

"Complain about what?" Feng Chen stirred with a spoon in the pot.

"I'm complaining that Binunu and Sasa are taking a bath together."

Feng Chen chuckled softly, turned around, and took the towel from Yan Bubu's head to dry his hair.

"Gentle, ouch, ouch, be gentle." Yan Bubu swayed from side to side as Feng Chen rubbed.

After removing the towel, Yan Bubu's curly hair puffed up like a bird's nest.

"There's a comb in the luggage bag, go comb your hair."

"Okay."

After combing his hair, Yan Bubu stood at the kitchen doorway watching Feng Chen cook.

Fresh from his shower, his eyes still held a moist glimmer. Dressed in a light grey woolen sweater and pants, his slender and lean figure was outlined, with a stretch of pale neck visible above the collar, looking both beautiful and fragile.

Feng Chen glanced at him, then turned back to focus on the pot, simmering with mutated wild dog meat, and suddenly said, "Don't stand here, go do your homework."

"What?" Yan Bubu was startled.

"You haven't written a word in this time. There's a stone table outside, go and do your homework there," said Feng Chen.

"But I haven't eaten yet, can I do it after dinner, please?" Yan Bubu began to plead, his fingers scratching the door frame, making a creaking sound.

"Dinner will take another twenty minutes. Go solve three problems, and if you don't finish, no dinner for you."

Yan Bubu, not daring to protest but still feeling stifled, scowled and kicked the door frame before turning to get a notebook from his luggage to do his exercises.

Twenty minutes later, Feng Chen finished cooking the wild dog meat and sent some to the two sentries next door via the black lion. Yan Bubu had already finished his homework and was sitting at the stone table, waiting for the meal.

After eating, Feng Chen walked outside. Yan Bubu wanted to ask where he was going but feared being told to continue his homework, so he just stared at him silently.

Feng Chen said, "I'm going to look around the city. Do you want to come, or stay here and do homework? Binunu and Sasa can stay with you."

Yan Bubu was overjoyed and immediately hugged Feng Chen's arm affectionately: "How can I let you wander alone? I'll come with you."

The two, holding hands and carrying a gas lamp, strolled through the city.

Many metal house numbers on the ruined walls were still intact, though faded. Yan Bubu read the barely discernible numbers, imagining stories behind each one.

"45, Tea Soup Alley. The people here must have loved tea, sitting outside their houses every evening to chat and drink tea together."

"Golden Emperor Hotel. Are these the words for 'hotel'? I've seen hotels in movies, they're so tall and grand."

Yan Bubu too had seen hotels in the streets as a child, but those memories were now blurred. He could only glimpse the once-civilized and flourishing human world in old movies and TV shows, striving to recall their real appearance.

When they passed a large, partially collapsed house, Yan Bubu noticed a large metal sign on the ground. He kicked off the dust and brought the gas lamp closer, excitedly saying, "Brother, this is a cinema. A movie theater!"

Feng Chen also bent down to look and surveyed the building: "It's a private mini-theater."

"Let's go in and take a look," Yan Bubu urged, pulling him towards the large house.

The house had no doors or windows left, with some metal frames still neatly arranged inside. Yan Bubu looked curiously downward, realizing those frames were welded to the floor.

"Are these sofas?" asked Yan Bubu.

"Yes, sofas. The leather is torn and the stuffing washed away by the flood, leaving only these frames," Feng Chen said, patting a metal frame beside him. "Most big theaters have single seats, but this small theater only had double-seated sofas for couples."

Yan Bubu, seemingly struck by a thought, murmured, "Couple's sofa..." A glint of light flashed in his eyes, and then he said to Feng Chen, "Brother, I'm tired, and my feet hurt. Let's rest on this sofa for a while."

"How can we sit on a sofa that's just a metal frame? If you want to rest, let's find a rock outside to sit on."

But Yan Bubu objected, "It's not just a frame. Look, there's a cushion."

"That's not a cushion, it's a metal bar."

"Well, it's still sit-able. I don't want to move anymore, let's just rest here for a bit."

Yan Bubu insisted, pulling Feng Chen to sit. Feng Chen had no choice but to sit on the row of metal bars, placing the gas lamp on the ground beside them.

"Actually, it's quite comfortable, haha, a couple's sofa." Yan Bubu hugged Feng Chen's arm, looking around, "Did couples use to sit here and watch movies?"

"Yes," Feng Chen replied.

"Do you know what movies they watched?" Yan Bubu's gaze drifted.

Feng Chen seemed distracted, replying casually, "Probably documentaries about the Arctic."

"No, that's not it." Yan Bubu suddenly leaned closer, whispering in his ear, "They were watching secret romances."

Feng Chen didn't respond, just stretched his legs and leaned back against the metal bars of the sofa, silently staring at where the screen once was.

Yan Bubu rested his head on Feng Chen's shoulder and whispered, "Brother, the day I ate those poisonous mushrooms and later told you I forgot what happened, I actually remember some of it."

Feng Chen remained silent, and Yan Bubu chuckled to himself, "I remember singing while the black lion carried me back... Flowers blooming on the hillside, clouds flowing into a small river—"

"If you want to talk, just talk. Don't start singing in the middle of it," Feng Chen interrupted.

Yan Bubu stopped singing, "I just wanted to tell you that I remember a lot about what happened that day."

"Hmm, then you have a great memory," Feng Chen said, tapping his fingers lightly on his knee.

Yan Bubu's voice became even softer, almost a whisper, "I remember I told you what love is..."

Yan Bubu didn't continue, just observing Feng Chen's expression.

Feng Chen slowly turned his head, "Yan Bubu, I've been feeling that something about you is off lately."

"Off? How am I off?" Yan Bubu asked.

"Let me think, when did this oddness start?" Feng Chen pondered with narrowed eyes, "…It started when we were preparing to go to the central city. What are you thinking about? Tell me, what have you been thinking about these days?"

Feng Chen's gaze was piercing, making Yan Bubu suddenly feel guilty. His voice wavered as he said, "I just want to be with you, that's all…"

"Be with me how? What are you thinking? Tell me clearly," Feng Chen crossed his arms, "Sit up properly first. Don’t slouch like that, sit up straight."

Yan Bubu then sat properly, hands on his knees, back straight.

"Alright, go ahead, I'm listening." Feng Chen put his feet down and assumed a posture of serious attention.

"Then I'll start…" Yan Bubu cleared his throat, still a bit embarrassed, and began in a low voice, "Well, there's this wonderful feeling in the world, and that is love—"

Feng Chen gestured for a pause, "Wait a minute." He stood up to fix a bent metal bar, then sat back down and said, "Continue."

"Ah? Oh, okay, continuing…" Yan Bubu hesitantly asked, "Where was I?"

"A wonderful feeling in the world."

"There's a wonderful feeling in the world called love." Under Feng Chen's gaze, Yan Bubu stammered through his confession, "The books say, when two people are in love, they want to be together all the time, forever—"

"You've read that part before, keep going," Feng Chen interrupted him again, his tone like an emotionless examiner.

Yan Bubu, sitting with Feng Chen on the couple's seat, wanted to seize this opportunity to pour out his heart, but the situation wasn't unfolding as he had imagined.

Yet, committed to his course, he braved on, "The wind blows from the sea, that's my love speaking to you."

Feng Chen just watched Yan Bubu calmly.

His back was to the gas lamp, with light casting over him from behind, plunging his face into shadow but sharply outlining his features.

Yan Bubu, under his gaze, started to falter in his previously well-rehearsed words, "Raindrops brushing past your ears, that's me, it's me kissing your hair."

"Where did you learn these awkward lines of poetry?" Feng Chen asked.

Yan Bubu paused for a moment, then quietly replied, "On the sixth floor, there's a room with a book in the bedside drawer."

"No need for preambles, just say what you mean."

"Just, just say it? Isn't that too direct?"

"It's fine."

Yan Bubu nervously said, "So, should I just say it?"

"Yes, go ahead."

Yan Bubu hesitated, "Can we turn off the gas lamp first, so I can say it in the dark?"

"You can just close your eyes for darkness."

“……”

Yan Bubu took a deep breath and gathered courage, "Brother, I want to marry you and kiss you. First a kiss, and once we've kissed and fallen in love, we'll get married right away."

Feng Chen, unfazed by the statement, calmly asked, "So you still believe that kissing is what constitutes love?"

"Then, what else could it be? Just a kiss for nothing? There has to be love," Yan Bubu said, then used the back of his hand to wipe his mouth, getting ready in advance.

Feng Chen glanced at his action, his eyebrows twitching slightly, but maintained a calm tone, "Yan Bubu, do you think that once I go to the central city, I'll be with someone else? Find someone else to marry?"

As soon as these words were uttered, Yan Bubu's expression changed, slowly lowering his hand, he asked, "Would you do that?"

"What do you think?" Feng Chen asked indifferently.

Yan Bubu pondered for a moment, then tentatively asked, "Does that mean you would?"

Feng Chen repeated, "What do you think?"

Yan Bubu, as if bitten on the behind, sprang up from the metal bars, his face flushed as he exclaimed, "You're not allowed to be with anyone else! No matter how many people there are in the central city, you can't fancy anyone else and marry them!"

The ruins of the cinema were quiet, with the light from the gas lamp flickering slightly.

Feng Chen looked steadily at Yan Bubu, his expression and gaze somewhat stern, but Yan Bubu met his eyes without backing down.

After a moment, Feng Chen sighed, his expression softening, "Yan Bubu, I always tell you not to watch all that nonsense, but you never listen."

"This has nothing to do with those things. Just tell me, with so many attractive people in the central city, will you end up marrying someone and living with them?" Yan Bubu pressed, his voice tense with barely concealed nervousness.

Feng Chen tugged at him, "Sit down first."

Yan Bubu sat down but turned his head to look aside.

Feng Chen pinched his chin, turning his face back to him, and said seriously, "Yan Bubu, reality is not a movie. I am a real person, not a character in a movie. Don't apply those implausible plots to me, understand?"

Yan Bubu stared at Feng Chen, his eyes slightly reddening, "Then will we always be together?"

"As long as you want, we will always be together." Feng Chen released his chin, placing his hand on Yan Bubu's soft hair and gently ruffling it.

"We're just a kiss away from being in love," Yan Bubu sniffled.

Feng Chen said, "You don't understand yet. When you're older, you'll realize what true love really is."

"But I want to marry you."

"You just want to monopolize me, to keep me away from others."

"Would you get close to someone else?"

Feng Chen replied, "Whether or not I get close to others, Yan Bubu, you can't achieve your goals in this way."

Yan Bubu remained silent, his eyes filled with apprehension. Feng Chen sighed inwardly and pulled him into an embrace, patting him, "Are you still worried I might leave you?"

Yan Bubu wrapped his arms around Feng Chen's waist, "I'm not worried; I know you won't abandon me. I just don't want someone else to appear by your side. I just want you, and Sa Sa, and Bi Nunu."

"Okay, just you and me, and Sa Sa and Bi Nunu," Feng Chen gently affirmed.

Yan Bubu buried his face in Feng Chen's embrace, "Really? Just thinking of you with someone else sets my heart ablaze, it's unbearable, like I'm dying."

"Nonsense."

"Answer me quickly, is it true?" Yan Bubu shook Feng Chen's body.

Feng Chen replied, "It's true."

Yan Bubu, still burying her face in his embrace, slowly revealed a smile at the sound of his certain reply.

Feng Chen sighed helplessly, "We haven't even reached the central city yet, and here you are thinking about all this. I really wonder what goes on in your head usually."

"It's all about you, only you," Yan Bubu joyfully thought, beginning to speak sweet nothings.

Feng Chen pushed him away, warning, "Hey, cut it out with the cheesiness. It's too much."

"I'll be cheesy, I'll be clingy, I'll cling to you until you can't take it anymore." Yan Bubu wrapped his arms around his waist, not letting go, and in a pinched voice said, "My lord, I like you so much. I want to serve you for a lifetime, be your quantum beast. I'll bring you tea, massage your legs, rub your shoulders, and make sure every single one of your toes is perfectly massaged."