Chapter 10

Chapter 10

That night, Huang Qian, who had smoothly completed the assigned task, sent Cheng Jing a message:

"Jiang Nian is hoarding supplies like a hamster—he’s in high spirits and enjoying himself while shopping, but he looks like some kind of weirdo."

She then sent him two sets of photos. One showed the entrance to Jiang Nian’s rented apartment, with three layers of reinforced steel walls gleaming.

For those in the security industry, such modifications were nothing unusual—this was unmistakably a safe house, and it even looked sturdier than the ones they designed.

The other set showed Jiang Nian wearing a mask and changing outfits as he shopped for or picked up items from various courier stations, supermarkets, and shopping malls.

There was nothing wrong with modifying a house, nor with changing outfits multiple times a day while shopping. Wearing a mask in summer to stay anonymous wasn’t odd either.

But when all these things happened together, it looked seriously suspicious—it seemed like he was involved in something shady or secretive.

Although his instincts told him Jiang Nian’s behavior was unusual, Cheng Jing chose to believe the person he loved wouldn’t do anything illegal. So he called Huang Qian and gave her specific instructions:

"Huang Qian, don’t tell anyone about this. Make sure no one finds out. If necessary, help cover for him if needed. I’ll handle it when I get back."

Before reconciling with Jiang Nian and leaving on this business trip, he had already confided in Huang Qian. Having someone trustworthy keep an eye on Jiang Nian gave him peace of mind.

Dropping her usual flippant tone, Huang Qian replied seriously:

"Don’t worry, I get it. But you’d better come back soon and tell me why he’s hoarding supplies. I’m so curious I could burst. Reuniting after two years just to spend your money hoarding like a hamster is beyond weird."

"Mhm."

Cheng Jing didn’t elaborate further. He hung up and fell deep in thought.

He knew Jiang Nian well—he liked to joke around sometimes, but he wasn’t reckless.

Ever since that phone call when Jiang Nian said he was coming to see him, he’d been acting a little off—constantly sticking close, refusing to stay in a hotel, insisting on renting a place next door even after misunderstanding his relationship with Yang Kai. After they reconciled, he still insisted on renting, and then turned it into a safe house…

As much as he liked Jiang Nian chasing him again, that didn’t mean he couldn’t see the red flags.

Jiang Nian seemed… seriously lacking in security.

Wait—security!

Cheng Jing suddenly remembered that Jiang Nian had mentioned having nightmares ever since his mother passed away. He’d brought it up a few times…

He had initially thought it was just grief from losing a loved one, but now it seemed deeper than that.

"…"

In just a few seconds, worry flooded him. Cheng Jing pulled out his phone and called Jiang Nian, then hung up and switched to a video call instead.

If Jiang Nian was scared enough to build a safe house and hoard supplies, it couldn’t just be simple nightmares!

He’d been way too careless.

Was Jiang Nian being targeted by someone or some organization and too afraid to tell him? Just like last time, when he unilaterally ended their relationship—always trying to handle everything alone!

The video connected quickly. The screen shook as the phone was propped up. Jiang Nian was sitting at the hotel table eating crayfish and fried skewers. Once the phone was steady, he put on a fresh pair of disposable gloves, picked up a crayfish, and waved at him:

"Brother Jing, grabbing a late-night snack..."

Seeing him with his lips red from spicy food, Cheng Jing relaxed at once.

"I thought you were asleep."

"Nope, just having a midnight snack and shopping online..."

Jiang Nian sucked the shrimp head, his voice muffled as he skillfully shelled the shrimp.

Cheng Jing gave a fond smile and asked,

"Have you been sleeping well these days? Still having nightmares?"

"..."

Jiang Nian was about to automatically say "fine," but then changed his mind and shook his head.

"Not really. The dreams are becoming more vivid and scarier. Sometimes when I wake up, I can hardly tell what's real and what's a dream..."

The safehouse was already packed with supplies, and there was no way to hide it when Cheng Jing returned. He had to prepare him as much as possible.

Cheng Jing frowned.

"Can you tell me more about these nightmares? What exactly are they about?"

This sounded bad.

"Of course. I’ve been meaning to tell you for a while, but I was afraid you wouldn’t listen..."

Jiang Nian immediately set down the crayfish, took off his gloves, wiped his mouth, sat up stiffly, face serious, even tilting his phone for a better angle.

Cheng Jing nodded worriedly.

"My bad. Go ahead—I'm all ears."

"Brother Jing."

Jiang Nian hesitated before speaking.

"This might sound nuts—maybe even like I've totally lost it. But I hope you’ll at least believe that I’m not sick. If what I say doesn’t happen when the time comes, then I’ll go see a doctor afterward. Okay?"

Cheng Jing nodded seriously.

"Okay. Tell me—I believe you."

Jiang Nian took a deep breath, collecting himself before explaining:

"Ever since my mom passed away, I’ve been having recurring nightmares about the end of the world. Straight out of a horror movie—natural disasters, viruses, zombies... And these dreams come with exact dates."

"I dreamed that this drought will end by the end of the month, followed by a terrifying toxic rain. Anyone caught in it dies from some mystery virus and then comes back to life as a zombie."

"The zombies move on pure instinct, attacking the living, and those injured by them also get infected and mutate. Then, in the chaos of all this, some folks develop superpowers... Total nightmare fuel. I’m terrified... I didn’t dare tell anyone."

After finishing, Jiang Nian exhaled deeply, studying Cheng Jing’s face, half-expecting him to laugh or accuse him of delusions—even if it totally sounded like that.

But Cheng Jing didn’t. Instead, his face was dead serious, clearly taking it in—whether out of trust and respect for his partner or not, it was enough.

After a long pause, Cheng Jing asked,

"The drought will end by the end of the month?"

So it wasn’t about being targeted by some enemy or organization—just nightmares. But dreams this specific felt too real. And that was rare.

However, he had also heard some related reports that before major events occurred, some more sensitive individuals would indeed have warning signs.

Jiang Nian nodded:

"That's right. Around the 27th, there will be poisonous rain carrying a fatal virus. After the rain, zombies will emerge and the apocalypse hits—that’s the gist of it. I think any major disaster has its signs, so as the dreams became more realistic, I wanted to take some precautions."

Cheng Jing’s expression flickered:

"Precautions? Like buying things, stockpiling supplies?"

A safe house, stockpiling supplies—it really sounded like those doomsday prepper manuals. It was too absurd.

"Yes."

Jiang Nian nodded, then after a moment of thought, decided to be straightforward:

"I even turned the apartment into a safe house and put all the stuff I bought these days inside. I didn’t dare tell you the truth because I wanted to ask forgiveness later. Anyway, by the time you came back, you were mostly done shopping. If nothing happens, we can just donate the supplies to poor rural areas or something. It won’t go to waste."

"Smart."

Cheng Jing praised him—it was a great solution, a win-win that put his money to good use.

Jiang Nian continued:

"If a real disaster happens, we won’t have to worry about supplies while waiting for rescue... In my dream, I saw myself dying from a zombie bite in the end because I ran out of supplies. You were fine, but you didn’t make it in time..."

Seeing Cheng Jing’s grim expression, he quickly added:

"Brother Jing, I’m not lying. This is also why I persisted stubbornly to come find you before... If the world really ends, it’d be too heartbreaking not to reconcile with you."

A tragedy like that from his past life wouldn’t happen again, but the thought still hurt him.

Cheng Jing scrubbed his face with both hands, took a deep breath, and said:

"It won’t happen. No matter what, we’ll stay together. There won’t be any ‘too late’ situations—I promise!"

If the world really ended, he would stay by Jiang Nian’s side no matter what.

"I believe you, Brother Jing."

Jiang Nian smiled, then asked:

"Then, Brother Jing, do you believe me?"

Cheng Jing smiled and nodded:

"Whether it’s just a nightmare or a real sign of disaster, we’ll find out soon enough. I believe you. If nothing happens, we’ll donate the supplies you bought and get you checked at the best hospital, but you mustn’t tell anyone else about this!"

Jiang Nian nodded eagerly:

"Of course, I know. I only trust you, Brother Jing."

If he really was sick, and everything he remembered from his past life was just a nightmare, that would be a blessing.

Once they hung up, Jiang Nian continued eating his midnight snack as he browsed online stores. Cheng Jing told him to buy whatever he wanted—money wasn’t an issue.

Well, in that case, he wasn't about to hold back!

Now that he had support, he’d buy more. By the time Cheng Jing returned, the weather reports should be out, and they could figure things out then.