Chapter 45

Chapter 45

At night, whenever Cheng Jing and his team patrolled past Huang Qian’s safe house, Xiao Ya would come out with warm steamed buns or stuffed buns for a midnight snack.

The girl was still quiet and shy, handing over the food before scurrying back inside.

So, a group of young, energetic guys picked up a “dutiful little sister.”

Chewing on warm buns as they kept walking, Liao Yu cracked a joke:

“Got ourselves a savior godfather *and* a dutiful daughter—hell, not bad for the apocalypse, huh?”

Even Cheng Jing didn’t mind the comment. People needed to find some fun in the hard times—it gave them something to look forward to.

When there was no real danger, their night patrols were full of weird little moments.

And the most common? X-rated noises.

Sure enough, just after finishing Huang Qian’s building and moving next door, they hit the second floor when moans and rowdy, explicit banter spilled from Unit 1.

From what they knew, that unit was home to three male Supers who teamed up—a few years older than them, two attackers and one support, solid combo.

Lately, every time they passed by, they caught these guys going at it—sometimes with men, sometimes women.

Whether it was a group thing was anyone’s guess.

Tonight was men, and the guys sounded pretty good.

They were used to it by now—every patrol brought a few such scenes.

Zhao Lei and the others even cracked crude jokes about it.

Only Cheng Jing, walking close to Jiang Nian, caught him flinch slightly before quickly heading upstairs.

Cheng Jing said nothing, scratched his nose, and followed. Among them, Jiang Nian was the most shy—hell, even Huang Qian was bolder. He only loosened up one-on-one, which was one of the things Cheng Jing liked best about him.

Jokes aside, nobody actually wanted to listen in. After checking the area with their flashlights and seeing nothing off, they moved up.

The bratty rich kid Liao Yu, catching sight of the two already heading upstairs, stage-whispered:

“Yo, you think Boss Cheng and the Capo are like that too?”

“…”

His words shut everyone up real quick. Five stunned stares bored into him.

Tang Yi coughed nervously:

“Talk shit, get hit…”

Jian Cheng looked back and forth between him and the stairs like he expected Cheng-ge to bust out the AK and light them up any second.

Zhou Rongbin whispered:

“You tryin’ to die, rich boy?”

Only Zhao Lei, the second-in-command, egged it on, grinning.

"Why don't you be the one to ask?"

Liao Yu made a face:

"If I could beat Brother Cheng, I’d definitely ask him a thing or two."

Then he glanced at the others and lowered his voice:

"I don’t believe none of you are curious."

People love gossip naturally—why fake it? They all knew each other so well, yet acted like his question was some outrageous taboo.

"Curiosity doesn’t have to be spoken. Some questions are better left unasked unless you want a beating."

Lu Ningzhou suppressed a laugh and patted his shoulder in a well-meaning warning.

Zhao Lei jumped in:

"Go ask for all of us. Brother Cheng won’t kill anyone."

The others nodded eagerly in agreement:

"Yeah, yeah..."

"Sounds good..."

"......"

Watching his shameless teammates push him toward disaster, Liao Yu made a show of thinking about it before shaking his head:

"Nah, risking my life for curiosity isn’t worth it. I’d rather experience it myself."

The moment he finished, he was met with his teammates’ collective "you just shocked my whole family" stares.

Zhou Rongbin blurted out:

"You... you like men too?"

Liao Yu shrugged:

"Though I’ve never had a serious relationship, I’ll try anything. In this day and age, who cares about gender? Just look at Third Brother next door—he’s been dating outside his species for years. By now, he’s probably checking out zombies..."

Then, he added casually:

"Don’t worry, I usually don’t date within the team, unless I’m really desperate."

Jian Cheng, for some reason, actually seemed to agree with his nonsense:

"Makes sense. Gotta find love while you can. Who knows? A few years into the apocalypse, even zombies might start looking good..."

The moment he finished, the others shot him WTF looks—truly, where there’s a genius, there’s his perfect match.

Lu Ningzhou, standing nearby, reacted far more normally and suddenly said seriously:

"Then I’d better hurry and win over Sister Qian. Strike while the iron’s hot. We’re all teammates, so I’m calling dibs—none of you can steal her..."

He’d liked Huang Qian for a long time but had held back because she’d been in a relationship.

Before the apocalypse, Huang Qian had turned the tables on her abusive ex, breaking his back before breaking up. By now, she’s probably over it.

It's the end of the world, and he wanted to take his chance to avoid regretting it later.

"...You guys are getting crazier by the minute!"

Tang Yi shook his head and turned to go upstairs after saying that, while the others immediately fell silent and followed suit.

Who knew what else they might come up with if the conversation continued.

Zhao Lei, walking last, couldn't help but glance a few more times at the big-mouthed Liao Yu:

Even in the apocalypse, Young Master Liao's temper hadn't toned down much. Thankfully Huang Qian wasn't here, or else this car would've run them over on the spot.

...

The night passed peacefully, and the next day was a day off. It should've been an ordinary, uneventful day, but thanks to Lu Ningzhou taking action to pursue Huang Qian, things became hilariously eventful.

Teammates, including Cheng Jing and Xiao Ya, all supported him, chiming in with suggestions.

Lu Ningzhou's confidence soared. After a week of full-court press, with the whole team egging him on, the relationship worked out just like everyone wanted.

Huang Qian was never one to beat around the bush either. Once she and Lu Ningzhou officially established their relationship, she straight-up asked him to raise kids together.

They were all adults—no point wasting time.

Lu Ningzhou was so overjoyed he almost jumped for joy, promptly moving into Huang Qian's safehouse and successfully getting off the market.

Watching Lu Ningzhou enthusiastically pack his things, Zhao Lei and Liao Yu, his roommates, shared a look.

They were supposed to be brothers who'd survived life-and-death situations together—how could he so shamelessly choose girls over bros?!

Bailing on them the moment he got into a relationship, not even bothering to pay the matchmakers—utterly unreasonable!

"Even divorces come with a waiting period, but you're rushing like this? If Huang Qian kicks you out, don’t expect us to take you back!"

Zhao Lei warned only half kidding while helping him bundle up the bedding—there was a difference between being supportive and being bitter.

Liao Yu chimed in with sarcasm:

"A rare woman like Sister Qian isn’t so easily tamed, kid. You sure you can handle it...?"

"Are you two threatening my boyfriend now?"

Before Lu Ningzhou could respond, Huang Qian and Xiao Ya pushed the door open, the two beauties swiftly helping Lu Ningzhou pack his things.

They got love-bombed, caught completely off guard. In the apocalypse, everything just had to happen right in their faces, huh?!

"...Ah, just some well-meaning advice, haha..."

Zhao Lei retreated to the side, silently accepting this bowl of dog food.

Liao Yu raised his hands in surrender:

"Sister Qian, you’re the boss! Sorry for speaking too loudly earlier!"

While Huang Qian turned away, Lu Ningzhou made a face at them, mouthing, "Suck it, I’ve got backup!"

Infuriated, Zhao Lei and Liao Yu gritted their teeth, itching to give him a good bro-hug turned chokehold, making Xiao Ya cover her mouth to stifle a laugh.

Even after Lu Ningzhou left with Huang Qian, Liao Yu was still seething with jealousy:

They were all equally handsome and dashing—how did Lu Ningzhou get lucky first?

Two less options right under his nose. Once the extreme cold passed, he’d find someone to date too.