Chapter 88

Chapter 88

"..."

Cheng Jing hesitated for a few seconds but held back:

"It's late, and we have to get up early tomorrow... Besides, Liang Yunhao is coming in the afternoon, and we’ll be busy hosting him. You’ll be worn out."

"Alright, stay still then."

Jiang Nian leaned in to kiss his cheek before pushing him back against the headboard.

Their eyes met, an unspoken understanding passing between them.

"Mmm... okay."

Cheng Jing’s voice was low—pushing back now would’ve been rude.

Light, scattered kisses trailed from his chin and throat downward.

Cheng Jing’s breathing grew heavier. He tilted his head back, eyes briefly closing, his fingers threading through Jiang Nian’s soft hair before pressing down gently.

When they first got together, he’d feigned restraint, afraid of scaring him off, always playing hard to get whenever things heated up.

Jiang Nian, loved to tease him, often took the lead—he loved it.

...

The next morning, Cheng Jing didn’t leave on time. Instead, he got up to cook breakfast and ate with Jiang Nian.

Thanks to Xia Weiwei and Liang Yunhao, he got a pass on reporting to the command center punctually. With Zhou Li and Yang Kai around now, they cut him even more slack.

After breakfast, he prepared a medicinal brew for Jiang Nian:

"Here, drink this. It’ll soothe your throat. Lay off snacks and spicy stuff today. If you go out, come back early. Take another dose at noon, and we’ll make dinner after Huang Qian and I get off work."

"Got it..."

Jiang Nian’s voice was hoarse, his throat on fire. He’d just finished pickle-topped porridge and two slices of whole wheat bread, leaving his mouth craving flavor.

Normally, he’d start snacking right after breakfast—but not today.

His throat hurt, sore from being... well, no prizes for guessing why. They’d been around the block, and he had himself to blame too.

"This is so bitter. What kind of medicine is this bitter?..."

Jiang Nian took a sip of the brown liquid, his face twisting at the icy, bitter taste—looking like herbal tea but tasting like bitter poison.

Unlike the usual remedies he bought, this one was something Jing-ge had scrounged up from god-knows-where.

Cheng Jing chuckled:

"Ordinary medicine isn’t this effective. Suck it up—it’ll pass. Drink up."

Jiang Nian took another sip, glaring at him:

"I’d rather take another round. Now I’m snack-banned... And milk’s off the menu for a week."

"Ahem... yeah, my fault."

Cheng Jing's face flushed, and he lowered his head in embarrassment, covering his forehead. He blamed himself for getting carried away and not holding back.

"..."

Jiang Nian held the cup in one hand and propped his chin with the other, watching the blushing man until Cheng Jing’s neck turned red. Unable to hold back, he burst into laughter:

"Pfft—HA! Alright, Brother Jing, get to work already! I’ll finish this and have another cup at noon."

"..."

After a while, seeing Cheng Jing still unmoving, Jiang Nian had no choice but to pull him up and push him out the door:

"Get to work already! You’re acting like I was the one who lost control like you did last night!"

With that, he shut the door on his boyfriend’s puppy-dog ‘let me defend myself’ face.

Teasing his boyfriend first thing in the morning was so satisfying!

But then again, what kinda weird quirk was it for Brother Jing to get shy afterward? Ugh, guess I’m the shameless one here, huh?

...

Because of his scratchy throat, Jiang Nian had a rather "meh" day—mostly because he wanted to recover quickly and couldn’t indulge. Whenever he craved something, he just drank water, knowing he’d suffer otherwise.

So, after returning from his errands, he busied himself with his little balcony "mighty" garden.

The vegetable sprouts were growing well and ready for fertilizing. They looked no different from crops from before the apocalypse and would be ready to harvest in a week.

Once he confirmed that the vegetables grown in his purified soil were safe, he could try using his superpower to speed up their growth.

When their grocery store opened, fresh greens would be on tap—maybe even enough to sell.

"..."

Liang Yunhao returned in the afternoon with Cheng Jing and their teammates.

Jiang Nian had seen Liang Yunhao in Cheng Jing’s military group photos, and they’d often talked about him, so meeting him wasn’t a total stranger.

Like attracts like, they say. Though Jiang Nian wasn’t entirely comfortable with Liang Yunhao’s gossipy once-over, he had a good impression of him.

Especially when Liang Yunhao secretly shared stories about Brother Jing’s dramatic ex-boyfriend antics back in the military—making Jiang Nian feel equal parts heartache and smug satisfaction.

So yeah, he and Brother Jing were clearly meant to be. For the freaking umpteenth time, he was glad he’d gone back for him.

"Thank god you came back for him. I was worried he’d go down the wrong path otherwise," Liang Yunhao teased, though he meant it. After leaving the military, under the double whammy of pressures from studies and work, Cheng Jing had occasionally gotten drunk and entertained dangerous thoughts—like seriously asking,

*Asking for a friend*: How many years do you get for kidnapping an ex?

It had scared Liang Yunhao so much that he specifically told Zhao Lei and Huang Qian to keep an eye on him, afraid Cheng Jing might actually use his position to ambush someone at a university.

Jiang Nian chuckled lightly.

"No way. Brother Jing’s moral compass points straight to Boy Scout. He wouldn’t stray."

Without him, Brother Jing might be sad, might be unhappy—but he’d never go dark side.

"..."

After a dinner no different from usual, Liang Yunhao bid them farewell as night fell.

He made a last-minute decision to depart for the S Base that very evening.

Cheng Jing invited Jiang Nian to accompany him in seeing Liang Yunhao off at the landing field near the research institute in the central district.

Only then did Jiang Nian realize that Liang Yunhao and his team had arrived by plane. It had to be said, having government connections sure had its perks.

Liang Yunhao left overnight, with Yang Kai, Zhou Li, and Xia Weiwei coming to see him off, so they all got a proper look at each other.

Xia Weiwei started chatting up Cheng Jing and Jiang Nian. Due to others being present, Cheng Jing just gave her the coldest nod before Jiang Nian pulled him aside.

Those unaware of the true circumstances vaguely sensed that Jiang Nian's attitude toward Xia Weiwei wasn't just ordinary resentment—it seemed somewhat excessive, but no one commented further.

As the roar of the plane grew distant and eventually faded into the night, Jiang Nian merely nodded at Zhou Li and Yang Kai before yanking Cheng Jing into the car and driving off.

"..."

Xia Weiwei was left fuming but had to keep up appearances, clenching her jaw while forcing a dignified demeanor as she walked toward another parked car.

Had no one been around, she would've used her powers to choke Jiang Nian and lift her up!

She had already vented to Chen Yue, her boyfriend, about Jiang Nian's hostile attitude, but Chen Yue insisted they had never wronged Jiang Nian.

Before the apocalypse, Jiang Nian had quarreled with Chen's father after her mother's death, repaid the 20k loan, and then blocked everyone.

She also discovered that Jiang Nian had broken up with Cheng Jing two years prior and only sought reconciliation after her mother's death left her penniless before the toxic rain.

The real kicker was that their breakup happened because Jiang Nian dumped Cheng Jing when he enlisted. Later, upon learning of Cheng Jing's success, Jiang Nian came crawling back like a damn hypocrite.

This only confirmed what a small-minded, pathetic loser would do—no wonder he took out his petty baggage on her.

But this made it even harder to persuade Cheng Jing through Jiang Nian.

Who could understand why a catch like Cheng Jing would be infatuated with such gold-digging trash?

Once Chen Yue and the others arrived, if persuasion failed, she might as well let that ungrateful bastard die.

A powerless nobody didn’t even deserve to be lab rat material!