Chapter 256

Chapter 256

The underground warehouse was empty, except for a single desk and chair. Chu Yi laid out the blueprint on the table for a final review.

"I’ve got it all figured out, Mr. Chu. You can sit here and wait for me."

Xiao Ya dug out a handful of candies from her school uniform pocket and handed them to him:

"Your eye bags are really dark. Tang Ji mentioned you haven’t been sleeping much lately."

They just had to follow orders—Chu Yi was the one carrying all the mental and physical weight.

"Thanks."

Chu Yi grabbed them without a second thought, then blurted out:

"Xiao Ya, why do you call Jiang Nian, Li Liang, and Tang Ji 'brother,' but refer to me and Cheng Jing as 'Mr.'?"

"Well..."

Xiao Ya stammered, flustered:

"You... you come off older than Tang Ji and them, and you’re our leader, so..."

Well, "Mr." felt more respectful.

"..."

Chu Yi rubbed his face:

"Do I really look that much older?"

"..."

Xiao Ya didn’t deny it immediately. After sizing him up silently for a moment, she cautiously ventured:

"How much older are you than Tang Ji, then?"

Chu Yi replied:

"A little over seven years."

"Oh."

Xiao Ya nodded knowingly—that usually meant practically eight. After a pause, she tactfully added:

"Before the apocalypse, two guys from my hometown were just seven or eight years older than me..."

"Cough—"

Chu Yi almost cracked:

"Are you saying I look like I could be Tang Ji’s dad?"

Man, stress ages you fast.

"Ah, no! That’s not what I meant..."

Realizing how her words might have sounded, Xiao Ya ducked her head, embarrassed.

"Sorry, I didn't mean it that way... It's just that you and Mr. Cheng and the rest seem more serious and are our leaders, so I can't bring myself to use 'brother'."

"Alright..."

Chu Yi rubbed his forehead:

"It's fine, just keep calling me that. Don't be nervous, I was just asking casually."

'Mr.' was better than 'uncle.'

Xiao Ya let out a sigh of relief:

"Oh, then you rest here. I'll get back to work."

With that, she turned and headed deeper into the warehouse, letting out a quiet breath. She was a bit nervous, but she had spoken honestly without any intention of being disrespectful.

When she found out that Tang Ji and Chu Yi were dating, she was surprised because these two were different from the other couples. Probably due to Chu Yi's position, their daily interactions weren't as touchy-feely.

...

Using the teleportation ability at close range was harder to control than at a distance and drained more mental energy. After all, transfer was an advanced variation of teleportation, inherently carrying the attribute of "extreme speed." One wrong move and it could backfire.

But Xiao Ya was already very skilled at such operations and handled it well.

By the time she finished transferring the targets according to the blueprint, Chu Yi had already fallen asleep in his chair.

Xiao Ya tiptoed out, wiped the sweat from her face, and took a seat at a distance from him. She couldn't get too close—Chu Yi was a light sleeper and would wake up.

Overusing her powers caused slight dizziness and nausea, which could be alleviated by eating something sweet or some savory snacks.

Because of this, apart as from Jiang Nian, her supervisor and others around her often gave her candies and snacks.

The encouragement meant a lot, and she felt deeply grateful, so no matter how difficult the task, she would strive to complete it.

"..."

It wasn't until about an hour later that Chu Yi woke up on his own. Seeing Xiao Ya sitting on the floor eating spicy jerky, he took a moment to wake up fully before walking over.

Xiao Ya naturally handed him the remaining two pieces of "Big Knife Meat" and led him to inspect the storage room she had moved using her superpower.

Once everything was checked and the warehouse was properly closed and disguised, their mission was complete.

...

In the end, the villagers chose to return with them to the Southern City base. Early the next morning, the military convoy headed back.

In the front four seats of the military truck, Chu Yi sat in the passenger seat with a soldier as the driver, while Tang Ji and Xiao Ya sat in the back.

Xiao Ya was still young at heart, sometimes speaking and asking questions in a rather naive way, but Tang Ji could keep up with her chatter endlessly.

Listening to the conversation in the back, Chu Yi inexplicably recalled yesterday's talk with Xiao Ya, feeling a bit uneasy:

They say three years make a generation gap, and between him and Tang Ji, there were two and a half generation gaps. The thought of "an old cow eating tender grass" flashed through his mind.

Did Tang Ji know about their age difference? Did he think Chu Yi was quite old?

They had never discussed this when they confirmed their relationship.

Originally, he planned to wait until they got home to ask, but during the evening stop to rest, seeing his boyfriend—looking fresh and young after washing up and taking off his uniform—Chu Yi couldn't help but take the chance to ask:

"Xiao Ji, did you know I’ve got seven years on you?"

Tang Ji, who was setting up the tent and laying out the sleeping bag, turned to look at him:

"I know, what's wrong?"

When he first realized he liked Chu Yi, he had taken advantage of his position to pore over Chu Yi’s files countless times, including his family background.

Chu Yi had siblings who, pre-apocalypse, also worked in government. Now they were high-ranking in K Base and doing well, with their parents there too.

This was why Chu Yi could work in South City Base with no worries.

"It really doesn’t bother you at all?"

Chu Yi asked again, playing it cool but feeling quite nervous inside.

"Not at all!"

Tang Ji answered firmly, wearing a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his forearms. Picking up on his weird vibe, he frowned and walked over:

"Chu Yi, what’s wrong? Are you getting cold feet?"

Everything was fine yesterday—why bring this up suddenly? This is weird!

Satisfied with the answer, Chu Yi sat on the ground and looked up at him:

"Nothing, how could I have second thoughts? I was just worried you might think I’m too old."

"Huh?"

Tang Ji was surprised and sat down beside him, asking in return:

"Old where? Isn’t this a man’s prime? Some couples have a 12-year gap—ours is nothing."

Guys usually said stuff like this when they were preparing to break up. He’d seen it plenty in real life, online, and even in dramas.

Chu Yi smiled:

"As long as you don’t mind."

"You’re acting weird."

Tang Ji leaned closer, sizing him up for a moment. Sensing no intention to break up, he suddenly thought of something and asked cautiously:

"Have you been under too much pressure lately? Feeling overwhelmed?"

If a man wasn’t breaking up but suddenly acting insecure in front of his partner, something’s up.

"..."

Chu Yi quickly and defensively denied:

"No, it’s not work-related, and I’m not falling short anywhere. I just suddenly remembered our age gap and wanted to make sure you knew how much older I am."

Hearing "overwhelmed" from his boyfriend felt like a blow, making him want to prove himself on the spot.

"Oh."

Tang Ji dropped his gaze:

"But we've been in a relationship for so long. Hearing you say that hurts."

If age were really an issue, they wouldn’t have been attracted to each other in the first place. You dummy.

"I'm sorry."

Chu Yi apologized sincerely, raising his hand to pat his shoulder:

"I was just afraid you’d think less of me, that’s all. I didn’t mean anything else."

He shouldn’t have let Xiao Ya’s offhand comment get to him.

Tang Ji grabbed his collar in a huff:

"Even if I doubted myself, I’d never look down on you!"

Too worked up to hold back, he then bit Chu Yi’s lip hard.

"Mmm..."

Chu Yi let out a pained noise, then flipped the tables, pinning him down and returning the bite just as hard.

He didn’t let up until Tang Ji lay still. Running his tongue over the bite mark, he pulled the panting man into his arms, trying to steady his breathing as he murmured tenderly:

"Hey, don’t be angry anymore. I was wrong."

At the same time, he sighed inwardly—looking back, the whole question was pretty brainless. Guess it’s true what they say—love makes you stupid.