Chapter 265

Chapter 265

"Hahaha..."

Qian Lang laughed, his shoulders shaking:

"I see. You’re actually okay with him managing you now."

He felt a little regret, but not much. After all, he had just been one of those "hoping to marry up" back then:

Orphaned, with no close relatives, young, rich, and handsome—even in certain small circles, there were crash courses on how to land young master Liao.

Unfortunately, the young master broke the mold. To avoid trouble, he went from being the one protected by security to becoming part of the security team, ending up as colleagues with his own bodyguards.

"Hmm, Bro Zhao doesn’t actually manage me. He’s just like that normally..."

Liao Yu grinned but suddenly stopped mid-sentence, recalling Zhao Lei’s hesitant tone on the phone earlier. It suddenly hit him, and previously ignored feelings abruptly surfaced in his mind.

After they got together, their dynamic hadn’t changed much. Aside from sleeping together and Zhao Lei occasionally holding him down to kiss him, Zhao Lei usually didn’t control him much.

The upside of this arrangement was that it kept things relaxed between them. The downside? It made it easy for someone as oblivious as him to miss the subtle emotional cues that should exist between partners.

Qian Lang’s words had opened his eyes. Lately, whenever Zhao Lei reminded him to moderate his gaming, his tone had carried something different—while sounding concerned, but actually tinged with displeasure...

"Game Over"

"Ah, so close! Dude, why’d you stop moving just now? Lag?"

The screen flashed red—mission failed. Qian Lang sighed and glanced over, only to find Liao Yu staring blankly.

Liao Yu rubbed his forehead:

"Sorry, sorry. Spaced out for a moment."

"Alright... no worries. Let’s go again."

Qian Lang chuckled and backed out to restart.

Liao Yu shook his head:

"Nah, let’s pick this up tomorrow. I just remembered something I need to take care of."

He set down both controllers and checked the time on his phone. Still early.

In just that short span, all his enthusiasm for the boss fight had completely evaporated.

"Did I say something wrong?"

Qian Lang seemed flustered. It wasn’t even ten yet—normally, they’d play until midnight. They’d also use the radios and trackers in the room to keep tabs on base operations.

Not mandatory, just volunteer work. With so many people around, some wild situations could pop up.

Liao Yu gave a carefree laugh:

"Nope, it’s my own business to handle."

It wasn’t a big deal. He could’ve just waited until Zhao Lei got off work to talk it over, but he didn’t want to.

Dating was supposed to add some joy and happiness to their stressful circumstances. If his boyfriend was feeling upset, then he wasn’t doing a good enough job.

Zhao Lei was different from Cheng. Years of working together and his identity as a bodyguard meant he couldn’t employ the same kind of authoritative methods Cheng used to deal with him.

"Alright."

Qian Lang scratched his head, glanced at the monitor, and added,

"My Superpower is on the verge of a breakthrough. Starting tomorrow, I’ll have to train alone. To prevent any issues from uncontrolled breakthrough energy, Brother Nian wants me confined to a designated training warehouse from tomorrow until I stabilize."

When a Superpower breaks through to a higher tier, the energy core fractures and rebuilds—a pretty risky process. Though his ability isn’t offensive, if it goes haywire around people, it could cause major trouble.

Liao Yu patted him on the shoulder.

"Don’t worry, we’ll hang out again after your breakthrough. Plenty of time. With the Purify enhancement from my ‘godfather,’ your breakthrough will definitely go smoothly. Purify will keep you lucid and prevent your Superpower from losing control. You've got this."

"Yeah, I trust Brother Nian too."

"..."

After leaving Qian Lang’s dorm, Liao Yu took a car and headed straight for the new sector where Zhao Lei and his team were on night patrol.

"..."

Zhao Lei looked confused when he was stopped.

"Young master—I mean, Liao Yu? What brings you here all of a sudden?"

"Got something to ask you."

Liao Yu grinned, then greeted the other teammates around him—all newcomers handpicked for the squad.

The others responded before continuing their patrol.

When the others were gone, Zhao Lei asked again,

"What's going on? Couldn’t this wait for a call?"

Still seated in the car, Liao Yu propped his elbow on the window frame and leaned out slightly to look up at him.

"I missed you. Couldn't say it over the phone."

"..."

After a moment of eye contact, Zhao Lei walked around to the passenger side and got into the car.

"Did something happen?"

When you show up unannounced, it usually means trouble. In an instant, he ran through over a dozen worst-case scenarios, even recalling the young master’s habit of putting on the charm whenever he got into trouble before the apocalypse.

"Don’t be so tense. I really just missed you, that’s all."

Liao Yu could tell exactly what he was thinking and was amused.

Thinking about it, it had been a while since they’d joked around like this. Lately, they’d both been too busy, going from brothers to lovers, and then from lovers back into brothers—just like a long-married couple.

Zhao Lei turned and hugged him.

"Just a few more days. Once this squad is trained, I’ll sync up my schedule with yours."

"It’s fine, it’s not because you’re busy..."

Liao Yu nodded and hugged him back, gathering his thoughts before speaking:

"Bro Zhao, it's my fault. I've been hanging out with Qian Lang lately and wasn’t paying attention to how you felt. I'm sorry."

He wouldn’t have been able to say something like this in broad daylight, but the current atmosphere was just right—not sappy or dramatic. He was sincerely apologizing.

A partner’s moods don’t need grand justifications or extraordinary reasons. After all, love is selfish and possessive; it comes first, no matter what.

"..."

Zhao Lei wanted to deny it, but he bit back the words. Instead, he instinctively tightened his arms around Liao Yu. Honestly, it had been eating at him, feeling unsettled lately.

"I’m not trying to restrict you from being close to your friends, especially those you knew before the apocalypse. Meeting them again was fate. It’s just… thinking about how you two used to stream together makes me uncomfortable. Young Master, Qian Lang likes you. No matter how casually he acts, I can tell."

It might sound like I'm making shit up, but it was how he truly felt.

Liao Yu leaned back to look at him and said seriously,

"Yeah, I just spelled it out for him. It was his unintentional reminder that made me realize it too..."

Then, he honestly recounted his conversation with Qian Lang before adding earnestly,

"I only ever treated him as a regular friend and acquaintance, so I didn’t think much of it. With shared hobbies and topics, I lost track of boundaries. From now on, if anything bothers you, just say it outright. I’ll fix it. No one is more important than you."

Since the other party was male, his sense of boundaries wasn’t as good as Brother Nian’s—he admitted that.

This was also his first time being in a relationship. He had always been the one taken care of, and there was still much to learn.

"Okay."

Zhao Lei smiled, his frustration melted away instantly. Sometimes, even someone carefree could be considerate.

Having resolved a minor issue, Liao Yu leaned in for a kiss, making sure his boyfriend was good before driving home.

Romance was one thing, but they couldn’t neglect their responsibilities. Neither of them was the type to drag things out needlessly. To have more time together in the future, handling their current duties was the priority.

...

Qian Lang trained in a designated area for his Superpower breakthrough, and Liao Yu didn’t seek him out for games again.

Zhao Lei got his old shift back.

The entire 017 Squad had become administrators of the base’s Superpower Corps, their packed days still felt rewarding.

Things remained peaceful for a few days—until Qian Lang called Liao Yu for help:

"Bro Yu, my Superpower breakthrough succeeded. Brother Nian used Purify to help me control it and prevent a rampage, but my Superpower followed his Purify and ended up covering him instead… You know how my ability shrinks most living things."

"Holy shit!"

Liao Yu, who had been freezing a huge block of ice in a water room, abruptly withdrew his Superpower and walked out while still on the call.

"Your Superpower covered him… So you turned my godfather into an action figure?!"

What the actual fuck?!

"I didn’t know it would happen. The energy spread along his Superpower, and I just… forgot in the heat of it..."

Qian Lang sounded panicked, then paused and added:

"In short, Brother Nian is unconscious now, bundled up in clothes. I’m too scared to call Cheng, so please help me."

Liao Yu sighed:

"There’s no hiding this. Telling Cheng directly is the most proper way to handle it. Otherwise, we’ll both be in deep trouble. Before that, just don’t go touching or moving my godfather. I’m heading over now."

"Alright, I’ll contact Cheng right away."

After hanging up, Qian Lang immediately called Cheng Jing. Nervous, he blurted out:

"Cheng, Brother Nian shrank into a figure. Get over here now."

Only then did he realize his slip of the tongue and quickly explained:

"Brother Nian accidentally got caught in it while helping me with my Superpower breakthrough. He’s tiny now. Please come over."

Cheng Jing on the phone remained relatively calm:

"Don’t you dare move him. I’m coming right now."

Qian Lang:

"Okay."

Silence.