Chapter 84

Chapter 84

Cheng Zhiyu was so embarrassed he wanted to disappear, just thinking about his whole family knowing he had given Cheng Mo flowers. He protested urgently: "No need, does it really matter if the vase looks good? As long as it holds flowers, it's fine."

Cheng Mo was displeased: "How can you say that? Besides, is that thing even a vase?"

Cheng Zhiyu: "...Aren’t you embarrassed at all? If you go out and ask for a vase, everyone’s gonna know I gave you flowers..."

As he spoke, he noticed Cheng Mo’s eyes gradually lighting up, and thought, *uh-oh*.

Sure enough, as soon as Cheng Mo heard this, he was even more determined to show off.

Cheng Zhiyu: "...My big mouth!"

He gave up and threw in the towel: "Do whatever you want, go ask and make a fool of yourself."

But obviously, Cheng Mo didn’t think it was embarrassing at all. He headed out clutching the flowers.

Cheng Zhiyu reached out: "Hand over the flowers, no need to carry them out."

Cheng Mo refused: "No need, I’ll hold them myself."

Cheng Zhiyu: "...Argh!"

He could only numb himself and pretend not to know what Cheng Mo was going to do.

Cheng Mo went out holding the flowers and first found Auntie Cheng in the yard: "Auntie, Zhiyu gave me flowers. Is there a vase at home?"

Auntie Cheng took a look and smiled. After thinking for a moment, she said her family had no artistic sense, and there were no vases at home: "Let me see if I can find one for you, a nice bottle."

Auntie Cheng left, and Cheng Mo looked at Uncle Cheng.

Uncle Cheng: "?" *What? Why are you looking at me?*

Cheng Mo repeated what he had just said to Auntie Cheng.

Uncle Cheng looked baffled: "I heard you the first time, why repeat it?"

Cheng Mo: *Hmm, better find someone else.*

Soon, everyone knew that Cheng Zhiyu had given Cheng Mo flowers. Auntie Cheng also found a pretty bottle that had previously held wine—a very nice-looking bottle.

Back in the room, Cheng Mo poured water into the bottle and put the flowers in. He frowned and said, "This bottle used to hold wine. Could it harm the flowers?"

Cheng Zhiyu glanced over and said, "Even if it hadn’t held wine, the flowers would still die. These aren’t everlasting flowers; they’ll wither."

Hearing this, Cheng Mo frowned and took great care of the flowers, watering them and placing them by the window where they could get sunlight.

Cheng Zhiyu was amused watching.

Cheng Mo asked: "Mom, when these flowers wither, can you get me new ones?"

Cheng Zhiyu rubbed his nose: "Uh... doubt it."

Cheng Mo: "Why?"

Cheng Zhiyu explained: "By the time these wither, the flowers on the fruit trees in the space will probably have fallen too. In a while, I can give you fruit instead."

Hearing this, Cheng Mo let out a small sigh: "...Alright."

Seeing his expression, Cheng Zhiyu couldn’t help but think, *hmm... maybe I should grow some real flowers in the space? It just so happened that he had found flower seeds at a seed store earlier.*

Cheng Mo took very careful care of this bunch of flowers, checking on them almost every day as soon as he returned to the room.

But inevitably, the flowers started to wilt.

Every time Cheng Mo came back and saw petals fallen on the windowsill, he would frown, collect the petals, and press them between the pages of a book. Zhiyu said this could turn them into bookmarks.

—

The base was bustling with activity. The outer wall was going up day by day. Everyone was well-fed and well-rested, and worked with great energy.

There was also cotton. The village had cotton processing machines. After the cotton was sun-dried and processed, the women in the village who had free time came to make quilts and clothes.

They could earn contribution points every day. Those who enjoyed chatting while working would take the cotton and gather together to work.

Those who preferred quiet could also take the cotton home to work.

However, when taking the cotton away, it had to be weighed, and the quantities were logged.

Someone at the base said: "Even though it’s pretty cold at night now, these quilts are a bit too warm. Feels like sewing them is kinda pointless."

"Yeah, it’s already winter, but it’s still so hot during the day. I guess the weather will stay like this from now on—it won’t get much colder."

"How would you know? Think you’re so smart."

"Hey? What’s with the attitude? I’m just saying how I feel. This isn’t like winters in the past. It’s still so hot now—I don’t think it’ll get cold."

"Why are you guys discussing this? The base gave us a task, so let’s just do it. Besides, we can earn contribution points."

"Yeah, we just need to focus on working. Stop chatting so much—if the quilts are sewn crooked, they might not pass inspection and you’ll have to redo them."

"No way, we’re paying attention to our work even while talking."

Working during the day was too miserable. The red cotton generated heat, making the rooms stuffy and hot. Working at night was better—though still a bit warm, it was tolerable.

Unfortunately, it was too dark at night. They could only work by moonlight, which was really hard on the eyes.

"Any idea when the base will have electricity? Aren’t they installing solar panels?"

"I know about that. My son works there every day. I heard it shouldn’t be too long."

"Really? That’s great. With electricity, we can sew quilts and clothes at night too."

"Exactly, working at night would be much more comfortable."

"If we have electricity, can we make phone calls?" someone couldn’t help but ask.

"What are you thinking? Having electricity doesn’t mean we have signal. How would we make calls?"

"Sigh, I just want to get in touch with my child."

But it was just wishful thinking. Even if the base had electricity and signal, her child might not have electricity or signal out there.

Everyone fell somewhat silent at this topic.

*Ah, whose family doesn’t have relatives they can’t contact? But what can we do? In times like these, just surviving is already pretty good.*

"Maybe one day this apocalypse will end. Once we have signal again, we can get back in touch. Let’s not overthink it. If we live well, maybe that day will come."

"You're right, let's not overthink it."

"Yeah, what's the point of overthinking?"

They reassured one another and started joking around again, though the atmosphere wasn't quite as lively as before.

The warehouse was stacked with quilts. Lin Kang glanced at them and asked, "Will these quilts actually be useful?"

He was worried they might have done all that work for nothing, only for the quilts to end up unused.

Cheng Zhiyu didn’t know either. "Better safe than sorry. It’d be terrible if we needed them and didn’t have any."

Hearing this, Lin Kang nodded in agreement. "Makes sense. Even if they aren’t used, at worst, we’ve just wasted some labor."

No need to worry—the base wasn’t like before anymore, with no shortages of food or drink.

Now that there was enough grain, in a year or so, meat might even become easy to come by.

A few days later, the solar power equipment was installed. Cheng Zhiyu and the others went to inspect it, everyone nervously preparing for the test.

Cheng Zhiyu said, "Turn it on."

After he spoke, the technician started the process. Soon, a voice came from afar: "We have power! We have power!"

Everyone exchanged glances and smiled. The base had electricity—another big step forward.

That night, the Cheng family ate dinner under the light in the living room. It had been a long time since it was so bright at night, and everyone felt somewhat disoriented.

Even though the apocalypse had lasted for less than a year, it felt like a lifetime had passed.

Outside, it was surprisingly lively tonight. Before, once it got dark, everyone went to bed early since there was no electricity and no entertainment. Aside from the patrols, almost no one was outside.

But now, with electricity, the base seemed to come alive with laughter and noise.

Everyone dug out their long-powered-off electronic devices to charge them.

Cheng Zhiyan charged her phone for a while, took a deep breath, and pressed the power button. After a moment, the familiar startup sound rang out. She was so moved she almost cried. "Thank goodness, it still turns on. The battery isn’t dead."

She had stored a lot of novels on it. Even without internet, it was still a form of entertainment.

Cheng Zhiyan browsed through her photo album, sighing with emotion. It felt like ages had passed, even though it had been less than a year. Looking at the photos she’d taken before, it really felt like another lifetime.

"Oh, here’s a photo I took of my brother before," Cheng Zhiyan muttered.

Then, Cheng Mo spoke up and said he wanted to see it.

After looking, Cheng Mo wanted the photo, but Cheng Zhiyan hesitated. "There’s no internet now, I can’t share it."

In the end, Cheng Zhiyan pulled out her computer, connected her phone, copied the photo to the computer, and Cheng Mo used Cheng Zhiyu’s old phone to transfer the photo to it.

After all that trouble, he was satisfied.

Cheng Zhiyu watched, at a loss for words, not knowing what to say. Wasn’t he, a living person, right there? What was the point of wanting a photo?

Cheng Mo saved the photo and said, "It’s different. This is the old Zhiyu. I’ve never seen him like this before."

Cheng Zhiyu cleared his throat. "Alright then."

Everyone looked at the "no service" icon in the top right corner of their phones and accepted the reality. At least they had electricity.

Tian Qiao charged his tablet and turned it on. "Luckily, I have games that don’t need internet. Come on, Manman, want to play?"

Tian Manman wasn’t interested in games but sat down opposite him to keep him company.

Tian Qiao opened Minesweeper, with intense concentration as he clicked on a square.

Tian Manman reached out and randomly clicked on one.

Tian Qiao frowned, thought for a moment, and clicked another.

Tian Manman randomly clicked again.

Seeing this, Tian Qiao couldn’t help but say, "Manman, you can’t just click randomly. You have to calculate carefully. Minesweeper follows logic."

Tian Manman found it boring but slowed down his clicking to humor him.

Still, he clicked randomly and hit a mine after a few tries.

Tian Qiao said, "Again, again."

Tian Manman refused. "Not fun. I’m not playing anymore."

Tian Qiao: "..."

He tried calling Zhou Min, but when he turned around, he saw Zhou Min and Han Ping huddled together, whispering about something.

Turning again, he saw Han Tingting and Cheng Zhiyan together, bursting into laughter every now and then, talking about something happily.

As for the others, the older generation weren’t into games, so no luck there.

And Cheng Zhiyu and Cheng Mo were, needless to say, inseparable.

*He sighed. So boring. I’ll just play by myself.*

Even with electricity, without internet, there wasn’t much to do on these phones.

Cheng Zhiyu said, "The base will probably have a local network soon, so we can communicate within the base."

"Really?" Cheng Zhiyan was delighted to hear it. Even if it was just internal, it was still good. The base was quite large now, so being able to send messages from a distance would be helpful.

A couple of days later, the base had a local network. Everyone received the first electronic official notice from the base since the apocalypse.

The notice was about changes in base leadership: Cheng Zhiyu had taken over, responsible for the overall coordination of the base.

Lin Kang was now the deputy.

Lin Kang, who had really only wanted a technical role: "..."

Cheng Zhiyu said, "You’ve been managing the base since the apocalypse and know the base's operations better than I do. You’re the most suitable for this deputy role."

Besides, they needed a temporary deputy to manage the base during his absences.

Of course, with responsibility on his shoulders, Cheng Zhiyu wouldn’t leave the base easily, but it was just in case.

In the end, Lin Kang had no choice but to agree.

The change in management didn’t make waves. In everyone’s view, changes in base leadership didn’t impact them much, especially since it was Cheng Zhiyu taking over. They truly respected him.

After all, since Cheng Zhiyu came to the base, conditions had been improving.

Next were the base management regulations that affected everyone directly.

The previous rules were all unwritten, but this time, this notice was officially stamped with the seal of Small River Base. It listed things you're not allowed to do in the base, the corresponding punishments for violations, that people could report each other, and also stated that helping someone hide what they did would make you an accomplice and subject to punishment.

Of course, so people without phones wouldn't miss it, these rules were also posted on the official bulletin board.

That day, Cheng Zhiyu heard the system alert that Xiaoqi was fully grown. He immediately entered his space to check on Xiaoqi's condition.

After Xiaoqi matured, the planting space expanded from 22*22 meters to 23*23 meters, and the storage space increased to 160 cubic meters.

Observing Xiaoqi, Cheng Zhiyu raised an eyebrow, discovering that Xiaoqi could fly like a hot air balloon and even carry people.

However, at its first level of maturity, Xiaoqi could only carry two people max.

Two people was plenty, and Cheng Zhiyu got an idea.

That day, he asked mysteriously, "Do you want to fly?"

Cheng Mo, "My wings haven't grown yet, so I can't fly."

*They told me his wings would only grow on his 100th birthday—but... it won't be long now.*

Cheng Zhiyu froze. "You can grow wings?"

"Didn't you listen to what I said before?" Cheng Mo said quietly. "I told you I'm from the Winged Tribe. How could I not grow wings?"

Cheng Zhiyu opened his mouth but was speechless. This really changed how he saw things. But Cheng Mo's animal form is a big dog right now. A big dog... with wings?

*Hmm... thinking about it, it seemed quite interesting.*

He thought of something, his eyes lighting up. "Do you have wings in human form too?"

Cheng Mo hadn't grown his yet, but he had seen others. He nodded. "Yes."

Looking at Cheng Mo's face, Cheng Zhiyu's heart started pounding. "Then... doesn't that make you like an angel?"

Cheng Mo didn't understand. "What's an angel?"

Cheng Zhiyu explained, "It's someone with wings on their back, they have really beautiful white wings."

Cheng Mo said, "But my wings should be black."

*My fur is black; it'd be weird if I had white wings.*

"Then you'd be a black angel - that's super cool too!" Cheng Zhiyu said with anticipation.

If... when Cheng Mo's wings come out, his ears show too, he didn't know how excited he'd get.

*Just thinking about it made his heart pound.*

"Then why did you ask me earlier if I wanted to fly?" Cheng Mo mentioned what Cheng Zhiyu had asked him earlier.

"Oh, right... I have a new plant," Cheng Zhiyu said. He noticed that the system hadn't given him a new plant after this one matured, but he wasn't disappointed. He happily told Cheng Mo that this new plant can take people flying.

"It should be like a hot air balloon," Cheng Zhiyu said.

Cheng Mo sniffed, "I could fly you around too, but it'll take some time."

Cheng Zhiyu laughed. "Why are you being so sour? Are you even jealous of a plant?"

Cheng Mo said, "Yes."

He glanced sideways at Cheng Mo. "So, do you want to ride or not? If not, I'll ask someone else."

Cheng Mo said, "Yes!"

*He thought: No way was he going to let Zhiyu ride a hot air balloon with someone else.*

Cheng Zhiyu smiled, looking outside. It was already dark—perfect timing.

He didn't want to ride during the day; it'd feel weird if people saw.

He called Xiaoqi out, which immediately turned into something like a hot air balloon with a space for people to stand below, pretty much like a regular hot air balloon.

Though, Xiaoqi could fly wherever it wanted, way more flexible than a hot air balloon.

They found an open space in the yard, and family members came to watch.

Cheng Zhiyu asked them if they wanted to go up. His parents shook their heads, afraid of flying so high.

Cheng Zhiyan eagerly raised her hand right away. "I want to! I want to!"

Cheng Zhiyu said, "Let me take Cheng Mo up first, then I'll take you."

Cheng Zhiyan nodded hard. "Okay, okay!"

The uncle's family had moved out. The Cheng family had offered to let them stay, but the uncle said, "Staying here forever isn't a long-term solution. Besides, houses are being allocated in the outer area now. We should grab one quickly, or we might miss out later."

Earlier, Liu Pingan had helped build the wall, and the aunt had been sewing quilts—they had been working all along.

Zhou Min and the others no longer lived there either but stayed nearby. Hearing the commotion, they came over to join the fun.

They clamored to ride too.

Cheng Mo gave them a death glare. "Zhiyu, you don't have to take them, do you?"

Cheng Zhiyu thought so too. If he had to take everyone back and forth, it would take all night. He simply said, "Later, you can ride in pairs by yourselves."

He wasn't worried about his sister, but Zhou Min and the others could manage on their own.

The group said, "Okay, okay~"

As they spoke, Xiaoqi slowly began to rise.

Everything around them grew lower and lower until they reached a height of about twenty meters above the ground, where they stopped ascending.

Cheng Zhiyu looked up. The sky was filled with starlight, a rare sight before the apocalypse.

Without city lights, the stars became much clearer.

The temperature was already low at night, and Cheng Zhiyu belatedly realized he felt a bit cold.

He felt Cheng Mo move closer, wrapping his arms around him from behind and holding his hands to warm them.

Cheng Mo muttered quietly, "I'll be able to fly even better in the future."

Cheng Zhiyu raised an eyebrow. "You don't even have wings yet, and you're already bragging?"

Cheng Mo gave his cheek a light bite in dissatisfaction, "What do you mean, showing off? The Winged Tribe has never flown this low before."

Cheng Zhiyu purposely teased him, "But what if... what if you just can't fly high..."

Cheng Mo laughed in exasperation. Instead of nipping his cheek, he leaned in and kissed Cheng Zhiyu's lips, silencing that mouth that was deliberately provoking him.

After who knows how long, Cheng Mo finally released him. Cheng Zhiyu's face was slightly flushed, and he thought to himself, *Thank goodness it's dark—it probably can't be seen from the ground.*

Then, he felt Cheng Mo's physical change.

Cheng Zhiyu looked at him, "You... we're outside."

Cheng Mo nuzzled his neck, like he was being affectionate, "Zhiyu, I can't help it."

Cheng Zhiyu's ears turned red, "Stop messing around."

Cheng Mo, "I just want to hold you."

Cheng Zhiyu, "...Oh."

*Then stop pressing against me like that.*

Cheng Mo's voice was a little hoarse, "Zhiyu, that time you were drunk, you said something I was completely clueless about. What was it really?"

Cheng Zhiyu was stunned—when had he said that? No wonder Cheng Mo had been acting strange the next day.

Cheng Zhiyu cleared his throat and feigned ignorance, "What thing? I don't know. You actually believe what drunk people say?"

Cheng Mo, "Keep pretending, just keep pretending."

Cheng Zhiyu rubbed his nose, "Pretend what? I don’t understand what you’re talking about."

Cheng Mo exposed him, "Every time you lie, you touch your nose."

Cheng Zhiyu froze, hand still in mid-air, "..."

*Since when did he have that habit?*

Cheng Mo looked at Cheng Zhiyu's guilty expression and couldn't help but laugh softly, whispering, "I already know."

This time, Cheng Zhiyu was truly puzzled, "Know what?"

Cheng Mo leaned close to his ear and whispered something. Cheng Zhiyu's ears burned crimson, his eyes widened, and he nearly pushed Cheng Mo away, "You... how do you know that?"

Cheng Zhiyu stammered, "Who—who did you hear it from?"

Cheng Mo frowned, disgusted, "Why would I talk to anyone about something like that?"

Cheng Zhiyu, "Then you—"

Cheng Mo pulled a comic book from his chest pocket, "Well... I read this."

He sounded aggrieved, "I didn’t want to, but you never told me anything."

Cheng Zhiyu glanced at the comic—oh god, it was a Little Yellow comic.

After hearing Cheng Mo's words, he thought to himself, *How could I possibly bring up such a topic? Was I supposed to give him instructions?*

Cheng Zhiyu's face turned deep red. He glanced at Cheng Mo, "...We'll talk about it when we get back."

Truth be told, he also wanted to take things to the next level with Cheng Mo, but for one, his... member was a bit intimidating, and for another, Cheng Mo had no idea what to do, and Cheng Zhiyu was too embarrassed to teach him.

But now... since he already knew, maybe they could take it slow.

Cheng Zhiyu cleared his throat again, unable to meet Cheng Mo's eyes after that.

The two walked around the base, checking if the surroundings were safe, and even spotted a fawn. They tossed it a cabbage, and it ate happily.

Then they returned to the courtyard. Cheng Zhiyan had been waiting and rushed over as soon as she saw them.

But then she noticed her brother's face, "Huh? Bro, why is your face so red?"

Cheng Zhiyu coughed lightly, "It's a bit cold up there. Go find some thicker clothes to wear."

Cheng Zhiyan was successfully fooled, "Oh, okay."

Actually, Cheng Mo's face was a little flushed too, but his tanned skin made it less noticeable.

Cheng Zhiyu also put on thicker clothes, and Cheng Mo tickled his palm.

Cheng Zhiyu, "..."

Then he took his sister on a tour. When they returned, Cheng Zhiyan was thrilled, "So fun, so fun!"

Tian Qiao and the others were shouting excitedly like monkeys, "Our turn, our turn!"

Cheng Zhiyu, "...You guys be careful. If anything happens, call me."

Tian Qiao and Tian Manman went up first, saying they understood.

Seeing them float up steadily, Cheng Zhiyu felt relieved that everything was fine. Then Cheng Mo pulled him into the room, and he was met with a searing kiss.

Cheng Zhiyu was pressed against the door, his head nearly knocking against it, but Cheng Mo's hand protected his head.

The atmosphere was intense. Cheng Mo's untrained hand moved downward.

Cheng Zhiyu stopped his hand, his breath coming heavily, "You... wait."

Cheng Mo's eyes were dark with desire. He kissed Cheng Zhiyu's lips and said in a hoarse voice, "...Okay."

Cheng Zhiyu went to the bedside table and opened the drawer. Even with his back to Cheng Mo, he could feel the other's hot breath, almost searing through him.

Cheng Zhiyu felt weak-kneed, his limbs turning to jelly. He took out a few condoms and lubricant.

Fortunately... he'd come prepared.