Chapter 14: Mu Ye, He Loves Me So Much (Quick Look)

Chapter 14: Mu Ye, He Loves Me So Much (Read Now)

Mu Ye rarely dreamed.

When he did dream, they were usually nightmares.

The last time he was plagued by nightmares like a persistent curse, it traced back to the apocalypse's sudden eruption, when his superpower forcibly tore through his mortal body during its initial growth—an irreparable accident that first stained his palms with blood. After that came sleepless nights upon sleepless nights, his eyes red-rimmed from exhaustion.

But this time, the opening scene seemed to be a beautiful dream.

In the dream was Shu Hanqing's room.

Brilliant sunlight poured in unhindered through the window, making the whole bed look almost translucent, so bright it stung the eyes.

The scene was from Mu Ye's point of view. He sat silently on the edge of the bed, while Shu Hanqing sat before him, completely naked.

The sunlight split Shu Hanqing in two—half hidden in shadow, half fully exposed in the blazing halo of light. That young body presented a weird mix of holy and totally filthy.

Just like how Shu Hanqing looked under Rong Hua.

Shu Hanqing's originally clear, pure eyes were now completely flooded with thick, unstoppable lust.

He tilted his head slightly to look up at Mu Ye, one side of his neck arching in a graceful curve, his delicate Adam's apple bobbing hard in the light.

Suddenly, a slender finger lifted, drawing a lazy, suggestive arc, slowly dragging across Mu Ye's cheek.

"Senior brother, can I kiss you?"

Shu Hanqing stared at the person beside him, his lips swollen and puffy from all the blood rushing there, his voice hoarse from holding back a tidal wave of lust.

That look was so hot it made Mu Ye's heart slam in his chest. He was the first to look away, flustered, but Shu Hanqing had already pressed himself close without argument.

Skin against skin, utterly defenseless.

Mu Ye wanted to reach out, to lock this burning body tightly within his arms, to force him to obey, to force him to behave. But the next second, Shu Hanqing lowered his head slightly, pried his mouth open, and delivered a kiss that, in Mu Ye's stunned mind, was just filthy.

"Don't you love me... I knew you didn't love me..."

Shu Hanqing's hoarse voice was laced with a sob that was about to break.

In the space between their tangled tongues, Mu Ye tasted a strange sweetness that made him feel inexplicably ashamed, a wild fire burning in his chest.

But he couldn't move, couldn't leave. The person in his arms looked like he'd been wronged beyond belief—eyes red at the corners, tears ready to spill any second.

Mu Ye conceded, lowering his head, following the curve of Shu Hanqing's neck, patiently licking away that thin, hot layer of sweat. He pressed soft, lingering kisses along Shu Hanqing's jawline, greedily breathing in that familiar, clean smell. One free hand pressed against Shu Hanqing's lean waist, sliding down the dip of his lower back at a painfully slow pace, kneading the trembling body in his arms with slow, soothing pressure.

Mu Ye frowned deeply, thinking, almost punishing himself, as desire roared in his head: How could he possibly not love him? He'd give his own damn life for him.

Mu Ye closed his eyes, burying his face deeply into the warm hollow of Shu Hanqing's neck.

But in that instant, the burning body in his arms suddenly shattered into countless cold, dark particles, dying out between his fingers.

The world around him twisted violently.

His gaze was yanked somewhere else.

A harsh light, sharp as a blade, slashed toward another huge bed not far away, directly facing him.

Shu Hanqing lay sprawled on that bed.

From Mu Ye's elevated perspective, the lower half of that body was a sticky, messy wreck.

The black-and-purple marks etched across that pale back now looked like black wings convulsing in pain, flapping in desperate despair.

He looked like he'd been used up to the very last shred of strength, even his fingers trembling faintly. He could only lie on his side, barely conscious, mouth open, shaking.

Rong Hua suddenly let out a laugh.

He plundered from above, tilting his head, his eyes full of cruelty and smug spite, taunting Mu Ye straight across the space between them: "Mu Ye, he loves me so much."

Crack.

Mu Ye's fist clenched hard, his nails digging viciously into the soft meat of his palm, almost drawing blood.

On the bed, Shu Hanqing couldn't take it anymore. He reached out both arms, hooking them around Rong Hua's neck. That handsome face was now flushed an unnatural red, his expression weirdly shy and clingy. He tilted his head up slightly, leaning in to kiss the corner of Rong Hua's mouth.

Rong Hua let out a low laugh, gripping Shu Hanqing's jaw, kissing down his chin, rough and brutal.

The skin was bitten raw and red, lost in a pleasure on the edge of ruin.

Rong Hua lowered his voice, asking with a nasty grin: "Do you love me?"

Shu Hanqing suddenly threw his head back, his neck stretched taut to the limit. He panted heavily, pulling his arms tighter around Rong Hua, countless broken "I love you's" carried on sobbing breaths flooding over Mu Ye like a tide, drowning him, choking him.

Mu Ye's eyes snapped open abruptly, jolting awake in bed, drenched in sweat.

—It was a nightmare.

＊

Outside the window, the night was still thick and impenetrable, pitch black.

Cold moonlight squeezed through the gap in the curtains, dragging a faint, hair-thin line across the cold, dead floor.

As Mu Ye's breathing heaved violently, the blanket that had been draped over him slipped off silently, revealing a bare, muscular upper body slicked with a fine sheen of sweat.

He lowered his head slightly, raising the hand wrapped in gauze to press hard against his temple and lowered forehead.

The young captain, unbeatable in the apocalypse's raging storm, showed a helplessness and loneliness that bordered on self-destruction.

The string of small red sandalwood prayer beads that never left his hand had been removed and placed on the bedside table.

After Mu Ye had stumbled upon that absurd scene that day, Shu Hanqing had later punched Rong Hua in the shoulder, sneering and cursing him for being utterly shameless.

To be caught by someone and still act so brazenly without a shred of decency.

Rong Hua took the solid hit but merely rubbed his sore shoulder dismissively. He curled his lips, a rogue grin on his handsome face, raising an eyebrow nonchalantly: "So what if he saw? Even if he's the captain, his reach is long, but he can't exactly forbid his team members from dating, can he?"

What an outrageous claim.

Who was dating him?

The moment that scene was discovered, Shu Hanqing's heart nearly leaped into his throat. That extreme embarrassment and shame, mixed with the thrill racing madly through his spine, sent his blood boiling.

Being caught by the person he had once hopelessly loved for years in an intimate moment with someone else—and that someone else was highly likely someone Mu Ye now regarded seriously, perhaps even loved himself.

The emotional entanglement in this was far too chaotic, far too complex.

Shu Hanqing thought bitterly to himself, he had to admit that perhaps the years of hopeless, one-sided longing in his past life had twisted his psyche into something somewhat sick and warped.

From the very first day Rong Hua showed interest in him, circling him like a crazed dog, a secret and frenzied desire for revenge had been festering in Shu Hanqing's bones.

To hell with the damn book, to hell with the destined protagonist. Since this world's darling, worshipped by everyone and fated to stand at the pinnacle, was now groveling at his feet without any shame, that could only prove one thing—

Mu Ye was blind.

The Plot God finally showed up, surveying the total train wreck before it, at a complete loss.

Shu Hanqing spread his hands, looking as innocent as could be: "...Don't look at me, I've been holed up here all day, haven't even wandered a single step outside."

What kind of person was Shu Hanqing in his past life? He was someone who couldn't sit still, with a wild and fiery nature running through his bones. Whenever the squad had no missions, he'd party harder than anyone, flirting up a storm.

Look at him now—he was the picture of good behavior, all his past ambitions to climb the ladder and fight for power had been completely ground out of him.

Now his only daily pastime was being a good-for-nothing shut-in, while hooking up with the original story's male lead's love interest.

The Plot God was silent for a moment, its mechanical voice tinged with faint helplessness: "...Forget it, it's not too badly derailed yet. Everything's still under control, still fixable. I've reworked the plotline for you, and I've set up the resolution point for the Thunder Mark. As long as your Thunder Mark returns to normal, you can leave Saint Su anytime."

Shu Hanqing raised an eyebrow, a flicker of interest showing: "What plot?"

"You'll find out when the time comes."

Now it's being all secretive about it.

The day of departure, the sky was as dark and heavy as a pool of spilled ink.

Post-apocalyptic weather was just that fickle.

Shu Hanqing stood before the mirror, suiting up in his custom combat gear piece by piece, zipping it all the way up and sealing it tight. Then he opened the drawer, took out a pair of rough-textured tactical gloves, and put them on. Last equipment check: knife, gun, meds.

He'd kept a cold expression these past few days, refusing to let that rabid dog Rong Hua anywhere near his bed.

Without all that rough, high-intensity action, the skin on Shu Hanqing's body had finally recovered a bit—at least most of the red marks and bite marks on the surface had faded enough to look decent.

Rong Hua leaned back against the table behind him, arms crossed. Looking down from where he stood, the combat pants traced Shu Hanqing's legs, making them look even longer and leaner, giving off that sharp, fierce vibe of a High-Level Ability User.

Shu Hanqing ignored the gaze behind him, turned around, and opened the hidden drawer at the head of the bed, digging out all the high-grade cores he'd stockpiled from past missions.

The cores glinted cold and eerie in the dim room as he crammed them all into the heavy concealed pocket inside his jacket.

Arms snaked around him from behind without warning, a burning chest pressing against his back without ceremony. Rong Hua locked his arms around Shu Hanqing's waist, lowered his head, and propped his chin in the hollow of Shu Hanqing's shoulder: "Hanqing, why are you bringing so many cores?"

Rong Hua had started calling him "Hanqing" out of nowhere a few days ago.

At first, Shu Hanqing had coldly corrected him a few times, but Rong Hua was defiant to the bone—he'd nod along to his face, then immediately go back to that sticky-sweet address.

Shu Hanqing eventually couldn't be bothered to argue and just let it slide.

He had to admit, he wasn't exactly a professional dog trainer.

When Rong Hua, with that face that could fool anyone, lowered his voice and called him "Hanqing," it always felt weird to him—like a kid putting on adult airs.

This morning, when Shu Hanqing got up to wash up, he turned around and saw Rong Hua standing behind him, biting on his toothbrush. In that instant, he sharply noticed the kid seemed to have shot up a bit more.

...Still growing at this age?

Shu Hanqing got irritated, spun around sharply, grabbed Rong Hua by the chin and demanded suspiciously, "How old are you exactly?"

Rong Hua still had toothpaste foam in his mouth, mumbling through it: "...Uh... just turned eighteen."

Damn, eighteen.

Shu Hanqing's fingers on his chin tightened abruptly, his eyes full of shock: "Then why do your file and ID say you're twenty?"

Rong Hua spat out the water, grinning like it was nothing: "Because the base has a hard rule—no one under eighteen can join a frontline combat squad."

After the apocalypse hit, tons of records were destroyed, and a lot of people's household registrations went with them. In all that mess, who gave a damn about fudging your age?

Shu Hanqing let go and warned him to call him by his name in front of other people from now on.

Rong Hua immediately looked wronged, his brows scrunching into a knot: "Why?"

Shu Hanqing thought, what else could it be? He'd lived two lifetimes, and having some kid call him "Hanqing" all the time—where was his dignity?

"Then why does Mu Ye get to call you that?" Rong Hua gritted his teeth, full of jealousy.

Shu Hanqing turned his head to look at him: "Because he didn't lie about his age."

"He's so ancient..."

Rong Hua blurted out, but the second the words left his mouth, he realized Shu Hanqing wasn't that much younger than Mu Ye either. His face immediately changed, and he awkwardly choked back the rest of the sentence, not daring to keep poking that age minefield.

"If you want cores, I'll give you all mine too."

Rong Hua said, already reaching for his pathetically small stash.

Shu Hanqing barely glanced at the few cores in his hand, then, face blank, he raised a hand and gave a dismissive pat to the back of Rong Hua's hand around his waist, signaling him to let go: "I appreciate the sentiment."

Rong Hua felt deflated by his icy attitude. He stood there, staring hard as Shu Hanqing zipped his jacket up one last time, when a thought hit him.

"The cores you gave back last time—did you give Mu Ye his cores back too?"

At some point, Rong Hua had started calling the captain "Mu Ye" by name in front of Shu Hanqing, with zero respect.

Shu Hanqing had once asked the Plot God out of curiosity: "...Can they really become a couple like this?"

The Plot God hadn't answered for some reason, and just told him to mind his own business.

Shu Hanqing paused mid-motion as he was pulling on his gloves. He had indeed coldly told Mu Ye he'd pay back every last debt in full.

But honestly, he'd never really taken it to heart. In his past life, they'd been tangled up for years, from the fallen zones to the safe base. He'd used Mu Ye's supplies, owed Mu Ye favors, taken hits for Mu Ye—so many he couldn't even count.

"...Between us, that's not something you can tally up."

Shu Hanqing dropped his gaze.

Rong Hua heard that and frowned in deep displeasure, a sour mutter slipping out: "What's even so great about him..."

Shu Hanqing figured he should still respect the plotline—sleeping with Mu Ye's man could count as paying him back for everything he'd done in his past life.

If he had to pick a future boyfriend for Rong Hua—between Lei Zheng, Mu Ye, and Yan Shenyun—

Shu Hanqing still thought Mu Ye was the best overall pick.

Shu Hanqing said seriously to Rong Hua: "Mu Ye is actually a pretty good person. He's a bit slow and wishy-washy, sure, but he's responsible, capable, and pretty easy on the eyes."

As he said that, Rong Hua glared at him: "...You still like him. Don't even dream about it—with me here, you two are never happening."

Shu Hanqing couldn't be bothered to waste any more words on Rong Hua.

Half an hour later, at the ruined plaza in the city center.

The mood before this departure was tenser than ever, since military personnel were tagging along.

Lining both sides were no longer modified cars, but a row of pitch-black, aggressive, high-mobility armored SUVs, their massive run-flat tires wrapped in thick snow chains. Several heavily armed soldiers were hurriedly climbing aboard.

Apparently, Lei Zheng's command vehicle had already taken point to clear the road, and the whole convoy looked like a steel beast crouching beneath the overcast sky.

Shu Hanqing tossed his backpack into the back seat and glanced around, but didn't spot that kid Rong Hua anywhere. Who knew where he'd run off to raise hell this time.

Mu Ye, on the other hand, was oddly late today.

Mu Ye trudged over in his boots, his expression grim as hell. When his gaze fell on Shu Hanqing, the look in his eyes was as deep and distant as a bottomless dry well, brimming with grief.

Shu Hanqing's eyelid twitched. He turned his head away awkwardly, deliberately staring at the ammo crates being counted nearby.

So awkward.

Right now, every extra glance Mu Ye threw his way made Shu Hanqing's skin crawl.

Mu Ye stood there a moment, brows furrowed, and said nothing in the end. He turned and slid into the passenger seat of the vehicle next to him.

By protocol, the squad leader was supposed to ride in the lead navigation vehicle to coordinate, but since they were working with the military this time, Mu Ye didn't have full command.

Sang Mai walked over, meaning to suggest Shu Hanqing ride in the same car as Mu Ye. Lately, the frosty, almost frozen tension between the team's two key figures hadn't gone unnoticed, and nobody dared poke that sore spot.

Shu Hanqing said okay, but from the back, a voice barely holding back its excitement suddenly rang out: "Hanqing! I brought you something!"

Shu Hanqing's eyelid twitched hard.

Yun Ying, who was checking supplies nearby, whipped her head around, and Mu Ye's gaze from the passenger seat shot over too.

In an instant, over a dozen pairs of eyes from the whole team snapped to this spot, all because Rong Hua had yelled "Hanqing."

Shu Hanqing: "…"

Rong Hua's tall frame came sprinting over, a grimy cloth sack slung over his shoulder.

Shu Hanqing looked closer and saw that Rong Hua's bangs and shoulders were comically dotted with rotten leaves and dead twigs from who knows where, his whole face smudged with dirt.

But Rong Hua didn't notice a thing. He ran up, dropped the sack with a loud thud on the tailgate—inside was a whole bag stuffed with high-tier crystal cores.

Shu Hanqing grabbed one and hefted it; pure energy seeped through his glove.

He honestly felt like this was a bit embarrassing in front of everyone, but when he met Rong Hua's bright, sparkling black eyes, full of eager expectation for praise, his irritation somehow fizzled out.

This was just like a puppy—when it finds a precious bone outside, it digs a hole and secretly buries it.

"Where do you usually stash all this stuff?" Shu Hanqing sighed helplessly.

Rong Hua said quickly, "I'll tell you in secret later."

Shu Hanqing felt a jumble of emotions. He reached out and picked the dead twigs and rotten leaves off Rong Hua's head.

Feeling that touch, Rong Hua got even more excited, his dark eyes glued to Shu Hanqing's face, like he wished he could wag his tail so fast it blurred: "It's all for you. All my crystal cores from now on, I'll give them all to you."

Sang Mai and Yun Ying finally couldn't help but walk over.

Sang Mai craned his neck to peek into the sack and let out an impressed whistle: "Xiao Rong, damn, you even dug out your emergency stash."

Rong Hua turned sideways, blocking Sang Mai's view, and hoisted the heavy sack, shoving it into Shu Hanqing's arms without a word: "It's all for you."

Shu Hanqing hugged it and took half a step back, turning to look at Yun Ying, whose expression was weird: "...Yun Ying, can you help me store this stuff for now?"

Shu Hanqing didn't feel like arguing with Rong Hua right now; he'd give it back later.

"Huh? Oh! Okay, sure, Brother Shu!"

Yun Ying quickly took it, but her eyes darted between Rong Hua and Shu Hanqing, a spark of gossip lighting up her gaze: "Brother Shu, Xiao Rong... what's this act you two are putting on now?"

Shu Hanqing gave Yun Ying a stiff, forced smile, then braced one hand on the car door and swung himself neatly into the high back seat of the SUV: "I'm getting in first."

Inside the dim cabin, Mu Ye's eyes lifted slightly, silently watching Shu Hanqing in the back seat through the rearview mirror.

But the moment Shu Hanqing sat down, he turned his head, staring stubbornly at the ruined walls outside the window, not sparing a single glance toward the front.

In the passenger seat, Mu Ye's bandaged fingers rolled the red sandalwood prayer beads, the wooden beads clicking softly together. He pursed his thin lips slightly, lashes lowered, as the harsh midday sun cut through the windshield, throwing his handsome, sharp features and straight, blade-like nose into striking clarity.

In that halo of light, Mu Ye looked refined, yet so still it made him seem oddly melancholic.

Suddenly, the sound of hurried military boots thudded from the back.

Rong Hua grabbed Yun Ying, who was about to climb in, and shoved a high-tier crystal core shimmering with superpower glow into her hand. Then, with a long stride, he scrambled after Shu Hanqing: "Sister Yun, let me cut in line."

Yun Ying clutched the crystal core and watched Rong Hua settle in right next to Shu Hanqing, then slowly climbed in too.

All that for just a few seconds?

Sang Mai, in the driver's seat, was about to light a cigarette when he turned and saw Rong Hua, like a young beast charging in, squeeze into the back seat with agile precision, pressing close to Shu Hanqing.

The vehicle hadn't even started yet.

Sang Mai looked left, then right, momentarily baffled by the scene before him.

Rong Hua suddenly leaned forward and patted Mu Ye on the shoulder in the front. Then he opened his palm and held out a crystal core to Mu Ye: "This is me paying back one for Hanqing. Last time at the botanical garden, he used one of your crystal cores."

Shu Hanqing: "…"

He raised a hand and rubbed his temple. Sometimes, Shu Hanqing really couldn't understand this kid's weird way of thinking.

Mu Ye slowly turned his head, his gaze lingering on the coldly gleaming crystal core for a long moment, then his eyes shifted to Shu Hanqing, and his words were cryptic.

"Some things... were never meant to be fully repaid from the start."

Mu Ye didn't even lift his hand, let alone show any sign of taking the crystal core.

Rong Hua clearly didn't catch the subtleties in Mu Ye's words, but he got the feeling Mu Ye was talking directly to Shu Hanqing.

Pissed.

Rong Hua's eyes shot daggers, but he couldn't come up with a decent comeback to throw back at the captain.

At that moment, Rong Hua was like a little dog marking its territory, only to be casually swatted over by a bigger, more composed older dog, left floundering in the mud, unable to roll back over.

He could only swallow his frustration and shoot a wet, pleading look at Shu Hanqing beside him.

Shu Hanqing simply took the crystal core from Rong Hua's palm and slipped it back into Rong Hua's own jacket pocket.

"I'll pay the captain back myself. You put that away now."

Don't make a fool of yourself.

Rong Hua, who had been at a loss for words just a moment ago, straightened his spine as if he'd just been granted a word of favor, leaning back against the rear seat with a nonchalant air, casting a provocative sidelong glance at the front row: "I'll do what Hanqing says."

Shu Hanqing: "...Just shut up, will you?"

Up front, Mu Ye's fingers clenched tightly around the prayer beads, his heart already churning like a thousand-mile tidal wave—a storm of turmoil.

She had already been taken from him.

And now, even the name Hanqing—was it to be snatched away by this senseless young whelp?

The beads in his palm nearly creaked from the pressure.

Sang Mai side-eyed their captain's hand and dared not linger a second longer. Amid the roar, the long-suppressed savagery and bloodlust deep in Mu Ye's eyes surged up uncontrollably.