Chapter 41: I Was Going Easy on You Before

Chapter 41: I Used to Let You Win

Shu Hanqing slowly mulled over that bastard Rong Hua.

What a total dick—soon as he gets his rocks off, he's done with you.

In bed, Rong Hua wasn't like this. Though he always carried that reckless, bull-in-a-china-shop energy, he'd cling to you like a damn koala.

Back then, Shu Hanqing could feel himself being needed every second, like he was being fiercely, desperately wanted.

But now? He gets his nut and pulls up his pants like it never happened, huh.

Rong Hua sat on the other side, stone-faced and brooding. Shu Hanqing let out a cold laugh, couldn't be bothered to break the silence.

When dawn broke, Shi Lei woke up with a start.

That big guy was as energetic as a Duracell bunny on crack. The moment he opened his eyes, he spotted the two of them sitting on opposite sides, keeping their distance.

He was oblivious to the weird vibe between them and hollered at the top of his lungs: "Brother Shu! Rong Hua! Let's go—fight! Slaughter them all!"

Shu Hanqing's head throbbed from that racket. He was utterly exhausted, barely keeping his eyes open as he slumped in a corner, half-asleep, fading in and out.

Rong Hua shot Shi Lei an ice-cold glare, then stood up without a word. He stripped off his own military-green jacket and plopped it right over Shu Hanqing's head.

Shi Lei's big speech died in his throat: "..."

In his sleep, Shu Hanqing felt his vision go dark as the jacket—tinged with that familiar, cold scent—came crashing down, instantly stealing what little air he had.

He squirmed beneath the fabric, poked half his face out, and once he could breathe again, he instinctively pulled the jacket tighter around himself and drifted back off.

Shi Lei scratched his head, puzzled: "Rong Hua, why's Brother Shu so tired? Looks like he didn't sleep a wink all night."

Rong Hua turned away and spat out flatly: "...He had insomnia."

"Brother Shu doesn't have insomnia," Shi Lei said flat-out, rubbing the back of his head as he recalled, "Last time I slept next to him, he didn't snore or talk in his sleep—super quiet, and he'd be out like a light. Once I couldn't sleep and wanted to chat with him, but before I even got my first sentence out, he'd already conked out."

The way he said it made Shu Hanqing sound like some clueless, happy-go-lucky sweetheart who never took anything to heart.

The moment Shi Lei finished, the air around them seemed to drop ten degrees.

Rong Hua's eyes cut into him like knives. Shi Lei, big as he was, felt a chill run down his spine under that look and shut his trap.

Rong Hua said they could head out later, after Shu Hanqing woke up.

Shi Lei had no choice but to nod—after all, it's just what you do for your squad.

By the time Shu Hanqing finally woke for real, the sunlight had already drifted westward, the blazing sun sinking into late afternoon.

He winced, rubbing his sore scalp, then jumped when he saw the time: "Why didn't you guys wake me? Aren't we gonna be way behind everyone else now?"

Shi Lei watched as, a split second before Shu Hanqing opened his eyes, Rong Hua bent down expressionless and yanked the jacket off him.

Having witnessed their strange exchange, Shi Lei got to wondering.

Despite his aching back, Shu Hanqing insisted they set out immediately.

Rong Hua didn't say anything either.

The road ahead was packed with obstacles.

But Rong Hua was a walking powder keg.

Every barrier blocking their way was nothing but paper-mâché garbage in his hands—he kicked, smashed, and tore through them with savage, brute force, carving out a path.

Shu Hanqing and Shi Lei shot each other a look.

Both saw the same unspoken understanding in each other's eyes: don't poke the mad dog. In perfect sync, they slowed their steps and edged back several meters, putting more distance between themselves and that walking arsenal radiating bad vibes.

As night fell, the dense forest grew quieter. They bumped into three other familiar faces amid the ruins of an abandoned building.

All of them from the training camp.

Two of them were women—a rare pair of twin supers. The older twin was Tan Chi, the younger Tan Ting, and they had a guy with them named Guan Hong.

The moment they spotted the newcomers, especially Rong Hua, the trio's eyes lit up, and they immediately asked to team up with Shu Hanqing's group.

The twin sisters had a rare Water Ability too. They were quite friendly toward Shu Hanqing, chatting with bright smiles, but soon their big, sparkling eyes turned shy and eager, locked onto Rong Hua.

Rong Hua had a strikingly handsome yet cold, hard face—broad shoulders, narrow waist, radiating raw, dangerous power. Any normal man under those twin gazes would've been weak in the knees.

Shu Hanqing figured Rong Hua was anything but normal.

Rong Hua glanced at Shu Hanqing out of habit and asked: "...Should we let them join?"

Shu Hanqing: "...Aren't you the one in charge? Why're you asking me?"

Rong Hua: "...Fine, then they're out."

The three across from them all looked disappointed. Shu Hanqing quickly added: "Alright, you're in."

Rong Hua flipped it: "Fine."

From the trio, they learned that the only road ahead was not only swarming with zombies but also loaded with extremely complex barricades. Since they were few and weak, they'd been holed up here, too afraid to push forward, desperately waiting for a strong team to break through together.

Finally finding a place to rest, Shu Hanqing sat off to the side by himself, chomping on a dry, hard high-energy bar.

He'd barely gotten two bites in when a cold breeze swept past him. Rong Hua reached out, grabbed Shu Hanqing's wrist, and dragged him off into the pitch-black night, throwing over his shoulder: "You all stay here. We'll scout ahead."

Caught off guard, Shu Hanqing stumbled, still clutching the half-eaten energy bar: "Go yourself if you want! I'm going back."

But Rong Hua didn't waste a word on him. After a few seconds of struggling and grappling, Shu Hanqing found himself bound tight and hauled away.

Shu Hanqing: "..."

Two hours later, when they walked back into camp, Shi Lei, who'd been keeping watch by the fire, took one look and keenly sensed something off.

Shu Hanqing's clothes were slightly disheveled—the collar of his tactical top, normally buttoned to the chin, sat crooked, hinting at a patch of ambiguous dark red on his collarbone, and even his face had an unusual dampness.

Shi Lei asked curiously: "Brother Shu... how's it looking up ahead?"

Shu Hanqing had been sulking in a corner with a dark face since returning. Without even lifting his eyelids, he raised a hand faintly marked with red and pointed to the side, muttering quietly: "Ask him."

Shi Lei blinked, feeling that Shu Hanqing's voice was hoarse to an almost unnatural degree.

Rong Hua, by contrast, was unusually composed. He calmly brushed a bit of grass off his shoulder and spoke with a straight face: "The bulk of the zombies are indeed up ahead, but there are also a few squads lurking nearby. They're probably all sizing up the situation, waiting for some cannon fodder to charge in first."

Shu Hanqing looked up, his gaze like daggers stabbing into Rong Hua's sanctimonious face.

He thought this man was an absolute master of talking out of his ass.

They hadn't actually gone far at all—hadn't even spotted a single zombie—when that beast Rong Hua started his shit with him.

At first, Shu Hanqing flat-out refused.

So the two of them fought.

The moonlight was weak, fury burning in Shu Hanqing's eyes, pale blue water vapor churning in his palms, a razor-sharp Water Blade spinning wildly at his fingertips.

He raised an eyebrow slightly, with a cocky, defiant air as he stared at Rong Hua: "Don't think for a second I'm scared of you. Rong Hua, are you ever going to stop? Once should be enough—you getting hooked on this now? Don't forget—we're nothing to each other now."

Rong Hua casually touched the spot on his neck that the water blade had nearly sliced open, where a thin line of blood was seeping out, and said coldly, like he had every right: "Whatever Mu Ye did to you, I'm doing it back to you. Why should he get the easy win?"

At those words, the two of them went at each other again, hard.

Shu Hanqing was, after all, a ruthless fighter from his past life. In the final moment, he used his momentum to flip Rong Hua onto the ground, pinning him down with brutal force.

He grabbed Rong Hua's neck and, with his other hand, slapped Rong Hua across his pretty face out of spite, sneering down at him.

"Back then, I was going easy on you, giving you a little credit. You actually think you're untouchable now?"

Rong Hua's face flushed red again—weirdly.

Shu Hanqing: "...Alright, knock it off."

Who would've thought Rong Hua—who'd been a savage beast seconds ago—would suddenly turn his head away when force didn't work?

When he turned back, his narrow, pitch-black eyes were actually brimming with tears.

Shu Hanqing: "..."

What the hell? He's pulling this shit now?

Rong Hua stared at Shu Hanqing with that abandoned-by-the-world pathetic look, his voice low and hoarse, and started talking out of nowhere about what happened to him after he went back.

He talked about his so-called family, how his father never treated him right—Rong Hua's father had long since found someone new, and the only reason he'd made a big show of taking his son back in the apocalypse was for Rong Hua's terrifying Superpower—he just wanted a weapon.

Shu Hanqing was the type to melt for softness, not force.

The second Rong Hua put on that poor-me act, Shu Hanqing's rationality started to slip. Before he could even process the ache in his chest, the tables had turned in a flash.

Rong Hua took the opening.

The second Shu Hanqing let his guard down, Rong Hua moved fast and mean. In no time, by the time Shu Hanqing came to, his underwear was already gone.

Inside the ruined building, Rong Hua noticed Shu Hanqing's dagger-like glare, and instead of showing any restraint, he didn't hold back at all—just curled his lips into a nasty, arrogant, predatory grin.

He sat there, shamelessly spreading his long legs wide, oozing pure arrogance.

Shu Hanqing cursed him under his breath as a shameless pervert.

Rong Hua was a madman, and in bed he was a petty obsessive who had to compare everything to Mu Ye.

—"Has he been here?"

—"Has he ever made you feel this good?"

Every question dripped with jealousy, pounding into Shu Hanqing's head until it ached. Finally, he got so sick of Rong Hua's endless comparisons that he couldn't take it.

Shu Hanqing sneered, deliberately trying to piss him off: "...His technique's way better than yours."

Rong Hua obviously knew he was just trying to get under his skin.

At that, before Shu Hanqing could even gasp, that stunning face slowly leaned down.

Rong Hua asked if Mu Ye had ever done this to him before.

＊

Shu Hanqing's whole body went stiff, burning with shame and humiliation. He gritted his teeth and lifted his limp arm to push him away, but Rong Hua grabbed it and pinned it down hard.

Shu Hanqing had figured that once they got back to the temporary camp, Rong Hua would at least chill out for the night.

Who would've thought he'd start up again that night when they all sat around the fire?

The fire crackled, and low voices hummed around them.

Shu Hanqing was staring at the flames when something cold and foreign slid slowly through the gaps in his pants and clothes.

The move was all too familiar.

In an instant, a jolt of tingling and heat shot straight to his head. Shu Hanqing's lower back went weak, and he almost buckled on the spot. He shoved his hand into his clothes, fumbling for that slippery, cold vine, trying to shove it out.

But the vine was controlled by its master, slithering like a snake with eyes. His resistance was useless—it only tangled deeper.

Shu Hanqing shot Rong Hua a glare across the fire.

Rong Hua, meanwhile, was putting on a flawless act, chatting casually with Guan Hong next to him. The twin sister said something funny, and Rong Hua's lips curved into what could almost pass for a gentle smile—but he never once looked at Shu Hanqing, all while working his power in the shadows.

Shi Lei, sitting nearby, was dense, but even he noticed something off.

He turned and caught sight of a fine sheen of cold sweat on Shu Hanqing's forehead, his body trembling in small, unnatural twitches.

Shi Lei leaned over, puzzled: "Brother Shu, what's wrong with you?"

Shu Hanqing clenched his jaw, forcing down the moan that had climbed up his throat.

He yanked the jacket off his shoulder and pulled it down hard, hiding every trace of what was happening: "...I'm suddenly feeling a little hot. You guys keep talking—I'm gonna sleep."

Across the crackling fire, the others kept laughing and talking. Life in the apocalypse was boring, and the calm before a fight made everyone relax.

Shu Hanqing was left alone in the corner, clutching the clothes over him and cursing Rong Hua under his breath. He was getting used to this rhythm, and he was about to doze off.

Suddenly, Rong Hua strode over, looming above him and asking in a low voice how he was doing. The moment he got close, the vines flared up, and Shu Hanqing had to clamp his hand over his mouth, eyes wet with fury as he glared at him.

To anyone else, it looked like he was just trembling from discomfort.

Only Rong Hua could see that Shu Hanqing's pretty eyes were flushed at the corners, tinged with the rich colors of pure lust, yet he still gritted his teeth and held back.

That look—bullied but still proud—only made Rong Hua's gaze grow darker.

The clueless Shi Lei had just taken a step, about to come over and check on Shu Hanqing.

Before he could get close, Rong Hua reached out, grabbed Shu Hanqing's thin shoulders, and yanked him hard against his chest. He waved Shi Lei off: "He's probably just tired. He'll be fine after some rest."

Shu Hanqing had no choice but to bury his face in Rong Hua's broad chest, humiliated.

But the vines under the fabric didn't slow down at all—instead, as if sensing their master's cruelty and excitement, they got even bolder in the dark.

An overwhelming numbness drowned his reason in wave after wave.

Shu Hanqing, utterly limp in Rong Hua's arms, dug his nails into Rong Hua's flesh, trying to force him to get those damn things out of his clothes.

But Rong Hua didn't even flinch. He held him steady, looked down at him with a fake-concerned face, and said out of nowhere, "Shu Hanqing, why is your face so red?"

Tan Chi, who'd been watching from the sidelines, stood up and said softly that she'd studied nursing in school, offering to come take a look.

Her crisp footsteps drew closer by the fire, the crunch of crushed grass underfoot like a countdown to doom.

Shu Hanqing's sanity was screaming on the verge of collapse—if that girl took two more steps and glanced down, she'd see his dazed eyes and his flushed, mortifying expression.

At the last second, Rong Hua used one arm to scoop up the completely limp Shu Hanqing in a bridal carry.

His tall frame blocked everyone's prying eyes as Rong Hua said calmly, "It's too crowded in here, the air's bad. He's just a little dizzy—I'll take him out to get some air."

Only once their figures disappeared into the pitch-black night did those maddening vines reluctantly slink back.

Once they were alone, Shu Hanqing got into another fight with Rong Hua.

By the next day, Rong Hua had a faint handprint on his face, and Shu Hanqing really didn't say a single word to him.

After the wild night before, Rong Hua seemed to finally realize he'd gone too far.

When they set out this morning, he actually reined in his arrogance and quietly told Shu Hanqing to stick close once they entered the danger zone, and not to wander off.

Shu Hanqing just shot him a cold sidelong glare, didn't even bother to grunt, and walked off to the other side of the group.

Rong Hua froze, his face turning sour.

As the group pushed deeper into the heart of the area, the number of zombies really started multiplying exponentially. Growls and the stench of rot immediately filled their noses and mouths.

Rong Hua took down zombies with his usual brutal ferocity—his vines punching through them with devastating force.

When the fighting died down, the Tan sisters immediately crowded around him, summoning clean streams of water to wash the blood off his hands. Rong Hua looked at his hands and awkwardly muttered thanks. Shu Hanqing glanced over from a distance and snorted disdainfully.

So what if he killed a few zombies? Treated like a damn emperor.

Just then, a gray vine silently slithered up to Shu Hanqing's feet.

It was the thickest main vine of Rong Hua's wood ability—the one that usually charged into battle without fear as the main fighter.

Shu Hanqing recognized it; he had once teasingly nicknamed it Xiao Qiang. It had just fought its way out of a pile of zombies, covered in sticky black-red gore from head to tail, looking pretty beat up.

Shu Hanqing pressed his thin lips together, a flicker of sympathy stirring in his chest. His fingertips twitched, and he was about to use his Water Ability to wash it off.

But before his water could even form, the Tan sisters beat him to it, dousing the vine with a practiced stream of water.

The thick vine was instantly scrubbed clean, but it recoiled as if it'd been touched by something disgusting, writhing violently in the mud and refusing to let the two girls near it.

Rong Hua strode over, glaring coldly at the vine that was losing it, and barked, "Get back!"

But Xiao Qiang, usually so obedient, was now caked in mud and flat-out refused for the first time. It stubbornly coiled around and settled at Shu Hanqing's boot.

Shu Hanqing sighed, flicked his finger, and finally deigned to give it a bit of his own pure water.

The moment that rough, fierce main vine touched Shu Hanqing's water ability, it suddenly trembled wildly before him. Then, without warning, the ugly vine burst forth with a row of pure white, delicate little flowers, swaying shyly and eagerly around Shu Hanqing's ankle like a big dog trying to please its master.

The wood ability's state of mind and its manifestations were always connected to its owner.

This fawning display was witnessed by everyone around, and the Tan sisters wore expressions of sudden realization.

Rong Hua, in front of everyone, blushed from the base of his neck all the way to his ears, flustered and furious, shouting at Xiao Qiang in exasperation, "Get back here!"

The main vine Xiao Qiang, now covered in white blossoms and desperately trying to curry favor, slunk back into the shadows after being scolded.