Chapter 75: I Was Reborn Long Ago

Chapter 75: I Got My New Life Long Ago

When Yan Shenyun stayed quiet for a long moment, Shu Hanqing's heart stirred slightly, a flicker of disbelief in his eyes as he looked Yan Shenyun up and down. "…Don't tell me you've really never done it even once?"

Thinking about it carefully.

That was probably exactly the case.

Yan Shenyun's brain had an IQ comparable to a human supercomputer, yet when it came to romance and desire, he was as dense as a brick.

Aside from that unresolved, ambiguous bond they'd formed back then—never quite brought to light—imagining this icy, untouchable figure falling for anyone else was just absurd.

Unimaginable.

Come to think of it, Mu Ye was already a painfully stubborn, difficult piece of work. Shu Hanqing had been driven up the wall by him before, but when it came to handling that kind of repressed, brooding type, he'd long since figured out the playbook—whenever the other guy backed off an inch, you had to push a mile.

But Yan Shenyun and Mu Ye were cut from different cloth. Yan Shenyun had been through too many life-and-death partings, silently carrying the gut-wrenching pain of those long years by himself, his mind worn down to the edge of collapse.

Yan Shenyun's face fell a little as he asked, tense, "…Is that really that bad?"

Shu Hanqing shook his head and patted Yan Shenyun's shoulder reassuringly. "Nah, keeping yourself clean—that's a good thing."

Yan Shenyun frowned, clearly not buying it. He raised his hand, about to grab Shu Hanqing's fingers and ask more, when Shu Hanqing had already stood up, casually dropping that he was going out for some air.

By the time Yan Shenyun followed him out the door, sure enough, a bunch of hot, gossip-hungry stares immediately locked onto them.

Yin Bianyan and the crew could joke around with Shu Hanqing in private, but the moment they caught sight of Yan Shenyun's ascetic, cold face, they all shut up instantly and scattered like roaches.

Just then, Mu Ye came out of nowhere. Catching sight of Yan Shenyun walking out of Shu Hanqing's bedroom, his face went pale. He stormed over in big strides, grabbing Yan Shenyun by the shirt collar and growling, "…What did you do to him last night?"

Seeing things go south, Sang Mai and Shi Lei rushed over and physically yanked the two bristling men apart.

Shu Hanqing couldn't be bothered. Rubbing his temples, he turned and left.

Seeing this, Mu Ye shoved Sang Mai aside and chased after him urgently. "Hanqing…"

Yan Shenyun stood in place, smoothing out the crumpled collar of his shirt, his dark gaze lingering thoughtfully on Mu Ye's back as he chased after Shu Hanqing.

If Shu Hanqing was into him, maybe he never should've kept Mu Ye around in the first place.

Yin Bianyan sidled up to fish for info. "…Professor? So… how'd last night go?"

Yan Shenyun tilted his head, looking confused.

Yin Bianyan blinked. "…No way? You two seriously didn't do anything last night?"

Yan Shenyun didn't answer, just turned and walked off.

Around a corner in the underground hallway, Mu Ye blocked Shu Hanqing's way, his eyes full of panic and fear. "Hanqing, don't ignore me…"

Shu Hanqing stopped and looked up at him, exasperated. "Yan Shenyun's not gonna hurt me. You really don't need to worry about this."

Mu Ye grabbed his wrist, voice rough. "…It's not just when he hurts you that I get worried."

Shu Hanqing merely let out a soft laugh. "…Then your worrying's a little late, don't you think? If we're talking about who came first, I've known him way longer than I've known you."

Mu Ye's face went completely sour.

Shu Hanqing looked at him. "In seven days, Yan Shenyun's letting me out of here. When that time comes, you decide whether to stay or go. Think it over. Mu Ye, nobody in this world is born to orbit around someone else."

Mu Ye: "…But I… my whole life… I've only ever orbited around you."

Shu Hanqing looked at the hopelessly stubborn Mu Ye and let out a long, tired sigh. Waving his hand wearily, he said, "Forget it. Suit yourself."

Mu Ye grabbed him, asking disbelievingly, "…Is Yan Shenyun really gonna be okay with letting you go?"

Shu Hanqing nodded. "If he won't let me go, I've got plenty of ways to turn this place upside down. He's too set on keeping me alive to ever hurt me."

Having made the seven-day deal, Shu Hanqing stuck to his word like clockwork.

During these days, he stayed by Yan Shenyun's side, letting Yan Shenyun give him a full tour of the massive underground facility.

The deeper they went, the emptier and more dead-silent the place got.

Standing on a hanging metal walkway, staring out at the pitch-black rock layers and the huge skeletal structures looming in the shadows, Shu Hanqing finally realized—this place was originally meant to be an underground refuge city in the early days of the apocalypse.

Later, when the tide of the war turned and the surface never fully fell, this grand project was abandoned and left to rot. By sheer chance, it had fallen into Yan Shenyun's hands, who converted it into the secret base beneath their feet—occupying only a small fraction of the original structure.

Yan Shenyun stood beside him, hand resting on the cold metal railing, his tone calm and even. "Human civilization on the surface wasn't completely overrun by zombies, so there was no need for the entire population to relocate underground. Naturally, this place was abandoned."

Shu Hanqing turned to look at his cold, sharp profile and sighed softly. "Yan Shenyun, you've already… done far too much for this world."

Yan Shenyun looked away. "Perhaps. At least the grand trends of the future can be predicted—humanity won't lose its home, the zombie king can't stir up much trouble, and those mutated creatures will eventually be eroded and purified by time."

He could still rewrite the sweeping currents of an era, yet ironically, fate played its cruelest trick—he alone could not calculate the destiny of a single person.

This was perhaps the deepest, most powerless sorrow of Yan Shenyun's life: he had devoted his entire being to saving countless thousands of human lives, yet in that ledger of salvation, the one person he loved most could not be kept.

Shu Hanqing saw the suppressed despair in his eyes, took his hand, and said gently, "Yan Shenyun, for these seven days, set aside the weight of saving the world. Just be the most ordinary person, alright? Empty out all those heavy, complicated thoughts from your mind. Don't think about anything."

And so he did. Shu Hanqing dragged him back to the room and enthusiastically taught Yan Shenyun to play video games.

With Yan Shenyun's terrifying computational brain and reaction speed, picking up such games came naturally fast.

But to match Shu Hanqing's pace, he deliberately slowed his hand speed, gladly accompanying Shu Hanqing as they fought and dashed through pixelated levels together.

They curled up on the soft sofa, watching old movies preserved from before the apocalypse. When something funny happened, Shu Hanqing would occasionally laugh until he doubled over, collapsing into Yan Shenyun's arms without a care.

And Yan Shenyun would simply lower his head, watching Shu Hanqing's radiant, sun-bright smile, his own expression gradually softening, a small, contented curve forming at the corners of his lips as he laughed silently along with him.

Seeing Yan Shenyun in such a long-absent state of ease, Shu Hanqing's heart softened. He couldn't help reaching out, gently stroking the few strands of white at Yan Shenyun's temples and crown, murmuring softly, "How… did so much of it turn white?"

Yan Shenyun let his fingers run through his hair, asking in a low voice, "Is it ugly?"

Shu Hanqing shook his head, his nose stinging.

Yan Shenyun's gaze suddenly deepened. Before Shu Hanqing could pull his hand back, he had already leaned in, urgently pressing his lips to Shu Hanqing's slightly parted mouth.

A man who had never known the flesh—once he had tasted that flavor—the pent-up obsession that had been suppressed for far too long exploded like dry kindling meeting a spark, roaring to life with unstoppable force.

In the cozy bedroom that had been at a comfortable temperature, the air heated up rapidly.

Shu Hanqing was stunned, his last shred of rationality making him ask, "…Are you really sure you can?"

Yan Shenyun frowned and leaned in closer, his face flushed red all the way down to his neck. "I can. Perfectly normal performance."

Clothing was stripped away roughly and hurriedly, piece by piece, falling to the cold floor.

After that night, Shu Hanqing spent an entire day lying in bed with a sore back and aching limbs.

Shu Hanqing felt that Yan Shenyun had severely underestimated him—this was already way above normal levels.

When night fell and it was time to sleep, Yan Shenyun held him in his arms, but in the end couldn't suppress the bone-deep craving, his movements gentle yet lingering as he slowly ran his hand along Shu Hanqing's spine.

Shu Hanqing kept his eyes closed, his breathing thrown into chaos by the elusive teasing. Finally unable to hold back, he shifted his hips slightly and slipped his hand into Yan Shenyun's shirt, pressing against his scorching body.

The two of them naturally tangled together once more in the dim, shadowy light.

When it came down to primal instinct and desire, all men were ultimately the same.

For the entire week that followed, they were almost completely cut off from the world, wrapped up in each other.

They curled up under a blanket on the sofa and watched long, classic films. When Shu Hanqing grew too exhausted and dozed off, Yan Shenyun would sit quietly by his side, gazing at him in the light, the room filled with a peace utterly unique in this post-apocalyptic wasteland.

Sometimes Yan Shenyun would lose himself in thought, greedily imagining how wonderful it would be if such moments could stretch on for the rest of his life, continuing in this quiet peace forever.

Every time he thought of this, he would zone out for a long time.

But Yan Shenyun knew better than anyone that this stolen dream would eventually be shattered. Once the seven-day deadline arrived, Shu Hanqing would still have to leave him without looking back.

Yan Shenyun was truly a prodigy standing at the pinnacle of human intelligence—even in bed, he displayed a terrifying capacity for learning and mastery.

After a few attempts and experiments, he instinctively figured out every sensitive spot and hidden erogenous zone of Shu Hanqing's body.

Shu Hanqing was driven senseless by that overwhelming presence and skillful possession, his eyes red-rimmed, several times brought to the brink of ecstasy.

In moments of wild passion and drenching sweat, Shu Hanqing, dazed, reached out his long, limp arms and tightly wrapped them around Yan Shenyun's sweat-dampened, cool neck.

He pressed his burning forehead against the man's ear, his voice trembling and hoarse as he begged: "We... we'll definitely meet again."

Yan Shenyun was tall and imposing, and his size was anything but ordinary.

Shu Hanqing curled his toes, his cool fingers stroking and pressing along the taut, rippling muscles of Yan Shenyun's back, desperately trying to soothe the man on the verge of losing control, whispering softly to coax him to go lighter, slower.

Yan Shenyun's body pressed heavily down on him, heavy breaths hot against his neck.

He bared his teeth and bit down on Shu Hanqing's vulnerable Adam's apple, growling in a low, hoarse voice: "...Don't say things that might make me regret."

Inch by inch, his defenses were breached and torn apart. The man who was usually clear-headed and dominant now wore a dazed, helpless look in his eyes, even looking pitifully lost and soft.

Shu Hanqing, drifting hazily through wave after wave of overwhelming pleasure, thought to himself that a Psychic Ability User truly possessed terrifying control even in matters like this.

During those brief seven days, they lived like an ordinary couple deeply in love, inseparable.

After another storm of relentless claiming, utterly exhausted, Shu Hanqing grabbed the blanket and rolled himself up like a burrito, retreating to the side.

He broke free from Yan Shenyun's embrace and turned his back on him, muttering sullenly: "No more... I really can't anymore."

Brought to a screeching halt from behind, Yan Shenyun, a complete mess, froze on the bed. But the one who had sparked the fire had already turned away, leaving him staring at his cold back.

Yan Shenyun pressed up behind him, wrapping his arms around him, lowering his head to press soothing kisses to the young man's flushed cheek.

Shu Hanqing buried his entire face deep into the soft bedding, his voice hoarse: "Yan Shenyun... I'm really just too tired."

Yan Shenyun tightened his arms, pulling Shu Hanqing tightly into his embrace, his cool lips pressing kiss after kiss over his cheeks and earlobes.

Looking at the real, tangible Shu Hanqing in his arms, Yan Shenyun felt a strange, dreamlike sense of unreality welling up inside him, as if he were carefully kissing a cloud that could scatter at any moment.

Yan Shenyun spoke against Shu Hanqing's hair: "You don't actually need to go out of your way to have Sang Mai take the risk of sending Lei Zheng a message to let him know you're safe... You'll be able to leave soon. He's already gone mad by now, mobilizing all his forces to issue a region-wide manhunt for me."

Shu Hanqing sighed and spoke softly: "...Yan Shenyun, you really don't need to go through all this hiding and running, like a rat on the run, just for me."

"You spent so much effort and half a lifetime of work to forcibly snatch my life back. I know better than anyone how much it's worth, and I'll cherish it and keep living from now on."

"So... let's not have any more regrets, okay?"

"Your extraordinary talent and Superpower were meant to be used to save the world and rebuild civilization. You were born to stand on a pedestal above everyone else, revered and adored. No one can trip you up—not even me."

Shu Hanqing spoke softly, tears slowly welling up in his eyes: "Yan Shenyun, do you know? Sometimes when I look back, I always feel like I've held all of you back far too much. In the past, I used to constantly drive myself crazy imagining... if I hadn't been in that apocalypse, would Lei Zheng, Mu Ye, Rong Hua, and those brothers and sisters at the base who fought alongside us have had completely different, peaceful, safe outcomes?"

Yan Shenyun wrapped his arms tightly around his waist from behind, burying his cold, handsome face deep into the fragrant curve of Shu Hanqing's shoulder and neck.

Hearing this, Yan Shenyun muttered in protest: "No... Shu Hanqing, you don't understand at all. Without you... all this salvation, this rebuilt world, would mean absolutely nothing."

Shu Hanqing: "If time could turn back again, back to the moment when I needed to sacrifice myself... I would still make the exact same choice. I know that to protect the most precious things in this chaotic world, you're bound to pay a price. You were all willing to cast aside everything to love me, to save me. I'm truly overwhelmed, and sometimes I panic, thinking—what did I do to deserve you all spending so many years loving me... That's why I don't want to see any of you get hurt again. You hate each other, tear each other apart, and every wound feels like a knife stabbing straight into my heart."

Shu Hanqing sniffled, his nose sore, turned his head back, his eyes reflecting Yan Shenyun's deep, night-sky-like gaze, and whispered softly: "Back then, I didn't dare turn around to look at you even once, didn't dare leave you a single word of farewell... It wasn't that I didn't love you, but that I was too afraid. I was afraid that if I turned around and met your eyes, and you saw the fear and cowardice in mine, you would desperately take me away no matter what."

"These words... I should have said to you long ago."

Shu Hanqing reached out, cupping Yan Shenyun's face, and the tears finally spilled over.

"Yan Shenyun... I love you. What I love most... is that radiant, universally respected Professor Yan."

"You don't have to plunge yourself into this dark, mad hell for me... because many years ago, I was already reborn thanks to you."

Yan Shenyun's two long, powerful arms tightened more and more, as if he wanted to crush the person in his embrace and melt him into his own flesh and blood.

There was no clothing between them, and Shu Hanqing could feel plainly the burning desire and grief radiating from the man's body.

Yan Shenyun: "...I'll do what you say."

Shu Hanqing's eyes were full of warmth. He leaned in, as if to comfort or reward him, and breathed softly against his earlobe: "...Then continue."

The feather-light whisper instantly ignited the wildness that reason had kept caged in the man's heart.

The beast that had temporarily retreated stirred back to life, eager.

The seven days passed in the blink of an eye, and Yan Shenyun kept his promise, deciding to let Shu Hanqing go.

In those brief seven days, he smiled more than he had in all his previous years combined.

In the dazed haze of their repeated passionate entanglements, Yan Shenyun took Shu Hanqing's hand and slowly pushed a simple silver ring onto his ring finger.

Yan Shenyun gave the order for everyone to evacuate the underground ruin. Faced with the faint unease of Yin Bianyan and the others, Shu Hanqing spoke up to reassure them, promising that Lei Zheng would absolutely not launch an attack on them.

Mu Ye's face was dark and grim, not saying a word.

At the elevator shaft, Shu Hanqing stepped onto the metal platform together with Yin Bianyan, Mu Ye, and Sang Mai.

Yan Shenyun said calmly that he would stay alone in the deepest control room to handle the final facility destruction and cleanup work.

With the massive gears grinding, the elevator began to rise slowly.

Shu Hanqing couldn't help but bend down to look below. The dark underground fortress rapidly shrank in his field of vision, eventually becoming nothing but a pitch-black, silent void.

It wasn't until the elevator broke through the surface that blinding sunlight suddenly flooded his eyes. It turned out this vast underground project was hidden deep beneath an endless, uninhabited desert.

The howling wind whipped up clouds of yellow sand as Shi Lei quickly activated his powers. With the rumbling roar of boulders and gravel, several off-road vehicles soon revealed their massive frames from beneath the thick layers of sand.

Meanwhile, in the emergency liaison room of the Central Military Command Headquarters, thousands of miles away, a piercing alarm suddenly blared through the hall.

"Sir, reporting! They're out! The target has shown strong vital signs!" the monitor operator screamed frantically.

Lei Zheng, who had been standing before the large screen all night without sleep, spun around sharply, his bloodshot eyes flashing with intensity: "...Immediately confirm the exact coordinates!"

In the desert wind and sand, Shu Hanqing stepped onto the scorching gravel, looking up at the azure sky and the real sunlight. It was only then that he truly believed Yan Shenyun was prepared to let him return to freedom.

Once in the vehicle, Mu Ye sat pressed up against him, turning his face away with his lips pressed into a tight line.

As the wheels churned up rolling clouds of sand and roared off, Shu Hanqing watched the undulating dunes outside the window, a restless, uneasy feeling welling up inside him.

He asked Sang Mai, who was in the driver's seat: "...Where are we right now?"

Sang Mai, both hands on the steering wheel, replied: "The uninhabited buffer zone on the outskirts of Sector Five."

Shu Hanqing's eyelids twitched uncontrollably, and a wave of dread washed over him instantly: "...Don't head off yet. Let's stop and wait for Yan Shenyun and the others to catch up before we move."

Sang Mai said: "But the professor told us to head out first. Only he can deactivate all the devices."

Shu Hanqing turned the icy silver ring on his ring finger. As his fingertip traced along the delicate band, he suddenly felt a tiny hidden latch, so seamlessly integrated into the surface that it was nearly invisible.

Shu Hanqing furrowed his brows tightly, and with a sudden press of his fingertip—

With a soft hum, a faint holographic projection flickered to life above the ring, instantly weaving a dense, rapidly flowing stream of data in the air.

And amid the vast, complex code flashing by, a string of keys suddenly appeared.

It hit Shu Hanqing like a thunderclap, and he roared out: "...Sang Mai! Stop the car immediately!"