CH 35

Chapter 35: One bed, two people

Cheng Rui hugged her and did not let her go, greedy for her warmth.

“Let me hug you for a while.” He said.

When he had come to this world, his biological parents had abandoned him. He had been picked up by his foster mother and entered training camp rather young. What they had needed was a strong and sharp knife, not him.

His adoptive mother and brother had treated him well but he had never felt part of a family. He was taciturn and quiet, his mouth unable to flatter or calm others, and today he would have done anything to be able to talk. He wanted to say sweet words to Bai Qingqing and beg her to be with him.

Bai Qingqing felt his warm breath and stopped struggling. It was useless, not only she didn’t have the strength to break free from him but this situation might also create some sparks. Perhaps he just really needed to hug her.

The man’s powerful arms held her firmly. In the darkness, the two of them couldn’t see clearly but could feel each other’s bodies. They didn’t know how long the embrace lasted but Cheng Rui let go and lowered his head to look at the girl in front of him.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.” Bai Qinqging raised her chin and smiled, “I don’t blame you.”

Cheng Rui felt a little guilty in his heart; she must have been shocked or her voice wouldn’t be trembling. He immediately turned around to leave the room.

“Cheng Rui!” Bai Qingqing stopped him quickly.

Cheng Rui paused but didn’t look at her.

“Cheng Rui, can you… don’t leave.” Bai Qingqing stood in the dark room and was a little scared. She had never told anyone, but she was really afraid of the dark. At night, there were monsters with sharp teeth and claws coming out.

Cheng Rui finally turned to her again and Bai Qingqing explained incoherently: “I mean, well it’s just… I’m scared of the dark. Can you stay with me?”

“Yes.” Cheng Rui answered right away and walked to the couch to sit down.

Bai Qingqing had just climbed onto the bed and looked at Cheng Rui. He was like a silent black knight guarding her, which made her feel immediately safer.

But he had been gravely injured. Sitting there, unable to rest, would just tire him more and affect the healing process. Bai Qingqing naturally wouldn’t be cruel enough to let him sit like that all night long, although she knew that he would if she asked him to.

She took two blankets from the space, made the bed, laid the quilts, and said: “Cheng Rui, come sleep here.”

Since the end of the world, many men and women have huddled together at night. Distinction between genders didn’t exist anymore.

But Cheng Rui thought he had just offended her and believed her to be nervous and afraid of him. He didn’t expect she would share the bed with him and strong emotions flashed in his eyes.

“No, I’ll stay there. You sleep first.”

Bai Qingqing: “…”

A little bit stubborn.

She got out of bed and walked to him: “Don’t you want to get better?”

Cheng Rui’s lips tightened and he raised his eyes to look at her.

Bai Qingqing said with a commanding tone: “Go to bed quickly. You need to feel better tomorrow to fight and lead us to the Yaoyang base safely.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Cheng Rui obeyed.

They each had their own blanket and were tucked in warmly. While there was a big man next to her, Bai Qingqing felt safe and closed her eyes and slowly fell asleep.

Cheng Rui wasn’t so fast. Between the pain from his injury and the girl he liked lying beside him naively, how could he fall asleep peacefully?

He turned slightly and look at Bai Qingqing’s sleeping face under the faint light of the moon.

Bai Qingqing’s eyes were closed and her eyelashes were fluttering light small brushes, shedding a shadow on her cheeks. Her small red lips were slightly open and her breathing was shallow.

The more he watched her, the more fascinated Cheng Rui became and his eyes started burning passionately. He swallowed his Adam’s apple and without his gaze difficulty, before counting silently as if he was still in the army until he finally managed to fall asleep without any more distracting thoughts.

***

The next day, sunlight poured into the room through the window, bringing a bit of warmth. The dazzling new day woke up the two people in the bed from their slumber.

Cheng Rui was the first to stir. His legs were pressed against something and when he opened his eyes and looked over, he saw the slender calves of the girl lying next to him.

It turned out that the quiet way she had fallen asleep last night had been just an illusion; by morning, Cheng Rui was squeezed on the edge, almost about to fall.

Cheng Rui got up and carefully moved her legs away before going to the bathroom and washing quickly. Then he took out a gun from his bag and went outside to check the situation.

After exploring the surroundings and coming back, Bai Qingqing was still sleeping, just like a lazy little kitten.

“Qingqing.” Cheng Rui patted her hand softly.

Bai Qingqing frowned slightly, stretched out her hand impatiently, and waved the invasion away.

Cheng Rui tried again: “Qingqing, wake up.”

Bai Qingqing was startled awake. She opened her eyes slowly and looked at the handsome man in front of her: “… Cheng Rui?”

It took a second but everything came back to her. Yesterday, the Thunder Squad had been separated after encountering zombies and mutant plants, and she had hidden in a house with Cheng Rui.

She rubbed her eyes and asked in a daze: “How’s the situation outside? Can we leave?”

“Yes.” Cheng Rui answered, “You go get ready, we will leave soon. If it goes well, we will reach the Yaoyang base in two days.”

Bai Qingqing did as he said. She went to the bathroom, washed her face, and looked at herself in the mirror. Her delicate face was a little haggard, giving an illusion of sickly beauty.

The truth was it was really hard to rest when always on the road. Combined with that, she had a small appetite and barely ate any nutritious food; she had lost a lot of weight.

She wondered if Fu Chen was okay and if he would reach the base safely. She also hoped that the Professor and his wife were alright too or her side task would fail and she wouldn’t find any clues about the virus.

She left the bathroom, tied her hair to reveal her pretty face, and said: “Let’s go.”

Their car drove at high speed and over more undead while Bai Qingqing held a gun and occasionally practiced her marksmanship on stray targets. Cheng Rui would help her adjust her angle from time to time and the more they drove, the more headshots she managed and the more crystal cores were grabbed.

The two of them were like lovers eloping in the last days, rushing on the highway towards the blazing sun.

***

When night started to fall, the car stopped at a gas station and they ran into a team of survivors. There were five people, two couples and a middle-aged man with long hair and an odd local dialect.

It had been a while since anyone had run into another team and both sides exchanged a few words. When they learned everyone was heading to the Yaoyang base, smiles bloomed on their faces.

The leader of the team was called Zhou Hang and his girlfriend was called Yang Li. The two had originally been on their way to get married but the end of the world had come before the wedding. The whole world had changed and they had escaped in a hurry.

Yang Li was very happy to meet other people and she smiled: “Tomorrow, we will be able to reach the base.”

Doomsday bases were mankind last inhabitable places. People there did not have to worry about being bitten every single day, nor would they starve to death; as long as they were there, humankind had a future.

Zhou Hang hugged her and said: “Yes, we have been running for our lives for months now, we finally have hope.”

The group talked and laughed some more, even sharing their meal with Bai Qingqing and Cheng Rui. Yang Li was curious about their relationship and asked: “Are the two of you dating?”

“Definitely!” The long-haired man laughed, “The two of them are definitely lovers!”

The other woman disagreed: “That’s not true, I think they’re just friends.” She looked at Cheng Rui with a smile, “Am I right?”

Zhou Hang and Yang Li were high school sweethearts and relationships like they had were rare in the last days; the end of the world had messed up any kind of normal relationships. 1 Survivors might say they were a couple but most of the time, women were just tools for men to vent their desires.

Bai Qingqing looked weak and must be one of those women who relied on a man to survive. Otherwise, the two of them would have spoken about their relationship a while ago.

Cheng Rui pursed his lips and didn’t answer.

Bai Qingqing grabbed Cheng Rui’s hand. In a weak voice, she said: “He’s my brother’s friend.”

Cheng Rui was silent and a little uncomfortable.

“Hello, handsome. My name is Wang Feifei, what’s yours?” The woman took the initiative to talk.

Cheng Rui glanced at her coldly, obviously not interested, and pulled Bai Qingqing back into the car.

It was silent inside and Bai Qingqing yawned lazily and lowered the seat to sleep. But suddenly, there was a knock on her window and the woman appeared. Taunting her, Wang Feifei talked to Cheng Rui over her.

“Handsome, are you hungry? I have bread and water.”

Bai Qingqing closed her eyes as if she hadn’t seen the intrusion and Cheng Rui opened his car to get out. The woman thought he was seduced and she walked to him with a shake of the hips, her voice deliberately seductive: “Handsome, there are too many people here, let’s go a bit further.”

Bai Qingqing was about to fall asleep when he heard another knocking sound

Was it her or was Cheng Rui really fast?

She opened her eyes and frowned when she saw the man standing outside the car.

Fantastic, Wang Feifei’s boyfriend was coming to her instead of catching his girl cheating.

She opened the window and the man leaned over with one hand on the roof of the car and a smile on his face: “Little girl, I don’t think you ate anything tonight. I have bread and water with me, would you like some?”

Bai Qingqing: …

What a coincidence, someone was sent directly to her door to practice her ability!