Ch 112: The Farmer Ger in the Apocalypse

Shen Qing sat on the luxurious leather sofa, while Song Kaiji sat beside him, clumsily peeling an apple like a timid newlywed wife. Qu Weiwei had dragged over a small stool to sit next to Shen Qing, nearly clutching his leg as if she wanted to wail and cry. “Boss, you’re finally back! You have no idea what kind of days we’ve been living while you were gone! Song Kaiji went completely crazy!”

Shen Qing curiously examined the villa. He hadn’t been gone for long, yet so much had changed—the first being that they had moved.

They had rented a townhouse in the inner city. Though it was considered one of the more modest residences in the area, it was still leagues better than their previous apartment. At the very least, they had now entered the inner city. Their journey to Zizhou had earned them a good haul, particularly from killing zombies and harvesting crystal cores, so they had the means to afford this place. Except for Song Kaiji, everyone had moved in and had been living here for several days now. There were also some unfamiliar faces Shen Qing hadn’t seen before.

Song Kaiji cut a piece of apple and held it up to Shen Qing’s lips, sheepishly saying, “I made some decisions on my own.”

When he had embraced Shen Qing earlier, saying, “I knew you’d come back,” in truth, he hadn’t known at all. He hadn’t dared to bet on it. At first, he hadn’t even doubted Shen Qing, until Zhang Sujuan made him think otherwise.

When Song Kaiji had gone to ask Zhang Sujuan for the space jade pendant, she held onto the string, hesitating and unwilling to let go.

He was confused—she had been the one to offer it to Shen Qing in the first place, so why was she hesitating now?

Looking at her foolish son, Zhang Sujuan finally sighed and spoke the truth. “You’re such a naïve boy, thinking only about love and nothing about reality. You always feel like you owe Shen Qing, like he has given more than you have. But have you ever considered that it’s because he simply has more than you? What he gives you might just be a drop in the ocean to him, something he doesn’t even think twice about. And yet, you, like a fool, are offering up your entire heart.”

Did Shen Qing love Song Kaiji as much? Maybe fifty percent as much? Or sixty?

Back then, she had wanted to give the jade pendant to Shen Qing. To put it bluntly, she had been trying to morally bind Shen Qing before her death, ensuring that even if he didn’t love Song Kaiji that much, he would at least take care of her foolish son out of gratitude for the pendant’s value and her final wishes.

As a mother, Zhang Sujuan was naturally selfish—she had to make plans for her own son. It was the only thing she could do as a powerless, dying woman. But now that she wasn’t dying, she still had time to teach her son, to observe Shen Qing and figure out what exactly he was hesitating about.

So it wasn’t that she wanted to go back on her word, but rather that now wasn’t the right time to give the jade pendant. For her and her son, the risks were too great—what if they lost everything?

Song Kaiji had remained silent for a long, long time. Zhang Sujuan’s words forced him to face questions he had never considered before. He was made to think from Shen Qing’s perspective, to stand in his shoes. In the end, he had no choice but to admit that she was right. Zhang Sujuan didn’t know exactly what Shen Qing’s concerns were, but he did.

And yes, Shen Qing had every reason to be cautious. The secret he carried was too immense. If their roles were reversed, could he trust someone completely just for love? That would be too much like an infatuated fool.

Yet he still decided to give the jade pendant to Shen Qing. “Mom, does being rich mean that his generosity should be taken for granted? No matter how many resources he has, that’s his own business. The fact is, we’ve directly benefited from his help. Without him, we wouldn’t have even had the chance to reunite.”

Zhang Sujuan was left speechless.

Song Kaiji ruffled his hair in frustration. “The food we eat, the place we live in, the money for your treatment, and the money we’ll spend on it again tomorrow… it’s all from him. I love him, so I don’t want to calculate these things, nor do I want to owe him anything.”

“As for whether he wants to open up everything to me—that’s his choice. I don’t want to force it just because I love him.”

He loved Shen Qing, but he didn’t want to push him. He didn’t want to become a burden.

In the end, Zhang Sujuan was convinced and handed over the jade pendant. Even then, she wasn’t sure whether she should regret it. She and Li Aiguo had raised Song Kaiji to be too upright, too kind. In a peaceful, civilized society, Song Kaiji would have been an exemplary person, perhaps even noble.

But in this apocalypse, that very nature would only make life harder for him than for anyone else.

Fortunately, Song Kaiji had won his “bet.” After Shen Qing left that day, Song Kaiji had been acting strangely. Zhang Sujuan had assumed that once Shen Qing took the jade pendant and space, he would never return. But now, not only had he come back, but his attitude toward Song Kaiji had also changed significantly.

If before, in Zhang Sujuan’s eyes, Shen Qing had only six or seven parts affection for Song Kaiji, now it was at least eight or nine. The subconscious avoidance in his body language was gone. Zhang Sujuan let out a deep breath of relief, feeling that heaven still favored good people—her foolish son really did have a fool’s luck.

Shen Qing smiled as he bit into the apple. In truth, Song Kaiji had done nothing wrong. If Shen Qing had truly never returned, then without a continued supply of resources, the stockpile would have run out sooner or later. It was better to start doing missions early, gradually adapting to the apocalyptic world’s rhythm. However, for Qu Weiwei, who had been “kept” by Shen Qing and living comfortably for a long time, her quality of life had taken a drastic hit.

“Every other day, we have to go out on a mission, and each one lasts nearly a full day and night… I don’t get it! I could just sell vegetables and we’d still live well—why do I have to go on missions?” Qu Weiwei complained, showing off her dark circles to Shen Qing in grievance.

“It’s to prevent us from being helpless the next time we’re in danger,” Shen Qing explained. “This is the apocalypse. It’s not like we can live safely forever just by selling vegetables. If something happens, the higher your combat ability, the better your chances of survival.”

Seeing that the couple was on the same page and that there was no point in complaining, Qu Weiwei puffed up her cheeks and lowered her head, beginning to reflect on whether she had gotten lazy from living too well for too long… But she was really so tired!

Then, she heard Shen Qing add, “But there’s no need to push so hard… How about this? From now on, just two missions a week, and each one won’t exceed a full day and night. How does that sound?”

Shen Qing agreed with Song Kaiji’s approach, but he also recognized that Song Kaiji had likely become overly anxious after Shen Qing’s sudden departure and their experiences in Zizhou. By now, Shen Qing had developed his own understanding of managing people—there had to be a balance between work and rest, a mix of carrot and stick.

Sure enough, Qu Weiwei brightened up immediately, and even Ge Bingbing at the side looked satisfied.

Shen Qing glanced at Ge Bingbing and then at the older man and little girl standing next to her, but he didn’t see Sun Cheng. Surprisingly, Yu Le was also in the villa, head lowered, avoiding his gaze, looking awkward and unsure of where to put her hands and feet.

This girl had previously said that she had friends at the Red City Base and wouldn’t stick around with them. And yet, here she was. Shen Qing noted this with curiosity but didn’t ask about it publicly, choosing instead to ask Song Kaiji in private.

Song Kaiji had been trailing Shen Qing like a shadow all day, unwilling to be even half a step away. The villa had plenty of rooms, spread over two floors. The first floor had four bedrooms, while the second floor had eight. The communal areas weren’t large since the villas had been built specifically for ability-user teams after the apocalypse. Their team wasn’t big, so nearly everyone had their own room.

Even though Shen Qing hadn’t been expected to return, Song Kaiji had still left the largest room for him, decorated even better than the apartment. Shen Qing took a tour of the room, feeling quite satisfied. Once he confirmed they were alone, he closed the bedroom door.

Song Kaiji’s ears instantly turned red.

He knew that Shen Qing had originally not intended to return. For him to suddenly change his mind and come back meant he had struggled with his thoughts and had finally figured something out. But what exactly had he figured out? Could it be that he had realized he loved him so much that he couldn’t bear to leave? And now, in broad daylight, closing the door—what was he planning to do…

With that thought, not just his ears, but his entire neck turned red. “In the middle of the day… isn’t this a bit too soon?”

“Huh?” Shen Qing was confused. “Can’t we talk about Ge Bingbing and Yu Le’s situation during the day? Even with the door closed, we might still be overheard.”

Song Kaiji: “…” He felt both disappointed and like he had deserved it. Why was he expecting something from a guy from ancient times??

Ge Bingbing’s situation was relatively simple—it all traced back to the human crystal core. After absorbing it, Ge Bingbing had become short-tempered and easily irritable. Since it had been their mission that led to her consuming the core, Song Kaiji had felt responsible and even taken her to a healing ability user. However, the healer couldn’t detect anything wrong with Ge Bingbing, so there had been no improvement. And since the matter of absorbing a human crystal core couldn’t be openly discussed, they had to drop the issue.

Even though she knew that the core had caused her temper issues, Ge Bingbing still couldn’t control her emotions. It got worse when she returned to the base and found her father and daughter living in terrible conditions. Her brother-in-law, Sun Xian, remained selfish, hoarding food for himself and not caring about others. Sometimes, he even sneaked into the kitchen to eat the best dishes before anyone else could.

Ge Bingbing’s father, prioritizing his granddaughter, had been giving up his own share of food. When Ge Bingbing finally reunited with them, both the elderly man and the little girl had lost a lot of weight.

After hearing how they had been living, Ge Bingbing exploded in fury. If not for the strict rules against fighting within the base, she would have fought Sun Cheng’s entire family on the spot. In the end, she took her father and daughter away and forcibly moved in with Song Kaiji’s group.

Song Kaiji, knowing that her violent temper was ultimately their fault due to the crystal core, felt guilty and let her stay. Besides, Ge Bingbing was a high-level ability user, and now that she was more aggressive, at least she had become more straightforward and direct. So he allowed them to stay.

Sun Cheng was miserable. He had come by several times to take her back, but Ge Bingbing ignored him completely. If this were before the apocalypse, she would probably have dragged him to file for divorce. His parents also couldn’t accept her sudden change in temperament. Caught between them all, he had been living miserably, and his only option was to shamelessly beg Song Kaiji to take him along on missions.

Song Kaiji let him join twice, but after seeing that Ge Bingbing was clearly unhappy about it, he stopped bringing him along, afraid that another outburst might happen.

“Now that you’re back, it’s good timing. I think Bingbing should drink some more of the spring water. It might not cure her completely, but it should at least help her mood. Right now… you can’t really argue with her since she’s technically ‘sick,’ but if you let her have her way all the time, her temper is seriously something else.” Song Kaiji rubbed his temples in frustration. Thankfully, Ge Bingbing was self-aware and tried to restrain herself, staying mostly quiet on normal days.

“As for her father and daughter, they may seem like a burden, but they’re actually quite helpful. The little girl is very well-behaved—despite her age, she insists on washing dishes and cleaning. Her father is even more capable—he used to work in construction and knows how to renovate. More than half of the villa’s repairs were done by Uncle Ge.”

But unlike Ge Bingbing, who had chosen to stay with them, Yu Le was different. She had originally come to Red City Base looking for her boyfriend.

Before the apocalypse, Yu Le had just started university and had only been dating her boyfriend for six months. He wasn’t heartless—when he heard from Qu Weiwei that she had arrived at the base, he was genuinely happy to pick her up, even paying her entry fee.

But the horrors Yu Le had endured at the factory in Zizhou, and the lingering marks on her body, couldn’t be hidden. By the third day after arriving, Qu Weiwei found her alone at their doorstep.

No one had asked why she was there—it would have been too cruel.

“It was Weiwei who begged me to let her stay. She feels indebted, though we don’t actually need more people for logistics. We already have Aunt Tang and Uncle Ge.”

After finishing these explanations, Song Kaiji finally turned to their own situation.

He knelt in front of Shen Qing, looking up at him. “Now that you’re back… you’re not planning to leave again, are you? Will you keep coming back, or… are you planning to take me to your world? Have you decided?”

Avoidance and speculation were never good ways to handle their relationship. Now that their feelings were clear and confirmed, wouldn’t it be better to lay everything out in the open?

Shen Qing lowered his head, his warm breath brushing against Song Kaiji’s face. A few unruly strands of his hair fell, landing softly on Song Kaiji’s skin, fluttering with each breath—tickling their way into Song Kaiji’s heart. “What do you want me to do?” he asked.

“I…” Song Kaiji opened his mouth, but he couldn’t come up with an answer to such a simple question. His mind was entirely consumed by the sight of Shen Qing’s eyes, reflecting nothing but his own image.

Shen Qing smiled, inching closer little by little, just like in the dramas he had seen. Song Kaiji’s eyelashes fluttered twice before he instinctively closed his eyes.

Then, he felt Shen Qing’s soft yet slightly dry lips pressing against his eyelids. Those lips moved gently against his skin, and a teasing voice, tinged with laughter, drifted into his ears. “Fool.”

Since he had chosen to trust Song Kaiji with courage, then, for now, the apocalypse no longer gave him an urgent reason to leave. He could return often, or he could take Song Kaiji to his world.

Song Kaiji could hold back no longer. He grabbed Shen Qing’s wrist and kissed him deeply.

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