Back to the Apocalypse

translator: xiin

editors: apricot & Juurensha

Bai Jing hadn't actually fallen asleep. The reason why he had stayed in bed was to sulk. He blamed Xiao Sa for being untrustworthy, doing it again and again and making him ache all over. Although he felt much better after soaking in the spring, he felt that he still needed to show Xiao Sa a little attitude so that his ego wouldn't grow any bigger.

However, no matter how angry Bai Jing was, his discontentment gradually faded into equanimity when faced with Xiao Sa's eager expression.

“Little Jing, this is the porridge I cooked myself. How about giving it a try and seeing how it tastes?" Xiao Sa acted like he was presenting him with treasure as he placed the porridge in front of Bai Jing. He discovered that Bai Jing's expression had softened and felt rather proud. He'd just known that attacking Little Jing with tenderness was the right move.

“Come, I’ll feed you!” Xiao Sa carefully blew on the porridge, a smile lurking in the corners of his eyes as he moved the porridge to Bai Jing's lips.

Right now, Bai Jing was as well-behaved as a placid house-cat, his damp, slightly embarrassed eyes so incredibly beautiful as he obediently opened up his mouth and accepted the mouthful, "Thank you, it's delicious." Perhaps it wasn't the best porridge he'd ever eaten, but it was definitely the happiest he'd ever been when eating porridge.

“Then eat a little more.” Looking at his lover's cute face, Xiao Sa felt like his heart was about to melt. It felt incredibly gentle, full enough to burst, as though it would overflow with feelings at any moment. He suddenly felt like his efforts today had all been worth it.

“I’ll feed myself. You should have some too." Bai Jing watched him as he took the bowl and spoon from Xiao Sa, his gaze bright and smiling.

“Good.” Xiao Sa nodded his head. Seeing how happy Bai Jing was as he ate, he also felt his appetite return, and he turned to serve himself a bowl. A great sense of satisfaction rose up from his heart; he felt complete. His lover's beautiful smile was the greatest happiness of his life.

The room was filled with a sweet coziness that was too thick to melt away.

The two of them fed each other as they ate, with Bai Jing finishing off three bowls before finally putting down his bowl and rubbing his rounded belly. He felt a little stuffed and sent Xiao Sa an aggrieved glance; it was his fault for making him so emotional.

Xiao Sa laughed low as he took in Bai Jing's little gestures with his eyes. He just felt that his lover was always so beautiful - even his aggrieved look was incredibly attractive. His eyes were bright with resentment, but no matter how he glared, he came off as spoiled and charming. Xiao Sa simply loved him to death.

Xiao Sa ate five bowls in a row, and didn't stop until the pot was completely empty. After they had eaten their fill, they weren't in a hurry to go out and simply stayed in bed to chat.

“What are your plans for the people outside?” Bai Jing had heard the conversation from the living room just now. He had met Xu Feng before, and if he hadn't had plans to go to the Capital at this time, he wouldn't mind bringing along some burdensome people. However given the current situation, to be honest, he really wasn't certain if they should.

“We'll first look into the situation. Xu Feng isn't bad. He attaches great importance to sentiment, and since their team was able to survive until now, they must have some good points. I'll definitely take them in, but exactly how I'll take them in remains to be seen."

Bai Jing nodded. He felt that Xiao Sa's words were reasonable. He moved on, "Then what about Wu Guoan? What are you planning to do? He should still be a member of the Cheetah Mercenary Corps right now.”

Xiao Sa poked Bai Jing's nose and looked at him playfully. “You’re so smart, have you really not figured it out?"

Bai Jing pouted, glared at Xiao Sa, and complained, "Wu Guoan is really a two-faced person. Back then, when we were in the suburbs, he should've recognized you ages ago. However, he didn't acknowledge you right at the start and waited until after we'd talked to Li Xiang before running out. What's with that?"

Xiao Sa raised his eyebrows in surprise, then looked at Bai Jing's righteous, indignant appearance with amusement. His heart grew warm; his little lover was holding a grudge for his sake.

“What're you laughing for.” Bai Jing glared and became irritated, his cheeks turning red with anger.

“Okay, okay, I won't laugh. I was wrong, okay? It makes me really happy that Little Jing is holding a grudge for me." Xiao Sa was very aware of his current situation and hurriedly begged for mercy.

“As long as you realize it!” Bai Jing acted arrogantly as he raised his chin slightly, giving Xiao Sa a look that clearly said 'you better know what's good for you,' but his words were extremely earnest as he continued, "Wu Guoan is too slippery and has backup plans for everything. Don't just consider the fact that he came running over to our side as soon as we arrived at K City Base, claiming allegiance to you on the surface. In fact, I dare to bet that this guy is definitely watching and searching for opportunities. The Cheetah Mercenary Corps let him accompany us too easily - it must be because they want him to probe us too."

Xiao Sa listened to his words and couldn't help wanting to laugh in his heart. Especially when he took in Little Jing's current appearance of trying to educate him; it made him feel really happy when he saw it. He couldn't help wanting to tease him a little. He joked, "Are you trying to praise him or criticize him?"

Bai Jing instantly felt despondent and stifled. He choked, the anger he had just pushed down once again rearing its head. He snapped, "I'm just telling you the truth."

Xiao Sa immediately began to soothe him, worried that Little Jing would really blow up in anger. He spoke while stroking a hand down Bai Jing's back, "I know, I know. I'm also being serious. Although Wu Guoan is powerful, he's also human. Before the apocalypse, there was a saying that problems that can be solved with money aren't real problems. The current situation is the same. There is one advantage to dealing with strong people - they are the best at understanding the situation and know how to make the best choices for themselves. I'm not worried that Wu Guoan will turn on us because I don't believe anyone else can offer better conditions than we can during the end of the world. To me, all the things you spoke about just now are all things we can take advantage of. Although Wu Guoan is a slippery person who always puts his own interests first in all things and always has more than one backup plan, don't you think it would be very useful for us to have a person like that on our side?"

“Then why didn't you say so sooner!" Bai Jing's expression was dark as he glared fiercely at Xiao Sa. He'd clearly worried for nothing because Xiao Sa had drawn a conclusion in his heart long ago.

Xiao Sa felt wrongly accused. How could he have known that Bai Jing would be worried because he had heard their conversation in the living room and therefore asked these things? Although they had only spoken a little, Xu Feng's team was full of the weak and disabled, and Wu Guoan was someone who had climbed up by stepping on others; neither of them were reliable. How could Bai Jing not be anxious?

"Alright, I was wrong. Aren't I discussing it with you now?" Xiao Sa hastily admitted his mistake, adhering to the third rule of being a good man; no matter whether or not he was right or wrong, if his wife said he was wrong, then he must be wrong.

Bai Jing looked at him and burst out laughing. "Enough. I'm not that unreasonable. You look like I've wronged you."

“How could that be--” Xiao Sa immediately denied it as he clambered onto Bai Jing like a puppy, giving him a ruthless kiss, "You can't even love me enough right now, how could you possibly wrong me?"

"You're thinking too much——" Bai Jing laughed and cursed as he smacked Xiao Sa and pushed him away. He laughingly said, "Let's go out and take a look. We've hung them out to dry for so long, it should be time now."

Xiao Sa looked at the time and felt no regrets. He'd managed to make Little Jing laugh again and wanted to be intimate for a little while longer…

After stepping out of the bedroom door, Xiao Sa immediately turned serious. Not a trace of his previous carefree and smiling expression remained.

The three people in the living room had finished their meal and tidied up the table. Hearing the sound of the door opening, they turned their heads and looked over.

Bai Jing raised his eyebrows and glanced over the three of them before boldly taking a seat, Xiao Sa settling himself in next to him.

“Brother Sa, Young Master Jing.” Xu Feng stood up anxiously and called out. His expression was careful and showed a hint of nervousness; it seemed that Xiao Sa's previous admonishment had been useful.

“Brother Sa, Young Master Jing.” Li Ran also stood up quickly, raising his head to look at them before quickly lowering his head. His body was tense as though he didn't know what else to do. Only Wu Guoan was more casual as he smiled and greeted, "Brother Sa, Young Master Jing, you guys came."

“Sit!” Xiao Sa nodded slightly, his face still expressionless.

Xu Feng and Wu Guoan soon sat down, but Li Ran suddenly raised his head and fixed his eyes on Xiao Sa. His firm expression was very solemn, “I've cleaned up the kitchen and left the leftovers on the counter. It's very clean, we didn't get it dirty."

Bai Jing glanced at Xiao Sa. He was asking, what kind of performance was this?

Xiao Sa hesitated slightly, finding it rather unexpected, but he was also quite satisfied. He told Bai Jing to continue waiting with his gaze then turned to Li Ran, "Don't worry about the food. You guys can take it back with you later. There are still quite a few people in your team."

“No, we can’t take it back. I know I was wrong this time. I deliberately made more than I should when I was cooking. It was wrong, and I want to admit it now." Li Ran stood there firmly, his expression stubborn.

At this point, the others finally understood what was going on!

“Aiya! You child!” Xu Feng became anxious in a hurry, worrying that Xiao Sa would blame them, but he had never been eloquent, so his words just made the situation worse, "Are you still worried that you won't have enough to eat when following Brother Sa? If you want to take food back, you need to do it openly and honestly. Even if you plan to grab food from Brother Sa's mouth, it's still better than doing it like this."

Xiao Sa was silent for a moment. He felt that Zhou Ji really didn't have it easy making these kinds of goods fall into line. One had to acknowledge that back then, most of the trifling matters in the gang were all dealt with by Zhou Ji, and Xu Feng had been one of Zhou Ji's subordinates. Otherwise, he wouldn't have remembered this person so clearly.

The corners of Wu Guoan's lips twitched. He bowed his head and kept silent, trying to erase his presence from the room.

Bai Jing smiled blandly and felt quite cheerful. This guy's words and his tone all seemed to be treating Xiao Sa as someone who was being taken advantage of. He had a lot of nerve; Bai Jing really wanted to see how Xu Feng could manage to snatch food from their mouths and even openly and honestly take it back.

“Brother Feng!” Li Ran was really anxious. He wanted to cry but had no tears as he tugged on Xu Feng's clothes. He had come up to tear down his platform on purpose, right?

Xu Feng’s voice came to a halt. He finally seemed to realize that there was something not quite right with Brother Sa and Young Master Jing's moods. How come Young Master Jing's smile was so cold?

Xiao Sa was too lazy to pay attention to him. As long as he was loyal, there really wasn't anything he could do about his personality. He completely ignored Xu Feng and looked at Li Ran, his tone indifferent as though he was speaking of the weather, but it still made people subconsciously feel like they were his subordinates, "Remember your words from just now."

That gentle voice was like a heavy blow as it smashed against Li Ran's heart.

Li Ran was overjoyed. His eyes shone with dazzling light, and his excited smile couldn't be hidden. He bowed deeply to Xiao Sa and Bai Jing. “Thank you, Brother Sa! Thank you, Young Master Jing!"

Li Ran embraced Xu Feng in his excitement, tears of joy falling from his eyes. At this time, Xu Feng was still puzzled and only thought that Little Ran was happy because Brother Sa had forgiven him. However, Li Ran had understood, and the reason why he was so happy was because Brother Sa had accepted their team. The meaning behind those words just now was to tell him that he needed to watch his behaviour in the future. If there was a future, then there was hope!

Bai Jing looked on coldly, smiling as he watched Li Ran cry with joy. He felt that this person was quite interesting and very intelligent. Xiao Sa was clearly the one who had spoken, but Li Ran had thanked Bai Jing as well.

What Bai Jing didn’t know was that Li Ran was flattering him because of Wu Guoan's previous empty words; if Li Ran wanted to find his elder brother, he needed to ask Bai Jing for help. Besides, apart from his strength, Bai Jing was a space ability user. With a space, there would be materials and based on how much Xiao Sa indulged him, it would always be the right move to flatter him no matter what.

btw guys, finished a few days ago and it is .. ridiculously super cute (and short, only 10 chapters)~ you guys should all go and take a look!