The Scum Shou’s Survival Guide

Yang Qian was gripping the door handle hard.
But, in the end, he didn’t push open the door, and slowly… let go instead.

He’d originally been worried that Shi Yang might hurt Ye Ming on an impulse or make things difficult for him.
Now, it seemed that Shi Yang wasn’t that foolish.
Even if he hadn’t come, he wouldn’t have coerced Ye Ming to do anything.
Then… there was no need for him to make an appearance.

 

 

Since Ye Ming didn’t want to see him, just treat it as though he hadn’t come by at all, ba.

Yang Qian turned around and left, pain suppressed in the depths of his eyes.
He also didn’t have the courage to continue to listen to the rest… it wasn’t that he didn’t need Ye Ming anymore, it was Ye Ming who no longer needed him. 

He was the one who wasn’t needed.

 

He didn’t even have the qualifications to be hated.
Ye Ming could already let go of things, but what about him? Could he let go?

Probably not.

………………

 

Shi Yang looked at Ye Ming, and irritably paced two circles in front of him, saying, “You’ve misunderstood, the boss needs you very much, he really cares a lot about you.”

Ye Ming just looked at him calmly, and said softly, “You don’t really understand him, and you don’t know what it is that he wants.”

“Why are you—” Shi Yang was somewhat at a loss for words, and also a bit angry.
He didn’t expect that Ye Ming would be so stubborn that even if he knew what had befallen Yang Qian back then and his reasons for doing everything, he could still remain so unmoved.

Ye Ming gave a bitter laugh, “I can’t go back… fortunately, with you guys by his side, I think everything will be just fine.” 

Shi Yang breathed out deeply.
He looked at Ye Ming’s small figure, really wishing he could just directly kidnap him and call it a day, since Ye Ming really was no match for him anyway! But if he did this, Ye Ming would blame the boss again, ba… the boss wouldn’t be happy either.
Then, forget it, why bother playing the villain.

“Forget it.
Anyway, I said everything I wanted to say.
I’m leaving.” Shi Yang shook his head, pushing the door open and leaving gloomily.
He really wasn’t fit for persuading others.

Ye Ming stood at the doorway, looking into the distance.
There were no longer any traces of Yang Qian having come by, as though he’d never appeared to begin with.

【Ye Ming: Did Yang Qian really drop by?】 

【888: Dropped by, then left again.】

【Ye Ming: That’s a pity, I was actually missing him a bit after not seeing him for such a long time.
He actually just left without even entering the room, zezeze.】

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【888: Don’t you already know exactly why it is that he left?】

【Ye Ming: Wu… today, this assistant was really awesome, I like it! This entire time I was thinking about how I could let myself learn about Yang Qian’s experience back then in a natural way, so this is great! Now that I know about these things, I have a reason to feel sorry for my husband, xixixi.
It’s really not easy trying to find a way out of things, ah! I have to put all this effort into it.
It’s all my family’s Yang Qian’s fault for being too stuffy and stubborn, not making a peep about his hardships.】 

【888: Ljnfc’a sbe jikjsr xcbkc?】

【Ye Ming: But, Xu Xiaofei didn’t know, ah.】

 

【888: Dea, sbe xcfk, jcv yfobgf sbe ifoa, sbe rtbeiv’nf uefrrfv atja Leb Tl kbeivc’a ifa tlw boo rb fjrlis, rb sbe vbc’a jmaejiis offi yjv obg tlw.】

【Ye Ming: …who said I don’t feel bad for him, it’s just that eliminating the blackening value is much more important ma, all of this is for the sake of our experience points, ah, QAQ】 

【888: He he.】

888 vlvc’a jmaejiis mjgf wemt jybea Tjcu Hljc’r ojaf.
Cr ojg jr atf mjqaegf ajgufar bo atfrf rey-kbgivr kfgf mbcmfgcfv, atfs kfgf vfralcfv ab yf vfqglnfv bo ibnf jcv vlf jibcf.
Ktlr kjr atflg ojaf.
Snfgsbcf kjr cbatlcu wbgf atjc jc lcrluclolmjca mbuktffi ecvfg atf atewy bo atf ijkr bo atf kbgiv.
Dea… 888 lcralcmalnfis ofia atja Tf Zlcu rtbeivc’a tjnf mbegafv vfjat ilxf atja.
Efaegclcu obg j rfmbcv gbecv tjv qegfis yffc j gfreia bo Tf Zlcu’r jmalbcr.

Ye Ming originally could’ve completed his tasks perfectly in one go and left victorious, receiving his experience points and returning to the real world.
But, because he’d just had to mess around, he had to come back a second time.
Hopefully, things would go smoothly this time…

Ye Ming went back outside to continue working.
Although Shi Yang had already left, he still had to continue acting out this play.
He couldn’t help but sigh in despair. 

When he went back home at night, Ye Ming was as tired as a dog.

These post-apocalyptic worlds really weren’t easy!

………………

For the few days after that, Ye Ming waited patiently for his second way out. 

One day, Ye Ming was on his way to receive his share of food from the captain before leaving, when he suddenly saw that everyone appeared to be very excited and happy as they were whispering over there, the hustle and bustle more lively than new year festivities.

For this world that had been pervaded by an air of dispirited lifelessness after the apocalypse, such a lively atmosphere was already very difficult to come by.

One person asked the captain excitedly, “Is each person really being handed an extra bag of rice and vegetables today?”

The captain nodded, also all smiles as he said with glee, “Indeed, and not just rice and vegetables, but also some frozen steak the search party brought back from the outside.
There are plenty of good things!” 

The crowd began cheering.

The captain raised both his hands, waiting for everyone to quiet down a bit, before he continued on, “Also, from now on, the amount of points you get from working every day will be increased by 20%.”

This was equivalent to a sudden wage increase of 20%, so everyone was beyond excited.
After the excitement, they anxiously asked the captain, “Is this for real? Why are they suddenly issuing these things to us, and also increasing our points?”

They were still somewhat in disbelief. 

With the attitude of someone with insider information, the captain proudly said, “This is something you guys don’t know.
Boss Yang is much better than Huo Yi! Not only is he issuing these things to us, and increasing our points, but he’s also increased the points for everyone else.
He’s extended these benefits to everyone equally! Apparently, there will be even more improvements made in the future.”

“We all worked so hard before, but only Huo Yi’s cronies could live a good life here, acting like tyrants… it’ll be different in the future.
Everyone, gather your spirits, and do your work properly.
This base is everyone’s, and life will get better and better!”

 

The crowd of people exchanged looks, pleasant surprise and shock gradually emerging in their eyes.

Although everyone had remained in this base in order to survive, having no choice but to seek protection under the ability-users, who was actually willing to be treated like slaves by those ability-users? Huo Yi and his people hadn’t treated them like human beings at all.
He’d said they were protecting them, but in fact, really just wanted people to perform the manual labor for them to keep the entire base running.
Everyone’s hard work was only enough to barely make ends meet, so it was inevitable that everyone had become a little pessimistic, just that no one dared to actually leave. 

Now, Yang Qian was willing to stay in the base to protect them without exploiting them.
So, something better than anything they could’ve dreamed of had actually happened?!

Ye Ming stood behind this crowd, a complicated look in his eyes.

He didn’t interrupt the discussion, and remained silent throughout, waiting for everyone else to leave before finally going up to receive his own things.
When he held the bag in his hands, he only felt that it seemed especially heavy.

He suddenly remembered a long, long time ago… during the period of time when they were running for their lives. 

Back then… Yang Qian would say to him with a smile, if we become strong one day, we can build a new home in this world so everyone can survive, and we’ll definitely be able to live well.

Because, Ye Ming believed that only if people mutually supported each other, cooperating in times of need, could they all live better lives together after the apocalypse.
But the fact of the matter was, the darker the world, the faster the darkness would spread.
Not only did people fail to mutually support each other, but they killed others, and robbed others, doing everything they couldn’t and didn’t dare to do before…

A world like this would perish sooner or later, ba.

In this world, the most dangerous thing wasn’t the zombies, but the people who’d lost their humanity. 

He used to think that Yang Qian had also become such a person, and had forgotten their dreams, but perhaps not.

Ye Ming returned home with his bag.
Xu Xiaoyue had also come back early.
There was a bag at the door of the house, with some meat and other food.

Xu Xiaoyue told Ye Ming nervously, “This time, it’s not from Yang Qian.
Everyone has a share, I’m not lying to you!”

Ye Ming nodded, but his eyes were dim. 

Sure, everyone had a share, but he of all people couldn’t deceive himself like that.

Back when Huo Yi had called the shots here, he’d never allow the people to have too much.
Huo Yi had several large storehouses.
He’d kept all the food under his management, using it to control the people and reward his subordinates.
He knew exactly how to make use of the bare minimum, making it so that there was just enough for the people in the base to barely live off of, without pushing them too far so that they rebelled against him out of desperation.

Any resources in his hands were mere bargaining chips to satisfy his selfishness and self-interests, where not the slightest bit of compassion could be found.

If it hadn’t been for Yang Qian, the base would’ve never changed at all, so how could he say that these things had nothing to do with him? 

Xu Xiaoyue looked at Ye Ming’s downcast mood, the smile on her face gradually disappearing, and she asked softly, “Ge, what’re you thinking about?”

Ye Ming was silent for a long time, before he chuckled a bit, “It’s nothing, let’s eat.”

 

Xu Xiaoyue saw that Ye Ming had finally smiled, and seemed to have no intention of pursuing the matter, leaving to wash her hands and go cook.

She wasn’t actually that naive either.
Technically, these things weren’t given by Yang Qian.
But, without Yang Qian, the rules in the base wouldn’t have changed at all.
Did… some part of this have to do with her brother in the end? 

Xu Xiaoyue didn’t want to think too deeply about this.

After dinner that night, Ye Ming lay on his bed to go to sleep.

【Ye Ming: My family’s Yang Qian has finally become enlightened.
He knew that we wouldn’t accept his things if he directly sent them over to us, so he actually came up with such an ingenious plan.
Like this, I won’t refuse his things.
After all, I wouldn’t be that difficult, why would I deliberately not take something everyone else has.】

【888: So it turns out you also know you’re being difficult.】 

【Ye Ming: Ke ke… but that’s not the point.
The point is that the pressure he has to bear to maintain something like this is too great.
There are so many people in this base, and everyone’s salary has increased a bit.
This is a huge expense.
Huo Yi’s selfishness wasn’t unreasonable.
Doing that allowed him to live a much better life.
The cost for doing a good deed is hundreds of thousands of times greater after the apocalypse.】

【888: According to my calculations, at this rate of consumption, without replenishing the stores with new supplies, something like this won’t last for even two months.】

【Ye Ming: Such a short amount of time!】

【888: Indeed, he he.】 

【Ye Ming: But, I trust he’ll be able to handle everything well o(∩_∩)o~】

【888: …】

【Ye Ming: It’s best to leave those kinds of worrying things to the husband.
I’m not the type of person who can worry too much, I age easily.】

【888: I know a way to stay young forever.】 

【Ye Ming: What??? AbuzzWithExcitement.jpg】

【888: Death, ah.】

【Ye Ming: …】

Yang Qian was sitting in the living room of the villa, listening to Zhao Jin debrief him on the current situation in the base.

 

 

“We’ve already distributed the supplies according to your instructions, and increased the amount of points they’ll earn, but at this rate of consumption, I’m afraid this won’t be able to last for long,” Zhao Jin’s brow creased when he said this, and he wondered out loud, “Of course, since we’ve taken over this base, we never planned on following Huo Yi’s footsteps to begin with, so the appropriate reforms are still necessary, but isn’t this too quick?”

The depths of Yang Qian’s eyes was unfathomably deep, and neither happiness nor anger could be perceived through his expressions.
He said indifferently, “It doesn’t matter.
We can still persist for a while.
It’ll be fine as long as we find some new supplies during this period of time.
I’ll go out personally to search.” 

Zhao Jin still somewhat disapproved of this.

 

Yang Qian looked at him deeply, then slowly said, “You also once left this base before.
It should be even more apparent to you that Huo Yi’s management methods aren’t a long-term solution.
Plenty of people are already dissatisfied.
Sooner or later, the day will come when this kind of dissatisfaction will erupt… and I believe that, especially after the apocalypse, we ought to unite everyone so we can all live better lives, instead of blindly oppressing others.
The ability-users also shouldn’t be thought of as superior to others.”

Zhao Jin was silent for a while.
He also used to live in this base.
After his relatives died, he left because his ideas differed from Huo Yi’s.
He knew that what Yang Qian was saying was right.
They were different from Huo Yi.

Huo Yi only cared about his and his own subordinates’ standing, while they wanted to construct a more promising and cohesive community, just that… wasn’t Yang Qian also doing this for selfish reasons? He could’ve taken things slowly.
That way, the pressure would’ve been that much smaller.
The cost of being impatient for success was far too great.

 

Zhao Jin couldn’t help but say, “I have no opinion of your decision, but you have to know that this won’t be easy for you.”

Yang Qian chuckled a bit, “It’s okay.
I have nothing else to do anyway.” Then, he stood up, and said, “If there’s nothing else, I’ll take some people out for a trip with me.
You can stay at the base and protect it.”

Seeing that Yang Qian was about to leave, Zhao Jin suddenly called out to him, and said, “Wait—”

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If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

Yang Qian turned back, and said, “What is it?” 

Itjb Alc ibbxfv lcab tlr fsfr, jcv rjlv, “Df mjgfoei.
Pa’r ralii nfgs vjcufgber bearlvf.
Leb Tl lrc’a vfjv sfa flatfg.
Po sbe vlf, atfgf’ii yf cb bcf ifoa jwbcu atf gfra bo er ktb’ii yf jyif ab tbiv vbkc atlr qijmf.
Gbc’a obgufa atja tf’r ralii tfgf.
Tbe rtbeiv ralii yf wlcvoei bo atja.”

It was self-evident who the “he” that Zhao Jin was referring to was.

Yang Qian’s expression froze for a moment, and a gloomy look flitted across his eyes.
Finally, he still nodded in the end, his voice low, “I understand.”

Watching Yang Qian’s back as he left, Zhao Jin let out a soft sigh. 

After a while, he went out to find Shi Yang and the others, and personally exhorted each of them, “None of you guys should go out and find Xu Xiaofei anymore, understand?”

Shi Yang was unwilling, and said, “Why can’t we go find him, ah?”

Zhao Jin gave him a cold glance, “Idiot, because this is what the boss commanded.
He doesn’t want you guys to go off and disturb him or make trouble for him on your own.”

Shi Yang said meekly, “I just wanted to persuade him…” 

Zhao Jin rolled his eyes, “Enough, someone like you who can’t even deal with your own relationship problems should stop getting involved in other people’s relationship problems.
Don’t you think the boss has enough to deal with already?”

Shi Yang: “…” Being lectured by this brat was really unpleasant.

 

………………

Ye Ming’s life had completely quieted down. 

The effects of Yang Qian’s change in management of the base were very obvious.
Everyone’s enthusiasm for work had increased quite a bit.
Next, he’d begun to recruit more people to join the search party.
He’d also regularly give handouts to the elderly and children in need, and had even abolished the buying and selling of slaves.
This incident had once given rise to dissatisfaction among the ability-users.
Yang Qian’s actions had greatly reduced their privileges, equivalent to allocating their benefits to the ordinary human beings.
Although the ability-users could still obtain much more just by using their abilities, and lead better lives, they were no longer as high above others, superior in status, as they were before under Huo Yi’s leadership, the life or death of others in the palms of their hands.

Yang Qian didn’t waste his time on these people, and killed some of the more unbridled ability-users, while suppressing the others.

After killing off some of these ability-users, with some of the other ability-users secretly leaving the base overnight, those remaining soon became well-behaved, and order in the base was soon re-established.

Xu Xiaoyue took in all of these things.
At first, she really was extremely dissatisfied with Yang Qian, but Yang Qian’s current actions had truly benefited them.
Not just benefiting him, but also many other people… 

She saw that this place was becoming better and better.
No one had to worry about being killed while walking in the streets, nor did anyone have to worry about being sold as a slave.
Those ability-users no longer tyrannically abused their power at will.
This kind of life… didn’t seem to be much different from before, but for the survivors of the apocalypse, it was an extravagant wish.

At work, she ate together with her friends.
Even when Nurse Yin brought up Yang Qian and his men, she no longer had that frightened appearance, but rather, had plenty of admiration and gratitude.

She also had a child who wasn’t ten yet, who could only rely on her and her husband desperately earning money to raise him.
Before, things had been really rough.
But, now the child could receive an allowance and go to a temporarily constructed school to continue learning.
Every day, their usual chats always included how much they were looking forward to the future, and were full of hope.
There was no longer that negative attitude of living day to day, just trying to get by.

Xu Xiaoyue couldn’t repudiate the change in Yang Qian or his efforts just because she hated him.
This Yang Qian was the one that was like the person she knew and understood before… but, she still couldn’t forget about the harm Yang Qian had brought to her big brother. 

Fortunately, although they were in the same base, they seemed to be living in two separate worlds.
Yang Qian had also never shown up again.
Their life was incredibly peaceful.

In order to keep the base running, Yang Qian went out more frequently.

Xu Xiaoyue could practically hear gossip about Yang Qian every day, because his each and every move attracted everyone’s attention.

For example, whether or not Yang Qian had gone out again, how many trucks of supplies he’d brought back with him this time, how many days he’d been gone for this time, when he’d been injured, and so on and so forth… he was probably more popular than celebrities had been in the past. 

However, recently, there seemed to be little news about Yang Qian.

After getting off work one day, Nurse Yin took Xu Xiaoyue aside and whispered, “Have you heard any news about Yang Qian recently?”

Xu Xiaoyue shook her head.
She’d never deliberately inquired about Yang Qian before.

Concern was written all over Nurse Yin’s entire face, and she seemed very worried.
She said anxiously in a low voice, “I heard… that when Boss Yang went out to snatch some stuff last time, he ran into other people running away outside.
He was ambushed by that group of people and was severely injured…” 

Xu Xiaoyue felt her heart skip a beat, “Who did you hear that from?”

Nurse Yin sighed, “I heard from my neighbor, and she also heard it from someone else.
Supposedly, someone saw Yang Qian return injured, plus just the other day, Doctor Zhou also secretly made a trip to Yang Qian’s villa… say, do you think something really happened to Boss Yang? It’s already been several days since anyone last saw him outside! What are we going to do if he dies!”

 

Xu Xiaoyue pursed her lips, “It’s probably just a rumor, don’t worry.
If something had really happened, there shouldn’t be no news at all, ba?”

Nurse Yin was still anxiety-ridden, “But he really hasn’t appeared for a long time, ah…” 

Xu Xiaoyue’s heart sank slightly.
After thinking about it carefully, it really had been several days since she’d last heard any news about Yang Qian… could it be true that something had actually happened, then?

Xu Xiaoyue went back home in a state of uncertainty, and finally decided not to tell her brother this piece of news for the time being.
Although Yang Qian’s current conduct had indeed earned him the gratitude of many people, while he’d also changed a lot, the damage he’d done to her brother back then couldn’t be erased because of it.
Besides, they no longer had anything to do with each other… perhaps, Yang Qian’s actions had nothing to do with her brother at all.
It’d be better to not say anything in case it upset her big brother.

Just that, although Xu Xiaoyue didn’t say anything, the rumors in the base were becoming more and more widespread.
Yang Qian’s absence had made many people start to worry.
They were worried that Huo Yi would make a comeback, reverting this place back to how it was before.
They were worried that everything they had right now would no longer exist.

One day, when Ye Ming was at work, he also heard the news.
Some people even described it vividly, saying that Yang Qian was seriously injured and would never go out again.
Now, medical treatment wasn’t as good as it was before the apocalypse, and it really was difficult to predict whether or not he’d be able to live on.
Maybe the news had been suppressed out of fear of causing widespread panic, and he might’ve even died already. 

Ye Ming was extremely calm about all of this.

888 had told him about Yang Qian’s situation a long time ago.
Yang Qian had indeed been injured after exchanging blows with other people when he was searching for supplies outside.
As for him being injured so badly, the most fundamental reason was that he’d been desperately protecting his comrades and the supplies.
If he’d taken care of himself even just a little bit, then this wouldn’t have happened.

In other words, Yang Qian had indeed been seriously injured, but his life wasn’t in any danger.
He just couldn’t come out for the time being.

【Ye Ming: I’ve finally made it to the final step, yingyingying, so moved.
He’s my old flame anyway, and he’s also reformed himself.
It’s plausible for me to go back and get a glimpse of him, ba?】 

【888: Since you’ve already made up your mind, then why’re you still asking me, it can’t be that you’re looking to me for some kind of self-affirmation?】

【Ye Ming: Ke ke ke.】

Ye Ming returned home after work, and pasted a worried look on his face.

Xu Xiaoyue saw Ye Ming like this, and thought, her big brother couldn’t have also heard that rumor, ba? Right… there were so many people talking about it now, so it was also very normal for her brother to find out.

 

 

But, Ye Ming didn’t bring it up, while Xu Xiaoyue also wouldn’t take the initiative to speak up, and only acted as though nothing had happened at all.

However, Ye Ming was obviously low-spirited, forcing a smile on his face, and even occasionally acting absent-minded. 

Ever since Shi Yang had come looking for him that one time, he’d kept on thinking about those words, thinking about how Yang Qian had been thrown out like that by Huo Yi back then, and just how much despair he must’ve felt during that month he spent in the wilderness.

 

He’d thought he’d betrayed him, and thought that he’d agreed to all of it… while he was waiting for death in that desperate situation, he hadn’t been aware of a single thing, and had just been foolishly expecting that he’d be able to live well.

But, how could that be possible? After experiencing all of these things, how could he still focus on living well, of course he’d hate him.

Then what about this time? Was Yang Qian dead?

 

Ye Ming knew in his heart that they could no longer go back to how things were before.
But, he was unable to act indifferent, just standing by and watching as this person died, as anxiety tormented his heart each and every moment of the day.

One evening, after Ye Ming finished his dinner, he went back to his room early to rest, but he couldn’t fall asleep.
At night, he pushed the door open and stood at the doorway, a hesitant expression like he was torn about something flashing across his face.

He wanted to go see Yang Qian.
He wasn’t going to do anything else, it’d be enough to just confirm that he was still alive, so that he could come back with peace of mind.
But, on what grounds could he go visit him? Their hearts were already riddled with holes, and only scars were left from them hurting each other.

Ye Ming turned, just about to go back, when at this time, Xu Xiaoyue suddenly called out to him, “Ge.” 

Xu Xiaoyue had originally gotten up in the middle of the night to go use the restroom.
To her surprise, she saw Ye Ming standing at the doorway, so she didn’t do anything, and just watched him quietly from there.

Ye Ming was wearing thin clothing, his complexion pale, a complex look of pain in his dark eyes.
This struggle seemed to be tearing at his heart.
He stood there for a long, long time.
How long he remained standing there was how long Xu Xiaoyue also stood there for.

Xu Xiaoyue was very clear on how affectionate her big brother and Yang Qian had once been.
Coming to this point today, being forced to give up on the person he loved, was probably very painful for her big brother, ba.

She’d thought that if she didn’t say anything, it’d be able to make all of this gradually fade away, but actually, how could she not care? 

Ye Ming didn’t expect that this scene would be seen by Xu Xiaoyue, and an awkward look flitted across his face, and he looked away before saying, “You, why are you up?”

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection.
If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

We Wljbsef ibbxfv ja tlw, jcv rlutfv.

Ye Ming felt even more ashamed.
He actually still couldn’t let go of Yang Qian, so Xiaoyue would probably get angry, ba.
He pursed lips, then said: “I’ll go back to rest.”

Seeing that he was just about to shut the door, Xu Xiaoyue suddenly said softly, “If you’re really worried, then go take a look, ba.” 

Tf Zlcu’r obbarafqr qjerfv, atfc tf lwwfvljafis ibbxfv yjmx ja Wljbsef lc vlryfilfo.

Xu Xiaoyue gave him a helpless smile, then said, “I also don’t know what kind of misunderstanding you guys had before… but, if you really can’t let go of him, then go have a look, ba…”

 

She understood her brother’s state of mind, and it was exactly because of this, that she didn’t want her brother to suffer or be sad.
Whether Yang Qian was dead or alive, he’d know as long as he went back to take a look.
With this result, her brother would no longer be worried or troubled over Yang Qian again, ba?

Ktlr kjs, tf mbeiv ifa ub bo Tjcu Hljc jcv tjnf j ogfrt rajga ab atflg cfk ilof.
Srmjqlcu kjrc’a j rbiealbc, jcv tf’v tjnf ab ojmf atlr qgbyifw tfjv-bc, fnfcaejiis. 

Ye Ming looked at Xu Xiaoyue, a look of surprise finally surfacing in his eyes.
He’d never imagined that Xu Xiaoyue would say such a thing.
Wasn’t she extremely disgusted with Yang Qian? He’d thought that… Xu Xiaoyue would berate him.

The corners of Xu Xiaoyue’s lips twitched helplessly.
Of course, she didn’t like Yang Qian, but she couldn’t just accept Yang Qian’s help while ignoring her conscience, heartless and indifferent regardless of his life or death.
The world was just this kind of a contradictory place.
You always had to… keep on compromising and compromising with reality.

The person you loved might hurt you, while those who hurt you might also help you.
Back and forth like this, with no end.

Ye Ming listened to Xu Xiaoyue’s words, no longer able to keep the worries that’d been suppressed in his heart for a long time now under control.
These past few days, as long as he thought of Yang Qian dying, that he might disappear from this world just like that, actually leaving him behind… his heart would ache unbearably… Yang Qian was the source of his deepest love and also his deepest pain. 

But whether it’d been love or pain, he’d never once thought of wanting him to die.

Ye Ming was silent for a long time.
When he finally opened his mouth, he seemed to have made a very difficult decision, and spoke in a hoarse voice, “I’ll go out for a bit.”

Not only did Xu Xiaoyue not stop him, but she also took out a coat and helped Ye Ming put it on, saying with concern, “The wind is cold at night.
Don’t catch a cold.
It’s not easy to see a doctor now, and the medicinal supplies keep decreasing.”

Ye Ming couldn’t help but let out a laugh, his gaze seeming that much more gentle under the moonlight. 

Xu Xiaoyue looked at him seriously, and just when Ye Ming was about to walk out the door, she suddenly said, “Ge.
You will come back, right?”

Ye Ming turned his head back, and met Xu Xiaoyue’s bright and steady gaze.
He nodded solemnly, then closed the door and went out.

It was getting late now.
Because this was after the apocalypse, there wasn’t much entertainment after dark, because the noises were more likely to attract the zombies’ attention at night.
There also wasn’t any TV networks, so everyone closed their doors early, and stayed at home.
The streets outside were extremely deserted, and only a few people were on patrol.

Ye Ming walked on the desolate and lonely street, and when he was finally approaching Yang Qian’s villa, he slowed his pace. 

This was a place that’d brought him endless pain.
It was this place, where he’d been forced to separate from the person he loved, and live next to the person who’d forced him.
And, it was also here where… he’d been reunited with the person he loved.
But, it hadn’t ushered in a happy ending.
Instead, it’d caused them to gradually drift apart, until it was impossible for them to return to the way things were before.

When he’d left this place, he’d thought that he’d never come back here again.
But, he’d still come back in the end.

Ye Ming walked up to the entrance of the villa, then finally raised a hand, and knocked on the door.

It wasn’t long before someone inside came to open the door.
The guard yawned and said grumpily, “Who the hell came over here in the middle of the night?” As soon as he finished speaking, he realized that it was Ye Ming, and the expression on his face froze, then he said stiffly, “What’re you doing here?” 

Ye Ming’s lips moved a bit, and he looked down, then said, “I, I’m here to see Yang Qian.”

Yang Qian had already told everyone here that not a single one of them was permitted to go make trouble for Ye Ming, nor bother Ye Ming for any reason.
But, Yang Qian had never instructed them to not let Ye Ming come over here ah? He mostly likely hadn’t thought that Ye Ming would ever come back at all… so he’d forgotten to instruct them on this matter.

 

The guard hesitated for a long time.
He actually really hoped that Ye Ming could go in to see the boss.
But, if he let him in, the boss would definitely get angry, so he could only say, “Is the boss someone you can casually see whenever you want, you should leave, ba.”

Seeing him say this, the anxiety in Ye Ming’s eyes grew denser.
No one had seen Yang Qian for so long, could something have really happened, then? He said, “I just came here to see him.
How about you go in first to ask for further instructions, and I’ll just wait here.” 

The guard said impatiently, “I already told you to leave! The boss won’t meet with you.
Go, go, go!”

The look on Ye Ming’s face finally changed, and his eyes reddened as he rushed over and asked, “Is he dead?”

The guard snorted, “What nonsense!”

Ye Ming looked at him fixedly, a firm look in his dark eyes, “Then, why won’t you let me go in to see him?” 

This was a huge headache for the guard.
Right then, another man walked out from the inside.
That man was tall and thin, and was none other than Zhao Jin, one of the confidants by Yang Qian’s side.
He said, “Let him in, ba.”

The guard hesitated a bit, “Zhao-ge, that wouldn’t be too good, ba? Boss over there… ”

Zhao Jin smiled, “I’m the one letting him in, so it’ll be my responsibility.
The boss won’t blame you, so you can relax.”

Because Zhao Jin had personally come forward, Ye Ming managed to successfully enter the villa at last.
Zhao Jin turned to take a look at Ye Ming who was beside him.
This was the person that Yang Qian loved.
If it hadn’t been for such an unlucky coincidence, then the two of them would have never reached such a point.
He sighed in his heart, then brought Ye Ming inside. 

Zhao Jin turned around and smiled gently, then said, “Wait here for a little while, I’ll go let Yang Qian know you’re here.”

Ye Ming forced a smile, nodding his head without speaking.

Zhao Jin pushed the door open, and went in.
He came back out after a while, and smiled at Ye Ming, “Come in, ba.”

Ye Ming walked in.
Inside this familiar room, Yang Qian was dressed in a black tracksuit, sitting on a chair behind the table.
He lifted his head, and smiled at him, his stern face appearing a little softer in the moonlight, his voice low, “Why did you come?” 

Ye Ming was standing across from him, looking at this man.

Yang Qian still looked okay.
Besides his face being a bit pale, he didn’t seem to be having much issues otherwise.
He was still alive… when Ye Ming realized this, the large stone in his heart abruptly fell back down, but then he started to feel unsettled about his own impulsiveness and uneasiness.

What had he been thinking? He’d actually recklessly come back just like this!

Yang Qian saw Ye Ming’s embarrassed and restless state, and couldn’t help but bite his lip, letting out a soft chuckle. 

He hadn’t expected that Ye Ming would still be willing to come visit him.
He’d known that recently, there’d been several bad rumors about him floating around.
He hadn’t cared.
Not only had he not cared about those rumors, but he hadn’t even cared about his own life.
None of those things mattered to him anymore.

But tonight, Ye Ming’s appearance made him feel as though it probably wasn’t completely meaningless for him to still be alive… there were still some things he could do for him.
Although he couldn’t accompany him and stay by his side, he could still give him a better world, so that even if he were by himself, he’d still be able to live a good life.

 

He couldn’t make up for the damage and distrust, so these were the only things left that he could do.

He hadn’t imagined that Ye Ming would still be willing to come back. 

The person he loved still had such a kind and soft heart.
This world had changed him, and had changed many people… but, it hadn’t changed Ye Ming.
How fortunate was that?

And he was willing to do anything to keep it that way.

【Ding.
Yang Qian’s Blackening Value -2.
Current Blackening Value: 2】

“I’m fine, you don’t have to worry,” Yang Qian spoke slowly, his gaze calm and tender, just like how things used to be long, long ago. 

Ye Ming looked at that pair of eyes.
At this moment, he was finally convinced that Yang Qian had really let things go, had thought things through, and no longer hated him.
His short sentence at this very moment was more powerful than any of his previous explanations.

He’d never thought that there’d come a day when they could still have such a calm, face-to-face interaction.
After all of that suffering, this appeared to be that much more precious.

Ye Ming was silent for a long time, before he finally just whispered, “Then, that’s good.” It seemed that besides that, he didn’t know what else he could say.

The corners of Yang Qian’s lips were slightly raised.
He coughed softly with his fist against his lips.
He was wearing black clothes, because he didn’t want Ye Ming to see the blood on his body.
He’d finally managed to get up just now, and had reopened his wounds.
He was sitting behind the table so it could block his body, because it’d really be rather inconvenient for him to stand up right now, and he didn’t want Ye Ming to see anything wrong with him… but, none of this could be seen on his face. 

He endured the pain from the wounds on his body, just as he suppressed the aching in his heart.
He already got used to it a long time ago.

Yang Qian looked at Ye Ming deeply, an incomparably affectionate look hidden in the depths of his eyes.
What came out of his mouth instead, seemed very distant and polite, by comparison.
He said, “You can see now that I’m fine, so you can leave without any worries.”

He ought to be content with Ye Ming being willing to come back and see him.

He didn’t want to use anything to put Ye Ming in a difficult position, continuing to keep someone around who shouldn’t have to stay here.
No matter how much he wished he could, he still couldn’t do something like that.