“You know how it was then; it wasn’t that I didn’t care, it’s just that things got a bit tricky…” Xiao Tianming rubbed his hands together, giving an awkward smile. “So, um, after Xiao Xie left, I figured I’d do as he said, fend for myself, and not trouble anyone else, so I started walking toward the shelter on my own. But halfway there, I suddenly felt it wasn’t right. We’d been through so much together, and I’m an adult, after all. I couldn’t just leave you two young students to fend for yourselves—it didn’t feel right. So I thought I’d wait a little longer for you two, just in case. I mean, who knows, maybe you’d snap back to normal and come back…”
“Get to the point.”
Qi Wu was a bit impatient.
“…Mainly, if I followed the map, I’d have to cross the skybridge. I really wasn’t familiar with any other routes and was worried about getting lost. But back there, that monster you guys had just taken down was still burning in the fire, its bones almost charred to coal. Then, as I got close—damn, it suddenly started moving.”
Xiao Tianming, with drooping brows and eyes, recounted, still showing traces of lingering fear on his face.
“Anyway, I was so scared I couldn’t move. Didn’t dare go anywhere else either, afraid I’d run into some other monster. I was completely at a loss when, out of nowhere, I saw classmate Qi Wu come back, all slicked with slime, carrying you wrapped up in his clothes—”
“Why do you talk so much?”
Before Xiao Tianming could finish, he was abruptly cut off by the unusually cold voice of the other key male lead in this memory.
“Uh…”
“This guy was just too noisy back then. I couldn’t be bothered to deal with him, so I just kept dragging him along.”
Qi Wu pursed his thin lips, his tone light and flat as he offhandedly described his reunion with the man after regaining consciousness, as if merely annoyed by Xiao Tianming’s endless chatter.
—
In that wasteland, it wasn’t only Xie Xishu who had lost consciousness due to “feeding.”
Qi Wu had, too.
Initially, it was extreme hunger that drove him to lose control. But afterward, the sheer ecstasy and dizzying joy of consuming food brought him to a place of animalistic urges tangled with human consciousness.
Qi Wu barely remembered how he gradually pulled himself out of that bliss and forced himself back to human form.
He only knew that, when his mind became clear again, he was tightly holding Xie Xishu’s slender, pale body in his arms.
All of Xie Xishu’s clothes had turned to fragments, even ingested into Qi Wu’s body in his confusion, permeated with Xie Xishu’s scent—so much so that even his insides were filled with the boy’s distinctive, rich fragrance.
It was the happiest, most joyful moment he’d felt since the apocalypse began. No, to be precise, it was the happiest moment since he’d had self-awareness.
After a long time, a remnant of human reasoning finally resurfaced in Qi Wu’s body.
Suppressing the urge to carry Xie Xishu away forever, he shakily wrapped the boy in the few remaining intact clothes from the scene and slowly carried him back to the roadside.
Qi Wu had to admit he had already forgotten about Xiao Tianming back then. He’d only gone back to retrieve some things.
After all, once Xie Xishu awoke from his coma, Qi Wu felt a duty to ensure the boy’s safety and comfort.
But then he encountered Xiao Tianming once more.
—
“Y-Yeah, that’s pretty much it.” At that moment, Xiao Tianming, as if realizing something, quickly added after Qi Wu finished speaking. “Not to mention, it scared me half to death back then. I thought he’d finished eating you and still wanted seconds. But later, seeing the way he held you, I felt relieved. No monster could care so much about a person; it was obvious Qi had regained his sanity…”
Under Qi Wu’s icy glare, Xiao Tianming’s voice gradually faded.
Oh great, another failed attempt to flatter.
“Ahem, um, I’ll just go and see if there’s any supplies left around. I won’t interrupt you guys, ha, ha ha.”
Finally, Xiao Tianming seemed to get the hint, scratching the back of his head as he slunk out of the room where Xie Xishu was now resting.
“Tch—”
Watching his swiftly retreating figure, Qi Wu lightly ground his teeth.
Such an eyesore.
A certain monstrous desire stirred restlessly deep within him.
Qi Wu had to exert some effort to press down on the incessant bloodthirsty craving within.
—
Qi Wu arranged Xie Xishu’s resting place in a small house by the roadside.
The original occupants had long disappeared, and even the house’s furniture and bedding were gone, leaving only an empty space.
“If my guess is right, this place has probably already been ‘cleared’ by someone.” Qi Wu explained, glancing down. “There aren’t many monsters around here, and even the ones that are, are mostly weak. Ordinary people could probably handle them with a bit of caution. It’s a relatively safe place to rest. But not only did they clear out the monsters, they also took everything useful in the area. You’re still running a bit of a fever, and before… I tried to look around, but couldn’t find anything of use.”
As he said this, a slight tension appeared on his face, and a faint hint of frustration showed in his dark eyes.
They’d brought quite a few survival supplies when they left the villa, but after their encounter with the woman holding a severed head, they’d lost most of their baggage.
“It’s alright.”
Xie Xishu didn’t seem too troubled by the lack of supplies; he even looked faintly pleased.
Even the bedding and furniture were taken, which indicated this was a government-led, organized disaster-relief operation. And the fact that these items were needed implied that there were still a fair number of survivors seeking refuge at the shelters.
For someone like him, who had struggled in this apocalyptic world for so long, it was an incredibly heartening sign.
This thought obviously didn’t escape Qi Wu’s notice; his gaze deepened slightly, and he sighed softly.
“Tch, with you in this sickly state, saying it’s no big deal…”
As he spoke, he reached into his pocket, pulled out a carton of pure milk, and tossed it to Xie Xishu.
“?”
Xie Xishu picked up the milk, a bit surprised. “Didn’t you say there weren’t any supplies left?”
Things like this, along with other survival necessities, may have seemed insignificant when society was stable, but they became extraordinarily valuable in the apocalypse.
“It’s alright; I’ve got a keen nose. I can usually sniff out whatever bits and pieces others missed in corners and crevices.”
Qi Wu cleared his throat and answered nonchalantly, not mentioning at all the number of concrete blocks he’d lifted bare-handed to find that single carton of milk.
But just because he didn’t bring it up didn’t mean Xie Xishu hadn’t noticed.
Xie Xishu fixed his gaze on Qi Wu for a few seconds, fingertips gently tracing the milk carton, and murmured softly, “Thank you.”
Then, under Qi Wu’s watchful eyes, he carefully took small sips from the box, savoring the thick, sweet milk.
His body was indeed still feverish, and having just woken from unconsciousness, his throat was parched, his whole body weakened.
Maybe it was precisely because of that, but drinking milk in such an austere setting tasted especially good.
Xie Xishu drank quickly. Without a straw, a few drops of the creamy liquid occasionally slipped out from the corners of his lips, but he would promptly lick away any traces of milk.
Initially, Qi Wu had been staring unblinkingly at him. But after a few seconds, he instinctively turned away, his cheeks flushing as he avoided the sight.
Yet, even with his eyes averted, the tall boy appeared lost in a daze, his face deeply flushed. It wasn’t until Xie Xishu called his name several times that he snapped out of it in a muddle.
“Um, Qi Wu… it’s a bit ticklish.”
Xie Xishu held the milk carton in both hands, his face still pale. But whether from the lingering fever or something else, a faint blush bloomed on his cheekbones.
“What?”
Qi Wu didn’t react at first, but when he followed Xie Xishu’s gaze, he noticed a familiar crimson tendril coiled around Xie Xishu’s ankle.
It was an appendage sprouting from his own body.
Qi Wu wasn’t even sure when it had appeared—those tendrils clung shamelessly to Xie Xishu’s skin, moving slowly and leaving glistening trails in their wake. They even seemed inclined to slide up his pant leg, which was probably why Xie Xishu had to gently intervene.
But by then, it was too late.
The boy’s intoxicating scent had already seeped into the highly sensitive receptors along the tendril, sending an electric tingle down Qi Wu’s spine.
He froze, attempting to retract the tendrils, but some deep-seated instinct kept him from pulling them back.
Perhaps this was the primal nature of the monster.
Once he had tasted true fulfillment, it was impossible to force himself to return to a state of enduring hunger.
“Why not? We’re boyfriends, aren’t we? I’m only touching; I won’t do anything more… that’s alright, isn’t it?”
After a pause, Qi Wu, his voice raspy, feigned calmness as he spoke to Xie Xishu.
But only he knew just how much he craved.
Not hunger.
Greed.
Greed so intense that, even knowing it might annoy Xie Xishu, he couldn’t resist wrapping around him.
After a few seconds of silence, Xie Xishu blinked.
“…Alright.”
*
He really was displaying an unexpectedly gentle acquiescence.
*
Qi Wu’s body gave a swift shudder.
This moment was even more dizzying and heart-racing than before.
He nearly sprouted a few more tendrils out of carelessness.
…
Then, silence fell once again between Qi Wu and Xie Xishu.
It wasn’t just Qi Wu—after that instinctive response, Xie Xishu, too, found himself blushing.
Uncomfortably, he lowered his gaze, though his eyes couldn’t help but stray back to those slender tendrils.
Vague and strange images flitted through his mind, making it hard to tell if they were dreams or hallucinations… or reality.
But, stranger still, Xie Xishu realized that the fleeting thoughts of slime, soft flesh, and engulfment didn’t frighten him.
Quite the opposite—his body was beginning to feel warm.
Realizing this, Xie Xishu’s face flushed red.
—What was he even thinking?!
“Uh, how… how are you feeling now?” Trying to clear his head of wayward thoughts, Xie Xishu bit his lip, hastily breaking the silence, “Are you still very hungry?”
After all, it was usually hunger that made it difficult for Qi Wu to maintain his human form.
But as soon as he spoke, Xie Xishu realized he’d made a grave mistake.
The look in Qi Wu’s eyes as he regarded him was softer and more heated than he’d ever seen before.
“Fu-Fully fed!”
Qi Wu murmured, though as he processed what he’d just said, his ears turned red as though they’d start dripping blood.
“What I mean is, uh, I’m feeling really good right now! Better than ever! I-I feel like I’ve evolved again. Even if that woman with the severed head showed up, I wouldn’t be scared. I think I could take on ten of her! I really am full, a-and… uh… how… how are you feeling? Is anything hurting?”
Although he’d already checked countless times, Qi Wu was still a little jittery about what he’d done to Xie Xishu.
Xie Xishu’s lashes fluttered faintly.
“I’m alright, too.”
His voice held a soft hint of bashfulness.
Compared to last time when helping Qi Wu evolve had left him dizzy and lightheaded, this time, other than some muscle soreness from the fever, he genuinely didn’t feel any discomfort…
Wait?
Xie Xishu froze, then furrowed his brows.
He lifted his arm, carefully examining his bare skin.
There was no circular bite mark, no visible wound.
So, how exactly had he “fed” Qi Wu?
It couldn’t really be…
Once again, Xie Xishu thought of those “hallucinations,” and his heartbeat quickened.
“What’s wrong?”
Qi Wu immediately sensed that Xie Xishu’s mood was off and quickly asked.
Xie Xishu hesitated for a long moment before stammering out his question.
Qi Wu froze.
“It’s probably a neurotoxin,” he rasped. “There’s no way I could’ve actually…”
But halfway through, his voice trailed off.
The memory of his loss of control had indeed become hazy, though the emotions he felt back then hadn’t faded. He still remembered that ecstasy.
And that fulfillment.
Just recalling it now was enough to make him salivate involuntarily.
Qi Wu’s sudden silence weighed down the atmosphere.
“Forget it.”
After a moment, Xie Xishu forced a faint smile.
“When we get home, I’ll look through my mom’s things. Then we’ll figure out what’s going on.”
“Alright,” Qi Wu replied.
Then, Xie Xishu suddenly called to him.
“Qi Wu… actually, I’m a little scared.” The boy’s breath was warm, his voice carrying a slight tremor. “What if there’s really something wrong with me? What if I…”
“It’s okay. No matter what you’re like, I’ll stay with you.” Qi Wu cut off Xie Xishu’s unspoken fear, meeting his gaze directly and speaking clearly, “So don’t be afraid—you’ve got me.”
Xie Xishu looked up instinctively.
Their eyes met, and both of them froze.
Then, as if pulled by some strange, unexplainable force, Qi Wu slowly leaned down toward Xie Xishu.
The boy’s lips were pale.
But Qi Wu just knew that those lips were actually quite soft.
…
Just then, Xiao Tianming suddenly pushed the door open, poking half his body in, his face brimming with excitement.
“Hey, guess what I found! Snacks! A big bag of snacks! Man, my luck is off the charts—I just happened to find it in a blind spot, and there it was—”
He waved the snack bag at Xie Xishu and Qi Wu as he spoke.
Xie Xishu: “…”
Qi Wu: “…”
Seeing the two of them abruptly separate, Xiao Tianming finally snapped out of his excitement.
“Did I… interrupt you guys again?”
His eyes widened in surprise.
“Wait, you young people go at it this hard? I’ve been wandering outside this whole time, and you’re still not done?”
Xie Xishu and Qi Wu exchanged a look.
…Anyway, let’s just get him to the shelter first!
