LCFM Chapter 15

Because of his family background, Fu Yan placed a heavy burden on responsibility.

He was clear about Jiang Xinghuai’s feelings for him, but he couldn’t give even the slightest response.

Jiang Xinghuai was only seventeen, still underage. But even if Jiang Xinghuai were an adult, the kind of partner Fu Yan imagined for himself would never be a child like this. All he could do was care for him as much as possible, protect him.

That was responsibility, not affection.

But now, the road he had to take was visibly dangerous. Rationally speaking, leaving Jiang Xinghuai here was without a doubt the safest choice. Zhu Gaofei would take good care of him.

And yet…

Fu Yan lowered his head to look at Jiang Xinghuai, who was clinging to his arm, pouting with a little temper, glaring up at him.

He really didn’t want to leave. He couldn’t bear the disappointment and sadness overflowing in Jiang Xinghuai’s eyes.

Fu Yan cleared his throat. “Jiang Xinghuai, let’s go upstairs and talk.”

“Talk my ass. I don’t want to deal with you right now.” Jiang Xinghuai cut him off sharply, as if he already knew what Fu Yan was going to say. He jabbed a finger at him. “And don’t talk to me. Go be by yourself.”

“Think it through before you come apologize to me.” Jiang Xinghuai shoved his hands into his waistband, turned with a flourish.

“I’ll help you—” Fu Yan began.

“I’m wearing AJ’s. I don’t need it.” Jiang Xinghuai hobbled away.

Liar!

Old liar!

Fu Yan was nothing but a liar.

Cooking for him, holding him to sleep, wiping his skateboard, telling him, ‘You’re already fine just like this’. That Fu Yan was actually a liar!

Lying to his feelings, then kicking him away with one foot.

To go look for an old lover.

Damn! Scumbag! And to think he, with all his genuine feelings, had treated this liar like a dad!

He knew what Fu Yan had wanted to say just now, but he didn’t want to hear it!

Jiang Xinghuai mimicked the Bull Demon King, snorting out air through his nostrils. He was furious right now.

He could smash this wall in front of him with just a few punches.

No, with just one punch!

“There’s a ton of dust on that wall, don’t touch it.” Zhu Gaofei walked over, a cigarette dangling from his lips.

Jiang Xinghuai: “……………”

He pulled his hand back and wiped a handful of dust onto Zhu Gaofei’s stomach, his face blank. “I’m angry. Go away.”

“My silly little darling…” Zhu Gaofei sighed helplessly, then swung a punch.

Bang!

The wall trembled, and a thick layer of dust scattered down along the low eaves.

“Now that’s called being angry.” Zhu Gaofei withdrew his hand and blew on it.

“……” Jiang Xinghuai glanced at him, then turned and walked away.

“What are you running off to in that pitch-black darkness up ahead!” Zhu Gaofei shouted.

“None of your damn business!” Jiang Xinghuai shoved his hands in his pockets and charged ahead quickly.

Zhu Gaofei stood still, counting seconds: “Two… three… four…”

“Fatass! Get over here!” Jiang Xinghuai’s voice came from the darkness ahead.

“Scared of the dark but still running off to the corner of the building…” Zhu Gaofei turned on his flashlight, sighed, and strolled over.

The glaring white light swept past. Jiang Xinghuai raised his arm to block his eyes, while his other hand stuck up a middle finger.

“Don’t lean on that truck. It’s for collecting potatoes. It’s covered in mud.” Zhu Gaofei walked over, yanked him aside, and patted the dust off his back. “There’s a place to bathe in the upstairs rooms. It’s a communal bathhouse. I asked them to heat some water. You’ll go first in a bit.”

“Got it.” Jiang Xinghuai replied impatiently. Borrowing the light, he grabbed the truck’s railing and climbed onto the front of the truck.

“Your leg’s got stitches, and you can still bounce around like this?” Zhu Gaofei freed up a hand, clamped the flashlight in his mouth. In two or three moves, he climbed up, too, sitting down right next to him.

“Turn it off,” Jiang Xinghuai said.

“Weren’t you afraid of the dark?” Zhu Gaofei asked.

“It’s bright enough.” Jiang Xinghuai pointed to the stars in the sky.

“Of course, it’s bright. There aren’t any buildings here. We’re far from the city. The only thing around is a village to the north.” Zhu Gaofei thought for a moment, then added, “The infected monsters can’t make it over here. A small number of them we can handle, but it’s still not safe.”

“This virus spreads too fast. We have to take care of both the outside and the inside at the same time.” Zhu Gaofei pointed at the iron fence that had been put up last night. “The iron fence isn’t safe. I want to make an electric one, but the generators are either they’re too old and liable to blow up, or they can’t support such a large area of power. Still, the inside’s manageable for now. The people in the warehouse, your Uncle Chun has already done the count. Tomorrow we’ll hold a meeting so everyone can get to know each other.”

“More and more people will escape and come here,” Jiang Xinghuai suddenly said.

“Yeah.” Zhu Gaofei nodded. “After the initial panic, everyone will realize the city is nothing but hell. They’ll all want to get out.”

“Will you save them?” Jiang Xinghuai asked.

“I can’t save them. They can only save themselves.” Zhu Gaofei rubbed his head. “If they want food, they’ll have to work. If they want to live, they’ll have to fight. Men patrol and resist, women wash clothes and cook, as for children…” Zhu Gaofei looked at him and laughed, “You can just lead them in singing for us.”

“I’m not a kid…” Jiang Xinghuai dodged his hand, frowned, and protested. “I can do everything you all do.”

“I know.” Zhu Gaofei nodded.

Jiang Xinghuai snorted, then leaned back and lay down.

The front of this truck was especially big. Jiang Xinghuai had never seen this kind of truck before.

But the moment he lay down and looked at the stars above, he fell in love with it.

This was way more comfortable than a Ferrari or Porsche.

He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath, smelling the night, the cool wind, the earth, and the chirping of insects…

It was the most relaxed he had felt these past few days. Jiang Xinghuai stretched lazily and touched his full stomach.

This place was really comfortable.

But.

He wanted to follow Fu Yan.

“Fatty.” Jiang Xinghuai stared at the sky. “I want to go with Fu Yan.”

Zhu Gaofei didn’t even look at him. He only let out a faint sigh. After a while, he finally asked, “Are you familiar with Mr. Fu?”

“Of course.” Jiang Xinghuai raised an eyebrow. “Name: Fu Yan, age: thirty-two, home address: Asus Apartments, 17th floor, Chang Geng Street, Nanyue Road. Height: 186, has pecs—”

“Do you know what he actually does?” Zhu Gaofei cut him off.

“That famous pharmaceutical company in our city, Fu Lin Pharmaceutical,” Jiang Xinghuai said.

Zhu Gaofei chuckled, turned his head, and looked at him. “Fu Lin Pharmaceutical is only a part of him. Do you know how many pharmaceutical research institutes, biological research institutes he oversees?”

“What do you mean?” Jiang Xinghuai was puzzled.

“These viruses—if they were man-made—then they were made by people like them,” Zhu Gaofei said.

“It’s not him.” Jiang Xinghuai frowned and retorted.

“How do you kn—”

“I like him a lot,” Jiang Xinghuai interrupted.

Zhu Gaofei fell silent, staring at him. After a long moment, he gave a bitter smile and said, “What’s there to like about an old man? Isn’t it just because he’s rich?”

“Who doesn’t have money? He’s different,” Jiang Xinghuai said.

“That’s true, he really is different. He’s especially rich.” Zhu Gaofei rolled his eyes.

Jiang Xinghuai ignored him, mulling it over on his own as he spoke slowly: “He makes me feel especially steady, makes me really, really want to be close to him… If I’d met Fu Yan a little earlier, I wouldn’t be like this now. My parents hate me, my friends dislike me, my classmates are afraid of me, but I actually don’t want—”

“You’re about to make me cry,” Zhu Gaofei suddenly said.

Jiang Xinghuai rolled his eyes. “Let me put it this way. My problem with sleeping, you know about it, right?”

“Of course I do. Do you know how many doctors I’ve gotten for you?” Zhu Gaofei’s face started to show surprise.

“That day, he held me while I slept. That busted old sofa was super hard. My leg was banged up and hurting like hell.” Jiang Xinghuai snapped his fingers. “But I didn’t wake up even once.”

Zhu Gaofei patted his shoulder. “Then go find your Daddy Fu.”

“Mm.” Jiang Xinghuai nodded, grinned, and hopped down from the truck’s cab.

The very next second—thud!—Jiang Xinghuai slammed flat onto the ground.

“Fuck! Why’s this damn truck so tall!”

Rubbing his nose, dragging his limping leg, Jiang Xinghuai lowered his head and went upstairs.

A pair of leather shoes appeared in front of him—shiny, bright, freshly polished.

“Where’d you go?” Fu Yan asked him.

Jiang Xinghuai wiped the mud off his hands and coughed twice. “You just went to shine your shoes?”

“Huh?” Fu Yan froze for a moment, then nodded. “Yes.”

“Let me tell you something,” Jiang Xinghuai suddenly spoke.

“Mm?” Fu Yan bent down slightly to look at him.

“Wherever you go, I go.” Jiang Xinghuai looked into his eyes. “Don’t even think about leaving me behind.”

Fu Yan frowned. “No.”

“It’s not up to you to say no. And another thing. At night, I’m going to your room to sleep,” Jiang Xinghuai added.

Fu Yan’s expression turned strange. He wondered why Jiang Xinghuai was talking to him like this, waiting for him here.

“Don’t even think about sneaking off.” Jiang Xinghuai jabbed his fingertip against Fu Yan’s chest in a threatening way.

“…Still just a kid, not that old, but already full of little schemes.” Fu Yan shook his head helplessly.

“That’s right. Don’t underestimate me.” Jiang Xinghuai proudly lifted his chin.

“Little rascal,” Fu Yan muttered with a soft laugh.

“That counts as being a rascal?” Jiang Xinghuai raised an eyebrow. “That’s pretty innocent, isn’t it, Uncle?”

“You—”

“I’m not actually going to sleep with you.” Jiang Xinghuai sighed. “I’m already grown. Besides, that broken bed’s so small. If we sleep together, we’d have to stack like pancakes. We’ll talk about it later. I’m going to take a bath.”

“Your leg can’t get wet.” Fu Yan grabbed his arm.

“I’ll wash with my leg lifted?” Jiang Xinghuai asked.

“Be careful not to fall,” Fu Yan reminded.

“Then you hold me,” Jiang Xinghuai said immediately.

“…Let’s go.” Fu Yan sighed.

The bathhouse was especially large, with two rows of showerheads installed along the walls. There were no partitions between the showerheads, not even a curtain.

This kind of bathhouse was common in group facilities in the North.

Jiang Xinghuai, having grown up, had never bathed in one like this before. When taking off his clothes, he was uncharacteristically embarrassed.

“Forgot to bring a towel. Wait here. Don’t turn on the water yourself. I’m afraid you’ll slip.” Fu Yan let go of his arm.

“Alright, alright, go on.” Jiang Xinghuai waved awkwardly.

Only after Fu Yan left did he finally struggle to take off his pants. Fortunately, part of the pants had already been cut open, so it was easier to get them off.

But once they were off, it felt a bit cold… Jiang Xinghuai rubbed at the goosebumps on his arms, then tilted his head and noticed a half-open window.

He turned around and had just taken two steps.

“Taking a shower?” A man’s voice came, tinged with surprise.

Jiang Xinghuai quickly looked back.

It was that slick-haired man he’d run into by the toilets before.

“What do you want?” Jiang Xinghuai frowned, stepping sideways a couple of steps to avoid him. At this moment, he didn’t have a single piece of clothing on. Even cursing, he didn’t know what stance to take.

“I’m not doing anything. Haven’t even asked you yet. What’s your name?” The slick-haired man took a few steps forward, almost pressing right up against him. “Uncle’s name is Zhou Kaiwen. You can call me Uncle Zhou. You’re that one, aren’t you? Uncle could tell at a glance. We already know each other—”

“I’m warning you.” Jiang Xinghuai pressed against the wall, glaring at him. “You fucking—fuck!”

“Touch your mother!” Jiang Xinghuai was so disgusted he almost jumped, raising his hand and shoving him away.

The man was pushed back several steps by the boy, his anger turning into humiliation. “You fucking—”

The man’s shoulder was suddenly grabbed. Before the man could react, his whole body slammed to the ground.

“What happened?” Fu Yan stood in front of Jiang Xinghuai, his face dark.

“He touched my waist!” Jiang Xinghuai clutched his arm and hid behind him, his eyes red with anger as he cursed and accused, “Pervert!”

By now, the slick-haired man had already scrambled back up. Facing Fu Yan, his momentum faltered, and he hunched his shoulders. “I just came over to say hello. I hadn’t even said a word yet before he pushed me. I just—”

Fu Yan frowned, his gaze sharp and unfriendly. “Get out.”

The man turned and left.

The wide bathhouse quieted down, leaving only Jiang Xinghuai’s harsh breathing.

“You okay?” Fu Yan turned around, frowning as he looked at him.

“He touched my waist! Even pinched it!” Jiang Xinghuai pointed at the reddened spot on his side. “And he wanted me to call him Uncle! Fucking perverted bastard!”

Fu Yan’s frown deepened, his fingers unconsciously brushing over the red mark on that pale skin.

Jiang Xinghuai was so furious, he completely forgot he wasn’t wearing any clothes at the moment, only focused on cursing at the top of his lungs: “A man in his thirties, face full of wrinkles, and he still wants to hit on me?”

“Just because he throws on a suit to cover up that dog’s tail, he really thinks he’s somebody!”

“Look at that hair of his, slicked down all shiny and neat! Just disgusting to look at!”

“He’s nothing but a damn pervert! Mentally abnormal!” After finishing his rant, Jiang Xinghuai even looked to Fu Yan for agreement. “Don’t you think so too?”

Fu Yan, who was also in his thirties, silently took off his suit jacket, then deliberately messed up his own hair with one big swipe, nodding in agreement: “Yes.”

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