RICMET chapter 88

 

“… ”

Cheng Jing hesitated for a few seconds but finally held himself back.

“It’s already so late. We have to get up early tomorrow, and Liang Yunhao is coming in the afternoon. We’ll be busy keeping him company. You won’t have any energy.”

“All right then. Just don’t move.”

Jiang Nian said, bending down to kiss his face and push him against the headboard.

Their eyes met, and they shared a silent understanding.

“Fine…okay.”

Cheng Jing replied in a low voice. It would have been ungrateful to refuse again.

Soft, featherlight kisses rained down from his lips.

Cheng Jing tilted his head back and closed his eyes. His slender hand gently stroked his lover’s soft hair, and he wore a tender, soothing expression.

When they first got together, he was afraid of scaring Jiang Nian, so he pretended to be reserved. Every time Jiang Nian showed him affection, he immediately surrendered.

Jiang Nian often took the initiative to coax him, and Cheng Jing loved that about him.

…

The next morning, Cheng Jing didn’t get up right on time, but he still rose early enough to make breakfast so they could eat together.

Due to Xia Weiwei and Liang Yunhao’s visit, he was allowed to skip his usual morning report to headquarters. Now that Zhou Li and Yang Kai were around, he could relax a bit.

After breakfast, he brewed a cup of instant herbal medicine for Jiang Nian.

“Here, drink this, and your throat will feel better. No snacks or spicy food today. If you go out, come home early. Make yourself another cup around noon. Huang Qian and I will prepare dinner when we finish work this afternoon.”

“Got it…”

Jiang Nian’s voice was hoarse, and his throat burned. He had only eaten a little porridge with pickles and a couple of slices of whole wheat bread, but everything tasted bland.

Usually, he would have started showing off his snacks right after breakfast, but not today.

His throat hurt because he had been overly enthusiastic. There was no need to explain. They were both adults, and he was partly responsible for this.

“This is so bitter. What kind of powder is this?”

Jiang Nian sipped the brown concoction, and his expression instantly changed. It was cold and bitter, tasting like isatis root[mfn] Isatis root (Isatis tinctoria) or Ban Lan Gen (板蓝根) is widely used in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) for anti-viral and anti-bacterial properties, clearing heat and detoxifying, and boosting the immune system. It has a bitter and earthy flavor.[/mfn] mixed with coptis root[mfn]Coptis root (Coptis chinensis), also known as Huang Lian (黄连), is a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) that clears heat and dries dampness. It detoxifies fire poison and kills bacteria and inflammation. It has a very bitter taste.[/mfn].

Unlike the drink powders he usually bought, this one wasn’t from his supplies—Brother Jing had gotten it somewhere else.

Cheng Jing chuckled.

“Regular herbal powders don’t have the same effect. It’s only bitter for a bit. Drink up.”

Jiang Nian took another sip and glared at him, aggrieved.

“You should drink it yourself. You banned me from snacking, and I can’t drink milk for the next week.”

“Uh—cough, cough—that’s my fault.”

Cheng Jing’s face flushed red. He covered his forehead and lowered his head in shame, blaming himself for not being more careful while he was so excited.

“…”

Jiang Nian held the cup in one hand, resting his cheek on the other. He watched Cheng Jing blush all the way down to his neck. He couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

“Hahaha… All right, Brother Jing, go to work. I’ll finish this and have another cup at noon.”

“…”

After a while, when Cheng Jing still didn’t move, Jiang Nian pulled him toward the door and pushed him out.

“Go on—go to work! You’re making it look like I lost control last night!”

Then, he shut the door, leaving his boyfriend with an expression that said, “Let me explain.”

Teasing your boyfriend first thing in the morning was the best feeling ever!

But still—what kind of weird trait made Brother Jing get all shy afterwards? He must be the only thick-skinned one in this relationship.

…

Jiang Nian had a pretty “dull” day because of his sore throat. Determined to recover quickly, he avoided eating anything that might irritate his throat. If he got hungry, he just drank water; otherwise, he’d only end up feeling worse.

After coming back from a stroll, he went to tend to his little vegetable garden on the balcony.

The seedlings were growing nicely and could be fertilized soon. They weren’t any different from normal vegetables before the apocalypse. In about a week, he’d be able to harvest them.

Once he was sure that the vegetables grown in his purified soil were okay, he could try using his superpower to speed up their growth.

Once the grocery store reopened, he would have the freedom to buy fresh vegetables—and he might even sell some himself.

“…”

In the afternoon, Liang Yunhao returned with Cheng Jing and their teammates.

Jiang Nian had seen Liang Yunhao’s picture in Cheng Jing’s military photos, and they had often talked about him, so meeting him in person didn’t feel strange.

As the saying goes, birds of a feather flock together. Although Jiang Nian felt a little awkward under Liang Yunhao’s amused, scrutinizing gaze, he still had a good impression of him.

Especially since Liang Yunhao quietly told him about Cheng Jing’s vengeful schemes against his husband while he was in the military, leaving Jiang Nian feeling both exasperated and secretly delighted.

Clearly, he and Brother Jing were fated to be together, and Jiang Nian thanked the heavens once again that he’d found his true love.

“It’s a good thing you went back for him. Otherwise, I’d have worried he’d lose his way,”

Liang Yunhao teased lightly. But it was the truth. After leaving the military, Cheng Jing had sometimes had dangerous thoughts when he drank too much due to the double pressure of studying and working. For example, he’d once asked, completely serious:

“How many years in prison do you get for kidnapping your ex?”

Liang Yunhao was scared half to death. He worried that Cheng Jing would really use his position to block Jiang Nian at the university gates. He even asked Zhao Lei and Huang Qian to keep an eye on Cheng Jing.

Jiang Nian smiled calmly.

“No, Brother Jing has solid values. He wouldn’t lose his way.”

Without him, Brother Jing would have been sad and unhappy, but he never would have become a bad person.

“…”

After dinner, which was the same as usual, Liang Yunhao said goodbye when night fell.

Then, he abruptly announced that he and his team would depart for S Base that night.

Cheng Jing invited Jiang Nian to see them off at the airport in the central district near the research institute.

Only then did Jiang Nian realize that Liang Yunhao and his team had come by plane. Honestly, this proved how useful official backing and resources could be.

As Liang Yunhao left in the middle of the night, Yang Kai, Zhou Li, and Xia Weiwei came to see him off, too. It was a rather formal farewell for everyone involved.

Xia Weiwei took the initiative to speak with Cheng Jing and Jiang Nian. Because there were others around, Cheng Jing only gave her a polite nod and let Jiang Nian drag him away.

Those who didn’t know the full story vaguely felt that Jiang Nian’s attitude toward Xia Weiwei was more than just ordinary resentment, but no one said anything.

As the roar of the plane grew distant and finally disappeared into the darkness, Jiang Nian nodded at Zhou Li and Yang Kai, pulled Cheng Jing into the car, and left.

“…”

Xia Weiwei was so embarrassed that she ground her teeth, trying to maintain an air of dignity. She walked over to another car parked nearby, her face sullen.

If she had been alone, she would have used her superpower to grab Jiang Nian by the neck and lift him off the ground!

She had already told Chen Yue about Jiang Nian’s hostile attitude, but Chen Yue insisted that they had never done anything to offend him.

Shortly before the apocalypse, Jiang Nian’s mother passed away, and he fought with Chen’s father. He paid back the 20,000 yuan he borrowed and blocked them all.

At the same time, she found out that Jiang Nian and Cheng Jing had broken up two years ago and that he’d gotten back together with his ex only because he ran out of money after his mother died, right before the toxic rain fell.

The most shocking part was that they’d broken up because Cheng Jing had gone into military service, and Jiang Nian had dumped him over it. Then, when he saw Cheng Jing succeeding in his career, Jiang Nian shamelessly returned to him.

He was exactly the kind of petty, narrow-minded person who’d hold a grudge over trivial things.

In this situation, it would be even harder to win over Cheng Jing through Jiang Nian.

She couldn’t understand why someone like Cheng Jing would be so taken by such a haughty, spiteful failure when he had everything going for him!

When Chen Yue and the others arrived later and couldn’t persuade Jiang Nian, she decided they might as well let the ungrateful man die.

He was a worthless piece of trash without even a superpower—he wasn’t fit to be anyone’s research subject!