“Oh, by the way, I’m sorry, Brother Jing.”
Jiang Nian apologized in a choked voice. He rubbed his head against the pillow, then got up and walked to the bathroom. Staring at his red eyes in the mirror, he sighed helplessly.
He had gone over those words in his mind countless times before coming here. He had tried his best to say them calmly. However, the moment he spoke, his throat tightened, and tears started falling.
A surge of sadness, regret, and helplessness overwhelmed his heart, and he couldn’t hold it back. If he had the chance to do it over again, he definitely wouldn’t do the same thing.
Cheng Jing came in. Jiang Nian didn’t want him to see how miserable he looked. He reached out to turn off the lights. Then, he bent down to turn on the faucet and wash his face. He braced his hands on the sink and cleared his throat.
“I don’t mean anything by saying this. I just want you to know what I was really thinking back then. I know our relationship is over. It’s my fault… Don’t worry; it’s not life or death. I won’t bother you, and I won’t say anything stupid in front of your boyfriend.”
He wasn’t the kind of person who didn’t know his place. He knew he didn’t deserve anything. It had been two years since they broke up. As the one at fault, he didn’t even deserve to apologize. Cheng Jing was already being kind.
Coming here and planning all of this was just his wishful thinking to survive the apocalypse. There was nothing more to it. Right now, all he needed was money to prepare!
“He’s not.”
Cheng Jing went in and shut the bathroom door, blocking the light from outside.
The bathroom went dark again. Jiang Nian’s heart pounded as he turned to look at Cheng Jing.
“What…what’s not?”
“Yang Kai and I aren’t actually in a relationship.”
The confidentiality agreement had been lifted. Cheng Jing stepped forward and pulled Jiang Nian into his arms. He explained softly into Jiang Nian’s ear:
“He’s a corporate security target and a government official. To cover our tracks, we pretended to be a couple and worked with him to complete the mission. We’re doing the final handoff today.”
“… ”
Jiang Nian didn’t say anything, but he understood what that meant. His heart pounded wildly, and an indescribable joy filled his chest. His throat felt hot and blocked up, and his eyes burned.
“There’s no one else between us now, so I still don’t agree to break up.”
Cheng Jing said again and held him tightly in his arms.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t be there for you during your hardest times.”
This wasn’t a matter of fundamental misunderstanding—they still had feelings for each other. Since he had come back to him, there was no need to embarrass the person who had once been at their lowest.
“Loving and hurting” couldn’t coexist. If you truly love someone, how could you bear to hurt them?
“…”
Jiang Nian finally couldn’t hold back anymore and hugged him tightly.
“Brother Jing, I was wrong. I should have said…”
Perhaps because he died with so much regret in his previous life, Heaven gave him a second chance.
Cheng Jing gently patted his back.
“You weren’t wrong, Jiang Nian. Let’s start over.”
It was a firm declaration. Jiang Nian wiped his shoulder and nodded.
“Okay.”
“…”
His phone rang at an inconvenient time. Cheng Jing let go of him and stepped out to answer the call.
Jiang Nian took a deep breath to calm down. His sorrow had turned into joy. He turned the light back on, washed his face, and let out a hearty laugh. He felt relieved, as if a roller coaster had finally reached the station.
After a while, Jiang Nian came out of the bathroom, his mood having settled. Seeing Cheng Jing finish the call, Jiang Nian shifted the topic back to the main point.
“Brother Jing, can you lend me some money?”
Now that they had reconciled, perhaps he could lend him more.
Cheng Jing looked at him with a smile.
“No, I’ll use my money to support my wife.”
He made that decision the moment their relationship was restored. He couldn’t let down someone who had invested so much effort in pursuing him.
“Huh?”
Jiang Nian was stunned at first, then shamelessly moved closer.
“That’s such a coincidence, huh? Your wife’s short on cash right now.’
Dignity? Who needed it, especially compared to such a handsome man? After two years apart, this “ex” was even more irresistible.
Cheng Jing wanted to hold him and give him a little bite, but he restrained himself. He couldn’t stay the night, and it would be too much to act like a villain now that they had just gotten back together.
So, he took a bank card from his wallet and handed it over.
“This is my personal card. Sometimes the job requires upfront payments, and the special funds from HQ haven’t arrived yet, so there’s only a little over 900,000 yuan in it. You can use it for now. The password is the same as before—our birthdays, yours first, then mine.”
They had set the password that way when they were together, and he had never changed it.
“Thanks, Brother Jing. I haven’t changed the password on my bank card either.”
Jiang Nian took the card and kissed it, his face full of love—for money.
Cheng Jing thought for a moment and said,
“Actually, I don’t think you need to rent a new place since school starts in half a month. Once school starts, my place won’t be in the safe zone anymore, so you can move in then. Until then, just stay here.”
Jiang Nian pressed the card to his chin.
“But I’ve already paid for it, so let’s just rent it for a month first. That way, I can get a refund if I don’t want to keep it. However, I really do need to stay here for the next few days.”
He had planned to find a cheap hotel for a few days. After all, it felt ridiculous to let his ex pay for a five-star hotel after they broke up.
But now, things were different. Since they were back together, he felt at ease letting him protect him. He was mainly broke and unable to defend himself, so he was better off as a pampered kept man.
Cheng Jing nodded.
“Alright. I have a business trip tomorrow, so do whatever you need to.”
Jiang Nian took the card and said cautiously,
“Brother Jing, I might spend a lot…”
“…”
Cheng Jing thought for a moment and asked,
“Is it illegal?”
As long as it wasn’t illegal, spending money on things was understandable.
Jiang Nian waved his hands.
“It’s not illegal. Trust me! You’ll see that the money I spend will be totally worth it. I’ll explain everything when you get back.”
Tomorrow is the 16th, and in about a week—on the 23rd or 24th—he should be ready to tell him something.
According to official statistics released after the apocalypse in his previous life, the first group of people awakened their powers before the toxic rain fell. However, mainstream media didn’t report on this event; instead, they treated it as weird entertainment gossip.
When Cheng Jing returned from his business trip, he could use dreams and the news to help him remember things.
Cheng Jing looked at him for a while. He knew Jiang Nian was acting strangely, but he didn’t question him. He chose to trust him.
“Alright. Let me know if it’s not enough.”
Over 900,000 yuan is a significant amount for everyday expenses, but it could run out quickly if someone was buying luxury goods.
Some people spend hundreds of thousands or millions on mistresses, but this was just a small amount of money to support his wife. Nothing to worry about. He’d already suffered for two years after the breakup. Consider this small compensation.
Jiang Nian nodded like a chick pecking rice:
“It should be enough…it should be enough…Thank you, Brother Jing!”
Over 900,000 was enough for one person to stock up on supplies. After all, if he gathered too much, he might not be able to carry it when the time came.
Unless, of course, they could convince Cheng Jing to join them, in which case they could go bigger together!