Ye Ruan silently finished bandaging Gu Cheng, picked up the clothes draped over the chair, and threw them in his face. He was about to turn and leave when an arm suddenly caught him around the waist and pulled him back.
Gu Cheng said sincerely, "I was wrong. I shouldn't tease you wherever and whenever I want."
"How about this? I'll blow on yours too?"
The exertion had made Gu Cheng's arm bleed again, but he ignored it and shamelessly pushed up Ye Ruan's sleeve instead.
Wrapping one hand around Ye Ruan's slender, pale wrist, Gu Cheng grinned.
"My hand looks so big next to yours."
"Let go..."
Ye Ruan glanced at the half-open door and said in a muffled voice:
"I'm not angry. Can you let go now?"
Gu Cheng ran hot. Even through their clothes, that warmth seeped through the fabric and onto Ye Ruan's skin.
Ye Ruan felt his face heating up and didn't dare meet Gu Cheng's eyes.
If his bunny ears came out, the skin beneath the fur would surely be flushed crimson.
"I don't want to." Gu Cheng hugged Ye Ruan from behind, his strong arms locking around him like iron clamps.
"Can we make a deal?"
Ye Ruan turned his head. "What?"
The distance between them closed without warning, and Ye Ruan's lips nearly brushed Gu Cheng's cheek.
Gu Cheng decided to go all in. Before Ye Ruan could lean back and put some distance between them, he suddenly leaned closer, aiming for the little bunny's cherry-red lips.
He touched something soft, but it was Ye Ruan's palm.
"Get lost..."
Ye Ruan puffed out his cheeks, shoved Gu Cheng's face away, and broke free of his embrace.
"Bad wolf!"
Gu Cheng lounged against the back of the chair and unhurriedly put his clothes on.
"Let's make a deal. How about staying in my pocket as a lop-eared bunny from now on? I'm really scared you'll get hurt."
Ye Ruan left him with a single "No," opened the door, and walked out.
There was a wooden pavilion in the farmhouse courtyard, with quite a crowd already gathered inside.
Seeing Gu Cheng approach, the little girl's father hurried over, bowing and scraping.
"Captain Gu, I've heard so much about you! What happened earlier was all a misunderstanding. Could you be generous and let it slide?"
Gu Cheng turned straight to the little bunny. "Sweetheart, what do you think?"
Ye Ruan froze, and everyone's eyes swung toward him.
That sneaky wolf never missed a chance to take liberties.
"Mm." Ye Ruan squeezed out a sound and hurriedly hid behind Yu Jingjing.
Yu Jingjing patted Ye Ruan reassuringly, inwardly marveling at how shameless her captain was.
After talking for a while, they learned that the little girl's father was named Ren Bing, and he owned the farmstay.
He had originally planned to open a farmstay with an orchard and vegetable plots, but the sudden viral outbreak had left them trapped on the mountain.
He had also led the men who felled the tree Ye Ruan had blown up, blocking the road with it.
Ren Bing gave an awkward smile. "Most people passing through are on foot. We just charge a little food as a toll."
It was a heavy-handed approach, but in the apocalypse, it was nothing unusual.
Gu Cheng smiled. "We're all just trying to survive."
Hiding behind Yu Jingjing, Ye Ruan was growing drowsy. He lazily lifted his eyelids to glance at him.
That sneaky wolf was putting on an act again.
The farmstay had no shortage of food, so why was the owner's daughter, that little girl, still starving, all skin and bones with a sallow face?
By contrast, her father and the group of men standing nearby were all sturdy and strong, their complexions ruddy.
And ever since they had arrived, they had barely seen any women.
"I've got over fifty people here. We can just about fit everyone into the rooms if we squeeze in, but with the people you've brought, Captain Gu..."
Ren Bing looked troubled.
Fang Ci said, "It's fine. We have tents. Just lend us an open space for the night."
Ren Bing said, "Of course, of course."
Once they finished talking, Ren Bing took Lu Jiayi to a clean, spacious patch of the courtyard where they could pitch their tents.
The remaining five exchanged knowing looks.
Gu Cheng said gravely, "Stay alert. Kill them if necessary."
Ye Ruan was sleepy and slept straight through until evening. When he opened his eyes, he found himself lying in the car.
Yu Jingjing happened to come in. "Little Ye Ruan, they're cooking a big communal meal and holding a bonfire party. Want to come?"
Ye Ruan murmured a soft assent, not particularly wanting to move. "Did you carry me in here?"
Yu Jingjing looked helpless. "As if. A certain wolf with ulterior motives wouldn't give me a chance to take advantage of you."
Something about that struck Ye Ruan as funny, and he laughed for quite a while before stopping.
"Are you coming out to have fun or not? There are loads of people outside. The survivors from the bus are having a great time, and the farmstay even has alcohol. The captain and the others are all drinking."
Two sweet dimples appeared when Yu Jingjing smiled.
Ye Ruan smiled. "You're happy too."
"Because it feels like we're back before the virus. Whenever there was a holiday, the First Team would eat and drink together in the mess hall."
Yu Jingjing sighed. "We were so happy back then."
"One trip to South City, and so many teammates... we'll never see them again."
"Don't be sad." Ye Ruan slipped something into Yu Jingjing's hand.
"Keep it safe."
Yu Jingjing stared at the bomb in her hand, her eyes widening, and quickly tucked it into her pocket.
She soon hid her surprise and took Ye Ruan's soft, pale hand.
"All right, let's go out and have something to eat and drink!"
"Okay!"
The bonfire party was lively, though most of the people there were survivors Gu Cheng had brought. Most of the farmstay's residents were men.
Ye Ruan glanced over. Almost all the unfamiliar faces on the other side were male. There were four or five women, all pretty and delicate-featured.
When his gaze swept toward Gu Cheng, Ye Ruan's steps faltered slightly.
Yu Jingjing sucked in a breath. "Holy shit. The captain must have a death wish."
Two young women, around twenty, sat on either side of Gu Cheng, pouring him drinks.
Fang Ci, Li Rang, and Lu Jiayi each had one or two young women clustered around them too.
Ye Ruan suddenly smiled, a cold gleam flashing through his eyes.
By the time Yu Jingjing looked over, Ye Ruan had wiped his expression clean, looking utterly wronged.
Well, the "wronged" part was Yu Jingjing's own interpretation.
Ren Bing had been talking with Gu Cheng. Seeing Ye Ruan approach, he hurriedly invited him to sit.
Gu Cheng, a full-grown man, had hunched himself up and kept dodging the girls beside him. When he saw the bunny approaching, he shot Ye Ruan a pleading look.
"Oh, right, I forgot. Handsome Ye and Captain Gu are a couple, aren't you?"
With a fake smile, Ren Bing beckoned to the two young women.
"Come on, come on. Stop clinging to Captain Gu. He's already taken."
Gu Cheng said, "Right, we..."
"No." Ye Ruan interrupted him with an innocent smile.
"Captain Gu is single. So am I."
A hint of amusement entered Ren Bing's eyes, and he chuckled. "Well, in that case, I'll find a couple of beauties to have a drink with Handsome Ye too."
Ye Ruan pulled Yu Jingjing down to sit beside Gu Cheng.
In the firelight, his red eyes looked dark and blood-red.
"Thank you, but there's no need."
Ren Bing said, "All right, then. Eat and drink your fill, everyone. Just say the word if you need anything."
Once Ren Bing was far away, the two young women lost their earlier enthusiasm and frantically stuffed food into their mouths, as though they hadn't eaten in ages.
Gu Cheng shifted away from them, leaving the seats to the two women as he tried to squeeze in beside Ye Ruan.
"Little bunny..."
Ye Ruan ignored him, chatting animatedly with Yu Jingjing.
"Bunny? Bun-bun? Little white bunny? My sweet Ruan?"
Yu Jingjing shuddered at the sickening sweetness and was about to put in a good word for her captain.
Suddenly, Ye Ruan seized Gu Cheng's forearm.
Delight spread across Gu Cheng's face, and he was about to speak when Ye Ruan abruptly yanked him to the ground.
At the same time, a figure lunged at Ye Ruan, the nearest person, with a crazed roar!
It was a zombie!
Before you continue