I love you

It was the first time Gu Cheng had heard Ye Ruan say he liked him.

Gu Cheng froze for a moment, wild joy flooding his heart. He tightened his hand around Ye Ruan's lower back and pulled him flush against himself.

"I'm not giving you a chance to run. I'm keeping you by my side for the rest of my life. Once we get back, I'll apply to our superiors for permission to marry."

Ye Ruan blushed so hard he looked ready to bleed. "I haven't agreed yet..."

Gu Cheng declared forcefully, "No, I'm forcing this deal through!"

Ye Ruan got angry, his cheeks puffing out. "You haven't even proposed, and you've never said you love me!"

Gu Cheng smiled. "I love you."

Ye Ruan's accusations died on his tongue.

Still smiling, Gu Cheng said again, "I love you. Will you marry me?"

Ye Ruan's bristling fur seemed to smooth down in an instant.

His eyes reddened, and he said softly, his voice thick with emotion, "Once we get back, you might not feel that way anymore."

Gu Cheng didn't rush to argue. He simply asked quietly why.

"Ever since I was little, whenever I showed even the slightest liking for someone or something, that person or thing would vanish without a trace."

"Is someone trying to control you?"

Seeing Ye Ruan's evasive gaze, Gu Cheng immediately knew he had guessed right.

"Bunny, tell me who it is."

Tears pooled in Ye Ruan's eyes, but he held them back. His red eyes looked washed clean, clearer than ever, and his damp lashes clung together.

"If only we'd never met..."

Gu Cheng laughed in anger, tucked Ye Ruan under his arm, and carried him into the Biohazard Vehicle one-handed, locking the door behind them.

Ye Ruan was roughly tossed onto the sleeping bag. When he looked up, he saw Gu Cheng's face, cold with anger, close enough to kiss him.

For some reason, Ye Ruan felt a little afraid and backed away.

That movement seemed to provoke Gu Cheng. His hand shot out like lightning, clamped around Ye Ruan's ankle, and dragged him underneath him.

"Oh, bunny, bunny. I'm proposing to you, and you're thinking about how to break up with me?"

Ye Ruan hurriedly said, "No! I was just saying it. I wasn't thinking about breaking-"

He never got the last word out. Gu Cheng kissed him fiercely, unable to conceal his wolfish nature any longer, his sharp teeth worrying and grinding against Ye Ruan's bright red lips.

The kiss went on so long that Ye Ruan's head grew fuzzy, and he nearly passed out from lack of air.

Gu Cheng rested his forehead against Ye Ruan's. "Little bunny, now that you've climbed aboard my pirate ship, don't even think about getting off."

His heavy breaths fell against Ye Ruan, spilling into his ears.

A hint of ruthlessness entered his voice, an unrelenting determination.

"I've chosen you. Even if the person controlling you kills me, before I die... I'm still going to eat you."

Ye Ruan parted his swollen lips and asked dazedly, "H-how would you eat me?"

What Gu Cheng meant by eating wasn't what Ye Ruan meant.

Realizing this, Gu Cheng wickedly whispered something into Ye Ruan's ear.

A broad flush visibly spread across Ye Ruan's fair, tender skin, reaching the corners of his eyes, beautiful enough to be bewitching.

What that sly wolf said was less about eating him than marking what belonged to him.

Even before he died, he would brand his precious darling with a mark that could never be erased.

No one else could even think of coveting him.

Ye Ruan was so embarrassed he nearly cried. His very first romance, and he had run into someone this shameless, domineering, and forceful.

Gu Cheng gave a wicked smile and rubbed his fingers hard over the little bunny's snow-white neck, his rough fingertips leaving a red mark.

"Want to cry? I haven't even bullied you."

The Big Gray Wolf was rotten to the core. If Ye Ruan hadn't liked him, he felt he would have punched him long ago.

Gu Cheng settled him on his lap, lowered his head, and kissed him for a while longer.

"Have you heard that saying?"

Ye Ruan didn't answer, covering his faintly aching lips with his slender fingers.

Gu Cheng smiled. "One dishes it out, the other willingly takes it. If you didn't like me, I wouldn't bully you."

Ye Ruan puffed up angrily. "You admitted you're bullying me!"

Gu Cheng raised an eyebrow and was about to say something else when someone suddenly pounded hard on the door from outside!

Yu Jingjing's voice cracked with panic. "Boss! The Zombie Tide is coming!"

Gu Cheng and Ye Ruan exchanged a look, a hint of helplessness in their eyes.

He lowered his head and held Ye Ruan as he kissed him quietly and lingeringly for a while, then finally bit the little bunny's snow-white nape.

His skin stung slightly, and Ye Ruan covered the teeth marks with his fingers.

"Bad wolf!"

"Go ahead and scold me. A few scoldings every day in exchange for a few kisses."

Gu Cheng hauled Ye Ruan up and gathered him into his arms, rubbing the little bunny's back.

"Baby, keep yourself safe."

"Mm." Ye Ruan tilted his head up and kissed his chin.

"You're not allowed to get hurt either."

Gu Cheng laughed roguishly, took Ye Ruan's hand, and turned to open the door.

The others gathered around. Fang Ci tapped a palm-sized tablet a few times, his expression grave.

"There are over ten thousand zombies. A Level Three Monster just shot down the drone, so we can't get more detailed data."

Gu Cheng said in a low voice, "Everyone get in the vehicles. We're moving on!"

Lou Yu squeezed forward. "I think we should hide instead. If we head through Cloud City now and run into another Zombie Tide, we'll have no way out!"

Yu Jingjing snapped irritably, "Hide where? Do you see anywhere around here we can hide? There are over a hundred of us. Even if we somehow fool the Level Two Zombies, what about the Level Three Monsters?"

"Their sense of smell is so sharp they can track down even the faintest human scent. Our only option now is to push straight through Cloud City!"

"Enough!" Gu Cheng said coldly. "Stop arguing. Everyone get in the vehicles and stay close behind the Biohazard Vehicle!"

The others immediately agreed. Lou Yu shut their mouth, looking sour, and returned to the off-road vehicle at the rear.

Ye Ruan turned to Gu Cheng. "Captain, I'll go lay three traps."

Gu Cheng wanted to offer to go with him, but he couldn't leave right now. All he could do was say quietly, "Be careful."

Ye Ruan smiled at him, turned, and quickly disappeared into the night.

By the time all the survivors had boarded and the vehicles started up, Ye Ruan finally appeared in Gu Cheng's line of sight.

Gu Cheng hit the accelerator and drove past Ye Ruan. With nimble movements, the little bunny grabbed the iron ladder at the back, vaulted onto the roof, and dropped through the roof hatch into the vehicle.

An earth-shaking explosion rang out, and a towering blaze nearby lit up half the sky.

Ye Ruan's heart tightened. "The Zombie Tide is only two hundred meters away! Hurry, go!"

The Biohazard Vehicle charged ahead, its tires screeching against the ground as it turned.

In the rearview mirror, the sculpture park where they had stopped gradually blurred into the darkness.

At the same time, another massive explosion rang out, accompanied by a rising blaze.

Thud!

Something pounded hard on the door from outside. Li Tuantuan shrank into a corner in fright, clamping her hands over her mouth. Ren Fei'er hurriedly reached out to hold her, signaling her not to make a sound.

Gu Cheng glanced at the side mirror outside the passenger seat. "A Level Three Monster has followed us."

Ye Ruan picked up the submachine gun. "I'll go up to the roof and deal with it."

Fang Ci said, "I'll go with you."

Gu Cheng kept his eyes straight ahead. "How are you getting up there? Going to let my bunny carry you?"

Fang Ci gritted his teeth. "I'll pull myself up..."

Gu Cheng cleared his throat, looking perfectly serious. "Brother, honestly, I've treated you pretty well, haven't I?"

The moment he opened his mouth, Fang Ci knew what bullshit he was about to spout. He said bluntly, "Get to the point."

Gu Cheng said, "As the saying goes, hands off your friend's wife. Little Ye Ruan is your sister-in-law."

Ye Ruan said, "..."

Fang Ci couldn't hold back a vehement curse. "Dumbass."