The little rabbit's ears

Gu Cheng's heart melted at how cute the rabbit was, and he reached out to ruffle Ye Ruan's hair.

Whoa, that texture.

So soft...

Ye Ruan silently rejected him by pulling up his sweatshirt hood, hiding his head of white hair.

"Captain Gu, Fang Ci..."

Hearing someone call them, they looked over.

Two pretty young women in dresses had come over and stood before Gu Cheng.

Gu Cheng dropped his casual air and sat up straight.

"Can I help you?"

"Captain Gu, my name is Tang Yi, and this is Xia Yue. We came to..."

The young woman named Tang Yi bit her pale lower lip, her fingers clutching her skirt. Whatever she wanted to say next seemed difficult to get out.

Puzzled, Gu Cheng gave them a polite smile.

"Hello, lady comrades."

Yu Jingjing burst out laughing. "Lady comrades... Hahaha..."

Fang Ci gave her a sharp rap on the head.

"What are you laughing at? They haven't finished speaking."

Yu Jingjing pressed her palms together and hastily apologized.

Tang Yi shook her head and stepped closer, standing in front of Gu Cheng.

"Captain Gu, could you come over to the side with me? I have something to tell you."

Tang Yi's cheeks flushed, her smooth hair falling down her back.

"And... Fang Ci, too. Could you both come over for a moment?"

No matter how they looked at it, something seemed off.

Fang Ci felt uneasy. Since arriving in South City, he had received no shortage of confessions, from men and women, young and old.

Fang Ci, the husky who prided himself on passing through worldly temptations without compromising his virtue, gave a gentle smile.

"You can tell us here. We'll help however we can."

There were too many people here. Tang Yi glanced around, her cheeks growing redder.

Deeply embarrassed, she pressed her lips together and said nothing.

Xia Yue, on the other hand, seemed to throw caution to the wind and spoke bluntly.

"Uncle Zhao, the survivors' representative, told us to come give you two shoulder massages. Or if there's anything else you need, that's fine, too."

Ye Ruan nearly choked on the milk he was drinking.

He had a pretty good idea what the two women meant.

Ye Ruan glanced at Gu Cheng and Fang Ci with a faintly disgusted look.

Gu Cheng was so shocked he nearly fell on his backside. He hurriedly made it clear he had nothing to do with this and scooted closer to Ye Ruan.

It was as though the two women were terrifying beasts.

Tang Yi grew a little bolder and said, her cheeks red,

"Um... Captain Gu, whatever you want me to do... is fine."

Gu Cheng rubbed his head in exasperation and tried to talk her out of it.

"There's really no need. There never was, and there certainly won't be! Please go back, lady comrades."

"We serve the people. Escorting all of you out is our duty. None of this is necessary."

Fang Ci the husky smiled helplessly and added gently,

"That's right, ladies. Please go back and tell old Zhao that protecting the public is our duty. Don't entertain these inappropriate ideas again."

Tang Yi's face burned, and she gave Gu Cheng a reproachful look.

When Uncle Zhao had suggested it, she hadn't thought there was anything wrong with it.

In fact, she had rather hoped to get to know Gu Cheng more intimately. Captain Gu was exactly the type the young women among the survivors liked.

He was fun, handsome, and had a great figure.

Xia Yue, on the other hand, breathed a sigh of relief. When the group of survivors had first suggested this, she had found it disgusting.

Women didn't have to depend on men to survive.

Xia Yue smiled. "Good. Now I have an answer to give them."

Tang Yi tugged at Xia Yue's sleeve.

Xia Yue pulled her hand away. "Sorry, but if you want to trade your body, go ahead. Leave me out of it."

Xia Yue turned and left, leaving Tang Yi red-faced with humiliation. Tears in her eyes, Tang Yi hurried after her.

Once the two women were far away,

Yu Jingjing couldn't stop laughing.

"Quite the luck with the ladies! Why don't you two just say yes?"

Fang Ci said, "Go yourself if you want. I want someone I actually like."

Li Rang looked dejected. "Why don't any pretty girls want me...?"

"It's normal for nobody to want you."

Lu Jiayi sighed, almost in tears.

"Why doesn't anyone want me, either?"

Ye Ruan finished his milk. Finding their conversation amusing, he smiled, his beautiful eyes curving slightly.

Gu Cheng chuckled at the sight and leaned closer, eager for gossip.

"Hey, little rabbit, are you seeing anyone?"

Everyone else immediately turned their attention to Ye Ruan.

Ye Ruan shook his head slightly and said softly, "No."

Yu Jingjing laughed. "Training is exhausting enough. Who has time to date?"

"But, little Ye Ruan, you must have lots of people pursuing you, right?" Yu Jingjing asked.

With no ears to grab, Ye Ruan could only clutch his hair to ease his nerves.

He pressed his lips together slightly, the full, bright-red curve of his upper lip looking like a red cherry being squeezed.

"I think so, but I've been too busy. I don't have time."

Watching him speak, Gu Cheng inexplicably felt his mouth go dry and looked away in a fluster.

"All right, all right, everyone get some sleep. It's late."

Gu Cheng slapped his thigh and stood up.

Ye Ruan had been assigned to stay with them.

The recycling depot had many large compartments, with no doors or windows, only a roof overhead and simple wooden boards serving as partitions.

Ye Ruan took a fluffy blanket from his storage wristband and spread it over the bare wooden boards. That would have to count as a bed.

Autumn had arrived, and the nights were cold. Ye Ruan checked his watch. It was already one in the morning.

Ye Ruan simply couldn't sleep, so he quietly got up.

Yu Jingjing, the closest to him on his left, was sound asleep, completely wrapped in the blanket Ye Ruan had given her.

Her sleeping posture looked... uh, very peaceful.

The strange cries of zombies sounded nearby. After listening to them for more than ten days, the survivors had gotten used to them.

Ye Ruan slipped soundlessly into the yard and climbed onto the roof of the biohazard vehicle in two moves.

A full moon hung in the night sky, tiny stars scattered across the heavens. The autumn wind whispered, and fallen leaves lay forlorn.

Ye Ruan gazed up for a long time, then yawned. Finally feeling sleepy, he lay down on the roof.

Suddenly, a hand slapped down on the roof.

Ye Ruan was so startled that his ears popped out, and he reached back for his gun.

A head poked up. In less than a second, Ye Ruan smoothly chambered a round and pressed the dark muzzle against a smooth forehead.

"It's me, little rabbit."

Gu Cheng gripped the wrist holding the gun and lifted it.

But the smooth softness beneath his fingers briefly distracted him.

Feels nice.

With his wrist caught and twisted behind his back, Ye Ruan stared wide-eyed at the man before him.

Both rabbit ears stood straight up.

"Did I scare you? Sorry."

Gu Cheng laughed and released him, unloading the gun before handing it back.

He took the opportunity to ask, "Need a suppressor? I've got one."

"N-no, thank you. I have one."

Ye Ruan shifted to the side and gently rubbed his bristling ears.

He seemed to be soothing his frightened ears.

A moment later, the rabbit ears disappeared.

Gu Cheng scratched his chin and said with interest,

"Your ears seem to have a mind of their own. Not very obedient, are they?"

Ye Ruan puffed out his cheeks and shot him a displeased glance.

"My ears are very well behaved. I just can't control them properly."

Gu Cheng smiled and sat cross-legged beside him, leaning back on his arms as he looked up at the moon.

"I've heard some gossip about you before."

"Gossip?"

A little curious, Ye Ruan blinked and asked, "Can you tell me?"

Gu Cheng flashed a triumphant smile and beckoned him closer.

Ye Ruan obediently leaned in.

Gu Cheng slung an arm around Ye Ruan's shoulders like they were old buddies, their heads touching as they whispered.

"I heard the captain of Squad Two, that flirty fox, went abroad with you on a mission. Didn't he buy a ring over there and propose to you?"

Ye Ruan had no idea Gu Cheng was fishing for information.

"Yes, that happened."

Recalling an unpleasant memory, Ye Ruan frowned slightly, looking unhappy.

"I turned him down, but he still went to my house to discuss it with my mother."

Gu Cheng clicked his tongue. "What a creep."

"My mother didn't agree, so he pestered me for another month. Later, I heard... he seemed to have gotten together with a hostage overseas."

Ye Ruan tugged at a strand of his hair.

"He gave that hostage the ring he'd meant to give me, too."

Gu Cheng slapped his thigh. "Now that's a scumbag."