It Was Too Much That He Never Invited Him to Bathe Together

If he hadn't lived through the apocalypse, seen ability users, and known there were signs before the apocalypse, Jiang Nian would never have believed that people who awakened abilities before the apocalypse were called early-awakened ability users.

If strange phenomena occurred frequently, the government had special departments to deal with them. It was just a level an ordinary nobody like him couldn't reach. He had heard about them in his previous life, but that was all.

Abnormal behavior on his scale wouldn't draw the special departments' attention in the short term as long as he concealed it well. After the apocalypse, everyone would be looking out for themselves, and no one would pay him any mind.

Jiang Nian bookmarked the news page, planning to show it to Cheng Jing later.

Stockpiling supplies was a healing and satisfying process. Even though he knew how cruel the apocalypse would be, he couldn't help feeling happy as he sorted everything.

The disaster was unavoidable. Taking care of himself was what mattered most.

He had just about everything else, but he wanted to stockpile more medicine. Unfortunately, the ones he wanted were controlled by hospitals and couldn't be bought at ordinary pharmacies or online.

He could only wait until the apocalypse arrived and grab some from a hospital before anyone else realized what was happening. With Cheng Jing around, that shouldn't be a problem.

By the time Cheng Jing returned, Jiang Nian had already taken a nap on the sofa. Three or four in the afternoon was the hottest and quietest time in the residential complex. People didn't go out, making it a good time for them to move things.

Called downstairs to help, Jiang Nian discovered that Cheng Jing had gone and got a small truck to haul the goods today.

Wow! One trip was almost as much as he'd managed in a whole day. That was his Brother Jing for you!

The truck was packed with all sorts of odds and ends. What stood out was that Cheng Jing had managed to get some things he couldn't buy at the supermarket:

Self-defense equipment not sold on the market, unbranded canned food and compressed biscuits, as well as powdered drink mixes and small pills.

They had no fancy packaging, and some were marked "for exclusive supply."

Jiang Nian obediently refrained from asking questions.

Once they had sorted and put everything away, they took the packaging trash out.

Cheng Jing called the rental agency to have them pick up the truck, then unlocked a shared electric bike and went to the parcel pickup station outside the complex to collect the last three large packages Jiang Nian had ordered online:

One large box of encyclopedias and two large boxes of all kinds of maps:

Maps of the country, provinces, and cities. Besides ordinary maps, there were also extremely detailed maps of cities, counties, and towns, practically a paper navigation system.

Apart from restricted military areas, the maps gave detailed descriptions of somewhat famous or unusual places and buildings in some cities, complete with exterior photos and floor plans. It was ridiculous!

The encyclopedias were one thing, but Cheng Jing fell into thought as he looked at the two whole boxes of maps. Still, he didn't ask any questions.

By the time they had put the safe house in order and done everything they could, night had fallen, and the spare space was filled too.

"We don't need to buy anything tomorrow, right?"

Looking at the room, where only a narrow passage remained, Cheng Jing let out a breath:

If anyone else around him had done this, he would have taken them straight to the hospital. But since it was Jiang Nian, he had to indulge him and help him along.

"No, no. Thanks, Brother Jing~"

Jiang Nian was so happy he wanted to spin in circles. In the end, he planted a smack of a kiss on the man.

Stockpiling supplies alone was fun, but doing it with two people was twice as fun!

Cheng Jing took the opportunity to ask:

"Do you want to stay here tonight?"

Jiang Nian thought for a moment and shook his head.

"Let's keep staying at the hotel. We might not be able to enjoy it much longer."

Before, he had been so nervous and timid that he hadn't dared indulge himself. Now things were different; he was going to indulge himself openly!

"Okay, we'll stay at the hotel."

Having settled that, the two left the complex under cover of night. They ate out and went shopping before returning to the hotel.

A couple back in the honeymoon phase would force-feed even a passing dog their displays of affection, so being lovey-dovey was inevitable.

Jiang Nian curled up on the sofa playing games. After replying to a few messages from Huang Qian, Cheng Jing went into the bathroom.

Hearing the water, a certain someone dropped his phone and ran over.

"Want to bathe together, Brother Jing?"

Honestly, it was too much that his boyfriend never invited him to bathe together. It made them seem so distant.

"Whatever makes you happy."

Cheng Jing's voice came through the mist, sounding especially pleasing, with a rather sexy tone.

"Brother Jing, you're always so halfhearted about it. It's embarrassing for me..."

Though Jiang Nian said he was embarrassed, he had already slipped inside.

Looking at the certain someone with a mischievous grin, Cheng Jing reached out with a long arm, pulled him over, and pinned him against the wall.

"If I take charge, you say I'm bullying you. If I go too far, you call me a mad dog... So I'm wrong either way, huh?"

What a little bastard!

"Hehe..."

Jiang Nian just smiled up at him, his hands roaming with excessive abandon. To be frank, he absolutely loved how Cheng Jing could be so serious, only to go crazy after being teased by him.

It was such a turn-on!

The bathroom had always been a good place for things to get heated. It worked every time.

They didn't settle down until after ten.

After washing up, they leaned against the sofa and chatted. Jiang Nian felt as though his bones had turned to jelly. He took out his phone and showed Cheng Jing the sensational news stories about people awakening abilities, then casually switched the TV to a channel with the evening weather forecast and waited.

Normally, Cheng Jing would have said outright that the stories were fake and that even elementary schoolers wouldn't believe them. But faced with Jiang Nian's serious attitude and actions, he reserved judgment and nodded to show he understood.

Jiang Nian didn't force him to agree with him, either. After all, it sounded so far-fetched that it was already good enough for him to reserve judgment.

At 10:45 p.m., the evening weather forecast began on time.

Just as in his previous life, the meteorologist animatedly announced the coming heavy rainfall. The last glimmer of hope went out, and Jiang Nian's unsettled feelings finally landed and died.

Cheng Jing unconsciously tightened his grip on Jiang Nian's hand, his expression growing grave. When he heard that rain would fall nationwide after the afternoon of the twenty-seventh, his heart skipped a beat.

It really was just as Jiang Nian had learned in his dream! Then the nightmare was a sign, or rather, a prophecy!

"..."

Jiang Nian stayed curled up in his arms without speaking. Only after the forecast ended did he casually change the channel.

Yet every late-night channel had begun airing the same weather bulletin.

"Nian Nian, do you know how many days the poisonous rain will last?"

Cheng Jing kept his voice low as he asked. He had to reconsider, or rather, plan for the coming apocalypse.

Jiang Nian answered truthfully:

"It rains from the twenty-seventh through the thirty-first. I don't know exactly what happens during that time, but zombies appear on the first, and after that things get worse and worse..."

In his previous life, he had developed a fever on the second day of the poisonous rain. By the time he woke up and awakened his ability, the apocalypse had already arrived.

Later, however, he heard that people had begun dying on the twenty-eighth, after the poisonous rain started. As more people were caught in the rain, hospitals became overcrowded. Those who died while it was raining generally weren't sent to crematoriums to be burned right away, so they all came running out once the rain stopped.

Seeing Cheng Jing's serious expression, Jiang Nian chose his words before speaking.

"Brother Jing, even though I'm sure my dream will come true and you believe me, other people won't... So there are some things where we can only look after ourselves."

Even though they knew about these things, they couldn't change them. Who would believe them if they told anyone?

They could only wait for it to happen.