Where There's a Crouching Dragon, There's a Fledgling Phoenix

At night, whenever Cheng Jing and the others patrolled past Huang Qian's safe house, Xiao Ya would bring them piping-hot steamed buns, plain or stuffed, for a late-night snack.

The girl was still shy and quiet. After giving them the food, she would run back inside.

And so, the group of young men in the prime of their lives seemed to have gained a "filial daughter."

As they continued their patrol, munching on the hot buns, Liao Yu couldn't resist teasing them:

"We've got a godfather who saved our lives and a filial daughter too. Even in the apocalypse, that's a life without regrets."

People had to learn to find joy amid hardship, so they would have something to look forward to. As for Xiao Ya, since the team had accepted the commission, they would wait for the authorities' ruling. Their job was to keep their emotions in check and carry it out objectively as a piece of work.

When there was no danger, they ran into quite a few amusing things on their nightly patrols.

The most common were sounds unsuitable for children.

Sure enough, after patrolling Huang Qian and Xiao Ya's building, they went to the neighboring entrance. As soon as they reached the second floor, they heard waves of moaning coming from apartment one, accompanied by all kinds of crude, lewd talk.

As far as they knew, the apartment's residents were three male ability users who had formed a team. They looked a few years older than them, and their team had two attackers and one support-a sensible combination.

Lately, whenever they came by, they caught them in the thick of it. Sometimes the cries came from men, and sometimes from women.

As for whether it was a free-for-all, they had no idea.

Today it was a man, and he sounded pretty good.

Though everyone was used to it by now; after all, they heard several such encounters every night on patrol.

Zhao Lei and the others even made uninhibited jokes and comments.

Only Cheng Jing, who was close to Jiang Nian, noticed the awkward look that flashed across the face of the man beside him before he hurried upstairs.

Cheng Jing said nothing. He rubbed the bridge of his nose and followed. Jiang Nian was the most easily embarrassed of them all-even more so than Huang Qian-and only let himself go when they were alone together. That was also what Cheng Jing liked most about him.

Jokes aside, their teammates had no interest in eavesdropping. After shining their flashlights around and finding nothing unusual, they continued upstairs.

Liao Yu, the spoiled young master, caught sight of the two already heading upstairs and muttered:

"Say, do Brother Cheng and godfather do it like that too?"

"..."

The question plunged the team into a brief silence. Then five shocked gazes shot toward him in unison:

Tang Yi gave a discreet cough:

"Watch your mouth, or it'll get you into trouble..."

"..."

Jian Cheng looked from him to the stairs with a horrified expression, afraid that Brother Cheng would come down with an AK and spray them with a burst.

Zhou Rongbin quietly warned him:

"Young master, do you have a death wish...?"

Only Zhao Lei, the vice-captain, was happy to stir up trouble:

"Why don't you go ask?"

Liao Yu pursed his lips:

"If I could beat Brother Cheng in a fight, I'd definitely ask him a question or two."

Then he glanced at the others and lowered his voice:

"I don't believe you aren't curious."

People were born loving gossip, so why pretend otherwise? They all knew one another inside out, yet they were acting as if his question were so bizarre.

"Being curious doesn't mean you have to say it. Voice some kinds of curiosity and you're asking for a beating."

Lu Ningzhou patted him on the shoulder, holding back his laughter as he offered the helpful reminder.

Zhao Lei picked up the thread:

"Go ask on our behalf. Brother Cheng won't kill you."

The others nodded vigorously in agreement:

"Right, right..."

"That could work..."

"..."

Seeing his unscrupulous teammates urge him to court death, Liao Yu gave it some serious thought before shaking his head:

"Forget it. If satisfying my curiosity means risking my life, I might as well try it myself."

His teammates looked at him again, their faces practically screaming, "You've shocked my whole family."

Zhou Rongbin opened his mouth:

"You... you like men too?"

Liao Yu spread his hands:

"Although I, the young master, have never been in a serious relationship, I'm not picky. In this day and age, who cares about gender? Just look at our Indian brothers next door-they've been crossing species lines for years. They're probably setting their sights on zombies by now..."

Then he added airily:

"Don't worry. I generally don't eat the grass next to my own nest, unless I'm really hungry."

No one knew what Jian Cheng was thinking, but he actually agreed wholeheartedly with his nonsense:

"Good point. You should start dating early. Maybe a few years into the apocalypse, even zombies will start looking pretty..."

As soon as he finished, the others gave him curious looks. Sure enough, where there was a Crouching Dragon, there was a Fledgling Phoenix.

Lu Ningzhou's reaction was clearly much more normal. He suddenly said seriously:

"Then I'd better hurry up and win Sister Qian over. The one closest to the water gets the moon first. We're all teammates, and I called it first, so none of you can compete with me..."

He had liked Huang Qian for a long time, but he had held himself back because she had been in a relationship.

Before the apocalypse, Huang Qian had fought back against her abusive boyfriend, broken his back, and then split up with him. After all this time, she should have more or less moved on, right?

The apocalypse was here, and he wanted to give it a shot so he wouldn't have regrets later.

"...You're all getting more and more ridiculous!"

With that, Tang Yi shook his head and turned upstairs. The others dropped the subject, gestured for silence, and followed.

If they kept talking, there was no telling what they might come up with.

Zhao Lei brought up the rear and couldn't resist casting a few extra glances at Liao Yu, whose mouth had been running wild:

Even after the apocalypse, Young Master Liao's temper hadn't softened much. Luckily, Huang Qian hadn't come along, or this conversation would have run them right over.

The night passed peacefully. The next day was their day off, and what should have been an ordinary day became much more entertaining when Lu Ningzhou took action to pursue Huang Qian.

Their teammates, including Cheng Jing and Xiao Ya, all supported him and chimed in with advice.

Lu Ningzhou's confidence soared. After a week of pursuit, with the whole team helping him along and fanning the flames, the relationship came together, just as everyone had hoped.

Huang Qian wasn't one to stand on ceremony. After she and Lu Ningzhou officially became a couple, she took the initiative to invite him to raise the child with her.

They were all adults; there was no need to waste time dragging things out.

Lu Ningzhou was so happy he nearly took off on the spot. He promptly moved into Huang Qian's safe house, successfully leaving the single dogs' den and getting off the market.

Watching Lu Ningzhou enthusiastically move his things, his two roommates, Zhao Lei and Liao Yu, looked at each other in silence.

They were brothers and teammates who had been through life and death together. How could he choose romance over friendship in such a heartless way?

He was abandoning them as soon as he got a girlfriend, without even paying the matchmakers. Outrageous!

"Even people getting divorced have a cooling-off period. You're rushing this way too much. If Huang Qian kicks you out, we won't take you back in!"

Zhao Lei gave him the friendly warning while helping him bundle up his bedding. Helping him get the girl and feeling sour about it were two different things.

Liao Yu chimed in sarcastically:

"An extraordinary woman like Sister Qian isn't so easy to handle. Are you up to it, young man...?"

"That sounds like you're threatening my boyfriend!"

Before Lu Ningzhou could say anything, Huang Qian and Xiao Ya pushed the door open and came in. The two beauties, one older and one younger, quickly set about helping Lu Ningzhou pack.

Dog food fell from the sky, catching Zhao Lei and Liao Yu completely off guard. Now that the apocalypse was here, did everything have to get right in their faces and hit them with an ultimate move?

"...Oh, we're just offering some friendly advice, friendly advice, haha..."

Zhao Lei stepped aside as he spoke and silently accepted this helping of dog food.

Liao Yu fawningly raised his hands in surrender:

"Sister Qian, you're mighty! Sorry, I was too loud just now!"

While Huang Qian's back was turned, Lu Ningzhou made a smug face at them and mouthed, "Look at you. I've got someone backing me up!"

Zhao Lei and Liao Yu secretly ground their teeth, wishing they could go over and give him a set of brotherly punches. Even Xiao Ya couldn't help covering her mouth and laughing.

Even after Lu Ningzhou went home with Huang Qian, Liao Yu was still stewing in envy:

They were all handsome and dashing, so why did Lu Ningzhou get off the market first?

Just like that, two blades of grass next to his nest were gone. Once the extreme cold ended, he would find someone to date too.