When Fu Qi wasn’t being rebellious, he was as soft and yielding as a blob of jelly—one quick slurp, and he was swallowed whole.
But you couldn’t have too much jelly. Eat too much, and you got drunk.
When Qin Zhen finally stopped, her face was flushed and her head was spinning. In the end, she had to be carried back to her hospital bed.
She slept in a daze through the night. Early the next morning, while her mind was still foggy, a researcher came over for the routine examination and to record her physical condition. The researcher gave her a thumbs-up and praised Qin Zhen for her decisiveness and strong execution, saying that Qin Zhen was her role model.
Qin Zhen’s head swelled with pride. After Academician Jiang went over her physical data in detail and confirmed that she was no different from an ordinary person and could do anything a normal person could, Qin Zhen began nurturing even grander dreams. Every day, she ate and slept, went downstairs for walks on schedule, and worked diligently at exercising.
Life was fulfilling during this period, and her health steadily improved. If there was anything troubling her, it was that ever since Fu Qi had pinned her against the wall and kissed her, he had become increasingly shameless.
When Fu Qi was rebellious, he was like a hungry wolf.
Privacy at the research institute was poor, so they couldn’t kiss often. Instead, he kissed Qin Zhen on the cheek. Every time, he kissed her so forcefully that he nearly squashed her face out of shape.
Qin Zhen no longer suspected that Fu Qi had a necrophilia fetish. Now she suspected that he simply had no shame.
“The camera!” She shoved Fu Qi with all her strength.
“It’s fine. Kissing someone on the cheek isn’t shameful,” Fu Qi said. “The staff aren’t staring at the surveillance footage all the time. They’re not perverts.”
To prove that they weren’t perverts, the staff pretended to know nothing about the two of them and quietly added extra food to Qin Zhen’s meals every day.
They spent an entire winter at the base. Just before spring arrived, word came from the central base that the capital had been completely cleared out and that they could try beginning a partial revival of the city.
Qin Zhen had been well fed and had put on a noticeable amount of weight. Her face was rounder, and the flesh on her arms and legs had become much firmer. She felt wonderful to the touch, and Fu Qi liked to pinch her whenever he had nothing else to do.
She was still thinking about the safe in Fu Qi’s home. After undergoing a complete physical examination at the research institute and receiving Zhang Xiping’s approval, she planned to head to the capital.
Before leaving, she said goodbye to all her friends at the research institute one by one. She also took Fu Qi to visit Old Commander.
“Go see Old Commander?”
The sun must have risen in the west.
Fu Qi suspected that Qin Zhen was secretly plotting something again.
“To say goodbye,” Qin Zhen said.
She really ought to say goodbye to Old Commander. During this time, people had occasionally come asking about “Qin Zhen.” With Old Commander holding down the fort, the base’s defenses were extremely tight, and the backgrounds of everyone who came asking had been investigated. After receiving the reports, the central government had released a series of red herrings. By now, all sorts of rumors about Qin Zhen were circulating outside.
Most people believed she was dead. A small number thought she had been turned into a mummy and hidden away for further research. Others even guessed that she had been made into an elixir of immortality and consumed by the country’s highest-ranking officials. The rumors were wildly varied—and utterly absurd.
“You have to respect your elders,” Qin Zhen said.
Fu Qi replied, “He seems to be a year younger than you.”
“Then show some love to the younger generation!” Qin Zhen smacked him. “I’m showing love to the younger generation, all right?”
Fu Qi didn’t believe her, but he couldn’t figure out what she was up to. Once they met Old Commander, Qin Zhen began trembling under the radiance of justice again. She managed to say her goodbyes with great difficulty, then shakily pulled a sprig of wintersweet from inside her clothes and handed it to Fu Qi.
Even then, Fu Qi still didn’t understand what she was doing.
Only when Qin Zhen lowered herself onto one knee did the vague realization finally dawn on him.
He immediately hauled her back up and asked suspiciously, “Are you proposing to me?”
Qin Zhen nodded. “Will you… will you marry me?”
“…”
Fu Qi’s Adam’s apple bobbed several times before he managed to speak. “Who taught you to propose like this?”
It hadn’t been Academician Jiang. Academician Jiang was capable of doing everything and then some; after attending her student’s wedding, she had gone off to another base to conduct research.
The only other people Qin Zhen was close to were the group from the research institute. There were far too many of them, and none of them were reliable enough to guess who might have taught her.
“I thought of it myself,” Qin Zhen said honestly. “That’s how they propose in TV shows.”
Fu Qi stared at her. “…You’re proposing to me?”
Qin Zhen cautiously glanced at Old Commander from the corner of her eye and said, “Isn’t it because you don’t… don’t feel safe?”
He was always jealous for no reason. In the past, he had constantly brought up her ex-husband and former fiancée. Later, he had even suspected that she might have feelings for Yellow Helmet.
Qin Zhen was a good girl. She needed to give her beloved enough confidence and let him know that she was sincere, too.
Besides, she was older. The older person ought to take the initiative.
And so, keeping up with the times, she had taken the initiative and proposed!
Qin Zhen quickly shot another glance toward Old Commander and urged Fu Qi, “Say yes!”
Fu Qi: “…”
It was such a perfunctory proposal. The setting, the atmosphere, the dialogue—everything was ten thousand miles away from what he had planned. He really didn’t want to say yes.
But when he looked at Qin Zhen’s cautious little expression as she kept sneaking glances at Old Commander, and heard how her speech, which had finally become fluent, turned halting again whenever she faced him, he felt inexplicably moved.
Old Commander was the ultimate authority, the person Qin Zhen feared most in the entire base.
Yet she had come to him for Fu Qi’s sake, just so Fu Qi could feel secure…
Fu Qi stared at the wintersweet in his hand, its faint fragrance drifting up around him. After hesitating with mixed feelings for a while, he sighed helplessly.
“Fine. I accept.”
Qin Zhen wasn’t satisfied. She swiftly glanced at Old Commander and gestured urgently at Fu Qi. “Be… be more serious!”
“…”
Fu Qi put on a solemn expression and looked directly at Qin Zhen. “I agree to marry you.”
The moment he finished speaking, Qin Zhen—who had been watching him just a second earlier—immediately turned toward Old Commander. Her expression was far more sincere than it had been during the proposal. Carefully, she said, “Commander, you heard him. He… he said yes.”
Old Commander nodded cheerfully. “I heard.”
Qin Zhen said, “Then I’ll trouble you to write us a ma… ma…”
Fu Qi could bear it no longer. “Marriage certificate!”
Qin Zhen hurriedly corrected herself. “Certificate! A marriage certificate!”
Rebuilding order would take a long time. Mass food production, medical supplies, environmental purification—all of it was important. Compared with those matters, restarting the marriage registration system was relatively low priority. It would probably take another year or two.
After the previous researcher’s wedding, Old Commander had acquired an additional duty: issuing marriage certificates.
Certificates issued by him had legal validity and could be entered into the system later.
That was the main reason Qin Zhen had come to see Old Commander.
He agreed without the slightest objection. As he wrote out the marriage certificate, he asked, “Will you use ‘Sweetie,’ or your real name?”
“My real name,” Qin Zhen said.
Old Commander glanced sideways at her. “I thought someone as timid as you would use a nickname.”
Who was timid?!
Qin Zhen was deeply dissatisfied, but, considering Old Commander’s young age and lack of worldly experience, she decided not to argue with him. She obediently said, “Use my real… real name on the certificate.”
After all, no one had ever called her by her full name.
And even if they did, it wouldn’t matter. There were “Qin Zhens” everywhere in the base now. You could randomly hold up an umbrella in a crowd and shelter two of them beneath it. One more Qin Zhen wouldn’t make any difference.
It was just a little unfortunate that her words had come true: “Qin Zhen” had really become an ordinary, commonplace name.
The Old Commander nodded with a smile and helped the two of them fill out their marriage certificate.
Once it was completed, the parties involved had to check it and sign their names.
After all the procedures were finished, the Old Commander took another look at Qin Zhen’s signature. Thanks to Fu Qi, Qin Zhen was very sensitive about handwriting, and she quietly nudged him.
Fu Qi said, “Our Sweetie’s handwriting used to be very pretty.”
Her family had always been something of a scholarly household, so her handwriting certainly hadn’t been ugly. It had only gradually become strange after she went so long without touching pen and paper.
The Old Commander nodded and asked, “Are you holding a wedding?”
Qin Zhen had only just been informed that she was getting married, so naturally she had no idea what to do about a wedding. She turned to Fu Qi, but he shook his head and said, “N-no wedding for now.”
The Old Commander didn’t ask any further questions. “All right. Let me know if you decide to have one later.”
Qin Zhen didn’t dare nod. She merely gave an indistinct “Mm,” put away the marriage certificate, and dragged Fu Qi out.
That very day, they took one of the base’s vehicles to the capital.
All the zombies in the capital had been cleared out. The debris, abandoned vehicles, and other refuse had been hauled away, while the dirty streets had been cleaned by the rain, snow, and human hands. They were much cleaner now.
The only problem was that the city was too large and there were too few people. It looked empty and somewhat bleak.
Still, the expressions on the faces of the passersby were noticeably brighter.
Qin Zhen and Fu Qi parted ways with the people from the base halfway there and went straight to Fu Qi’s home.
Even just from the living conditions, it was obvious that Fu Qi’s family had been well-off before the apocalypse. Unfortunately, everything was now desolate. Qin Zhen was afraid that seeing the place would bring back painful memories for him, and was about to offer him a few words of comfort when Fu Qi’s remark immediately distracted her.
“Whoever finds the safe first gets everything inside.”
The moment she saw Fu Qi stride inside on his long legs, she let out a shriek and dashed ahead of him.
“The combination! The combination!”
They found the safe, but after sleeping for more than two years, she had ultimately forgotten the combination.
Fu Qi watched her trembling hands with amusement and told her the numbers.
The safe opened smoothly. Inside, golden light glittered so brightly that it almost hurt Qin Zhen’s eyes.
She cheered and happily began taking stock of the treasures inside. Once she had finished counting them, she admired them for a while longer, then placed inside the safe all the valuable things that Academician Jiang and Fu Qi had given her in the past.
Fu Qi put something in as well—a faded photograph. It showed a little girl dressed in a taekwondo uniform.
When Qin Zhen saw the photograph, she froze for a moment, then broke into a bright smile.
Her heart felt light and warm. She took Fu Qi’s hand and said, “Let’s keep it here for now. Once everything is truly peaceful, we’ll come back for it.”
“Aren’t we staying?” Fu Qi asked.
“Of course not!” Qin Zhen was genuinely astonished by the question. “The task of rebuilding our homeland is so huge. Are you really planning to slack off?”
Her little brothers and sisters were all still working outside. As the big sister and big brother, how could she and Fu Qi hide away in a safe zone when they weren’t technical specialists?
They had already spent so long recovering!
“How can I not?” Fu Qi said. “I worked hard for the country for five years during the apocalypse. Later, I was the first to volunteer my body for the vaccine trials. My contributions may not be as great as yours, but they’re not insignificant either. I deserve to spend the rest of my life doing what I like.”
Qin Zhen was stunned for a moment.
What he said did make sense, but she felt that it would be wrong. Her conscience wouldn’t allow it.
After struggling with the matter for a while, she noticed the amusement in Fu Qi’s eyes as he looked at her. She suspected that he was teasing her again. She scrutinized him twice without finding anything suspicious, then straightened her face and said, “No. You have to help!”
“Why?”
Why did she need a reason?
Qin Zhen thought seriously for a while. Given Fu Qi’s shamelessness, a proper reason definitely wouldn’t work. After considering it, she said solemnly, “Because a wife follows her husband wherever he goes. Wherever I go, you have to go too.”
She had been the one to propose, so Fu Qi was the one who had married into the family. There was nothing wrong with putting it that way.
Qin Zhen praised herself for her cleverness.
Fu Qi chuckled. He didn’t object to her explanation. Instead, he cupped her face in both hands and gently jostled it.
“Then where are you going? You didn’t tell me about the wedding ahead of time. The least you can do is give me a little time to prepare.”
That question was rather troublesome.
As for rebuilding after the apocalypse, the first task was clearing out the zombies. That could be done anywhere; they could start from wherever they wished.
The scope was simply too broad, which made it difficult to decide.
Qin Zhen thought for a while, then frowned. “We have to go to a lot of places. We definitely need to visit my house and clean it out. There are still many things in there that I want. My husband… my ex-husband was buried too carelessly. She was a princess, after all, so we should give her a proper burial. And the Little Zombie—I promised I’d take her with me, but I can’t do that now. Hmm, let’s bury her with the Princess, so the two of them can keep each other company…”
The more she thought about it, the more things there were to do.
Qin Zhen simply shut the safe, pulled out a pen and paper, and squatted on the floor to make a list.
Her grudge notebook was a thick stack of paper, and she had already used more than half of it. Most of the pages were either little comics or records of how Fu Qi had bullied her yet again.
When she flipped through it, Qin Zhen even shot Fu Qi a fierce glare.
Considering that they were technically still in their honeymoon period, she temporarily held back and didn’t settle accounts with him.
Qin Zhen seriously began writing down everything they needed to do.
“…Help Yellow Helmet find her sister. Zhao Dashan—we mustn’t forget him. Find my little brother and return the property deed to his temple, his certificates, and his Taoist license… I accidentally got them wet before, so I need to apologize. I also need to apologize to Xu the Second for teasing him… and apologize to Tian Li…”
As she spoke, she scratched her head and muttered in confusion, “Why do I have to apologize to so many people?”
Fu Qi could no longer hold himself back. He leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek.
The kiss came so suddenly that Qin Zhen jumped.
She was already used to him randomly coming over to kiss her. She shook her head and continued recording things while muttering aloud.
“Go check on Ya and those other illiterate girls… Give them the books from my study. Find Chen Xiang and Old Mo. The first team of the apocalypse hasn’t reunited yet…”
As she spoke, Fu Qi kissed her again.
He kept kissing her without pause, like a woodpecker.
Kissing her was one thing, but he was using so much force that her face was practically being pushed sideways.
With her face askew, Qin Zhen continued muttering and struggled to write.
“…When Yellow Helmet and I were wandering around, we met several survivors. I don’t know if they’re still alive, so we need to look for them…”
She was still reciting the list when Fu Qi leaned in for yet another kiss. Qin Zhen’s body tilted, and she landed squarely on the floor. The pen in her hand dragged across the notebook, leaving a long black line.
Qin Zhen stared blankly. When she looked up and saw the culprit grinning at her, she instantly lost her temper. She shoved Fu Qi and snapped, “Kiss, kiss, kiss! Are you ever going to stop?”
Fu Qi beamed. “I can’t control how badly I want to kiss you.”
“Is now really the time for kissing?” Qin Zhen felt that Fu Qi was becoming more and more outrageous. “Can’t you see I’m doing something important? It’s bad enough that you’re not helping. Now you’re here distracting me! Do you have to hold me back like this?”
Fu Qi said, “I…”
“Go over there! Stop bothering me!” Qin Zhen tried to drive him away, but once the words were out, she realized that this solution would only treat the symptoms, not the cause. She changed her mind and said, “No, that’s not right. You fall for me too easily! From now on, you can’t kiss me whenever you feel like it. If you want to kiss me, you have to submit a request first and wait for my approval. Otherwise, no kissing!”
Fu Qi had never heard of such a ridiculous rule before. “Baby, unless I’m mistaken, we’re still on our honeymoon.”
“In the face of important business, there is no honeymoon!” Qin Zhen declared righteously.
That made Fu Qi feel as though he were the only one invested. He nodded. “Fine. All right, Baby. Remember, you said that yourself.”
Qin Zhen ignored him and continued racking her brains over what needed to be done while guarding her safe. Fu Qi kept her company nearby, but every few times he edged a little closer, she shooed him away.
After it happened several times, Qin Zhen glared at him fiercely. He raised his hands in surrender and went to tidy up the house instead.
Once Qin Zhen had carefully written down everything she needed to do, she turned around and found Fu Qi gone. To her surprise, she suddenly felt unaccustomed to his absence.
She locked the safe securely and went outside to look for him, only to find a note stuck to it. On it were several reminders: tap water could temporarily be used only for cleaning and not for drinking; the city had only just restored power, so electricity could be used only before eight; the bedroom next door had been tidied up, and if she got tired, she should lock the door and rest first…
Only at the very end did he mention that he had gone to the safety center to check on the distribution of zombies outside and would be back later. If Qin Zhen needed anything, she could ask the staff responsible for distributing supplies on the street.
With nothing else to do, Qin Zhen ate a little and began wandering around the house.
The place had been given a rough cleaning, and the strong smell of disinfectant filled the rooms. There was no way to tell whether human bones and bloodstains had once been there.
There probably had been.
But Fu Qi had not shown any signs of sadness, so Qin Zhen did not bring it up either.
Everyone who had survived the apocalypse had suffered terribly. There was no point comparing tragedies. What mattered most was looking ahead and living on bravely and optimistically.
After making a circuit of the house and confirming that the bathroom could be used, Qin Zhen found a clean room.
Since no one had lived there for a long time, it was somewhat bare, but it was very tidy. The bed had already been made with sheets and blankets. They felt soft and springy, probably distributed by the staff, and there was even drinking water on the nightstand.
Fu Qi had arranged everything.
Qin Zhen did not know where the safety center was, so she poked her head out the window and looked around. All she could see were staff members calling out through megaphones and people lining up to collect supplies.
The wind was strong. She had only just recovered her health and was afraid of catching cold, so after watching for a while, she hurriedly drew back inside.
Perhaps because she had gone several decades without sleeping, Qin Zhen slept especially well after returning to a normal life. After washing up, she read a few pages of a book and began to feel drowsy. So, following Fu Qi’s instructions, she locked the door and lay down.
This bed was much more comfortable than the narrow hospital bed in the research institute. In theory, Qin Zhen should have fallen asleep quickly. She was indeed very tired, but for some reason, after curling up under the blankets, she simply could not fall asleep as she listened to the distant calls outside and the sound of the wind.
After an unknown amount of time, she heard movement outside. Soon, a very light set of footsteps stopped outside the bedroom door. Then Fu Qi’s voice sounded.
“Baby?”
Qin Zhen stayed curled up under the covers without answering. She heard him wait at the door for a while before quietly going to the bathroom.
A little later, the bedroom door opened. After a few soft rustling sounds, someone lay down beside Qin Zhen.
Back when the species barrier had still existed, the two of them had always slept in the same bed without a care in the world. After the barrier disappeared, they had remained at the research institute. The beds there were narrow, and there was no privacy, so it had been inconvenient to sleep together.
Now, at last, they could lie beside each other again.
Qin Zhen turned over and burrowed into Fu Qi’s arms. Thinking that she had been startled awake, Fu Qi gently patted her back to soothe her to sleep. Then he heard her whisper, “Sweetie… I missed you…”
Why did she sound a little aggrieved?
“You weren’t asleep?” Fu Qi reached out and found her cheek, rubbing it lightly. “We were only apart for a few hours, and you already missed me? You’ve become so hopeless.”
…He was asking for a beating!
But Qin Zhen really had missed Fu Qi this time. She generously pretended not to hear the teasing and nestled against him. “Sweetie, you have to stay with me forever and ever.”
Instead of answering directly, Fu Qi asked, “Do you know what I said earlier about wanting to do something I liked?”
In the darkness, Qin Zhen was quiet for a moment before shyly replying, “I know. You… you want to sleep with me…”
Fu Qi: “…”
It had been a tender, innocent moment, but somehow the topic had suddenly taken a suggestive turn. Nodding felt wrong, but so did shaking his head.
Fu Qi decided to express his feelings first and deal with the rest afterward.
He lowered his head and kissed the crown of Qin Zhen’s hair. Then he whispered in her ear, “You made me develop an attachment to you. I like you. Right now, all I want is to be with you, wherever we go and whatever we do.”
Qin Zhen was deeply moved. She hugged him and said, “I like you too, Sweetie, even though you can be so annoying sometimes.”
“You could have left that last part out.”
Qin Zhen giggled.
The two of them held each other warmly for a while. Then Qin Zhen tugged at Fu Qi’s clothes and asked in a soft voice, both shy and puzzled, “Sweetie, do you… really not want to do that with me… um… sleep together?”
After getting their marriage certificate, they had followed the convoy straight to the capital. There had been very little privacy along the way, and they still had not shared any real intimacy as husband and wife. Qin Zhen was both expectant and embarrassed.
“Even kissing requires you to file a request. Wouldn’t this need a formal application?” Fu Qi said. As he spoke, he released the arm he had wrapped around Qin Zhen. “Never mind. It’s too much trouble.”
Not only was he refusing to have sex with her, he was not even going to kiss or hug her now.
Qin Zhen was rendered speechless.
She knew Fu Qi was doing it on purpose. He was terribly mischievous. But she could not deny that those had been her own words.
She stayed silent for a while, then decided this could not continue.
How could she possibly let herself lose the upper hand?
Qin Zhen stared at the ceiling for a moment. Then she suddenly threw off the blankets, let out a loud “Waaah!” and flipped over to straddle Fu Qi. She bent down and immediately tried to kiss him.
Fu Qi’s abdomen tightened, and both hands instinctively caught her by the waist. Turning his face away, he said, “You didn’t file a request, so you can’t kiss me… Even if you had, it wouldn’t matter. I don’t consent. Get down…”
Qin Zhen cupped his face and insisted on kissing him. He pretended to struggle and said, “You can’t do that. If you force an innocent husband, I might call the police and have you arrested.”
Despite what he said, his hands lightly squeezed Qin Zhen’s waist. The ticklish sensation made her arch and rub against him.
Qin Zhen’s face instantly turned scarlet.
Imagining it and actually doing it were two entirely different things. She shifted to one side, trying to climb off Fu Qi, but he held her firmly and refused to let go.
“Who stops halfway through forcing someone?” he said. “Come on. Keep forcing me.”
At that point, how could Qin Zhen not understand what he meant? She shouted, “Shameless!”
There was no harm in being a little more shameless this once.
After struggling together for a while, Fu Qi finally let go. He pulled Qin Zhen over by the waist, rolled them over, and casually pulled the blankets over them.
On that chilly early-spring night, when warmth and cold still alternated, Qin Zhen breathed rapidly, panting from the heat. Sweat made her entire body sticky. She wrapped her arms tightly around Fu Qi’s veined neck, and as they moved together, she thought that being human really was a wonderful thing.
Being human was such a thrill.
The thrill lasted a long time. When it finally ended, Qin Zhen could barely lift her arms.
She closed her eyes and savored Fu Qi’s lingering kisses and the tingling aftershocks. Half-asleep, she once again recalled all the outrageous things Yellow Helmet had said…
Qin Zhen snuggled closer to Fu Qi and decided that, once she woke up, she would praise him.
What a good man.
He really was a good man.
