The protagonist who hates losers is so sweet to me. - Chapter 44

A tiny mouse, completely white, darted quickly through the piles of corpses, holding a piece of dried meat it had scavenged. It squeezed into a drainage pipe in a nearby building.

Soon, a thumb-sized figure emerged from the bottom of the pipe. After ensuring there was no danger, the tiny figure carefully jumped out of the pipe.

The figure landed steadily on the ground and immediately grew into a normal-sized young man.

The young man, slender and delicate, looked down to see a patch of green slime on his foot. He quickly jumped aside and rubbed his foot clean on a spot of dry ground. Looking up, his eyes, golden and clear, showed a hint of confusion.

He was Yu Qing, who had been trapped in the storage room.

He surveyed the area: the ground was littered with corpses, and the once vast zombie tide had somehow turned into undead.

He glanced back at the pipe he had crawled out of. A white mouse was still peeking out from it. He crouched down and placed his hand over the pipe’s opening.

The mouse climbed onto his palm.

“Did you rescue me?” He gently patted the mouse on the head.

The mouse stood on its hind legs in his palm and hugged his finger with its tiny paws.

The zombies had come shortly after the link had been severed, and Yu Qing had fallen into a forced coma. When he awoke, he found himself alive with upgraded abilities and all the zombies dead.

“What happened…?” He murmured, gazing at the sea of corpses.

But being alive was a good thing. He held the mouse and walked through the area covered in bodies. The ground was covered with layers of corpses, making it almost impossible to find a place to step. He walked over the bodies, stepping carefully.

As he walked and looked around, the sun shone brightly, but the safety zone resembled a vast, sunlit graveyard.

The corpses, soaked in green liquid, had become soft. Stepping on them produced a squelching sound. He walked towards the safety zone’s gate without encountering any danger.

Turning his gaze to the side, he noticed an unusual corpse.

Unlike the others, which were either lying on the ground or in strange positions, this one leaned against a wall with its head drooping, and there were no piles of zombies around it. It seemed quite distinct at first glance.

He looked at it for a moment before continuing on. Suddenly, he heard a strange noise.

He turned abruptly to see the corpse against the wall moving.

He was startled. The corpse—no, perhaps it was an undead that hadn’t completely died yet—began to stand up slowly, first unsteadily, then began walking towards him.

Shadows from overhead branches cast a dark shade on the figure.

Its movements were slow, but Yu Qing dared not stay any longer. As he turned to run, he realized he couldn’t move.

He strained to pull himself up, hearing the slow footsteps of the zombie approaching.

Unable to see, he relied on his hearing: the sound of shoes pressing on corpses, causing them to sink with eerie squelching noises. The sounds of clothing rustling and zippers moving through the air.

His arm hairs stood on end. Looking down, he saw his shadow completely covered by a tall figure behind him.

The shadow behind him stretched out its arms. His eyelashes trembled with fear. Then a cool body pressed against his back.

His eyes widened suddenly as arms wrapped around him from behind, with a chin resting on top of his head. He was enveloped entirely.

It wasn’t a zombie; he could feel a strong heartbeat and slow breathing from behind.

“Yu Qing.”

The voice was hoarse, like sandpaper on glass.

Once he realized he could move, he turned around.

“…Song Xinqi?”

He had never seen him looking so disheveled, as if he hadn’t slept for days, with frighteningly red eyes.

Song Xinqi, usually so proud, spoke with a trembling voice: “Where have you been? I couldn’t find you anywhere.”

“I don’t know. I woke up here.” Yu Qing looked dazed. He never expected to find Song Xinqi in this state.

He instinctively turned his head to avoid eye contact, but a pair of large hands held his face, forcing him to look at him.

“It really is you.” Song Xinqi stared at the still-living person before him, his voice very low, as if afraid that speaking too loudly would disperse him.

He had searched for three days and nights, killing all the zombies, searching every building and room, and examining every zombie’s face, still unable to find Yu Qing. He remembered his clothing from their last meeting and searched through every piece of fabric on the ground.

Exhausted to the limit, his mental state was on the verge of collapse. He felt like a mere shell, driven only by the determination to find the person he had lost.

Now, as if in a dream, the figure he had been searching for had appeared before him.

Yu Qing felt the intensity of his gaze, almost stifling. He suddenly felt a pang of sadness: “Aren’t you the one who wanted to leave me here? Why are you back?”

Song Xinqi’s mouth moved, his finger brushing Yu Qing’s reddened eye: “I’m sorry.”

Hearing this, Yu Qing’s pent-up emotions surged forth: “They were banging on the door, making a loud and forceful noise. I was so scared because I couldn’t move. I could only watch as they broke in. I was really terrified.”

“It was my fault.”

Yu Qing buried his face in Song Xinqi’s broad chest, his voice trembling: “I had prepared so many things, hoping to live well in the new safety zone. I really liked this world.”

“I will take you there.”

Yu Qing, feeling aggrieved, said: “Why did you have Wei Zheng lock me up?”

“I didn’t know about it, but I will find out the truth.”

“But your attitude is always changing. I can’t tell if you’re speaking the truth or lying.”

Song Xinqi held his slender shoulders gently, as if holding a precious and fragile treasure, his voice hoarse: “It won’t be like that in the future.”

After a while, Yu Qing’s voice came again: “So you actually don’t want to kill me, right?”

“I never wanted to kill you.”

Suddenly, a few faint “chirping” sounds were heard. Song Xinqi immediately became alert: “What’s that sound?”

“It’s the mouse that saved me.” Yu Qing opened his palm to show the little mouse, speaking with a nasal tone, “I want to name it Yu Xiaobai.”

After a moment of silence, a light laugh was heard. Yu Qing felt his face being gently pinched.

He remembered: “By the way, where is Yu Xiaoxue? She was with me, but I couldn’t find her when I woke up.”

“It’s with Wei Zheng.” Seeing his frown, Song Xinqi added, “I’ll explain later. Let’s go.”

Yu Qing glanced at him and tentatively said: “We no longer have a psychic link.”

Song Xinqi’s smile faded: “What are you trying to say?”

Yu Qing looked down at the mouse and spoke softly: “I just want to say, since we don’t have a psychic link anymore, why did you risk your life to find me?”

There was no response for a long time. Yu Qing looked at Song Xinqi, whose dark eyes were filled with changing, unpredictable shadows.

In the urgent situation at that time, there was no time to think. Even Song Xinqi himself did not understand why he was so disoriented when Yu Qing was in danger.

But upon hearing his words, his heartbeat skipped a beat. A hidden, reluctant thought he had avoided acknowledging was about to come to light.

He realized that it was not Yu Qing who couldn’t live without him, but rather he who couldn’t live without Yu Qing.

“I…” he closed his eyes, his head spinning severely. The mental exhaustion made his brain numb, and now a dull pain was emerging. “I want to continue taking care of you.”

“Eh?” Yu Qing was startled. The sentence was ambiguous, making him think inappropriately. “What do you mean?”

The overloaded brain issued a warning, but Song Xinqi’s expression only slightly changed. He pressed his throbbing temples, unwilling to elaborate further: “Literally. We should leave now.”

Alright, Yu Qing saw the cold sweat on his forehead and said with concern: “But you seem to be in bad shape. Shouldn’t you rest a bit first?”

“It’s not serious.” Song Xinqi dropped his hand and walked towards the car.

Compared to losing a small worthless object, this level of exhaustion was nothing. The most important thing now was to find out who orchestrated everything and how they knew that confining Yu Qing in the zombie city would limit him.

Seeing Song Xinqi insist, Yu Qing followed behind him.

When they reached the car, he almost didn’t recognize it. The black car was covered in green liquid, the body was pockmarked, and all the windows were shattered, making it hard to imagine what it had been through.

Yu Qing looked at Song Xinqi’s tall and broad back. He must have slaughtered all the zombies in the city to find him, but he never mentioned it.

Thinking about his ambiguous “taking care” remark, he lowered his eyes, focusing on the ground.

Was it the meaning he thought it was?

Though the car was severely damaged, it was still usable.

He fastened his seatbelt and carefully placed the mouse in his palm. It was so small that it could easily be lost if he wasn’t careful.

Noticing that his clothes were covered in dust, he tried to brush it off but found that there was still more. He looked back and saw Song Xinqi staring at him.

He stopped his actions, feeling slightly awkward as he sat still: “Why are you looking at me?”

Song Xinqi raised an eyebrow, wondering what to look at—the precious treasure he had found.

But he replied, “To see how long you’ll take.”

Yu Qing pouted but didn’t think Song Xinqi was mocking him anymore. There seemed to be something else in his words.

Realizing he had said something inappropriate, he showed a trace of regret in his eyes. He glanced at Yu Qing’s reaction and suddenly coughed.

Yu Qing turned around: “What’s wrong?”

Song Xinqi tightened his grip on the steering wheel, staring straight ahead: “… I’m like this. Don’t mind it.”

It was the first time he had explained himself to someone, and he felt a bit nervous.

Yu Qing tilted his head, finally understanding his meaning: “Hehe, I know.”

Song Xinqi looked at Yu Qing, his golden eyes turning into cute crescents. His lips were bright and lively, like a sunflower that would never wilt under the sun.

His heart and breathing became unbalanced, and he could only see this small, vibrant person in his vision.

This was bad.
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