The protagonist who hates losers is so sweet to me. - Chapter 45

“Eek, eek.”

Song Xinqi looked down and saw that Yu Xiaobai was trying to climb up by gripping Yu Qing’s clothes.

“You like animals?” Song Xinqi asked.

Yu Qing replied, “Yes, I do. I couldn’t keep any before, but the more I couldn’t keep them, the more I wanted to.”

Song Xinqi’s curiosity about Yu Qing’s past was piqued: “Why couldn’t you keep them? Did your family forbid it?”

“Yeah,” Yu Qing said. “It was mostly because of my illness. My family was worried that animals might cause me harm. So they didn’t let me keep any. But now it’s fine; I can keep whatever I want. Well, not too many, though. This is the apocalypse, so if there’s no food, it would be troublesome.”

Hearing Yu Qing’s self-talk, Song Xinqi’s mood brightened slightly, and even his fierce exterior softened a bit.

“Do you remember how you ended up in the storage room?” Song Xinqi asked as he started the car.

Yu Qing leaned back in his seat and thought for a moment. “I don’t remember. I just recall Wei Zheng coming to find me. I got in the car, fell asleep soon after, and when I woke up, I was locked in the storage room.”

Song Xinqi’s eyes darkened. No wonder Yu Qing thought he was behind it. “I saw you get into Wei Zheng’s car with my own eyes…”

Halfway through his words, Song Xinqi realized that he had only seen Yu Xiaoxue get in the car. Wei Zheng confirmed the people in the back seat were settled and then signaled to him, so he assumed Yu Qing was also inside.

The abilities that affect the brain don’t work on him. Wei Zheng and Yu Xiaoxue at that time were definitely real, but the one Yu Qing encountered might not have been.

“You were hypnotized,” Song Xinqi said in a deep voice. “The one who picked you up might not have been Wei Zheng. Your memory of that trip was fake. Wei Zheng and Yu Xiaoxue were also hypnotized and mistook someone else for you.”

Yu Qing shivered. “I’ve been quite well-behaved in the safety zone, and I haven’t offended anyone. Why would someone want to harm me like this?”

“Their real intention might have been to get rid of me by killing you,” Song Xinqi explained, recounting the events on the road. “Did you tell anyone about the mental link?”

Yu Qing squinted at the wind outside. “No, I wouldn’t casually talk about such important matters. What if someone used that to target you?”

Song Xinqi glanced at Yu Qing. Yu Qing seemed unaffected, as if he were just talking about something ordinary.

The certainty that Yu Qing’s death would mean his own demise indicated that he knew about the mental link.

“So, how did they find out?” Yu Qing pondered. “Did I accidentally mention it? Or say something in my sleep? That shouldn’t be the case… Could it be that someone used an ability like mind reading or memory searching to find out?”

Song Xinqi nodded. “That’s possible.”

“But didn’t you say that person’s ability was hypnosis?” Yu Qing asked, confused. “That makes three abilities: hypnosis, invisible ability from the collision with your car. Could it be a group operation?”

We Zheng should have found the culprit by now. They’d know the details once he got back.

Yu Qing still didn’t understand and looked at Song Xinqi, who also had a furrowed brow. Song Xinqi was very handsome, with deep and sharp facial features, giving him a very aggressive appearance.

As the undisputed protagonist of the original story, Song Xinqi was exceptional in many aspects: appearance, strength, and career.

But being the protagonist also meant facing various dangers. He was the strongest, so he couldn’t afford to fall.

Yu Qing fiddled with his fingers, feeling a bit guilty. “I’ve caused you trouble again.”

Song Xinqi smirked. Despite his naturally fierce demeanor, even a simple smile on his face carried a hint of sarcasm.

He looked down and, after a moment, Yu Qing felt a large hand on his head, ruffling his hair.

Without saying anything, it felt like everything had been said.

“So you don’t actually dislike me, do you?” Yu Qing’s eyes widened, twinkling with tiny sparks.

Song Xinqi gave a small nod.

Not disliking him could mean various things: indifferent, slightly fond, or even affection.

“Do you like me?”

Song Xinqi’s body stiffened instantly, his lips pressed into a straight line, and he tightened his grip on the steering wheel.

Not receiving a response, Yu Qing’s tone grew despondent. “You don’t like me?”

Song Xinqi opened his mouth, but finally sighed. “No.”

Yu Qing looked at him. “Then, do you like me?”

Song Xinqi turned his head away, refusing to answer.

“Song Xinqi, Song Xinqi, Song Xinqi,” Yu Qing called, “please answer me directly.”

Yu Qing leaned closer, eventually half of his body resting against Song Xinqi, gently shaking his leg, his voice soft and unaware of its own tenderness. “Do you like me or not? It’s really important to me.”

The warmth of Song Xinqi’s leg, even through the fabric, sent a tingling sensation. With each soft call from Yu Qing, Song Xinqi’s heart fluttered, his gaze darkening. His voice grew increasingly husky. “Be quiet.”

Yu Qing lowered his gaze and returned to the passenger seat.

Song Xinqi glanced at Yu Qing, who was gently stroking Yu Xiaobai’s soft fur. His long, thick eyelashes covered his pretty eyes, making his expression unreadable.

Yu Qing reassured himself that even though Song Xinqi hadn’t said anything, based on Song Xinqi’s usual demeanor, he might have been impatient long ago. So, he probably… maybe… hopefully…

“Yes.”

Yu Qing’s head snapped up. “What did you say?”

Song Xinqi turned his head, expressionless. “If you didn’t hear it, forget it.”

“I heard it.” Although said quickly, Yu Qing still caught it. “You said you like me.”

Song Xinqi’s breath faltered, and he felt some regret. Just as he was about to say something to make up for it, a cheerful voice suddenly came from beside him.

“I like you too.” A little flower appeared next to Yu Qing. “I used to think you might want to kill me, so I didn’t dare to think too much, but now that the misunderstanding is cleared up, you like me, and I like you too. We can get along well now.”

After saying this, Yu Qing felt an unprecedented sense of relief. This was the happiest day he had experienced since coming into this story. Song Xinqi admitting his feelings in person had truly put his mind at ease.

Yu Qing: “I’m so happy.”

Nothing else mattered now. Seeing the flowers around Yu Qing growing more and more, Song Xinqi thought it wasn’t bad like this.

The car had been driving through the wild for an entire afternoon, slowing down until it finally stopped.

Song Xinqi engaged the handbrake, pinched the bridge of his nose, and a layer of weariness appeared between his brows. “Let’s rest for a while.”

“Okay.” Yu Qing nodded.

Song Xinqi reclined his seat, adjusted it to a semi-lying position, and rested his arm over his eyes, only revealing his sharp jawline.

Yu Qing had slept long enough, so he looked out the window. The landscape was barren, with exposed yellow earth and only occasional small green plants in sight.

Without the hum of the engine, the surroundings fell into silence, only the faint sound of breathing from Song Xinqi could be heard.

To find him, Song Xinqi must have gone without sleep for a long time and driven for half a day straight. Others might have given up long ago, but seeing Song Xinqi show even a hint of fatigue meant he must have been very exhausted.

“Eek—”

Yu Qing lifted Yu Xiaobai up to his face, placing his finger on his lips and whispering, “Shh, we can’t make noise now.”

Yu Xiaobai twitched its whiskers and nestled in Yu Qing’s palm.

Yu Qing stayed inside for a while, then decided to open the door and go out. As soon as he opened the car door, his arm was grabbed by another hand from behind.

Turning around, Yu Qing met Song Xinqi’s darkened eyes.

Song Xinqi asked, “Where are you going?”

“I haven’t eaten for a while and am a bit hungry. I want to go out and find something to eat,” Yu Qing said. “I’m now a Level 3 ability user, so I can shrink to thumb size. Zombies aren’t very resistant to Level 3 abilities, so I should be able to avoid trouble if I can’t fight them off.”

Song Xinqi lay back down, covering his eyes with his arm again, but suddenly spoke up. “There’s a mutated rabbit 700 meters to the east, in the grass. If you don’t come back within half an hour, I’ll come find you.”

“Okay.”

Yu Qing set off with Yu Xiaobai, heading in the direction Song Xinqi indicated. After about ten minutes, he indeed found a patch of grass. However, since mutated rabbits run around, he didn’t know where it was now.

Yu Qing pushed through the grass, ready for a survival battle

with the mutated rabbit, and then found a dead mutated rabbit lying there.

The rabbit had just died, still warm, with no visible injuries, looking as if it had been left for free. Yu Qing shrank the rabbit and carried it back by its leg.

Song Xinqi was still resting in the car. Yu Qing took out the firewood from the back of the car and spread it on the ground. Although it still took some effort, starting a fire was no longer a problem.

An hour later, the fresh rabbit meat was roasted.

Song Xinqi got out of the car, and Yu Qing handed him a skewer with half a rabbit on it. Song Xinqi took a bite and couldn’t help but glance at Yu Qing.

Yu Qing sat on the ground, pulling his knees up, and seemed to understand Song Xinqi’s meaning. “I’ve improved a lot.”

The roasted rabbit wasn’t exactly delicious, but it wasn’t half raw and half burnt either.

However, Song Xinqi felt no joy in tasting it. It was as if he had missed out on the time he didn’t participate in, pushing Yu Qing further away.

He had missed a lot and didn’t want to miss anything else in the future.

Yu Qing was very satisfied with the roasted meat and asked, “What do you think of my cooking skills?”

“It’s not as good as before,” Song Xinqi replied淡淡地.

Yu Qing tried to remember the last time he cooked for Song Xinqi, eventually recalling their journey before they reached the X safety zone.

Yu Qing was puzzled, wondering if his taste buds or Song Xinqi’s were off.

After eating, Song Xinqi rested for about three more hours before restarting the car.

Yu Qing asked, “You’re all better so soon?”

“Just needed a short rest,” Song Xinqi said, still eager to return and find the culprit. He didn’t want to delay any longer.

The journey continued with frequent stops. Yu Qing felt as if he had returned to their days of survival in the wild, but now their relationship seemed even stronger than before, despite the lack of the mental link.

“It’s the sea,” Yu Qing said, leaning out the window. As the car drew closer, he heard the sound of waves and saw the endless blue ocean, with the salty sea breeze blowing across his face.

Yu Qing took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. He had truly arrived at the new safety zone.

The two of them got out of the car and walked to the shore. An ability user with water abilities spotted them and called out, “The boss is back.”

Most people, except Wei Zheng, were unaware of where Song Xinqi had been and only glanced at them a few times before asking, “Is the boss going to the safety zone?”

They boarded a boat, and a water ability user controlled the water flow underneath to propel it forward.

Having only recently moved here, many facilities were not yet fully functional, but they would improve over time.

The water ability user was surprised to see Yu Qing and Song Xinqi together. Weren’t they supposed to be at odds? The atmosphere between them seemed quite harmonious.

Sitting on the boat, Yu Qing looked out at the distant safety zone, still a tiny dot on the sea.

The sea breeze lifted Yu Qing’s hair, which curled at the ends in the air. His eyes were bright with excitement. “From now on, we’ll be living on the sea. Doesn’t that mean we’ll have salt every day? Can we fish? Can water ability users surf here?”

At the beginning of the safety zone’s creation, Song Xinqi had mostly heard complaints about adapting to the new environment and the harsh sea weather. This was the first time he’d heard such a positive perspective.

No matter the situation, Yu Qing always managed to see the world in the most beautiful light.

Song Xinqi initially thought Yu Qing’s innocence was foolish and naive, that he would eventually come to realize the harsh reality and bring his naive attitude to his death.

But he found that no matter what Yu Qing experienced—death, betrayal, discrimination—he never changed. He remained the innocent and pure Yu Qing who didn’t fit the apocalyptic world but still spoke fondly of it.

What kind of environment would shape such a vivid and unique personality? Was Yu Qing living in a fairytale? Or was he a fairytale himself?
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