Back when Lu Hao had first been setting up the Survivor Guard, he’d run across all kinds of scum. The man named Zhang Lie was one of them. He was a handsome man, by apocalypse standards, with amorous peach blossom eyes and a smile that made women feel they were the center of his universe.

During the apocalypse, Zhang Lie had gathered together his group of loyal brothers and beautiful sisters to escape the city. They’d stayed with the SG for a short while, where Lu Hao got to watch firsthand how the man operated. Zhang Lie had excellent acting skills. He behaved gently with the women, making them feel a sense of trust and security in him, like they’d be safe through the horrors of the apocalypse so long as they were by his side.

But the group of rough thugs who accompanied him belied Zhang Lie’s real nature. The man was a gambler and a conman, and his gentle mask tore right open when he and Lu Hao had gone on a mission to search for supplies together.

At that time, the apocalypse was still in its early years. Level-3 zombies had only just started appearing in rumors and horror stories, and on that day when they were scavenging at the outskirts of F City, two level-3 speed zombies had appeared and surged towards them.

Zhang Lie, in his panic, pushed the girls clinging around him to be his meat shields. He made his escape between their strewn flesh, and when the other girls cried and screamed at how he could do this, Zhang Lie completely broke down and yelled at them how they should be grateful to him, how all they were useful for was being ornaments…

In any case, he was a piece of shit. Lu Hao kicked him out, then offered sanctuary for the women who’d unfortunately been following him. Lu Hao hadn’t heard much about him after that, but he had seen him every now and then when coming across teams from F City, still surrounded by women.

Right now, Zhang Lie was just a conman in debt.

So when Lu Hao contacted him offering a large sum of money in exchange for making a girl fall in love with him, he readily agreed.

The private investigator Lu Hao kept on Ji Ling had continued tailing her and sending Lu Hao information. Lu Hao found that Ji Ling at this time didn’t seem to have been reborn, for which he was thankful. She was just an ordinary high school girl. Seeing the photos of her meek, withdrawn look made him wonder just what had caused her to transform so greatly after the apocalypse.

Funny to think that even though she’d become so powerful and influential after the end of the world, her innate power, her ability, was to become invisible—the same way she’d been invisible all her life before. Guess some things would always be a part of her.

It was difficult to pry Ji Ling’s secrets from distant observation. The best way to find out where she got her ‘healing spring’ was to get close to her, gain her trust, and have her spill everything.

Ji Ling was a vulnerable and isolated teenager. Perhaps that was why she was so obsessed with being loved. If a handsome man approached her now, and made her feel truly loved and wanted for the first time in her life, it was hard to say what she wouldn’t be willing to do for him.

Anyone who preyed on vulnerable people this way were evil scumbags in Lu Hao’s eyes. Yet here he was, doing that very thing. He was an evil scumbag, too; but what else was new? He’d figured that out the moment Lisa Xi broke down and made him realize just how severely he had screwed up by letting Hong Sheng die for him.

The thought of seducing Ji Ling himself made Lu Hao feel physically ill. Better to have someone else do this dirty work, which was why he contacted Zhang Lie.

[Take it slow. Gain her trust. Don’t rush it.] Lu Hao typed this message to Zhang Lie. [My only bottom line is that you don’t do anything criminal.]

[Don’t worry. I’m a law-abiding man.] Zhang Lie replied.

Lu Hao didn’t bother giving that a response. He shut down his laptop and went to bed, wondering if Hong Sheng had already gone to sleep.

In the morning, Lu Hao woke before the sun had risen. The air was cold and crisp. Lu Hao stretched in front of the house, getting ready to go on a jog.

He had to keep up the exercise, else he’d be regretting it when he had to run for his life. He hadn’t necessarily been out of shape as a teenager, but he was still soft around the edges. Every extra bit of strength and endurance would help down the line.

Lu Hao liked to jog shirtless. Only sweatpants clung to his hips, and he wore a pair of sturdy sneakers on his feet. As he bent to stretch out his legs, he heard the noise of the front door unlocking behind him.

“You’re up?” He didn’t have to look to know it was Hong Sheng. Once he’d finished the stretch, he turned, only to see Hong Sheng dressed lightly in a loose shirt, stretchy pants, and sneakers walking down to stand next to him.

The porchlights had been turned on, casting a soft yellow glow over Hong Sheng’s head. Hong Sheng looked at Lu Hao an the expressionless look that could easily read as something dark and gloomy to the average person. But Lu Hao knew Hong Sheng, and he could see the light traces of sleepiness hidden there.

Hong Sheng didn’t say anything, but his intention was obvious. He glanced at Lu Hao’s shoes, then at his own, and raised his head to look at Lu Hao. His gestures sent the unspoken message of, ‘I know you’re going jogging, and I’ll come too.’

That look plucked at Lu Hao’s heart. His gaze softening, he reached out to ruffle Hong Sheng’s hair.

The two of them set off, jogging together along the road. Their feet pounded against the ground, and after a while, Hong Sheng’s heavy breaths punctuated the silence.

Dawn started to break on the horizon, soft blues and warm pinks spilling across the sky. Lu Hao slowed to take a break and let them both catch their breaths. They sat on a railing at the side of the road. He handed the water bottle he’d brought to Hong Sheng. Once Hong Sheng took a drink, Lu Hao also drank some down.

The world was at peace. The two of them looked up to see the songbirds fluttering in the sky, silhouettes against the pinkening clouds. Lu Hao felt a strange emotion welling up in him, and he said, “Hong Sheng.”

Hong Sheng looked at him. He was hard to read, especially in the dark. But Lu Hao still felt that he had Hong Sheng’s complete attention.

With each passing day, he became more and more aware of the depth of Hong Sheng’s love for him. How Hong Sheng loved him wasn’t with a burning passion at all times of day; he wasn’t constantly thinking of Lu Hao, pining for him, like someone out of a romance novel. Hong Sheng had his own life with things he wanted to do, and sometimes those things didn’t include Lu Hao. But Hong Sheng treated Lu Hao with a care and attention that he gave to very few things in his life.

Hong Sheng was a tinkerer. He could look at a box of junk and figure out ways to repurpose, rebulid, and create something useful out of them. He liked the small detail work of cataloging heaps of things and fitting them together. What he had was a problem-solving, detail-oriented, orderly type of mind, and what was most difficult for someone like him was figuring out something as vague and indecipherable as other people.

After all, people were liars. They didn’t always say what they meant. Sometimes they would expect you to understand something they’d never told you, then get mad at you when you couldn’t. They might act contrary to their stated intentions, and many of them hid knives within their smiles. As early as when he had been a child, Hong Sheng had learned people couldn’t be trusted. After all, people had told Hong Sheng that all parents loved their children.

But even with dislike of interacting with others, Hong Sheng still let Lu Hao come close. He treated Lu Hao as a cornerstone of his existence, someone that would always have room in his heart and in his life. No matter how long it’d been since they had seen each other, no matter how Lu Hao had hurt and disappointed him, Hong Sheng still looked at him with a faint and soft joy, and let the shell around his heart open so that Lu Hao could touch him.

To trust so fully, to cherish so deeply, was a demonstration of love that Lu Hao didn’t think he would find from anyone else in the world. And after recognizing Hong Sheng’s love for what it was, he no longer cared to look for any other.

Lu Hao smiled warmly, the affection clear in his eyes, and reached out to grasp Hong Sheng’s hand.

“I can’t tell you enough how glad I am to have you with me,” he said. “You know, I… I’ve had a lot of time to think while we were separated. After you were gone, I realized just how much you mean to me. And I’m an idiot for not recognizing that until it was too late. You don’t have to forgive me, ever, for the things I’ve done, or for how I’ve hurt you. But I want to make it up to you. From now on, I’ll always be here for you, and if you’re willing… I want us to take care of each other for the rest of our lives.”

Hong Sheng’s hand trembled. His thin fingers tightened around Lu Hao’s. He had a hesitant expression on his face, and when he looked at Lu Hao, it was with a searching, lost look, like he didn’t know how to understand what Lu Hao said and needed more information to confirm.

So Lu Hao decided to give it to him. He leaned forward, reaching out his other hand to curl around Hong Sheng’s nape, and he pulled until the two of them were face-to-face. But just as their lips were about to touch, Lu Hao felt Hong Sheng’s hand jerk in his grasp. His hand was cold and sweating. Lu Hao pulled back just slightly, opening his eyes to check Hong Sheng’s expression.

Hong Sheng’s eyes were blown wide, darting around in panic, and Lu Hao—Lu Hao suddenly realized, he was being too hasty. This wasn’t the best time and place for their first kiss. They were out in the open, both of them still sweaty from their jog, and Lu Hao had barely done anything to set the mood. No wonder Hong Sheng was so nervous.

Adjusting on the spot, Lu Hao softly pressed his lips against Hong Sheng’s cheek.

Under his touch, Hong Sheng’s breathing stuttered, but other than another tightening of his fingers, he didn’t panic as before. Lu Hao pulled away. The red of Hong Sheng’s cheeks had turned even brighter than when he’d been jogging, and he seemed somewhat dazed.

“I promise,” Lu Hao said, “Thing won’t be like how they were before. If you’ll let me, I’ll love and protect you for as long as I live.” He paused. “Will you let me?”

Hong Sheng took a moment to process Lu Hao’s words. He lowered his face as he thought, and then, he raised his head with a serious expression. He nodded and said, “I… I’ll protect you, too. A-and…” He stuttered, flushing even more; Hong Sheng couldn’t say the words ‘love you too’, but Lu Hao understood it.

Lu Hao smiled. He caressed Hong Sheng’s hand with his thumb. “I know.”

A/N

Lu Hao: Hong Sheng has a hard time reading social cues. He needs to be told things straightforwardly and clearly to not misunderstand.

Also Lu Hao, after Hong Sheng misunderstands him: surprisedpikachuface.jpg