Chapter 29—Follow the leader

by Bocchan13

Song Yu had not touched another person for two years. Feeling the hot breath tickling his cheek, and the warm embrace filling every surface of his body, he could only blink as his body stiffened completely. The perpetrator didn’t care as he tightened his hold on Song Yu. Gritting his teeth, he could only spew a few words in anger.

“Get…off!”

Song Yu pushed Lan Zhou off his body, the man in question still had his hands stretched in a firm cradling position, his eyes now turning watery in disbelief. Song Yu hmmphed and put the hood back on his head. Striving forward, he passed the others and went directly to Derpy.

Yu Ci turned to his friends as well.

“I told you that I wandered around the forests, it was him who brought me back.”

Lan Zhou gazed at that retreating figure, his body in a state astonishment.

Was he…rejected?

He ran after Song Yu, reaching him before he could saddle Derpy.

“Wait! Song Yu! It’s really you right? You helped me last time and…and…do you remember the club? We were together!”

Song Yu was truly conflicted. It was one thing to help him and not know his identity, dreaming about a ‘what if’ illusion. It was another thing for Lan Zhou to actively know who he was and still…want him. Romance and fairytales don’t mix with the apocalypse. Song Yu really wanted to leave and gather his thoughts, but before he could do anything, he felt a small tug on his cloak.

Turning around, he saw the desperation of a man who had never been desperate in his life. That large hand touching the tips of his cloak, trembling in the summer night, while his eyes brimmed with a passionate resonance.

Time stood still.

“Please…Song Yu. I’ve been looking for you for so long.”

A loud screech was heard in the distance. The vine zombie, in its death had summoned several zombies into the vicinity. Observing the outer perimeter and the exhausted looks of the team, Song Yu had to give in and jerk his chin.

“We’re not safe here. There’s a cave that the zombie’s won’t be able to enter. Let’s go there first.”

Lan Zhou grinned, his wide smile showing white pearly teeth. Song Yu’s breath caught at the sudden cuteness. He wanted to pet him. He mounted Derpy, and set the pace for the rest to follow. Yu Ci who was apparently used to this treatment, scurried 3 meters behind. Lan Zhou wanted to sit behind Song Yu, but the horse neighed menacingly. He could only grumpily walk side by side.

The cave was 20 minutes away by foot; by the time they arrived, there was a small drizzle of rain, soaking them. They couldn’t see a cave, so the group just watched as Song Yu got off of Derpy. The cloak was mildly soaked, the hood covering his hair and eyes, leaving his slender chin and mouth to the viewers.

Lan Zhou tried to walk next to Song Yu, but was completely ignored. Song Yu felt alongside a large rock face before finding a rock spanning the length of a water bottle. Pushing it, it released the rock face in front of it, showing an entrance that could fit even the horse.

Everyone’s mouth gaped open as the rock face that looked to be thick and heavy was ultimately 3 inches thick, becoming a rolling plate as Song Yu used the handle to move it.

“Get in.”

No one refused, Yu Ci going in first followed by everyone else. Lan Zhou stayed back and waited for Song Yu to dismount and lead Derpy inside. Seeing Song Yu’s soaked hair, he twirled behind to see if his backpack was still there, disappointment flashing in his eyes when he saw there wasn’t.

“Song Yu…how’ve you been? Did you leave B City right after?”

Song Yu did not want to talk, the embarrassment of Lan Zhou finding out about him and also…the NSFW stuff they did before he disappeared!!!

Was this a soap opera? Did I really just fuck and leave? Is his mother going to come after me demanding compensation??

Song Yu wanted to strangle Song Yu from 2 years ago. What kind of sappy stupid story did he weave in his head?

This was my celebration day, the only day to—WHAT KIND OF CRINGY PERSON IS THIS??

He wanted to hit his head on a wall to knock some sense into himself. He wouldn’t be half this embarrassed if he never met Lan Zhou after the apocalypse. But now that they had, what reasons can he give to justify his apparent ‘abandonment’ of Lan Zhou???

Should he go full on chunnibyo? Pretend he lost his memory? How about a scum shou who takes a drag of a cigarette and claim the one night stand didn’t matter?

In Song Yu’s mind, he was rolling in his brain like a lunatic! To shake off the awkwardness, Song Yu just continued to be silent. He was like this with Yu Ci so Lan Zhou should be no different.

Passing him like he was a piece of cheese, he followed Derpy inside to see that the group had already set up sleeping bags. The cave was lit only by their flashlights. Song Yu moved Derpy to a dry corner and brushed him off. Seeing Derpy’s questioning look, he could only shrug his shoulders.

Lan Zhou had also come back inside, his face black. The rest of the group watched Lan Zhou as he waddled around the cave taking glances at Song Yu from time to time. Yu Ci looked at this awkward exchange and could only cock his head towards Song Yu.

“Boss?”

Lan Zhou went towards the group and started making a fire pit, his silent persona on full blast. Soon, the cave was brightly lit, the blue fire turning a bright orange as it caught the wood. Lan Zhou looked back to see Song Yu finish brushing Derpy and take out a blanket from his backpack. Pursing his lips, Lan Zhou stopped himself from going over there.

The rest of the group could only watch this exchange as the master was barricaded from his wife’s chambers. Wang Cheng who was responsible for investigating Song Yu’s disappearance recognized Song Yu when the hood flew off.

He leaned over to Yu Ci and whispered quietly,

“You’ve been with Song Yu right? Did he say anything about Lan Zhou while you guys were together?”

Yu Ci could only shake his head sadly. The forest fairy he (maybe) liked was in a (supposed) relationship with his friend.

“He never even told me his name. I just followed him because it looked like he knew the area very well. I remembered about the pits and thought the forest was his territory.”

Wang Cheng nodded in understanding.

“Maybe you accidentally found his place and he wanted to escort you out. He might have killed you, but knew we would look for you.”

Yu Ci, thinking back was kinda dumb to follow a total stranger. He wrinkled his nose, his mood turning sour. “I didn’t think about that.” Wang Cheng rolled his eyes.

“How did you even stay alive for 23 years in the apocalypse?”

“…Sheer luck.”

Song Yu was preparing to go to sleep, opting not to eat until morning. His blanket spread out next to Derpy who laid down to nap. He heard a rustle close by and felt a small wind. Turning to his right he saw Lan Zhou spread out a sleeping bag…next to him. Song Yu continued to stare as Lan Zhou brought a pillow from who knows where and plopped it on top. Before Song Yu could blink, Lan Zhou took off his shoes and sat on the sleeping bag, not once glancing at him.

Song Yu gritted his teeth and picked up the blanket moving it closer to Derpy and set it down. He heard another rustle and saw Lan Zhou pick up his sleeping back and drop it right next to his again.

Song Yu moved once more, this time at the other side of the cave, but was followed closely by Lan Zhou. This game of follow the leader began as Song Yu tried to subvert Lan Zhou’s bedside location. Finally, he threw the blanket at Lan Zhou.

“Why are you following me??”

Lan Zhou had the blanket on his face, but his muffled voice was coherent.

“How to get someone to notice you. Article #24, go to places where your target is and see if they are conscious of your presence. Repeat for a better result. Keep your actions pre-occupied and ignore your target to see if they respond to your bait and switch. Soon, they will notice more of your actions, you can do it!”

Lan Zhou’s voice was mechanical as he spouted off an entire paragraph from the romance magazine he used to read from. Song Yu blinked in confusion as Lan Zhou brought his blanket back to the first spot, spreading it out evenly, adding his own sleeping bag next to his, the plump pillow now on the blanket instead.

Everyone excluding Song Yu forehead slapped themselves in their heads.

Lan Zhou’s EQ was still 0!