Chapter 31

The young Master was in a bad mood and his face blatantly said so. He stared at the reporter who was still commenting about the cataclysmic events of the day, then switched off the TV and rushed upstairs, leaving behind his people who was dumbfound by his actions.

“Is the young master all right?” Qin Yi frowned deeply. As a grateful and newly appointed bodyguard, he was very earnest in trying to fulfill his duty.

After being together for some time now, he had heard everything that could be said about Bai Jing’s situation, including of course, him being the son of the State Counsellor.

But that did not faze him as he was a simple man and a soldier who felt that what he thought was of no importance. His only duty was to follow orders. In addition, in face of Bai Jing’s status and after waiting for more than a month for his warrant to be all over the news, Qin Yi realised that the young master actually did what he promised, and he has since then been sleeping peacefully. He was grateful from the bottom of his heart, especially so for his brother Xin Hao, who had adapted so well to this new life that he had already contacted a nearby school and would begin next semester. Likewise for Xu Lei’s future, for which he wouldn’t need to worry so much about about anymore.

“It’s nothing, he’s just in love. Mood swings, that’s normal,” Cao Lei lazily replied as he pick up his phone.

To be frank, a few days ago when they went to get the guns, the sight of that scene scared Cao Lei half to death. Well, it wasn’t really because of Bai Jing buying the weapons, it was instead the view of him and Xiao San getting along that had utterly shocked him. His heart went crazy trying to grasp the idea that this young master truly could be gay! He was out of it for a long time, before making peace with the situation.

“What are you doing?” asked Wang Xuebing when he saw him picking up the phone.

But his lover’s heart was of no secret to him, having known him for so many years, he naturally knew who he was about to call. After Bai Jing’s declaration, Wang Xuebing became exponentially protective of him and could not help himself as he anxiously watch the unfolding of that bizarre love affaire.

Hence, he was now depressed and since he himself was gay, he didn’t known how to persuade the young master to stop seeing Xiao San. He didn’t seem to mistreat Bai Jing but just one look was enough to tell that really, he wasn’t a good man.

On the side, Xu Lei eyes shined with delight. As a woman whose heart was rotten ‘till the very core, there was no greater pleasure in life than to look at two men acting intimately, seducing each other and falling in love, without forgetting all the gossip that came with it.

She had only been here for half a month and she was already like a fish in water. When it came to his girlfriend, Qin Yi had quickly learned to give up, but as things were, even Qin Hao was not left unmoved. He too, had been deeply poisoned as his worship of Xiao San was but second to his brother, which made Cao Lei very dissatisfied.

Qin Hao was only 17 years old and therefore younger than Bai Jing, but he was smart, cheerful and his mouth was sweet. You could always heard him around the house calling Bai Jing ’’big brother Jing’’ and Xiao San “big brother San”

Likewise, Wang Xuebing was now a “big brother Xuebing’’ to him, but when it came to Cao Lei, Qin Hao – who had met him before in his childhood – remembered him as a very arrogant man. Of course, those vague memories could not speak for Cao Lei true worth, but milk had been spilled and his dislike was pretty much established at this point. Not that the subject of those observation gave a damn. Except for his lover, Cao Lei cared for no one, nor was he the kind of person who wished to be liked.

Besides, Qin Hao’s worship of Xiao San was not without its reasons. Since young, his brother had always told him to respect the military as it was good and wise, but being a soldier, his big brother would sometimes be away for years at a time, on some secret mission to kill some drug lords. In spite of braving thousand of kilometers of danger just to kill one man, he would often end up without any official recognition.

So looking at the cool Xiao San, a man of the underworld loading, out in the open, a car full with weapons and ammunitions as he firtled in the midst of it without a care in the world, the admiration and respect he felt for him flew out of proportion.

Cao Lei dialed a phone number and after saying a few words, hung up just as quickly. Half an hour later, the sound of a car rushing down the street was heard and a second later, Xiao San entered the house. As he was now considered a regular visitor, he went through the door and without much ceremony directly asked, ”How is Bai Jing?”

Cao Lei smiled politely and pointing to the upper floor, said “He’s in his room, in a very bad mood.” Xiao San turned around, and without even looking back to see who else was there, rushed towards the stairs.

Cao Lei sneered disdainfully. “Even I would appreciate a thank you.”

Qin Yi glanced at him and faintly said, ”You dare to say that, yet didn’t you called him just to enjoy the fun?”

“I was testing him.“ said Cao Lei plainly “If he had failed, wouldn’t that mean the young master is being deceived?“

Qin Hao, faithful to his feelings about Xiao San, really couldn’t help but say, “But Cao Lei, Big brother San is a good person. And for sure, he wouldn’t deceive or hurt Big brother Jing.”

Cao Lei almost spitted out blood and he felt faint thinking about how the head of a bloody crime organization was considered a good person.

Wang Xuebing threw a smile thinking that this kid was really funny. Although he saw that his attitude towards Cao Lei was less friendly than it was with himself, it was harmless, and secretly Wang Xuebing was a bit pleased to see his partner taking a hit.

Cao Lei felt wronged, since what he had said was the truth. Although no one would believe him if he were to say it out loud, but he knew that behind Bai Jing’s arrogant and overbearing temper, his feelings were unexpectedly pure and simple. Even if he did change lately, when it came to sentiment, he was like a countryside pumpkin in the big city for the first time.

He therefore investigated Xiao San and the result did not show great promises. He feared that the young master would suffer, and personally he felt that Bai Jing and Xiao San didn’t really suit each other. He had by now, made the parallel between the man and Bai Jing’s trip to N city, but still couldn’t make sense of it. So presently, tossing around Xiao San and seeing him sweat was one of those little things that made him happy.

In his room, Bai Jing was facing his computer with wrinkled brows. He was remembering the days before the Apocalypse, with all the unceasing and ever increasing disasters. On his screen, as he read articles about countries in state of emergency and people already foretelling the apocalypse, he felt an icy coldness creeping inside of his heart and falling straight into the depth of it.

But as he was despairing alone, the door of the room suddenly opened.

“Why are you here? “The rift between Bai Jing’s eyebrows grew deeper as he endured his irritation.

“I heard you were in a bad mood, so I came to see you.” Although Xiao San’s face and voice were cold, his agitation was evident by the look in his eyes. Actually, since the rain started a couple of days ago, he had already noticed a change in Bai Jing’s behavior.

“Is that so,” he said coldly. For the last couple of days, Bai Jing had indeed felt increasingly bitter as he was still hesitating if he should inform Xiao San of what was to come. Which words should he use? In which manner should he explain that the end of the world was at their doorsteps? He had been reading posts on the subject and people’s first reaction was of course, to laugh and treat it as some mad man’s idea.

They scoff at the insightful ones, but when that day comes, they will see who will have the last laugh.

“What happened?” Hiding his sadness at not being trusted, Xiao San calmly took several steps in his direction.

“Is it something you can’t tell me?” As he talked, he placed a hand on Bai Jing’s shoulder and tightly grasped it.

Bai Jing felt the uncomfortable pressure and patted the hand to signify that he should let him go. He was now truly mad, thinking that once again, this man was taking advantage of the situation to try and touch him.

But Xiao San’s hand was not getting any looser. Instead, he grabbed the other shoulder and turned Bai Jing’s body to face him. And in his usual forceful and overbearing tone, he asked, “Please, what is on your mind?”

And just like that, Bai Jing lost the leash on his emotions. It was to the point where he couldn’t control his facial expression anymore.

Deep down, he was in fact absolutely terrified. Being reborn with knowledge that would change everything didn’t make him any less afraid of the day when everything would end.

In his past life, the temperature in May was quite normal, without any massive rains or any kind of disasters. But July came and the rain started pouring continuously as the temperature got warmer and warmer.

And suddenly, a meteor fell from the sky.

It was soon followed by the fever.

People everywhere started getting sick and after seven days of incubation, at midnight exactly… the Apocalypse began.

However, now that the end was near, he couldn’t stop thinking about the falling meteor… what if the butterfly effect this time created something different? What if it begins ahead of time? What if all he has seen in his past life turn out to be different this time? What if all he is doing right now, ends up being for nothing? Left alone to face the fear of the unknown, Xiao San’s caring words were extremely soothing for his heart. He was tired and he couldn’t keep it for himself anymore… he had to tell someone now!

“I am here, don’t be afraid.” Although he couldn’t know what was happening to Bai Jing but looking at his lover’s expression, Xiao San felt miserable. Watching his normally fearless kitten in such a level of distress, his eyes turned muddy dark with murderous intent. If he was to know who dared to grief his kitten.. Even a king, he would not forgive.

As his thoughts wandered, Xiao San got a bit distracted as he had taken this opportunity to hug Bai Jing, whose waist was really as soft as a cat.

He was glad. This right here, was a proof that there has been some progress. But despite that discovery, he took no further actions. He still was worried about the situation with his lover.

“Tell me,”Xiao San softly said as he tightly embraced Bai Jing.

A familiar smell touched his nostrils as Bai Jing slowly calmed down. That’s right. He had Xiao San with him this time. He still had time before the virus outbreak. He had more advantages than most people. In his last life, didn’t Xiao San guide them and kept them safe? So, as long as that man was with him, he had nothing to fear. And even if he were to die, he was ready to face it with him. Of course, those were just words as he absolutely didn’t want to die a dog’s death.

“Do you believe in the Apocalypse?” Bai Jing slowly raised his head, his eyes clear and resolute as he stared at Xiao San with a serious expression he had never seen before.

Xiao San was surprised for a moment, his eyes automatically sweeping to the computer screen as he saw the articles on his desktop related to the topic.

He suddenly realised what this was all about, and couldn’t help but find it funny. So as he was in this room alone in the dark, his baby read articles made by some alarmists talking of the end of the world and now he ended up all scared and trembling.

Xiao San looked at Bai Jing for a moment before unconsciously answering with a softer tone, “Do not listen to those crazy stories… And if the end really was to come, I would be there to protect you.”

“You don’t believe me.” Bai Jing glared at him angrily. He was agitated and upset, but Xiao San’s reaction wasn’t completely unexpected. And in his head, his lover’s last sentence did brought his some comfort.

Xiao San was silent as he faced this outraged kitten of his. What did he want him to say? If it was anything else he would have agreed, but the end of the world? That was just pure nonsense.

“You don’t believe me.” This time Bai Jing shoved him away with a bitter look. How could he had forgotten? The present Xiao San isn’t the same person as in his former life.

Pushed away, Xiao San face sank. He hated that look in Bai Jing’s eyes, the one that made him wonder who was that person he was seeing past him.

He pulled his lover back into his arms and confining him, he asked in a low voice colored with anger, “Who are you thinking of?“

Bai Jing’s heart flew into a panic as he started struggling against Xiao San

“Let me go! Let me go, you don’t believe me.“

“Tell me, who you are thinking about?“ Inside of his head, a storm was raging and flashes of ruthlessness could be seen in his eyes. He kept embracing the struggling boy until the latter stopped moving and calmed down.

“I was thinking of no one… You just don’t believe me.“ refuted Bai Jing. As he said that, in his heart he decided to never let Xiao San know anything about his last life…He won’t tell him that he had already died once because of him. He will never let him know that he lived in the future. This secret, he must keep ‘till the grave, as he was afraid that Xiao San would not forgive him if he ever learned the truth.

“… How could you make me believe?“ asked Xiao San uncertainly as he loosen up his grip on the now docile kitten. In his head, he sighed a bit and decide to go with it, since ultimately the most undesirable outcome would be rushing things and making Bai Jing run away. But he felt confident that one day, he would erase all the shadows he knew existed in Bai Jing’s heart, leaving only himself inside.

‘Believe? Make you believe?’ Bai Jing anxiously thought about a way.

He couldn’t make anyone enter his space at the moment, otherwise he would have brought him in to have a look. But he shouldn’t forget that this Xiao San isn’t the one from his former life. Not only was there little time left, that man also had subordinates and people around with their eyes on them. He absolutely had to conceal the truth about the real size of his secret space.

Yes, his space! As he thought of a plan his eyes shone brightly.

“I have a special power and I know that the Apocalypse is coming. If I show you that power, will you believe me?

Looking at Bai Jing’s eyes full of expectation, Xiao San knew it was time to tell him it was enough, but he found it adorable that his kitten would stop at nothing to try and convince him of a oncoming end of the world. Going so far as to suddenly talk about a superpower? Although he wasn’t Superman, this cat truly was the cutest.

At that point, Xiao San completely stopped taking this conversation seriously, so it’s very calmly that he answered,

“Whatever you superpower is, just show me.”

Bai Jing understood by his tone that he didn’t care anymore, so he raised his chin and turned his head away. Xiao San, his eyes catching the movement, looked up at the direction it was pointing. And in front of them, a whole couch disappeared out of thin air.

Despise his poker face making him look cold in the eyes of most people, Bai Jing could always read Xiao San easily and therefore saw him gawking, his expression looking a bit silly.

“You really have a superpower?” asked a somewhat hesitant Xiao San. But as they say, seeing is believing and now he had to believe Bai Jing’s words. And even if he didn’t want to, he got serious deep inside his heart.