Chapter 24: Apocalyptic HE Extra: New Year's Eve

*

A man in a black coat walked down the street.

Most of the shops on both sides of the street were closed on New Year's Eve, and it was a bit deserted.

Bright red lanterns were hung high on both sides, emitting a faint light.

Qin Ling had a scarf hanging around his neck, with most of his face buried in it.

Every breath he exhaled formed a hazy white mist in the air, blurring his eyebrows and eyes.

Accompanied by the sound of firecrackers and the screams of children not far away, Qin Ling walked alone on the deserted street.

The commercial district and residential area on New Year's Eve seemed to be separated into two completely different areas.

One side was bustling and vibrant.

The other side was deserted and no one cared.

Qin Ling had both hands in the pockets on both sides of his coat, and one hand was stroking the cardboard packaging in his pocket.

——It was the matcha flavored chocolate that he bought before the old lady closed the shop.

He took out a piece of chocolate from his pocket, peeled off the exquisite packaging, and put it into his mouth.

The sweetness of the chocolate exploded in his mouth, but it always carried a trace of bitterness that could not be dispersed.

It permeated in his mouth and gradually spread to his heart.

The dim street lights hung high above his head, stretching his shadow very long.

Snow, falling to the ground at some point.

The fine snowflakes fell on his shoulders and head. Qin Ling had no intention of avoiding this sudden snow, so he let it fall, leaving traces of its presence on his body.

Unfortunately, the snow did not understand human tolerance, but fell wantonly and arrogantly.

An umbrella appeared and blocked the invasion of the snowflakes.

A pair of bony hands rested on Qin Ling's shoulders, gently brushing away the snow on his shoulders.

"Brother Qin."

Qin Ling seemed to hear someone calling him like this in a trance, just like before, as if it was still yesterday.

"It's me."

"I'm back."

Perhaps sensing the shock in Qin Ling's heart, the man standing behind him stretched out his hands and slowly hugged the person in front of him.

"...You're back."

Qin Ling's mouth opened and closed, and the years of longing turned into four simple words.

"Don't you ask me how I came back?"

Tang Ji buried his head in Qin Ling's neck from behind, his lips pressed tightly against his clothes, and the sound coming out was a little muffled.

Qin Ling didn't dare to ask.

He was afraid that this was just a beautiful dream he had imagined, like a bubble, illusory and fragile.

Tang Ji did not wait for Qin Ling's answer and spoke to himself.

"Do you remember what you told me on my eighteenth birthday?"

That was the most profound birthday in Tang Ji's memory.

'Will a wish come true?'

'It will definitely come true. '

The wish I made on my eighteenth day was:

"I want to be with Qin Ling forever."

——That is the hope and miracle you gave me.

*

It's New Year's Eve again.

The firecrackers outside the window crackled and rang, making people's ears hurt.

Zhizhi was wearing a red woolen dress and a festive red woolen hat on her head. Two furry balls hung down from her head, making people want to pinch them.

Several people in festive clothes were busy in the hut.

Ruan Heyu and Liang Baiying finished cooking in the kitchen, and the sound of spatulas hitting the bottom of the pot echoed in the small room.

"Hey hey hey - it's crooked, crooked!"

Rong Xinze's shouting accompanied the sound of pots and pans.

As a member of the room arrangement and tidying up, Rong Xinze has 100% confidence in this.

Pulling his "right-hand man" Lin Yixu, Rong Xinze devoted himself to the arrangement.

"Uh... are you sure you want to arrange it like this?"

After all, Lin Yixu was a rich man before, so he still knows a lot about decoration.

Looking at the work of the "abstract" master in front of him, Lin Yixu couldn't help but twitch his mouth.

"Brother Yixu, look at this color combination! This position arrangement! How good -"

Rong Xinze straightened his chest and was very confident.

"Before, I posed like this, and the captain praised me!"

Zhizhi, who was sitting on the sofa cutting paper-cuts, held her forehead.

In fact, the captain is really annoyed by you.

Rong Xinze suddenly mentioned the captain, and the atmosphere was a little cold.

"...Captain...will he not celebrate the New Year with us this year?"

Since the end of the apocalypse, several people whose relatives have passed away have agreed to celebrate the New Year together.

Zhizhi put down the scissors in her hand, silently looked at the exquisite paper-cuts in her hand, and her tone was a little lost.

"Alas, the captain is really not nice--"

Rong Xinze is often the one who breaks the silence.

"He travels around the world alone, and usually sends us a few photos of the scenery. He has no time to accompany us!"

Rong Xinze deliberately spoke in a tone like a complaining woman, and blinked at Lin Yixu.

"Brother Yixu, let me test you. What do you call this behavior?"

Lin Yixu received Rong Xinze's signal and reacted quickly, smiling and joking:

"This is called having a new love and forgetting the old love~"

Then he seemed to have thought of something and touched his chin as if thinking.

"How about we go and pry open a car of Captain Qin to try it out?"

Lin Yixu rubbed his hands, and with one hand he put the sunglasses pinned on his collar on his nose, eager to try.

"I haven't pried it open for a long time, and I feel my hands are a lot less rusty."

"I see you haven't been beaten for a long time, you've become a lot more stubborn."

Liang Baiying walked out of the kitchen with a plate of food, and happened to hear Lin Yixu's "loud conspiracy".

"I haven't been beaten, it's Xin Ze who was beaten, right?"

Lin Yixu smiled and touched Rong Xin Ze with his elbow.

Rong Xin Ze remembered the fear of being dominated by Sister Baiying's fists.

Who made Lin Yixu run so fast every time he was discovered, and you can tell at a glance that he was often chased by zombies.

Even though Qin Ling knew that he instigated and colluded with Rong Xin Ze to do it, he had never caught Lin Yixu head-on.

But every time Rong Xin Ze was caught, he often sold out this "teammate".

Rong Xin Ze was caught for various things, and he was already quite experienced.

Captain Qin was cold on the outside but warm on the inside. He gave in a little, apologized sincerely, said a few nice words and then stopped pursuing the matter. The

truly terrifying person was the woman at the top of the food chain—Liang Baiying.

She was a protective person. Since she dared to steal our captain's car, wouldn't she dare to usurp the captain's position one day?

This "naughty kid" should be taught a lesson?

Rong Xinze was often punished by Liang Baiying's "iron fist of justice" for this reason.

The atmosphere of sadness that had just risen dissipated in an instant after being interrupted by Rong Xinze and Lin Yixu.

Several people laughed and played together, piecing together the bits and pieces of the past, and compiling them into unforgettable memories.

*

"Knock, knock—"

The door was knocked.

"Here they come!" Rong Xinze was assigned to open the door.

It was almost New Year's Day, who would come to visit at this time?

Rong Xinze was wondering in his heart.

He opened the door.

An extremely familiar face suddenly appeared in front of Rong Xinze.

"Captain——!!!"

Rong Xinze almost jumped up, and rushed forward to hug Qin Ling.

A hand suddenly came out from behind Qin Ling, holding Rong Xinze tightly, staying at half an arm's distance.

"Who is it?!"

Rong Xinze was frightened by this sudden hand, and only after a careful look did he realize that there was another person standing behind Qin Ling.

"Oh my god! Ghost, ghost! Ah, ghost!!"

Rong Xinze was frightened by Tang Ji's sudden appearance and jumped back a long way, directly bumping into Ruan Heyu who rushed over after hearing the news.

Both of them fell to the ground out of inertia for a while.

The three people who followed Ruan Heyu closely only then saw the situation at the door.

"Captain!" / "Qin Ling!"

"Xiao Tang!?" / "Tang Ji?!"

"Who of you will help us up?!"

The three of them shouted in surprise, and hurriedly helped the two people who fell to the ground.

Covering his head that was hurt by the collision, Ruan Heyu was furious.

"Rong Xinze, do you know how to look at the road?! Can opening a door scare you to death?"

Rong Xinze was naturally unwilling to be outdone.

"Then why don't you look at who's at the door? If it were you, would you be calmer than me?!"

"Huh? What nonsense are you talking about, you coward?"

"Ah? How dare you call me a coward, you stinky turtle hair?"

"What's wrong with me calling you a coward? Coward, coward, coward..."

"..."

"Ah, it's still as lively as ever."

Tang Ji walked to Qin Ling and sighed silently.

"Yeah, it's really lively."

Qin Ling reached into his pocket, took out a piece of chocolate and handed it to Tang Ji.

"Here, your favorite matcha flavored chocolate."

"It's so sweet."

Tang Ji tore open the package, threw the chocolate into his mouth, and squinted his eyes with satisfaction.

Qin Ling also took out one and put it in his mouth, half-squinting his eyes happily.

"It's very sweet."

Not bitter at all.