The moment Xiao Yan woke up in the morning, he acutely sensed that something was wrong. Standing in the courtyard, he could feel a familiar aura permeating the air. Overhead, the thick canopy of vines blocked out the sky, making it impossible to see clearly. Pushing open the courtyard gate, Xiao Yan saw exactly what he expected: the ground was damp, and a striking pale red hue stood out starkly against the puddles.
With a sharp click, he shut the gate. Xiao Yan’s expression darkened, and the good mood he had held since early morning instantly vanished. After taking a moment to calm himself, he walked into the kitchen as if nothing were amiss. The apocalypse had arrived early, a full week ahead of schedule compared to his past life. In that previous life, it was this very rain that had triggered human mutation. Those who got soaked in it developed sudden, high fevers followed by a deep coma, waking up later as man-eating zombies, while a tiny fraction of people awakened supernatural abilities. Thus, the world was plunged into an apocalyptic nightmare.
Yet the rain that should have fallen a week from now had come early. Could this be the butterfly effect brought about by his rebirth?
Skillfully taking steamed buns out of the refrigerator and placing them into the steamer, Xiao Yan kept pondering the situation, but it did not affect his cooking for Mu Li. As long as Mu Li stayed by his side, what did it matter if the apocalypse came early? With his own abilities, he was fully confident he could protect the person he loved in this end of the world.
After steaming eggs and buns and warming up some milk, Xiao Yan finished preparing breakfast and headed upstairs. The bedroom door was half-open, exactly as it had been when he left, indicating that his little lazy-bones was still fast asleep.
Pushing the door open, Xiao Yan stepped inside, only to find the reality different from his expectations. The little pig on the bed was already awake and currently lying facedown across his pillow, clutching his lower back with a scrunched-up face that clearly spelled displeasure.
Forming a single-handed fist against his lips, Xiao Yan chuckled softly. Walking over to the bedside, he spoke in a tone laced with gentle amusement, “What is it? Who upset our little puppy?”
Mu Li’s face, which had been scrunched up from lower back pain, instantly turned serious. Glaring up at Xiao Yan, he protested, “You are not allowed to call me a dog.”
“Heh.” Xiao Yan could not help laughing out loud. When Mu Li tried to sit up to cover his mouth, the movement strained his sore back once more, making him wince in pain. Plopping right back down in a huff, he grumbled in a muffled voice of pure depression, “You are not allowed to laugh.”
Xiao Yan did not want to laugh either, but he simply could not help himself. Gathering the angry little fellow into his arms, Xiao Yan choked back his amusement and coaxed him gently, “Calling you a puppy just means you are my little darling. A puppy is just your big brother’s little darling. Alright, baby, can you tell me why you are mad?”
Xiao Yan’s tone was altogether too gentle, sounding as though he were coaxing a child. Mu Li freely admitted to being childish; being doted on like a child by Xiao Yan felt exceptionally satisfying. Wrapping his arms around Xiao Yan’s neck, Mu Li let out a soft hrumph. “Hmph, who else is there besides you?”
“I have been wronged. When did I ever bully our baby?” Xiao Yan pressed a kiss to the corner of Mu Li’s lips, exaggerating his tone. Pinching the bridge of Xiao Yan’s nose and pressing down on the high nasal ridge, Mu Li grumbled, “It is all your fault! I told you no, but you just had to keep going. My back was killing me when I woke up this morning, and I almost could not even stand up while brushing my teeth.”
Mu Li rattled off his complaints with a stream of babbling words, every single one an accusation against Xiao Yan’s excessive behavior from the previous night. Xiao Yan listened quietly, a smug curve of a smile lingering on the corners of his lips. Once the little fellow in his arms finished airing his grievances, Xiao Yan scooped him up and carried him downstairs. “Yes, it is all my fault. I will definitely pay attention next time. Whenever my baby says stop, we stop. If you say fast, we go fast. If you say slow…”
Before Xiao Yan could finish, Mu Li slapped a hand over his mouth with a blushing face, burying his head deep in Xiao Yan’s chest. “Stop talking.”
Xiao Yan’s mood was immensely bright. The displeasure brought by the early arrival of the apocalypse vanished the instant he laid eyes on Mu Li. The person in his arms was the medicine that saved his soul, and for the rest of this lifetime, he lived entirely for him.
Walking steadily down the stairs while holding him securely, Xiao Yan decided not to tease Mu Li any further. If he genuinely pissed his baby off, he would probably end up kneeling on a washboard.
Placing Mu Li in the dining chair, Xiao Yan served up the breakfast. The steamed buns had been bought from the supermarket—half red bean paste and half custard flavor—paired with steamed eggs and milk. Mu Li loved them. While feeding himself, he took turns feeding Xiao Yan bites, while Xiao Yan’s hand slid under the table to massage his sore lower back.
After finishing their sticky, affectionate breakfast, youthful playfulness took over. The moment Mu Li put down his chopsticks, he leaped down and scampered barefoot across the floor toward the courtyard, completely forgetting all about his aching back.
“Put your shoes on!”
Xiao Yan called out. Stopping in his tracks, Mu Li glanced down at his bare feet, then looked back toward the stairs. Clearly too lazy to go back up, and eager to play with Little Green, he hesitated. With a helpless sigh, Xiao Yan walked behind the door, pulled a pair of spare slippers out of the shoe cabinet, and put them on him, not forgetting to remind him, “Play in the courtyard, and do not go outside. Even if someone knocks on the door, do not open it.”
Xiao Yan used an authoritative tone when giving the command, and Mu Li nodded in compliance. He did not ask why; whatever his big brother told him to do, he would simply follow.
Watching his kid scamper off into the courtyard to play with the plant, Xiao Yan smiled faintly. He cleared the tableware into the dishwasher, then fetched some black tea and milk from the refrigerator to whip up his darling’s favorite milk tea.
Outside, Mu Li was playing a game of swing with Little Green. Little Green had used its stalks to weave a chair-shaped swing, its edges blooming with lush flowers. As Mu Li sat upon it, Little Green hoisted him high into the air. Just as they were having a wonderful time, the screech of a car pulling to a halt suddenly echoed from outside. Little Green instantly froze, clearly just as curious about this unfamiliar sound. About a minute later, Mu Li heard a knock on the front door, immediately followed by the booming voice of a grown man calling out, “Is anyone home?”
Mu Li glanced at Little Green, made a shushing gesture for it to stay quiet, and then hopped off the swing. Tiptoeing into the living room where Xiao Yan was busy working, Mu Li called out to him in a hushed voice from behind, “Big brother, someone is knocking on the door.”
Hearing this, Xiao Yan paused his movements. Wiping his hands, he said, “Ignore them.”
However, before his voice even faded, the knocking on the door grew louder, echoing directly into the living room. It sounded like a man shouting frantically accompanied by a woman crying.
Xiao Yan frowned while Mu Li looked on in bewilderment. Ultimately, Xiao Yan decided not to simply leave them be. After all, judging by the sound, they did not sound like zombies. Furthermore, if this rain had fallen last night, human mutations required anywhere from six to twelve hours to manifest. At this hour, mutations would either just be starting or about to begin, yet these two individuals clearly were not showing those signs.
Taking Mu Li by the hand, Xiao Yan walked up to the door and asked in a cold voice through the barrier, “What is it?”
Hearing someone respond from inside, the man outside sounded overjoyed. “Hello, we are just passing by on a road trip and wanted to ask for your help.”
Only a young man and woman stood outside the doorway, their faces etched with anxiety, especially the woman, whose urgency was palpable. The moment she saw the door crack open, she blurted out without a second thought, “Hello, do you happen to have any fever-reducing medicine? Our child has a fever, and the nearest hospital is still over an hour away. We wanted to ask if you have any children’s fever medicine.”
“You got caught in the rain?” Hearing this, Xiao Yan glanced at the vehicle parked behind them—a white RV. Naturally, nothing inside could be seen with the naked eye, but through his psychic awareness, Xiao Yan could indeed sense someone lying inside the vehicle. It appeared to be a child around ten years old, already fallen into a coma.
The child’s parents were stunned for a second before shaking their heads. “No. It rained last night, so we parked our vehicle at the service area. When we woke up this morning, our kid was curious and played in a puddle for a bit, soaking all their clothes. They probably caught a cold from that. Do you have any fever medicine? Adult medicine is fine too. We are willing to pay for it.”
“We do not. You should head to the hospital instead,” Xiao Yan replied indifferently. At that moment, he felt Mu Li tugging gently at the hem of his shirt, though Mu Li did not say a word. Xiao Yan knew why; they naturally did have fever medicine, but since this child had already contracted the virus, fever medicine would be completely useless. The only destiny awaiting the child was turning into a zombie or evolving into a supernatural being.
Hearing Xiao Yan say they did not have any, the couple did not waste any more time. Hurrying back into their vehicle, they drove off in the direction of the city center. After all, they had merely been trying their luck here.
After the two of them left, Xiao Yan closed the door. He had expected Mu Li to question him, but instead, Mu Li wrapped his arms around his waist and asked with bright curiosity, “Big brother, were you just making milk tea?”
Xiao Yan had already braced himself for Mu Li’s questioning, knowing his reaction just now had been far too cold. He understood that once the apocalypse began, this sort of incident certainly would not be the first, nor the last. His little darling was pure and kindhearted, surely willing to help others, whereas Xiao Yan could no longer trust anyone in this world except Mu Li. This kind of friction might well become a wedge between their relationship. Yet, to his surprise, Mu Li did not question him at all. In Mu Li’s heart, whatever Xiao Yan did was always right.
Xiao Yan nodded, then turned to give a stern order to Little Green, “Little Green, watch the house. No living creatures are allowed to approach.”
Little Green shook its leaves. Though it did not understand why Xiao Yan was giving such instructions, it knew it only needed to obey.
Pouring a cup of water from his spatial realm to water Little Green’s roots, Xiao Yan took Mu Li by the hand and led him back into the living room.
“Ah-Li, the apocalypse has begun. It came a week earlier than in my memories, so we need to readjust our plans.” Pulling Mu Li onto his lap, Xiao Yan held him close. He had not wanted to break the news just yet, wanting his little darling to enjoy a few more days of carefree happiness.
Yet Mu Li proved far calmer than Xiao Yan anticipated. Raising his head to look straight into Xiao Yan’s eyes without a word of interrogation regarding what had just happened outside, Mu Li curled his lips into a smile and said, “I am not afraid. As long as I have you, I am not afraid of anything.”
If it had been in the past, and someone had told Mu Li that the world was ending and outside was crawling with man-eating monsters, he would undoubtedly have grown anxious and terrified. But right now, his heart remained completely tranquil. With Xiao Yan by his side, nothing in this world was worth fearing. If there was ever something to fear, it would surely be Xiao Yan casting him aside. But Mu Li knew that even if the apocalypse destroyed the world, Xiao Yan would never abandon him, just as Mu Li would never stop loving Xiao Yan.