Ch87-Meng Ci, Give Me Your Hand
"Meng Ci?"
Seeing Meng Ci remained silent, Shen Que called his name in confusion.
When no response came, he assumed Meng Ci refused.
Shen Que lowered his head, carefully repackaging the bracelet piece by piece.
"I'm sorry, it's my fault for being..."
Before the word "impertinent" could escape his lips, Meng Ci's hand covered Shen Que's.
"What? Can you take back something you've already given?"
Earlier, Meng Ci had been thinking this situation was off. He was the one who had set his sights on Shen Que first-how come Shen Que was confessing first?
But Meng Ci didn't mind. And if Shen Que confessed first, didn't that mean he liked him too?
The realization that his feelings weren't one-sided filled Meng Ci with delight.
Meng Ci took the bracelet and tried slipping it onto his wrist, only to find it slightly too large to fit.
Fearing he might damage the jade, he abandoned the attempt.
He retrieved the red cloth from Shen Que's hands, placed the bracelet inside, and continued wrapping it.
He decided to find a safe place to store it properly.
"So... you accept?" Shen Que knelt on one knee, his face rare with joy.
"Mhm." Meng Ci lifted his chin haughtily, giving a light nod.
But his eyes lingered on Shen Que's lips. He recalled how, back at the Bai Hu Hall, he'd only lightly brushed his mouth.
Now that he'd agreed to be with Shen Que, why wasn't this guy kissing him?
Shen Que couldn't possibly be unable to do it, could he?
Meng Ci cleared his throat softly. Just as Shen Que was about to rise, he grabbed the collar of his robe and pulled him forcefully toward himself.
Their faces were inches apart, close enough to feel each other's breath.
Meng Ci was puzzled. He'd taken the initiative this far-why didn't Shen Que know to kiss him?
Seemed he'd have to take the lead again.
"What's wrong?"
Shen Que had no idea what
Meng Ci was up to, so he let Meng Ci tug at his collar while slowly adjusting his position-shifting from one knee to both knees on the floor.
"Mmm!"
Meng Ci pulled Shen Que closer, and their lips met.
Though bold, Meng Ci was still a novice at romance. Even at twenty-four before his book-jump, he'd never been in a relationship.
Unfamiliar with kissing, he could only manage this much before pulling away.
But unexpectedly, Shen Que grabbed his shirt, pinned him down, and pressed their lips together in a passionate kiss that lasted two full minutes.
Only when Meng Ci was gasping for breath did Shen Que finally release him.
Shen Que knelt before Meng Ci, the corners of his eyes flushed crimson.
Meng Ci felt his own breathing grow laborious, while Shen Que's remained as steady as ever.
Meng Ci couldn't help but wonder-had this guy been in relationships before? Otherwise, how could that kiss have been so skilled?
"Aren't you going to get up?" Meng Ci leaned back, observing Shen Que as he asked.
Forget it, forget it. If he's been with someone, he's been with someone. I'll settle the score with him later.
Shen Que obediently rose and sat beside Meng Ci.
"Meng Ci, there's something I need to tell you," Shen Que suddenly said.
"Hmm, okay." Seeing Shen Que sit up straight, Meng Ci quickly adopted a serious expression.
"Whether you believe it or not, please trust me."
"I'm actually a reborn soul."
Shen Que's words made Meng Ci's eyes widen in shock.
What did "reborn soul" mean? Did it imply Shen Que had lived through an apocalypse?
Could his confession be because he'd noticed something suspicious about him?
What if he'd guessed about his spatial pocket, and his goal was just to lower his guard?
Seeing Meng Ci's reaction, Shen Que thought he was shocked.
"No wonder you're so surprised. I was shocked too when I first realized I'd been reborn."
Meng Ci nodded. "It is a bit shocking."
He never imagined that this small novel would not only bring him, a book-traveler, but also a reincarnator.
Then Shen Que began recounting his past life.
During the torrential downpour of his previous life, Shen Que had been working at the boxing gym.
Fortunately, the gym had a rest area, so Shen Que and several coaches stayed there that night.
The next day, seeing the rain show no sign of stopping, the coaches, worried about their families, took risks and left the gym one after another.
Shen Que's parents had died young in a car accident, and his grandmother passed away before he turned eighteen. Thus, he didn't risk going home.
The boxing gym was located in the city center, surrounded by numerous shopping malls.
To survive, Shen Que relied on multiple trips out to "shop for free," barely making it through the blizzard.
After the floodwaters receded
and scorching heat arrived, Shen Que repaired an off-road vehicle, loaded it with some of his stockpiled supplies, and began searching for a place to escape the summer heat. By chance, he learned the government was recruiting security personnel. Leveraging his military background and exceptional skills, Shen Que successfully joined the ranks and began serving the government.
Shen Que managed to scrape by until the zombie apocalypse. Yet during an outing battling the undead, overwhelmed by their numbers, his companions pushed him into the horde to save themselves.
However, when Shen Que awoke, he discovered he had been reborn-over a month before the apocalypse began.
Shen Que still vividly remembered the excruciating pain of his body being torn apart by zombies.
Fortunately, Shen Que had never touched his military discharge funds, and combined with compensation from his parents' car accident, he began preparing for the impending apocalypse.
Recalling how Jinshang Jiayuan apartments had never had major issues in his previous life, Shen Que rented one and began stockpiling supplies.
"Meng Ci, give me your hand!" Shen Que commanded in a deep voice.
"What is it?" Meng Ci extended his hand, though puzzled.
Moments later, Meng Ci made a startling discovery.
"This is my spatial pocket."
In his previous life, Shen Que had lived until just before the zombies arrived. A portion of the surviving humans began running high fevers!
When these people awoke, they either became psychic beings or turned into zombies.
Shen Que, however, transformed into a rare dual-psychic being, possessing both a storage space and fire-element psychic abilities.
In this rebirth, Shen Que's fire ability vanished, but his storage space unexpectedly remained.
Since Shen Que had shown it to him, Meng Ci didn't hesitate, beginning to explore the space.
Though only about a hundred square meters, the space was packed to the brim with mountains of flour sacks and rice bags piled high by Shen Que.
As for vegetables, only common, easily stored items like cabbage, potatoes, and radishes were present.
In one corner lay numerous cuts of pork and lamb, each pig roughly halved and stacked haphazardly.
Opposite this, instant foods piled high: instant noodles, snail noodles, ham sausages, salted duck eggs, and more.
Not only that, but the brand of these sausages looked strangely familiar, as if seen before.
"The stuff from Bai Hu Hall earlier you put that there?" Meng Ci asked.
Shen Que didn't hide it, nodding. "Yes."
Back when they were capturing people, Shen Que had accidentally stumbled upon the place where Brother Hu and the others stored their food. He'd taken some items out.