ISWTDB Ch155

Chapter 155: The End of thr World (9, 10)

As soon as those two words left his mouth, the expression of the man opposite him suddenly turned fierce. His eyes, sharp as a hawk’s, locked onto Ying Zhao, and he commanded, “Say it again!”

“H-husband.”  

Seemingly startled by the man’s intensity, Ying Zhao stammered and repeated the words.

Then, his lips were captured in a fierce kiss.

Situ Ran couldn’t resist giving the person beside him a passionate kiss, as if this could release the overflowing emotions within him. To be called that by his beloved stirred such a rush of excitement.

After a moment, Situ Ran, still unsatisfied, made another demand of Ying Zhao: “Call me again!”

“Husband…”  

“Say it again!”

…

The fierce man made Ying Zhao call him “Husband” countless times until he was finally satisfied, feeling like he had fallen in love with the term. Every time he heard his darling call him that, his heart raced uncontrollably. His darling was calling him “Husband”! His darling belonged to him!

This realization filled Situ Ran’s heart with heat, and the joy on his face was genuine and uncontainable. He leaned down and gave Ying Zhao two strong kisses on the cheek.

Seeing how embarrassed Ying Zhao was, to the point of nearly fainting, the man instinctively broke into a silly smile. “Baby, I love you!”  

Situ Ran rubbed his nose against Ying Zhao’s, unable to contain the need to express the deepest love in his heart. Even if he had no memory, it didn’t matter—his heart couldn’t lie. He loved the young man in front of him, loved him deeply, and was willing to give everything for him.

But unexpectedly, as soon as he said those words, the eyes of the person across from him suddenly reddened. Two streams of tears rolled down, leaving Situ Ran in a panic. He didn’t know what he had done wrong to upset his lover.

More importantly, why did expressing his love bring not only joy to Ying Zhao’s eyes but also an undercurrent of suppressed pain and despair?

Seeing Ying Zhao like this made Situ Ran’s heart ache terribly. He kissed his beloved’s cheeks messily and gently coaxed, “Baby, don’t cry! Whatever it is, just tell your Husband, okay?”

After he said this, Ying Zhao quickly wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes and forced a smile, stammering, “It’s–it’s nothing. I’m just too happy!”

With that, Ying Zhao wrapped his arms around Situ Ran’s waist, buried his head in the man’s chest, and said nothing more.

Seeing that his lover had calmed down, Situ Ran didn’t press further, not wanting to stir up his emotions again. Yet deep down, he felt something was off—Ying Zhao was definitely hiding something from him. However, since his lover didn’t want to talk, he would have to be an understanding partner.

After holding each other for a while, Ying Zhao led Situ Ran back to the room. Even though Situ Ran said he didn’t feel tired, Ying Zhao was still concerned about his lover’s health.

This time, after they returned to the room and Situ Ran lay down to rest, Ying Zhao brought in another table and set up some simple lab equipment in the room. He thought to himself that this way, he could still see his beloved while handling some of his daily tasks.

Situ Ran, of course, also wanted to be able to see Ying Zhao at all times. Even if they were simply sitting in silence, the mere presence of each other brought a sense of fulfillment.

As the sky darkened, Ying Zhao left briefly to prepare dinner for Situ Ran. After the usual routine of taking medicine and a physical checkup, the sky outside had turned completely dark.

Ying Zhao thoughtfully tucked Situ Ran into bed and reminded him to get a good rest. Hearing Ying Zhao’s words, Situ Ran thought he was going to leave for his own room to sleep. Though reluctant, he nodded and said, “Goodnight.”

However, after making sure Situ Ran was settled, Ying Zhao didn’t leave the room. Instead, he went to the changing room, switched into a set of pajamas, and then naturally laid down on a long sofa in the room. He pulled up the blanket that had already been prepared and closed his eyes, intending to sleep there.

Surprised by this, Situ Ran blurted out, “Baby, aren’t you going back to your own room to sleep?”

It was just a casual question, but the person across from him suddenly opened his eyes wide. Ying Zhao sat up nervously, gripping the edge of his blanket and loudly declared, “I’m not leaving!”

Realizing his reaction was too strong, Ying Zhao softened his tone slightly and pleaded in a quiet voice, “Please don’t make me go, okay? I want to stay in the same room with you, alright?”

Seeing the plea in Ying Zhao’s eyes, Situ Ran instinctively nodded in agreement. He didn’t know why his casual question had caused such a big reaction, but he couldn’t bear to see his beloved looking at him with such a vulnerable expression.

Of course, Situ Ran was more than willing to share the same room with his lover. However, he couldn’t stand the thought of letting Ying Zhao sleep on a narrow, hard sofa.

Thinking about how large his bed was, he wondered if his lover was afraid of accidentally touching his wounds, which made him put himself in a difficult position. 

He quickly shifted over to the side and softly said to Ying Zhao, “Baby, come over and sleep with me on the bed, okay? Don’t worry; the bed is big enough that you won’t touch my wounds.”

The person across from him was taken aback, seemingly surprised by the invitation, his eyes sparkling with excitement. 

Ying Zhao swallowed hard and, with a flushed face and some apprehension, asked Situ Ran, “Is it really okay?”

Seeing the glimmering light in Ying Zhao’s eyes, Situ Ran felt the urge to kiss those dark, sparkling orbs. He couldn’t help but smile and nodded affirmatively, saying, “Of course it’s okay! I also want to be closer to you!”

Hearing Situ Ran’s words, Ying Zhao quickly got up from the sofa, rushing over barefoot. The man felt a warmth in his heart at his eagerness.

Yet, he couldn’t help but chide, “Why aren’t you wearing shoes? What if you catch a cold?”

Ying Zhao laughed sheepishly at this and obediently went back to put on his shoes. 

Then he came back to the bedside, gently climbed onto the bed, and cautiously inched closer to avoid putting pressure on Situ Ran.

As Situ Ran watched the genuine joy in Ying Zhao’s eyes, his gaze softened. Seeing his beloved wanting to be close to him made him feel as if he had tasted something sweet, even without actually having any candy.

Looking at the young man curled up at the edge of the bed, clearly afraid of hurting him, despite the uncomfortable position, he still wore a satisfied smile, which made Situ Ran’s heart flutter even more.

Unable to resist, Situ Ran leaned down, captured the corners of his beloved’s mouth, and kissed him deeply for a long time before letting go. He couldn’t help but think how beautiful the flush on Ying Zhao’s face was.

He was even more eager to recover his arms quickly so he could embrace his precious one tightly.

The two of them lay so closely together, facing each other, that they could even clearly smell each other’s scent. This feeling of closeness seemed to be etched into their souls, and before long, Situ Ran fell into a deep slumber.

However, on the other side, Ying Zhao did not really fall asleep; his attention was fully on Situ Ran.

Ying Zhao certainly couldn’t allow his man to completely lose his memory. 

Using such a foolish method couldn’t possibly resolve his lover’s emotional knots.

As Ying Zhao contemplated how to approach the situation, he inadvertently thought of the original owner’s past research.

It must be said that the original owner, Ying Heng, had many successful and failed experimental products, with various potions he had created being quite diverse.

Since the research on these potions stemmed purely from the original owner’s hobbies, they did not have a clear direction.

Among them was a potion that could temporarily erase memories, which the original owner had forgotten in a corner of his mind. 

This potion had been discovered by Ying Heng while he was researching other drugs. 

Although it didn’t cause any side effects, it could only make someone forget their memories for less than a day.

For Ying Heng, it was completely useless—a waste. So after it was made, he didn’t bother to improve it.

Soon after, the original owner quickly moved on to other, more interesting research. 

He simply discarded this potion that could induce temporary amnesia into a drawer of abandoned finished products, forgotten just like most other potions.

However, what the original owner considered a failure was viewed as a treasure by Ying Zhao.

In the current situation, this potion was perfect for Situ Ran. 

If he directly told the man about the facts of his betrayal and harm, it would definitely provoke a rebellious response.

He feared that even without embellishing the story, it would still be regarded as a lie.

However, if he used this method to induce temporary amnesia, he could straightforwardly let the other person know most of the truth. By removing the constraints of memory, Situ Ran would be able to make a more direct judgment.

Although the part about their feelings was entirely fabricated, Ying Zhao believed that when his lover regained his memories, with his outstanding acting skills and genuine feelings, Situ Ran would at least not doubt his love for him.

Moreover, the truths he implanted would surely plant a seed in the man’s heart.

Given his knowledge of his lover across so many worlds, Ying Zhao knew that unless in exceptional circumstances, Situ Ran would definitely not be a simple person.

Through the information he revealed, Situ Ran should be able to piece together the entire truth himself.

At that point, even if the other person couldn’t confirm everything, Ying Zhao would still find a way to let him know the facts he wanted to understand.

Therefore, the initial reaction of his lover upon recovering his memories was the most crucial element.

Sure enough, as the night grew quiet, the atmosphere around him suddenly changed.

Situ Ran opened his eyes again, and at that moment, his gaze was already clear. 

Memories surged back like a tidal wave, making him feel as though his head was about to explode.

Once all the information was processed, he slowly exhaled a heavy breath.

Looking down at the young man beside him, his eyes filled with a complex mixture of emotions.

Situ Ran never expected that Ying Heng would inject him with a potion that could cause memory loss.

However, he wasn’t surprised that the other party had developed such a potion given his abilities.

It was just that perhaps due to the rushed process of the research, the effects of the potion didn’t last long. He regained his clarity in less than a day.

Now that he had regained his memory, he found himself unsure of how to face the person beside him.

Did he hate him? Of course not!

Today, he learned too many things he had never considered before, even making the faint feelings of hatred he had towards the young man dissipate entirely.

Although some of the information was not entirely true, he had come to believe in the young man’s feelings for him.

No wonder he had gone through so many experiments without truly harming his body. 

Though the pain was excruciating, there were still occasional positive outcomes.

Thus, Ying Heng must have only wanted to experiment with methods to contain and prevent his spiritual essence from overflowing. 

Situ Ran completely believed that the spiritual essence in his palm would drain his vitality. 

After all, his body was his own, and he had a certain intuition about it.

However, the spiritual essence was far too important for enhancing everyone’s resistance to the zombie virus.

That’s why he chose to ignore the discomfort he felt after every use of the spiritual essence.

Now, with his arm completely severed by the young man, even if he wanted to use the spiritual essence, there was no way to do so.

Although the other party’s actions were extreme, everything was done to preserve his life.

Ever since his arm was cut off, his body had been recovering at a miraculous speed.

While the auxiliary medical treatment was also essential, the most important factor was that the young man had blocked the root of his weakness.

Situ Ran suddenly felt that perhaps, to the person beside him, his safety was more important than the lives of everyone else.

Thinking of this made his emotions increasingly complex.

He had always known that the Situ family was cultivating power, but he had never taken any real action.

He merely wanted to observe, to see if those people he had been called family since childhood still cared for him, even just a little.

However, it turned out to be a wishful thinking.

What surprised him even more was that Ying Heng claimed that his troubles were related to Situ Shuyou.

He had always regarded Situ Shuyou as his little sister, striving to fulfill his responsibilities as an older brother.

Although she had been quite unreasonable in the past, one day, just before the end of the world, Situ Shuyou suddenly seemed to grow up overnight and became obedient.

Even though he couldn’t entirely trust the young man’s words right now, upon reflection, there were indeed many doubts about Situ Shuyou.

He suddenly recalled that she had come to him before, claiming that Ying Heng had harmed him to get to her.

But it was clear that the young man’s actions in recent days completely contradicted Situ Shuyou’s previous claims.

Thinking carefully about how she had interacted with him over the years, he realized that although Situ Shuyou didn’t show it obviously, she had always been using him.

Especially after the establishment of the Northern Base, that woman had been advancing cautiously.

With their connection, she had gradually entered the core management of the Northern Base.

During his missions, he indeed felt something was off with his body, unable to stay alert.

It was evident, just as the young man had said, that he had been drugged.

Before the mission, he clearly remembered only eating the food handed to him by Fan Bin, who was responsible for managing supplies.

Fan Bin had always been friendly with Situ Shuyou, and he had heard his brother Pei Yuebin complain that Fan Bin had a crush on Situ Shuyou and wanted to pursue her.

Now, all the truths were becoming increasingly evident.

The more Situ Ran thought about it, the more frightened he felt.

The thought that he might have been deceived by the sister he had cared for since childhood made him feel a chill towards the entire Situ family.

He had been pushed into the zombie tide by someone, exhausting his abilities to resist the zombies.

In a state of deep unconsciousness, he was directly transferred to the research institute.

After that, Ying Heng had completely imprisoned him in the research lab, not allowing anyone to approach him.

So, had he previously thought that imprisonment was a form of protection?

Looking at the person in his arms, even in sleep, still secretly clutching at his clothing, Situ Ran felt a pang of heartache at that completely affectionate, dependent, yet fearful expression of loss.

When had Ying Heng started to like him?

After all, they had only crossed paths a few times in the base.

In his memory, Ying Heng had always been quiet and reserved, hardly ever leaving the research lab.

During their daily encounters, the other party had never shown anything special.

Although he had brought some spiritual essence to the research lab for Ying Heng’s studies, after the first time he delivered it, Situ Shuyou took over that task after she found out.

He even struggled to recall what Ying Heng had looked like back then.

However, putting aside any biases, he found that after spending the day together, the young man was simply too wonderful to be true.

It might sound strange to say, but Situ Ran felt that the Ying Heng from before was quite different from the one now.

If he had truly seen this person before, he would have been completely captivated, no matter what state the person was in.

Yet, the truth was that he had completely overlooked the other party in the past.

Thinking back to today, the young man had shown him the mechanical arm he was currently working on.

Just by looking at it, he could tell how advanced the technology was, and that the process of making it must be incredibly complex and meticulous.

No wonder the young man had looked exhausted and had heavy dark circles under his eyes every time he met him for so long.

It must have been due to the constant work required to create the arm, which had taken a toll on his body!

And all of this was for him!

But why had he never been willing to tell him how much he had sacrificed for him?

Right, after he woke up from his serious injury, he had already been enduring those painful injections.

Filled with hatred towards the other party, would he have really believed him even if he explained the situation?

Previously, when he had memory, hadn’t Ying Heng also confessed his feelings to him?

In the end, how did he respond? He had actually told him to get lost!

It was easy to imagine how desperate the young man must have felt seeing him react that way at that time.

He had offered his sincere heart, only to have it trampled underfoot.

Just thinking about his past attitude towards the young man made Situ Ran want to slap himself hard.

Why couldn’t he have just spoken to him properly for a few minutes?

If he could have remained calm, perhaps the young man wouldn’t have been hurt.

Maybe he would have directly told him all the truth and wouldn’t have had to resort to such extreme measures to gain his closeness.

Unconsciously recalling the intimate moments they shared today, the sweet feelings seemed to linger.

The young man’s responding kiss had been so inexperienced, yet the intense love in his eyes was undeniable.

That must have been his first kiss!

The way the young man’s butterfly-like lashes fluttered was simply mesmerizing!

No wonder the young man had looked so surprised and cherished when he had gotten closer today.

No wonder he couldn’t be purely happy when Situ Ran had told him he loved him; he had even shed tears.

Because in the young man’s heart, those sweet moments were all stolen, right?

Being with the person he liked, yet constantly worrying about losing him at any moment.

Staying nervously by his side, fearing that one day he might regain his memory.

The person beside him made his heart ache; thinking of this made Situ Ran silently sigh.

After deeply gazing at Ying Zhao, he closed his eyes once more.

For now, he didn’t want to delve into their relationship, nor did he plan to reveal that he had already regained his memory.

He had to uncover all the truths.

Otherwise, even if he was honest about wanting to be with the young man, there would still be hidden dangers.

This was someone worth cherishing and protecting.

He had to prepare for everything, removing all obstacles, and then allow him to feel completely at ease.

In doing so, he would be responsible for the person he loved.

As Situ Ran fell into a deep sleep again, he didn’t notice that the young man beside him, after feeling his breath stabilize once more, quietly curved his lips into a smile.

The biggest variable had already passed; as long as the man didn’t immediately question him after waking up, it meant he had begun to doubt his previous experiences and the entire Situ family’s actions.

As long as the man was willing to maintain a facade of calm, Ying Zhao believed that with the love and trust that his lover had imprinted on his soul, he would soon understand who he truly should be close to.

After a long day of fatigue, Ying Zhao finally relaxed.

Cuddled next to Situ Ran, he quickly fell into a deep sleep.

However, the next morning, when Ying Zhao woke up, he found that the person beside him had already awakened.

As he opened his eyes, Ying Zhao stared for a moment into the man’s deep gaze, blinking in surprise.

Then, as he processed the current situation, he immediately broke into a radiant smile.

Softly addressing Situ Ran, he said, “Good morning, my dear!”

His voice was a bit hoarse from waking up early, yet it carried an irresistible charm.

The pure smile on his face made Situ Ran’s heart tremble involuntarily.

His eyes flickered as he gently responded, “Morning.”

Seeing the man’s expression, Ying Zhao became even more certain that the other party had regained his memory.

However, he pretended not to notice the change.

He sat up directly, got out of bed, and walked to the nearby changing room.

After changing his clothes, Ying Zhao naturally went to the kitchen in the inner room to prepare breakfast for Situ Ran.

Situ Ran looked at Ying Zhao, who was dressed and groomed exquisitely, and slightly lowered his gaze.

Regarding this Ying Heng, even if his impression wasn’t particularly deep, he still knew that he was someone very devoted to research.

He always wore a white lab coat and had messy hair that was never well-kept.

During the time he had spent with him over the past month, he had become more aware of this.

The young man had never been one to care much about his appearance.

But now, the outfit he wore was obviously carefully coordinated—a well-fitted suit and shirt, along with neatly styled hair.

Had he intentionally dressed up to make himself more likable?