LABMY CH96.2

The person who had been burying his face in the couch cushion lifted his head, revealing a pair of misty, tear-filled eyes. With a shy, trembling voice, he softly called out to Jian Yuanbai.

The person on the bed abruptly sat up, jolting the still half-asleep person beside him awake.

Jian Yuanbai looked at Shen Nian in confusion. “What’s wrong?”

Shen Nian stiffly sat halfway up in his arms, not daring to move. He tried his best to act normal and shook his head. “I have to wake up early to find a job.”

As he spoke, he got up in an awkward yet swift motion and all but fled from Jian Yuanbai’s room.

Jian Yuanbai, now fully awake, wasn’t the least bit irritated from being disturbed. He glanced at the time and then sat up as well. Pressing his fingers to his temple, he felt like he had just had a dream.

He couldn’t quite remember what it was about—only the repeated calls of Xiao Ba.

He found it unbelievable that, subconsciously, he had taken Shen Nian so seriously as his actual stepson. He had dreamed of him calling him Xiao Ba twice in a row now.

Sitting on the bed, Jian Yuanbai glanced at the door, recalling how Shen Nian had run off in a panic just moments ago. He hesitated, wondering if he had been too hard on the kid.

Thinking about job hunting first thing in the morning…

By the time Jian Yuanbai had freshened up and left his room, Shen Nian was already gone. However, a bag of bread and a cup of heated milk had been left on the table.

After yesterday’s events, Jian Yuanbai’s strength had been fully acknowledged within the team. Not that it made much difference to him—he still refused the offer to sit in the truck cabin and instead opted to sit in the back, swaying along with the cargo.

He glanced at Qu Wenxuan, hesitated slightly, and then finally asked, “How do you be a good Xiao Ba?”

The captain, who was nearby, immediately jumped into the conversation. “Xiao Ba? You mean stepfather?”

“You’re asking the right person. I’m a stepfather to two kids myself.”

Jian Yuanbai’s eyes lit up, his expression eager to listen. “Tell me, Captain.”

“When you’re a stepfather, first and foremost, you can’t resort to beating or scolding. You have to listen more, and respond more.”

The captain spoke with confidence, then suddenly smacked his forehead as if remembering something. “And you have to show how much you love his mother! Think about it, what kid doesn’t care about their mom? The better you treat his mother, the more he’ll accept you in his heart.”

Jian Yuanbai was momentarily stunned. “What if the mother is dead?”

The captain was taken aback as well. “Uh… is this before or after the apocalypse?”

“After.”

“This, uh…” The captain scratched his head, then had a sudden flash of inspiration. “Did you give his mother a proper funeral?”

“Think about it—a grand funeral would show just how much you cared about her.”

The captain became more convinced as he spoke. “And the more you respect his deceased mother, the more he’ll feel like you won’t abandon him. That will give him a stronger sense of security.”

Qu Wenxuan, listening to the excited captain and the very serious-looking Jian Yuanbai, couldn’t shake the feeling that something about this conversation was off.

He hesitantly interjected, “But… wouldn’t holding a funeral in times like these be kind of inappropriate?”

The captain clapped him on the shoulder. “You don’t get it. The more chaotic the world is, the more you have to use every method possible to give the kid a sense of security. You’re still young. You don’t understand. Trust me on this.”

Jian Yuanbai mulled it over and found it reasonable. Expressing emotions toward Shen Nian’s mother was difficult for him, but faking it by holding a funeral? That was easy.

---

After completing another day’s mission, Jian Yuanbai returned home, only to find that Shen Nian was still not back.

The fortress had working communication devices, so he called Shen Nian’s phone.

It only rang twice before he heard the abrupt beep beep beep of a call being hung up.

Jian Yuanbai frowned.

Before he could call again, he received a text from Shen Nian:

“Still working, I’ll be back later.”

After sending the message, Shen Nian shoved his phone back into his pocket and sat blankly at the agricultural base, staring at the vast golden fields of rice before him.

The truth was, the base had fired him yesterday. He wasn’t actually working—he had just been wandering the streets to escape the cold and had ended up here since the base maintained a stable temperature.

There were quite a few other ordinary people like him who couldn’t afford heating. As long as they didn’t step into the fields, the staff didn’t drive them away.

Shen Nian, relying on the goodwill he had built up yesterday, managed to quietly stay in a relatively secluded spot all day.

He still couldn’t believe it.

That he had that kind of dream.

He had always thought of himself as purely clinging to his cheap Xiao Ba ’s thigh, obediently playing the role of a well-behaved stepson.

Yet, in his dream, that simple stepfather-stepson relationship had been completely overturned—elevated to a whole new level of ethical complication.

Even though Shen Nian knew it wasn’t real, the way he had called out Xiao Ba in his dream still filled him with overwhelming shame.

And even more so… a forbidden, taboo-like thrill.

He had no idea how to face this man he didn’t even know the real name of.

So he did what any self-respecting coward would do—he ran away.

Clutching his head in distress, Shen Nian felt like he was on the verge of a breakdown.

Arghhhh! He just wants to be your Xiao Ba! How the hell did you end up fantasizing about his body in your dreams?!

Shen Nian, what the hell is wrong with you?!

Under the overwhelming shock, Shen Nian couldn’t even spare the effort to question his crumbling sexual orientation.

Nor did he notice the slightly strange perspective in his dream.

If Shen Nian were rational right now, he would have realized that the dream’s perspective wasn’t from his own point of view but seemed to be from someone else’s.

But at this moment, his mind was collapsing, his worldview crumbling, so he naturally wouldn’t catch such a minor detail.

They say dreams are a reflection of subconscious desires. The more you think about something, the more likely you are to dream about it.

After squatting by the rice field for an entire day, Shen Nian came to a conclusion that left him in utter disbelief—

Could it be… that he actually likes his cheap Xiao Ba?

It was already late. The workers at the agricultural base began driving away the ordinary people who came here to warm up. Shen Nian patted the dust off his clothes and stood up, heading home with a complicated mood.

In the dim light of dusk, he spotted his cheap Xiao Ba from afar on the street below their apartment.

The tall man wore a thin jacket, with broad shoulders and long legs. Under the streetlights, his exceptional appearance had a cinematic quality to it.

Shen Nian watched as he lowered his head and pulled out his phone. Two seconds later, Shen Nian’s own phone rang.

“Hello?” Shen Nian answered softly.

The man on the other end of the line simply said, “Where are you? I’ll come pick you up.”

At that moment, as Shen Nian looked at the man standing under the streetlight, he suddenly felt that… even if he did like him, there was nothing wrong with that.

He hung up the phone and ran over with a smile in his eyes. “Let’s go home.”

The words that came out of his mouth softened Shen Nian’s heart. He could naturally refer to the place he shared with this man as home.

Deep down, he really did like this man, didn’t he?

This thought hadn’t lingered in Shen Nian’s mind for long when he heard the man beside him say, “I want to hold a funeral for your mom.”

“You know… after all, we were…” Jian Yuanbai coughed awkwardly, unable to finish the phrase husband and wife. “I should at least give her a proper funeral.”

The smile on Shen Nian’s face instantly disappeared. He looked at Jian Yuanbai and saw the seriousness in the man’s eyes.

A ridiculous thought popped into his mind—

Could it be… this guy is pretending to be his Xiao Ba because he used to like his mom?!

What kind of messed-up soap opera is his life?!

Jian Yuanbai stood there, staring blankly at the door that had just slammed shut in his face.

Confused, he took out his key and opened the door, only to hear another bang as Shen Nian’s bedroom door slammed shut right in front of him.

Then came the click of the lock.

Jian Yuanbai was stunned.

Remembering the captain’s advice to be patient, listen more, and show more care, he knocked on the door and asked gently, “What’s wrong? Are you upset?”

Shen Nian replied stiffly, “Of course not. I’m overjoyed.”

Jian Yuanbai stared at the tightly locked door, unable to detect any sign of joy.

Then, from inside the room, he heard Shen Nian’s voice again, “But you’d better give up on that idea. My mom was from City Z. I’ve already built a memorial for her. She had no relatives or friends left. There’s no need for a funeral.”

Jian Yuanbai felt like his attempt to be a good stepfather had completely backfired.

After a long moment of awkward silence, he finally said, “Alright… no funeral, then.”

“Are you coming out for dinner?”

Shen Nian: “Not eating.”

Still angry.

The more Shen Nian thought about it, the more annoyed he became.

Suddenly, he swung the door open and stared at Jian Yuanbai with a blank expression. “Aren’t you supposed to have amnesia? Or did you recover your memories and remember my mom now?”

Jian Yuanbai instantly tensed up. Seeing Shen Nian’s dark expression, he hesitated and said, “I… recovered… a little bit?”

Shen Nian had suspected Jian Yuanbai’s identity from the very first night they met.

His brain worked fast.

Without missing a beat, he said, “Is that so? I ran into my mom’s old friend, Aunt Lanping, on the street today. If you want to know more about my mom, you can talk to her.”

“It might help you recover your memory.”

Jian Yuanbai rejected the offer without hesitation, “I think I’d better not. I wasn’t very close with her. If I want to know something, I can just ask you, right?”

Shen Nian let out three cold laughs.

His mom’s name was Lanping.

He almost lost it from sheer frustration.

He knew it!

This guy didn’t understand a thing about him or his mom. Even Aunt Liu and Uncle Wang’s reactions showed that they’d never seen him before.

So what the hell was up with this sudden funeral idea?

Was he really getting that deep into the stepfather role?

If this guy truly only wanted to be his Xiao Ba, then what was Shen Nian supposed to do?

Unless…

He seduced him?

Before Shen Nian could even test the waters, there was a sudden, urgent knock on their door.

Jian Yuanbai and Shen Nian exchanged glances before walking over to open the door.

The sight that greeted them was completely unexpected.

A woman, disheveled and covered in dirt, collapsed to her knees as soon as the door opened.

“Mr. Jian… please… please save me…”

“I have no one else to turn to… I’m begging you… I’ll kowtow to you… please…”

She began slamming her forehead against the floor, but she was so weak from running that the force wasn’t enough to do much damage. Her forehead simply turned red.

Jian Yuanbai closed the door behind her and said, “Get up and talk. I’m not sure I can help.”

Su Su’s tears streamed down instantly, and she didn’t dare to get up. “Only you can help me, please. Besides you, I really can’t think of anyone else who can help.”

“I know I’m not a good person. I even tried to threaten you when Shen Nian was sick. You’ve already done me a great favor by taking me to S City, but… but…”

She choked up and couldn’t speak. Shen Nian poured her a glass of water and said gently, “Get up and talk.”

“What exactly happened?”

Shen Nian didn’t have a particularly good impression of this short-haired girl. He knew she was timid, but he also remembered that she handed him alcohol and a towel.

She wasn’t inherently bad, just an ordinary person.

Su Su took the glass of water and began to explain.

Wang Li had awakened an ability and asked Su Su if she wanted to follow him. After spending so much time together, Su Su had developed feelings for him, so she agreed without hesitation. Naturally, their relationship shifted into that of a couple.

But just two days later, Wang Li came back and told Su Su that he had offended a powerful ability user and couldn’t defeat him. The other party threatened to break his leg unless… he handed Su Su over for them to play with.

Su Su wiped her tears and looked at Jian Yuanbai cautiously, saying, “I also know that the reason he was able to negotiate this condition was because he sold you out.”

Jian Yuanbai was surprised. “Me?”

What was there to sell about him?

“Wang Li told them that Mr. Jian can purify the pollution.”

At that moment, Jian Yuanbai’s expression became quite interesting.

Shen Nian asked, “How did he know?”

Su Su replied, “He seemed to have overheard it, probably that time by the roadside, and pieced things together from there.”

Shen Nian thought back and realized it must have been when Yang Jinhang got overly excited.

Su Su added, “He also said that Mr. Jian has a certain probability of granting others abilities.”

Already aware that this was a misunderstanding on Yang Jinhang’s part, Shen Nian’s expression became even more complicated.

Imagining what those people might say every day, his expression became increasingly bizarre.

Su Su, sitting in front of the two of them, facing their extremely complicated expressions, had no idea if she had said something wrong.

She had considered various possible reactions: anger at Wang Li’s betrayal, anxiety over the severe leak of information, or perhaps even resorting to extreme measures to silence her.

She just hadn’t expected… to be met with two faces full of indescribable complexity.

What exactly was going on?

Su Su felt as if she were sitting on pins and needles, unsure of what to say next.

In the end, it was Jian Yuanbai who spoke, “You can stay here for the next couple of days. Consider it my thanks for telling me this.”

Su Su was extremely grateful, nodding repeatedly and expressing her thanks in a flurry of words, even offering to handle all the housework and cooking.

Jian Yuanbai didn’t really care about that. He wasn’t used to strangers in his home, and once this matter was resolved, Su Su would have to leave.

In a two-bedroom apartment, adding another person meant Shen Nian had to give up his room and share a bed with Jian Yuanbai.

At this moment, Jian Yuanbai suddenly felt… maybe having Su Su stay a few more days wouldn’t be so bad after all.

Shen Nian said to Su Su, “If it gets too cold at night, just turn on the heater.”

He paused, remembering the nonsense he spouted the night before. “It was broken yesterday, but I had someone fix it. It should work now.”

Su Su shook her head. “It’s fine, I’ll just use a brazier.”

The heater was warm, the kind that warmed you from the inside out, but the heating fees were also very expensive. Most people used braziers to get by, though they often woke up freezing in the middle of the night.

Shen Nian, who hadn’t really suffered much since the apocalypse started, apart from the first few days with glass shards in his back, hadn’t even considered the existence of a brazier. “Suit yourself.”

A brazier could be any iron pot or large stainless steel bowl. Since Su Su was just a passing acquaintance, Jian Yuanbai and Shen Nian didn’t bother persuading her otherwise.

Dinner was made by Su Su. Shen Nian followed her into the kitchen, trying to learn a thing or two. After all, eating bread in the morning and noodles at night every day wasn’t sustainable.

Once everything was cleaned up, Shen Nian lay on the bed and asked Jian Yuanbai, “What do you plan to do about what Su Su said?”

Jian Yuanbai replied, “Let’s see how things go. Don’t worry.”

To be honest, Jian Yuanbai had no idea what to do either. If the information had already spread, it might be impossible to contain it. He felt he should thoroughly study how exactly he was able to purify the infection.

Though he thought this, Jian Yuanbai was completely clueless.

Shen Nian wasn’t too worried either. He was well aware of Jian Yuanbai’s strength. Since he couldn’t help, he simply stopped thinking about it. His mind shifted to something else.

He intentionally yawned a few times, closed his eyes, and snuggled closer to Jian Yuanbai.

With a sleepy and somewhat coy tone, as if half-conscious, he murmured, “Can I warm my hands, Xiao Ba?”

After thinking about it, he added the “Xiao Ba” title.

Without waiting for Jian Yuanbai’s response, he slipped his hand onto those well-defined abs, his fingers lightly tracing the lines before stopping.

The man beside him made no movement and didn’t push his hand away.

Shen Nian felt satisfied yet slightly disappointed.

He suddenly realized that he had been sharing a bed with this “cheap Xiao Ba” for quite some time now.

This guy had never reacted to him before. Could it be… he didn’t like men?

If that were the case, even stripping naked wouldn’t work, right?

Should he give it a try?

Try it?

Jian Yuanbai lay there with his eyes closed, completely unaware that the person beside him was having wild thoughts while he was peacefully asleep.

Just as he was drifting off, he felt that hand move.

Jian Yuanbai’s light sleep was disrupted.

The hand moved again.

This time, he was fully awake.

Tonight, Shen Nian seemed particularly restless in his sleep, tossing and turning nonstop. Annoyed, Jian Yuanbai simply pinned him down, restraining his hands and legs.

It quieted down for a while.

But then, a slender leg slowly shifted upward, brushing against him with a knee.

In the dim night, a faint, husky groan echoed.

Shen Nian’s inner voice, however, was unheard by anyone.

So big!