Chapter 52

Big Black finally finished changing clothes, albeit after some dawdling. Without even glancing in the mirror, he leaned in to ask Cheng Zhiyu, "How is it? Does it look good?"

Cheng Zhiyu cleared his throat lightly, "Yes, it looks good."

Big Black asked again, "Then do you like it?"

"You're picking clothes for yourself, not for me. Why ask me?" Cheng Zhiyu replied.

Big Black said, "If you don’t like it, I won’t take this one."

Cheng Zhiyu: "..."

Big Black: "Do you like it?"

Cheng Zhiyu couldn’t bring himself to lie: "...I like it, I like it. Alright, stop asking."

Big Black, satisfied, picked out a few more outfits, asking Cheng Zhiyu about each one to ensure he liked them all before having them put away in the space.

Then, he put Cheng Zhiyu’s clothes back on.

Cheng Zhiyu glanced over, "Why aren’t you wearing the new ones?"

He regretted asking almost immediately. Big Black said, "These clothes still have your scent. It smells nice."

Cheng Zhiyu couldn’t help but pinch him, but the guy was too muscular. Gritting his teeth, he said, "Let me say it again—it’s the smell of laundry detergent."

Big Black didn’t feel a thing and grinned, delighted, "Alright, alright, it’s the laundry detergent."

Cheng Zhiyu: "..." Even more annoyed.

When they returned, the clay pot rice was ready. Tian Qiao and the others gathered around like puppies, asking, "Can we eat? Can we eat?"

Zhou Min, who had been listless earlier, was now full of energy.

Cheng Zhiyu had steamed six clay pots, one per person, and told them to help themselves, "Go ahead, eat."

As everyone went to get their pots, Cheng Zhiyu glanced at Sang Nian sitting in the corner, leaning in the shadows, his expression unclear.

After a moment’s thought, Cheng Zhiyu took a pot over and set it in front of Sang Nian, "They’ve all gone to eat. Why didn’t you come? Here, eat."

Sang Nian looked up, surprised, "I thought there wasn’t any for me."

Cheng Zhiyu said, "There are plenty of ingredients here. Everyone gets a share."

Sang Nian said nothing. In the past, the people he encountered would only take things from him, even if they had more than he did.

Not far away, Big Black called out to Cheng Zhiyu again. Cheng Zhiyu smiled, "Eat up. If it’s not enough, there’s more."

Sang Nian hesitated, watching Cheng Zhiyu leave, lost in thought.

He looked down at the clay pot rice; it looked delicious.

Too bad he couldn’t taste anything.

Nearby, Big Black took Cheng Zhiyu’s hand and complained, "I told you to stay away from him."

Cheng Zhiyu explained, "It wouldn’t be good to make it too obvious."

Big Black glanced at Sang Nian. The way the other looked at Cheng Zhiyu made him uncomfortable, "Then, who’s better-looking, him or me?"

Cheng Zhiyu: "...You are."

Big Black: "Then who do you like more?"

Cheng Zhiyu: "You."

Big Black was satisfied. Psh, as if anyone could compare to him.

Because there were outsiders around, they slept in the small supermarket that night. Big Black naturally stayed close to Cheng Zhiyu, casually putting his arms around him.

Cheng Zhiyu struggled a bit, but Big Black held on tighter, "It’s cold at night."

Not wanting to reveal the existence of his space, Cheng Zhiyu couldn’t take out any special plants.

Cheng Zhiyu felt his whole body heat up. Big Black was like a furnace, the warmth seeming to seep through his skin, reaching deep inside.

Tian Qiao and the others were still nearby, and he felt uneasy...

Tian Qiao’s voice came from the side, "Hehe, let’s hug too. It’s warmer."

Zhou Min: "Ew, I think I can deal with it."

Tian Manman: "...I don’t want to either. You snore and grind your teeth."

Tian Qiao exclaimed, "Tian Manman, you’re being mean!"

Tian Manman was innocent—he was just telling the truth.

Hearing the commotion beside him, Cheng Zhiyu relaxed a little. They were just keeping warm—it was perfectly normal.

But then, Big Black suddenly reached out and pressed Cheng Zhiyu’s face against his chest.

Cheng Zhiyu’s first thought: So soft...

His second thought: His face flushed bright red, and he immediately tried to pull away, only to be pressed back by Big Black.

Big Black whispered in his ear, "Zhiyu, you’ve been staring at this spot all day. You like it, don’t you?"

Cheng Zhiyu: !!! Since when was he staring? He just... looked a few times, that’s all!

It was soft. With his face pressed against it, Cheng Zhiyu didn’t know what to do.

What was wrong with Big Black? Cheng Zhiyu couldn’t figure out if the guy was genuinely clueless or just pretending.

He looked up and met Big Black’s innocent eyes.

Cheng Zhiyu reached out and put his hand over Big Black’s eyes... So annoying.

A part of him hoped Big Black was doing it on purpose.

Big Black leaned in again and whispered softly, "Zhiyu, want to touch it? You can squeeze it if you want."

Cheng Zhiyu: What are you even saying?!

He realized that ever since Big Black turned human, he had been getting more flustered, often feeling dizzy.

"Do you want to? You can squeeze it as much as you like." Big Black sounded shy, his voice very soft, "You can even squeeze hard."

Cheng Zhiyu's vision darkened as he struggled to suppress the urge to actually do it: "...Let's sleep."

Big Black: "You sure you don't wanna feel them?"

Cheng Zhiyu felt so annoyed. He reached out and clamped a hand over Big Black's mouth: "I'm sleepy, shut up! Otherwise, I'll sleep by myself!"

Big Black blinked: "...Mm-hmm."

Cheng Zhiyu finally closed his eyes in exhaustion. His head was pounding, and he no longer cared whether Tian Qiao and the others nearby had heard anything.

Hah, so what if they did? Whatever.

Big Black scowled, looking genuinely puzzled. He didn’t quite understand—Cheng Zhiyu had checked out his pecs several times, so why was he unwilling to touch them?

Could it be that he had misunderstood? Did Cheng Zhiyu not like them?

He felt bummed.

At night, a shadowy figure approached the two. Big Black opened his eyes, wide awake.

He carefully set Cheng Zhiyu down, stood up, and looked at Sang Nian.

Sang Nian noticed his gaze and smiled: "You can’t kill me."

Big Black tilted his head and grinned mischievously, raising his hand: "Wanna bet?"

Sang Nian glanced at the sleeping Cheng Zhiyu, his expression softening: "No hostile intent."

"Oh, but I don’t like you." Big Black considered whether to gouge his eyes out.

Sang Nian chuckled: "Forget it, the timing isn’t right."

Almost the moment Big Black moved, Sang Nian instantly vanished. Big Black withdrew his hand and tisked, ultimately deciding not to pursue.

Cheng Zhiyu sensed something and cracked his eyes open: "Big Black?"

Big Black immediately walked over, lay down, and pulled him into his arms, tucking Cheng Zhiyu’s face against his chest: "It’s nothing, go back to sleep."

Cheng Zhiyu unconsciously nuzzled in, accidentally revealing himself: "...heh heh."

Big Black: Hmm?

The next day, Zhou Min said: "When did that Sang Nian leave?"

Big Black noticed Cheng Zhiyu sitting up properly, eyed him appreciatively, and smiled, feeling pleased: "He left last night."

Tian Qiao muttered: "Good thing he didn’t do anything. None of us noticed."

Cheng Zhiyu frowned slightly.

"Zhi Yu woke up, and I got him back to sleep," Big Black said. "The rest of you didn’t react at all."

Everyone else: "..."

Tian Qiao backpedaled: "Who even was that guy? Actually, I’m usually pretty alert."

Zhou Min: "Me too."

Tian Manman: "But none of us actually woke up."

Cheng Zhiyu said seriously: "It seems nighttime defense is still important."

The others nodded along.

With Sang Nian gone, they no longer had to hide anything and got to work gathering supplies.

There wasn’t much else here, but there was plenty of rice and flour. Coincidentally, Cheng Zhiyu’s storage space was almost empty. As for the wheat growing in his planting space, he decided to keep some for continued planting and save the rest for seed.

Once they returned home, he would see if it could be planted in the fields there.

Everyone worked their butts off gathering supplies, taking everything usable and leaving the rest untouched in case others came by who might need it.

"Wow, I found this DVD player and a bunch of discs. We can take them back to pass the time," Zhou Min said excitedly. With material needs met, people naturally want some entertainment.

Tian Qiao suddenly smirked: "What kind of movies are they?"

Zhou Min sighed: "They’re all legit, just some old series."

Tian Qiao coughed lightly: "Let me see what’s there."

Big Black, listening nearby, leaned over to Cheng Zhiyu: "Zhi Yu, what does 'indecent' mean?"

Cheng Zhiyu’s ears turned red: "I don’t know, ask Tian Qiao and the others."

Big Black visibly deflated: "No, I won’t ask them."

After half a day gathering supplies, they didn't stick around. They found their hidden off-road vehicle and set off.

Tian Qiao drove, Tian Manman sat in the passenger seat on lookout duty, Zhou Min stretched out comfortably across the second row alone, resting before taking his turn driving.

Cheng Zhiyu and Big Black sat in the very back.

Big Black yawned.

Cheng Zhiyu: "Didn’t sleep well?"

Big Black nodded: "Can I sleep for a bit?"

Cheng Zhiyu almost laughed: "You’re asking me for permission to sleep?"

Big Black: "So, can I sleep?"

Cheng Zhiyu: "Yes, yes, yes, go to sleep."

Big Black instantly smiled. Cheng Zhiyu knew where this was going, and sure enough, the other immediately plopped his head on Cheng Zhiyu’s lap.

Cheng Zhiyu: "..." So that's why he asked.

"You—" Before he could finish, Big Black said: "This is more comfortable. Sleeping sitting up is uncomfortable."

Cheng Zhiyu had nothing to say. Fine, let him sleep.

A few seconds later, Cheng Zhiyu said through gritted teeth: "Don’t start nuzzling around, or I’ll push you off."

Big Black turned his face to the other side: "Oh..."

Cheng Zhiyu relaxed once he saw Big Black settle down. Thankfully, he hadn’t gotten worked up, but if Big Black kept it up, it was getting close.

When Zhou Min took the wheel from Tian Qiao, he noticed the two crammed in the back and offered: "Brother Black, why don’t you move up front if you want to sleep? I’ll sit in the back with Cheng Zhiyu."

Cheng Zhiyu was more than willing.

Big Black looked at Tian Qiao, who shrank back: "Uh... never mind, I think Brother Black isn't very willing, haha."

Cheng Zhiyu looked down at Big Black, who looked innocent: "I just want to be with Zhi Yu."

Cheng Zhiyu: "...My leg is numb."

Big Black had to sit up, eagerly offering: "Let me massage it for you."

Cheng Zhiyu stopped his hand: "No need."

Big Black pulled his hand back regretfully, though he didn't rest on Cheng Zhiyu's leg anymore.

But they were still sitting close together. Cheng Zhiyu felt he was already numb to it. Big Black wasn't sleeping or idle, holding Cheng Zhiyu's hand and playing with it, studying it intently.

Cheng Zhiyu looked at him: "I can't just keep calling you Big Black, can I? Do you have a name? Or maybe you can choose one for yourself?"

Big Black showed some interest: "Will you pick one for me?"

Tian Qiao laughed: "Are you sure you want Cheng Zhiyu to name you?"

Cheng Zhiyu, who was bad at naming, rubbed his nose: "I'm not very good at naming."

Big Black just smiled at Cheng Zhiyu: "It's fine, I'll like whatever you choose."

He was really like a big dog. Cheng Zhiyu couldn't help but pat his head: "Hmm... let me think."

"Then what's your surname?" Cheng Zhiyu felt they should decide on the surname first.

Big Black didn't hesitate: "Of course Cheng, Cheng is a nice surname."

Cheng Zhiyu thought seriously, racking his brains: "Cheng Little Black? Cheng Big Black?"

Big Black complained: "...Can't you think more seriously?"

Cheng Zhiyu guiltily rubbed his nose; it did sound pretty half-hearted, huh.

He seriously pondered for another half hour, then suddenly had a brainwave: "Cheng Mo, how about Cheng Mo?"

Mo, which means black, also corresponds to the name Big Black.

Big Black thought the name was good: "Then from now on, I'll be Cheng Mo."

Cheng Zhiyu's urge to name surged: "Maybe I should think some more?"

Cheng Mo nodded, eyes shining as he looked at him: "Then think some more."

"I found you in spring, Cheng Spring?" After saying it, Cheng Zhiyu was at a loss for words himself: "No, no, let me think again. I always thought you were very smart, how about Cheng Cong?"

Cheng Mo shook his head: "Not as nice as Cheng Mo."

Cheng Zhiyu thought so too. He tried hard to think some more, but after thinking for a long time, the names he came up with were all strange, even worse than "Cheng Cong."

The name Cheng Mo was already a stroke of genius for him.

In the end, Cheng Zhiyu had to give up. Okay, he wasn't cut out for naming.

They drove on until evening, and Cheng Zhiyu, who was driving last, parked the car along a small field path.

It was too dark now to see clearly. Cheng Zhiyu planned to check out the fields tomorrow. This land likely had crops planted before the apocalypse; he wasn't sure what condition it was in.

He didn't have high hopes, mainly wanting to collect some soil to simulate the current environment and see if the plants he grew could survive.

Anyway, there wasn't much to do while sitting in the car on the road.

Cheng Zhiyu released Big Strong. Among the crystal cores obtained earlier in the town were plant-type cores, which he gave to Big Strong and Little Roll. Big Strong was now almost at level three.

As for Little Roll, it had already reached level three.

And Little Yellow, this time he also got a psychic-type crystal core, leveling it up to level three. Coincidentally, the fruit it produced had ripened, which could prevent level three zombies from detecting them for five minutes.

To be honest, they didn't need it much anymore.

However, this fruit was still very precious to others, so Cheng Zhiyu carefully stored it away.

Little Iron had just reached level four, and finally, there was Little Two, who was at level three, close to level four.

Cheng Zhiyu took out the level five fire-type crystal core and asked for the others' opinions.

Tian Qiao said: "Of course give it to Little Two. If we give it to Little Two, it will definitely reach level five, and we won't have to worry anymore."

After all, Cheng Zhiyu's plants were almost invincible at the same level.

Zhou Min also said: "Such a precious crystal core, we should definitely keep for ourselves. Giving it to Little Two will make our journey safer."

Tian Manman: "Yeah, give it to Little Two."

Finally, Cheng Zhiyu looked at Cheng Mo, whose answer was unsurprising: give it to Little Two.

So, Cheng Zhiyu went into the system space and buried the level five fire-type crystal core for Little Two.

Little Two acted cute for a while, then was busy absorbing the crystal core.

Only then did Cheng Zhiyu have time to check on the planting space.

As the plants had been leveling up one after another, the planting space had grown from the original 12 by 12 meters to 15 by 15 meters now.

It was quite a bit larger.

Cheng Zhiyu was in a great mood. Wielding a sickle, he cut the wheat next to Little Yellow that had already ripened. There wasn't much, and it was dry enough, so he threshed it directly.

The wheat next to Big Strong would probably take a few more days to ripen, but there was extra space next to Big Strong now. Cheng Zhiyu had gained more space and decided to plant the newly harvested wheat next to Big Strong, wondering if it would grow into big, infinitely harvestable wheat.

Thinking this, he immediately got to work and planted the wheat.

Then he busied himself picking vegetables. The last batch of peppers he planted had ripened. Cheng Zhiyu picked one and took a small bite—ouch, so spicy. Looks like he’d have to use less when cooking.

The space had grown quite a bit larger, and Cheng Zhiyu couldn't stand leaving it empty, so he started working again, planting more around each plant.

After finishing, he went to check on Ball. Ball was almost entering its growth stage, still a small sphere the size of a finger, nothing noticeable.

Cheng Zhiyu watered and fertilized it, feeling a bit tired. He yawned and left the space.

Cheng Mo had been lying bored on the bed, but when he saw Cheng Zhiyu appear, his eyes immediately lit up: "You were busy for so long, are you tired?"

Cheng Zhiyu was about to speak, but then he saw Big Black wasn't wearing clothes. His well-defined pecs and eight-pack abs were visible right in front of his eyes. Cheng Zhiyu felt his nose heat up: "Why aren't you wearing clothes?"

Cheng Mo looked innocent: "My clothes were worn outdoors; they shouldn't be worn in bed. Isn't that what you said?"

Cheng Zhiyu: "..." He really wasn't used to getting into bed in outside clothes.

He thought: But he would change into pajamas!

Cheng Zhiyu pressed between his eyebrows: "You still can't be naked. Go put on your pajamas."

Cheng Mo whined: "Don't wanna, wearing clothes is uncomfortable."

Cheng Zhiyu started getting out of bed: "Then I'll sleep outside."

Cheng Mo sounded hurt and came over to hug him: "Do you dislike me?"

Cheng Zhiyu felt his scalp go numb, trying hard to stay calm: "No, not at all."

Cheng Mo made him turn around: "Then you're not allowed to sleep outside."

"If you put on your pajamas, I won't go out." Cheng Zhiyu's tone softened, ultimately unable to be heartless. For one, he'd cared for him for so long, and two, who could be cruel to a face like that?

Cheng Mo was reluctant—he'd deliberately not worn clothes—: "I'm not wearing clothes just for you to see, Zhi Yu. You like looking, right?"

Cheng Zhiyu: "..." He had no retort.

Then Cheng Mo grabbed his hand and pressed it against his chest muscles. Cheng Zhiyu's hand felt like it was burning intensely. He wanted to pull away, but damn it, he couldn't resist and squeezed.

Cheng Mo's tanned skin actually flushed a little red at this point. He nuzzled against Cheng Zhiyu and asked eagerly: "Zhi Yu, do you like it? Do you like it?"

Cheng Zhiyu swallowed hard. Such beautiful pectoral muscles.

He liked them—he liked them a lot! But he was too embarrassed to say it.

Under Cheng Mo's insistent questioning, he still couldn't bring himself to lie: "Ahem... I like it."

Cheng Zhiyu pulled his hand back, but Cheng Mo grabbed it back: "Keep squeezing. I can tell you don't want to stop. It's fine, you can squeeze as much as you want."

Cheng Zhiyu: "..." Damn, he really couldn't refuse.

He squeezed firmly. Cheng Mo: "...Mmm."

Cheng Zhiyu came back to his senses and quickly pulled his hand back: "Did I hurt you?"

Cheng Mo hugged him, burying his face in the crook of Cheng Zhiyu's neck, breathing a little heavily: "Not hurt. It feels really good. Squeeze some more?"

Cheng Zhiyu's head was already fuzzy, acting on pure instinct, his head full of: Pectoral muscles really feel great to touch, hehe...

He even gave it a good rub, listening to Cheng Mo's moans in his ear, his scalp going numb again.

He really... was losing his mind.

"Huh? Zhi Yu, aren't you gonna squeeze anymore?" Cheng Mo felt the other withdraw his hand and looked at him puzzled.

Cheng Zhiyu tried hard to put on a stern face, but what he just did made it impossible to stay serious. He said resignedly: "Yeah, not anymore."

He silently decided to himself: Next time, he absolutely must not be tempted. He has to resist!

Cheng Mo nuzzled against him like a big dog and asked: "So? So? Was it good to squeeze?"

Cheng Zhiyu gave a light cough, wanting to say it wasn't good at all and that he must resist temptation, but he really couldn't bring himself to tell a lie: "Yeah."

Hearing this, Cheng Mo was in great spirits. So all his hard work working on his physique before was for today!

Of course, if before he met Cheng Zhiyu, anyone had dared to say to him, "You built such a good body just to seduce people," he would've definitely knocked them out.

Cheng Zhiyu closed his eyes, not sure if he was pretending to sleep or trying hard to calm down.

Then he felt Cheng Mo doing something. He was trying to stay calm, mmm... better pretend not to know.

However, the other's hand slid under his clothes, reaching his chest.

Cheng Zhiyu's scalp tingled again, and he snapped his eyes open: "What are you doing?"

Cheng Mo said as if it were the most natural thing: "Zhi Yu touched me, so let me touch you too."

Cheng Zhiyu was speechless: "You didn't say that earlier."

Sure enough, there's no such thing as a free lunch.

Cheng Mo wore an expression of "Isn't that how it should be?" that left Cheng Zhiyu at a loss for words.

Whatever, just let him touch then.

After realizing he thought this, he was horrified to discover that his standards were really slipping bit by bit.

"Ah! Where are you biting?!" Cheng Zhiyu exclaimed, looking down to see a wet spot already on his chest and clothes.

Cheng Mo's wheat-colored skin was slightly flushed: "I couldn't help it, Zhi Yu. That part of you is so pretty."

Pink...

Cheng Zhiyu felt himself burning up all over!

He wore loose, comfortable pajamas with a button-up front and a relatively large collar. Cheng Mo had accidentally seen and couldn't look away.

It was really pretty.

Cheng Zhiyu also had muscles, a thin layer, and his skin was very fair. That part was like a cherry.

He really wanted to bite it but was afraid Cheng Zhiyu would get angry. Trying to cover up, he pulled the clothes back and bit through the fabric.

The cloth was thin but still dulled the sensation somewhat, though he could still clearly feel the pulse there.

Cheng Mo said, seeing Cheng Zhiyu go quiet, he thought he didn't believe him and emphasized again: "Zhi Yu, I'm serious. That part of you is really pretty. I want to kiss it, want to bite it. Is that okay?"

Cheng Zhiyu was at a loss, the bitten area feeling strangely sensitive. He tried hard to ignore it, but hearing Cheng Mo's words getting more and more outrageous, he glared angrily: "Get lost, you jerk!"

He was really going crazy. Cheng Mo seemed to completely not see anything wrong with this. Damn straight guys indeed!

Cheng Zhiyu turned over, no longer facing him, lying flat on the bed and staring at the ceiling. For the first time, he didn't know what to do.

Facing Cheng Mo, he was truly at a loss.

If the other were just Cheng Mo and not his Little Black Big Black, he wouldn't need to be so passive—he could either refuse or make things clear.

But now, Cheng Zhiyu raised a hand to cover his eyes. He thought wryly, he really had no idea what to do.

Beside him, Cheng Mo pressed close like a big dog, hugging him and complaining: "Are you mad? But even if you're mad, don't scold me... You can talk to me properly."

Cheng Zhiyu: "... Helpless."