The Ex-Girlfriend's Guide to HE [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 33

Warning: 

This chapter contains some mature [sexual/suggestive] content. Reader discretion is advised.

A bad dream.

Cheng You said it with a light tone, as if he was merely making a guess, but Jing Zhao caught the certainty in it.

Suddenly, Jing Zhao remembered something. In the original plot, Cheng You’s psychic ability was incomparable to anyone else’s, especially in the later stages of the plot. One of the things that he was capable of was to enter into a sleeping person’s subconscious and weave a dream for them as they slept.

Jing Zhao had suddenly dreamed of Qin Mo. Cheng You also suddenly said such meaningful words. It was hard for her not to guess that, perhaps, he had somehow gained his memories from when his life had progressed according to the original plot.

Was he testing her right now?

Jing Zhao slowly lowered her gaze. The expression on her face was that of confusion and bewilderment. She said, “Mm. I don’t know why, but I suddenly had a dream about that man we met yesterday.” 

As she spoke, she gently pried his arm open and buried herself in his embrace, “Did you dream too?”

Cheng You responded with a faint hum. His gaze was deep and his expression was unreadable. His fingers lightly stroked from time to time.

Jing Zhao curiously looked up at him. “So, what did you dream of? Did you dream of him too? My dream was so strange, I dreamt—”

Before she could finish her sentence, Cheng You suddenly lowered his head and kissed her. His palm held the back of her head, and his little finger inadvertently touched her neck. His touch caused her to shudder.

After a moment, he slightly pulled back. Their foreheads were touching. His slightly heavy breath felt warm against her skin. “Since it was a bad dream, there’s no need to remember it.”

Jing Zhao squinted her eyes and didn’t continue asking. She only inquired, “So where are we going today? When are we returning to the base?”

They had been out for a while. Though they hadn’t collected much supplies, they had killed quite a few evolved zombies. However, zombies capable of awakening abilities were still rare, and Jing Zhao had only encountered one plant-type ability user zombie so far.

Last night, she had already absorbed the energy from the plant-type crystal core. She only needed to press the crystal core against her forehead and use her ability to absorb it. The energy-depleted core instantly turned to dust after that.

After she absorbed the energy from the crystal core, Jing Zhao’s ability significantly advanced. For instance, she had previously only been able to grow two lush pine trees at the same time. Now, she could grow four.

Around this time, Jing Zhao and Cheng You rarely went to the urban areas. They mostly stayed in the mountains and forests. Besides hunting evolved zombies, they were also looking for a recently discovered thing: some plants had mutated due to long-term rooting in soil fused with the zombie virus.

These plants developed a kind of self-awareness. They would prey on humans and kill them by strangling them, seemingly to extract energy from their bodies.

Jing Zhao and Cheng You had encountered these mutated plants several times along the way. While uprooting them, Jing Zhao discovered she could hasten their growth and obtain their seeds.

The mutated plants grown from these seeds were much more lethal than ordinary plants, but she could tame them. 

Knowing that Jing Zhao could tame the mutated plants, Cheng You specifically took her deep into uninhabited forests, as the higher level mutated plants were found in such areas.

Jing Zhao collected a lot of the mutated plant seeds, which from then on became her ‘weapons.’

Being too far from the base made communication difficult, and if they didn’t return for a long time, Cheng Ming would worry, so they decided to head back that day.

The house they stayed in last night was a farmhouse halfway up the mountain. There was only one road down, and they reached the foot of the mountain in no time.

At the mountain’s edge was a winding road. Previously, they had encountered a few zombies here, but today, there were two Jeeps parked at the road’s entrance.

The Jeeps were obviously modified, and the people around the vehicles looked familiar.

They were the group they met in the mountains yesterday.

Jing Zhao noticed the heavy expressions on the faces of those people. There was a long silver bag on the ground, which looked like it might contain a corpse. 

This group of people had been with Qin Mo yesterday, but now, Qin Mo was nowhere to be seen.

For some reason, Jing Zhao instinctively looked up at Cheng You, only to see him lightly curling his lips. A dark light flickered in his eyes, and he had somewhat of a sinister expression on her face.

The two groups had greeted each other yesterday and knew which bases they belonged to.

Now that they’d met again today, they couldn’t just say nothing to each other, especially since Qin Mo’s group seemed to be in trouble.

“What happened? Did something go wrong?” Cheng You lightly asked after he glanced at the bag they were loading into the vehicle.

A woman in a black down jacket answered him. Jing Zhao knew her; in the plot, she stayed by Qin Mo’s side. She was favoured by him until the villainous female supporting character—Jing Zhao, rose to power and Qin Mo gradually abandoned her.

The expression on the woman’s face was clearly one of sadness. She looked at the body bag, which had just been put into the car, and said, “We encountered a T4-level zombie. Our captain fell into its trap.”

The corpse inside that body bag had been dismembered. They had to do that in order to prevent Qin Mo from becoming a zombie. Now, they had to return to their base with his dismembered body in tow, so that they could explain what had happened to their base leader.

Cheng You nodded and asked, “Where is that T4-level zombie now?”

When she heard his question, Jing Zhao’s lips twitched. Hadn’t it been killed by him? Why was he pretending not to know where it was?

The woman shook her head and said, “It’s gone. We didn’t dare to chase it. That T4-level zombie is very powerful, and we are no match for it.”

Cheng You didn’t ask any more questions. After the woman finished speaking, she got into her Jeep. Seeing that Cheng You and Jing Zhao were also planning to go down the mountain, she asked them if they wanted to go with her group, but Cheng You smiled and politely refused her offer.

The woman was clearly shaken by his smile and didn’t say anything more.

The two Jeeps drove away. The driver of that woman’s Jeep was a muscular man with a crew cut. He looked at the pair of man and woman in the rearview mirror. They were getting farther and farther away. Then, he lightly said, “Sister Li, what do you think the abilities of those two people are? They were also in the mountains yesterday. Why didn’t the T4 zombie attack them?”

The woman who he called Sister Li was the woman who talked to Cheng You and Jing Zhao earlier. Hearing this, she looked at him with a slightly tired look on her face and said, “I don’t know what their abilities are. But, I know that if Captain hadn’t insisted on chasing that zombie yesterday,  nothing would have happened; that might be why they weren’t attacked by the T4 zombie. Instead of thinking about them, you should think about how to explain Captain’s death to Mr. Qin when you go back!”

Hearing this, the man’s expression shifted to a serious expression. He immediately stopped talking.

“Why did you lie to them?” Jing Zhao asked after they left.

Cheng You stopped smiling and lowered his head slightly. He had an expression on his face that Jing Zhao couldn’t understand. “What, Zhaozhao, did you want me to tell them that I killed the T4 zombie? And not only did I kill the T4 zombie, but I also actually ran into it while it was torturing that fool. He struggled and begged me for help, but I stood by and did nothing until he was killed. Did you want me to tell them that?”

Jing Zhao had only thought she should ask. She didn’t expect him to reveal the entire truth to her.

Stunned, Jing Zhao had no choice but to continue asking, “You ran into him, so why didn’t you save him? Did he offend you?”

Cheng You stared at Jing Zhao with a dark expression for a long time before finally curling his lips into a smile. His icy fingertips gently brushed her cheek. “I was just joking. Why did you take it seriously? I didn’t run into him.”

Jing Zhao had a complicated expression on her face. But, when he called him a ‘fool’ earlier, he seemed to be very genuine. He sounded like he’d really run into Qin Mo last night!

But since he wouldn’t admit it, she saw no point in pushing further. Whether he admitted it or not didn’t make much difference.

After their conversation, they got into the car Cheng You had taken out of his space and drove down the mountain. At the base of the mountain was a small town, which still had most of its supplies because it was far from any survivor bases.

They went to the shopping centre in the town centre to gather supplies.

There were quite a few zombies in the town. However, neither Cheng You nor Jing Zhao feared even the highest-level T4 zombies, let alone these ordinary ones. Moreover, after their abilities had evolved, they no longer exhausted quickly and had a much stronger endurance.

Jing Zhao could now easily kill a zombie with just a flick of her finger, so their trip into town was relatively easy.

The shopping centre had a wide variety of supplies. Many food items had expiration dates, but since time was static in Cheng You’s space, they didn’t have to worry about that.

They collected a lot of food and some cooking utensils. In the apocalypse, such items would no longer be produced for a long time, so they took whatever they could find.

They didn’t worry about space, as Cheng You’s space was continuously evolving, especially after he had killed several zombies with spatial abilities. Not only had he discovered other uses for spatial abilities, like attacks, but his space had also grown larger.

Jing Zhao had worried that Cheng You’s space might not be able to hold everything, but he simply smiled and told her not to worry. She could take whatever she wanted, which eased her concerns.

Besides food, they also collected clothes. Although Cheng You’s space already held enough clothes for them for all seasons, one could never have too many clothes. Jing Zhao couldn’t resist taking more, especially since they didn’t have to pay for them now. 

While they were on the way, they passed by a jewellery counter. Jing Zhao noticed that these once-coveted items were now worthless. No one collected them anymore; they preferred to use their space for more useful supplies like food.

Jing Zhao, however, was not worried about her food supply. As such, she still found herself drawn to the shiny objects, though she was not particularly interested in wearing them. As someone who often conducted experiments, she rarely wore jewellery. The ones Cheng You had gotten for her in the past were still gathering dust in his space.

After glancing at the jewellery, Jing Zhao looked away. She was about to leave when she was called back.

Cheng You stood at the glass counter, his eyes scanning it up and down. He reached out his hand towards the counter. Then, he said to Jing Zhao, who was ahead of him, “Come here.”

Jing Zhao walked over. She was confused until she saw him pick out a star-shaped diamond ring from the display and place it on her right ring finger.

Cheng You examined her finger. A hint of satisfaction appeared in his eyes. Then, he said, “Alright, let’s go.”

Jing Zhao: ‘…’

What was he doing? Was he proposing? But he hadn’t asked, and she hadn’t agreed yet!

She stepped up to Cheng You and held out her hand. “What do you mean by this?”

Without stopping, Cheng You replied, “It’s pretty, just wear it. It doesn’t mean anything.”

“Oh, but I don’t think it’s pretty. I don’t want to wear it,” Jing Zhao said while trying to take the ring off.

Cheng You paused. He looked back at her. Suddenly, he asked, “Zhaozhao, how should I treat someone who has betrayed me?”

Jing Zhao was startled by his question. Her eyelashes trembled. She pretended not to understand his meaning as she asked, “Why are you asking such a question?”

Cheng You’s face took on a somewhat morbid smile. “I can’t rest easy without killing her, but I can’t bear to kill her either. What should I do? How about imprisoning her forever?”

Jing Zhao rubbed her arms. She got goosebumps from his smile. With a frown on her face, she said, “What’s wrong with you? Why would you keep someone who has betrayed you? Are you waiting for them to betray you again?”

As she spoke, she suddenly grabbed Cheng You’s collar with a fierce expression. “If you dare to betray me, I’ll kill you first and then feed your little lover to the zombies!”

For some reason, her words seemed to hit his funny bone. The strange expression on his face turned into a relaxed smile. His eyes became filled with warmth.

He leaned forward slightly, then pulled her into his arms with one hand. He no longer continued their previous topic. Instead, he held her hand, with the ring still on it, and brought it to his lips. As he lightly kissed her hand, his gaze locked onto hers like a predator eyeing its prey. “Zhaozhao, the ring looks great on you. I really like it. Can you keep it on?”

Jing Zhao was coaxed as soon as he said that. She touched the diamond on the ring and reluctantly agreed. “Alright, I’ll wear it for now, but you can’t make me wear it alone.”

With that, she dragged him back to the jewellery counter and started looking around for something.

Cheng You watched her. His deep eyes flickered.

After some searching, Jing Zhao finally chose a plain silver ring. While holding it in her hand, she said, “Give me your hand.”

Cheng You glanced at the ring she had chosen. His eyes darkened, slightly. He silently extended his left hand.

His hand was well-defined, fair, and slender, the kind that could be owned by hand models. Jing Zhao held his fingers and slowly slid the ring onto his ring finger. The ring fitted perfectly.

“Alright.”

Jing Zhao held his hand with a satisfied look on her face. However, he quickly pulled it back. His tone was much calmer as he said, “Let’s go upstairs and take a look.”

It was as if the ring had added a layer of restraint to him. It seemed to have dispelled his madness, which had seemed ready to erupt at any moment.

As Jing Zhao walked beside him, she felt him reach out and pull her hand as they climbed the stairs.

As they passed by a baby store, Jing Zhao paused. 

Cheng You also noticed it but didn’t enter right away. Instead, he looked at Jing Zhao and asked calmly, “Do you need to collect some supplies from here?”

“Of course!” Jing Zhao pulled Cheng You in without saying another word.

While selecting items that might be useful, Jing Zhao said, “You forgot that we never took any precautions. I might already be pregnant right now.”

Cheng You was momentarily stunned by her words. She had drawn out a rare look of surprise on his face. When he recovered, his gaze was fixed on Jing Zhao’s stomach.

As Jing Zhao continued picking items off the shelves, she felt a large hand on her abdomen.

“Are you really?” Cheng You asked nervously.

Jing Zhao laughed and pushed his hand away. “I was just saying. It might not be true, and you know what Dr. Lu Ning said. It’s not easy for us to have children now.”

Dr. Lu Ning’s research indicated that awakening abilities in humans altered their bodies to some extent, making it more difficult for them to conceive than ordinary people. However, ability users also had longer lifespans, which extended their fertile years accordingly.

“We’ll have children eventually,” Cheng You said. His eyes remained glued on her. Then, he joined Jing Zhao in selecting items from the shelves, asking her about things he didn’t understand. He also carefully categorised the items she handed him, so he could quickly retrieve them from his space when needed.

They collected baby clothes and outfits for children of all ages, both boys and girls. They now had enough for Jing Zhao to dress an entire soccer team. Toys were also essential. Cheng You picked them out with a look of disdain on his face, as he felt that they weren’t nearly as nice as the ones he used to play with as a child.

As the precious young master of the Cheng family, Cheng You had grown up wanting for nothing. He even had custom-made toys and special play areas. It was hard to imagine that despite such a pampered upbringing, both of the Cheng siblings turned out relatively well-behaved, if somewhat proud. They didn’t have any of the bad habits typical of second-generation rich boys.

After almost emptying out the store, the two left the mall and the town. They rushed back to the base.

If Jing Zhao had only been guessing before, what Cheng You did after they returned to the base confirmed her suspicions.

After the apocalypse started, some animals evolved and began attacking humans. Birds were particularly susceptible to infection. In the original plot, the Southwest Base suffered a heavy blow from a mutant bird attack. During that attack, Cheng You’s brother—Cheng Ming, was infected with the zombie virus.

The brothers’ last meeting had been when Cheng You left for a mission in S City. 

By the time Cheng Ming regained his memory and returned from the Hope Base, the Southwest Base had undergone significant changes. Cheng Ming was dead, and a new leader, an ability user surnamed Zhou, had taken over. He ruled over the base with an iron fist. Survivors were miserable and unable to leave the base easily.

The Southwest Base was the fruit of the Cheng family’s hard work. Cheng You knew of his brother’s wishes; he couldn’t just stand by and do nothing after he saw how the new leader of the base behaved. He gathered Cheng Ming’s former subordinates, devised a plan, and soon regained control of the base.

After Cheng Ming’s death, Cheng You changed into a different man. He became increasingly dark and cold. There was not even a trace of his former self in him anymore.

This time, their return to the base coincided with the time of the mutant bird attack. Jing Zhao realised that, with Cheng You’s warning, Cheng Ming seemed to have prepared in advance. A month earlier, he had communicated with the construction department to create the ‘Sky Net’, which was specifically designed to deal with mutant bird attacks.

The Sky Net relied on electricity. When mutant birds attacked, they only needed to activate the Sky Net, and any bird approaching the base would be instantly incinerated.

This time, it was Cheng You—not Jing Zhao, who had changed the plot.

Recently, Jing Zhao had been idle. Her research projects were progressing slowly, so she spent most of her time gardening and experimenting with cooking healthy and delicious meals.

She had taken over the cooking after Cheng You dismissed Aunt Qin. Jing Zhao didn’t know why, but she hadn’t seen Aunt Qin again. Cheng You had wanted to hire someone else, but Jing Zhao insisted that it wasn’t necessary. Having a servant felt outdated and inconvenient, and she assured Cheng You that she could manage their home well on her own.

For some reason, Cheng You agreed and didn’t hire anyone else.

Jing Zhao turned the plot of land downstairs into a garden, on which she planted a variety of vegetables and fruits. As long as she had the seeds, she could grow anything, though some crops didn’t fare well in the base’s climate and soil, resulting in less-than-ideal flavours.

She tried to improve the crops by exchanging ideas with other plant-based ability users. Occasionally, she helped at the base’s planting department. Because she had absorbed the plant-based ability user zombie’s crystal core, she might be the stronger plant-based ability user in the base right now. Her advanced plant-based ability significantly boosted yields.

Life went on, uneventfully but steadily. Despite Cheng You’s occasional bouts of madness, the apocalypse didn’t seem so bad.

Cheng You’s madness was genuine. Sometimes, Jing Zhao would wake up to find herself in a different place, like a car or an unfamiliar house. 

Cheng You would leave her there while he went out to hunt zombies.

The cold smile he often had on his face while killing those zombies was quite eerie.

The most outrageous incident was when Cheng You took her back to City A, to the underground lab where it all started. 

He claimed it was a nostalgic trip, but Jing Zhao didn’t believe him.

Sure enough, after clearing the lab table and placing her on it, Cheng You started undressing her. Jing Zhao knew he was becoming unhinged again.

The cold lab table felt uncomfortable against her skin, and his heated kisses left her breathless. In a moment of uncontrollable passion, she bit his shoulder. After that, she hoarsely asked, “Why here?”

Cheng You gently kissed her forehead in post-coital affection. His deep voice was filled with satisfaction as he said, “Zhaozhao, did you know? Pleasure built on pain is unforgettable.”

Since he couldn’t forget it, then neither could she.

Jing Zhao, who was still breathless, murmured, “What pain… It’s so cold.”

Cheng You lifted her and wrapped her in his arms. Inwardly, he was suppressing his turbulent emotions. He whispered softly in her ear, “Baby, remember this feeling. No one else can give you this, except me.”

TL/N:

In their ‘betrayal’ conversation, Jing Zhao knew that Cheng You was thinking of betrayal in a ‘kill-me-to-get-my-ability’ sense, but steered it towards the ‘cheating’ sense. It’s one of the points in this story that made me smile while reading it =)