Pregnant During An Apocalypse [BL]

Chapter 108: Chapter 108 - Vain hope

Yunfeng stared at his phone, his fingers brushing over the cracked screen like it was some kind of lifeline.

His chest felt heavy, like a boulder was sitting right on top of it, crushing him slowly.

He couldn’t stop thinking about how stupid he’d been to pull out that damn SIM card.

Why had he done it? Why hadn’t he waited? Why hadn’t he at least left some kind of explanation, some kind of warning about what was coming?

He’d just... cut everything off. Like an idiot.

He flopped back onto his bed, the mattress creaking under his weight, and held the phone above his face, staring at the blank screen like it might magically light up with a text from Muchen. Just one text. Just one word. That’s all he wanted. But no. Nothing. Not a single damn thing.

Days had blurred together in a haze of sleepless nights and endless naps. He’d lost track of how long it had been since he’d last heard Muchen’s voice, since he’d last seen his face.

The ache in his chest had dulled a little, but it was still there, a constant reminder of what he’d lost.

He rolled over, his face squishing into the pillow, and peered out the window. The sun was setting again. Or was it rising? He couldn’t tell anymore.

”How many days has it been?” he muttered to himself, his voice hoarse from disuse. He didn’t even know. He’d stopped counting.

The door creaked open, and Jai’s head popped in, his usual goofy grin plastered across his face. But the grin faltered as soon as he saw Yunfeng. His friend looked... awful. Like a shell of the person he used to be. Yunfeng’s cheeks were hollow, his eyes dull and lifeless, like someone had snuffed out the light inside him. Jai’s heart ached just looking at him.

”Yunfeng...” Jai started, his voice soft, almost hesitant. He stepped inside, closing the door behind him. ”You... uh...” He trailed off, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. He didn’t even know what to say.

Yunfeng forced a smile, the kind that didn’t reach his eyes, and sat up. ”Hey,” he said, his voice flat.

Jai frowned. He hated seeing Yunfeng like this. Hated it. He walked over and sat down on the edge of the bed, his hand reaching out to rest on Yunfeng’s shoulder. ”You... you look thin,” he said, his voice cracking a little.

Yunfeng shrugged, his eyes dropping back to his phone. ”Oh... I’m okay,” he mumbled, like he was trying to convince himself more than Jai.

”Yunfeng, you are *not* okay,” Jai said firmly, his grip tightening on Yunfeng’s shoulder.

Yunfeng let out a shaky laugh, his lips twitching into that fake smile again. ”I’m fine. I’m good.”

”No, you’re not,” Jai said, his voice breaking. Without thinking, he pulled Yunfeng into a hug, holding him tight. Yunfeng stiffened at first, but then he just... melted. His body went limp, and he leaned into Jai, his face buried in his friend’s shoulder.

”It’s okay to cry,” Jai whispered, his hand rubbing circles on Yunfeng’s back. ”Just cry. Curse. Scream. Do whatever you need to do. But you can’t keep holding it all in. You need to let it out. You need to move on.”

Yunfeng took a deep, shuddering breath, his fingers clutching at Jai’s shirt. ”I’m never falling in love again,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper.

Jai sighed, pulling back just enough to look Yunfeng in the eye. ”You shouldn’t say that. I know he hurt you, but you can’t just... shut yourself off like this. You can’t destroy your life because of him. Love again. There are so many good men out there.”

Yunfeng laughed, but it was a bitter, hollow sound. Tears welled up in his eyes, and he quickly looked away. ”There will be no one else,” he mumbled, his voice breaking.

Jai’s heart ached for his friend. He reached up, gently wiping away the stray tears that had escaped. ”Okay,” he said softly. ”Let’s not talk about that right now. I came here to invite you to our housewarming party.”

Yunfeng blinked, wiping his face aggressively with the back of his hand. ”Is it really a time for a party?” he asked, his voice tinged with disbelief.

Jai shrugged, a small smile tugging at his lips. ”My dad just wants everyone to know what’s going on and how we’re going to proceed through all this. It’s not just a party. It’s... a meeting. But we’ll have fun. Come on. Let’s not think about anything else for a while.”

Yunfeng hesitated, but eventually, he nodded. ”Okay...”

---

The housewarming party was that evening. Yunfeng reluctantly got dressed, pulling on a clean shirt and running a hand through his messy hair. He didn’t even recognize the person staring back at him in the mirror. He looked... empty.

When he went downstairs, his family was waiting for him. His mom’s face lit up when she saw him, but there was a worried glint in her eyes. ”You look so handsome,” she said, her voice soft.

Yunfeng forced a smile, gently taking her calloused hands in his. ”Thanks, Mom.”

”Let’s go. We shouldn’t be late,” she said, squeezing his hand before letting go.

They walked out of their village and headed toward the nearby one. It was about a ten-minute walk along the parameter walls, but by the time they reached the entry gate, they were all sweating.

”Jai never said it would be this far,” Hana muttered, wiping her brow with the back of her hand.

When they finally reached the house, they all stopped in their tracks, gaping at the massive structure in front of them.

”I thought our house was huge... Oh no, I was sorely mistaken. This is humongous,” Hana said, her voice filled with awe.

The mansion looked like something out of a fairy tale, but it was worn down, with moss and dirt covering the walls. The paint was peeling, and the garden was overrun with weeds. It was like a forgotten castle, abandoned and left to rot.

”Yunfeng!” Jai’s voice broke through the silence as he appeared at the door. He noticed them staring at the overgrown garden and cracked walls, and he grinned sheepishly. ”We barely had time to clean anything. We had to move a lot of things here in a short period of time,” he explained, ushering them inside.

Yunfeng walked up to him, his eyes narrowing. ”How many people moved here to this village?” he asked, his voice low.

The village they were in was an abandoned resort area, built long ago but left to decay because no one wanted to buy properties so far from the city. It was isolated, disconnected from everything.

Jai didn’t answer right away. Instead, he led them into the hall, and Yunfeng froze. The room was packed with hundreds of men, all chatting and laughing like they didn’t have a care in the world.

”Your father moved his whole regiment here,” Yunfeng said, his voice barely above a whisper.

”Yep,” Jai said, his grin widening.

Yunfeng frowned, his mind racing. ”What if the war is a hoax? What if I was lying? He believed my words so much...”

Jai’s expression turned serious. ”No, he got a secret message. Country A is really preparing a bio bomb to attack us. This isn’t a hoax. This is real. War is coming.”