Pregnant During An Apocalypse [BL]

Chapter 222: Chapter 222 - What kind of a person is he?

Zei hadn’t stopped talking since they left the hallway.

”...and then you know what, I turned around and realized my bag was gone. Gone. Like—poof. Just vanished!”

Hana walked beside him, her fingers laced behind her back as she half-listened, her eyes casually sweeping over the bleak hallway walls, already stained from dampness and fingerprints.

”And I’m telling you, I was about to panic when I saw this scrawny kid—maybe eight or nine, okay?—running away with it like he was in some spy movie. I shouted, but the brat ran. Like full sprint.”

”Uh huh,” Hana mumbled, more focused on the crowd thinning near the cafeteria.

”So obviously I chased him. And then he ducked into the old maintenance shaft. The nerve. And when I finally caught him, the kid bit me. Bit. Look!”

He shoved his hand up at her, proudly displaying a faint red mark on the side of his palm like a war wound.

”Can you believe it? I mean, sure, he probably hasn’t eaten in days but still—biting?! What am I, jerky?!”

”Hmm...”

Zei squinted at her, sensing the shift. ”Are you even listening?”

”I was. Mostly.” Her gaze had turned sharper, more distant now.

The cafeteria was gloomy. The faint light bulbs overhead flickered weakly, barely illuminating the sea of tired faces slumped over steel tables. A few lanterns were strung near the serving station, but they only cast long shadows against the crumbling walls.

The smell of thin congee and overcooked cabbage filled the air. People barely spoke. Only the scraping of metal spoons and the occasional cough interrupted the silence.

Hana’s brows knitted.

Most of the people here were men—soldiers, scavengers, a few older survivors. The few women scattered between them were silent, hunched over their bowls, mechanical in their movements. Their hair was dull, skin gaunt, eyes empty. Like ghosts eating out of habit rather than hunger.

Something about it all made Hana’s stomach twist uncomfortably.

She hated the silence most of all. Silence meant acceptance. Silence meant giving up.

Then her eyes landed on a familiar figure near the far end of the cafeteria.

A tall man with long dark lashes and pale skin. His features were too elegant, too clean to blend in with the weary crowd. He sat alone, silently sipping from his bowl, and yet the space around him seemed untouchable. No one dared sit close. A few younger men whispered behind their hands, throwing quick glances his way, but none approached.

”Qui Yue...” Hana whispered under her breath.

She smirked to herself. ”I guess being that handsome has its cons too.”

Without asking, she grabbed Zei’s wrist and tugged him toward that isolated table.

”Eh? What? Why are we moving—Hana—wait, what if they start serving seconds and we lose our spot?!”

”You already have your food, and you’re eating air.”

”Air tastes better than that sludge, thank you!”

Hana ignored him and planted herself right across from Qui Yue. ”Mind if we sit?”

Qui Yue looked up, his expression unreadable as always. There was something in his gaze—detached, cold, but not unkind.

”Suit yourself,” he said, voice soft but distant.

She plopped down, gesturing for Zei to sit beside her.

”So, how’s your special room, huh? I heard you got assigned one all for yourself. Meanwhile, I have to share a bunk with this one.” She nudged Zei with her elbow. ”He snores like a pig.”

”Hey!” Zei frowned deeply. ”Pigs sound cute.”

”That’s what you’re offended about?” Hana clicked her teeth, amused. ”Not the fact that I said you snore like a malfunctioning generator?”

Zei huffed. ”Rude. I’m just a victim of the stress of the times. My body reacts.”

Qui Yue blinked slowly, gaze shifting between them before settling on his congee again.

”...Sounds peaceful,” he said, his tone so dry that Hana nearly choked on a laugh.

She leaned forward a little, elbows on the table. ”Do people always avoid sitting near you, or is this just a recent development?”

Qui Yue didn’t answer immediately. He stirred his spoon lazily, eyes fixed on the pale liquid in his bowl.

”...It’s easier this way,” he said at last.

Something about the way he said it made Hana’s smile falter just slightly.

But she didn’t push. Not yet.

Instead, she leaned back in her chair and glanced sideways at Zei, who was sulking into his congee like it had personally offended him.

”Besides,” she said lightly, ”who needs peace when you can have pig snores huh?”

Zei glared at her. ”You two are lucky I’m emotionally stable.”

Qui Yue’s lips quirked—just slightly. A ghost of a smile.

Hana twirled her spoon idly in her half-eaten bowl of congee, her gaze flickering up as another figure approached the table. Lu Zhi—tousled hair, sleeves too long for his arms, and a perpetually curious look—plopped himself down beside Zei with a soft sigh.

”Phew. I thought I’d never get through the queue. You’d think surviving the end of the world would earn you a fast pass or something.”

Zei smirked. ”You missed the gourmet buffet. We’re having flavorless despair today.”

Lu Zhi rolled his eyes, then glanced around the table, noticing Qui Yue quietly observing them again, still in his own distant world. Lu Zhi gave a small, respectful nod. ”Hi.”

”Hi,” Qui Yue replied simply.

But Hana didn’t return Lu Zhi’s greeting right away. She was watching him—more specifically, watching his face. There was a youthful brightness to it, even in the gloom of the cafeteria. She tilted her head, thoughtful, then leaned in a little.

”So... your brother.”

Lu Zhi blinked, spoon halfway to his mouth. ”My brother?”

”Yeah. What kind of person is he?”

Her tone was casual, but the intent behind it was anything but. Zei seemed to sense it too, going quiet as he munched his overly soggy rice crackers.

Lu Zhi furrowed his brows. ”You mean Shao?”

”Mhm.”

Hana tried not to sound too intense, but this wasn’t idle curiosity. She knew Shao had once been the right-hand man of Muchen, her favorite star turned real-life fellow survivor. He was always there in the background of photos—unflinching, poised, shielding Muchen from rabid fans and camera flashes alike.

She had seen him in tabloids—always so perfectly put together, with that sharp jaw and eyes that never seemed to blink.

But seeing a person in glossy photographs and knowing who they really are were two completely different things.

Especially when someone like Jai was involved.

Jai... her annoying, sweet, always-there older brother figure who had made her feel safe when the world was falling apart. Who always snuck her extra food rations when she was too tired to wait in line. Who teased her, looked after her, and ruffled her hair like she was still seven.

If Jai was going to be with someone—truly with them—then Hana needed to know. She needed to trust that person.

Lu Zhi seemed to sense the seriousness in her gaze.

He lowered his spoon and leaned back, expression growing softer. ”My brother... he’s complicated.”

Hana listened closely.

”He doesn’t talk much. Not really. But he’s the type that always notices things others don’t. Like when I used to fake being sick to get out of school? He’d catch on before even mom did.”

Zei chuckled quietly.

”And he acts cold, yeah, but he’s not. He’s just...” Lu Zhi frowned, searching for the right words. ”He keeps everything inside. He doesn’t like burdening anyone. Like, if his whole world was falling apart, he’d still ask you if you’re okay.”

Hana’s lips parted slightly, taken aback by the unexpected tenderness in his words.

”He’s... careful with people. Like he’s scared of hurting them. Or being hurt. But when he loves someone—really loves them—I think he’d go to the ends of the world for them. Even if he never says it out loud.”

Silence fell around the table for a moment.

Even Qui Yue, usually unreadable, looked faintly contemplative.

Zei muttered, ”That’s deep, man.”

Lu Zhi laughed softly. ”Sorry. I don’t talk about him much. But... I think he’s a good person. He’s just... scared of how much he feels things. He hides it behind his work. Behind routines and distance. But if Jai is with him...” Lu Zhi’s eyes met Hana’s. ”Then your friend has someone who will treat him like glass. Like something precious.”

Hana swallowed. Her chest felt a little too tight, her eyes stinging just faintly.

”Thanks,” she said, quietly.

Hana looked down at her bowl, then up again, steeling herself.

”Then I guess I’ll just have to make sure your brother knows Jai has people who will break his legs if he doesn’t treat him right.”

Zei choked on his congee. Lu Zhi burst into laughter.

Even Qui Yue cracked a faint grin.

And somewhere far off in another part of the shelter, oblivious to the discussion, Shao still held that pillow in his arms like it was the last real thing left in his world.