Apocalypse: I'm the Landlady of the Refuge

Their voices intertwined and overlapped, echoing in the quiet room.

Ji Wanwan’s heart became chaotic again.

Seeing the girl shyly look away, Qi Hao couldn’t help but lift his hand to gently touch her soft hair, as affectionate as when they were children.

"Wanwan, what grandma said is also what I want to say. I know you have high ambitions and dreams, and you’re not willing to talk about love and relationships for now, so you don’t need to respond to my feelings. You can just go and do what you like, and not be bounded by my emotions. You only need to know that there will always be a Brother Qi Hao behind you to support you, and that will be enough..."

Ji Wanwan’s face turned red, and her heart was in turmoil. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

Although she had always been aware of Qi Hao’s feelings for her, this was the first time he had expressed them so candidly.

In the past, even though Qi Hao’s family was better off than the Ji Family, he always felt inferior in front of the girl he loved, Ji Wanwan.

He always thought he wasn’t perfect enough, and Ji Wanwan was too perfect.

In front of such a perfect girl, he didn’t know what he could do to be worthy of her.

So he just stayed by Ji Wanwan’s side as the boy-next-door, capturing her attention with his extravagant ways, but never daring to confess his true feelings.

Then the apocalypse came, and Ji Wanwan became even more capable. More and more people admired her, and each of them was outstanding. Qi Hao’s feelings of inferiority grew, and the love he repressed could only be buried deeper in his heart, afraid to be confessed to Ji Wanwan even though his love was evident to the entire world.

During the battle of the Baize Union, he thought he was surely going to die. Before his consciousness faded, he was filled with many regrets, among which the most intolerable ones were leaving his grandmother alone and not having confessed his feelings to Ji Wanwan.

He didn’t know how much time had passed when his consciousness gradually began to gather again, yet the sensation was erratic, like a boat adrift on the sea, rising and falling.

When it was weak, he could only hear chaotic noises by his ear, as if he was underwater and the source of the sound was above the water, always muffled and unclear. When he tried hard to listen or think, his consciousness would dissipate in an instant, plunging him back into unconsciousness.

When it was strong, he could think, could hear others’ words clearly, could feel the warmth of the sun, but he was still unable to wake up.

Every time this happened, he would think a lot.

Was he still alive?

Where was he now?

How is grandma doing?

Did Wanwan and the others win?

If he could see them again, he would never make grandma angry again, he would care for grandma more, look after her, and he must confess his feelings to Wanwan, leaving no regrets!

These thoughts whirled in his mind repeatedly until one day, he felt someone touch his body.

He was shocked, wanting to move, to open his eyes, to speak, but couldn’t do anything.

Suddenly, he heard the voice that haunted his dreams.

"Brother Qi Hao, I miss you..."

At that moment, Qi Hao in the chaos had a strong urge to wake up.

And from then on, he had more and more lucid moments, hearing Wanwan’s voice more and more, until tonight.

Grandma’s appearance made him feel incredibly guilty.

He had yet to fulfill his duties as a grandson; how could he leave his elderly grandmother to face the horrors of the apocalypse alone?

Then came Zhou Kai.

Good lad!

Taking advantage of his coma, here he is trying to steal his girl again!

You little rascal, sneakier than Xu Siming! Even playing the emotional card!

Uncle can bear it, but he cannot!

He had only been ranting in his mind, never expecting to suddenly feel a tearing pain.

This pain made him lose all ability to think for a moment.

Damn, why does it hurt so much?

As the soreness in his throat became clearer and other sensations slowly returned, Qi Hao realized he could control his body.

He opened his eyes eagerly, only to be dazzled by the bright light that made his eyes ache, and he closed them fiercely again.

The light spots hurt by the sunshine were uncomfortable before his eyes, yet Qi Hao smiled silently.

He wasn’t dead!

He wasn’t dead!!

Hahaha! He wasn’t dead!!

Outside the room, Zhou Kai was still sharing his own story with Wanwan, but at this moment, Qi Hao’s heart settled down.

Someone who had been dead once, now his inner strength was greater than at any previous time.

Similarly, at this moment, he was also crystal clear about what he truly wanted.

In this terrible apocalypse, as long as his grandma and Wanwan were safe, he would have no regrets.

...

Qi Hao’s earnest confession indeed caught Ji Wanwan off guard.

But upon reflection, it made sense.

She always understood Qi Hao; it’s just that she was reluctant to think about it thoroughly.

Seeing the openness in Qi Hao’s eyes, she suddenly relaxed and couldn’t help but smile lightly, "Thank you, Brother Qi Hao..."

If the day ever came when this apocalypse ended, maybe she would seriously consider her feelings.

Seeing her smile, Qi Hao smiled too.

Suddenly, Ji Wanwan’s smile vanished, and her eyes narrowed dangerously, "Brother Qi Hao, tell me honestly, how much of what I said did you hear while you were unconscious?"

A lump formed in Qi Hao’s throat.

Well, accidentally he had revealed some key information.

Wanwan was coming to question him now.

Qi Hao, feeling slightly guilty, held out his hand in a plea for mercy, "Just... a little bit..."

"A little bit??" Ji Wanwan squinted the corners of her eyes and moved closer to Qi Hao, flexing her hands in preparation.

Qi Hao shrank his neck and laughed nervously, "Ha ha, haha, really, just a little bit, I swear I’m not lying or I’m a pup!"

Remembering that Qi Hao had been near death and was still very weak, Ji Wanwan, who was just joking, chuckled twice, "Alright, alright, I’ll trust you this time."

She looked at her wristwatch for the time, "Oh, there’s only half an hour left until it’s time to expand the base. Brother Qi Hao, do you want to see grandma and eat something?"

Qi Hao nodded slightly, "Okay."

Both of them stood up together and walked outside the private space, "Brother Qi Hao, if you want to find me later, just wait for me in the private space. I’ll come back after I’m done and take you to the new residence."

Qi Hao pondered for a moment, "After I’ve seen Grandma, I’ll go to the restaurant to find you. Now that I’m awake, I should contribute to the base. I’ll do whatever I can."

Ji Wanwan curled the corners of her mouth and nodded with a smile, "That works too~"

So, when Qi Hao arrived at the restaurant, he saw that both, the members of the small squad and some friends who had arrived at the base later, were gathered there.

When they saw him, everyone rose to their feet in unison.

Ming Jing raised his hand, and countless flowers appeared out of thin air, surrounding Qi Hao.

Right behind was Xu Siming, who conjured up numerous snowflakes fluttering around Qi Hao.

Then came Zhou Kai, as fireworks burst around him with every snap of his fingers.

Accompanying these was the sound of Ji Xing’s metal clanging, "ding ling gang lang."

The scene was chaotic, almost like a frenzied dance of demons.

But it was this group of clowns that brought tears to Qi Hao’s eyes.

Ji Wanwan stepped forward and gave Qi Hao a big hug, "Brother Qi Hao..."

Together, everyone shouted in unison, "Welcome back to the team!!!"