Sheng Feng and the others continued to move forward, looking for a suitable place to stop. They decided to settle in the suburbs.
One day, the convoy was stationed again. Ding Shiang and Li Ye both went to scout around for any suitable places, while Chen Min was responsible for cooking.
She rummaged through the supplies and surprisingly found a can of fresh, canned fruit. Chen Min subconsciously wanted to take the can and send it to Qing Yun. She laughed bitterly. Although she was very clear about the memory of the psychological suggestion given to her at the beginning, she was still influenced by it and was very loyal to Qing Yun.
Qing Yun wasted a few seeds and planted them by himself, but they didn't feel the least bit wrong. Instead, they watched Qing Yun cherish the plants that were almost ruined, and they couldn't help but care.
Nevertheless, Li Ye and Ding Shiang both wanted to help Qing Yun take care of those pots, but Qing Yun was unwilling to take others' help.
With these thoughts, Chen Min did not think there was anything wrong with Sheng Feng's approach. This was the end of times, and it was the most normal thing for the weak to submit to the strong. Sheng Feng also promised to guide their abilities and suppress them by force if something happens. There was nothing else to say.
Chen Min was in a daze. Then, she saw Sheng Feng walking out of the car, and she subconsciously bowed her head and said, "Dinner will be ready in a while..."
Now, Chen Min's few feelings of affection for Sheng Feng have long since worn away because of his cold attitude. Although Sheng Feng is too indifferent, it seems that all his tenderness has been given to Qing Yun alone.
Sometimes Chen Min even felt that Sheng Feng was more like the one who received the psychological hint compared to the five of them.
"Have Li Ye and Ding Shiang come back? When they come back, the five of you come to my car together. Qing Yun has something to ask you." Sheng Feng said in a deep voice.
Chen Min responded. She did not know if she was overthinking, but she felt that Sheng Feng's tone was not very good and seemed to carry some unspoken danger.
When Li Ye and Ding Shiang came back, they walked to Sheng Feng's car together. They thought Qing Yun would give them some task, but once they entered the vehicle, they just saw the youth sitting in the back, fiddling with the several pots of plants.
These plants were a few pots of berries. Unexpectedly, they emerged from the contaminated soil used by Qing Yun, and there was no trace of mutation at all. Now, these pots of berries are fully developed and red, looking extremely pleasing.
The young man, who was mentally only five years old, looked incredibly soft, and when he saw Chen Min and the others enter, he pushed the flower pot in his hand towards Chen Min.
"It's for Chen Min."
Chen Min was stunned, looking at the red and bright berries in the pot, completely unresponsive.
Although the team has already received some seeds, the seed of this berry is difficult to cultivate. Even Li Ye can not guarantee that the planted ones will not be a mutated variety. Therefore, this berry is a rare type whether it is in this team or the whole post-apocalyptic world.
Chen Min and the others know how valuable these are to Qing Yun. He moves them around every day, gives them sunlight, waters them, and devotes himself almost entirely to the cultivation of these plants.
Chen Min really did not expect that Qing Yun would give her this berry that he treasured beyond measure.
"I...mine?" Chen Min asked, pointing to herself. She looked up and met the child's clear eyes, which clearly conveyed a feeling of gratitude.
The child pursed his lips and seemed a little worried that she would not accept. His white fingers were restlessly sliding on the rough surface of the flower pot.
Chen Min was completely frozen.
Having not faced such gratitude in the end times for so long, Chen Min didn't even know how to react.
Chen Min even wondered why the child would give her something. Just because they were under the psychological suggestion to provide him with care? Just for their false emotions?
How ridiculous, it is normal for the weak to submit to the strong, and yet in return, they receive the child's most sincere thanks.
The thirsty and withered heart seemed like it had suddenly soaked into a sweet spring. Chen Min both wanted to laugh and cry and wanted to rub the child smiling at her into her arms.
Just because of this little kindness, the child spends so many days working hard and earnestly to prepare gifts for them to repay those false emotions?
It was…silly.
The child's sincere gaze shattered the deepest hidden trace of unwillingness in her heart. Chen Min finally understood why Sheng Feng was extremely affectionate to Qing Yun.
Because what this child can give is precisely the least valuable, yet the most precious and rare things in this last world.
Chen Min's hands were almost trembling as she accepted the flower pot from the child. She suddenly felt that she had no face to receive Qing Yun's gift and that false feelings should not be exchanged for such sincerity.
Qing Yun watched her take the flower pot and once again held it up and handed it to the others.
"This one is for Li Ye."
"This one is for Ding Shiang."
"This one is for...."
These four big men were at a loss for words when faced with Qing Yun's gift. After a long time, they have almost forgotten how to give back to others' sincere feelings.
Ding Shiang, who had once turned a blind eye to Qing Yun's distress, rubbed his rough, cracked, and dirty palms on his pants several times before carefully accepting the red plant from the child's hands.
Chen Min no longer remembers what kind of mood they were in when they got out of Sheng Feng's car holding the flower pot and how they fell into sleep at night. When she woke up in the middle of the night, Chen Min still kept that happy and soft feeling as if she was stepping on a cloud.
What woke Chen Min up was the faint sound coming from outside the car. She carefully walked to the car window to look over and found it was Ding Shiang crying.
The big man held the flower pot in his arms and cried. Seemingly sensing someone behind him, Ding Shiang paused for a moment before the sound of his crying voice rang out.
"I'm really not a f*cking human! I just watched him being called out like that in the beginning..."
"I didn't expect, just a little, just gave him a little help, just a little good to him, he...gave me this...thing, I..."
There were two more muffled sounds, which seemed to be the sound of a man's fist smashing into his chest.
Chen Min slowly retreated, letting the man's regretful sorrow hide in the darkness. In the end times, everyone has their secrets. Chen Min did not hear Ding Shiang talk about what he did with Qing Yun before, but she knew that such a thing would not happen again.
All five people tacitly agreed not to ask why Qing Yun could grow normal plants with contaminated soil.
The atmosphere in this team is also quietly changed. It is no longer a team formed randomly to survive, and a shallow and light warmth slowly spreads.
The child gave gifts to the five people in the team, but Sheng Feng was not very happy.
As soon as he woke up the next morning, Qing Xiaoyun found that Sheng Feng still had a stinky face. He couldn't help but tug on his sleeve with uncertainty.
Sheng Feng looked at him with a stern face, clamped his hands around the child's waist, and carried him into his arms: "In the future, you are not allowed to give the things you got to others."
Sheng Feng has been worried about the exposure of Qing Yun's ability. After all, when the five pots of regular berries grew from the contaminated soil, it was a complete confirmation of Sheng Feng's suspicions, so he has been limiting Qing Yun's use of this ability.
He was sensitive to the fact that this ability might be harmful to the child's body. Recently, he didn't even let the child supply water, but he didn't expect Qing Yun to be stubborn enough to give the five pots of plants to Chen Min and the others.
Thinking about when the first pot of berries was planted, the delighted look of these five people made a deep impression on Qing Yun.
But Qing Xiaoyun did not understand Sheng Feng's words very well, and he did not notice the abnormality of his ability. He just looked at Sheng Feng sideways quietly, and then suddenly, as if he understood something, he asked: "Is it because I did not give it to you that you are angry?"
Sheng Feng was stunned, not expecting the child to ask this.
However, the next second the child's action made him stunned.
Qing Xiaoyun wrapped his arms around his neck and jumped into Sheng Feng's arms. His soft and serious voice rang in Sheng Feng's ears, "All of mine are Sheng Feng's!"
These words hit Sheng Feng's heart hard, causing his heart to soften into a puddle of water instantly, and the trace of sourness that was hidden extremely deep in his heart disappeared without a trace.
"You are really..." Sheng Feng cried and laughed as he hugged the child in front of him.
Before Sheng Feng finished his sentence, he felt the child's aura in his arms, which was initially soft and sweet, change. A coldness that made Sheng Feng's heart distressed and intoxicated slowly spread out.
It's Qing Yun.
Sheng Feng was startled but did not let go of the youth and instead tightened his arms.
The adult Qing Yun has not appeared for some days, and this is the first time that Sheng Feng has seen him in a while.
Thoughts surged wildly. This unspeakable stirring has always overwhelmed Sheng Feng, but he didn't want to let go this time.
He pressed himself to rub the youth, who would drive him crazy whether he was there or not because the young man's disappearance these days brought a kind of fear to Sheng Feng that was both familiar and unfamiliar.
What if...one day, the adult Qing Yun disappears?
"Everything I have is also yours, ok?" Sheng Feng rubbed against Qing Yun's neck and murmured out softly in his ear.
"All for me?" Qing Yun laughed lightly, and a memory flashed in his eyes. Once, in a certain world, this man also hugged him in this position and asked him a similar question with a smile.
But in this world, this man's image has suddenly changed in Qing Yun's heart. He is no longer just a crazy suitor of Qing Yun's, but has crept into his childhood memories without his consent, acting as the only ray of light in his gray and endless childhood.
He was tall and reliable, giving enough comfort to the insecure Qing Xiaoyun. It made it difficult for Qing Yun, who had hastily accepted this memory, to deal with this man's relationship with him.
Noticing Sheng Feng's love for the adult him, Qing Yun even felt a little embarrassed.
"Why should I keep someone around who has ill intentions towards me?"
Qing Yun snorted and looked away, hiding the discomfort in his eyes. In his memories of close to ten thousand years, this was the first time Qing Yun had encountered such a situation, where this man he had slept with for several worlds suddenly turned into a father-like figure of his childhood.
This impression with Qing Xiaoyun emerged little by little and carved traces in Qing Yun's mind, making it difficult for him to ignore.
If the two of them got along in the same way as in the previous worlds, Qing Yun could tease this man without a care in the world. He could treat him coldly or spoil him depending on his mood, and watch this man become unable to help himself because of him.
But now, this man really provoked his heart. However, Qing Yun is still a bit restrained.
Hearing Qing Yun pierce his heart's hidden desires, Sheng Feng stiffened but still did not let go of his hand.
He looked up seriously at Qing Yun, and his eyes were surprisingly firm as never before: "Yes, I have a bad heart for you, I just have a bad heart for the adult you...."
After saying that, Sheng Feng lowered his head and gently touched Qing Yun's lips. His dry and peeling lips met the youth's soft and tender lips and rubbed the faint pink into red.
Qing Yun did not expect Sheng Feng's action at all. This man has always taken an evasive attitude towards Qing Yun in this world, so he did not expect this time to be the opposite. Qing Yun was surprised and subconsciously dodged, but the back of his head was held by the man's big hand, blocking his retreat.
This kiss was light but the deepest kiss that Qing Yun had ever experienced, almost as if it had landed gently on his heart.
"When you are five years old, I wanted to protect you, to love you like a father, to give you a home, and to give you the best life. But all this still can't hide the fact that I like you as an adult." Sheng Feng pressed his lips against the youth's and confessed with unusual seriousness. He was indeed torn about this emotion, and even once, could not accept such a self.
But Sheng Feng still decided to say it. The disappearance of the youth these days made him afraid that one day he would no longer have the opportunity to reveal his heart.
Qing Yun looked at Sheng Feng's eyes in a daze. These eyes not only carried the same love and affection as the previous worlds but were mixed with affection, doting, and a hint of deep depression.
"I just can't restrain the desire to kiss you, to hold you, to….."
The man's words caught Qing Yun by surprise, making his ears red. To hear the man in his memory whom he was attached to and admired, say such explicit words in front of him, Qing Yun, who has lived for tens of thousands of years, was furious and immediately slapped the other.
"Pervert!"
Sheng Feng's already red face was slapped even redder by Qing Yun, but his hands were still tightly wrapped around Qing Yun, not giving the slightest chance to leave.
"Captain!"
Someone's voice suddenly sounded outside the car window, just interrupting the awkward atmosphere inside the car.
Lowering the car window, Ding Shiang and Li Ye both scratched their heads and said, "Captain, there is a playground not far away, should we take Xiaoyun to have a look?"
Playground? Xiaoyun?
Qing Yun's already angry brain "buzzed" more powerfully at this time. He was excited, and then the five-year-old Qing Xiaoyun emerged again.