Shang Qi did not look at Gu Shangse, but he grunted when Gu Shangse asked the question.
With a cigarette between his lips, Shang Qi rested his hand on the car window, leaning against it lazily. "Perhaps a half-brother, left to fend for himself."
It was rare for Shang Qi to crack such a joke.
Even though it was a joke, both of them knew it was highly likely not one.
This was because both Shang Qi and Gu Shangse saw a bond between them that people not sharing the same bloodline could not understand.
And they had sensed it the moment they met.
But at this moment, they did not wish to delve deeper into their identities, for it no longer mattered.
Gu Shangse flicked ash out the car window, pursed his lips around the yellow cigarette holder, and took a drag, slowly exhaling thin wisps of smoke. "Are you a重生者 too?"
Although Su Ling had denied being a重生者, Gu Shangse had already confirmed she was.
Therefore, when he asked Shang Qi, he used the word "too."
"I'm not," Shang Qi denied Gu Shangse's question, and just as he was about to take a puff, he added, "Or rather, I am."
Gu Shangse found this confusing. "What do you mean?"
Perhaps because of their blood relation, Shang Qi did not hide anything from Gu Shangse and told him truthfully, "Before meeting Ah Ling, my memories were of this life, and all my understanding was confined to this life."
"After I met Ah Ling, when she ran towards me and hugged me, my memories of the previous life rushed back like a tide. It was then that I remembered everything about Ah Ling from my past life."
Hearing this, Gu Shangse's doubts were resolved.
He had wondered, if Shang Qi had remembered everything like Su Ling from the start, why hadn't Shang Qi come to Su Ling's side?
Now that his doubts were cleared, he felt more at ease.
After a brief silence, Gu Shangse spoke, "What happened between you two in your past life?"
Though the topic was heavy, Gu Shangse still asked.
As an outsider, he was desperate to know.
Even if it was inappropriate, he just wanted to.
Gu Shangse's question stirred up deep scars and pain within Shang Qi. His Adam's apple bobbed slightly as he recounted, "In my past life, Ah Ling, Sister Na, and I fought alongside each other in the apocalypse for five years. I lived for five years in the apocalypse using the name and identity of Shang Qi. In the end, I couldn't escape being discovered and targeted."
"I didn't want the base Ah Ling had built to be targeted and destroyed. So, during a resource-gathering mission, I voluntarily teamed up with Yang Guang and Han Xu. I knew they wanted to eliminate me, so I used them to create the illusion of my death. Then, I left to attend to some personal matters."
His initial intention was always to prioritize Su Ling.
But he had underestimated the greed and ugliness of human hearts, and overlooked that just as he was growing in the apocalypse, so were others.
Gu Shangse listened quietly as Shang Qi narrated his past life.
"After faking my death, I rushed towards the main force that was coming to find me. It took me three months to clear all safety hazards. Originally, according to my calculations, a week would have been enough. But I miscalculated; I took too long." Shang Qi's Adam's apple bobbed again, and he exhaled heavily, his entire demeanor becoming somber.
"After three months, I returned, looking for Ah Ling. What greeted me was the castle Ah Ling had painstakingly built reduced to ashes, all her efforts destroyed. The survivors she had protected after the apocalypse had already become food for zombies. And my Ah Ling..."