After praising Su Ling, Shang Qi continued, "Although I had a good chance of returning from this trip and confessing everything to you."
"But I also worried that something unexpected might happen and I wouldn't be able to come back, so I used this method," Shang Qi's voice was steady and powerful, deep and magnetic, and pleasant to hear. "Everything that happened afterward proved my worries were valid."
"My original plan was to resolve everything in a week and return to your side, to be with you forever and earn your forgiveness. But in reality, I took too long; a week turned into several months. After the apocalypse, I was getting stronger, and they were getting stronger too."
Although Su Ling had not been involved, the thought of Shang Qi fighting so many people and so many weapons single-handedly for several months... she couldn't imagine how difficult, helpless, and desperate he must have felt alone.
But the belief that he wanted to return to her side had sustained him, driven him to persevere and fight.
Su Ling reached out and hugged Shang Qi's waist, her hands tightening slightly.
Shang Qi's eyes, which had turned red with memories, lost their crimson hue with this subtle movement from Su Ling, softening instead. He held her tighter, responding to her touch.
"I discovered the selfish intentions of Yang Guang and Han Xu. I gave you reminders and hints before I left, didn't you notice?" Shang Qi asked, inhaling the subtle fragrance of Su Ling's hair.
Su Ling shook her head in Shang Qi's embrace. "I think they were destroyed by Yang Guang and Han Xu long ago."
Shang Qi understood. "I won that battle and returned the way I came to find you. But when I got back, I didn't see the survivor base you had painstakingly built, but only endless zombies and desolate sand."
"A Ling, what exactly happened after I left?"
Su Ling did not want Shang Qi to know, so she said, "The past is like smoke and clouds, no longer important. What matters is this life; it's enough that we are both well in this life."
Some things, even if Su Ling didn't say them, Shang Qi could guess.
"It was my fault," Shang Qi hugged Su Ling tightly, his voice trembling slightly. "If I hadn't left, my A Ling also—"
"It wasn't," Su Ling lifted her head from Shang Qi's embrace, her gaze fixed on him. She shook her head. "It has nothing to do with you. Knowing that you were alive in the previous life, that you didn't die at the hands of Han Xu and Yang Guang, I am very happy."
This way, her remorse and guilt could be lessened a little.
"What happened next?" Su Ling looked at Shang Qi. "How was the world after that?"
"My belief was gone, and so was my will to live. I left to follow my belief," Shang Qi looked at Su Ling, his gaze warm. "Now, I am with my belief, walking the path of the apocalypse again."
Hearing this, Su Ling's eyes welled up, tears gathering in her eyes.
Shang Qi stared at Su Ling, who was on the verge of crying, and said, "No crying. If you cry, I'll kiss you."
Su Ling had been trying hard to hold back her tears, but as soon as Shang Qi spoke, she couldn't help but recall him choosing to end his life to follow her... her tears became uncontrollable, falling like pearls from a broken string.
Seeing Su Ling crying so sadly, Shang Qi's heart ached. He fumbled to wipe her tears, a stark contrast to his usual meticulous tenderness, now appearing clumsy and flustered.
Past events surged like a tide, overwhelming Su Ling. The more she cried, the more heartbroken she became, her tears falling relentlessly.
Shang Qi dotingly wiped her tears again, whispering softly, "My A Ling's hair has grown back, and she's become a little crybaby. I wasn't kidding when I said I'd kiss you."