Chapter Ninety-Five: Kiss Me

“Baby, you’ve lost weight.” Zhao Qiang gently stroked Peng Sha’s silky hair. After countless hardships over several months, he had finally reunited with her today. Reflecting on the journey they had endured, a flood of emotions overwhelmed him.

Faces both familiar and strange—Li Hao, Wei Tao, Li Zihan, Li Zixin, Zhang Yongming, Zou Lin—flashed through Zhao Qiang’s mind. Some had perished, others still stood by his side. Since the great catastrophe, every day had been a battle of blood and fire, loyalty and betrayal, kindness and cruelty, hope and despair. Humanity’s history had reached a pinnacle where all that was beautiful had been elevated, yet all that was ugly had been grotesquely magnified.

“Hmm.” Peng Sha nodded, her delicate face streaked with tears, stirring an inexplicable pang of tenderness in Zhao Qiang’s heart.

“Pig, you’ve lost weight too,” Peng Sha murmured. She had almost given up hope, but when despair gripped her most tightly, Zhao Qiang had suddenly appeared before her. What followed felt like a roller coaster, her heart soaring and plunging in turns.

“Baby, I’m back. I promise you, I will never leave you again, okay?” Zhao Qiang tenderly wiped away her tears.

Tears streaming, Peng Sha nodded vigorously. It had been nearly half a year since Zhao Qiang’s departure. During those months, she endured untold suffering. Without him by her side, she had forgotten when to eat or sleep, drifting through each day in a haze.

Because of a deceit involving work, Zhao Qiang had been forced to leave Changsha. Just as the clouds began to part and his future looked promising, the catastrophe struck, shattering the world. Peng Sha never imagined she would see her “Pig” again in this lifetime. Yet, in her darkest hour, he appeared.

Fate had been turbulent. Peng Sha never expected to meet Zhao Qiang under such dire circumstances. Li Zixin had betrayed Uncle Wang’s trust and later used Peng Sha to threaten Zhao Qiang. All she had thought of was how to escape Li Zixin’s grasp. But to her shock, a comrade who had traveled with her husband turned traitor at the crucial moment, and for such a shameful reason.

But why had those who betrayed her husband now saved her? Why was Zhao Qiang lying here alive? Why was there no hostility in anyone’s eyes? Questions surged like a tide, nearly overwhelming Peng Sha.

...

Unconsciously, they talked for a long, long time. Outside, the sky had darkened.

Listening to Zhao Qiang recount his recent ordeals, Peng Sha felt as if she were on a roller coaster again. She never imagined that the boy she remembered—too timid to kill even a half-dead chicken—would now fight alongside soldiers every day in search of her.

Hearing how Zhao Qiang and the rescue team had been trapped in a stairwell, forcing an unarmed man to face zombies with a gun, Peng Sha could vividly picture the carnage.

She could scarcely imagine Wei Tao’s brutal training. Zhao Qiang, who used to be out of breath climbing six flights of stairs like a windmill, had endured it all until the end: a ten-kilometer cross-country march with heavy loads. She had no idea how heavy 40 kilograms was, but since she herself weighed just 45, she thought, “For him to carry me 10 kilometers? That’s impossible! He must be exaggerating!” She recalled how, back in school, when he tried to carry her back to the dormitory, he was exhausted after barely 100 meters. It had to be a boast. Otherwise, how had he not lost a single pound of that flesh?

Mentioning Li Zixin’s betrayal made Peng Sha’s heart sink again. She had witnessed his ruthless cruelty firsthand—decisive, cold-hearted, and merciless. That such a man was a police officer shocked her. She shuddered remembering the scene in the small shop where someone’s throat had been slashed but they somehow survived. The fierce battle in the supermarket further tightened her chest with dread.

There was Cai Jiashu, Chen Ergou, comrades who had fought shoulder to shoulder with Zhao Qiang. After graduating from university, Zhao Qiang had cut off contact with classmates, isolating himself in a small circle with virtually no friends—except one he met in an internet cafe, where they spent their days gaming. Was this still the Zhao Qiang she knew? Now he had a band of brothers willing to risk life and death for one another. For these unrelated souls, they charged into battle without hesitation, bound by trust. The once untrusting Zhao Qiang now guarded his comrades’ backs, entrusting his life to them with but a glance.

Zombie bungee jumps, fierce battles on Lushan Mountain, terrifying sandworms—each harrowing encounter sounded almost casual coming from Zhao Qiang’s lips. Except for the Wise One, Peng Sha had seen nearly every type of zombie: the hulking Smashers, the ferocious Zombie Dogs. The sheer numbers, the relentless attacks—if not for brave warriors sacrificing themselves to hold the rear, and a stroke of luck, Peng Sha knew she wouldn’t be sitting here listening to Zhao Qiang’s stories.

“Shh.” Peng Sha raised a finger to gently press against Zhao Qiang’s lips, her phoenix eyes fixed on him. “Pig, will you ever leave me again?”

Zhao Qiang shook his head, his gaze equally tender as he looked at the woman he had yearned for day and night. It felt like a dream, yet it was so real. “Baby, I promise you, we’ll never be apart again.”

“Come here, let me hold you.” The warm moment was broken by Zhao Qiang’s sudden words. Peng Sha was momentarily stunned before his hands pulled her close. With a soft whimper, she nestled into his embrace.

She greedily inhaled that familiar scent—a faint trace of tobacco mixed in. His chest was still so broad, still irresistibly mischievous. All of it made Peng Sha finally realize: this was no dream. This was him—her Pig—returned.

“Kiss me!” Peng Sha lifted her face, closing her eyes.

A long, sweet kiss. Peng Sha felt as if she might melt. All the pain, the fears, the bitterness of so long a time vanished with that kiss. Familiar presence, familiar scent—at that moment, time seemed to stand still, disaster forgotten, breath forgotten, everything forgotten.