Picking Up My Ex-Wife in the Apocalypse - Chapter 34

Hearing Si Ruxu say she loved her again felt like a lifetime ago. The palpitations of memory had been worn away by time; Si Qi felt her pulse remain steady and undisturbed, and she pursed her lips slightly.

She didn’t believe in Si Ruxu’s love, and she didn’t need it anymore.

“Do you really love me? Or is it just the novelty because I’ve grown stronger, because I’m not who I used to be?” Si Qi’s tone was tranquil. “I no longer have the desire to see your ‘proof,’ nor do I want to guess at your feelings.”

“Like you said, we can remain partners. We… are not a fit.”

At one point in time, they might have been made for each other, but things were different now. If the earth cracks open, perhaps the fissure might close after centuries, but the trajectory of its existence remains like a scar kissed by time. It can’t be erased; it’s always there.

Si Ruxu bit her pale lower lip softly. After a long while, she pleaded in a faint voice, “As partners… can I follow you?”

Just following was enough. Just staying within her line of sight. She didn’t dare ask for anything more. She would rather Si Qi hate her than be like this—distanced and dismissed like a total stranger.

Logically, bringing Si Ruxu along was convenient. She had Space, Healing, and Lightning attributes. Previously, her abilities were restricted within her core, but now her entire meridian system stored energy. She was a perfect shield and a perfect blade; no one in the apocalypse could touch her.

But Si Qi instinctively did not want to bring her. She didn’t want any further connection with Si Ruxu.

Back when she hated her most, she had imagined binding Si Ruxu to her side day and night, making her voice hoarse from sobbing, making her plead for mercy, making her whisper Si Qi’s name over and over, promising never to leave.

But times had changed. She looked at Si Ruxu—still beautiful, with long, thick lashes cast down, fragile as a butterfly about to take flight. She was pale, just like that rainy night, but Si Qi no longer felt the impulse to hold her tight.

“You have your own things to do, don’t you?” Si Qi shook her head, a clear refusal. She expected Si Ruxu to back down, but the woman spoke up urgently.

“I don’t!” After a few breaths, she added, “My tasks are finished. Nothing else matters. I want to follow you.”

Her only wish had been to end the apocalypse. She no longer had a squad, and she didn’t want to return to the Institute. She only wanted to be with Si Qi. There are too many missed chances and sudden partings in the end times; many people say goodbye with a smile in the morning, only for their death to be confirmed by the afternoon.

With so many variables now, even knowing Si Qi’s strength, she was terrified that any given meeting might be the last. She feared dying on the road where even a final glimpse of her loved one would be a luxury.

Si Qi still shook her head. “I don’t need you to follow me, do you understand? Some things I prefer to do alone. I only trust what I do myself. You being with me… it only causes me distress.”

Having said that, she didn’t look at Si Ruxu’s ashen face. She tore through space and teleported away.

*****

Her wounds were still untreated. She had no medicine, very little strength, and her energy had barely recovered. A wave of intense drowsiness surged over her after the teleportation.

Sensing something was wrong with her condition, she managed to find a safe, hidden spot and leaned into a corner. Clutching the last two energy crystals in her hand, she fell into a deep sleep.

As the moon rose and moved across the sky, the light eventually faded from her body. When the moon had fully set, a faint shadow quietly parted the bushes and found the sleeping Si Qi.

The shadow carefully lit a small lamp. Having searched through the brush for hours without rest, she had several deep scratches on her arms, but she didn’t seem to feel the pain.

She pulled several types of medicine from her space, checking them one by one under the dim light. Selecting the best bottles, she opened one and gently peeled off Si Qi’s coat.

The wounds on Si Qi’s body had begun to fuse with her clothing. Si Ruxu’s fingers twitched; her movements became even lighter. Even so, the sleeping Si Qi let out soft whimpers.

Leaning in, Si Ruxu heard Si Qi repeatedly whispering “it hurts” in her sleep.

She hadn’t remembered wrong. Si Qi was afraid of pain—terribly afraid.

Yet she was stubborn. When she got cut or hit, she used to just stand up without a word. Once, Si Qi was so exhausted she tripped and hit her corner on a wall. There was no blood, only a faint bruise later, and she hadn’t said a word at the time. But after coming home, she sat there sobbing for an entire afternoon.

Back then, Si Ruxu had spent that afternoon cursing Si Qi’s boss while gently blowing on the injury, applying cold compresses and medicine, staying by her side the whole time.

She thought: The old me couldn’t bear to let Si Qi be seriously injured, and the current me can’t either. Yet she was the one who had nearly driven Si Qi to her death when she stopped loving her.

Sometimes, falling out of love with someone is a thing truly worth apologizing for.

After applying the medicine, green energy flowed from Si Ruxu’s fingertips, lingering gently over the wounds. Before long, fresh pink flesh grew over the injuries. Si Qi’s furrowed brow finally relaxed, and her breathing became steady and light.

Si Ruxu removed the tattered clothes and saw the fresh skin alongside old scars that hadn’t been treated properly. She felt no ulterior motives—only a suffocating ache in her heart. She pulled a set of clean clothes from her space and gently dressed Si Qi.

Once finished, Si Ruxu wiped the sweat from her brow. The long journey without rest had exhausted her, and the effort of treating Si Qi left her even more drained. Her legs felt heavy as lead. Looking at Si Qi’s peaceful sleeping face, she felt a strange impulse; she gently leaned in and hugged her, eventually turning over so Si Qi was cushioned on top of her, hoping the girl would be more comfortable.

As a sliver of sunlight appeared on the horizon, Si Ruxu finally couldn’t hold out any longer and fell asleep. Her dream carried a sweet, lingering warmth.

When Si Qi woke up, the sun was already setting. She had slept incredibly well, and the wounds that had been aching were now fully healed.

She let out a comfortable stretch, only to hear a soft moan beside her ear—a sound with a slight lilt that betrayed a hint of endurance.

She looked down stiffly, realizing she was practically sleeping on top of Si Ruxu. The woman was half-lying amidst the dead wood and stones. Her lashes fluttered, and when she opened her amber eyes, they were misty and soft, looking at her with a dazed vulnerability.

“Are you awake? Is anything still hurting?” Her voice was husky with sleep, carrying the lazy rasp of someone who had just woken up.

Si Qi’s brain completely short-circuited. What have I done to deserve waking up in the wild with Si Ruxu as my mattress?

Si Ruxu had always been notoriously grumpy in the mornings. Back then, it took a dozen tries to get her out of bed, and anyone who woke her would usually be met with a cold shoulder for at least half an hour.

Even then, Si Qi had to use the “hug, kiss, and cuddle” trifecta to coax her up, and then pretend to have amnesia afterward to protect the “Great Miss Si’s” dignity.

But now, Si Ruxu was looking at her with genuine worry, touching her forehead. “What’s wrong? Are you still feeling unwell?”

Green energy sparked on her fingertips, ready to check again, but her hand was caught by Si Qi’s long fingers. Si Qi pulled herself off Si Ruxu. The separation of their bodies brought a sudden chill.

Si Ruxu’s abdomen tightened slightly, missing the warmth of Si Qi’s body.

“Didn’t I say not to follow me?” Because her wounds were healed, and because she saw the dark circles under Si Ruxu’s eyes, Si Qi’s tone was softer than yesterday, but there was an underlying weary annoyance she couldn’t quite suppress.

Si Ruxu had never been treated this way. Her eyes began to redden, but she kept her gaze fixed on Si Qi, a strained smile on her face. “I was worried about your injuries.”

Just worried. In the apocalypse, a small wound could mean death, let alone the state Si Qi had been in.

“I’ll heal on my own. Thank you for this, but don’t do it again.” Si Qi spoke calmly. It really wasn’t necessary; her second ability would keep her alive, even if it took longer to heal minor wounds. She had lived through many such instances before.

Si Ruxu felt a sharp sting in her heart. “I can heal you faster… without complications… Si Qi.”

She was willing. Just to follow her like this.

But she was like a headless fly now. The base was untrustworthy, she didn’t agree with Si Luoheng’s path, and Si Qi was both the key to the world and the person she loved so deeply. She used to prepare for her own death every time she went on a mission, so she understood better than anyone that the person standing before her today could vanish tomorrow.

She didn’t want to be separated. The terror she felt before finding Si Qi was paralyzing; she was terrified of finding only a lifeless body.

“It’s still not needed.” Si Qi didn’t even realize she was frowning in avoidance. She had never been so harsh to anyone. “Si Ruxu, you were the one who told me: don’t change your planned route just because of a little help from someone else. My plan does not include you, and it never will. I hope you can respect yourself and respect my choices.”

Si Qi looked down at her. Si Ruxu’s fingertips were white from clenching her hands, and her amber eyes were fixed on Si Qi, overflowing with sorrow. The redness in her eyes spread to the corners as tears began to fall, one by one.

“But I’ll be so sad,” Si Ruxu murmured, her voice breaking with a tearful softness. “Fine. You walk your path… I’ll be okay… walking my own.”

Si Qi turned and walked away without looking back.

Behind her, Si Ruxu traced the silhouette of her back with a lingering, heavy gaze. Tears were her last weapon, but it seemed Si Qi truly didn’t love her anymore. She was no longer affected.

What she didn’t say was that walking with Si Qi was her chosen path.

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