Picking Up My Ex-Wife in the Apocalypse - Chapter 46

The two of them wandered for a long time before they finally found the small stall. The line wasn’t long, and the fragrance of the pancakes was being scattered by the wind bit by bit, soaking into the air.

Si Qi stood on her tiptoes slightly and saw the sign: 20 points for one, 35 points for two.

Like a small animal finding peace, she let out a quiet sigh of relief. If it had been too expensive, she wouldn’t have had the heart to buy it.

Walking up to the stall, a middle-aged man dressed in coarse linen lifted the white cloth covering the multigrain pancakes. Steam rose from beneath, blurring Si Qi’s vision. With her sight blocked, her sense of smell became even sharper. The greasy, savory scent of the pancakes drifted up in strands—it smelled like a mixture of fine and coarse rice flour, kneaded with yeast and seasoning, flattened into dough, and then pressed and fried in rapeseed oil.

Come to think of it, she and Si Ruxu hadn’t eaten something like this in a long time—something so close to the “smoke and fire” of daily life, carrying the essence of domesticity.

She instinctively swallowed her saliva. The middle-aged man’s voice drifted over, full of energy and humor.

“You two from another base? Looking for some pancakes? They’re delicious! It’s almost evening now; during the day, the line is a mile long!” The man gestured exaggeratedly with his hands to show a long line.

“Then… I’ll take two,” Si Qi said. After speaking, she leaned slightly to the side, sounding both guilty and strangely entitled as she addressed Si Ruxu: “35 points.“

She had completely forgotten again that her wristband and Si Ruxu’s were linked; they shared all their points.

But Si Ruxu didn’t hate the feeling. She curled her lips into a smile, tapped her wristband against the device, and picked up the two wrapped pancakes from the table, softly thanking the owner.

The owner chuckled. “The wife handles the money at home, eh?”

The tips of Si Qi’s ears began to burn again. “We’re not…”

In the next moment, Si Ruxu gently took Si Qi’s hand and smiled at the owner. “Yes, she spends it recklessly whenever we go out.”

“That’s good. It’s nice when a young couple knows how to live. My wife handles the money in my house, too. This point-collector is actually linked to her wristband! You’re lucky to have a wife who can manage a household.”

Si Qi’s ears grew hotter—half because she had single-handedly given away two years of Si Ruxu’s savings, and half for reasons she couldn’t quite explain. Her heart felt like it had turned soft and mushy, leaving her dazed and unable to find her footing.

*****

In the past, they had a joint bank account where they kept their remaining savings. Si Ruxu came from a wealthy background, but after graduation, she stopped taking money from her family. When the two of them first squeezed into a tiny rental apartment, they meticulously calculated how to use the best discounts to buy what they wanted.

Si Qi would save on herself, but if she saw a ten-yuan rose on the street, or a pricey trending dessert at the bakery, or clothes she felt would look perfect on Si Ruxu, she would buy them and place them by their bed.

After the second or third time, Si Ruxu finally lost her patience and took control of all of Si Qi’s wages, giving her only 200 yuan a month as an allowance. Even then, Si Qi would still buy roses and desserts, just less frequently. Sometimes she would save for months just to bring home an outfit she’d seen in a shop window long ago.

Looking back, those memories had grown old and dusty. Later, they moved into a larger house and had their own home. Though they weren’t incredibly wealthy, they were each other’s most solid support.

Si Ruxu instinctively tightened her grip on Si Qi’s hand, her smile tender. “Yes, being with her is my good fortune as well.”

The reunion made every word feel like honey-coated arsenic lingering on her lips—sweet yet bitter, leaving a delicate, complex aftertaste.

*****

On their wristbands, they received the address of their lodging from Luo Fenghe.

“Ninth floor of the Awakened Core Building. Luo Fenghe actually cleared such an important spot for you; he really values you.”

The Core Building only had ten floors. Luo Fenghe lived on the top floor himself; likely because the higher one stands, the clearer the view of the whole picture. Leaders usually stayed at the top.

As if thinking of something, Si Ruxu lightly squeezed Si Qi’s hand and asked, seemingly casually, “When you were recovering before, did you live on the ninth floor too?”

Si Qi shook her head. “No, I lived on the tenth floor.”

“With Luo Fenghe?”

“Mhm. The tenth floor is a suite; we were in different rooms.”

The smile on Si Ruxu’s lips dimmed slightly, though she didn’t let Si Qi notice.

The number of people out for a walk increased, and various voices drifted over. Awakened had better hearing than ordinary people, and usually, the chatter was minimal. But now, a crowd had gathered, and fragments of conversation fell into their ears. Si Qi felt a bit overwhelmed and looked blankly at an old woman in the center of the group.

“I’m telling you, the Savior is definitely different from regular folks. Just look at her face—such a clean, fair young lady. Tell me, besides our Base Leader, who else has looks like that?”

Before she could react, Si Ruxu led the confused Si Qi toward the crowd, quietly standing on the outermost edge.

“Oh, please! Everyone has a photo of the Savior’s face now; do we really need you to tell us?” Beside Si Qi, an old man held up a black-and-white photo of her.

Si Qi: “…”

“It’s all nonsense. Selling dog meat under a sheep’s head. Break it up, everyone, go home and eat.”

“Wait! Next, there’s a truly earth-shattering secret!” The old man stopped and waved his fan. “Go on then, don’t keep us in suspense.”

“The Savior… she has a young woman by her side who has never left her.”

“They say she’s a high-level Awakened from the neighboring base—powerful and beautiful. When the Savior was framed and almost sucked into a black hole, she was the one who stepped up and shattered it to save her.”

“After that, she went through thousands of hardships to find the Savior, entered the Purge with her, and treated her injuries. They say the Savior is being perfectly looked after by her now.”

The speaker looked around and lowered her voice. “My niece works at the Exchange; she saw them both today! They exchanged a Level 6 crystal and a bunch of Level 1s and 2s. They’re very close, practically inseparable—glued to each other!”

Glued to each other? Me and Si Ruxu?

Are we?

Si Qi touched the pancake in her arms, gave one to Si Ruxu, then lifted her mask and took a bite. The pancake was crispy; the flavor of rapeseed oil mixed perfectly with the grain. Her eyes lit up, and she took another large bite, her cheeks bulging. She turned to see Si Ruxu holding her pancake but not eating, so she pointed mummily at the one in Si Ruxu’s hand.

Eat! It’s good!!!

As if she could hear Si Qi’s thoughts, Si Ruxu smiled and took a tiny bite. It couldn’t compare to the pancakes from before the apocalypse, but being able to eat this now was a luxury.

Si Qi took several more bites before noticing the surroundings had gone eerily quiet. The mask she had pulled halfway up her face suddenly fell to the ground with a soft clack. Her chewing jaw froze. She instinctively chewed once more, staring blankly at the row upon row of cameras in front of her.

A blinding flash made her eyes sting.

An angry roar erupted from the crowd: “Which brat turned on their flash?!”

Mixed in was a scream: “The one next to her is Si Ruxu! It has to be Si Ruxu!”

“The young couple is so sweet, I’m dying!”

“What is this old man talking about? How are these two girls a couple?”

“Old man, it’s the apocalypse, don’t be so old-fashioned. Nowadays, two girls can not only be together, they can even raise children!”

“True! So, who would the child take the surname of?”

Before the crowd could swarm them, Si Qi, clutching her pancake, grabbed Si Ruxu and poof—they vanished from the spot, leaving behind a pair of masks.

****

They landed on the ninth floor. Si Qi staggered unsteadily for a few steps, a few stray leaves falling from her feet. The pancake in her hand, however, remained perfectly steady.

Si Qi finished the mouthful of food she hadn’t swallowed, took a sip of the water Si Ruxu handed her, and finally allowed her flushed face to cool down. She set the pancake aside and turned around, only to be enveloped once more by Si Ruxu’s familiar presence in their small private space.

It was airless; their breaths intertwined. Si Qi could feel Si Ruxu’s warm breath against her neck.

“What is it?” She reached out to brush away a stray lock of hair behind Si Ruxu’s ear, finally seeing the glint of gold in the woman’s amber eyes.

“I wanted to ask you… about what that old man said.” Si Ruxu’s tone was circuitous, her lips curving slightly, though her words hidden a trace of shyness and testing.

“If we have a baby in the future, whose surname should it take?”

“You actually want to leave the base a high-level child??!” Si Qi’s eyes widened in disbelief. She hadn’t realized Si Ruxu’s obsession ran that deep.

“Not for the base.” Si Ruxu avoided Si Qi’s gaze, her voice growing smaller. “For us.”

Si Qi finally understood. She sat down on a chair, feeling a bit awkward. She truly hadn’t considered it… although when the apocalypse ended, maybe the age would be just right…?!

The thought circled her brain several times before she fully processed it.

“Are we… that close?” she asked blankly. They were very close, but “close enough to have children” felt like a different category entirely.

“Can we be that close?” Si Ruxu clearly didn’t intend to give Si Qi a chance to retreat. Her eyes seemed to capture the darkness of the night, with only a sliver of moonlight from the window revealing the trepidation and insecurity deep within her.

When she received no response, Si Ruxu moved closer. Their breathing became intimate, like two branches on a withered tree intertwining to survive, clinging to each other as if to merge into the very bone.

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