Sixteen Years

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When Liu Ruosong received a call from Fu Yan, he was greatly surprised.

Generally speaking, according to Fu Yan’s habits, if they had arranged something in advance, Fu Yan would usually stick to the plan and rarely make changes midway. This might be related to his years of military life and his inherent personality.

So when Fu Yan suddenly called to say he would pick him up from work instead of resting at the hotel as planned, it was indeed quite strange.

However, since Liu Ruosong was nearing the end of his work, he hastened his pace and wrapped up the remaining interview questions, packed his things, and waited for Fu Yan to arrive.

During the evening rush hour, Fu Yan arrived fifteen minutes later than the scheduled time. Most of the magazine staff had finished their tasks and left, leaving only a few logistics personnel in the studio packing up.

Liu Ruosong had been playing the 2048 game on his phone in the rest area, and just at the right moment, a message from Fu Yan appeared on his screen – it had only two words, “I’m here.”

Unless it was an invitation, Fu Yan rarely ventured into Liu Ruosong’s work domain on his own. Liu Ruosong had always felt that there was a touch of old-fashioned gentlemanliness in his character. While it wasn’t necessarily bad, it sometimes made him seem a bit out of touch with certain things.

Liu Ruosong replied with an emoji of a Tibetan antelope running, then picked up his bag and rushed to head downstairs. As soon as he stepped out of the elevator, he saw Fu Yan waiting for him in the lobby on the first floor.

The interview location arranged by the magazine was in an office building. Although there was a steady stream of people on the ground floor, Fu Yan stood tall and straight by the main entrance. Liu Ruosong immediately spotted him.

He waved at Fu Yan with a smile in his eyes, and Fu Yan nodded slightly in response. Then, he patiently stood in place, waiting for Liu Ruosong to reach him.

“Why did you suddenly decide to come?” Liu Ruosong rubbed his forehead with the back of his hand and asked, “Did your fever break?”

Fu Yan remained silent for a moment.

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On his way to find Liu Ruosong, Fu Yan had thought about many things.

Returning to before the disaster—this idea might sound messianic, but in reality, there wasn’t much he could do. Even with all the memories about the “future,” he couldn’t issue any warnings before the disaster actually happened. Otherwise, he would either be considered insane and locked up or be punished for spreading rumors.

Still, despite this, Fu Yan reviewed his memories from start to finish. He pondered why he had returned and how he could change the future within his capabilities. He even considered whether he was the only one who had gone back in time or if there were others he didn’t know about.

In half an hour, Fu Yan had contemplated numerous potential developments of the future. He thought about where he should start and how to change the established future. But now, seeing Liu Ruosong, his ceaseless thoughts suddenly paused for a moment, and a single thought popped into his mind.

It’s been two years since I last saw him, Fu Yan thought.

After the apocalypse, he was summoned back to the military district for various tasks – first for rescue operations, then for searching for supplies and valuable information to study the apocalyptic virus. He spent most of his time leading teams on various missions.

On the other hand, due to his connection with Fu Yan, Liu Ruosong had been able to work in administrative logistics at the base. Unfortunately, Fu Yan’s visits had been limited, and the two of them still spent more time apart than together. By the time Fu Yan had passed away, it had been two years and six months since Liu Ruosong had last seen him.

Now, the man standing in front of Fu Yan was still young, untouched by the apocalypse. His skin, tanned from the harsh climate of the Qilian Mountains, had recovered somewhat in the past few months, making him look healthy and full of spirits.

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I wonder if he knows that he’s already dead from the previous life, Fu Yan thought.

This thought finally stirred some emotion within Fu Yan. For the first time since waking up, he felt a fleeting pang of pain—a sharp pain that swiftly passed through his heart, leaving behind a hint of parting.

Suddenly, Fu Yan took a step forward and hugged Liu Ruosong.

Liu Ruosong was momentarily taken aback but instinctively hugged Fu Yan back, patting his back.

“What’s wrong?” Liu Ruosong asked.

Fu Yan remained silent, restraining himself. After a few seconds, he let go of Liu Ruosong. He then looked at him for a moment, lowered his head, and kissed his lips.

“Nothing,” Fu Yan said. “I just realized that I miss you.”

Liu Ruosong was caught off guard by his words.

He and Fu Yan had grown up in the same area, living across from each other. Over the past twenty years or so, they had become closer than ever. They had grown up together, started a romantic relationship in high school, and now, they were more like an old married couple. Fu Yan was practical and straightforward, with a strong sense of responsibility and loyalty in their relationship. He respected Liu Ruosong and was open to his opinions. Overall, there was little to complain about, but there was just one thing… he never seemed to grasp the concept of “romance.”

During their years together, Fu Yan had never hesitated to show affection and share kisses, but this was the first time he had kissed Liu Ruosong in public.

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Before his face turned red, Liu Ruosong began to worry about Fu Yan’s unusual behavior.

“What’s wrong, Fu Yan? Is something going on at home?” Liu Ruosong asked anxiously.

“What… nothing,” Fu Yan quickly realized what he might be implying and gently touched Liu Ruosong’s face.

“It’s just that I suddenly felt a bit sentimental.” Fu Yan lowered his eyes slightly, tilting his head to the side. “If I were to sacrifice myself for the country, I wouldn’t be able to see you again.”

Liu Ruosong’s expression changed, and he unconsciously tightened his grip on Fu Yan’s hand. He reproached him softly, “Don’t say that.”

His reaction was overly sensitive, and Fu Yan looked at his face, only then realizing that, at this point in time, he had just survived a plane crash. His comment could easily trigger unsettling memories for Liu Ruosong.

“I was just joking,” Fu Yan’s face remained neutral as he responded, lightly squeezing Liu Ruosong’s hand as a form of comfort. He wasn’t very skilled at comforting, so he chose to silently take Liu Ruosong’s bag and put it on his own back before holding his hand and leading him outside.

Only when they were in the car did Liu Ruosong let out a sigh and gently traced the scar on the back of Fu Yan’s right hand.

“I know your personality, so I’ve never thought about getting you to transfer to support duties,” Liu Ruosong said. “But no matter what, take care of yourself, okay?”

He provided a way out for Fu Yan, who then took a glance at Liu Ruosong’s expression. He responded with a soft “okay,” tacitly agreeing.

Then, without waiting for Liu Ruosong to say anything, Fu Yan awkwardly changed the topic, “You know, what do you think would happen if suddenly it’s the end of the world?”

Liu Ruosong gave him a puzzled look.

“What?” Liu Ruosong chuckled. “Is the default movie selection in the hotel all apocalyptic films?”

Otherwise, he couldn’t imagine why Fu Yan would suddenly ask such a question. After all, considering his reading and movie preferences, it was far removed from his usual interests.

“He didn’t return like I did,” Fu Yan thought.

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If Liu Ruosong was like him, someone who had come back from the future, he would probably understand this implied statement.

Fu Yan wasn’t sure whether he was relieved or disappointed. He hoped that Liu Ruosong didn’t have those terrifying memories, but at the same time, he felt a bit disappointed at the lack of an ally.

If there was still another person in the world like him, Fu Yan actually wished that person would be Liu Ruosong.

But whether there was or wasn’t didn’t matter. Fu Yan was almost certain that his “reboot” had meaning for the world. Since he didn’t intend to escape this responsibility, whether he had an ally or not wouldn’t affect his actions.

“Yeah,” Fu Yan made a rare joke, saying, “I was sleeping soundly when I was suddenly awakened by the zombie apocalypse.”

Liu Ruosong wondered whether he had forgotten to turn off the TV before leaving. Consequently, he didn’t suspect anything and merely smiled as he leaned over to give Fu Yan a kiss. “Okay, my bad. I’ll remember to check the power next time.”

Fu Yan turned his head and managed a weak smile at Liu Ruosong.

Since waking up, he had generally accepted the idea of being reborn quite well. He instinctively treated it as something that had “already happened and couldn’t be changed.” Naturally, he had incorporated this into his understanding and hadn’t dwelled on it too much.

But just now, he suddenly sensed a kind of detachment from Liu Ruosong.

This detachment had nothing to do with Liu Ruosong himself. It solely originated from Fu Yan himself—from the three-year gap he had with this time, from having memories that could impact the world but not being able to share them with anyone.

Liu Ruosong was completely unaware of the turmoil within Fu Yan’s heart. He habitually set the destination for their dinner on Fu Yan’s phone for navigation, then reclined his seat and started going through the unanswered work messages on his phone.

He had a quick and efficient way of reviewing messages. After years of outdoor photography, Liu Ruosong’s information processing efficiency was much higher than the average person’s. He usually traveled to remote and rugged areas, deep in mountains, forests, glaciers, and valleys. Occasionally encountering signal spots, he had to respond to all messages as quickly as possible.

Liu Ruosong swiftly scanned through all the messages, and when he reached the second page, he couldn’t help but exclaim softly.

Fu Yan had been paying attention to Liu Ruosong all along. Seeing his reaction, he asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Liu Ruosong said. “It’s a senior biologist who wants to collaborate with me. He’s been researching something in moss, wanting to collect field data. I don’t know how he found out about my background and skills. He’s invited me to join his team for photography.”

“A biologist?” Fu Yan couldn’t recall such a thing from his previous life, so he asked, “Who is it?”

“Shao Xuefan,” Liu Ruosong said. “But it doesn’t matter. I won’t take new assignments until you’re back in the team. Since it’s a rare vacation, I want to spend it with you.”

Fu Yan understood, thinking that perhaps the same thing had happened in his previous life, but since he hadn’t gone to pick up Liu Ruosong, he must have declined the invitation on the way, without mentioning it when he returned.

However, the name Shao Xuefan sounded vaguely familiar to Fu Yan. He furrowed his brow slightly, trying to remember where he had heard it before.

With all the tasks related to finding scientists, medical experts, and residual medical resources and equipment that Fu Yan’s squad had taken on in his previous life, he thought long and hard for quite a while before suddenly recalling who Shao Xuefan was.

In the early stages of the apocalypse in his previous life, Fu Yan had heard of Shao Xuefan’s name. At that time, the military district had considered bringing him to a safe zone in their area and conducting virus research together. Unfortunately, when the rescue team arrived at Shao Xuefan’s home, he had already died in the virus outbreak, his body turned to mud.

As the task wasn’t assigned to Fu Yan’s team, his impression of the matter was not particularly strong.

Thinking about this, Fu Yan suddenly froze.

In that instant, he realized something—perhaps this was the purpose of his return.

To change what had already happened and then attempt to find a new way from what had been missed.

“Don’t be too quick to refuse,” Fu Yan said. “Opportunities like this are rare. Go and take a look—I’ll go with you.”