Chapter 56 — Wash, Cut, Blow-Dry
Since the wall-building areas had been reassigned, the truck passed through a zone where earth-type users were constructing a brick wall. Their numbers were noticeably higher—one every few meters. With the help of the crystal cores, plenty of raw materials, and their sheer numbers, they had already raised significant sections in just one morning.
The laborers previously sent to the outer wall now had different tasks: some still hauled materials, but most were cleaning up debris inside the perimeter alongside the military, clearing zombie remains and contaminated objects to prepare for future housing.
There was still plenty of land between the outer and inner walls, and it was inevitable that hidden zombies or infected items remained. Those were the main focus of cleanup.
And since the existing housing wouldn’t be enough, many were also assigned to help build new residential blocks. In short—there was no shortage of work.
The two of them had a productive day and were in much better spirits than usual on the ride home. Yan Fei had used fewer cores than the others, and the extras would be reserved partly for emergencies, partly for nightly absorption practice—to speed up his advancement.
His ability had started off stronger than most, but he knew that if he stopped improving while others worked hard, his advantage would disappear.
Yan Fei understood this better than anyone. Life had taught him that if you didn’t want to be weak or bullied, you had to work harder than everyone else—even while appearing effortless.
If you want to look cool, you’d better be ready to bleed behind the scenes. Effortless mastery only came from relentless effort.
So, even though he often fooled around with Luo Xun at night, no matter how tired he was afterward, he still made himself exhaust every last bit of energy before sleeping.
It was the apocalypse. He had to protect the home and the love he’d finally found—and the only way to do that was to be the best, strong enough to laugh in the face of any danger.
As Luo Xun drove slowly through the city toward their building, idly scanning for useful goods, he suddenly felt a hand ruffle his hair. Turning, he saw a sleepy Yan Fei leaning back in the seat, lazily running fingers through it.
“What is it?”
“Nothing. Your hair’s getting long. Want me to tie it up for you?” Yan Fei murmured.
Luo Xun’s expression twisted. “No need. You can just trim it when we get back.” Tie it up? What was he, a girl?
“Me? Cut your hair?” Yan Fei blinked. He could cut cloth just fine—but hair? Apart from once snipping off a girl’s braid in elementary school, he’d never tried. Was Luo Xun really not afraid of looking like a disaster afterward?
“It’s fine. If I do it myself, it’ll look worse,” Luo Xun said, eyes lighting up. “And I’ll cut yours too!”
In his past life, he’d always regretted never getting to use his half-decent wash-cut-blow-dry skills.
Barbers still existed after the apocalypse, but unless you were top-tier, there was no future in it. The talented ones could still make a living once the base stabilized; the rest might not even earn a few chips a day.
Most people either let their hair grow wild or hacked at it themselves. Long hair was manageable, but short hair? Cutting the back was practically a gymnastics challenge.
Finding a buddy to take turns trimming each other’s hair had been one of Luo Xun’s silly little dreams—and now, finally, he had one! Even if they ended up with dog-chewed haircuts, he didn’t care; the fun of doing it together was enough.
Under that eager gaze, Yan Fei had no choice but to nod reluctantly with a “warm” smile while secretly scheming: maybe Dr. Zhang, the surgeon, could step in—surely he was good with scissors. As long as he didn’t perform a lobotomy instead, Yan Fei could probably survive it.
Still, if he asked someone else, his lover would definitely sulk… Should he sacrifice his hairstyle for tonight’s happiness, or risk upsetting Luo Xun for the sake of appearances?
He was still torn when they reached the 16th floor, but the moment Luo Xun bounded upstairs, changed clothes, and pulled out a full haircut kit, his decision was made—ah well, there were always hats. Worst case, he’d wear one for a while. If things really got bad, he’d just grow his hair out. Better that than being too embarrassed to leave the house!
The little guy tilted its head, curiously observing the two people in the middle of the room — one sitting in a chair, the other standing behind him. The one sitting even had a big white cloth draped around his shoulders.
To keep a certain dog from getting hair all over the place, Yan Fei had deliberately shut the little fellow out on the balcony — which conveniently gave him a chance to drain off some of his own ability power. And truth be told, after getting used to that afternoon exhaustion from using up all his energy every day, he vaguely felt that his stamina had improved again — his strength seemed noticeably higher than before. Because of that, he’d become even more eager to find excuses to burn through all his ability energy each day.
Strands of black hair fell to the floor, accompanied by the crisp snipping sound of scissors.
It was the most nerve-wracking moment of Yan Fei’s life — not even multimillion-yuan project negotiations at work had ever made him this tense.
He didn’t dare cut too much at once, so every snip was tiny and cautious. The hair falling from Luo Xun’s head was all in fine, thin bits. Before starting, Luo Xun had roughly passed on what little haircutting experience he had — unfortunately, his skills were entirely self-taught. As someone used to going to upscale salons, Yan Fei naturally didn’t dare trust any of those dubious tips. He just followed what he could see in the mirror, mimicking each step slowly and carefully.
Caution had its benefits: by the end, Luo Xun’s head didn’t look weird at all — he’d be able to go out tomorrow without embarrassment!
When Luo Xun realized his haircut was done, he quickly grabbed a mirror, checking from left to right, then nodded in appreciation. “You’ve got pretty good hands.”
Yan Fei finally let out a relieved breath — no humiliation today, and he hadn’t disappointed his beloved either. Just as he was thinking that, Luo Xun added, “When it gets hotter, how about I just shave it short? Easier to deal with…”
“No—no! This length is fine. Don’t shave it!” Yan Fei stopped him at once. God, a buzz cut? He hadn’t even mastered the scissors yet, and now clippers? One slip and he’d end up shaving the man bald!
“But it’d be cooler…” Luo Xun muttered, still tempted. Summers were hot enough already, and even though they technically had power now, openly using air-conditioning was just asking for thieves to notice they had electricity to spare.
“It’s fine,” Yan Fei said, bending down slightly, a tender smile tugging at his lips and a faint huskiness in his voice that sounded particularly alluring. “If it gets long, I’ll just trim it for you every few days.”
Luo Xun’s face reddened. He averted his gaze, coughed twice, and mumbled, “Then… fine.”
Perfect. Seduction successful — and crisis of the monk-head haircut averted!
Yan Fei had just exhaled in relief and started to tidy up the tools when Luo Xun dropped a sentence that made his heart stop for three seconds: “Now it’s my turn to cut yours!”
Yan Fei sat stiffly in the chair Luo Xun had just vacated, watching clumps of his own black hair tumble down in despair. His mind wandered to the few knit caps he’d seen in the upstairs wardrobe, mentally comparing which one might look better tomorrow — and which could best hide whatever horror now adorned his head.
Fifteen minutes later, Luo Xun circled around him three or four times, finally scratched his cheek in mild embarrassment, and said, “All done. Um… might not look that great…”
Yan Fei forced a stiff smile, silently vowing that no matter what he saw in the mirror later, he wouldn’t let it show on his face. At worst, he’d wear a hat inside the house for a few days!
With rigid steps, he went to the bathroom — and avoided using the handheld mirror.
The large mirror reflected a familiar face, and the instant he saw his hair, Yan Fei breathed out in relief. Not bad. Still recognizable.
Actually, it wasn’t bad at all — just shorter than he was used to, but not ugly.
Luo Xun had followed Yan Fei’s original hairstyle as best he could, but being practical-minded, he figured since they were cutting anyway, it was better to make it shorter — easier to maintain, cleaner-looking, and less of a hassle when busy.
So now Yan Fei looked a little silly, maybe, but not too bad — give it a few days and it would look fine.
After washing the stray hairs out of their own hair and cleaning up the living room, they finally let the little guy back in from the balcony.
“Huh? A leaf fell off?” Luo Xun noticed a small torn piece of vegetable leaf on the floor — bright green, not yellowed or wilted, clearly not from malnutrition but plucked off by accident.
The little creature didn’t even turn its head, trotting straight back to its dog bed, flopping down with its head between its paws, eyes shut — though its mouth seemed to be moving suspiciously.
“Maybe it just bumped into it,” Yan Fei said after a glance. Seeing it was just a tiny bit of leaf, he didn’t think much of it and swept it up.
“Let me see… ah, they laid eggs again today!” Luo Xun exclaimed, pointing at the quail nest and hurrying to check it with a flashlight.
Since the day before yesterday, once five fertilized eggs had been collected, Luo Xun had opened the incubator in the grow room and started artificial hatching.
Now, under the bright light, the remaining quails had entered their egg-laying phase — every time there was a fertilized egg, he’d add it to the incubator, keeping the rest as ingredients for their meals.
Of the six female quails, nearly each one now laid an egg a day. The good life of raising quails for both meat and eggs was waving enthusiastically at the couple!
After placing three fertilized eggs in the incubator and three in the basket, the two resumed their daily chores — inspecting plants, cleaning the apartment, checking the dryness of the shared wall, and so on.
By the time the sky was completely dark, faint footsteps echoed in the stairwell. A moment later came the rattle of chains; Luo Xun immediately stood and opened the door — sure enough, Li Tie and the others were back.
“You guys came back together?” he asked, surprised to see Zhang Su among them.
Zhang Su waved weakly. “Ran into them at the compound gate.” His hospital was technically inside the military base but far from Li Tie’s post, so they rarely met. His schedule was unpredictable — sometimes he’d return after several consecutive major surgeries, even late at night.
“Rough day? Lots of surgeries again?” Luo Xun asked, seeing how exhausted he looked.
Zhang Su groaned twice. “They brought in a few people who’d been bitten by zombies. One of them turned mid-surgery. Luckily, I was prepared — decapitated him the moment he changed. Those nurses scream way too loud; my head’s still ringing.”
Everyone fell silent. Not everyone could stay calm in scenes like that. Luo Xun strongly suspected Zhang Su’s obsession with talking about bloodletting and incisions was just professional conditioning — denying him surgery time might actually make him more dangerous. At least now that he was working again, he’d calmed down a lot, only hammering his iron sandbag before bed.
Once everyone was inside, Wang Duo went to unlock Room 1601. As Yan Fei passed, Zhang Su crooked a finger at him. “Come here. Need a word.” He opened his door and waited.
Yan Fei raised a brow, patted Luo Xun’s shoulder, and told him to wait outside. Luo Xun, curious but unconcerned, guessed maybe Zhang Su’s iron sandbag had finally been beaten to death, then turned to chat with Li Tie about the day’s events.
Inside, under the single light — the power supply was on for the evening — Yan Fei glanced at the battered metal sandbag and asked, “What’s up?” Didn’t seem like a repair request.
“I ran into someone at the hospital today,” Zhang Su said, tossing his coat into a corner and switching the distillation barrel for an empty one.
Yan Fei raised a brow but didn’t press.
“A woman — looks about fifty, carries herself like someone important.” His lips curved in a sly smile. “Cut her little finger, came to the military hospital for stitches.”
Yan Fei snorted. “A cut that small needs stitches?”
Zhang Su spread his hands. “I told her stitching would just leave a scar. Disinfected it instead and made sure she wasn’t infected with zombie virus.”
“And then?” Yan Fei asked coolly. Zhang Su wouldn’t have called him in for nothing — and from the moment he mentioned that woman, Yan Fei already knew who it was. Who else would throw a fit over a tiny wound and demand a chief surgeon personally disinfect her finger?
“She looked kind of familiar,” Zhang Su said, eyes narrowing in a fox-like smile. “So I chatted with her a bit. Later two men came to pick her up — one in uniform. Just as they were leaving, she suddenly said, ‘Oh, I almost forgot — I don’t even know if old Yan’s son is still alive. There are so many people in this base. Check for me, will you?’”
Yan Fei gave a cold laugh, crossing his arms and leaning on the doorframe.
Zhang Su sighed. “That poor kid of hers,” he said, then shot Yan Fei a teasing look. “They were rescued by the army from the northern base a week ago. Got connections, now living comfortably in the special quarters inside the camp. Shame she’s only just remembered she has a son.”
Yan Fei’s smile was cold, devoid of the anger Zhang Su had expected. “The fact she remembered at all is impressive. Even before the apocalypse, I only saw her once a year — and we never exchanged more than twenty sentences. At least half of those were identical to the ones from the year before.”
Zhang Su’s grin faded. “You knew she was here?”
“I saw them the day they arrived,” Yan Fei said matter-of-factly. He made no effort to hide it — they were merely blood relatives, after all. Nothing more.
“Them?” Zhang Su raised an eyebrow.
“Yes. Both of them. Sitting in the same luxury car my father used before the apocalypse — still had the old license plate. Hard to miss.”
Zhang Su sighed softly. From the moment he’d met that woman today, he’d realized he and Yan Fei were alike — same striking looks, same preference for men, and both burdened with extraordinary “family” ties. The only difference was, his toxic one was a lover; Yan Fei’s was a parent. Honestly, that made Yan Fei’s case sadder.
Then Zhang Su suddenly smirked. “If you didn’t already have little Luo Xun, I might’ve tried to seduce you myself.”
Yan Fei’s expression twisted. He frowned, eyeing Zhang Su up and down as though inspecting something disgusting. “Sorry. I really don’t have that kind of… interest.”
Zhang Su arched a brow, grin turning wicked. He leaned forward, nearly touching faces. “So, you’re saying you got bent because of that little Luo Xun of yours? I can see why — he’s pretty tempting. Too bad he’s a bottom…”
At that exact moment, the door burst open and He Qiankun’s booming voice rang out, “Oh, right, Brother Yan, about that Jin— Jin— uh, that Jin—”
His words stopped dead.
Because standing before them were Zhang Su and Yan Fei — in an unbelievably ambiguous position. Li Tie, Wang Duo, and the rest all froze, eyes wide.
Yan Fei instantly saw Luo Xun standing a little further back, staring at the two of them with his eyes wide open.
Suddenly, Zhang Su raised his eyebrows, and like a boneless person, he pressed himself against Yan Fei, yelling in an extremely pretentious manner: “Oh, you made my legs weak~~”
Yan Fei’s face darkened, and he was so disgusted by his words that he raised his hand and pushed it out. Then, with a loud bang, the beauty seal flew backwards and hit the big iron corner…
Should we say that fortunately, besides possessing powerful superpowers, the psychics have also improved their physical fitness a lot?
Anyway, after the beautiful lady Zhang stood up by holding her old waist in front of everyone’s astonishment, there was no wound on her back, and even the wound on her arm was not torn.
“If you’re bored, I can make a few more cuts on your body for free. You’re a surgeon anyway, and making cuts on yourself at home can be considered as training your professional skills.” Yan Fei stood up straight with a dark face. Several pieces of metal floated on the iron sandbag, and quickly condensed into several extremely sharp knives in mid-air.
Zhang Su held the back of his head and glared at Yan Fei: “You’re so rough after just taking advantage of me.” Then, he looked at Luo Xun with a half-smile in his eyes, “Xunxun, if he’s rough with your family, come sleep with me tonight~”
Luo Xun: Hehe…
Wang Duo suddenly covered his nose with his hands, turned around and ran away: “Damn… this is too weird…” It was the first time in his life that his nose bled because of a man!
Li Tie and the others were also blushing, not knowing where to put their hands and feet. They had known Zhang Su for so long, but they had never seen him tease them with such a seductive posture and eyes… Of course, this also had something to do with their own appearance of being pure and upright. But today, it was purely because of Yan Fei’s implicated situation. This was the first time they realized that even men in this world could be so… seductive?
The pure-blooded quartet stood there stupidly, unsure of what to do next. Yan Fei ignored them and turned to walk out the door. He nervously took Luo Xun’s hand – fortunately, Luo Xun didn’t shake his hand off, but walked back to his home with him.
Thank you for reading 🙂 I hope you all liked my translations. If you enjoyed my work, please consider buying me a Ko-Fi 😉
