Chapter 2: Two Suns

——I’m Wu Xiaomi, just an ordinary city boy—at least, I was, up until an hour ago.

Now, everything in my life has turned upside down.

……

“She’s… she’s so beautiful…” the young assistant murmured instinctively.

Normally, such praise might’ve drawn some teasing.

A coworker would’ve joked— 

Have you never seen a woman before, you idiot? 

How pretty can she be? 

You’re practically drooling!

But right now, no one mocked him.

They only nodded silently.

That praise wasn’t out of place.

“I’m… sorry for the intrusion,” Wu Xiaomi’s voice was weak, barely audible. 

“Could I ask… how’s Bai Xiaozhi doing?”

“Are you a family member?”

“Yeah…” Wu Xiaomi nodded nervously.

“Bai Xiaozhi’s condition is quite unique,” said the attending physician. 

“We’ve never seen anything like this before. But one thing is certain… this isn’t a bad thing for her.”

“Huh?” Wu Xiaomi tilted his head unconsciously, his cherry-pink eyes filled with confusion as he looked at the doctor.

“Ahem.”

Those eyes had some sort of magic. 

The doctor looked away, struggling to maintain his composure.

“According to the data, Bai Xiaozhi has made a full recovery,” he said.

“Thank you…” Wu Xiaomi’s nose stung. 

“Thank you so much.”

On the hospital bed, Bai Xiaozhi sat up.

Her pallor was gone, her skin glowing with renewed vitality.

She looked at Wu Xiaomi curiously. “Who are you? Have we met?”

“Probably… not,” Wu Xiaomi gave a wry smile.

“Then why…”

“Your brother had something urgent come up and asked me to take care of you.”

Wu Xiaomi helped her out of bed. 

Their long hair brushed together by accident—pure white and cherry pink mingled briefly.

“Careful, take it slow.”

“I’m already fine. I feel better than before I got sick!” 

Bai Xiaozhi bounced a little in surprise. 

“I feel full of energy! Is this what they call a last burst of strength before death?”

“That kind of burst isn’t this good,” the nurse quipped. 

“This is more like—full HP resurrection.”

“Where’s my brother?” Bai Xiaozhi asked. 

“I should cook for him. No idea how long I’ve been out—he must be starving.”

“You’ve… been in a coma for half a month. If he waited for your cooking, he’d be long dead,” Wu Xiaomi rubbed his stomach reflexively.

“Half a month…” Bai Xiaozhi’s eyes flickered as if she was holding something back.

She’d just had a strange dream.

In the dream, Wu Xiaomi was being dragged into a foreboding gate by evil vines.

His gaze at the last moment had made her deeply uneasy.

It felt like… a goodbye.

“Where did my brother go?”

“A new job,” Wu Xiaomi lied. 

“It’s… closed-off. No phones allowed while working.”

“So, what’s your relationship?”

“Friends.”

“Oh…”

The mood turned slightly awkward.

Bai Xiaozhi decided to go for a walk.

Wu Xiaomi helped her along, though judging by her strength, it felt more like she was helping him.

Both of them were a bit socially anxious, unsure what to say.

So they walked in silence to a nearby park and sat on a bench.

A few elderly men were chatting in the dusk.

“You’re really going?”

“It was my wife’s last wish,” said a spirited old man carrying a travel bag and clutching a photo. 

“We never left the city our whole lives. I promised to show her the world… but she left too soon…”

“You’re already this old. Can you even travel by yourself?”

“I can still walk. As long as the world’s still out there, walking and seeing it—what’s so hard about that?”

The old man grinned, his wrinkles glowing like a young student heading off to college, his heart full of anticipation. 

“I’m off!”

After bidding farewell to his friends, the old man disappeared down the stone path with his cane.

“What should we name the baby?”

A man passed by holding his pregnant wife in his arms.

“You choose. I’m no good with names,” she replied, gently stroking her belly with a sweet smile.

“Let’s name them Ark. How about that? No matter what hardships our child may face, I hope they’ll always hold onto hope… and wait for the light to come.”

“As you wish…”

The young couple soon walked away, their silhouettes fading into the distance.

Then came a high school girl, clutching an English textbook and reciting vocabulary aloud. 

She was so focused she nearly bumped into Wu Xiaomi.

“Sorry!” She apologized in a flash, but the moment she saw Wu Xiaomi’s face, she blushed and dashed off as if fleeing.

“You’re too cute,” Bai Xiaozhi giggled behind her hand. 

“How did my brother even meet such a pretty girl like you?”

“It’s a long story.”

A very long and complicated one.

Wu Xiaomi looked up at the sky.

It was clear and vast, dyed golden by the light of two blazing red suns.

Wait a second… something’s not right…

Two suns?!

Bai Xiaozhi noticed it too.

People around them began lifting their heads.

“What’s that?”

“Why are there two suns?!”

“Woooooooooo—!”

A shrill air raid siren suddenly howled through the stillness, like a pack of wolves tearing through the calm night—

Shattering the peace in an instant.

Doomsday had arrived.