Chapter 22 – Will Not Love Her
Shao Leyan furrowed her brows, swallowing the faint metallic taste of blood in her mouth. Her body felt unbearably hot, sweat soaked her back, and she urgently needed a cool shower.
Moreover, if she let Fu Xingyan continue, there would be no turning back!
She had to stop him.
Shao Leyan’s small face tightened, her nose wrinkling with indignation as she threatened, “I’m not a tool for you to vent on. If you don’t stop the experiment, I’m going back.”
Hearing this, Fu Xingyan’s strong, steel-like arms tightened around her delicate waist as if afraid she might escape. His teasing eyes held Shao Leyan’s embarrassed, damp gaze, refusing to let go.
“We look exactly alike, and I can make you feel pleasure. So why are you willing to be with my brother, but resist being close to me?”
Shao Leyan pouted, her eyes reddening with grievance.
Being with someone wasn’t a choice she could make. She only wanted to cherish the life she had regained. Surviving was the greatest luck. She didn’t want to think about anything else—under the premise of staying alive, she would do whatever Le An asked.
Although the system was unreliable, it would never harm her.
“I do enjoy your experiments, but that doesn’t mean I want to be with you. Your brother respects me more. Being with him makes me feel safe—that’s something you can’t give me.”
Fu Xingyan’s chest tightened painfully. His breathing grew heavier, and a faint, ambiguous laugh escaped his lips, glistening wet with saliva.
Suddenly, his arms that had been holding her tight loosened.
Shao Leyan was freed, but her legs went weak, and she collapsed against the wall, landing at Fu Xingyan’s feet. She wanted to ask him for help, to have him hold her like before, but then she snapped back to reality—she had just refused him.
She pressed her lips together; she couldn’t bring herself to speak.
Fu Xingyan’s gaze lingered on the slight arch of her back as she bowed her head. The thin fabric did nothing to hide the delicate beauty of her shoulder blades.
She looked like a wounded, pearly-white butterfly, unable to fly, forced to fall onto filthy, unclean ground.
Perhaps a kind passerby might rescue her, making her a beautiful but fragile pet. Or perhaps she would die alone, humiliated and ugly, merging back into the dirt.
Among all possible endings, there was not a single chance for her to regain true freedom.
In those ten tense seconds, Fu Xingyan’s heart softened and hardened repeatedly. Facing Shao Leyan’s rare stubbornness, he had no way to resist. All his bitterness and reluctance boiled down to a faint sigh.
“Say my name, Yan Yan,”
His voice was hoarse and raw.
“As long as you call my name, I’ll carry you to the operating table, and we’ll pretend nothing happened just now.”
Nothing happened?
Shao Leyan’s brows lifted in surprise, joy swelling in her chest. Fu Xingyan had come to his senses, hadn’t he?
She finally relaxed, her tense body releasing its stiffness. She should have realized earlier—Fu Xingchen was Fu Xingyan’s twin brother, and she was Fu Xingchen’s woman. Unless Fu Xingyan loved her enough to fight with his own brother, he wouldn’t risk taking the final step.
Shao Leyan knew her own charms.
She was just an ordinary woman.
In her past life, her childhood sweetheart, Xiao Yi, despised her, even wished her dead so he could be with his true love.
In this life, Fu Xingchen was head over heels for her, because she was the only one who could endure his electricity and maintain physical contact.
Le An had told her that the original female protagonist, Mu Jiaojiao, was an ordinary person without powers, secretly in love with Fu Xingchen but doomed to fail. That was her opportunity to step in.
As for Fu Xingyan, the other male protagonist without any hidden flaw—how could he risk offending his brother for her, or give up the sweet story heroine he had longed for but could never have?
He simply wouldn’t.
Fu Xingyan’s kiss might have many reasons behind it. After all, the dynamic between the brothers had always been strange. Le An even warned her to act cautiously and offend no one.
But among all possibilities, falling in love with her was not one of them.
Shao Leyan finally felt completely at ease. She didn’t want to be a pawn in the brothers’ struggle. She only wanted to survive in this post-apocalyptic world—seek protection through influence if needed, grow stronger if necessary.
In short, survival was her only goal.
Understanding this, Shao Leyan’s lips curved into a bright, radiant smile. She opened her arms toward Fu Xingyan like a child asking her mother for a hug.
“Fu Xingyan, carry me over.”
A faint curve appeared at the corner of Fu Xingyan’s mouth. He bent down, skillfully freeing her from her bindings, and gently laid her on the operating table.
Council Hall
Leaders from various dungeons gathered in the space, arguing fiercely over the relationships among the central city, dungeon city, and zombie city.
“The central city is full of cowards! It’s the apocalypse! Instead of destroying zombies, they’re recruiting powers and sending them to collect resources. Isn’t this like using a cannon to kill mosquitoes?”
“But if we attack zombie city with our forces alone, we have no chance. Should we just fight to mutual destruction and let central city reap the benefits?”
Every meeting ended with heated, unresolved arguments, faces red, voices hoarse.
Fu Xingchen was utterly annoyed, especially since his mind was occupied with worry for Shao Leyan at the research lab. The bickering became unbearable noise.
He had witnessed his brother’s disgusting, bloody zombie experiments.
Just imagining Shao Leyan’s tearful, helpless eyes looking at him made his heart ache as if being crushed.
Such a beautiful girl had awakened the most useful yet cruel powers.
He wanted to bind her to his side, protecting her at all times, wishing she’d never need to use her powers.
The more Fu Xingchen thought, the more his anger and protective instincts flared, almost burning away the last of his reason.
Bang!
The chair beneath him toppled as he jumped to his feet.
The noisy council hall instantly fell silent.
The arrogant power users, usually disregarding everyone, suddenly became mute, not daring to speak.
Fu Xingchen shot a cold glance at the cowering crowd, strode out, increasing his pace, eventually running.
He ran all the way from the city lord’s palace to the research lab, stormed to the third floor, and headed straight to Fu Xingyan’s private laboratory.
Taking a deep breath, Fu Xingchen tidied his messy bangs and, feigning calm, knocked on the door.
