Chapter 29 - Farewell

The small amount of light coming inside the cave indicated that it was already morning. At some point Tang Rong had put down Li Jin from his lap and now the two of them were sleeping parallely across each other. The entrance of the cave had been blocked with ice and rocks.

The two of them got up and groomed themselves with the available resources. Li Jin had already thought that there would be no breakfast but Tang Rong again took out some nuts from his bag. The nuts had a longer shelf life and easily filled the stomach with a small amount so he usually carried a packet or two with himself.

"Why are you taking care of me?" Li Jin asked Tang Rong.

"You saved my life. I am very grateful." replied the latter.

Silence descended for a few seconds as Tang Rong proceeded to share the nuts.

"Are you going to go back?"

"Yes."

"Why? Why can't you stay with me?" Li Jin was a bit emotional as he had thought that he would finally get some company after years of solitude.

"My family and my lover are waiting for me."

"You have a lover?"

"Hm."

"Tell me about them."

"Hmm… I don't know how to describe him clearly, but if I try then... He is the source of colours in my black and white life."

Tang Rong's eyes shone brightly as if they contained all the stars and he seemed to dream about something as he looked into the empty wall without focus. For once, his sharp eyes seemed to have turned soft, making him more handsome than ever.

"Oh…" Li Jin confusedly looked at Tang Rong for a long time and wondered something he himself didn't know. After some time he came back from his trance and again asked a question from the dazed Tang Rong.

"So how did you get lost?"

"Uh… I had a quarrel with my lover about something so I travelled a bit far away from our accommodations." Tang Rong blushed in shame as he remembered how childishly he had reacted in their quarrel even when he was the calmer one among the two of them. And thinking about the source of their quarrel, he flushed even more. The fight for dominance between him and his other half had always been there. Sometimes one of them would voluntarily give in, but there were also times when both of them were quite aggressive and no-one wanted to give in. He now regretted not being calm at that time.

Thankfully there wasn't much lightning in the cave even during the day so Li Jin couldn't see his face.

Tang Rong himself didn't know why he wasn't yet irritated by such a barrage of questions, he couldn't bring himself to say something rude to the overwhelmingly cute boy who saved him. Anyway, he never spared extra energy to spare for anything or anyone other than his family, even himself. So he just went with the flow and his instincts.

Thankfully Li Jin didn't ask him about his personal matters so he mentally took a sigh of relief. Maybe Li Jin had another secret ability called cuteness.

*

Until the afternoon, both of them rested and talked about a lot of random things, getting along quite naturally. Li Jin did not know that he had the ability of communicating with someone like a human. In the apocalypse, he had become used to being alone and running away anytime. He simply could not afford making friends, and when he tried, he came off as a weird person. He had barely learnt socialising in the two years he lived after being rescued from the confinement. And then, the apocalypse was the perfect opportunity to again send him back into his shell. Now ten years after the apocalypse, when he had basically had no contact with humans in the last 2 years, he was honestly surprised that he still remembered so many words.

Like this, the time soon passed.

And now, it was time to depart.

Both of them were standing in another big cave some distance away from the cave they were in. The zombies or any wild mutated animals could come any time.

They both had to go two different ways and they might also never get a chance to meet again in this life. What if one of them was no longer alive by the time the other found him?

Before saying goodbye, Tang Rong hesitated a bit but still extended his hand to pat Li Jin's hair once before going. At last, he pulled the younger one into a tight hug and they both knew that it was the time to go. Li Jin quietly hid his tears as he buried his head in the warm and safe embrace. Maybe he did not deserve this warm feeling. Or maybe the other person did not deserve living in a life-threatening situation as he always did.

He hardened his heart and smiled brightly for the last time at the older man and then suddenly turned around and walked to the cave behind him without looking back.

No words were spoken but they both knew a connection had already been formed.

Tang Rong also turned around and went the other way, but this time, the quietness seemed unbearable for him.

Li Jin(transparent) who had witnessed everything from the side did not realise that his face had become wet from all the tears. Maybe this was the first time he felt heartache.

Or maybe because he died that day.