Chapter Text
Usually, Mu Qing doesn’t mind that he has to wake up for work very early or work long hours. But today is different—he has been dreading this particular shift for quite a while, and he wishes he could just call in sick and stay in bed the entire day.
Today, Mu Qing is going to be working alone with his least favorite coworker, a complete idiot called Feng Xin, who always makes Mu Qing’s head hurt with his sheer stupidity, idiotic jokes and impulsiveness.
Feng Xin, his childhood… rival? enemy? Feng Xin, the man who haunts Mu Qing and follows him wherever Mu Qing goes.
Of course, Mu Qing got employed at his current workplace first, and he even managed to get promoted to Assistant Manager before Feng Xin came along and ruined everything. He just couldn’t apply to any other workplace or leave the moment he saw Mu Qing in the store.
So, now Mu Qing is stuck here, barely making enough to cover his rent and daily expenses, and being forced to see Feng Xin’s face at least twice a week.
He will have to tolerate Feng Xin’s presence for the entire day, from opening to closing. How much worse can this day get?
Mu Qing finally gets up from the bed with a sigh, knowing that if he doesn’t start getting ready soon, he’ll be late for work—and that’s the last thing he needs right now.
He always prepares his outfit the day before, which may seem a little futile, considering he has to wear a uniform anyway. But he still wants to look good, even if his cotton black shirt and mustard crewneck are covered by the hideous, blue shirt that serves as his uniform. What matters is that his black ripped jeans, studded belt and red choker will still be visible.
After getting dressed, Mu Qing does his signature makeup—winged eyeliner, some blush and dark lipstick. He might get judgy looks for it every time he steps foot outside, but he couldn’t care less about that. The makeup is an inseparable part of his looks, and he’s not going to give it up.
Besides, it would be nice to see the dark lipstick smudged on his partner's lips after a kiss. Not like he currently has a partner. Or much experience kissing people, for that matter.
At least he, unlike some other people, cares about his appearance. Feng Xin is the complete opposite of that. He always wears random clothes, like old jeans and a t-shirt and calls it a day. Not to mention that he sometimes “forgets” to wear his uniform. He should’ve been fired a long time ago.
An hour passes in the blink of an eye, and suddenly Mu Qing realizes he needs to leave, like… right now. The metro station isn’t far away, but he needs to get there at least five minutes early and just wait for his train in peace, or otherwise he’ll convince himself that he’s already late and that his entire day will be ruined.
However, this particular day can’t be ruined, even if he’s scheduled to work with Feng Xin. There’s a silver lining to it, an event Mu Qing has been nervously anticipating for a while.
The bad part is that it involves Feng Xin. The good part is that they’re going to meet Xie Lian in the evening after not having seen him for roughly four years.
Mu Qing lets his thoughts drift to the meeting as he leaves his apartment and makes his way towards the metro station.
Xie Lian messaged their old group chat out of the blue, saying that he was returning to the city and would like to meet, just to catch up. Mu Qing’s breath caught in his throat when he read the message, and he had to reread it a few times just to make sure he wasn’t seeing things.
A part of him is still convinced someone had hacked into Xie Lian’s account, though. He’ll probably fully believe it was the real Xie Lian once he sees his old friend in real life.
Nothing was really the same after Xie Lian had moved away. Mu Qing lost his closest friend and was left with Feng Xin, who used to just trail behind Xie Lian like a lost puppy and annoy the hell out of Mu Qing. Eventually, due to all of their differences, they drifted apart and stopped meeting at all—but not for long before Feng Xin appeared in the same high school as Mu Qing and then the same university. And workplace. He swears it’s all a coincidence, but Mu Qing isn’t so sure. At this point, it’s like he has been afflicted with a Feng Xin curse.
Xie Lian probably believes that they’re friends. When they still talked online, Mu Qing and Feng Xin would pretend to get along, for their friend’s sake. Eventually, Xie Lian stopped replying to their messages, and they didn’t reach out anymore, so he never found out the truth.
Finally, the metro arrives and Mu Qing gets on, choosing to sit down in the same seat as always—the one on the very end of the carriage, where he can get to work in peace, unbothered by the other passengers’ conversations.
He wonders how Xie Lian will react to everything that’s changed in the past four years. Mu Qing has started dying his hair, doing his makeup and dressing the way he’s always secretly liked. Feng Xin, on the other hand, got his ears pierced at some point and he’s become way more muscular. He’s still just as ugly as he always has been, though. His amber eyes aren’t breathtakingly beautiful or anything like that.
If they’ve changed, that means Xie Lian has, too. Perhaps he’s cut his long hair off. Perhaps he no longer wears all white. He hasn’t updated his profile picture in years, so Mu Qing wouldn’t know. He may as well be bald.
Either way, Mu Qing is equal parts nervous and excited to meet Xie Lian and catch up on everything. It’s just a shame Feng Xin will be there, too. As if working with him for an entire day wasn’t enough to give Mu Qing a headache.
He can already imagine all the mistakes Feng Xin will make today, like he always does.
Okay, maybe not always, but often enough for Mu Qing to know that Feng Xin isn’t even trying to be a good worker. Especially because he realizes that as someone with a higher position, Mu Qing is partly responsible for all the Sales Assistants, and he just wants to make Mu Qing’s life miserable.
With a sigh, Mu Qing gets off the metro at his stop and makes his way towards work. It almost feels like he’s heading to his own execution.
Of course he gets there first, even though Feng Xin and him are scheduled to start working at the same time. Feng Xin will probably be late again, and he’ll make a lame excuse about his alarms not working or his train not coming. Mu Qing never believes him anyway.
He leaves his backpack in the staff room and begins doing all the opening activities that he knows by heart. Turning the lights on. Starting up the systems. Making a plan of the day’s tasks—Feng Xin gets all the boring ones, like cleaning the mirrors or checking the price tags. It’s a punishment for being late.
After roughly fifteen minutes have passed, Mu Qing finally hears the front door open. A red-faced, slightly sweaty Feng Xin storms in, looking like he’s just fought a bear on his way here.
Mu Qing raises an eyebrow and crosses his arms over his chest, but doesn’t say anything.
Feng Xin runs right past him to the staff room, as if Mu Qing was a ghost. If he was standing in the middle of the store instead of behind the counter, Feng Xin would’ve probably ran straight into him.
He reappears a while later, not looking much better than before. He’s wearing a red t-shirt and dark jeans, and—of course—no uniform.
“So not only are you late, but you also don’t have your uniform?” Mu Qing asks, faking his surprise.
Feng Xin looks at him wide-eyed, as if he’s just realized that Mu Qing is here, too.
“Are we working together today?”
He has got to be kidding.
If there weren’t cameras around here, Mu Qing would most likely throw a hanger at Feng Xin.
Instead, he rolls his eyes dramatically. “No, I just came here because I was bored. What kind of idiotic question is that? Do you never check the schedule in the staff room?”
Okay, that also wasn’t the best question. Obviously Feng Xin doesn’t check anything, ever. It’s a wonder that he even knew he was scheduled to be working today.
“Jeez, don’t get all angry at me at eight in the morning. Just didn’t realize you would also be here,” he retorts.
He really has no right to be giving Mu Qing this attitude. He’s the one who’s completely unprepared, after all.
“Did you also not realize that you should be wearing your uniform? That’s a bit unprofessional, wouldn’t you agree?”
Feng Xin disappears into the staff room, completely ignoring what Mu Qing said.
He comes back out with the vacuum, evidently having decided to be useful for once and clean the store.
“It’s not like Hua Cheng cares about uniforms,” he says as he plugs the vacuum in.
“But I care. And the regional manager. And—”
“You’re not my boss,” Feng Xin interrupts.
“I am when Hua Cheng isn’t here,” Mu Qing points out, irritated. It’s unbelievable that Feng Xin has already managed to anger him before the store even opens.
“Okay, then fire me. Go ahead.”
Feng Xin gives Mu Qing a challenging look, as if trying to show that he means every word. But he knows very well that Mu Qing can’t actually fire him. It’s beyond his power.
“Hua Cheng will hear about this,” he mutters before turning on his heel and walking into the staff room. He makes sure to slam the door shut.
“Complaining about me won’t make Hua Cheng like you!” Feng Xin yells after him.
Mu Qing rolls his eyes again, even though Feng Xin can’t see his face.
He couldn’t care less about what Hua Cheng—his boss—thinks. He should probably have a certain level of respect for his superior, but Mu Qing just can’t bring himself to respect Hua Cheng, of all people.
Is he knowledgeable? Sure. Has he been working for the company for a long time? Yes.
Is he also one of the most annoying people on Earth? Absolutely. He’s on the podium right after Feng Xin.
First of all, he always acts like he knows everything and doesn’t need anybody’s help. He’s well aware that Mu Qing does a lot of work, but never thanks him for it. Second of all, he treats his job like his personal runway. Maybe Mu Qing wears noticeable makeup to work, but at least he doesn’t come in wearing a burgundy suit and a ton of silver jewelry. Third of all, he spends most of the day in the staff room, attending meetings and doing other very important managerial things, leaving Mu Qing to deal with all the trouble on the sales floor.
Mu Qing could go on and on. An eternity wouldn't be enough to rant about all the flaws he sees in Hua Cheng.
To be honest, if he didn’t desperately need the money, he would’ve resigned from this job a long time ago. At least then he wouldn’t have to see Feng Xin anymore—that is, until the idiot would ultimately end up following him elsewhere.
Mu Qing can’t let Feng Xin control his mood entirely, though. He’s going to get a lot of work done today despite Feng Xin constantly pissing him off. He’s going to serve every customer and make sure they have a satisfying shopping experience. He’s going to—
Feng Xin opens the door, and Mu Qing wants to scream at him immediately.
“What do you want?” he practically barks without turning around to look at the other man.
Silence fills the room for a few seconds. Mu Qing is just about to tell Feng Xin to leave him alone and let him send a few emails in peace when Feng Xin remembers he actually has a working mouth.
“Look, sorry. I didn’t mean to be late.”
Mu Qing is sure he must’ve misheard.
“What?”
He hears Feng Xin sigh. “I’m sorry. For being late. And forgetting my uniform.”
If Mu Qing turned around now, Feng Xin would see his wide eyes and his lips parted slightly in disbelief.
Feng Xin is… actually apologizing? This has never happened before. Mu Qing isn’t sure how to act.
“Whatever. I would tell you to make sure not to do it again, but I know that you will anyway,” he responds with a bitter edge to his tone.
Maybe, just maybe, that isn’t the best or most professional reaction, but what else is he supposed to say? “Don’t worry about it, it definitely doesn’t matter that you’re late more often than not”? “Apologize to Hua Cheng and not me, because he surely just cares so much about you and this place”?
“Are you being serious right now?” Feng Xin asks incredulously.
Mu Qing shrugs. “Your apology doesn’t mean much to me if you refuse to change.”
“Well, this might be the first step!”
The concept of Feng Xin actually changing his ways seems quite unlikely to Mu Qing, but he decides not to admit that out loud. He doesn’t have time for petty fights.
“You should probably go make sure everything is in order on the sales floor,” he says, changing the topic. “I’ll join you in a few minutes.”
Feng Xin lets out an unintelligible, annoyed sound. For a second Mu Qing thinks he will keep arguing, but thankfully he decides to shut up and leaves the room, slamming the door shut behind him.
Mu Qing takes a deep breath. Today just keeps getting worse, and it’s only the beginning. He's not sure how much more he can take.
A part of him wishes things were different. He wishes Feng Xin and him could get along more easily, or at least tolerate each other’s existence without getting almost irrationally mad at each other. Working together would definitely be less complicated, then.
But the truth is, they’re like oil and water. They can’t be friends. Never have been, never will be.
Suddenly, a loud bang pierces the air, making Mu Qing jump.
What the fuck? Did that idiot climb a ladder and fall all the way down?
He quickly leaves the staff room to check out the situation and scold Feng Xin, if necessary.
He finds Feng Xin standing by the sweater display, but—strangely—nothing looks out of the ordinary. There is no ladder for Feng Xin to have fallen from, and the clothes are all perfectly fine.
“What are you doing?” Mu Qing asks, crossing his arms over his chest. It may not be obvious at first glance, but Feng Xin has definitely done something that caused the bang.
Feng Xin, however, shakes his head. “That wasn’t me.”
His eyes are widened slightly, his eyebrows raised in surprise, and that actually convinces Mu Qing that he’s not lying.
“It wasn’t—then what?”
“I think it came from outside,” Feng Xin says, pointing to the entrance.
“Did someone crash their car or something?” Mu Qing mutters, already walking over to the front of the store to assess the situation. If someone really did get into a crash, then they probably need an ambulance.
Mu Qing might be studying to become a vet and not a human doctor, but he still knows quite a lot about medicine in general. If someone is injured, it’s his responsibility to help.
Of course Feng Xin follows suit. Mu Qing rolls his eyes when he hears the familiar footsteps behind him.
They notice the car immediately. It has, indeed, hit a nearby tree, but thankfully it isn’t on fire or anything, so Mu Qing and Feng Xin can get closer.
They both run up to the car; Mu Qing shakily opens the front door, hoping the driver hasn’t sustained any serious injuries.
He lets out a loud gasp the moment his eyes land on the man. He closes them, foolishly wishing that when they open again, the sight will have somehow changed.
The driver’s body is intact, save for one part.
Where his heart should be, there’s a gaping hole, as if everything—the heart, the veins and bones—has been meticulously carved out. There’s no blood, no sign of any attack. Just the hole, revealing the seat behind the man.
Mu Qing backs away in shock; the only sound he can focus on is the pounding of his own heart. He thinks Feng Xin says something, but he isn’t sure.
This can’t be. It’s not possible. One doesn’t just… lose their heart from a car crash.
He feels his body being dragged away, but he doesn’t even have the strength to protest.
His hands are shaking uncontrollably—his entire body, even—and ragged breaths are escaping his lips. It feels like he’s going to choke.
Simultaneously, it seems impossible to take even a single step—his body is frozen, his reflexes sluggish.
It’s such a shame that Feng Xin has to see him like this.
That’s when he realizes Feng Xin must’ve seen the same thing. Or perhaps he didn’t. Perhaps Mu Qing is losing his mind.
The hands that were dragging him away let go now; Mu Qing finds enough courage in himself to turn around and look at Feng Xin.
One glance is enough for him to know that they both really saw… that.
Feng Xin looks like he’s just seen a ghost. All color has drained from his face; his eyes are widened in disbelief, his lips trembling slightly.
Mu Qing has never seen him so terrified before. A part of him is glad to know he isn’t alone in this, though.
“P-pinch yourself,” Feng Xin mumbles. “Maybe we’re dreaming.”
And he does, actually, begin pinching the skin on his forearm.
“Are you stupid?!” Mu Qing yells at him. “I just saw a corpse and you want me to pinch myself?”
That, at least, makes Feng Xin abandon his idiotic plan. A flash of annoyance crosses his face. “Hey, I saw said corpse too! And I dragged you away from it.”
Mu Qing shakes his head. “Whatever. What… what do we do with this?!”
They could—and probably should—call an ambulance, but how do they even begin to explain what they’ve seen?
Hello, I would like to report a car accident. The victim appears to not have his heart anymore.
The dispatcher would think they’re being pranked, at best.
Feng Xin shakily takes his phone out of his back pocket. “We should… we should call somebody. The ambulance. And the police.”
Mu Qing just nods, trying to control the frantic beating of his heart. “Go ahead, then.”
He looks around, hoping to see somebody passing by, but of course, there’s no one around here. He can’t even see any workers coming to open the other stores on the street, which is… unusual.
“What the fuck?!” Feng Xin exclaims all of a sudden.
Mu Qing’s gaze flicks back to him. “What?”
“My phone is dead,” Feng Xin explains, anxiety creeping into his voice.
“Of course it is,” Mu Qing can’t help but roll his eyes.
No matter the situation, Feng Xin is almost always unprepared. It comes as no surprise that he didn’t even charge his phone before his shift.
“But I charged it overnight! It was fine when I left for work, I swear!”
“I find it hard to believe that.”
Feng Xin takes a deep, shaky breath. “Fuck, okay, then check yours.”
Mu Qing pulls his iPhone 8 out of his pocket and attempts to unlock it.
The screen remains black. Huh?
Foolishly, he presses on the button harder. When that doesn’t work, he tries to turn the phone on, thinking that maybe it just turned itself off somehow.
The screen is still black.
“…What?” His voice comes out as a pathetic squeak.
Feng Xin swears under his breath. “Yours is dead too, isn’t it?”
“That’s impossible. My phone is always charged,” Mu Qing whispers in disbelief. “W-what does this mean?!”
His gaze unwittingly flicks to Feng Xin again. He half-expects Feng Xin’s face to start melting and distorting until the entire world around them fades away and Mu Qing wakes up from the nightmare that he’s having.
“It means we’re in the fucking apocalypse.”
Feng Xin says it like it’s just a statement of a fact.
It’s probably the last thing Mu Qing expected to hear. Their phones are dead, so that must indicate the start of an apocalypse. There aren’t any other options, according to Feng Xin.
He gives Feng Xin the most disdainful look he can muster at the moment. “Don’t be stupid.”
“How else would you explain all of this, then?”
Well, it’s not like Mu Qing has all the answers, either.
“I–I don’t know,” he hesitates for a second. “Maybe there’s an issue with the cell towers in the neighborhood.”
He’s aware of how beyond stupid it sounds, but the need to disagree with Feng Xin is stronger than common sense.
“What about the guy?” Feng Xin asks, shakily gesturing to the car.
Okay, in all honesty, Mu Qing has no idea how to explain any of this. But he’s not going to admit that out loud.
“Apocalypses don’t start at eight in the morning on a random Monday,” he says, his throat tight.
They also don’t start during a dreaded shift with your rival.
“Well, this one did, I guess,” Feng Xin shrugs. He’s trying so hard to be casual about this, as if Mu Qing can’t see the trembling of his body, as if he doesn’t recognize the panic on Feng Xin’s face.
“You know that’s impossible,” Mu Qing retorts, looking away.
“All I know is that this is some Final Destination type of shit.”
They both just… stand there for a few minutes, unsure what to do. Nobody ever teaches you the right course of action for when you witness horrors beyond human comprehension.
“So do we just… leave him here?” Feng Xin asks finally, his voice hollow.
Mu Qing swallows the lump that’s formed in his throat. His mouth feels dry when he opens it to speak.
“It appears we don’t have a choice.”
Feng Xin shakes his head. “This is insane.”
Out of nowhere, another loud bang can be heard nearby.
Mu Qing jumps in surprise and then looks at Feng Xin with wide eyes. Feng Xin looks back at him, mirroring his expression.
“What. the. fuck,” Feng Xin blurts out.
“I was just about to say the same thing,” Mu Qing mumbles.
“We… we need to get out of here. Go back inside,” Feng Xin chokes out. There’s a sense of urgency in his tone that Mu Qing has seldom heard before.
For once, they agree on something.
Mu Qing takes one last glance at their surroundings, but they’re still alone. The realization makes his skin crawl.
They hurry back to the store; Mu Qing’s hands are shaking so much he finds it difficult to open the door. Of course, Feng Xin just stands behind him, offering no help.
Once they’re back inside, they immediately notice something is off here, as well.
“Did you… not turn the lights on earlier?” Feng Xin asks, perplexed.
“I did!”
Mu Qing is nearly hysterical at this point. He knows damn well he turned the lights on, as well as the computers at the register, but everything is off right now.
“Well, fuck,” Feng Xin comments oh so helpfully.
For the second time today, Mu Qing asks himself just how much worse this day can get. He really doesn’t want to find out what the answer is.
“So, the power is off. That’s just great. Fantastic,” Mu Qing says bitterly.
Feng Xin lets out a quiet, nervous laugh. “This whole thing is almost as bad as working retail.”
Mu Qing has to stop himself from yelling at him at the top of his lungs.
Does he think this is the right time for joking?! If he was trying to relieve the tension in the air, then he failed miserably.
“You know you’re not helping,” he spits out. “You’re only making my head hurt.”
“That’s what I’m best at, according to you,” Feng Xin mumbles.
This whole thing is so pointless. Both of them always need to have the last word, so their arguments could go on and on. The entire world could end and they would still be here, bickering.
Mu Qing has to control himself, no matter how much he wants to let out the pent-up anger in his body.
“Just be helpful for once and go see if you can turn the lights back on,” he orders, trying to keep his voice level.
“Why would I be able to do that? There’s clearly a bigger issue at hand.”
Rage and frustration surge inside of Mu Qing, threatening to spill out with his next words. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, praying that Feng Xin won’t say something unimaginably stupid again.
“Did it cross your mind that maybe I just need to be alone for a few minutes?” Mu Qing asks through clenched teeth, his tone dangerously close to being straight-up venomous.
He wants nothing more right now than for Feng Xin to leave him alone. No idiotic jokes, no unhelpful comments.
“You should’ve just said that, then. I’m not a mind reader,” Feng Xin responds, clearly annoyed.
Mu Qing sighs dramatically. “Yeah, you’re a—”
Feng Xin interrupts him mid-sentence. “Okay, okay, I’ll go!”
Thank Heavens.
He begins walking towards the staff room, careful not to bump into anything in the dark.
Only when Feng Xin is out of sight does Mu Qing allow himself to sit down on the floor and hug his knees to his chest. He closes his eyes again, focusing on the irregular beating of his heart.
It should be easier to calm down without Feng Xin right next to him. He needs to let go of the anger, at least temporarily. It doesn’t go well with shock and fear.
It will all be fine, Mu Qing tells himself. Someone will come soon and tell them about a power outage in the neighborhood, and they’ll be able to clock out and go home. Mu Qing will have to walk all the way back, but he won’t hear any more piercing sounds on the way. And eventually, he’ll forget about the man in the car.
He almost laughs at his own foolishness.
Filling his head with positive thoughts isn’t helping in the least. His hands are shaking just as much—if not more—as before, and he feels like he might just throw up any second now from the stress and confusion.
Something is so very wrong around here, and Mu Qing doesn’t wish to become a horror movie protagonist.
“The fuse box isn’t working!” Feng Xin screams from the staff room.
That doesn’t really come as a surprise.
If none of the lights are working, they can’t open the store. And with the phones being broken, too, they can’t even call for an electrician or let Hua Cheng know what’s happening.
They’re all alone in this.
Or, rather, Mu Qing is all alone, with the human-shaped nuisance called Feng Xin by his side.
“I bet you broke everything when you came in late and sweaty!” Mu Qing yells back.
Feng Xin’s head peeks out from the staff room. “Hey, that isn’t funny! And I wasn’t sweaty!”
“Oh, you definitely were,” Mu Qing says under his breath.
It’s just too easy to poke fun at Feng Xin, especially when Mu Qing feels like his sanity is slowly slipping away.
Arguing with Feng Xin helps him take his mind off… everything else. He can fully focus on Feng Xin’s stupidity and forget about the horrors they’ve witnessed.
After a while, Mu Qing actually manages to control his heartbeat and the trembling of his hands a little. He decides to join Feng Xin in the staff room because, really, does he have anything better to do?
Getting there would definitely be easier if the lights were on; it would spare him a few “ouches” after hitting his leg or side on a display table.
“Do you need glasses or something?” Feng Xin asks mockingly from the entry to the staff room, where he’s been standing and watching Mu Qing for the past few minutes.
“Get lost.”
Yes, Mu Qing actually needs glasses. Not that it’s any of Feng Xin’s business.
He finally manages to walk into the room and sits in the chair, resigned. His eyes have finally gotten a bit more used to the dark, so now he can even make out the semi-focused expression on Feng Xin’s face.
A thick silence sinks over them.
Mu Qing should be using all of his brainpower to somehow fix everything, to find a solution that would make it all right. But his head is empty—he only sees the body from earlier whenever he lets his thoughts drift, the scene replaying in his head over and over again.
He wishes he could just forget. He wishes he could wake up in his warm, comfy bed and realize that the entire morning had been nothing but a bad dream.
But alas, that’s all this is—a foolish wish. Mu Qing tends not to get what he wants.
“I might have a plan,” Feng Xin exclaims suddenly.
“You… have a plan?” Mu Qing asks incredulously, narrowing his eyes. “That’s new.”
“I have concepts of a plan,” Feng Xin specifies, ignoring Mu Qing’s remark.
“Alright, let me guess. You want to save the world with the power of rivalry?”
“The power of rivalry? Seriously?” annoyance flickers over Feng Xin’s face, “I want to get the hell out of here.”
Mu Qing raises an eyebrow. “How?”
“By going outside, probably.”
He hates that Feng Xin has picked up his own habit of using sarcasm.
Besides, that “plan” is just stupid. Feng Xin is going to get both of them injured or killed. Or both.
“And how do you intend to go outside when it’s clearly not safe?”
It seems Feng Xin is just verbalizing his random thoughts without actually analyzing the plan. Sure, let’s go outside, where an unspecified danger has appeared. What could go wrong?
“We don’t know which areas are safe and which aren’t,” Feng Xin says, tucking a loose strand of hair behind his ear. Then, he adds: “It might just be our neighborhood.”
“If it really is an apocalypse, it won’t be just the neighborhood,” Mu Qing points out.
“So you finally agree that it’s an apocalypse?”
Mu Qing barely suppresses an eye-roll. “I said if.”
They’re just wasting time here without getting any closer to finding a solution. It’s pointless, despite the bickering still being slightly comforting.
After a few awkward moments of silence, Feng Xin continues his explanation. “Anyway, we should bring weapons.”
Mu Qing has to bite the inside of his cheek to stop himself from laughing. Feng Xin can’t possibly think there are any proper weapons in a clothing store. He might be a hobbyist archer, but he can’t exactly replace a bow with a hanger. Honestly, Mu Qing would like to see him try, but now isn’t the right time.
“Weapons?”
“The box knives,” Feng Xin explains, gravely serious. “Plus, you always have pepper spray on you, don’t you?”
Mu Qing nods reluctantly. “And you think a box knife is going to save you?”
Whatever has carved somebody’s literal heart out will definitely be afraid of a small box knife. And a shaking Feng Xin holding said knife.
“It’s going to help me defend myself.”
Mu Qing can’t help the small smile that curls his lips. Heavens, this guy is the biggest idiot he has ever had the displeasure of meeting.
“So, you’ll be the first one to die. Got it.”
This is amusing, almost. Feng Xin thinks he’s so strong and smart, but he’s got no idea how he would act in a real life-threatening situation. He might find out soon enough, though.
Feng Xin crosses his arms over his chest. “How do you know it won’t be you?”
“It won’t because I’m not going anywhere until this is all sorted out,” Mu Qing repeats firmly, fixing Feng Xin with a repulsed, furious glare.
If looks could kill, Feng Xin would likely already be dead.
“Yes, you are going somewhere. With me,” Feng Xin says in a tone that allows for no argument.
“In your dreams,” Mu Qing sneers. “There was nobody on the street. Clearly, they’re more clever than you.”
No matter what Feng Xin does, he won’t be able to persuade Mu Qing. The situation is way too serious to just blindly trust Feng Xin and hope for the best.
“I don’t want to go alone,” Feng Xin admits, causing Mu Qing’s heart to skip a beat.
Oh. That’s interesting. Since it’s so hard for them to get along, Feng Xin should prefer being alone. At least that’s how it is for Mu Qing. And yet, for some reason, he doesn’t want to leave without Mu Qing.
“Then I suppose you’re stuck here with me. I’m not happy about that, either, trust me.”
Feng Xin lets out a long, exasperated sigh. “You’re impossible.”
“Likewise.”
They stare at each other with ire, both waiting for the other to look away first, both refusing to give up. If all else fails, they could just sit here and argue for five hours while the world descends into chaos outside.
“We have no idea what’s going on outside. There may be more and more accidents, fires, or explosions. It’s unpredictable. But here, we’re relatively safe, even if it’s almost pitch black. Tell me why that doesn’t make sense to you,” Mu Qing argues.
“That car crashed right next to the store. And the other sound was nearby, too. For all we know, we might be in the least safe area. That’s why that doesn’t make sense to me.”
At that exact moment, an explosion pierces the air, a sound so loud and powerful it makes the ground beneath their feet shake and their ears ring. Only a deafening silence is left when the aftershock ends.
Mu Qing’s heart sinks.
He looks over at Feng Xin, who somehow seems even more terrified now than he did after seeing the man in the car.
They sit in stunned silence for a few moments, unable to find the right words. Mu Qing’s hands begin to shake again, just when he manages to control the trembling.
“Case in point,” Feng Xin mutters eventually.
“Just what is going on?” Mu Qing whispers, more to himself than to Feng Xin.
“We need to leave. Like, right now. Unless you wanna explode,” Feng Xin presses, already reaching for his backpack.
Exploding definitely isn’t on Mu Qing’s bucket list.
But neither is experiencing an apocalypse alongside Feng Xin.
Besides, the last thing he wants is to go outside and see the aftermath of the explosion, especially if there are even more heart-less corpses at the scene.
Mu Qing’s lips press into a thin line. He shakes his head to signify, “No, I’m still not going with you.”
“We’re going. We’re gonna take meds and bandages from the first aid kit, and then we’re getting out of here. We don’t have time to lose,” Feng Xin utters through gritted teeth. There is clear anxiety in his voice now; a sense of impending doom hovers over them.
Mu Qing’s stomach twists.
To be honest, he doesn’t want to stay here alone, either.
And maybe, just maybe, a small part of him would worry about Feng Xin’s well-being. But only after a few hours. Only if Mu Qing was really bored.
“Hypothetically speaking, where would we go?” he asks quietly.
Feng Xin’s face lights up. “Is that a yes? ”
Mu Qing rolls his eyes for what seems like the hundredth time today. “It’s a question!”
Feng Xin is silent for a few seconds, probably trying to gather his thoughts. Mu Qing is afraid he’ll hear something laughably stupid again.
“I was thinking we could go to my apartment. I have more food and other supplies there, and it’s closer than yours, right?”
Mu Qing raises an eyebrow. “Since when do you know where I live?”
That’s, like, creepy. Feng Xin has never been to Mu Qing’s apartment, and Mu Qing has never been to Feng Xin’s.
“You take the metro to come here, meanwhile I can just walk,” Feng Xin shrugs. “It would take us roughly half an hour to get there.”
“And you truly believe that walking amidst car crashes and explosions is our best bet?” Mu Qing asks sarcastically.
Feng Xin fixes him with an annoyed glare. “It’ll get us to a relatively safer place. Plus, we can find out more about what’s happening if we go outside. Maybe we’ll meet someone.”
Mu Qing can’t shake the feeling that Feng Xin is treating this like some fun survival game. The quest he wants to send them on might as well end with their deaths, but he just doesn’t understand that.
“No, this still doesn’t make sense to me,” Mu Qing protests. “It’s too dangerous. If you make a wrong choice, you can’t just restart the game.”
“You’re making this so difficult,” Feng Xin groans.
This guy is absolutely unbelievable. There is nothing Mu Qing can say to change his mind.
“It is difficult,” he argues. “It’s not an easy choice, and neither of us is willing to compromise.”
Feng Xin sits on the desk, back hunched. Normally, Mu Qing would tell him to get off immediately, but right now, he can’t find the energy or motivation to do it. Whatever.
“Remember when we were kids, and we used to pretend we were pirates or aliens along with Xie Lian? How we would run around the neighborhood imagining we were fighting monsters?”
Mu Qing nods, despite thinking it’s a very strange question.
“This is just like that. An adventure,” Feng Xin says, sounding fully convinced that his words actually make sense.
Mu Qing didn’t have to wait very long to hear a laughably stupid thing again. He can’t help but giggle quietly at how ridiculous Feng Xin is being. “That’s hardly comparable.”
“Just think of it like that. If it makes it easier for you to leave.”
“I’ve already told you I’m not leaving.”
Really, how many times does he have to repeat himself?
Feng Xin’s jaw tightens. “We will never end up doing anything at this rate.”
“That’s fine with me,” Mu Qing retorts, curling his hands into fists.
He’s very close to just getting up and punching Feng Xin in the face. He’s not getting paid enough to deal with this. On the other hand, money probably doesn’t matter much during a world-altering sequence of events.
“What if we play rock, paper, scissors?” Feng Xin suggests, his eyes flashing with a challenge.
Mu Qing barely manages to stifle another laugh. This guy simply can’t be serious. “That’s how you want to make a decision?”
“Let’s just try,” Feng Xin presses.
Oh. He actually is being serious. That shouldn’t really surprise Mu Qing after everything he’s already heard today.
“Sure, whatever. If that finally makes you shut up.”
The words slip out before he’s thought them through properly, but it’s already too late to take them back.
Feng Xin always suggests rock, paper, scissors when the two of them can’t come to an agreement, and most of the time, it’s Mu Qing who ends up winning. He just has to believe that today won’t be any different. It can’t be.
He closes his eyes for a few seconds and takes a deep, shaky breath. “Okay, let’s start.”
“Rock, paper, scissors!”
Mu Qing plays scissors. Feng Xin plays rock.
Mu Qing bites down on his lip. He has to focus. It’s not like he can just predict what Feng Xin is going to play, though. The outcome of each round is down to chance, after all.
“Rock, paper, scissors!”
Thankfully, he manages to win this one by playing paper. But… the next round is the decisive one—the rules they agreed on a long time ago say that there are three rounds in total, thus the victor needs two wins.
Mu Qing’s heartbeat quickens. He needs to win this. He really doesn’t want to die, especially not in front of Feng Xin. Neither does he particularly want to watch Feng Xin die, despite all his animosity for the man.
“Rock, paper, scissors!”
Mu Qing chooses paper. Feng Xin chooses scissors.
He sucks in a sharp breath, his eyes widening in shock. It’s so over for him.
Somehow, he genuinely didn’t think he would lose this, and now he has to deal with the consequences of his actions.
Feng Xin lets out a loud, victorious laugh. “Finally! So, fate has decided that we should go outside.”
“Has fate also given you one functioning brain cell?” Mu Qing mutters.
“You’re just mad you lost,” Feng Xin says, looking unbearably smug. He must be so proud of himself. He would definitely post about this on his Instagram stories, if only phones were working.
“Of course I’m mad! I don’t want to die!” Mu Qing hisses.
He doesn’t know what’s so funny about this. He’s quite literally putting his life in Feng Xin’s hands right now, when he doesn’t even trust Feng Xin enough to let him close the store on his own.
“Don’t worry, I won’t let you die,” Feng Xin assures him, his tone somewhere between amusement and seriousness.
Coming from Feng Xin, that just sounds ominous. He would definitely sacrifice Mu Qing if that ensured his own survival.
“Anyway, we better get going, then,” Feng Xin says, getting up from the desk. “Take anything that might be useful.”
Mu Qing allows himself one last eyeroll of the morning. He really has to find some more original reactions. “Don’t boss me around.”
He actually does as told, though, and picks up one of the box knives, as well as some food from the employee fridge. Feng Xin takes bandages, gauze, ointment and medicine from the first aid kit.
Everything still feels… unreal. They shouldn’t be doing this; instead, they should be opening the store and waiting for the first customers, like on any other day. But, of course, today just had to be different. Mu Qing and Feng Xin working the same shift was just too much for the world to handle.
“I can’t believe I agreed to this,” Mu Qing sighs. “Your stupidity must be contagious.”
“You’ll be glad you agreed to go.”
Mu Qing isn’t so sure about that. He won’t be able to be glad about anything once he dies in an explosion. Or gets his heart carved out. The thought of it alone sends shivers down his spine.
“I’m ready,” Feng Xin announces after a few minutes.
Mu Qing nods, putting his backpack on. “Me too.”
He looks around the staff room, taking it all in. None of his happiest memories are connected with this place, but he’s spent a large portion of the past few years here, both laughing and being close to tears.
He might never see this store again. Or any of his other coworkers, for that matter. What a strange realization that is.
Feng Xin gives Mu Qing a small smile that almost seems to be reassuring. “Let’s go, then.”
With racing hearts and trepidation filling their thoughts, they step outside.