Pecking at Her Fingertips
Later, Ning Yi slept for a very, very long time.
She dreamed that the menstrual blood that had once run down her legs had been wiped clean, and that someone had handled everything carefully for her.
She dreamed that the chocolate cake she hadn’t managed to get back then had ended up in her stomach. It was cheap and low-quality, but very sweet.
She dreamed that she fired guns and shot arrows in the apocalypse, no longer just the tech specialist, but a combat force.
Finally, she dreamed that her thin body had charged madly toward a zombie tide of thousands upon thousands—
All to gamble on a return.
In the dream, Ning Yi knew that was Gu Cheng in her body.
Brave and fearless.
He had even brought Captain Wan back with him and perfectly closed the door to the apocalypse.
From then on, that world had nothing to do with them anymore.
Gu Cheng had taken care of the humiliations Ning Yi had once endured, then returned to her side with his heart.
So—the swapping mechanism had completed its circle. Two worlds, two dimensions, still could not stop their hearts from merging.
As long as I want to see you.
As long as I want to love you.
I will cross worlds to come.
So even though the dream showed Ning Yi the sadness of the apocalypse at the end, when she woke, she was still smiling.
She opened her eyes drowsily and met Gu Cheng’s lowered gaze.
Deep, pitch-black eyes, holding a dark blue glimmer.
Who knew how long he had been awake?
Ning Yi had just tried to raise her hand to rub her eyes when she realised her arms were being held.
Gu Cheng had woken long ago. He had watched her lie quietly on the clean, soft pillow, beneath a warm quilt and comfortable mattress, sleeping soundly.
Only then had his over-boiling nerves finally calmed little by little.
But his arms were still wrapped tightly around her.
Ning Yi moved, struggled to pull out both arms, then opened them toward him again.
—“Hug.”
A hug was something shared by two people.
Just like running toward each other was something between two people.
Gu Cheng lowered his eyes for a few seconds, then bent down and leaned into her arms.
Ning Yi hugged him and smiled, patting his back.
Her scent was still steady, warm like sunlight.
Held by her, Gu Cheng’s beating heart finally settled completely.
It was over.
They were fine.
After this one whole round of swapping, you and I had reunited into us.
So Gu Cheng also reached out and stroked her back.
“Now I can say—” Gu Cheng kissed the warm side of her neck. “Good morning.”
Ning Yi shrank her neck from the tickle and laughed too. “Good morning.”
Gu de Mo Ning~!
Every morning from now on would be good.
All hardship had been thrown behind her, and Ning Yi’s troublemaking genes were reviving.
So after escaping the darkness and completely cutting off from the apocalypse, what was the most important thing?
“Honey,” Ning Yi said with bright eyes and great force, “hungry!”
A smile flashed through Gu Cheng’s eyes. Holding her like that, his arms and back muscles tensed slightly, and he lifted her straight from the bed.
Ning Yi instinctively wrapped her arms around him, her calves swinging, before finally clamping around his waist.
“Let’s eat,” Gu Cheng said, relaxed and smiling.
Before Ning Yi woke up, Gu Cheng had already arranged a luxurious breakfast for today, booked a high-end restaurant for lunch, and scheduled a physical examination for her in the afternoon.
For the first two, Ning Yi happily nodded like mad. But when she heard the last one, she tilted her head. “Why do I need a check-up?”
Gu Cheng carried her to the bathroom to wash up. “There’s no harm in checking.”
Her period pain, occasional shortness of breath, the big and small scars on her legs and body, the occasional bone pain on rainy days… these were all things he had felt intensely while in the apocalypse. Perhaps they had left underlying problems.
She needed a full examination.
Ning Yi, a strong-willed, healthy-bodied retired apocalypse survivor, was slightly resistant to hospitals. With the ordinary human fear of doctors, she said, “What if they really find something and I have to stay in hospital? Hospital food is awful! I’ll cry!”
Gu Cheng pinched her cheek. “I won’t let you cry.”
Ning Yi tried to stubbornly resist Young Master Gu. “No need for a check-up, right? I’m not some endangered species—”
Gu Cheng: “You are.”
Rare and precious.
Something he would cherish carefully for the rest of his life.
She had to be healthy, held safely in his hands.
In the end, Ning Yi could only stuff crystal shrimp dumplings into her mouth, drink West Lake tofu soup, place a salted-egg-yolk taro bun into her bowl, and listen to her list of examination items.
Both happy and crying internally.
Hospital.
Gu Cheng directly arranged a complete set of examinations, including scans and many other tests.
He simply worked in the corridor while waiting for Ning Yi’s check-up.
Young Master Gu, who had rolled through the apocalypse, still had to steer the entire Gu Group after returning. He still had endless affairs to handle, but he still stayed at the hospital with her.
“Who wrote this report?”
“Read it yourself.”
In the video conference, no one even dared to breathe. Even through the screen, they felt intimidated.
Assistant Zhou stood to the side, looking at Gu Cheng’s cold, sharp profile. For some reason, he suddenly felt that—within that already cold and powerful aura, there was now an added hint of killing intent.
As if he had truly walked through mountains of blades and seas of fire. Just a casual glance was enough to suppress everyone on the other side of the call into silence.
Assistant Zhou, the bodyguards: What presence from the young master!
—As expected of him!
The man who controls the tides of power and leads the Gu Group toward a brilliant future!
And as Assistant Zhou gathered up part of Madam’s medical report, he thought: But a man like this would also gently and attentively wait in a hospital corridor for his wife to finish her check-up! Oh my god!
So why did the young master suddenly bring Madam for a check-up overnight?
Number one CP fan Assistant Zhou: She must be pregnant! (Absolutely certain)
While secretly shipping them, he assisted Gu Cheng in finishing the meeting.
Then he put away the laptop and said at the right moment, “Young Master, there’s someone else at the hospital today.”
Gu Cheng lifted his eyes.
10th floor.
Gu Cheng leaned against the wall.
His expression was calm and composed as he quietly watched Wander walk toward him.
The two men, in a different place and setting, finally faced each other.
It was as if they could still smell the stench of that zombie tide—
Wander was also here for a check-up. Since he had escaped with his life, he had decided to live like 01: healthy, happy, eating well, drinking well—otherwise it wouldn’t be worthy of this second chance.
He glanced at Gu Cheng. “Is she doing alright?”
“Mm,” Gu Cheng replied lightly, then after a pause, “—Thanks for taking care of her.”
Of course, that “thanks” referred to those three years in the apocalypse. Both men understood without needing to say it.
Wander put a cigarette in his mouth.
After a moment, he sighed.
Damn.
He was truly impressed.
Never in a million years had he expected that it would be Gu Cheng who brought him back to this world.
Back when Wander sensed they might be sent back to the apocalypse, he had warned 01 not to get emotionally involved. Not to fall for that man. Because if she were suddenly pulled away from this world one day, she would definitely be heartbroken.
But he never expected—
Gu Cheng was that kind of madman.
Wander didn’t know what the two of them had gone through, but he had to admit—the bond between 01 and Gu Cheng was far stronger than he had imagined. And even more unbelievable was that this man had gone into the apocalypse in her place and brought her back safely.
And Wander himself, the only one who had tried to save 01, the only one who hadn’t abandoned her, became the only one who escaped the apocalypse alongside him.
A true survivor.
And at last, he completely acknowledged the man who would accompany 01 for the rest of her life.
With an indescribable feeling in his heart, Wander stepped forward and bumped fists with Gu Cheng.
“Thanks.”
“You too.”
Between men, not many words were needed.
But before leaving, Wander couldn’t help adding one more sentence:
“You’d better treat her well. She’s had it too hard.”
Gu Cheng’s cold brows lifted slightly as he glanced at him, as if to say: Do you even need to tell me that?
Wander laughed, lowered his head, and put his cigarette back in his mouth. “Then—may you two grow old together.”
May his little 01 stay radiant.
Whether as a comrade, a younger sister, or a friend—so long as she was happy, that was enough.
Just as Gu Cheng was about to say thank you, Wander added one more blessing:
“—May everything go as you wish,” he said.
“May all things be as you desire”—a phrase that would now exist in a more eternal sense.
Gu Cheng’s lips curved slightly.
“Heh—”
As you wish, as you wish.
In a world where he existed, everything would go her way.
After Ning Yi finished her check-up, the results available that day showed no major issues. The rest would take a few more days.
She felt like a child who had just completed her homework—quite proud.
Gu Cheng came down from the 10th floor, saw her, and said calmly, “Your captain is doing well.”
Ning Yi’s eyes lit up, and she smiled. “Good—”
That’s great!
Live well, brother! From now on, we’ll eat the best and drink the best—
Having gone through everything again, Ning Yi also wanted to make up for all the suffering she endured in the darkness where she couldn’t eat or drink.
Even though it had only been four hours since lunch—
“Dinner time!”
Gu Cheng smiled and took her hand. “Alright.”
Now that Ning Yi had money and time, all her “compensatory indulgence” went very smoothly.
The only strange thing was—
“Hey, you don’t need to feed me!” Ning Yi felt a bit embarrassed.
Gu Cheng calmly stuffed a soft, fragrant lotus paste bun into her mouth, then casually wiped the crumbs from the corner of her lips, cutting off anything she was about to say.
Ning Yi chewed, then thought—fine, if he wants to feed her, let him.
But Gu Cheng didn’t stop at just that.
It started with small details.
For example, he would stay and watch her fall asleep at night. If she woke up in the middle of the night, she would find his warm palm resting on her lower abdomen, gently warming it.
Or making sure she ate well-balanced meals three times a day. Usually, Gu Cheng would eat with her. If he was too busy, he’d have Ning Yi “check in” for him.
Ning Yi seriously suspected—what exactly had Gu Cheng gone through in the apocalypse?!
She knew it was tough there, but her husband, who had grown up pampered, couldn’t have developed trauma from hunger, right?
Thinking about it like that… she felt a bit sorry for him.
So Ning Yi hugged him with teary eyes. “Honey, from now on, if I have food, you’ll have food too!”
Gu Cheng: “?”
Ning Yi: “Look how starved you’ve become!”
Gu Cheng couldn’t help but laugh. “You think I’m like this because I was hungry?”
Ning Yi wiped away her fake tears and poked his face. “Then why?”
Gu Cheng didn’t answer.
Because it was heartache. The hunger she endured, the pain she suffered—those scars could never be erased in this lifetime.
So from the smallest daily details to the grand wedding he was planning—everything he did was love, slowly filling in the gaps of her past.
But Gu Cheng didn’t want her to relive those struggles from that world.
All of that was over.
So he smiled slightly and lowered his voice. “I’m… taking revenge.”
Revenge for everything she had suffered in the apocalypse.
Ning Yi didn’t quite understand, but her heart felt a little sweet.
So she leaned closer with a grin. “Revenge on me?”
Gu Cheng lowered his head, kissed the corner of her lips, then deepened the kiss as he pulled her closer.
“No—”
“Revenge on the whole world.”
Ning Yi was kissed until she felt dizzy.
And slightly out of breath.
Then only one thought remained in her mind.
Revenge on the world?
Then Princess Ding Ding was finished.
[On X month X day at 13:14, come to XX Royal Manor for my wedding.]
[Little sister, my happiness will always be open to you—]
Princess Ding’s message arrived as promised. Her romance line was about to ascend to its finale!
After reading it, Ning Yi felt deeply moved.
Yes. No one could doubt it—Princess Ding Ding was this world’s spiritual pillar, the embodiment of joy, its eternal light!
No matter how uncertain factors like them changed, the princess’s world remained brainless and lively—she was this world’s most stable, unchanging will!
And Ding Ziyue had truly been very happy lately because—
“Haha, say that again? Ning Yi and Young Master Gu’s wedding preparations were delayed? They felt it was too rushed and wanted to do it properly? I think that’s just an excuse Ning Yi made up!”
Ahahahaha~ Ning Yi had stolen so much from her before, but in the end, the wedding still couldn’t happen before hers!
No need to think about it. She and Young Master Gu must have problems in their relationship! Delay? Delay meant they didn’t want to hold it anymore! Otherwise, after already parachuting into the wedding studio and the handmade haute couture dress schedule, how could they delay?
It wasn’t like anything had happened in between!
Ding Ziyue shook her head, closed her eyes, and smiled beautifully: in this round, she had ultimately won.
She had said long ago that love without suffering would not last!
How could Ning Yi compare with her? Could Ning Yi and Young Master Gu’s love have experienced as much as hers?
To reach this happy ending with Jiang Linyi, Ding Ziyue had suffered so much—did Ning Yi know? A man’s love was deepest and longest-lasting when it came with heartache and pity! And Ding Ziyue was the woman Jiang Linyi cherished in the palm of his hand~
“Brother Linyi, after watching the ups and downs of other people’s love, I feel even more that our love is precious!”
“On our wedding day, we’ll be the most enviable perfect couple in the world, right?”
Jiang Linyi held her hand and said gently, “Of course, Yueyue.”
And so.
Under the attention of the whole internet, Princess Ding’s wedding was held as scheduled!
The wedding of the Film Emperor and the heiress invited countless elites from all circles. The entire day’s ceremony would be livestreamed on CMore for the whole internet!
[Jiang Linyi and Ding Ziyue’s love is the most moving love story!]
[Who else could go through so many things, so many twists and turns, and still firmly run toward each other?]
[Ding Ziyue is the most pampered and happiest princess in the world!]
That day, in order to create the atmosphere of a wedding of the century and explosive traffic, both marketing accounts and paid commenters went into battle:
[Human Princess Ding Ziyue]
[Guardian Knight Jiang Linyi]
[Damn, I just came in and this paid-commenter style is killing me hahahaha]
[Human Sweetheart Princess Ding]
[Warrior of Love Jiang Linyi]
The paid commenters spammed wildly. Regular comments were mixed among the obviously paid ones, making them stand out awkwardly.
But Ding Ziyue felt very good. Her eyes automatically ignored the comments that weren’t praising her, and as she looked at the peaceful prosperity created by the paid commenters, her face was full of the happy smile of someone adored and pampered.
Her wedding was destined to move hundreds of millions of netizens to tears! Let them know how difficult her journey had been!
However, after the paid commenters maintained their spam for a while, suddenly, that neat formation was swept upward by a flood of new comments.
[Holy crap! Sister Ning!]
[Our Sister Ning is so beautiful ahhhh, Young Master Gu came too! Ahhh so handsome]
[My perfect Gu de Mo Ning has appeared again!!!]
[Why does it feel like I haven’t seen them in ages? Is that just me??]
After being invited, Ning Yi actively came to eat—ah no, participate.
After all, this was such a huge spectacle, and also the official ending of the original book. She definitely had to come observe.
But she hadn’t expected Gu Cheng to come with her.
Still, since they were here, the couple could enjoy watching other people’s drama together. That was pretty good too.
However, the millions of CP fans across the internet instantly became excited, and began crazily spamming the official announcement phrases from Gu Cheng and Ning Yi.
[@Ning Yi: Preparing.]
[@Gu Cheng: Ready.]
Everyone was guessing whether Young Master Gu had proposed, and then speculating when they would finally hold a grand wedding.
The only insider CP fan on the whole internet, Assistant Zhou: Hehe. Just wait.
Although he didn’t know why Young Master had been so anxious before, nor why he suddenly wasn’t rushing now, he knew that Young Master Gu could now make everything perfect.
What was Princess Ding? Their Young Master was the man who could pamper someone into the heavens!—
The popularity of Ding Ziyue’s wedding livestream instantly surged to the level she wanted because of Ning Yi and Gu Cheng’s appearance—
But the focus shifted!
So the paid commenters and marketing accounts hurriedly increased comment control, trying to refocus everyone on the pampered Ding Ziyue.
Unexpectedly, before Ning Yi’s one wave of CP fans had even calmed down, another wave rose.
Wander casually strolled past the livestream camera.
He arrived very low-key, but Wander had been absent for far too long. So when he appeared on the livestream camera, the comment section that had just been controlled by paid commenters exploded again.
[Holy crap! Brother Wan!]
[Brother Wan, you’re alive ahhhh!]
[The person above, I was crying and then you made me laugh hahahaha]
Wander felt that since the rest of his life would be peaceful, he might as well learn from 01’s mindset: go around watching drama, and be a happy person.
This time, no one paid attention to the bride and groom at all.
[Ahhhh, so both my Gu de Mo Ning and Wan Shi Ru Yi have appeared!!]
[Sister Ning CP fans are dancing wildly with joy]
[What kind of wonderful day is today?!]
[Let us say: thank you, Princess Ding Ding!]
[Thank you, Princess Ding Ding!]
After seeing the rapidly increasing comments, Ding Ziyue: …Damn it! On her big day, she really didn’t want to curse!
She had invited them here to make netizens pay attention to Ning Yi?!
This generation of netizens were all idiots!
Ding Ziyue was so angry her veil trembled.
Meanwhile, Ning Yi calmly watched everything, and finally, across the entire banquet hall, she saw Wander.
Their eyes met, and both of them smiled.
—“01.”
—“Captain.”
The brainless world was lively and noisy. No one knew what they had experienced.
But that was fine.
So 01 raised her wine glass across the banquet hall toward the captain leaning against the wall.
Everything had turned into the grape wine in her glass now.
Wander smiled, tilted his head back, and drank the toast she offered.
01 smiled too, standing beside Gu Cheng.
Thankfully, thankfully—they were all still here.
…
It had to be said, Princess Ding’s wedding, which she had hyped up across the entire internet, was indeed grand.
After all, Jiang Linyi was a famous young Best Actor and a wealthy heir. With both families doing their utmost, the level of luxury was enough to shock netizens.
After all the guests entered, Ding Ziyue stood at the centre of the stage and regained her confident smile.
Today! She would make everyone crown her pampered life!
First came the 360-degree display of her wedding dress and jewellery, then Princess Ding’s moving self-narration, followed by speeches from her family. The whole process was extremely emotional, describing Ding Ziyue’s suffering for love so tragically that it sounded as if she hadn’t just lost her memory—her brainstem had been dug out for love too.
[What kind of divine love is this!]
[After going through so much, they still firmly chose each other! This is rare, beautiful love!]
[So touching!]
Ning Yi was also moved enough to eat a plate of braised prawns.
—Someone was peeling prawns too quickly, which made her eating speed increase.
Gu Cheng wore gloves, peeling prawns while watching Jiang Linyi’s various displays of pampering toward Ding Ziyue on stage.
Heh.
That’s it?
[Did anyone see?! Young Master Gu is peeling prawns for Sister Ning ahhhh]
[Shipping in the corner ahhhhh]
[Wuwuwu so sweet so sweet so sweet. Young Master Gu doesn’t say it, but all his love is in his actions!]
Soon, the emcee moved to the next segment—
“The love between the two newlyweds is truly moving! Then, how do the friends and relatives here feel?”
“Let’s randomly interview some guests!”
There were many important figures at the venue, as well as Song Qingmei and Ning Zhuo, who had both played tool-like roles in Jiang Linyi and Ding Ziyue’s love story.
Both were cued to offer beautiful blessings for their love.
Then the spotlight swept around the venue and finally landed on Gu Cheng and Ning Yi.
—Fine, the true epic-level toolman was still your emperor Gu Cheng.
Ning Yi knew Princess Ding Ding would definitely pull this move.
She elegantly wiped her mouth, and Gu Cheng also removed his gloves.
Two flawless faces appeared before the HD camera.
[Thank you, lighting technician]
[Sudden beauty has knocked me unconscious]
Ding Ziyue had already begun speaking emotionally. “Today, my younger sister came to witness my wedding ceremony. Although she entered marriage without ever having this ceremony herself, she still chose to witness my happiness. This moves me very much!”
Jiang Linyi stood beside her, looking at her with gentle indulgence.
“Actually, I’m afraid. I’m afraid my younger sister will feel sad…”
“Yueyue, Ning Yi will surely feel your kindness. Our happiness can also shine on her.”
Ding Ziyue: I’m drowning in pampering! Oh my god, I’ve won so hard!
Did you hear that, Ning Yi? In this round, I will finally shine on you!
Ning Yi: “.”
The random swapping had ended, but some of the mechanisms still remained. For example, they could still hear each other’s voices in their hearts. She didn’t know which step of fusion had to finish before it would completely end.
So Ning Yi quietly said to Gu Cheng, “Honey, just treat this as entertainment.”
“Mm.” Gu Cheng asked calmly, “Do you need me to make them all die with her?”
Ning Yi: “? Your tone sounds so serious.”
Gu Cheng: “It is.”
Ning Yi: “??”
After returning from the apocalypse, Gu Cheng really did seem different.
Beneath his calm, handsome appearance was a heart that had gone mad before.
And the whole world knew nothing about it.
Neither of them spoke. Ding Ziyue’s heart was already dancing wildly—quick! Show everyone the cracks in your relationship!
Tell the world that only she, Ding Ziyue, was the most pampered woman! What was Ning Yi worth?!
“Haha, Young Master Gu took time out of his busy schedule to come today. Could you briefly share your thoughts?”
Ning Yi turned to glance at Gu Cheng.
Honestly, even she didn’t know why Gu Cheng had come. Maybe just to accompany her?
But when the camera pushed closer, Gu Cheng said lightly, “I only came to observe.”
Ning Yi: “Hm?”
Gu Cheng’s gaze fell on Ning Yi’s face, as if everything around them was unimportant.
Then, in front of everyone and the entire internet, that noble, handsome man, emperor-like in bearing, gently lifted the back of Ning Yi’s hand.
[!!!!]
[What what what what is he doing!]
Under everyone’s gaze, Gu Cheng’s thin lips landed on the back of her hand. Then he lightly kissed the cool diamond ring, and finally landed on Ning Yi’s fingertip with a soft peck.
His attitude was both precious and intimate.
“—This way, I’ll know,” Gu Cheng raised his head again, his expression indifferent, as if the kiss just now had been nothing, “how to give my baby something better.”
Better.
The best.
Everything.
The venue suddenly went silent.
Ding Ziyue’s smile slowly cracked.
She had thought Young Master Gu would casually give an answer. She hadn’t expected him to throw a nuclear bomb. The whole internet was blown sky-high.
[Fuck fuck fuck! It’s starting, right!!]
[After proposing, this man is openly showing world-destroying pampering, isn’t he!!]
…
[Then let me ask one thing—can we officially start shipping now!!!]
[Gu de Mo Ning, charge!]
[Get married! Get married right now!]
Amid the uproar,
Gu Cheng calmly held Ning Yi’s hand.
Ning Yi was also very calm, retracting her fingertip that had gone red and hot after being kissed.
She thought: It’s over.
He really has gone mad!
Leave a Reply