Chapter 18: Jayce, When Were You Reborn?

"Why are you here?" Sierra asked, deliberately putting on a stern face.

Jayce, however, naturally took her hand. "I was worried about you."

"..."

Sierra had always considered herself a smooth talker, someone who rarely let a conversation drop.

But hearing Jayce’s words, Sierra was, for a moment, at a loss for what to say.

"Let’s talk inside. Don’t just stand in the doorway."

As he spoke, Jayce pulled Sierra inside by the hand, closing the door behind them.

Seeing the empty living room and the various pieces of exercise equipment, Jayce raised an eyebrow. "Someone as lazy as you actually knows how to work out now? Not bad!"

Sierra forcefully shook off Jayce’s hand, walked over to the sofa on her own, and sat down. She crossed her arms and lifted her chin to look at him. "You came here just to piss me off, didn’t you?"

Jayce followed her, sat down familiarly beside her, and took one of her hands.

Jayce looked at the calluses on her palm, his eyes filled with heartache.

With her hand in Jayce’s grasp, Sierra felt a strange sensation and immediately tried to pull away. "What are you doing..."

"Don’t move."

Jayce’s voice was hoarse.

"Sierra, I’m so tired. Let me hold your hand and sleep for a bit. Just for a little while."

Before the words had even left his mouth, he was already lying on the sofa.

He curled up, holding her hand tightly to his chest.

The position wasn’t comfortable.

Sierra had wanted to pull her hand back, but looking at Jayce’s exhausted face, she couldn’t bring herself to do it.

Sierra took a cushion out of her space and placed it on the floor, then sat down on it.

At first, Sierra leaned against the sofa, staring blankly at Jayce’s face.

But as she watched him, she drifted off to sleep without realizing it.

In her dreams, Sierra returned to her past life.

She saw Jayce find her after she had died.

He saw her body, and he held it, weeping uncontrollably.

She saw Jayce kill Autumn Lynch’s family of three with his own hands, throwing their bodies out the window to be devoured by Aberrant Beasts, leaving no complete corpse behind.

She saw Jayce refuse to eat or drink, simply guarding her body until he, too, slowly closed his eyes for the last time.

Just watching that scene made Sierra feel like she couldn’t breathe, her chest tightening.

’So that’s what happened after I died in my past life!’

’There was actually someone in the world who truly cared about me, who not only avenged me but also followed me in death.’

Looking at the lifeless Jayce, Sierra felt an excruciating pain in her heart.

She reached out, wanting to stroke Jayce’s face, but she couldn’t touch him no matter how she tried.

"Jayce, Jayce... Jayce!"

Sierra cried out and was instantly wide awake.

She opened her eyes to meet Jayce’s, which were bloodshot.

His eyes were filled with concern. "Sierra, what’s wrong? Did you have a nightmare?"

Sierra didn’t answer, simply throwing her arms around Jayce’s neck.

"Jayce, how could you be so foolish!"

’You had a Superpower, you could have survived. Why did you choose to die with me!’

Caught off guard by the hug, Jayce’s body went rigid.

But he quickly understood what was happening.

Jayce hugged her back, his large hand gently stroking her hair. "It wasn’t foolish. Without you, my life would have been meaningless."

Hearing Jayce’s words, Sierra felt as if a large hand had seized her heart again.

In her dream, Sierra had already figured it out.

’Jayce has been reborn, too!’

’Otherwise, he wouldn’t have called me on the first day of the apocalypse and said those things, much less rushed over to find me so quickly.’

Although Sierra didn’t know why they had both been reborn.

’But... maybe this is heaven giving them another chance!’

’A chance to truly be together, to live together!’

Neither of them spoke, simply holding each other in silence.

After a long while, Sierra gradually calmed down and let go of Jayce.

Jayce’s eyes were full of amusement. "Did you just dream about me? Did you used to dream about me often?"

Before, hearing something like that, Sierra would have just thought Jayce was making fun of her.

But now, Sierra nodded. "Yes, I did just dream about you. I dreamed you came to find me, that you avenged me... When were you reborn?"

Jayce didn’t hide anything. "The day the apocalypse began. When I opened my eyes, the sandstorm was already raging outside."

Hearing this, Sierra wasn’t surprised at all.

’Jayce must have been reborn at a point where he couldn’t come find me immediately.’

"What about you?" Jayce asked in return. "You were earlier than me, right?"

"A few days earlier than you," Sierra said honestly. "I used the time to buy a lot of supplies and put them all in my space—"

Before she could finish, Jayce covered her mouth.

His expression became incredibly serious. "You don’t have to tell me that!"

Sierra pulled his hand away, her face just as serious. "I can tell you! In this world, if there’s only one person I can trust, it’s you."

"What if I get any wicked ideas?"

"Then I’d let you, willingly."

Jayce gripped Sierra’s hand tightly. After a long moment, he spoke softly, "How could I ever bear to let you lose?"

Sierra beamed. "I know you’d never let me lose. Anyway, back to business. I have a space with tons of supplies, enough for the two of us for several lifetimes. I’ll support you from now on!"

Sierra said, tilting her chin up with a proud look.

’Wow, saying something like that feels amazing!’

Jayce blinked his alluring eyes. "Does that mean I can be a kept man? Perfect. My stomach is weak, and the doctor always advised me to eat soft rice."

His words made Sierra’s eyes curve into crescents as she smiled. "Go on, what do you want to eat? I’ve got everything here!"

Jayce leaned in closer. "Anything at all?"

Looking at Jayce’s face, now just inches away, and feeling his breath as he spoke, Sierra’s heart suddenly began to race.

"Any... anything!"

The words were barely out of her mouth before her cheeks started to burn.

Even without a mirror, Sierra knew she must be blushing furiously.

’But I absolutely can’t admit defeat!’

Jayce tilted his head slightly, moving closer little by little.

Watching Jayce’s thin lips draw nearer, Sierra felt like her heart was about to leap out of her throat.

Her hand resting on the sofa quietly clenched into a fist.

’I absolutely cannot lose!’

With that thought, Sierra raised her hands, wrapped them around Jayce’s neck, and leaned in herself.

Jayce’s lips were cool and smooth, like a little pudding just taken out of the fridge.

Sierra gave them a little lick.

’It seems... a little sweet.’

’But why isn’t Jayce reacting?’

Sierra looked up at Jayce, only to see that his cheeks were beet red and his expression was a little dazed.

Seeing him like this, Sierra let out a snort of laughter.

’So Jayce was just bluffing!’