Harmony in Contamination

Chapter 63

Shen Wang and Zhou Xiangzhe hadn't been together long — by normal couple standards, they were still in the hand-holding, quick-peck-on-the-lips phase.

But out of nowhere Zhou Xiangzhe had brought up marriage. The word hadn't even crossed Shen Wang's mind. They were both men — not your average straight couple.

Wait. Why marriage, and why now?

Just then Ming Guang came rushing over. He'd finished up his work and come to find Zhou Xiangzhe about the Polaris mission assignments — only to arrive a step too late. Zhou Xiangzhe was already inside Sector S, and only Shen Wang was left standing there.

Ming Guang let out a sigh. Some people were just born to grind.

'Shen Wang.' Ming Guang walked over. 'You okay? Any injuries? Do you need to go to a hospital?'

Shen Wang looked at him, then shook his head. 'No need.'

'Then let me take you home.' Ming Guang checked the time as he spoke. 'Polaris is going to be slammed after this. You're back now, but all you'll get is today off — tomorrow it's back Outside the High Wall.'

Shen Wang rested one hand under his chin and thought for a moment.

He looked at Ming Guang, something uncertain in his dark eyes. 'Deputy captain — can people get married Inside the High Wall?'

'Married?' Ming Guang blinked. A long pause. 'Of course they can.'

'Even with the apocalypse, people still need emotional connection. A solid relationship actually helps keep Contamination at bay, so marriage has always been an option. That said, not many people bother anymore, and the paperwork can get complicated — the ID systems from before the apocalypse were completely wiped out.'

Shen Wang considered that. 'Same-sex couples too?'

Ming Guang: ……

He scratched his head, visibly thrown. 'Same answer — people need connection, and after the apocalypse nobody can really afford to draw lines between same-sex and opposite-sex anymore. If a same-sex couple wants to get married badly enough, they can get it processed.'

'But — married? Are you planning to marry Zhou Xiangzhe?'

'Just asking.' Shen Wang said. 'Heard the topic come up today. Better to know in advance.'

Ming Guang wasn't entirely convinced, but this was between Shen Wang and Zhou Xiangzhe. Pressing further as an outsider would just be awkward.

'Fair enough.' Digging for answers was annoying, and Ming Guang had no interest in being that person. 'How was Zhou Xiangzhe when he went in?'

'Not bad. His Contamination Level is very high, but he hasn't shown any signs of psychological breakdown.' Shen Wang replied.

Ming Guang exhaled with relief.

He'd called Sector S ahead of time — the person in charge had been clear: Zhou Xiangzhe needed evaluation. He appeared fine on the surface, but the moment he'd stepped into Sector S the alarms went off like they were screaming for their lives. And on top of that, he'd been directly exposed to The Tyrant's Contamination. Nobody knew what state he was actually in.

He had to be thoroughly assessed first. Until the results came back, no one could see him.

Including Ming Guang.

So Ming Guang drove Shen Wang home. He knew Shen Wang was the most important person in Zhou Xiangzhe's world — if something happened to Shen Wang, Sector S wouldn't even need to intervene. Zhou Xiangzhe would lose it on the spot.

He waited at the entrance and watched Shen Wang walk into the complex before finally letting himself relax and drive off.

Shen Wang scrolled through his phone on the way up the stairs. Zhou Xiangzhe was in Sector S — nothing to worry about there for now. The main thing at the moment was Lan.

He wondered if Lan had found their parents yet. Maybe they were all back home by now.

Speaking of which — where was home, exactly? Shen Wang remembered Lan telling him when they first met: their old home was inside the Zero Contamination Zone.

He let out a quiet breath and put his phone screen to sleep. Standing at his own front door now, he dug the key out of his pocket — and that's when he stopped.

He could tell the door was already open. Unlocked.

In that moment, a thought surfaced. It sounded a little absurd — bold, even — but…

But…

Shen Wang pushed the door open slowly.

Music slipped through the gap — but not a single song from his own playlist.

A woman was humming softly, no words, just melody. Yet anyone who heard it could feel the enormous force living inside — full of hope and future, brimming with expectation, like morning sun on a spring day, pulling the listener effortlessly into the singer's heart.

Shen Wang closed the door behind him. He looked toward the woman sitting on the windowsill.

She was beautiful, humming with her eyes closed, sunlight falling across her hair and cheeks as if she'd been dressed by it — like an angel lit from above.

Lan sat in his usual pose, legs crossed, book open on his knee — except this time he wasn't reading his prophecy book. His eyes stayed on the woman at the window. Beside him, a man in gold-rimmed glasses was drinking from a paper cup with all the unhurried elegance of fine tea.

The woman must have heard the door. She stopped humming and opened her eyes to look at Shen Wang, a gentle smile in her gaze.

'Mama's little tadpole is home.'

The man set down his paper cup. 'Welcome home.'

Lan turned to look at Shen Wang with his usual calm. 'How's that for a welcome?'

Before Shen Wang could answer, the woman had already jumped down from the windowsill and come running over to grab his arm. 'Did you like the song just now?'

'Mama just finished writing it! It's a song for Mama's little tadpole.'

'Mama's little tadpole grew up and became Mama's little frog — but that's okay. In Mama's heart, you'll always be her treasure.'

Shen Wang really didn't have much experience with physical affection from anyone, let alone a woman. She was holding his arm and he genuinely wasn't sure what to do with himself.

She didn't seem to mind. She shot a look at the father and son on the sofa. 'These two have absolutely zero musical soul. I don't even know what I saw in him back then — and gege's just as bad, somehow ended up exactly like his father.'

The man sighed in a way that said he'd heard this before. 'Didi understands your music, doesn't he?'

'Didi is the best!' The woman pulled Shen Wang into a hug.

Once she had her arms around him she went quiet. Shen Wang felt the warmth and the weight of everything she was holding in.

Everyone in the room understood: unlike Lan, Shen Wang had been too young when he was left behind. He had no memory of having parents. He'd grown up drifting through an orphanage, with no family ties, few friends because of his illness — he was so starved of that kind of love that he didn't even know how to be around them.

'I'm sorry, little Wǎng.' The woman said. 'I'm so sorry it took us this long to come find you.'

She called him 'little Wǎng' — she knew he'd grown up with this name, that it was the one he'd been given among humans, a mark woven through his whole life. They had no intention of changing it. When they were a little closer, they'd make his childhood name a nickname, something just for family.

That would be enough.

'It's okay.' Shen Wang finally spoke. 'I'm glad I got to meet you.'

'And I really liked your songs.'

The woman laughed through her tears. Happy now, she took Shen Wang by the hand and led him to the windowsill, singing him her songs one after another.

Shen Wang sat beside her and listened to every one, so closely that when each song ended he could hum it back.

Lan watched them. 'See? I told you.'

'When didi wants to be, he's the most likeable person in the world.'

The man sat beside him and, hearing that, glanced over. 'Then how did you turn out like this? I remember you used to smile all the time when you were little. What happened — you look like you've been haunted.'

Lan: ……

Seeing his father's expression grow increasingly odd, Lan gave him a quick rundown of his history with the Science Academy.

He hadn't wanted to bring it up — he'd already seen how his father would react. Sure enough, before he'd even finished, his father's face went dark. He looked exactly like a man about to go grind the Science Academy into dust.

Compared to Shen Wang drifting through orphanages, Lan had it worse.

'I want to handle it myself.' One sentence, and Lan had his father's anger back under control.

'I made a promise with someone — we're going to deal with the Science Academy together. And revenge is something you want to do with your own hands. Someone doing it for you just isn't satisfying.'

His father looked at him for a few seconds, then nodded. 'You're grown. What you can decide, you decide. But remember — family is your backup. The moment anything goes wrong, you come to us. Before, we had no choice. Now? Nobody gets to push you two around anymore.'

'Of course.' Lan looked over at Shen Wang, still listening to their mother sing.

His father looked too. A long silence before he finally said, 'Didi seems like such a good kid.'

Lan thought: yeah. He does. Didi always looks that way.

But Lan also knew Shen Wang wasn't actually the obedient type — far from it. If anything he had a streak of boldness in him. The fact that he'd learned who he was and still went ahead and fell for Zhou Xiangzhe said everything.

There was something rebellious running right through him.

Not that it mattered. Their whole family was anything but ordinary.

When their mother finally sang through all her songs and happily declared Shen Wang her soulmate from here on out, they decided it was time to go.

'You're both grown now. We can't be in your lives all the time.' Mama smiled. 'We're going to head home and sort things out — nobody's lived there in ages.'

'Gege and didi better come visit.'

Papa took Mama's hand. 'You two be careful out there. Anything happens, you tell us. Baba and Mama have your backs.'

'That goes for didi too — if things get hard on the human side, come find us. Your rooms are always there.'

Shen Wang smiled a little. 'We'll come see you.'

'Mm.' Lan nodded. 'See you.'

Two human-shaped natural disasters couldn't linger long. They were keeping their Contamination suppressed for now, but even a small leak would be a disaster for all of Central City. Shen Wang still lived among humans — they weren't going to make things harder for him.

Shen Wang watched them leave hand in hand, like two people deep in love.

Lan glanced back at Shen Wang. 'Little Wǎng. There's something I need to tell you.'

Shen Wang looked at him, puzzled. 'Mm?'

'It's about Zhou Xiangzhe.'

Shen Wang blinked. He turned it over for a few seconds, then nodded. 'Okay. What is it?'

'About the relationship between the two of us — and even between Baba and Mama and us — Zhou Xiangzhe has probably figured it out.'

'But for some reason he hasn't said anything to you directly. He's been trying to let it slide.'

'I genuinely don't understand his reasons. But I think you should know.'

'I'm not opposing you two for the sake of opposing you. It's just that certain things carry serious risks, and I don't want you getting hurt or deceived. That said — Baba and Mama are right. You're grown. So am I. You can decide your own life.'

'Remember — gege is always your backup.'

……

Spring was at its peak. The tree outside the building had bloomed — row after row of peach blossoms in soft pink — when a light rain started to fall, scattering petals across the ground.

Shen Wang called Ming Guang to find out when Zhou Xiangzhe would be cleared for visitors after his evaluation. Ming Guang knew Zhou Xiangzhe would be desperate to see Shen Wang, so he arranged it in advance — same as last time, straight through to Sector S without a hitch.

After thanking Ming Guang, Shen Wang headed to Sector S.

Same as before: through the cold corridors, past the crowds of people in the grip of psychological breakdowns, into the restricted inner area.

With a staff member guiding him, Shen Wang entered a code. The wall in front of him opened, and there was Zhou Xiangzhe.

Different from last time. This time it was clearly worse. Before, he'd been in Sector S but free to move around. Now, Chains bound his wrists and locked him to the chair. His head was bowed. He didn't look like he was in pain — just still.

The staff member gave Shen Wang a small nod and turned to leave.

Shen Wang looked at the figure sitting there with his head down, dozing. He looked fragile right now — his tired face, the silver hair falling loose — all of it cast something strange and beautiful over him.

Who could bring themselves to wake him?

But there were things that needed to be sorted out.

Shen Wang reached out and knocked on the glass wall.

Zhou Xiangzhe heard it. He opened his eyes, and those golden irises turned toward Shen Wang — carrying the calm steadiness that was just his, looking no different from usual.

'Shen Wang?' Zhou Xiangzhe sounded mildly surprised. 'What are you doing here at this hour?'

Shen Wang pulled up a chair and sat across from him. In that moment they faced each other like two sides in a standoff, the transparent wall between them the dividing line.

'I had a question that couldn't wait until tomorrow.'

'Why do you want to marry me?'

Zhou Xiangzhe looked at him. 'Does wanting to get married need a reason? If it really does — it's because I love you.'

Shen Wang nodded. He let out a slow breath.

'Ordinary couples probably don't need a reason. Love is enough. But you're not ordinary, Zhou Xiangzhe. You're too good at hiding things. No matter what it is, you'd rather swallow it yourself than let anyone see. I don't buy that love alone is what made you suddenly decide you wanted to marry me.'

Zhou Xiangzhe looked down. 'Then what reason do you want to hear?'

'That depends on what you actually say.' Shen Wang said. 'I want the truth.'

Silence fell.

Zhou Xiangzhe said nothing. The only sound was a sharp, distant wail from somewhere deeper in the ward — someone's mind giving way — as if pouring fuel on an already uneasy scene.

'Zhou Xiangzhe.' Shen Wang looked at him. 'Talk.'

'Because I didn't know how to make you stay, so I thought — if we got married, at least that would leave a mark.' Zhou Xiangzhe finally spoke. 'It came out of nowhere. I really liked the ring you put on me. It made me think of a wedding.'

Shen Wang closed his eyes and pressed his hand to his forehead, the picture of someone at a complete loss.

'Just because of my family—'

'Don't.' Zhou Xiangzhe stopped him. 'This is Sector S. There are cameras everywhere.'

He knew. He'd known the whole time and said nothing — played dumb — until Shen Wang came and pressed him and he admitted it, reluctantly.

But what had been going through his mind was: what do I do if Shen Wang leaves me?

'Zhou Xiangzhe!' Shen Wang stood up. 'You can ask me to stay. You can tell me you don't want to let me go, that you want me here with you — instead of cooking up some bizarre plan like that.'

'Where's the confidence of The Strongest Aberrant?'

'This isn't about confidence.' Zhou Xiangzhe looked at him — unhurried, unbothered by Shen Wang's anger, his gaze still gentle.

'Making a choice isn't easy either. So can you wait for me?'

Shen Wang paused. 'What are you planning to do?'

'I need to deal with what's left of the Divine Vanishing Plan first. At minimum, take care of Contamination Site No. 3. Once everything's handled — I'll go with you.'

Zhou Xiangzhe had made up his mind. 'I'll go with you.'

'Are you out of your mind?' Shen Wang stared at him. 'Your Contamination Level is at its limit. You're not staying to get treated — you're saying you'll come with me?'

'You want to become a Contaminant?'

Did Zhou Xiangzhe want to become a Contaminant? Of course not. As a Grade S Aberrant of the Anti-Contamination Center, as Central City's protector, he had killed more Contaminants than he could count and understood better than anyone what they were. How could he ever want to become one?

Even back in Tianlai City, what Zhou Xiangzhe had been thinking about was how to stay with Shen Wang.

But…

'Shen Wang.' Zhou Xiangzhe said his name. 'My Contamination Level — there's no coming back from it.'

'The results from this evaluation are bad. Even if someone found a way to destroy and remove the Deer God living inside me, my Contamination Level wouldn't drop. It's already hit the ceiling. Any higher and I either convert into a Contaminant or I die.'

'Staying here won't change anything.'

'So you're just giving up? No treatment?' Shen Wang looked at him, Zhou Xiangzhe's reflection caught in his dark eyes.

'You'd rather become a Contaminant? Even if that means not being yourself anymore?'

Zhou Xiangzhe didn't answer. But Shen Wang spoke first.

'I'm not going to love a Zhou Xiangzhe who's become a Contaminant.'

'And I'm definitely not going to love a Zhou Xiangzhe who gave up and let himself become one.'

'If that's the road you want to take, then we're done.'

With that, Shen Wang got up and left. No pause, no opening for Zhou Xiangzhe to say a word.

Zhou Xiangzhe instinctively tried to stand, but the Chains had him from every angle — he could barely move. All he could do was watch Shen Wang disappear from view, the wall sliding shut again in the wake of a departing visitor, until only the slow closing of Zhou Xiangzhe's reddening eyes remained.

But what could be done? Even if neither of them cared about identity or allegiance, even if they were determined to stay together—

Right now, Zhou Xiangzhe had no choice.

When Shen Wang walked out of Sector S the rain was still falling. He tilted his head back and looked up at the thin, steady drizzle.

Spring was supposed to be warm, but the rain brought a chill with it — cold drops and a cold wind cutting right through.

Shen Wang had never really thought about the Contamination Level problem. He knew Zhou Xiangzhe's had passed 80, but because Shen Wang was a child of a Contaminant and a human, he would never lose his mind over Contamination, never convert — so he'd let that fatal detail slip by.

Zhou Xiangzhe had no choice. His Contamination Level was nearly beyond containing. Left unchecked, the only outcomes were death or conversion into a Contaminant.

So Zhou Xiangzhe wanted to settle everything first, then leave with him.

In some ways it seemed like a good idea — not every Contaminant in the world was a terrifying monster. Take Shen Wang's father, The Tyrant: he was a Contaminant with full reason, one who never killed without cause. If he was with Shen Wang, Zhou Xiangzhe might really be able to live the same way he did now.

But Shen Wang wasn't willing.

He wasn't willing to see Zhou Xiangzhe become a Contaminant. He wasn't willing to see the man Central City revered as its guardian become a monster people spat on. And he absolutely wasn't willing to watch Zhou Xiangzhe die.

Shen Wang wanted him to have a choice.

'Finished visiting Zhou Xiangzhe?' A voice came from just behind him.

Shen Wang turned. Ming Guang was standing there, arms full of files.

'Deputy captain.' Shen Wang looked at Ming Guang. 'Do you have a Marriage Application Form?'

Ming Guang blinked. 'Huh?'

'A Marriage Application Form. Give me one.'

'Huh??'

/

Negative emotions raise your Contamination Level and deepen psychological deterioration — every doctor, including The Doctor, had told Zhou Xiangzhe that at some point.

But emotions weren't something you could just switch off. You couldn't simply decide not to feel pain.

The moment he thought about Shen Wang breaking up with him, the grief hit without warning. The moment he imagined never seeing him again, that ugly self-destructive pull — that craving to die — came surging back.

The numbers on the Contamination monitor kept jumping, climbing in increments, one tick away from setting off the alarm.

And then the wall in front of him opened again. Zhou Xiangzhe looked up, startled — and it was Shen Wang, who had turned around and come back.

'Sh — Shen Wang?'

Shen Wang was still in the same clothes. His black jacket was soaked through, his hair dripping wet, and there was anger in his dark eyes — the kind that made him look utterly, vividly alive. Zhou Xiangzhe's heart slammed hard in his chest, sharp like a needle — hurting and glad at the same time.

'Thought about it. Felt like I was getting the short end.'

The staff nearby were in full protective gear. They opened the glass door, removed every Control Device from Zhou Xiangzhe, and left.

Zhou Xiangzhe stood still, uncertain, not quite daring to move.

Shen Wang walked over, pushed him back down into the chair, and pulled a pen from his pocket, tossing it to him.

Then he placed a sheet of paper in front of Zhou Xiangzhe.

'Sign it.'

Zhou Xiangzhe looked down. The moment he saw what was on the page, his eyes went slightly wide.

It was a Marriage Application Form — and Shen Wang's name was already signed on it.

'Sign it or don't, that's your call.' Shen Wang said. 'But the moment you put your name on that paper, you're mine. You do what I say.'

'I'm not letting you become a Contaminant. And I'm not letting you throw your life away.'

Shen Wang pressed one hand flat on the table, looking down at Zhou Xiangzhe from above, the anger in his eyes still clear.

'Are you signing or not.'

His vision blurred. His fingers shook. Zhou Xiangzhe didn't know how he managed to write his name on that paper — only that once it was done, he couldn't hold onto the pen anymore. It slipped from his grip and hit the floor with a clean, bright sound, and then warm arms folded around him and pulled him in.

A familiar voice murmured close to his ear, soft enough to undo all that anger. Shen Wang had never been like this before — never this gentle.

'Didn't we make a promise? That we'd get better together.'

'You can't quit halfway through.'