68 Jingren

Lilian Mo decided to gather her wits and focused on the matter at hand. Whatever she was feeling did not matter.

"What are your plans? Originally, my group was planning to go to City B's unfinished base to look for Jiaojiao's brother. He is a doctor and we were planning on adding him to the team." Lilian Mo explained since Lu Jingren was the 'Boss' that the boys looked up to.

Although Mu Qianmo made plenty of suggestions, the final decision was always left to Lu Jingren.

"Is your team planning on going somewhere else?"

Lu Jingren raised his head to stare at her. Lilian Mo pretended to be unbothered by this. Very slowly, Lu Jingren started to drink, and all while his oceanic blue eyes were on her. For some reason, Lilian Mo wanted to gouge those pair of eyes out and put them in a box so he would stop staring at her in this manner.

His silence made her displeased but she somehow expected this since she had already gone through many years of putting up with his attitude. By now, she was no longer as affected as before.

She also did not think it would be this easy to treat him as a stranger or a mere acquaintance when before, she was still understanding and would coax him.

Even with this attitude of his, she would ask Mu Qianmo if Lu Jingren chose to remain silent. Anyways, she expected this silent treatment. With how brazen she was for ditching him in their date, this vengeful spirit was sure to make things hard for her.

But to her surprise, he placed the empty bottle down and wiped his lips with the tissue. In a low voice, he said, "Lu Jingren."

Quirking his lips to the side, he repeated and whispered to her.

"Lu Jingren. That is my name."

Lilian Mo blinked dumbly at him as she stepped back two times. He had leaned towards her when he spoke, prompting her to retreat.

The way he told her his name was not out of character but she was questioning why he was being... nice about it?

It was odd. Really odd. Why was he not mad at her?

She was his so-called fiancée that had stood him up during their first dinner date together. And yet he had eaten her food, accepted her bribe, and gave her his name.

Lilian Mo wanted to know what was in his mind because this was simply not the way he should be acting. But then, who was she kidding? They had already strayed from their original route so if he changed, that was also not unexpected. Still, this does not mean that she would let her guard down.

For a man like him who did not have any psychological burden when killing people, Lilian Mo was very wary, especially since the world could not go back to how it was before. Meaning, if he wanted to kill her, no one would be there to stop him. There was no longer the police or military that could uphold the civil laws because those people had either mutated or were eaten. The very few who had survived were no doubt acting as dogs for the higher-ups.

'Lilian Mo, this was your warden and lover for three years in your past life. But in this life, you are strangers that were newly acquainted. Don't act delusional.' She told herself.

She slowly nodded at him like a courteous person. "Lu Jingren, my name is Lilian Mo."

It was a common courtesy to give your name after receiving the other party's name. She thought that it was the safest choice since this man's current behavior was confusing and she did not want to make any mistake that would reveal too much of her knowledge about him.

His lips twitched slightly.

Lu Jingren raised his chin at her. While sitting at the chair, he still managed to look like a refined man with a good upbringing. His appearance was really far from those bad rumors.

His white angular face and strong jaw as well as his oceanic blue eyes with thick and long lashes really made people look at him with awe, infatuation, and envy. This was simply not the face of someone who looked like they wanted to strangle a person's neck.

No. This was the face of a mortal god that had descended among humans. Lilian Mo who had been desensitized from this could directly look at him without being flustered like other women.

Lu Jingren blinked, still gazing at her somewhat curiously, then he spoke.

"Lilian."

He whispered in a hoarse tone.

Outwardly, she showed no reaction but her muscles stiffened. That was what he called her during their past life. Unlike Mu Qingqing or the others, he was the only one that called her 'Lilian' with an overly familiar tone because he told her that he liked the meaning of her name.

Without any expression on his handsome face, he continued, "Lilian. Call me Jingren."

Lilian Mo gripped her clothes as her nails dug on her skin but not enough to draw blood.

Jingren. That was what she called him during their past life.

"Jingren, you need to mind your health. "

"You are always sleeping late. Jingren, do you have insomnia?"

"Sigh. Jingren, please stop ignoring me. I've been waiting for you since this morning."

"Why... Jingren, why can't you set me free?"

"Jingren, I don't want you to die, so please... come back safely and take care."

Lilian Mo's memories brought a mild ache on her head and her hand almost went to touch her head, to soothe the mild pain. The memories of her past life where she called after him and followed him around like a puppy had been engraved in her soul because it seemed that even when years had passed, her memories with him remained clear and vivid as though it happened just yesterday.

'Scary..'

'Dangerous..'

'I'm angry..'

'Pathetic... I am still affected..'

These thoughts were running through Lilian Mo's mind as her eyes dimmed. For a split second, she wanted to dig out her own heart that was still beating for him but her hands went slack beside her, not moving. She was still sane enough to know that if she pulled out that organ, it would mean death for her. She was strong but not omnipotent.

Lilian Mo gazed at him. In a soft voice, she would always call him 'Jingren' and would accompany this with a smile so he wouldn't have to be grumpy when called. He acted like he did not hear her but he was actually listening very attentively all the time.

Lilian Mo stared at him with a complicated feeling inside her chest. She reminded herself once again that they were newly acquainted strangers who decided to become a team and that she must not give in because there were still things she needed to accomplish. The path of revenge is a thorny one.

She was not sure if she would still remain human at the end of it. And just maybe, she would end up throwing her feelings and humanity away.

As she maintained a calm exterior, she nodded and said his name for the first time after her rebirth.

"Jingren."

▪▪▪

Note: For my readers who have been asking me certain questions, there would be backstories written in future chapters. As you can see, we have a lot of diverse characters in this book with different personalities and I don't want to treat them as extras who are only there to spice things up, of course, excluding 'cough' a few cannon fodders. Ah, it seems cruel to kill them but it was also kind of hard to write a post-apocalyptic story without any deaths or murder... and this is a story based on revenge so the MC will kill and kill more people.

Anyway...

My characters might seem cold on the outside, like Lilian Mo, or easy to bully like Mizuki Rei (Oh Reirei, I am so sorry), but deep inside, they have strong personalities and their own sense of justice. For the most part, everything about the characters and who they are is written based on our MC's knowledge so the information is a bit biased.

Some of them will have their own POV which will allow a deeper understanding of their character and will show that they are slightly different from what our MC thought of them. For example, there have been hints of Mu Qingqing's past with Lilian Mo and there is also Lin Fang!

At the moment, my favorite character is not really the MC, but Reirei, haha. Probably because his personality is based on one of my friends.

I also noticed that some people have expressed their dislike for Lu Jingren. So does this mean that my brainwashing tactic has worked? Haha. Anyhow, all shall be revealed in future chapters.

There would be more characters with unique personalities in the future. And also, I will try not to be biased. There would be backstories for the 'Big Villains' if you know what I mean. I would also write about their ages.

Character - Age

Lin Jiaojiao - 15

Mu Qingqing - 16

Lilian Mo - 16 (Final Age in First Life - 23)

Mizuki Rei - 18

Fu Yangzhu - 18

Lu Jingren- 21

Mu Qianmo - 23

Lin Fang - 27

*As you can see, age sometimes plays a key role in maturity...or lack thereof.

"Nobody grows old merely by living a number of years. We grow old by deserting our ideals. Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul."

-Samuel Ullman

To my readers who are thirsty for romance, please wait until 100 chapters or so. The first volume: Finding That Friend From A Past Life, focuses more on the MC's search for Lin Fang while unexpectedly gathering allies in the way. This volume is estimated to last until 150 chapters.

The second volume will be revealed later when the book reaches 100 chapters.

And...

After one month, this novel has reached 100k views as of yesterday. Webnovel has reached out to me a week after I started writing 'Coming of the Apocalypse Queen' but I have been delaying it since I honestly did not want to sign a contract when I am not even sure if readers would like this novel. The offer is tempting since the other party would promote and display ads about this novel but I have chosen to stall since I want my readers to enjoy this book without paying any coins, maybe until chapter 100. This novel contains a lot of cliche elements like rebirth, space, and revenge over the big baddies and lotus flowers so I had expected that only a few would read this.

Har har, to my surprise, it actually reached 100k views? You can imagine my surprise while I grin maniacally at the screen while typing this. It probably can't compare to those novels that has millions of views but this is still a happy occasion. To celebrate, I will mass release chapters later.

That is all for my note. Feel free to ask questions in the comment section below. If you have some free time, feel free to check my other books:

-Romance Novel Gone Wrong

-The Darker the Night, the Brighter the Stars