The festival ended at nine.
Yuqi and Yueyue were completely wasted, forcing Xiaoyun and Leyan to carry them back home.
"Geez, I thought Yuqi could at least drink more than this," Xiaoyun murmured as he gently put her on the sofa.
"Well, she didn't really like to socialize with other company bosses. She was much more focused on communicating with her employees,"
Leyan explained as she gently put Yueyue on the sofa. Her arms were a little sore as she had been cooking all day.
"How about Yueyue? She just collapsed after like three drinks."
"I'm pretty sure that was her first time drinking... I should have told her to stop way earlier."
As the two of them both took a seat on the sofa, Nami and Lily didn't bother sitting down as they walked towards the stairs.
"We're going to go take a shower and sleep. Goodnight, Mom. Goodnight, Xiaoyun."
Watching them disappear into the second floor, the two looked to each other for a second before letting out a small chuckle.
"Hey, babe, didn't we have Nami because we were drunk one night?" Xiaoyun suddenly asked as he leaned back on the sofa.
"Yeah... I miss having no kids to worry about and just being free with ourselves... Maybe I should never have asked you for kids."
"Maybe."
Both Leyan and Xiaoyun could feel a surge of nostalgia flushing into their brain, a moment of inner peace as they looked towards the ceiling in silence.
However, it was interrupted when she brought something up. A thing that just so happens to be his worst nightmare.
"Honey, can you pass me a pregnancy test?" Leyan suddenly asked.
Xiaoyun froze for a second, but he eventually made one on the spot before handing it over to her.
"What is it for? Didn't we use protection for the past few weeks? You aren't pregnant, right?"
"I'm not sure... You know, that day the three of us were with Yueyue together. None of us was using any protection at all."
She paused for a second as Xiaoyun's heart started jumping like crazy. His mind was already thinking of the worst-case scenario.
"My period hasn't come yet at all. So I'm a little worried." Leyan explained as she tightly held onto the pregnancy test.
"That's the last thing I want to hear today... But it's fine. I'd rather have you tell me this now than later."
Xiaoyun clenched his heart tightly, his heart filled with regret. Having kids in this kind of world was asking for trouble.
"Those two need to get it checked too... I'm going to go check now."
As Leyan headed upstairs to her bedroom with her pregnancy test, Yuqi suddenly woke up from the sofa.
"Hm? Xiaoyun, what were you talking about with Mom?" Yuqi asked loudly, her red face indicating how drunk she was.
"Qiqi, has your period come out yet?" Xiaoyun nervously asked.
"My period... It has stopped coming for almost a month now... FUCK! SHIT!"
Yuqi immediately sat up straight, her eyes were wide open as if she had realized what Xiaoyun was trying to imply here.
Without saying anything, he handed her another pregnancy test.
"I'll be right back!"
Watching her run up the stairs, echoing throughout the living room, Yueyue was finally awakened by all the noise.
"Why was sister cursing so loudly... What were you two talking about earlier?"
Yueyue asked as she stretched out her arm, her head still looking a little dizzy as she could barely sit up straight.
"Yueyue... When was your last period?" Xiaoyun nervously asked.
"I don't know. I haven't checked the days yet. Let me take out my phone... I haven't had it for almost a month."
The answer instantly sent Xiaoyun's heart into high alert again, until she continued with her sentence.
"I think I always have it a little late, right? Yeah. It's just a little late... W-What's this for?"
Yueyue's face looked all confused as Xiaoyun handed her a little pink bar. Only when she moved it all the way to her eyes did she realize what it was.
Her face immediately sobered up in seconds as if she finally understood what Xiaoyun was trying to imply.
"I-I will be right back."
With all three of his wives now upstairs, all Xiaoyun could do was pray with his head down on his knee.
"FUCK, there's no way all three of them are... No fucking shot." Xiaoyun murmured to himself as he slapped his face.
"You fucking dumbass, why didn't you use protection before? What had gotten into your brain to creampie inside them?"
Xiaoyun slapped himself again, still unable to believe what he had done, but his mind slowly accepted the fact that there was nothing much to do now.
---
After waiting on the sofa for thirty minutes, the three of them finally came downstairs together.
"Um, Xiaoyun... We have some good and bad news." Leyan announced as the other two girls stood behind her.
"What is it? Just tell me directly. I am fine with whatever it is... I'll take responsibility for it."
Seeing him looking so determined to know the result, the three slowly lifted their result into the air.
"Fuck, of course, this has to happen."
Right before Xiaoyun's eyes, all three of them held up a test with two lines. The literal worst-case scenario had happened.
His brain quickly came up with a solution after noticing all three of his wives didn't seem to really want a kid right now.
"Maybe I can go to the city to get pills? All I need to do is go to a pharmacy or some store that sells——"
"No!" All three of them yelled at the same time.
"Why not?" Xiaoyun questioned.
"The city is way too dangerous right now. We don't want to lose you again." Leyan argued.
"Yeah, the city is now a death zone. Even Yezi told me that Renqin's bus almost died trying to leave." Yueyue added.
Seeing his face still a little hesitant, Yuqi decided to put the final nail in the coffin.
"The three of us already talked about it... We actually decided to keep it... as long as you don't mind, of course."
Xiaoyun's brain froze for a second as he couldn't process what she said out loud until she shook him on the shoulder.
"Hello? You there?" Yuqi asked nervously, all three of their eyes looking a little scared as if they were afraid of him rejecting their proposal.
"Sorry. Can you just give me a second to think? I need some time to process this."
The three nodded in agreement as they waited for Xiaoyun to make a decision, which only took less than a minute.
"You know what, as long as you guys are fine with it. I'm actually fine with it as well... But——"
All three of the girls looked toward Xiaoyun with high hopes, waiting for him to continue as he purposely paused for a second.
"As long as you guys don't mind me giving you all a wedding before your guy's bellies get too big, then I'm fine with it."
This time, all three of the girls froze as Xiaoyun's joke was a little bit too far, until he started waving his hand toward them.
"Hello——"
"D-Don't say that! We can't let anyone know about this. This joke isn't funny," Leyan argued, with the other two's faces blushing red in embarrassment.
"How are you going to hide it? Yezi and everyone are going to see you guys at some point..."
With only a millisecond to think, he instantly decided to double down. His heart felt a sense of responsibility towards them.
"Also, I wasn't joking about the wedding. You forgot my promise? I'm not going to hide you guys."
"You're not afraid of the scandal?" Leyan nervously asked.
"Scandal? If anyone has a problem with it, they can leave... Besides, it's the apocalypse, and we consented to it."
Xiaoyun paused for a second, then continued.
"I don't care what other people think. And I never explicitly stated that we are blood-related in public.
In the worst case scenario, people would just find it a little weird for me to marry my adopted mother and sister."
"We really can get a wedding?"
Yuqi and Yueyue both shyly asked, trying to hide their excitement as they looked over to the side.
"Yes, I promise... And Leyan, too." Xiaoyun quickly added the last part.
"Wait, why me? I am already married to you. I-Isn't it a little weird to marry the same person twice?"
Leyan took a step back, her eyes looking down towards the ring that had been sitting on her finger, which still showed her as a widow.
"You don't want to wear your wedding dress again? Besides, don't you want to be equal to your daughters in front of everyone?" Xiaoyun questioned.
"I do..."
Leyan looked down in embarrassment, unable to look back towards Xiaoyun's face or her own daughters' faces.
"Come on, Mom. We don't mind it. Let's marry together!"
Yuqi and Yueyue both forcefully pushed Leyan forward, putting her in the front as they wrapped their body around her arms.
"Ahem, what are you guys talking about?"
As the four of them looked up the staircase, Nami was standing there, looking down from above.
"We are getting married! All three of us to Xiaoyun!" Yueyue excitedly announced, with Yuqi now feeling a little embarrassed.
"You guys aren't hiding anymore? Oh well, that's not my problem." Nami murmured after noticing the three positive tests on the table.
---
A week has passed since the festival.
Xiaoyun was sitting inside the security room with Yezi, watching the worker chop down the forest between the walls.
"Wait, you're serious? You are marrying your mom and your sister? They all agreed to be with you?"
Yezi's face was in complete shock as he was completely caught off guard by the news that he had announced.
"Yes, the four of us have been in love since the outbreak," Xiaoyun explained.
"Oh... I guess that's why you said you found your family back in that speech... Just to make sure, you guys aren't blood-related, right?"
"What do you think?"
Xiaoyun stared towards him in silence. He didn't want to lie to him, but he knew the consequences if he confessed the truth.
"Okay, okay. I mean, it's not that bad. Falling in love with the family that adopted you right as the outbreak happened."
Yezi was clearly still a little weirded out. But his face wasn't too against it as Xiaoyun let out a small sigh of relief inside his head.
"What do you think other people will think about this when I marry them in public?" Xiaoyun asked, his face trying to keep calm.
"Well, most people would probably be fine with you with Yueyue and Yuqi since the age gap between you three isn't that big."
Yezi paused for a second, then continued.
"But with Leyan... Everyone in the town knows her as your mom. I mean step-mom. It might raise a few eyebrows——"
"If they don't like it, they can leave," Xiaoyun interrupted.
"Then it probably doesn't matter... However, the hardest part is probably convincing everyone that you are having three wives instead.
It is kind of backward, you know, almost like those kings and emperors in the textbook having their harem with like a whole inner palace——"
"I'm treating them all equally. I'm not going to select a queen or any of that kind." Xiaoyun clarified.
"Xiaoyun, I hope you understand that it doesn't matter how you think or treat them. Other people are going to have their different interpretations."
This time, Xiaoyun fell into silence. He knew no matter how much he tried to spin the narrative, it was going to be an uphill challenge.
"Here, let me call Lingang to make this easier for you guys. Take this as an early wedding gift to Miss Leyan for saving me."
As Yezi took out his phone, Xiaoyun was a little confused as he couldn't understand what Lingang had to do with public opinion towards his upcoming wedding.
"Hello, Mr.Yezi." Lingang's voice came from the other side as Yezi put the phone on speaker.
"Can you come here for a second? I need to talk to you about something."
"Yes, sir."
As the call hung up, Yezi suddenly brought up another thing that made Xiaoyun even more confused.
"I guess Huayi won... Love always prevails. Can you get up for a second?"
"What do you mean by Huayi won?" Xiaoyun curiously asked, standing up just like Yezi had asked.
"Huayi predicted that you guys were in love because the way you guys acted around each other wasn't just family love.
I thought she was just being overly sensitive, but I guess I was wrong... Anyway, you can go now."
"Wait——"
Before Xiaoyun could say anything, Yezi kicked him out of the room and closed the door right in his face.
"Sigh, always more work to do... Maybe I should start thinking about my own wedding with Huayi."
Yezi murmured as he took out a picture of himself and Huayi from his wallet, a picture of them in some sort of night bar.
---
Another few days passed.
As Xiaoyun waved good morning to people going to work, he could hear people talking all around him as he walked towards the security room.
"You heard? The leader is having an affair with his mom?" One of the men whispered just right outside the door.
"What? I thought it was his sister, Yuqi... I mean, I don't blame him. Have you seen how hot Lady Yuqi looked?" The second man's voice appeared.
"You aren't wrong."
"Don't tell my wife this, but I think I'm falling in love with her. She was so beautiful and nice when I traded the food stamps for food." The first man responded.
"Come on, wake up. She's never going to like someone like you," A woman's voice appeared as she laughed out loud.
"Hey, shut up! I can at least dream, okay?" The first man argued.
"Wait, what? I heard it was his twin sister, Yueyue. She's always next to him and acts almost like his bodyguard.
One time, I even saw her lift an entire collasped tree by herself. She's so strong and dominant, and she is so attractive, too," A third man's voice chimed in.
"What if he married all three of them?" The second woman's voice suddenly suggested.
"He would be so lucky! I wish I could marry just one of them, and I will be satisfied. Miss Leyan looked so young despite giving birth to those three beautiful daughters.
She even taught people how to grow food. How could someone look so magnificent and noble, yet so down-to-earth?" The second man replied.
"But aren't they related?" A fourth woman's voice appeared.
"Come on, how could you have this outdated information? He literally said in the mid-autumn festival that he 'found' his family.
It's obvious that Miss Leyan first adopted him after realizing he was an orphan. Then her daughter probably fell in love afterward, before she fell in love with him herself.
Besides, if they really are related, it's the apocalypse. Who's going to enforce the law? You? Or the boss with the gun and food?"
The second man's comment made the outside fall into silence for a second before he continued with his speech.
"Quite frankly, I would do it if I were a man like him. Who doesn't want their harem and rule like an emperor?"
Before Xiaoyun could continue listening in, a loud voice quickly interrupted the groups of people hiding in the shade underneath the security roof outside.
"Hey, no chattering. It's time to get back to work," Qijian ordered.
---
"So what do you think?" Yezi asked as he leaned back in his chair, his legs resting on the control panel that had malfunctioned long ago.
"Um, it seems most people don't care?" Xiaoyun replied as he scratched his head in confusion.
"Exactly. People's mindset has completely shifted since the outbreak. The only thing they care about is food and security.
They couldn't care less if you proclaim yourself king as long as they keep getting what they need," Yezi explained.
"I guess..."
"Anyway, you got a date for the wedding yet?" Yezi curiously asked.
"Yeah, they wanted to get married before the end of the month, so two weeks from now."
After responding, Xiaoyun quickly grabbed his backpack before pulling out a stack of paper with a detailed plan inside.
"They already set up everything. Can you see if this is a good plan? I can't really tell if it is good or bad."
Five minutes later...
"Hm... yeah, this is doable," Yezi murmured, handing the stack of paper he had just finished reading back to Xiaoyun.
"Thank you, Yezi... I can't imagine if I had to do this alone."
Xiaoyun suddenly bowed down with gratitude. His mind was extremely thankful for the rumors he had spread, which greatly mitigated the reputation damage.
"There's no need to say thanks. You forgot we're brothers?" Yezi questioned, looking back at him with a calm face.
"You're right, we're brothers..."
After Xiaoyun took a seat again, they both looked out through the window, where workers were working hard, trying to chop down more trees.
"Anyway, let's get back to business... You know the store that Yuqi is running only offers food right now, right?" Yezi asked.
Xiaoyun nodded in agreement as he thought back to the menu he had seen a few days earlier when visiting the grand opening at 302.
"Some people have too many food stamps but nothing to buy. They want to buy things that are not just basic needs."
"Just give me a list of what people want, and I can try to stock it in the store... Assuming I had touched that item in the past."
"Okay, I'll ask Lingang to collect a list."
As Yezi took out a piece of paper, Xiaoyun's mind started to have a little concern of his own as he thought back to his visit to the food store a few days ago.
"Yezi... To be honest, I don't think this list is going to do much... I think there is inflation with the food stamps right now."
"Really? Inflation?" Yezi asked with a surprised face.
"Yeah. The wages that we set for the work are a little bit too high. I think now some people are buying more food than they need and hoarding it," Xiaoyun explained.
"Well, then we probably either lower their wage or increase the food price." Yezi gave a two-cent answer.
"That's just going to incentivize people to buy up even more food that they don't need," Xiaoyun argued.
"Why's that?" Yezi questioned.
"They're just going to spend the food stamps they get right away, knowing how it will be worth less in the future since the money they have can buy less later."
"You got a point... Then I don't know what solution is there."
As the two of them sat in silence, Xiaoyun's brain started brainstorming different possible ideas.
"Wait, I got it! How about we charge rent for the houses and the mansion? We own all the buildings in this town!"
"Genius! But whoever is going to implement that is going to get ass blasted from the public... Fine, I guess I will do it."
Yezi only accepted the job after a bottle of wine that he had tried once at Xiaoyun's dinner appeared right into his hand.
"Anything else?" Xiaoyun asked.
"Oh, right. Almost forgot to tell you this. I had been sending Lingang to drive toward the city outskirts, and you wouldn't believe what he saw."
"What is it?"
"A massive three-meter-tall zombie throwing rocks at buildings. It was like a hulk that isn't green, trying to break inside the entrance of a skyscraper."
Yezi explained as he tried to describe it with his hand, going as far as he could before he gave up trying to explain it with hand motion.
"Did he get any picture of it?"
"He was using binoculars so that he couldn't drive too close to it. What's worse, however——"
Seeing him stopping at a cliffhanger, Xiaoyun was a little annoyed. Still, he handed him another bottle of wine to get Yezi to speak.
"Now, can you say it?"
"Well, let's just say he saw an entire horde of zombies walking outward. So they are starting to exit the city."
"Wait... What! Why didn't you tell me this earlier?" Xiaoyun questioned, his mind beginning to realize the seriousness of the situation.
Luoping was extremely close to the city's main exit. Just a few minutes' drive away, and they would be right on the main road.
"No need to be so alert. By the time Lingang drove back, they were already heading in the other direction on the highway."
"Whew, why do you have to scare me like this?" Xiaoyun irritably punched Yezi on the shoulder as he let out a sigh of relief.
"That's what you get for making me the bad guy, Mr.Mayor."