The Ger's Contract Marriage [BL]
Chapter 245: Return to Dongmen

Chapter 245: Return to Dongmen

Xu Feng’s journey into his other world was a glaring contrast to the one he was now used to. Instead of the serene, peaceful countryside of Donghua, he found himself in a world that was both hauntingly familiar and deeply unsettling.

The modern cityscape stretched out before him, a bustling metropolis that had once thrived with life and activity. Its once gleaming skyscrapers now towering monoliths of steel and glass, their windows shattered and facades marred by the movement of time and neglect.

The streets that had once bustled with life were now deserted, with abandoned cars and debris blocking the way. Neon signs that once lit up the night were now dark and lifeless, casting eerie shadows on the hollow feeling buildings.

As he looked through the window at the eerily quiet streets, the memories of his life in this world flooded back to him. This was where he had grown up, where he had lived a seemingly ordinary life with his adoptive parents.

But now, the city was a mere shadow of its former self.

His adoptive parents were no longer in this world, and he had no desire to discover what they had become. His grandmother, who had once been a pillar of strength in his life, had long since passed away. There was nothing left for him here, nothing to hold him back.

His friends, the people he had once shared laughter and dreams with, were now scattered and lost in the chaos of the apocalypse. He hoped they had survived, but the hope was fragile, overshadowed by the harsh reality of this old, new world.

The city around him bore the scars of environmental neglect and overconsumption, even before the apocalypse had struck.

The air was thick with pollution, the skies obscured by smog, and the streets were littered with debris. It was a grim reflection of a world that had lost its way long before the outbreak.

As Xu Feng continued to peer out the window, he couldn’t help but contrast this apocalyptic wasteland with the beauty and tranquility of Donghua.

If Donghua and Dongmen were running on a similar timeline as he suspected, only six months had passed.

Six months into the apocalypse, the world had changed drastically. Only a privileged few might possess special abilities that allowed them to survive and thrive in this harsh new reality.

Xu Feng had seen enough.

He had no desire to linger in this world any longer. It held nothing for him, and he longed to return to Donghua, to the world that had become his new home.

With a heavy heart, he turned away from the cityscape and began to survey his surroundings after another moment of pause.

Why the pause?

Whenever Xu Feng found himself back in Dongmen in these dreams, the passage of time seemed to catch up with him, and certain scenes he suspected Xu Zeng had faced would come to him in fragmented pieces.

Honestly, Xu Feng hoped this was just survivors’ guilt and the other boy wasn’t relegated to this life. It made him feel even crappier about his new life in Donghua and the peace that he felt in Xuan Jian and Xuan Yang’s arms.

It felt like he was stealing from the boy that looked so much like himself.

Unlike previous times, Xu Feng didn’t feel the haziness that seemed to shroud his visions when he dreamed of Dongmen, and the memories seemed a bit clearer. The ring on his finger was nowhere to be seen, but the finger still felt warm—the comforting feeling pulled Xu Feng forward.

The room he was in wasn’t his bedroom, and this wasn’t his apartment building.

If Xu Zeng had been piloting his body for the last six months, he at least hadn’t shrunk into a ball and stayed in the first place he found himself.

Xu Feng already knew this, as his dreams of the other him were often in different locations. Xu Zeng, a villager from another world was quite brave, and had been making a way for himself in this ruined world.

The longer he spent in this world, the higher and more alert he became. From his awakening to now his relaxed temperament had turned into a heightened vigilance he could only attribute to Xu Zeng and the environment.

The mirror first caught Xu Feng’s eyes as he took in his appearance. And then he paused as shock took over him.

As Xu Feng’s fingers brushed against the mirror, the glass felt cool and smooth beneath his touch. It was a surreal experience, seeing a reflection that was neither entirely his original self nor the one he had grown accustomed to in Donghua.

The face that stared back at him seemed like a merging of the two, a hybrid of features from two different worlds.

The silver hair framed his face in loose waves, a stark contrast to the dark, straight hair he was used to in this reality. The color of his eyes, a shade lighter than his own, seemed to hold a vibrancy that didn’t hint at the experiences and challenges this body had faced in the apocalyptic world.

Xu Feng couldn’t help but trace the outline of his own jaw, feeling the slightly different angles and contours of this unfamiliar face. His height, which had increased significantly, gave him a different perspective as he gazed at the reflection.

It was as if he was peering into the life of someone else, a life that had been shaped by a world on the brink of collapse. But Xu Zeng seemed to be living well in this hellscape.

The room around him remained shrouded in silence, as if holding its breath, waiting for Xu Feng’s reaction to this revelation. He had become a stranger in his own skin, and the realization left him feeling both disoriented and curious.

As he continued to examine his new appearance, Xu Feng couldn’t help but wonder about the person who had inhabited this body during his absence.

What had Xu Zeng experienced in this world? How had he adapted to the apocalyptic landscape? These questions swirled in his mind, adding to the complexity of his emotions.

Despite the initial shock, there was a strange sense of connection between the two versions of himself. It was as if they were two sides of the same coin, each bearing the weight of their own unique experiences.