Apocalypse King: Recruiting S-Tier Beauties With My Ruler System
Chapter 103: Shen Yifei - The True Yifei

Chapter 103: Shen Yifei - The True Yifei

Shen Yifei’s POV

March 18, 20xx — 04:59 AM

Longwan University — East Sector, Upper Courtyard

—

He collapsed without a sound... whispering that stupid one-liner.

One second, John Wang was upright—his chest rising in slow, pained breaths, his fists still clenched like he hadn’t realised the fight was over. Next, he was falling forward, the tension finally gone, legs giving out like a folding chair that someone kicked at the hinge.

I caught him.

It wasn’t graceful.

My feet dragged, boots scraping across cracked stone as his weight hit me full.

His body was greasy with sweat, heat bleeding into me through my chest and arms, the scent of smoke and blood clinging to every inch of him.

"Idiot," I muttered. Not with malice. Just... instinct.

His thick scent.

His needlessly handsome face.

His exposed chest with muscles that were almost imaginary level.

All of it...

Turned me on!

My heart pounded harder and harder against my chest, too fast and too loud. I adjusted my grip, looping one arm around John’s thick waist, the muscles tense and like bricks. Then pressed my shoulder under his to keep him upright.

His skin was hot. Burning, almost. I could feel it through the torn fabric and half-dried blood.

The feeling of something flowing into me became worse... the thick, fiery sensation growing in my abdomen, causing my body to become hot.

He didn’t speak.

Didn’t even groan.

That scared me more than if he had.

I panicked!

What if he died?

I don’t think I could survive, don’t think any of us could without him.

He was our guiding light, our defensive barrier and our human mortar... all in one!

I looked at him—really looked at him. His eyes were closed tight, lashes crusted with blood, sweat and dirt. John’s mouth parted slightly, dripping with blood and leaking hot breath, but it was weak and uneven.

The muscles in his neck twitched.

He wasn’t unconscious.

But close.

"How could you just casually fight all these monsters alone?"

I couldn’t count the number, but it was over 100 and those four huge monsters. "You smiled, and laughed while doing it," I whispered to myself, trying to stop the butterflies and pounding in my chest.

"And now you want to pass out like a drama queen?"

Still no response.

The corner of my mouth twitched.

I didn’t want to be honest, because it scared me that he might reject me or say it was only a joke.

But he kept flirting with me, teasing me... now I couldn’t just stop myself.

"Fine. Be heavy. Be dumb. Be... impressive," I said, as I shifted my feet and dragged John toward the shadowed edge of the courtyard, under the window.

"But don’t you dare die after all that."

I don’t know what I was doing.

Or why my arms didn’t shake harder than they did.

But I didn’t let go.

I didn’t want to.

There was something in me, tight, sharp, like the tip of a needle pushing into the surface of a water balloon. Pressure. Confusion. Heat.

The blood on his chest, the bruises, the gauntlets still smoking faintly at his sides...

I wanted to scream at him.

I wanted to press my fingers into those claw marks on his ribs and ask why.

Why now?

Why here?

Why not me?

"Ah..."

I didn’t ask because I knew the answer.

That’s when I realised this wasn’t about him jumping from the window, it was something more selfish, simple.

I was jealous of him sleeping with Mu Qinglan.

Jealous of him looking at me with that strange face.

His turning away and not telling me the truth.

’Ah... I’ve fallen for him.’

I’d been watching him this whole time, through every charge, every punch, every word he never said but made me feel, anyway.

He had no idea what he was doing to me.

And I hated that.

But I also didn’t want it to stop.

Not yet.

Never.

This feeling, it was the first time I felt this way, and even if he loved Mu Qinglan... whether it’s because the world is falling apart or I’m just a woman without morals...

’I refuse to give up on him.’

Jiang Roulan...

Mu Qinglan...

I knew both of them had some sort of agreement, so why... why can’t I also join them?

—

Shen Yifei’s POV

March 18, 2025 — 05:15 AM

Longwan University — East Sector, Upper Courtyard → Archery Club Hallway

—

Dragging him back felt harder than I thought.

He was taller than me. Heavier than I remembered. His feet scraped, legs deadweight, but I refused to let go.

Step by step, I pulled him toward the building.

Every time my shoulder bumped into his ribs, I winced. Not because I was hurt — but because I knew he was.

"You’re really such an idiot..."

My voice sounded quieter than I meant.

A stupid, thick-headed, impossible idiot... who made my chest throb like a bomb going off.

The archery building loomed ahead. Second floor.

One hallway. One more set of stairs.

I couldn’t do it alone.

"Deng Hua!" I called, my voice sharper than before. "Chen! Get the damn door open!"

There was silence for a second — then scuffling.

Deng Hua appeared at the top of the stairwell, eyes wide.

"Hurry up!" I snapped. "He’s bleeding!"

He rushed down the steps, tripping over one in his panic. Chen Xun followed behind, slower, still limping.

Liang Qiu didn’t move.

She just watched from her blanket cocoon like a ghost who’d already seen too much.

I didn’t care. I didn’t even look at Mu Qinglan’s room.

Not now.

They grabbed John’s arms. One on each side. I kept his head on my shoulder.

"Careful!" I barked, the words sharper than necessary. "Don’t bang his head!"

"We’ve got him," Deng Hua muttered, breath catching.

But I didn’t let go until we passed the first door.

I held his arm. I wanted to feel it. His skin. His heat.

His weight.

Even when the boys carried him to the mats near the centre and laid him down, I was the one who knelt beside him. I was the one who brushed the blood off his lip with my thumb.

"Water," I said. "Bandages."

Zhou Xue passed them to me without a word.

I didn’t say thank you. I didn’t say anything.

Because my hands were already moving.

Wiping the blood. Checking the wounds.

My fingers trembled once when I touched the deep purple mark on his side.

A Brute did that.

His breathing was shallow.

But steady.

He wasn’t dying.

And somehow... that made me cry.

Only a little.

Just a few drops. One or two.

I turned my head so no one would see.

"You’re so unfair, John..." I whispered, wiping the corner of his mouth. "You just keep breaking down all my walls..."

"And you didn’t even ask permission."

—

The cloth in my hand squished as I squeezed it dry once again.

I rubbed across John’s chest, warm water dripping down his body, soaking into the towel and wooden floor beneath him.

I tried to remove the dried blood, sweat and dirt.

He didn’t move.

His muscles twitched under my fingertips, still bruised and scratched from that stupid fight, but they became firmer and tough. No bites, thankfully... just impact wounds. Gashes. Deep, cruel tears from walls, gravel and claws.

Yet the wounds were closing.

Not perfectly. But faster than they should.

His body wasn’t normal.

My eyes stopped on the mark above his heart — a glowing ice-blue rose, etched like a brand. Beautiful. Alien. But it reminded me of Mu Qinglan’s eyes... and made me feel jealous, the fiery heat in my abdomen growing again.

That’s why I didn’t want anyone else touching him.

So I kept washing.

Neck, collar, chest. Down to John’s waist. Just enough to make sure he didn’t stink when he woke up. It wasn’t romantic. Not really. ’Okay... it was a little steamy.’

But it made me feel close.

Behind me, I sensed her.

Mu Qinglan.

She was dressed again, in the same black combat gear as before, but something in the way her jacket hung slightly open. The way her collarbone peeked out beneath tousled hair made her look too composed. Like someone who’d already claimed what I hadn’t dared to take.

Our eyes met.

I expected something sharp or aggressive...

But she came close to me and softly patted my shoulder, gripping it slightly as she sighed.

"You’ve worked really hard," she said before smiling at me. "Yifei."

It might have been the first time she called my name in such a way, we looked at each other, and I felt this couldn’t stay hidden.

The others were searching for useful things, and it was just the three of us and Liang Mei.

So I told her the truth.

"I’ve fallen for him."

Mu Qinglan looked at me with wide eyes, before I whispered in a dry voice, "I won’t back away anymore. I needed to say it. To your face. Qinglan."

She tilted her head — a pause — then smiled with her eyes.

"I won’t lose," she said.

And once again... ruffled my hair, before she went back into the side room with a confident stride, swaying her needlessly huge ass.

"Me either..." I whispered to the closing door.