Chapter 120: Uncomfortable
The proposal sounded reasonable on paper, but the tent was small. Squeezing four grown adults into such a cramped space would be miserable, especially on such a sultry summer night.
Lin Weiwei glanced at the plain green fabric of the tent, then looked up toward the RV parked nearby, its windows glowing with a warm, inviting light. Her eyes filled with longing and obvious reluctance.
Biting her lower lip, she murmured, “A tent is going to be so stuffy and hot, not to mention all the bugs… Wouldn’t it be much more comfortable to sleep in the cars?”
Her comment instantly made the surrounding air grow tense.
Li Yu rolled her eyes, thinking to herself, She never runs out of drama. Still, hoping to smooth over the awkwardness, she offered a patient compromise: “How about this, Lin Weiwei? If you’re afraid of the heat, why don’t you sleep in Lin Xiao’s SUV? It has air conditioning, and you can fold down the back seats to make a decent bed for the night.”
Turning her gaze toward Lin Xiao, Li Yu added with a probing look, “Lin Xiao, why don’t you sleep in the car too?”
“No need.” Lin Xiao looked up on instinct, his gaze passing over the crowd to land on Su Mubai, who stood silently beside the tent. Hesitating, he began, “Xiao—”
Before he could finish, Su Mubai cut in. Looking down at the young boy beside him, his voice remained completely flat: “Little Yu, do you want to share a tent with me tonight?”
Little Yu’s eyes lit up, and he nodded vigorously. He had always loved sticking close to Su Mubai, and a two-person tent would fit the two of them perfectly. “Okay! Brother Little Bai, I’ll sleep with you!”
Lin Xiao’s words caught in his throat, unfinished.
Watching Su Mubai gently take Little Yu’s hand, a flash of hurt flickered across Lin Xiao’s eyes. He turned to Wang Qiang, forcing a casual tone: “I’ll take the other tent with Qiangzi.”
Wang Qiang blinked in surprise, letting out a startled, “Huh? Lin Xiao, you want to share a tent with me?”
“Is there a problem with that?” Lin Xiao countered, raising an eyebrow.
Wang Qiang glanced over at Li Yu. Seeing no objection on her face, he nodded quickly. “Sure, works for me! It’ll be a tight squeeze, but we’ll manage.”
Li Yu stepped in to finalize the rest of the arrangements: “In that case, Linlin and I will take Brother Qiang’s SUV. Wang Li, you and Niu Niu can take the back of Lin Xiao’s car with Lin Weiwei. The seats fold down flat, so there should be plenty of room for the three of you.”
Chu Yang and Jiang Jue had no objections. Letting out a wide yawn, Chu Yang rubbed his tired eyes. “Since that’s settled, let’s turn in. Brother Jiang and I are heading to the RV. Get some rest, everyone—we’ve got a long drive tomorrow.”
Lin Xiao’s gaze drifted back toward Su Mubai. His lips parted as if to speak, but Su Mubai had already led Little Yu inside the tent to unroll their sleeping bags, showing not the slightest intention of acknowledging him.
Seeing Lin Xiao actually choose to squeeze into a tent with another man, Lin Weiwei’s face tightened with annoyance. She stepped forward quickly, reaching out to grasp his arm. “Lin Xiao, I…”
This time, Lin Xiao reacted with lightning speed, stepping aside to avoid her touch entirely. His voice sounded stiff and blunt: “It’s already decided. Go get some sleep in the car.”
With the sleeping arrangements finally settled, Lin Weiwei, Wang Li, and Niu Niu took Lin Xiao’s SUV; Li Yu and Jiang Lin took Wang Qiang’s SUV; Wang Qiang and Lin Xiao shared one tent; and Su Mubai settled into the other with Little Yu.
For safety, they pitched the two tents in the center of the camp, arranging the three vehicles in a tight triangle around them. This layout shielded them from the night breeze while creating a protective perimeter in case of an unexpected attack.
As the night deepened, the campsite fell into absolute stillness.
Inside the tent, Wang Qiang and Lin Xiao—both broad-shouldered and over 1.8 meters tall—found the standard two-person tent suffocatingly cramped.
The heat was relentless. Even with the top mesh vents open and a small gap left at the base of the door flap, the trapped air remained thick and heavy, making it difficult to draw a comfortable breath.
Mosquitoes quickly swarmed inside, drawn by the heat of human bodies. Lin Xiao slapped an insect feeding on his forearm, scowling at the fresh red welt as he cursed under his breath: “Damn weather, and damn bugs!” In frustration, he yanked the zipper shut, blocking the insects but cutting off the faint night breeze entirely.
Once Wang Qiang’s eyes adjusted to the dark, he could make out the silhouette of Lin Xiao lying beside him.
A soft chuckle escaped Wang Qiang. “Honestly, Lin Xiao, you just won the girl of your dreams. A night like this is supposed to be priceless. Even if you didn’t do anything, holding a pretty girl in your arms should feel great. Why would you run out here to sweat in a stuffy tent with me? You look completely miserable.”
Lin Xiao lay flat on his back, staring up at the dark canopy above him. He let out a long, heavy sigh, weighed down by a confusion he couldn’t begin to untangle. “To be honest, Qiangzi, I don’t even understand myself. On paper… I should be thrilled, right? But I can’t feel happy at all. Instead, my chest just feels heavy and blocked up.”
“Blocked up?” Wang Qiang shifted onto his side, facing Lin Xiao in the dark. Even without seeing clearly, his curiosity was obvious. “Is it because you don’t actually like Lin Weiwei? But what happened between you two last night, then? You already crossed that line…”
Lin Xiao snapped his head toward him, his voice laced with shock and acute embarrassment: “How… how does everyone know about that?”
Wang Qiang chuckled, his tone stating the obvious: “Everyone basically figured it out. The way she walked out of your room this morning, clinging to you like glue—anyone with eyes could put two and two together. We’re all adults here; it’s not hard to read between the lines.”
Lin Xiao sank back onto his sleeping pad, raising an arm to cover his exhausted eyes.
His voice sounded distant and hollow in the dark. “I… I was struggling with some things before. Then, through a mess of bad timing and coincidences, it just ended up like this.”
He paused, struggling to find the right words. “It felt like… like this was supposed to be the ‘normal’ path to take. I had feelings for her in the past, so being together now shouldn’t be wrong. But… it just feels entirely wrong inside.”
The memory of Su Mubai’s cold, distant eyes flashed in his mind, sending a dull ache through his ribs. His voice grew thick and hoarse: “Seeing him… seeing him treat me like a stranger, ignoring me and avoiding me on purpose—it makes me feel sick to my stomach. I feel empty, like I’ve lost something irreplaceable. Something more important than anything else. I want to explain things to him, I want to talk to him, but about last night… my own head is a complete mess. My memory is completely scattered, and I don’t even know what really happened…”
Daily Life of Being Turned Gay by the Male Lead After Transmigrating into an Apocalypse
