Daily Life of Being Turned Gay by the Male Lead After Transmigrating into an Apocalypse – CH92

Chapter 92: Know Your Place

The moment Chu Yang dived back into the RV, it felt as though all the bones in his body had turned to water. With a heavy flop, he collapsed flat onto the bed in the rear cabin, sprawling out like a starfish. A muffled, miserable groan slipped from his throat: “I’m roasting to death… It’s like a steamer set directly over an open fire out there! Brother Jiang, I don’t ever want to set foot outside again. Can’t I just stay inside the car forever and live as a dried-up salted fish?”

Jiang Jue was leaning over the dinette table, gathering the stray cups. Hearing the melodramatic lament, he looked up and cast a glance across the cabin.

Seeing the youth’s flushed cheeks and the thick beads of sweat clinging to his brow—looking as though the sweltering heat had completely drained him of the will to live—a faint, tender amusement flashed through Jiang Jue’s dark eyes. Yet his voice remained calm and even: “Alright. We won’t go out anymore.”

Chu Yang blinked, suddenly feeling a wave of sheepish embarrassment. He reached up to rub his burning earlobes, rolled onto his side to face Jiang Jue, and muttered in a small voice: “Brother Jiang, you spoil me too much. You just agree to whatever nonsense I say. Sigh… but we can’t really stay locked in here forever. We still have to keep moving and find a safe shelter for the night…”

As he spoke, his fingers tapped idly against the empty air as if sorting through the inventory inside his spatial dimension. A slight frown creased his forehead. “I just took stock, and our spare gasoline is running pretty low. We need to locate a functioning gas station to top off our tanks soon. I just hope the next stop isn’t completely picked clean.”

Jiang Jue offered a quiet hum of acknowledgment as he turned toward the bathroom. Pausing by the doorway, he added without looking back, “There’s an expressway service plaza about eighty kilometers ahead with a commercial filling station. We can check it out.”

“Eighty kilometers?” Chu Yang pushed himself up with his elbows, counting the distance on his fingers. Remembering the cracked pavement, potholes, and debris outside, he clicked his tongue. “At our current travel pace, plus constantly weaving around all the wrecked cars on the road… there’s no way we make it there before nightfall, right?”

“No. We won’t make it today. It’ll have to wait until tomorrow,” Jiang Jue’s deep voice carried from the bathroom, accompanied by the gentle splash of running water.

He dipped a clean hand towel into a basin of cold water and wrung it out until it was damp and cool.

“Tomorrow it is, then. What’s left in the tanks should last us another two days.” Relieved, Chu Yang let his back sink into the soft mattress once more, letting out a long, shuddering breath.

Jiang Jue emerged from the bathroom carrying the chilled cloth.

Approaching the bedside, he stood looking down at the limp youth and softened his tone: “Lift your head.”

Chu Yang had his eyes shut tight, mentally organizing his stored supplies. Hearing the quiet command, he instinctively tilted his chin upward. Before he could process what was happening, the cool, damp towel was draped gently over his feverish face.

Jiang Jue’s touch wasn’t overly delicate, but his movements were remarkably thorough. Using his fingertips to steady the cloth, he meticulously dabbed away the sticky sweat from Chu Yang’s forehead, cheeks, and throat, taking care not to miss the fine moisture clinging to his temples.

The refreshing chill seeped deep into Chu Yang’s skin, washing away the suffocating heat in an instant. Being cared for with such effortless attentiveness made him squint his eyes in pure bliss, like a content cat being gently stroked along its back. He mumbled in a sleepy haze, “Brother Jiang, you’re the best…”

Jiang Jue didn’t reply. After finishing, he set the towel neatly on the nearby shelf.

Noticing that the angry red flush on Chu Yang’s cheeks had faded and his features looked relaxed, Jiang Jue murmured in a low voice, “Get some sleep. I’ll wake you when we arrive.”

“Mm…” Chu Yang was truly drained. After enduring hours of oppressive heat and bumpy roads, exhaustion rolled over him like a heavy tide.

He shuffled deeper into the blankets, curled into a comfortable ball, and fell fast asleep almost the instant his head pressed into the pillow. Within moments, his breathing smoothed into a steady, rhythmic pattern.

Returning to the driver’s seat, Jiang Jue glanced in the rearview mirror at the small figure curled up in the back. A subtle, barely perceptible curve touched the corner of his lips. Quickly composing his expression, he shifted into gear and fixed his focus entirely on the open road ahead.

Chu Yang slept deeply, without a single care in the world.

In the beginning, he had felt somewhat self-conscious about letting a formidable powerhouse take care of him like this.

Yet after spending so much time together, he realized that Jiang Jue genuinely enjoyed doing these things for him. Over time, Chu Yang had simply grown accustomed to this comfortable, slightly dependent routine.

In his groggy thoughts, he assumed that Brother Jiang must genuinely view him as a younger brother.

Why else would he indulge him to such an incredible degree?

Since that was the case, there was no need to put on formal airs. He might as well make himself comfortable—after all, Brother Jiang never seemed to mind.

Inside the other SUV.

Wang Li and Jiang Lin, cradling little Niu Niu between them, had settled into the vehicle driven by Wang Qiang and Li Yu.

As the engine rumbled to life, the vehicle’s air conditioner hummed steadily, pushing a stream of cool air through the cabin vents. While it couldn’t match the climate-controlled luxury of the RV ahead, it was a world away from the stifling furnace outside.

Wang Li held Niu Niu, who had drifted back to sleep, gently stroking the child’s back with her fingertips.

Looking out the window at the desolate, ruined scenery rolling past—the cracked earth, shattered wrecks, and bare, withered trees—an ache of sorrow tightened in her throat, leaving behind a sharp, bitter pang.

Turning toward Li Yu in the front passenger seat, Wang Li’s eyes grew slightly red. “Little Yu, I truly owe you everything this time. I don’t even know how to begin thanking you…”

Catching the woman’s teary reflection in the side mirror, Li Yu waved her hand dismissively with a warm, reassuring smile: “Sister Li, you’ve thanked me half a dozen times already! It really was nothing. I only put in a brief word with Brother Chu and the Boss. It’s because Brother Chu and the Boss are kind and fair-minded people that they agreed to take you in.”

Wang Li nodded repeatedly, though her gaze drifted involuntarily through the windshield toward the pitch-black armored RV leading the convoy.

Thinking of how spacious the interior looked, with its soft beds and abundance of stockpiled goods, an undeniable trace of envy crept into her eyes. She couldn’t help a quiet, wistful sigh: “That RV… looks so roomy, and the mattresses look so soft. If Niu Niu could sleep in there, it would definitely be so much easier on her than bumping around in this car…”

The moment the words left her mouth, a sudden silence fell over the vehicle. Even the steady hum of the air conditioner seemed to turn unnervingly loud.

In the driver’s seat, Wang Qiang’s knuckles tightened around the steering wheel as he shot a subtle, guarded glance at Li Yu.

The warm smile on Li Yu’s face faded slightly. Turning around in her seat to face Wang Li, her tone remained gentle, but her words carried a clear, unyielding boundary: “Sister Li, that RV was prepared by the Boss exclusively for Brother Chu and himself.”

“You should know by now that the Boss is naturally distant and hates having people intrude upon his personal space. Even as his core teammates, the rest of us never enter without good reason.”

Wang Li’s heart gave a violent lurch, and a wave of heat rushed to her face as she realized the terrible blunder she had just made.

Horror washed over her as she recognized how entitled her passing comment had sounded. Waving her hands frantically, she stammered in a flustered panic, “Little Yu, please don’t misunderstand! I swear on my life I didn’t mean it like that!”

“I just… I spoke without thinking because the RV looked so comfortable and I hated seeing Niu Niu suffer out here… It was completely thoughtless of me! I truly had no inappropriate intentions!”

She was terrified that a single careless remark would strip away the hard-won sanctuary she had just secured for her daughter.

Seeing that the woman was genuinely terrified, Li Yu’s expression softened, and she lowered her voice to offer a calm, grounded warning: “Sister Li, I know you didn’t mean any harm and were just worrying as a mother. But…”

She paused, her eyes locking onto Wang Li with utmost seriousness: “In this brutal world, and especially in this squad, if something isn’t yours, don’t covet it, and don’t try to reach for it. Knowing your place is the only way to survive for the long haul. Don’t you agree?”

Wang Li nodded frantically, tears of shame and lingering dread welling in her eyes. “Yes, yes, of course! You’re completely right, Little Yu! I was being completely foolish! I’ll engrave this in my memory—I will never let a thought like that cross my mind again!”

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