The group made a round in the city, searching for a small shop where they could exchange goods for supplies before returning to their temporary residence.
Except for the northern area, most places were temporary shelters. The rent for each type of housing varied. The rooms with attached bathrooms and showers naturally had higher prices. Apart from the rental houses, there was also a free hall available. The hall had no facilities, only painted squares on the floor, similar to parking spaces, where people could rent a “block” of land.
The people living in the hall didn’t have to pay rent, but they also didn’t receive any food or water. Everything had to be self-provided or obtained by working outside.
Moreover, the personal safety of those living in the hall was completely unprotected. Theft, robbery, and other crimes were left unattended unless witnessed by the soldiers on duty at the entrance.
To live a little more peacefully, one had to spend some food and points to rent a bed in the dormitory.
During the day, when passing by the refuge hall, the smell of sweat, foot odor, and decay could be faintly smelled from inside. Inside were genuine refugees, who had nothing and could only find temporary shelter in the free hall.
However, no matter what, the hall was still better than being outside. It provided shelter from the wind and rain, at least preventing them from being devoured by monsters at any moment.
“Brother Yue, when are we leaving?” Xu Song held Mo Tiancheng and cautiously asked Yue Zheng. His mood had become somewhat complicated since he saw the woman named Qian earlier. Now, whenever he looked at Yue Zheng, his emotions seemed even more entangled than before.
“I’ll go out to gather information in the next few days. Let’s aim to leave in a week.”
Their rental period coincidentally lasted for a week, so it would be best to leave as soon as possible if they could adjust their state of mind and gather the necessary information within that time.
“Oh.” Xu Song hesitated for a moment before asking with a touch of anxiety, “…Are you going to ask Professor Qian for information?” After speaking, he glanced at Yue Zheng cautiously.
“Yes, she’s the only person I know in S City for now.” Yue Zheng paused, his eyebrows slightly furrowing. He wasn’t sure if some of the people he had previously collaborated with or his colleagues in the S City police were still around. But if possible, he didn’t want to directly involve them.
He had already lost contact with his superiors and colleagues. If possible, he would like to head north alone with Xu Song, without getting entangled in other matters. He needed to gather some internal information, but the fewer people who knew about his inquiries, the better.
Seeing Yue Zheng lost in thought without speaking, Xu Song’s mood lowered again. What’s wrong? What kind of madness was he experiencing?
Returning to the corridor once again, there was still no movement in Luo Wen’an’s room. The two of them carried the children and climbed the stairs to the fourth floor, entering the dimly lit room.
There was almost no electricity in the corridor. From the window, some households seemed to have lit candles. The dim lights would flicker as soon as someone moved, as if they could be extinguished at any moment.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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“Ct, fnfc lc atf rtfiafg, kf ralii tjnf ab wjxf j olgf obg mbbxlcu.” We Vbcu rwlifv ylaafgis jcv atgfk atf abgc vglfv wfja lcab j rwjii qba.
Xiao Shu swayed its body and played with Tiancheng and Tianyou. It extended two branches, its trunk swaying and twisting. The branches reached the children’s faces, and the two little brothers laughed and extended their small hands to play and clap with it.
“I saw a place today where we can rent a stove.” The orange firelight reflected on Yue Zheng’s face, giving him a special charm compared to his appearance during the day.
Xu Song felt a bit absent-minded and unconsciously stared at his face illuminated by the orange firelight.
When Yue Zheng suddenly looked up and towards him, it startled him, causing him to tremble and accidentally drop the meat that he hadn’t completely torn apart into the pot…
Oh no.
He didn’t dare to lift his head for a while. Xu Song felt a cold sweat breaking out; he finally realized what madness had possessed him today… It seemed like… perhaps… possibly… he might have developed feelings for Yue Zheng…
Feeling somewhat melancholic, he knew that if he hadn’t witnessed a woman making advances towards Yue Zheng today, he probably wouldn’t have noticed it for a while. But… how could this be possible?!
He tried hard to recall the time in the communal showers at school, the multitude of bodies of various heights, sizes, and colors. Then he remembered a few boys in their underwear crowding onto the same bed to watch football matches, getting bumped and squeezed together. He even recalled the different shapes and sizes he had witnessed in public restrooms…
Xu Song could swear with both hands and feet that he had never had any improper thoughts about men!
But today… today in the shower, he couldn’t bring himself to directly look at someone’s body. And then, seeing a woman showing affection towards Yue Zheng, he… damn it… felt… jealous!!
He raised his hand and covered his face. As a pure-hearted virgin who had only been attracted to women for over twenty years, he had normal reactions even when watching adult videos. How could his sexual orientation suddenly change when the apocalypse arrived?
This wasn’t like when a group of otaku online joked around and disgusted people, making it seem like the whole world of men was engaging in homosexual activities as if being gay was not a big deal. When it happened to someone, who could easily accept the fact that their sexual orientation had changed?
What’s even more miserable is secretly stealing a glance at Yue Zheng as he divides the meat for the twins. Moreover, the person I seem to have feelings for is a normal human being!
Is there anything more unfortunate than this?
Feeling down, I ate my portion and the two little ones, along with the tree, started rubbing their eyes together. The tree, of course, didn’t have eyes, but that didn’t stop it from imitating the twins, pretending to rub its eyes in the position where eyes would be.
“Come on, let me make your beds.” Yue Zheng was tidying up the fire, so Xu Song reluctantly got up and went to the single bed on the right. He took out the prepared blanket and spread it on the bed, using the children’s clothes as a makeshift pillow. Then, he carried the two children onto the bed one by one and covered them with their down jackets as blankets.
Xiao Shu moved to the window, swaying its trunk, and suddenly grew to about one meter tall. It spread its branches and formed a barrier outside the bed, like a railing, preventing the two children from rolling off in their sleep.
Xu Song lightly laughed as he touched the tree’s crown, and the whole tree playfully rubbed against him.
Turning around and looking at the other single bed… Xu Song suddenly couldn’t smile anymore.
- There are only two beds in the room.
- I put all the little ones on one bed after making their beds.
- The only remaining bed is a single bed.
- I just realized today that I have developed inexplicable feelings for my companion, who treats me as a brother.
- If I sleep with him tonight and he finds out afterward, will he think I had ulterior motives…
Before Xu Song realized it, his thoughts were like wild horses, galloping towards an unknown direction.
“The blankets are not enough?” After tidying up, Yue Zheng saw Xu Song still standing dumbfounded in the room and asked in confusion.
“They’re enough! Enough!” Xu Song hurriedly suggested against his own will, feeling strong self-condemnation in his heart. “Um… I was just thinking, the children are too young, can they sleep by themselves?”
Yue Zheng looked toward the bed on the right and saw Xiao Shu proudly showing off its bed-blocking skills.
“With us watching over them, it should be fine,” he said, throwing two blankets onto the bed and starting to make it.
Actually, now that he thought about it, how many times have they slept together on this journey? And when Luo Wen’an and the others teased them, he never refuted… Now that he thinks about it, Luo Wen’an and the others are actually quite good…
His heart beat hard all of a sudden. When everyone else thought that he and Yue Zheng were a couple, does it mean that if neither of them deny it, then they can be “together” until Yue Zheng meets the right girl?
This temptation is too great for Xu Song. Even now that the entire social order is collapsing, he doesn’t think that the compatriots in the country will be able to accept the fact that two men are together.
But as long as he doesn’t take the initiative to leave Yue Zheng, keeps getting along with him the same as before, and doesn’t refute when everyone mistakenly thought that they were a couple, then maybe, eventually, this fake relationship would become real?!
Yes, even if it’s fake, it’s still better than suddenly realizing that he’s in love and being forced to stay away due to morals, ethics, and public opinion, which would be a thousand times worse!
Taking a deep breath, Xu Song pretended to be calm and walked over to Yue Zheng, taking out the down jacket he had obtained from the supermarket before entering the city.
The night was dark, seemingly darker than usual at this time of year. But apart from astronomy enthusiasts and natural science enthusiasts, not many people paid attention to this.
Xu Song got into the bed, facing Yue Zheng, and carefully nestled in his arms.
The single bed was too small for two grown men, although both men had normal builds, and they were even a bit thin. But after sleeping rough for over a month as refugees, this was already the most comfortable bed they could have.
Feeling his heart pounding forcefully, listening to the heartbeat next to his ear beating at a similar frequency, Xu Song felt that his previous self was truly an idiot, a big idiot!
Even though he felt something different when he first started sleeping with him, it was only now that he realized… what else could it be if not idiocy?
Feeling the gradually calming breaths beside him, Xu Song broke free from his chaotic self-reproach and gently closed his eyes, resting his head on Yue Zheng’s chest.
He didn’t want to cause trouble for his mother, who was far away in B City, and he didn’t want to be despised or disgusted by Yue Zheng and be abandoned. So, he chose not to say anything.
Yue Zheng promised to accompany him on the journey north and help him find his mother.
Yue Zheng was willing to act together during the journey, relying on each other during the night.
Yue Zheng didn’t refute when people joked and said they were a couple…
This was good, really good. Even if they were genuine lovers, what could they do in the face of the current world? Xu Song was already content, truly.
Thank you for the chapter!
Congrats to Xu Song 🎉🎉🎉
Thank you for the update!
Knowing your feelings, yay! Thanks for the update ❤️❤️❤️
That’s kind of sad though. Even with the total collapse of order, he can only be deep in the closest…
Same, scared to even say his feelings. Just sad that he has to essentially lie to himself that they are a couple, even if it’s fake he still finds pleasure in it.
Whahahaha why am I so happy🤭
No bi-erasure in this household!!
If you like women, you can also like mennnnnnn.