Leisurely Traveler with Check-in System-Chapter 77 - 76: The First Merit of the Camper Bed
The air was cool, carrying the fresh scent of soil and grass.
The stars overhead seemed freshly washed, dazzlingly bright, a starry sky unseen in the city but so vivid here.
Out in the wild, everyone is a friend.
Li Younan, of course, did not eat alone. He shared his food with the young girl, and she generously brought over her self-heating pot.
Through chatting, he learned the girl’s name was Liu Zhixin, nicknamed Zhizhi.
Li Younan helped Liu Zhixin—Zhizhi, to rearrange her "soulful" tent, tightening the cords and securing the stakes, finally turning it into a passable night shelter.
She let out a breath of relief, blushing a bit with embarrassment, and softly whispered, "Thank you, Brother Li," her voice as faint as a mosquito’s hum.
A warm yellow glow enveloped them both.
Zhizhi brought out her exquisite hand-crank coffee grinder and small pot again, studying the instructions to brew coffee, her movements clumsy, spilling a few beans that rolled into the grass.
Li Younan leaned on a folding chair, holding a thermos cup with freshly brewed black tea, a bit too hot for comfort. The mountain breeze swept past, unknown insects chirped in fluctuating tones, and the camp was so quiet that only the subtle puffing of the gas lamp and her dry grinding sounds could be heard.
"Don’t move."
Li Younan suddenly said.
She was grinding coffee, but instinctively paused upon hearing him, looked up at Li Younan in confusion.
The camping lamp’s glow happened to drape half of her figure, a few strands of hair on her forehead lifted by the wind, her eyes particularly bright in the light, carrying a bit of uncomprehending daze.
Li Younan raised the camera that had been on his lap, and before she could regain her senses, the shutter clicked crisply twice.
Only then did she realize, her face flushed red, hurriedly covering her face with her hands, trying to smooth her hair: "Oh! I..."
"It’s good," Li Younan put down the camera, showing her the screen, "it has soul."
In the photo, she looked like a startled little animal, captured in the warm light, her eyes clean yet a bit silly.
Li Younan added, "If it bothers you, I can delete it..."
She leaned in to look, staring for a while, her lips slowly curling into a smile, wanting to say something but refraining, only murmuring softly, "...wasn’t even ready."
Then she resumed fussing with her coffee, just moving more gently, occasionally sneaking a glance at the camera.
The night grew deeper, and the chill intensified.
The gas lamp’s flame softened considerably. Zhizhi finally gave up on her grand coffee-making plan, yawning and crawling into her painstakingly set-up tent.
Li Younan also packed up his things, climbing into the Land Cruiser.
The back seat was laid down by two-thirds as planned, forming a temporary small bed, 1.2 meters wide. Li Younan opened a drawer, pulled out a mattress, and spread it out, then drew out a light, soft summer quilt.
A crack in the car window allowed for ventilation, fitted with a fine mosquito net.
The mountain night was quiet, leaving only breathing sounds, the mattress underneath moderately firm, much more comfortable than expected.
His eyelids grew heavy, and he soon drifted into a haze.
Not sure how long he’d slept, he was awoken by a sudden thunder.
The thunder rumbled like a giant millstone rolling over distant hilltops, carrying a heavy echo. Following that, large raindrops suddenly started pelting down, crackling on the car rooftop and windshield.
Li Younan’s heart skipped a beat and instinctively glanced out at the tiny tent diagonally opposite.
The gas lamp had long blown out, only a faint light, presumably from a phone screen, glimmered behind the tent cloth, in the torrent of rain, the small tent appeared particularly frail and pitiful.
Though it stood, it was violently shaking in the wind and rain, like a paper boat ready to capsize at any moment.
A stark white lightning bolt ripped through the night sky, almost simultaneously followed by a thundering clap overhead! Boom—
"Ah—!"
A short cry pierced through the sound of the rain.
Immediately, the faint light inside the tent wobbled violently, and the zipper was hurriedly yanked open.
A small figure clutching a pillow and blanket clambered out from the tent, instantly drenched to the bone in the pouring rain.
She stood in ankle-deep puddles, bewildered, her hair clinging wetly to her face.
Lightning flashed again, clearly illuminating her face, indistinguishable between rain and tears, looking a mess.
She saw Li Younan’s car.
Li Younan quickly climbed to the driver’s seat, driving a short distance towards her, rolling down the window, allowing rain and cold wind to rush in.
"Li... Brother Li!"
Her voice was tinged with sobs, "My tent... it... it seems to be floating! The water... the water is coming in!"
"Get in!" Li Younan leaned over and opened the passenger door.
As soon as she got in, a damp chill and muddy water accompanied her.
The car door slammed shut, instantly cutting off the deafening sound of the storm outside.
Inside the car, the humid smell quickly spread.
She sat in the passenger seat, dripping wet, her hair plastered to her forehead and cheeks, shivering from the cold, clutching her equally soaked pillow, still in shock, peering out the window at her tent swaying in the wind and rain, seemingly about to collapse any moment.
Her eyes were filled with fear and frustration.
"Wipe it off."
Li Younan tore off a few tissues and handed them to her.
She messily wiped her face, sniffling, a pitiful sight.
Zhizhi turned her head, looking towards the back seat. She saw the neatly spread, seemingly cozy small bed under the car’s interior light and froze for a moment, her eyes widening slightly, her earlier panic replaced by a more complex stupor.
There’s a bed in the car?
It seems... much more comfortable than the lumpy moisture-proof mat in her soulful tent?
Li Younan said nothing, unbuckled his seatbelt, crawled into the backseat. With Zhizhi watching dumbfoundedly, Li Younan grabbed the release lever near the headrest of the rear seat, pulling and pushing hard.
Click... creak—
With a light mechanical sound, the remaining third of the rear seat slowly unfolded forward, creating a large, nearly two-meter-long flat bed space, reaching all the way to the front seatbacks!
"Look," Li Younan patted the sturdy, flat mattress, looking up at Zhizhi, who was already thoroughly dumbfounded in the passenger seat, mouth slightly open, "it can be like this... more spacious."
Simply a bare show-off, with no other intentions.
Outside, the rain poured down in torrents, fiercely washing over the world.
Inside, the camping lamp softly illuminated the spontaneously transformed, spacious and flat big bed.
Zhizhi, clutching her drenched pillow, looked at the big bed, then turned, peering through the water-streaked window at the outside, where her tent flapped in the wind and rain, seemingly on the brink of collapse.
She said nothing, only blinking dumbly, then blinking again.
What she had earlier prided herself on as a soulful item suddenly seemed... far less appealing, compared to this stable, roomy, dry car bed.
