119. Outing
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After dozing off for several hours, Lin Nan woke up to find it was already evening.
The temperature had dropped significantly since noon. As Lin Nan emerged from under the covers, he shivered in the cool air but quickly warmed up. Even with his passive magic shield, his skin could still feel temperature changes. Otherwise, he might not even notice if he accidentally got scalded!
His uncle wasn’t in the living room, but as he glanced toward the bedroom door, he could faintly smell smoke seeping through the crack.
Before he came over, Lin Nan already knew Wu Guodong had a serious smoking habit. Even though he was mentally prepared, the smell hit him like a brick wall, making him cough uncontrollably.
Covering his mouth and nose, Lin Nan decided it was too annoying to go shout at Wu Guodong in the bedroom. Instead, he picked up the game controller still in his hands and continued playing.
Staying at Wu Guodong’s house was one of Lin Nan’s favorite things to do. Here, he could play video games all day long without worrying about classes or meals—especially since someone else was treating him to food… mainly the latter was what he really enjoyed.
Since he’d napped for too long, Lin Nan didn’t feel hungry. But after playing for a while, he did find himself getting a bit bored and tired. He wasn’t the type to be super passionate about gaming.
Rubbing his still-drowsy eyes and yawning, Lin Nan reached for a bottle of mineral water on the coffee table.
Just then, Wu Guodong must have heard the noise from the bedroom. He turned off the air conditioning and wandered back to the living room. As he was about to sit next to Lin Nan, he noticed Lin Nan had scooted to the far edge of the sofa, a look of disdain plastered on his face.
“Uncle, you smell like an ashtray…” Lin Nan pinched his nose.
“After smoking all afternoon, it’s only natural I smell a bit!” Wu Guodong had zero remorse and even leaned down to sniff his shirt, “I don’t smell anything.”
Well, if you’ve been cooped up in a smoke-filled room for so long, of course, you wouldn’t smell it!
Lin Nan found it hard to grasp why some people like smoking when they’re stressed out. He couldn’t see how inhaling toxic cloud puffs could reduce stress. Eating a lollipop seemed far more effective—sweetness releases dopamine, after all!
Even harder to understand were those middle school and high school kids who thought smoking was the epitome of cool. Take Chen Yao, for example—he smoked but only in social settings. According to him, starting a conversation with “Do you smoke?” feels more natural than “Have you eaten yet?” He usually avoided smoking otherwise.
“What do you want for dinner? How about a late-night snack?” Wu Guodong asked.
“You decide.” Lin Nan was suffering from some kind of decision paralysis, especially when it came to ordering takeout.
“Then let’s get fast food. And if you get hungry later, we can order barbecue?”
“That works.”
Lin Nan, still trying to shake off the lingering grogginess from his nap, stood up to wash his face in the bathroom, which thankfully cleared away that annoying, fuzzy feeling in his eyes.
“Tonight, you’ll sleep in my room, and I’ll sleep on the couch,” Wu Guodong called from outside the bathroom. “It’s not fair to keep you on the couch all the time. I’ve already opened a window in my room to air out the smoke, so it should be fine tonight.”
Lin Nan suddenly recalled the anime character pillows he saw earlier and teasingly replied, “What about your wife?”
“D-Don’t go rummaging through my wardrobe!” Wu Guodong’s face flushed red. Even at nearly thirty, the thought of his… unique items being seen by his nephew made his heart race, “And don’t go spreading rumors!”
Once Lin Nan washed his face, he opened the door and looked up at his uncle, holding out a hand and cheekily saying, “Silencing fee.”
“Ever since you had that surgery, you seem more money-hungry than a ravenous dog.”
Wu Guodong joked.
I’m NOT materialistic, thank you very much! I’m just broke.
Lin Nan rolled his eyes and didn’t bother arguing. Instead, he asked, “You don’t have any weird stuff on your computer, do you? I hope I don’t accidentally stumble upon something strange.”
“Absolutely not!” Wu Guodong was suddenly grateful he was sensible enough to keep such items on a portable hard drive.
He watched as Lin Nan washed his face and then dashed back to play games, feeling uneasy about having his nephew cooped up in the house for too long.
And having a man and a girl alone in the same room… although Lin Nan was technically still male, going by what Lin Nan said, he should be a girl.
This led Wu Guodong’s mind down a rabbit hole of wild scenarios, even though he knew that was highly unlikely.
“Wanna go out for a bit? We can swing by the supermarket and grab some snacks?” Wu Guodong suggested.
“Can we take them back?”
“Sure, why not?”
Lin Nan instantly perked up. The last time he had snacks to his heart’s content was during a typhoon, when Chen Yao brought over a gigantic bag of goodies that Lin Nan devoured all by himself.
“But can you really promise me you’ll go back to have that surgery during winter break?” Wu Guodong still doubted Lin Nan’s words.
Lin Nan hesitated for a moment but nodded slowly.
“What if you feel unwell?”
“Then I’ll just go home…”
Wu Guodong burst into chuckles, smacking Lin Nan’s head lightly, and when Lin Nan looked up at him with a pitiful expression, he snapped, “Can’t you just CALL ME so I can take you to the hospital? Are you not afraid of dying on your way home?”
“Come on, it’s not that easy to d*e.” Lin Nan sulked, turning his head away. He felt his uncle was overreacting.
He was a magic user, after all! Especially with that Purification Magic. While it may not completely banish harmful bacteria and viruses from his body, it should at least keep him clean enough to avoid getting sick.
Wu Guodong couldn’t help but feel that Lin Nan’s attitude was a bit off, but as an uncle, he really couldn’t find the words to be too harsh.
Mainly because he instinctively thought of Lin Nan as a girl…
With a heavy sigh, he saw Lin Nan’s carefree demeanor and felt a headache coming on.
“Hey, uncle, I need to buy some shoes,” Lin Nan, still in his sun protection outfit, protested. It was humiliating as a guy to have people eyeballing his chest!
“Did your shoes break?”
“They’re too big, and my heels keep slipping out…” Lin Nan scratched his head, pulling a reason out of thin air. “I guess they shrunk in the wash?”
Shrinking is one thing; have you ever heard of shoes that magically grow?
Wu Guodong’s expression darkened. If you want shoes, just SAY so. Why make up excuses?
Lin Nan really had a knack for talking nonsense, but the anxious look on his face made him somewhat endearing when he was being ridiculous.
I’m definitely losing it.
Wu Guodong sighed in defeat, “Alright, let’s go back to that street from last time.”
Just as he reached for the doorknob, he suddenly turned around and asked, “You know, do you want to buy some women’s clothes?”
“Huh?”
“Considering you already look almost like a girl and you’re going for that surgery soon… might as well get comfortable beforehand?” Wu Guodong felt like he was playing some kind of gender-bending dress-up game.
Lin Nan froze. He thought his uncle was a sensible guy; how could he suggest women’s clothing?
“Absolutely NOT!”
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Starting today, I can only update twice. Sorry!
