195. The Night Before Departure
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Things you need to take should be packed in advance.
Since the high-speed train doesn’t allow cats, Lin Nan had to painfully book a ride home with someone else. Luckily, after chatting with Chen Yao online, the two decided to share the ride back and split the fare. Otherwise, Lin Nan would have seriously considered boarding Cola at a pet shop!
After waiting a moment in the rental apartment, Chen Yao arrived with his luggage.
“Staying over tonight?” He said, walking in with his suitcase, shedding his increasingly hefty coat. “What time is the ride tomorrow?”
“Noon at twelve.”
“Perfect! We can pull an all-nighter then!” He looked up at Lin Nan, who was wearing a white turtleneck sweater, and suddenly froze.
It had only been a little over a week since they last lived together, and he never expected that Lin Nan, who used to be flat-chested, would have developed such curves in just a few months!
Though Lin Nan was still wearing men’s clothes, she managed to pull off an outfit that looked like women’s wear.
The sweater, which should have been loose, was pulled tight at the waist by her curves, while the pants, intended to be casual, were also stretched around her thighs.
At first glance, Lin Nan seemed a bit chubbier, with thicker legs, but compared to her previous bamboo-pole figure, her current shape was undeniably more appealing!
With temperatures dropping to about fifteen degrees, Lin Nan usually covered up in a heavy coat that concealed her figure, leaving only her calves visible. But today, Chen Yao got an eyeful!
Feeling a bit awkward, he diverted his gaze. “I’ll just go use the bathroom.”
The air in the room was stuffy. Lin Nan feared Cola might jump out of the window again, so she rarely opened it, which resulted in the apartment being filled with a delightful milky fragrance.
As Chen Yao swallowed hard, he realized Lin Nan moving out of the dorm was actually a smart choice.
He walked into the bedroom, intending to head straight for the bathroom, but couldn’t help sneaking a glance at the mess on the double bed.
Why was her underwear thrown everywhere? She never did this in the dorm!
He pushed open the bathroom glass door and started using the toilet, but his attention kept drifting back to Lin Nan’s clothes.
“Wait! My room isn’t tidy yet!”
Lin Nan finally reacted, hurriedly pushing the door and walking in, only to look up and find Chen Yao already on the toilet.
She froze for a moment but didn’t think much of it; back in middle and high school, she and Chen Yao often went to the bathroom together during breaks. Meanwhile, Chen Yao’s face turned beet red, and he couldn’t utter a word.
“Can’t you… go out for a sec?”
Even though his back was to her, he felt unusually uncomfortable.
“It’s not like you haven’t seen it before…” Lin Nan mumbled, stepping back out of the room, “I used to have some back in middle school, when I was even a bit older than you…”
Where did that come from?!
Chen Yao couldn’t help but laugh at Lin Nan’s ridiculousness. He thought she had accepted her new female mindset, but here she was, still thinking like a guy!
When he walked out of the bedroom, he noticed Lin Nan’s cheeks were slightly flushed.
Most girls would be embarrassed and blush if a guy saw their underwear, but Lin Nan seemed to feel humiliated like when Wu Guodong caught her with a n*ked body pillow.
Chen Yao grabbed a small stool to sit on, not daring to squeeze onto the sofa with Lin Nan. He earnestly advised, “You really need to pay attention to these things. You’re a girl now, not just ‘one of the guys’ anymore.”
“I know…” Lin Nan’s gaze wandered, fingers playing with the threads of her sweater, as she sheepishly explained, “Sometimes I just forget.”
After all, it had only been a month since she embraced womanhood, and even counting her previous transition, it had only been a semester—there’s no way she would overwrite eighteen years of habits and experiences in that short time!
“Just remember it better,” Chen Yao sighed. “You know, sometimes I even suspect you’re trying to seduce me.”
“Pfft! I will never like guys in my life.”
Lin Nan shot him a disdainful look. “Girls are all soft and sweet! Why would I want to seduce you? I just want to play games with you!”
At that, Cola, who had been quiet, suddenly meowed loudly, “That’s because you’ve never experienced the beauty of men! You’d be a perverted lesbian!”
Lin Nan dismissed Cola as just hungry, irritated by the ruckus, and got up to refill its cat food, also cracking open a can of cat treats.
Chen Yao wanted to say more, but Lin Nan kneeling there to refill the cat food was just too distracting.
The way her sweater lifted when she squatted revealed her fair waist, and her already snug pants seemed to struggle against her curves.
Hadn’t she done any specific workouts? How did she manage to look more tempting than those gym girls?
No more thinking about it; otherwise, he’d start imagining something inappropriate.
Chen Yao forced his gaze away.
“So, you have to give me some time to adjust, right?” Lin Nan turned back to him. “Besides, we’re like best buddies; you don’t need to stress over much.”
No, there’s no such thing as ‘best buddies’ between guys and girls unless someone’s a total troll.
Chen Yao didn’t dare voice that out loud; saying it outright would be akin to admitting he was lusting after Lin Nan.
So he quickly shifted the subject. “By the way, has Zheng Qian been bothering you lately?”
“Nope, he seems busy preparing his thesis. He keeps chatting with me on QQ, which is super annoying.” Lin Nan had walked over to Cola’s bowl. Seeing Cola looking resistant, she gave it a gentle push, forcing its head toward the bowl, also complaining to Chen Yao, “You can’t imagine how this cat acts like it’s about to d*e every time it has to eat! Should I get it checked for digestive issues? Cola used to eat like a champ!”
“You actually care about it? You wouldn’t be this worried if you were struggling yourself.”
“True…”
Lin Nan’s mood dipped a little.
“But like last time, as long as I’m looking out for you, you’ll be fine.” Chen Yao leaned back, propping up his chin, staring aimlessly at the wall, seemingly spotting a flower there, “If you have any troubles once you get home, just call me. I’ll feel a bit more at ease if I’m with you.”
“What if I get into a huge fight with my parents?” Lin Nan bit her lip, asking.
“Then just come live with me! If that doesn’t work, I’ll help you look for a rental place.” He sprawled out on the tiny sofa, which was barely large enough for half of him, leaving most of his legs dangling out, “And your mom doesn’t she accept you?”
Though it did seem like she had last time…
But who knows what would happen this time?
Lin Nan let out a long sigh as she watched Cola munching away at the cat food, its eyes misty. Why was this cat in such high spirits?
Turning back to Chen Yao, she suddenly realized, “You slept like this last time too?”
“What else would I do?”
“This sofa’s so tiny, isn’t it uncomfortable?”
“Should I just sleep in your bed then?”
She readily agreed, “That works!”
Chen Yao’s heart soared.
“I’ll take the bed, and you can have the sofa; I’m smaller anyway.”
Chen Yao’s heart sank.
