216. Grandfather’s Attitude【35/170】
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By the time the group reached the senior activity center at the mountain top, it was just past six o’clock.
The winter sun had not fully risen, but the peak was already bustling with the elderly starting their daily exercise routine.
Grandfather led the trio under a huge pavilion and then promptly joined the early morning square dance crowd. Unlike in the city where square dancing could really be obnoxious, here on the mountain, there was no chance of disturbing anyone.
Lin Nan settled into the corner of the pavilion, leaning against a support pillar, glancing occasionally at her grandfather who was trying to follow the dance moves but feeling a bit uneasy.
It felt like her cousin’s gaze was permanently fixed on her, not moving an inch.
Even though she hadn’t fully embraced her feminine side yet, this attention was definitely a bit sensitive. “Is he eyeing me up?” she thought.
But when she glanced over, Wu Jiaming wasn’t dodging her gaze like others; instead, he was grinning widely with a clear and earnest look in his eyes, far from the creepy vibe she imagined.
“Maybe I’m overthinking it?”
After hiking for nearly an hour, she was getting a bit tired. This wasn’t like handing out flyers or shopping—one was for making money, the other was for spending it, while this was supposedly ‘working out’ for health.
She felt she didn’t really need to exercise; she wasn’t fat, and she certainly wasn’t a walking skeleton—she had some meat on her bones. The only minor issue was that she was a bit small-framed, making her seem thinner than she actually was.
Wu Jiaming diverted his attention to his phone, but Lin Nan noticed the gaze that had been fixed on her didn’t disappear. Curious, she glanced around before finally locking her gaze onto her Uncle.
She shifted closer to him, raising her chin suspiciously as she looked at him.
Thinking back, during her previous two visits to Uncle’s house, his eyes had seemed a bit too eager, especially the second time.
“What’s up?” Wu Guodong, who had been pretending to be an ostrich, finally broke under her persistent gaze, “Why do you keep staring at me?”
As he asked, he instinctively scratched his nose and ruffled his hair.
Then, his eyes uncontrollably drifted to Lin Nan’s tightly pressed thighs.
During their interactions, Lin Nan hadn’t noticed anything particularly strange in his glances or behavior. They hardly talked. However, the awkward and tense expression on his face made her suspicious that he was just good at hiding it.
“What are we doing this afternoon?” Lin Nan asked.
Wu Guodong shook his head; he was a hermit and had no idea about such plans: “Wanna go to Summoner’s Rift for a stroll?”
“I’m tired of it.”
“Then how about going to Yanming City for the scenery?”
“Sounds good. Did you bring back the game console?”
“It’s been sitting on the TV cabinet in the lobby all along. Didn’t you see it?”
Lin Nan’s eyes lit up. Most of the games on her computer needed a good network connection, and her grandfather’s internet was notoriously bad. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have gone to the internet cafe yesterday.
Plus, only a few games on the console required a full-time internet connection, and the TV in her grandfather’s living room was gigantic, perfect for that immersive movie experience.
Although, it might strain the eyes a bit.
Lin Nan plopped down next to Wu Guodong and started discussing the plot of “Sekiro”, not noticing his occasional glances shifting downward to examine her figure.
Wu Jiaming wasn’t too interested in single-player games, but he still moved in closer, occasionally interjecting with questions about their debate.
In this arena, Uncle was the expert. Lin Nan usually played games just for the thrill, favoring those where she could charge in headfirst. Uncle, on the other hand, was a dedicated gamer, slowly savoring games and trying to collect every single item for that shiny platinum trophy.
As they chatted, the sun finally peeked over the horizon, and Jiaming, dressed in a thick coat, peeled it off to reveal a snug-fitting short-sleeved shirt showing off his solid build.
He didn’t mind the cold much, and since the temperature wasn’t too low, he usually just wore a t-shirt with a thick coat.
Lin Nan caught a glimpse and felt a pang of envy.
“Why do Chen Yao and my cousin have such great physiques? And I…”
Among females, she was alright, but compared to guys, she lacked muscle. No matter how much she flexed, her biceps felt like soft jelly. Her build had no other purpose except maybe to attract men.
Wu Jiaming noticed Lin Nan staring at him with a hint of infatuation. He might have shown off his physique to another girl, hoping to take her home. But this was his… cousin.
“Hey, cousin, have you considered being a fitness coach?” Lin Nan suggested, “It’s still kind of like sales, right? Plus, if you lost a bit of weight, you’d be pretty handsome—perfect for charming the ladies!”
Wu Jiaming paused, contemplating her idea.
“Wait, are you saying my college gym workouts actually did some good?” He was a doer, and as soon as he accepted her suggestion, he was already diving into job search apps.
That previous dead-end sales job with a base salary of just over a thousand? Nah, he couldn’t afford to starve. Besides, going abroad would take months of paperwork.
“Are your parents coming back this year?” Wu Guodong asked.
“Nope, they just opened a shop abroad and are swamped, plus it seems like there are some issues back home.” He handed his phone to Wu Guodong, showing a news article, “Something about a virus possibly spreading.”
Lin Nan peered at the screen and, losing interest upon seeing the location, muttered, “That’s so far. Doesn’t affect us.”
The three of them brushed off the news, chatting for a few more minutes before diving back into their phones.
The mountain was mostly populated by middle-aged and elderly folks, and there were hardly any young people like them. Lin Nan had no interest in the exercise equipment either, so she wandered around the various courts, hoping to stumble upon some childhood memories.
But it was all a bust. Back then, there were only a few single and double rod setups—those playground-like things—but now it was bustling with life. Nearly every court was packed, and Lin Nan even spied a tiny golf course the size of a basketball court.
When she returned from her little exploration, however, Wu Jiaming had vanished. Apparently, he had run off with a group of elderly folks to jog, leaving Wu Guodong sitting alone in the tea pavilion.
Lin Nan casually took off her coat, removed her scarf, and bending down, placed her things on a chair while brushing her hair away from her face.
Her bangs had grown longer, increasingly blocking her view. It was probably time for a trim.
Wu Guodong stared, a tad dazed, at Lin Nan’s more feminine gestures, but quickly collected himself: “I have a membership card for a barbershop. Want me to take you?”
“Sure, but no dyeing or perming, and definitely don’t turn it into a little girl haircut,” Lin Nan fidgeted with her bangs in frustration. “If all else fails, I might just chop it all off.”
“Well, your grandfather might just flip his lid.”
Grandfather was something else; he didn’t mind his grandson looking like a granddaughter, but if she dressed in a way that didn’t align with her gender, he’d be very particular about it.
Thinking about his reaction made Lin Nan’s head hurt. If she had known, she would have kept it a secret. After disregarding her grandfather’s opinion and buying women’s clothing last night, today his look at her had definitely changed.
“Let’s just go with what he thinks. He’s old; some views are hard to change. If you carry on like this, he might just ignore you for days, like he does with Li Xinyi,” Wu Guodong advised.
Plus, Lin Nan in women’s clothes would undoubtedly look way better than now.
Recalling her grandfather’s attitude toward her cousin only compounded Lin Nan’s headache.
