224. Night Out
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For Lin Nan, the scariest part of her nightmare wasn’t the final terrifying scene but the image of her parents chasing her out with sticks.
After she completely transformed into a girl, she had seen similar scenes in her dreams multiple times. Each time, she woke up with tears streaming down her face, her heart aching. Perhaps since she had just watched a horror movie, her reaction this time was even more intense.
This was the first time Liu Xinyi had seen Lin Nan like this, and she could only do her best to soothe the octopus-like Lin Nan, who was clinging to her: “It’s okay, dreams are the opposite of reality. Aunty really likes you, doesn’t she?”
As for Aunty’s husband… She had heard about Lin Nan’s father from her own mother. Although Lin Nan presented herself in a more masculine way, her feelings were undoubtedly more delicate than the average male’s.
She kind of understood why Lin Nan was being so fragile and spoke softly in her somewhat androgynous voice.
“Okay, it’s all good. It was just a dream.”
Lin Nan nodded through her sniffles. Thanks to Liu Xinyi’s comforting words, she quickly emerged from the nightmare; her trembling body gradually calmed down, and her mood began to ease as well.
She felt a little embarrassed about her breakdown, but that wasn’t her priority at the moment.
She released Liu Xinyi, rolled over, and lay on the bamboo mat, staring blankly at the ceiling while wiping the remaining tears from her eyes. Life felt so dreary.
Ever since she became a girl, her emotions had become more unstable and increasingly sentimental.
It seemed like estrogen made one prone to emotional upheaval, and since Lilith was already a temperamental old witch, Lin Nan couldn’t help but be affected too.
Liu Xinyi hurriedly got up to turn on the bedroom lights and then waddled back over, curiously observing Lin Nan’s face.
Lin Nan’s eyes were still slightly red from crying, and tear streaks decorated her face. With her delicate and charming appearance, it was hard to believe she had once been a male.
Though Liu Xinyi liked girls, she had already found someone special, so she didn’t pine for Lin Nan.
For her, liking girls was purely innocent; she had no ulterior motives. Her girlfriend of a year had primarily consisted of hugs and kisses—her relationship could be better described as that of two close buddies.
“Aren’t you going to sleep?” Liu Xinyi asked, sitting cross-legged on the bamboo mat while gazing down at the defenseless Lin Nan beside her.
As she asked, her gaze fell on Lin Nan’s chest, and she could clearly see the outline through the thin fabric of her sleepwear.
Not as big as mine, nor as big as my girlfriend’s.
But the shape was pretty nice.
She shot a glance at Lin Nan, who was lost in thought, and excitedly stretched out her hand.
However, she was met with a swift slap as Lin Nan firmly batted her hand away before climbing onto the bed, her eyes filled with suspicion.
“What’s the big deal? You can hug me, but I can’t even touch you?” Liu Xinyi pouted, hands on her hips, standing her ground.
“No way!”
It’s not like Lin Nan had even touched herself! There was no way she’d let anyone else do it either.
She felt embarrassed about her body, and usually, she rushed through her baths, just wiping herself down with a towel. Nevertheless, she maintained her daily wash even in winter, so hygiene wasn’t an issue.
Lin Nan immediately wrapped herself tightly in her blanket, giving Liu Xinyi the same wary look Lilith gave Li Na.
“You wouldn’t even look at me if you were into girls, right?” Liu Xinyi leaned back against the wall, picked at her toenails, and muttered, “Besides, yaoi is pure and sacred. Why are you giving me those creepy eyes?”
Not at all pure and sacred!
Lin Nan shuddered at the thought of Li Na, who had learned all sorts of bizarre magic to buddy up with Lilith.
It was clear that her cousin had never encountered any creepy yuri scenarios yet.
If it weren’t for Li Na, Lin Nan might still think that dating two beautiful girls was a delightful thing.
After a late-night spiel, it left both of them wide awake.
Lin Nan switched on the old TV, too lazy to search for a channel and just letting it play for some background noise.
She leaned against the headboard, letting out a long, melancholic sigh.
Wonder what her parents were up to now…
Just then, the nightmarish dreams flooded back, and Lin Nan forced a bitter smile, quickly shaking those images from her mind.
Thank goodness those scenes were just dreams; she suspected if her parents truly kicked her out, she’d likely hit rock bottom.
“Cousin, wanna duo in a chicken dinner?”
Liu Xinyi, wide awake, grabbed her phone for a game.
“Not playing.”
Lin Nan picked up her phone and realized it was only 2 AM.
She had gone to bed around 11, so she had only slept three hours. Despite feeling mentally drained, her body was surprisingly lively, and she wasn’t sleepy at all.
She put her laptop from the nightstand on her lap, ready to watch some downloaded dramas to pass the time.
“Cousin, I’m hungry.”
Liu Xinyi rubbed her stomach, pouting, “Didn’t eat enough last night. The food at Grandpa’s place was terrible…”
“Delivery is probably impossible at this time; even if we ordered, where would we send it?” Lin Nan opened the delivery app and, not surprisingly, found all the eateries closed.
“Then let’s go out and see what snacks we can catch!”
Lin Nan shook her head again. After being thoroughly terrified by horror movies and nightmares, she wasn’t keen on venturing out at night.
Besides, the countryside was no match for the city; there were wild cats and dogs lurking everywhere.
“Come on! There are bound to be lots of tasty snacks by the internet cafe this time of night!”
Lin Nan hesitated. She had pulled all-nighters at that internet cafe before, and the barbecue stall downstairs was practically open all night…and it was delicious.
“If you hadn’t mentioned it, I wouldn’t have even realized I was hungry…” Lin Nan rubbed her tummy to find it gurgling.
Liu Xinyi jumped up from the floor, grabbed Lin Nan’s wrist, and began tugging. “Let’s go! Time for barbecue!”
“Is it really okay to go out this late?” Lin Nan knew she was resisting verbally, but her body was definitely complying. “I need to change first; you go wait for me.”
“We’re both girls; what’s there to be shy about?”
Though she said that, Liu Xinyi obediently stepped out of the bedroom. Lin Nan hurriedly changed into her regular clothes and wiped the tear streaks from her cheeks with a wet wipe. She was ready in no time.
However, when she opened the bedroom door, she found Liu Xinyi pouting with a sulky face, and there was another person standing next to her.
“Cousin? Why aren’t you asleep at this hour?” Lin Nan asked, feeling a twinge of guilt.
Sneaking out for midnight snacks was one thing; getting caught by her cousin was another.
“Am I the early-to-bed type?” Wu Jiaming, hands in his pockets, looked far more energized than during the day. “I heard all the noise coming from your room and had to check it out. So, you two are heading out for snacks without inviting me?”
Liu Xinyi immediately perked up, asking, “Cousin treating us?”
“This definitely counts as my treat.”
Growing up, their group of cousins had always made the older ones foot the bill.
