226. Playing Mahjong
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“Get up, breakfast is ready!”
A familiar voice suddenly reached Lin Nan’s ears, jolting her awake. Blinking in confusion, she stared at her grandmother standing by the bed.
Her grandmother placed soy milk and deep-fried dough sticks on the bedside table. “Remember to throw these away after you eat.”
She then glanced at Liu Xinyi, who was sleeping on the floor, muttering, “You used to be okay with sharing the bed before you turned into a girl. Why do you suddenly want to sleep separately now?”
“Uh huh.”
Lin Nan mumbled, rolling over to find a comfortable position and drifting back to sleep.
She had no idea how much time had passed when she suddenly woke up with a start.
Her grandmother had vanished, and the breakfast was stone cold. After a barbecue binge the night before, her stomach showed no signs of hunger.
Sitting up, she stared blankly into space until she remembered the bizarre events of the previous night.
How did Cola end up as the boss of the wild cats after just one outing?
Turning her head to look at Cola curled up at the head of the bed, she contemplated jumping on it for a playful tussle, but then thought twice about it. After all, her cat now had a reputation to uphold; she felt a bit guilty.
What if it got mad and summoned a whole gang of cats to scratch me?
Lin Nan quickly dug a can of cat food out from her suitcase, hoping to appease her furry lord.
However, Cola’s ears twitched, and it quickly woke up, stretching lazily and wrinkling its nose at the cat food.
Let’s be real, out there, its little henchmen would steal warm braised meat to serve it! Sure, it’s a tad dirty, and it hasn’t had any, but rolling around and being cute in front of others could score it some nice fresh meals.
And looking at Lin Nan, it was clear she was offering plain old kibble and cat food.
So snobby!
Cola promptly leaped out the window, strutting confidently on the balcony and meowing dramatically, like a lion surveying its kingdom.
Then, it misjudged its leap and almost tumbled off the third floor, yowling and scrambling back up.
Liu Xinyi, who had been sleeping on the floor, was rudely awakened by the commotion. Stretching and sitting up, she was met with Lin Nan shoving a meat bun into her mouth.
“Uhh?”
She blinked, confused, at Lin Nan, who had somehow kneeled right next to her.
“Eat breakfast; I’ve already had mine.” Lin Nan wasn’t very hungry herself—she hadn’t touched her food—so she decided to trick her groggy cousin into eating as much as possible.
Liu Xinyi took a bite, her head still a bit fuzzy, trying to make sense of things.
Yesterday, she had been drinking with Wu Jiaming, and now her face was slightly puffy, her head spinning. Before she knew it, Lin Nan had stuffed two meat buns down her throat and was resignedly drinking a bowl of soy milk.
“I can’t eat anymore,” she grimaced, clutching her belly and letting out a burp.
Lin Nan glanced at the remaining bowl of soy milk. “You have to eat, or Grandpa will definitely lecture us.”
With that, she picked up the bowl and poured it into Liu Xinyi’s mouth. Amidst her cousin’s thrashing, soy milk splattered everywhere.
After a ruckus in the early morning, Lin Nan noticed that Cola had disappeared again.
Now, she didn’t worry for her cat’s safety anymore; she was more concerned it would rally a gang of wild cats and wreak havoc on the neighborhood.
Time to get Cola spayed at a vet!
After washing up, Lin Nan finally felt a bit more awake and yawned her way down to the lobby, where her cousin and uncle were already up.
Both of them looked a bit rough around the edges, sporting dark circles under their eyes as they sat around a circular table, snacking on sunflower seeds and chatting away.
“Are you guys just getting up now? It’s almost lunchtime!” Wu Guodong didn’t have a clue that Lin Nan and her cousin had gone out for late-night snacks; he pointed to a mahjong box under the TV cabinet. “Wanna play mahjong?”
“Sure, why not?”
There wasn’t much fun to be had at Grandma and Grandpa’s place, and the internet only worked decently on the second floor, leaving everyone bored out of their minds.
Lin Nan wasn’t a mahjong expert, but the other three were pretty good—especially Liu Xinyi, who had been playing since elementary school and could even go toe-to-toe with the grandparents now.
“Play for money?”
Lin Nan shook her head without hesitation. “No way, I’m broke.”
She was the only one clueless about mahjong, and if they played for money, she’d probably end up as fodder.
As they played, a discussion sparked about whether they should head out for some fun. Meanwhile, Lin Nan sat there seriously trying to sort out her messy hand of tiles.
While the others chatted and neatly arranged their tiles, Lin Nan was still fumbling and trying to understand which ones she didn’t need.
Luckily, no one was in a rush. Wu Guodong glanced toward the tightly shut door, noting that her grandparents hadn’t come back yet, and quickly lit a cigarette.
Even though he was nearing thirty, in his parents’ eyes, he was still a child. Every time he was caught smoking, he’d get an earful.
But if they didn’t see it, everything was fine. They wouldn’t make a fuss about the smell.
Lin Nan picked up a five of bamboo tiles, hesitated for a moment, then set it down again, eventually tossing out a one-man tile.
She really didn’t know how to play mahjong. If it were a game like Happy Mahjong with prompts and assists, she could do okay, but this real-life thing was a whole different ball game.
Seeing her flustered expression, Wu Guodong felt a rumbling in his heart. Lin Nan was really growing up; every little move she made was captivating.
“Hey, you should take your cat to get spayed. Running around in heat every day isn’t good. What if it comes back pregnant? That’ll be a headache.” Wu Jiaming chimed in. “There aren’t many local cats to adopt anymore; you can’t just let them go, right?”
Even though Cola had saved them yesterday, it felt like the rampaging stray dogs in the area had something to do with her rallying a gang of cats.
After all, strays had to rummage through trash for food. If the cats got too bold, starving dogs would definitely shift their focus to humans.
“I know, I’ll catch her next time she comes back and take her to the vet for check-up,” Lin Nan groaned, “But I’m broke…”
She was considering looking for a part-time job, but with the winter break already a week in, finding work now felt too late.
“By the way, I heard the infectious disease over there is about to end,” Wu Jiaming mentioned, “The news said they were serious about it and quickly took action for full-scale testing.”
“Really?” Lin Nan paused, curious. “What happens if they don’t take it seriously?”
“They say it’s a pretty nasty infectious disease. If it gets out of control during this peak travel season, it could spread nationwide,” Wu Guodong added. “Now the whole country is on high alert; anyone coming back from the epidemic area has to quarantine.”
Sounds very serious, but the country was indeed on the ball. Just a few days ago, a doctor reported a suspected case, and swift action had been taken. Last she heard about it was just a few days ago, and already things were mostly under control.
While they were chatting, Liu Xinyi suddenly pushed her tiles excitedly and exclaimed, “I won! Cousin, give me a kiss as a reward!”
“Gross!”
Lin Nan pushed her face away, leaning back slightly.
“Then let’s play strip mahjong! Whoever loses the most has to take off their clothes!”
“Get lost!”
Lin Nan was thoroughly unimpressed.
