230. Crash the Car!
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Chen Yao’s family’s cooking really tickled Lin Nan’s taste buds.
Their meals were mostly the sweet-and-sour variety, with the occasional spicy dish, just the way Lin Nan loved it.
And when it came to abalone and lobster, no matter how you prepared them, they hit the spot for Lin Nan.
Once again, her stomach puffed up to the size of a balloon, and she wobbled slightly on her feet when she finally, with a pained expression, shook her head to decline Auntie’s offer of lobster meat.
“Auntie, where’s Uncle gone?”
After finishing her meal, Lin Nan remembered that someone was missing from the dining table.
“He’s downstairs eating at the neighbor’s. He can’t enjoy this feast with us,” Auntie replied, her tone warm and gentle, showing off a level of education that hinted she was quite knowledgeable. Even though she ran a restaurant, she had this air of sophistication about her.
Auntie was still a bit overly enthusiastic, but she seemed calmer than the last time they met.
“By the way, I got you a set of clothes,” she suddenly sprang up and hurried to the bedroom, “You wait here, sip some soup.”
More soup? If I drink any more, it’s going to come back up!
Lin Nan glanced at the five dishes and a soup on the table, and at Chen Yao, who was diligently gnawing on a lobster head.
“Why aren’t you eating any meat?”
Chen Yao felt a bit awkward thanks to previous events but tried to play it cool.
“Do I look like I should?” He glanced up, pouted, “Clearly all of this is for you. Don’t get me started; my dad would get pounded if he even dared to touch it.”
Looks like Chen Yao’s mother runs the show at home.
While eating, Chen Yao was quite refined. Unlike at school where he was often seen munching on chicken legs, here he wouldn’t dream of digging in with his hands.
Guess Auntie’s parenting style is pretty strict. Lin Nan once thought Chen Yao was uncared for like she was.
Soon enough, Auntie returned with a set of clothes. Curious, Lin Nan looked over and found it was a chiffon dress suitable for spring and autumn.
The dress had lace trim and floral patterns, mostly white, with pink accents—totally a girly outfit!
Lin Nan’s face darkened. While she could manage wearing a nightgown at her grandfather’s house, venturing outside in a long dress was a different story altogether.
The dress barely brushed her calves, yet it still made her uncomfortable.
“What’s wrong? Is it not pretty?” Auntie noticed Lin Nan’s face wasn’t exactly glowing.
Lin Nan put on a polite smile and explained, “I don’t really like wearing dresses…”
“You prefer something like this little suit?”
Auntie looked down at her own sleek black fitted suit and nodded without hesitation.
So far, that was the only women’s outfit she could tolerate; it looked sharp and stylish, making her feel all confident and dashing.
“But this suit isn’t really your style,” Auntie draped the dress over her arm, sizing Lin Nan up, “I think dresses would suit you nicely. The last time I saw your legs, they looked fantastic—why not show them off?”
Even though Lin Nan had an oval face, a tad too much cheek meant she looked younger than her eighteen years. At fifteen or sixteen, she’d be fine in a little suit, but now? Nah.
Yet, she rather liked it herself.
“In the dead of winter…”
“You can wear tights even in winter.”
Tights? No thanks.
Lin Nan remembered the few pairs of tights back at her grandfather’s house. Although she had worn long socks before, the feeling of her thighs all wrapped up wasn’t exactly pleasant.
She shook her head vigorously again and glanced at Chen Yao, who was wearing that hopeful expression. She sneakily stepped on his foot under the table.
Chen Yao flinched, his face going red from the unexpected pain.
“If you don’t like it, I’ll take it back,” Auntie sighed dramatically, “This outfit set costs seven or eight hundred bucks! I wonder if they’ll let me return it…”
Seven or eight hundred bucks?!
Lin Nan was stunned. Her mother had bought her four outfits and they only cost a few hundred altogether.
Those were street market finds; the priciest being the little suit, slightly over a hundred bucks, while the other tops and pants were just a few dozens each.
“Why buy something so expensive?!” Lin Nan’s voice unintentionally rose a few octaves.
“Your future daughter-in-law should have better quality clothes, right?”
Uh, excuse me? I’m not even your daughter-in-law!
“I’ll call and ask. I already took off the tags…” Auntie shook her head, mumbling, “If it can’t be returned, no one else in the household fits your size.”
Auntie was on the chubby side, probably around a hundred and twenty pounds, and she stood close to five foot seven, so that chiffon dress was definitely not going to fit her.
Plus, that dress style was better suited for the youthful crowd; it wouldn’t do Auntie any justice.
Lin Nan was in turmoil, her face heating up as she said, “If it can’t be returned, I’ll give it a try…”
Now that she said that, even if it could be returned, there was no way it would be!
Chen Yao rolled his eyes nearby, realizing how Lin Nan seemed stingy with anyone’s money.
After much back-and-forth with Auntie, Lin Nan finally managed to escape, bounding happily into Chen Yao’s room to play games.
At her grandfather’s house, the internet was so bad it made you want to scream! Even in Wu Guodong’s room, watching videos would buffer endlessly… After all, it was the countryside—no fiber optics here, and with a cheap router, you could only find decent internet in grandpa’s den.
Lately, Lin Nan couldn’t even play games. The poor internet left her disinterested in computers, and on top of that, she felt embarrassed wearing ladies’ clothes outside, so internet cafes weren’t a choice either.
Now, she again plopped down in front Chen Yao’s computer, shaking her legs with excitement as she happily played a couple of rounds.
Chen Yao was perched on the edge of his bed with his laptop, occasionally glancing up at Lin Nan, who looked so cheerful she could’ve been a bobblehead doll.
“What time are you leaving this afternoon?”
“Around two, I guess? It depends on when my uncle finishes his blind date,” Lin Nan answered, focused on the computer screen, “I’m just waiting for him to call me.”
Chen Yao peeked at the time in the bottom right corner of the computer: “It’s already two.”
Caught up in gaming, Lin Nan hadn’t noticed the time. She froze, then pulled out her phone, calling to check what was going on with Wu Guodong.
“I’ll be back by one. Didn’t you go to pay your respects? I thought you were busy since you didn’t call me.”
Lin Nan was puzzled; isn’t visiting family just about bringing some snacks and having a meal? What kind of busy work could there be?
She hung up, letting out a long sigh as she prepared to head back: “I’ll just take the bus.”
“You might not have noticed the news… The bus stopped running yesterday,” Chen Yao said while lounging on the bed, just shooting out nonsense, “My mom took off with my e-bike to buy groceries; she said she’d get something nice later. If you want something, let me know; I can text her.”
“???!!!” Lin Nan stared at him, utterly skeptical.
“Seriously.”
Chen Yao nodded firmly, “Tonight. After dinner, I’ll give you a ride back.”
“Well…okay, I guess.”
Lin Nan grumbled about how her luck was taking a nosedive, completely oblivious to the fact that as she turned back to continue gaming, Chen Yao was quickly messaging his mother on his phone.
“Crash the car!”
