266. Sprite
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Recently, the weather has been all gloomy and oppressive, with the sky overcast and showing no sign of sunshine, yet no rain seems to be falling either.
The car window was cracked open just a bit, and the winter wind tousled Lin Nan’s hair, completely wrecking the do she had put so much effort into before leaving the house.
She had never dyed or permed her hair; it was merely managed with a comb, and the slightest breeze could spell doom for her meticulously styled locks.
But Lin Nan didn’t really care; after all, during the pandemic, everyone was a shut-in, so being a bit scruffy didn’t matter. Even if someone did see her, they’d probably just look at their own hair, which hadn’t been trimmed in a month, and realize it was all a competition of who looked scruffier.
It had been over half a month since she’d seen her Uncle, and his hair had grown a lot too; his bangs were now covering his eyebrows, and his spirit seemed buried under that mass of hair.
“How’ve you been hanging out with Chen Yao during this time?”
Halfway into their journey, Wu Guodong finally couldn’t hold back his curiosity after a prolonged silence.
“Not bad, uncle and aunt take good care of me,” Lin Nan replied, leaning against her car seat with her hands resting on her stomach, expressionless as she continued to gaze out the window.
Wu Guodong stole a glance at where her hands were resting and his eyebrows shot up: “You’re not already…”
“Huh?”
The moment he finished his sentence, Lin Nan managed to understand what he was insinuating. She turned her head and disdainfully pouted, “Men.”
Since childhood, she’d mostly interacted with males, and those she did meet were almost uniformly perverted. Whether it was Chen Yao or anyone else, they were all cut from the same cloth.
Even her previous crush had been relatively subdued and hardly ever showed his true self.
“???!!!”
I’m just worried you’re too naïve and might get tricked by a j*rk!
Wu Guodong was baffled by Lin Nan’s disdain; he was just trying to show concern, but somehow ended up being mockingly judged instead, with no chance to explain himself.
Letting out a sigh, he stopped bothering with his niece. Since she fully transformed into a niece instead of a nephew, he sensed that Lin Nan was harder to approach than before.
It was mostly because of this overwhelming feminine aura she now radiated, which left him, a self-proclaimed shut-in who barely talks to girls, utterly lost.
In the past, while Lin Nan had certainly looked like a girl, her mannerisms and speech still echoed those of a boy, allowing people to subconsciously view her as male. She was more of a tomboy, kinda like Liu Xinyi.
But now? Not even a hint of that remained.
The two fell into silence, and within half an hour, the car pulled up in front of her grandfather’s house.
Lin Nan opened the door and got out, looking up to see her cousin had brought out a small stool and was chatting and smoking with her older cousin.
She frowned slightly; she wasn’t used to the smell of smoke.
“Big Sis is back!”
Seeing her, Liu Xinyi dropped her cigarette b*tt and scampered over, wrapping her arms around Lin Nan’s arm and tugging her along, “Why were you gone for over half a month?”
That one had only followed Wu Jiaming because she wanted to hit up the KTV and nightclubs every day. But just when they were getting into the groove, a notice came in saying all entertainment venues had shut down. So, they ended up back here, twiddling their thumbs for weeks.
Back when they didn’t have TV and internet, they could run wild in the hills, and wreaking havoc on flowers and grass was entertainment. But now that they’re older, the fun they had as kids vanished. All they could do was stay in and play with their phones.
Liu Xinyi’s enthusiasm always left Lin Nan feeling a bit awkward, particularly because this girl was into girls, and Lin Nan hadn’t really had much physical contact with females.
“So, what did you do every day over there?” Liu Xinyi snuggled up to Lin Nan on the couch in the living room, whispering in her ear, “Was it… fun playing with your brother-in-law?”
Lin Nan’s ears perked up with embarrassment; the breath from Liu Xinyi’s whisper made her earlobes turn crimson.
“Just played games every day…”
She didn’t bother to deny the brother-in-law comment.
“Playing games, huh~” Liu Xinyi smirked meaningfully, “I see, I see.”
What do you mean, you ‘see’?!
This girl is completely lost in her own world!
Wu Guodong walked in with his backpack and the white cat, worried that Cola might bolt again. He opened the backpack and quickly shut the door behind him.
Cola leaped out of the backpack, stretched lazily, but abruptly froze upon spotting the white cat.
Why does it feel like… I’ve met my ultimate rival?
The white cat, intrigued, observed Cola with its bright blue eyes and took a few tentative steps closer, but Cola promptly backed away without hesitation.
“This is the husband I found for you,” Wu Guodong patted Cola’s little head and forcibly shoved it in front of the white cat. “Quit running off like a lovesick fool!”
“By the way, let’s give this white cat a name, shall we?” he asked, ignoring the squirming Cola.
Wu Jiaming couldn’t care less about cats; he was lounging on the couch, absorbed in his phone. But Liu Xinyi immediately raised her hand and suggested, “Let’s call it Sprite! Perfect couple!”
Lin Nan, notoriously bad at coming up with names, thought “Sprite” was a bit lazy but didn’t object too much.
“Then it’s settled! Sprite it is!” Wu Guodong shoved both cats together. “Play nice, no fighting. If you do, off to the vet for you!”
The mention of that familiar threat made Cola tremble while Sprite glanced nervously at its little appendage, shaking its head furiously.
The two cats seemed to understand human speech, which piqued Wu Guodong’s interest as he sat on a couch leg, bent over with elbows on his knees, observing their interaction.
For some reason, Cola seemed really afraid of Sprite.
After a few exchanges with Liu Xinyi, Lin Nan suddenly remembered her mother and turned to Wu Guodong, “Where’s my mom?”
“The factory is closed due to the pandemic, so your mom is at your aunt’s place.”
“Aunt’s place?” Lin Nan blinked, “That’s the house of my uncle who got diagnosed, right?”
“Yep! She was actually planning to visit to celebrate the New Year, but your uncle returned from out of town and got diagnosed, so your mom got quarantined there. It’s about time she’ll be released soon.”
Lin Nan couldn’t really understand why her mom was so unlucky.
“So, I’m still sharing the third floor with my cousin?”
“Duh, who else were you planning to sleep with?”
After figuring out the situation, Lin Nan grabbed her suitcase and headed upstairs.
Liu Xinyi trailed behind her, curiously whispering, “Sis, what’s that like?”
“What’s what like?”
“Y’know, that thing!” Liu Xinyi gestured with her hands in a suggestive manner.
Lin Nan’s face went dark: “You ask me, I ask who?”
“I thought you were already with your brother-in-law… uh, forget it!” She quickly glanced at Lin Nan’s rising temper and stepped back, “Then I’ll just sleep on the floor tonight?”
“Suit yourself.”
