285. Interested in a Harem?
Lin Nan was awkwardly at a loss, completely unsure how to respond to Tu Junhui.
“Come on in, little sister-in-law! What’s there to be nervous about?”
Tu Junhui was as enthusiastic as a fireball, and even with Lin Nan wearing a mask, he could still sense her flushed cheeks.
He laughed playfully, “Seems like little sister-in-law is a bit shy.”
“I told you to call me sister! I’m only two months older than you,” Chen Yao said from his chair, giving Lin Nan an encouraging look.
But in front of her familiar roommates, Lin Nan still nervously stepped back, her head bowed awkwardly as she didn’t know how to handle it.
“Nan Nan, come in,” Chen Yao sighed, aware she needed his help.
“Nan Nan? Your girlfriend’s name has ‘Nan’ in it too?” Tu Junhui was completely clueless. With Lin Nan in a mask and her hair longer than during vacation, he didn’t recognize that the pretty girl in front of him was once his roommate. “Wait, Lin Nan didn’t come with you? Aren’t you both from the same hometown?”
“Yeah.” Chen Yao sighed again and moved closer, grabbing Lin Nan’s hand.
Lin Nan trembled slightly, looking at Chen Yao with pleading eyes and shaking her head vigorously.
She wanted to choose avoidance once more.
With a bitter smile, Chen Yao leaned into Lin Nan’s ear and whispered, “How long do you think you can keep this hidden?”
“I don’t know…”
“I’ll talk; you just sit there.”
She hesitated but finally nodded slowly after a moment.
Tu Junhui stood in the dorm room still a bit dazed, unable to understand what the two were whispering about. He thought the girl in front of him was just shy, joking to himself, “Don’t be scared of this big guy; I might look a little intimidating, but I’m a good student, okay? It’s not like you’re entering a den of thieves!”
Lin Nan was led by the hand into the familiar dorm room.
She was happier to return to this dorm last semester than to go home; this little space had held so many memories for her over the year and a half.
But now, her shoulders trembled with fear.
She didn’t dare reveal the truth to her roommates, a dread that felt even worse than telling her relatives and friends back then.
After all, those relatives saw her once a year, and the bonds weren’t very strong; no matter how much they disliked her, she could choose to avoid them. But these two roommates of hers were her most important friends.
Not exactly best buddies, but having lived together since her first year of college, Lin Nan had spent more time with them than with anyone else.
Tu Junhui didn’t understand why the girl in front of him was so frightened. He walked to the mirror and took a look at himself – sure, he’d gained thirty pounds over the long winter break, sporting a face full of jiggles, but he certainly didn’t look like a terrifying monster. How could Chen Yao’s girlfriend be frightened to this extent?
Xiong Da finally finished dusting off his figurines and entered the dorm through the back door. He placed the figurines on the shelf and then curiously glanced at Lin Nan.
He couldn’t shake the feeling that Chen Yao’s girlfriend looked familiar, even with her mask on and head down.
“So, what do I say?” Chen Yao squatted down and asked Lin Nan softly, who was seated in her spot.
“Let’s just forget it…”
Lin Nan hesitated but took off her mask. “What if they notice…”
Before she could finish her sentence, Tu Junhui had already recognized the familiar face beneath the mask, exclaiming, “No way? Lin Nan!”
“Lin Nan?” Xiong Da couldn’t maintain his icy facade, utterly shocked.
Lin Nan had never thought her current look and outfit would be recognized instantly.
Tu Junhui stepped closer, eyes full of surprise and delight, circling around Lin Nan a few times before punching Chen Yao’s wardrobe playfully, exclaiming, “Lin Nan, you finally figured out you could cross-dress!”
“Pretty nice…” Xiong Da tried hard to keep a straight face to maintain his cool persona.
Neither of them felt put off by Lin Nan’s cross-dressing; on the contrary, especially Tu Junhui was thrilled. “I always thought your cross-dressing would be unbeatable! Those female streamers on the internet can’t hold a candle to you!”
“Um…” Lin Nan kept her head down, originally thinking that if she was recognized, she could clarify things, but if not, she could just pretend it never happened.
But she never expected her roommates to react this way.
Just when she thought she might breathe a sigh of relief, Tu Junhui suddenly asked, “Then why did Chen Yao say you’re his girlfriend?”
Lin Nan’s face instantly flushed red, and she shot a glare at Chen Yao, unhesitatingly saying, “He’s just bluffing!”
Before Chen Yao could explain, Lin Nan’s words cut him off.
She thought this was fine until she remembered that if she didn’t clarify things here, dating in the future would certainly be sneakier than a ninja at a birthday party.
Tu Junhui finally realized, “I told you Chen Yao wouldn’t be the first to betray us.”
“He’s definitely the last one,” Xiong Da chimed in.
“Dear old Chen Yao, who won’t let us get married, is still a single dog.”
“Looks like we’ll need to perform a ‘Survival Path 3’ for Chen Yao,” Xiong Da added in agreement.
Chen Yao sighed deeply and firmly interrupted the two, sitting up straight, and declared with confidence, “Stop the nonsense! Lin Nan is my girlfriend now!”
The room instantly fell silent.
Lin Nan, flustered and irritated, stomped on Chen Yao’s foot, wanting to get up and run away, but Chen Yao had his hand firmly on her shoulder, making escape impossible.
Tu Junhui and Xiong Da exchanged looks that screamed confusion, staring at Chen Yao and Lin Nan for what felt like ages, unsure of what to say.
Chen Yao felt the need to stop them from running wild in their thoughts and bluntly continued, “Lin Nan is a girl, so I got ahead of the game.”
“???”
Question marks practically floated above their heads.
Lin Nan kept her head down, her mind swirling to the point of losing her ability to think.
But just as Chen Yao said, unless she planned on disappearing from existence, this would eventually have to come out.
She didn’t have the courage, but considering Chen Yao’s thick skin, letting him say it was probably for the best—at least it would get straight to the point.
After a while, Tu Junhui muttered to himself, “No wonder Lin Nan is so pretty; that does make sense…”
“So why is Lin Nan staying in a male dorm?” Xiong Da was the first to voice a question.
Chen Yao walked over to Xiong Da’s computer, searching for “female cross-dressing anomalies” and pointed at the screen, saying, “That’s the reason.”
The two began to browse the content online, and after a long search, they finally connected the dots.
“So, Lin Nan is actually a girl?” Xiong Da nodded.
“I thought you guys were just messing around…” Tu Junhui scratched his head, perplexed. “How did I miss out on such a good opportunity?!”
Being the jokester he was, he quickly accepted the confusion and excitedly asked Lin Nan, “How about starting a harem? I’m the first to sign up!”
“Get lost!”
Chen Yao kicked him away.
