300. Cola Has Magic
Lin Nan was feeling quite torn about switching classes.
If she didn’t switch, her gender identity change would eventually be known to the entire class.
But if she did switch, even though the two classes had different schedules, they still had two or three big classes together every week, making it tough to keep a secret.
Worrying non-stop, Lin Nan wrapped up her morning classes, suddenly regretting her identity change.
What if she had just waited until after college to do it…
But then her college diploma and any certificates would just become toilet paper. In fact, her high school diplomas already felt like they were fit for the recycling bin.
She walked to the school cafeteria with Chen Yao by her side and glanced inside, only to find it packed. Thanks to the pandemic, lunch and dinner were eaten in shifts, and if they waited for the next group, they’d have to twiddle their thumbs for about twenty minutes.
“Shall we go eat at the back door?” Chen Yao asked, looking down at Lin Nan.
“Forget it, I’m not hungry,” Lin Nan replied, book clutched to her chest, her gaze fixed downward. “I’ll head back to my rental apartment first.”
Despite her inner doubts and concerns, Lin Nan tried her best to keep a straight face.
Chen Yao didn’t seem to notice anything unusual, just saying, “No classes this afternoon. When you get hungry, remember to order takeout. I’m going back to the dorm to grab some stuff and tidy up.”
“Got it.”
They parted ways at the cafeteria door, and Lin Nan took a quick glance at Chen Yao’s back before heading straight out of school.
She stopped by the convenience store on the way and picked up a bottle of cola before heading back to her rental apartment. However, just as she was about to enter, she was startled to see a young man walking out from the apartment next door.
They exchanged bemused looks for a moment, then nodded in greeting before Lin Nan stepped inside her apartment.
He must be the new tenant?
On their floor, there were three rooms; the innermost room seemed to be occupied by a recluse, as she occasionally heard him moving around, while the middle door had never made a sound.
The guy was quite handsome, she thought inexplicably.
Lin Nan shook her head, clearing her thoughts.
Inside her apartment, everything was surprisingly clean. The trash she’d left in the morning was gone, the dust swept away, and even the blanket on the bed was folded into a perfect square.
After taking a quick look around, she placed her textbooks on the coffee table, turned, and promptly forgot about the new tenant, walking over to the litter box to inspect it. It had already been scooped, and she reached out to grab a bag of cat food.
“I’m not your mother…” Lin Nan sighed, turning to her little “son” beside her. “You’re not spying on me at night, are you?”
“I’d never dare,” Kang De looked down, his tone a bit panicked.
Then why does it seem like every time I reach for something, you magically appear out of nowhere to hand it to me?
Lin Nan smirked; the presence of this little “son” made her a bit paranoid even when taking a shower. Thankfully, he had never thrown her shower gel while she was helplessly sudsy.
“Why do you keep insisting I’m your mom?” Lin Nan let out a melodramatic sigh.
“Here, there’s only Mother, me, and the Saintess with magic.”
Saintess? Isn’t your mother a witch, and aren’t she and Li Na bitter rivals? Shouldn’t you be cursing her with names like “b*tch”?
But truth be told, in this world, only the three of them actually had magic. And while little Kang De couldn’t tell who was who just by their magic, he could still recognize who had any at all.
After preparing lunch for her two cats, Lin Nan settled in front of the TV stand, which she had repurposed as a makeshift computer desk. It was awkward at best, and even sitting on a small stool, she had to hunch over uncomfortably.
“Cola, open this for me,” Lin Nan commanded.
In no time, the bottle cap popped off with a satisfying fizz and was handed to her.
What a good kid, too bad he’s Lilith’s.
She took a sip of her cola and murmured, “How did Lilith raise you to be such a good boy?”
He isn’t secretly gallivanting around town at night, is he?
But from what Lilith remembered, this kid was as straight-laced and proper as they come—a real “can’t even k*ll a chicken” type afraid of bl**d—all of which Lilith had criticized nonstop, kicking him daily.
He must have been overly protected as a child, huh?
Lin Nan shot a strange glance at her “son,” frowning. She couldn’t figure out how to distance herself from Lilith.
I’m not your mom.
But even after saying that a thousand times, he stubbornly refused to listen.
“Mom, where’s my godfather?” Lin Nan froze, momentarily perplexed.
Then it suddenly dawned on her that her “son” was talking about Chen Yao.
She immediately reddened with embarrassment and was about to protest when she saw Cola leap onto the TV stand, then surprisingly leap up onto the computer screen.
“Get down!”
“Humph! You little rascal! Not only are you misidentifying your mother, but now you’re also misidentifying your father…” Just as she was about to finish, Cola lost its footing and nearly tumbled off the screen. Luckily, it managed to kick off in a panic and shot away.
Then Lin Nan watched in horror as her screen was kicked against the wall, cracking spiderweb-like all over…
“Cola!” She immediately fumed; that screen had cost Chen Yao hundreds, and he had gifted it to her right before the holiday. She hadn’t even gotten to enjoy a single good gaming session on that big screen.
Just as she stood up, Cola darted under the sofa without hesitation, yelling back, “WDNM! I didn’t do it on purpose!”
This cat was getting smarter by the day; whenever trouble showed up, it bolted like the wind, and in this tiny rental, with its coffee table, sofa, or the space under the bed—it could hide anywhere, leaving Lin Nan completely at a loss.
Lin Nan shot a glance at the Sprite watching the commotion and then turned to her “son” with fierce authority, “Get it out! Then take it to the vet for neutering!”
“Okay!”
In an instant, he transformed into a shadow and dashed off toward Cola, which freaked out and started scampering around.
“You’re rebelling! I’m your mother!”
“If I get neutered, you’re next!”
“Help! Help! Help!!!”
After all, it was just a cat, and after a few minutes of chaos, Lin Nan’s “son” quickly caught Cola.
Cola’s eyes looked ready to weep in despair.
The thought of closing its eyes, only to have Lin Nan say the surgery went perfectly, made it feel like it wanted to give up on life entirely, wishing it could jump into a new body.
But just then, Kang De suddenly made a discovery.
With a furrowed brow, he stared at the still-wiggling black cat, glancing between Lin Nan and the cat in confusion.
“What’s up?” Lin Nan was still sulking over the screen.
“It has magic too.”
“Ah?”
