365. Surprise [19/99]
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The rental apartment was a bit too cramped, and although Chen Yao had brought a hot plate and a pot from the dormitory, they were still reluctant to cook for themselves.
So far, those cooking utensils had only been used to whip up a meal of dumplings. Chen Yao and Lin Nan preferred getting takeout or ordering in, even though they knew that the healthiness of takeout depended solely on the vendor’s moral compass.
These past few days, Chen Yao’s thoughts had been particularly heavy.
Lin Nan looked up, staring at him as he spaced out, accidentally resting the chopsticks with food right on his nose.
What the heck is he thinking? She had seen him like this for several days in a row now.
She observed Chen Yao’s expression, but he had his head down, mindlessly eating, completely oblivious to her scrutiny.
“Is something wrong?” Lin Nan asked curiously. “Is there trouble at home? Is someone sick?”
Chen Yao couldn’t help but feel a bit flustered at the excitement in Lin Nan’s tone. He looked up at his girlfriend, astonished: “No.”
“What a shame.”
“Ah?”
Lin Nan quickly changed her tune, “No illness or disaster is great!”
What a pity I can’t show off my healing magic anymore!
Look at all those doctor novels, where guys with flashy powers are hailed as miracle workers, attracting countless rich folks and eventually marrying the prettiest heiresses… Yet here I am, with healing magic, but I’m just a laid-back fish.
Chen Yao scratched his head, too wrapped up in his thoughts to notice Lin Nan’s odd behavior. He hurriedly finished his meal and eagerly asked, “Head back to the rental?”
“Nope, I’m planning to go to Student Street to find a decent phone screen protector and get my battery replaced. You go back first.” Lin Nan was munching away with a frown, “My phone runs out of juice in half a day, and all I’m doing is reading novels.”
He was taken aback, quickly declaring, “Why waste money on those shady shops? I told you, I’ll change the battery for you, and I can manage the screen protector too.”
“But what if you break something? I can’t have you paying me back if you mess it up, right?” Lin Nan was a bit doubtful about his skills. “Getting ripped off in a store is still better than you breaking it and costing me even more!”
“Absolutely not! I changed my mom’s iPhone 6 battery, I have experience!”
Chen Yao said with utmost confidence, rushing to order a battery and screen protector for Lin Nan on his phone. Now, she didn’t really have the motivation to insist on going anymore, just glaring at Chen Yao in annoyance.
This guy just makes decisions without considering her at all.
“If you break it, you owe me the latest phone!”
Chen Yao nodded repeatedly, “I’ll pay! Are you done? Let’s get back?”
“Can’t you see I still have half a bowl left? What’s the rush?” Lin Nan leisurely continued eating, savoring her food while using the last bit of battery to read her novel on her phone.
She usually ate pretty slowly anyway, especially when she had the luxury of time to enjoy her meal.
Unless someone was trying to steal her food.
Without hesitation, she swatted away the chopsticks Chen Yao extended toward her: “No eating my meat!”
“I just wanna taste!”
“Tasting is a no-go! There are only a few pieces here!”
She looked up to see Chen Yao staring hungrily at the meat in her bowl, and she gasped in shock. Quickly, she held her bowl and shoveled the remaining half into her mouth, but after just a couple of bites, she was choking. With wide eyes, she pleaded, “Water! Water!”
“Ugh.” Chen Yao handed her the half-finished bottled water. Lin Nan didn’t even care about the indirect kiss; she guzzled the water down like it was life-saving, finally catching her breath.
That was a near-d*ath experience!
She looked up again, “This is all your fault!”
“How is it my fault?!”
“If you weren’t staring at my meat, I wouldn’t have eaten so fast!”
“I just wanted to taste it!”
Lin Nan pondered for a moment, then nodded, “So it’s all Lilith’s fault.”
“Right, it’s all Li Lisi’s fault.” Chen Yao didn’t even realize how Lin Nan’s accent had been peppered with Li Na’s influence until this moment, but he didn’t have time to think about it. He got up to pay, and promptly rushed out the door first.
Lin Nan didn’t understand why he was in such a hurry, so she picked up the textbook he left on the table and hurried after him.
The shop wasn’t far from the rental, but the sun outside was blaring, making it hard for Lin Nan to open her eyes. She hugged the books and rushed behind Chen Yao, using his tall figure to shield herself from the sunlight.
“We really need to get an umbrella for sunny days.” She glanced at the girls on the street carrying umbrellas. “They’re all using them anyway.”
Chen Yao agreed cheerfully, “Then I’ll help you hold it later. That way, I can shield myself from the sun too.”
The summer sun was brutal, but as a manly man, it felt weird to walk under an umbrella. But if it was with Lin Nan, he had plenty of excuses to carry one.
Plus, they’d get to feed each other dog food while in the shade.
They rushed through the sunlit area and into the shady alley where their rental was, and finally felt a breeze.
Standing at the alley’s entrance, the narrow passageway—probably due to some supernatural phenomenon—often had a refreshing wind passing through. A group of old men occupied the entrance, set up with chairs and a chess board, clearly planning to lounge there all afternoon.
Chen Yao took a few steps into the alley and turned back to see Lin Nan curiously standing next to the old men, peering over at their chess game.
“Let’s go back!”
“I’m just looking at the chess! I used to be unbeatable in chess back in middle school, alright?” Lin Nan quickly became distracted by a little frog leaping in the corner of the alley.
Is there a stream around here?
Chen Yao, feeling helpless, walked over and grabbed Lin Nan’s wrist, dragging her further inside the alley.
His pace was quick, and Lin Nan struggled to keep up, leaning forward slightly. Yet, she didn’t resist; instead, she playfully asked him, “Slow down! We should play chess together sometime. You’ve never played against me.”
“That’s because I let you win! I crushed a lot of old men in the neighborhood when I was in elementary school.”
“I don’t believe you. You’re the king of bragging!”
“No way! I’m just as good in bed, too!”
As soon as the words left his mouth, Chen Yao quickly released Lin Nan’s wrist, stepping forward as his lightweight shoe accidentally kicked the air.
He sighed in relief; even though Lin Nan didn’t kick him that hard, it still hurt a bit.
They stopped their playful banter and made their way to the entrance of the rental. Chen Yao opened the door and glanced inside.
Lin Nan, head down, was focused on her phone as she walked in behind him.
“Look up.”
“Hmm?”
She looked up in confusion and was taken aback to find the apartment plunged in darkness, with the curtains fully drawn. “Why did you close the curtains?”
Chen Yao didn’t reply; instead, he pulled out a lighter, igniting two small flames.
As the flames flickered, the scene in the living room came into focus for Lin Nan.
The first thing she noticed was a little bouquet of roses sitting on the coffee table.
Chen Yao picked up the roses, adopting the stance of an English gentleman, and slightly bowed as he extended the flowers to Lin Nan.
“It’s a bit cliché, but it should be alright, right?” he asked nervously.
