405. The Wheel of Karma
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Zhu Yongwen was jolted awake by the urgent need to pee, and when he opened his eyes, he felt like a jackhammer was going off in his head.
Last night’s events were like a dream, nearly impossible to recall.
He clutched his throbbing head, sat up, and soon realized his back and waist were sore. As he scanned the room, he recognized it as a small, cozy living area.
“Where am I?”
Just as that thought crossed his mind, memories of his conversation with Lin Nan came flooding back.
Lin Nan’s rental apartment…
He used to think Lin Nan lived in the school dorms, but come to think of it, given her appearance now, she was practically indistinguishable from any girl, and staying in a dorm could be dangerous.
Though he pretended not to care about Lin Nan’s transformation into her current girly form, curiosity tugged at him, and he was itching to uncover the mystery.
So he stood up from the couch and looked around.
The room was oozing with a heavy scent of everyday life; the trash can was overflowing, several bottles of cola were haphazardly scattered on the coffee table, and the corner had a mini kitchen setup with pots and pans. Right in front of him was a TV stand with a computer screen resting on it.
The room was narrow, and the distance from the couch to the TV stand was less than three meters, with a coffee table wedged in the middle. The narrow walkway barely allowed for movement. Outside the window, a clothesline was suspended with outfits from both genders, including some underwear!
Upon seeing the underwear, Zhu Yongwen finally accepted that Lin Nan had fully embraced her female identity; a shy cross-dresser wouldn’t so boldly hang her underwear out to dry, right? They’d usually hide it!
And it seemed Chen Yao was living here too?
The hangover-induced headache made him uncomfortable. He stretched, wanting to visit the bathroom and splash some water on his face.
But after wandering around the living room, he found no sign of a restroom, so he had no choice but to approach the bedroom door and gently knock twice.
“Lin Nan, is the bathroom in there?” he hollered, “Or is there a public one outside?”
Normally, Lin Nan was a light sleeper. Hearing the knock, she instinctively opened her eyes, clutching her blanket, momentarily panicking that a burglar had invaded.
But upon hearing the voice outside, she quickly regained her composure.
Her eyes felt gritty, but she forced herself to get out of bed and softly called out, “Just a moment!”
Next to her, Chen Yao was sprawled out in an unmistakable ‘I’m really asleep’ pose, leaving her crammed in the corner.
“Like a pig,” Lin Nan muttered, hopping over him and landing on the floor. She slipped on her little slippers and looked down at her pink-and-white pajama set, grateful she hadn’t slept in that long nightgown last night.
She hadn’t worn anything underneath, so she casually threw the jacket hanging by the door over her shoulders, made a half-hearted effort to cover herself, and cracked the bedroom door open just enough to peek through.
She spotted Zhu Yongwen, sporting a bird’s nest on his head, yawning outside.
“Come in.”
Even though she wasn’t keen on letting outsiders into her bedroom, there was no helping it; the landlord of this rental apartment must’ve had a screw loose, placing the bathroom in the bedroom instead of the living room.
She turned and headed for the bathroom, grabbed some brand-new toiletries from the sink drawer, and then turned back to Zhu Yongwen, “Use these. Just put them away when you’re done; I’ll clean up later.”
Zhu Yongwen stared at her wide-eyed, watching Lin Nan in her girly pajamas bustling about like a doting wife, giving him serious vibes of “What is life?”
No matter how you sliced it, she looked like a perfectly normal and very beautiful girl.
“Do you want breakfast? I’ll go down and grab something for you,” Lin Nan offered, fully aware her appearance would drastically alter Zhu Yongwen’s perception of her, but two seconds wasn’t enough time to pull on some guy’s clothes.
She didn’t wait for him to respond before exiting the bedroom.
It was only six in the morning! Couldn’t a girl get a good sleep during the holiday?
Lin Nan sighed dramatically as she plopped down on the couch, grabbed half-drunk soda left from yesterday, and swigged it down.
Suddenly, her face turned pale as a sharp pain shot through her lower abdomen.
She wasn’t supposed to drink anything cold during her period—actually, she shouldn’t even tough cold water, but Lin Nan just couldn’t help herself.
Over these past few months, her cramps hadn’t been that severe, making her somewhat neglect the true terror of menstrual pains.
She grimaced, clutching her stomach, curling up on the couch, quickly setting the cola aside.
The pain was intense.
She had downed a bottle of icy cola at Pan Maoxin’s place in the afternoon, and then hit up a karaoke bar at night, sipping on every cold drink under the sun. Now, karma was catching up to her.
“It’s all Chen Yao’s fault for not reminding me…”
Though, even if Chen Yao had warned her, Lin Nan probably wouldn’t have listened.
As the pain swelled, it made her body tremble slightly, the aching sensation starting from her abdomen and radiating outward.
Zhu Yongwen soon finished washing up and left the bedroom, just about to say something when he caught sight of Lin Nan, pale and clutching her belly, slumped on the couch.
“What’s wrong?” he exclaimed, startled. “Did you eat something bad?”
“Yeah, probably too much cola,” she replied, trying to keep it cool.
“Should I fetch a bathroom for you?” Zhu Yongwen thought she was just having a regular stomach ache. He turned to open the bedroom door again. “I’ll wake Chen Yao; you can go.”
Lin Nan bit her lip, trying to suppress her cries of pain and maintain her calm facade, not wanting to let Zhu Yongwen in on her real condition. “No need, I just need to rest for a bit.”
She wasn’t keen on disturbing Chen Yao’s sleep.
“I’m not liking how you look right now,” Zhu Yongwen scratched his head. “If your tummy hurts, just go to the bathroom.”
If only it were just tummy trouble.
Being a girl really had no perks whatsoever.
Even sipping on cola had her doubled over in pain.
Lin Nan’s forehead was sweaty from the strain, and the tremors in her body intensified. Zhu Yongwen sensed something was wrong and elevated his fears: “Acute gastroenteritis? Appendicitis? Should I call 120?”
“No, really don’t,” Lin Nan gritted her teeth, frowning. After a moment’s thought, she asked, “Could you check outside at the pharmacy for some painkillers? I think they’re called Fenbid?”
“Fine, but if the pain continues after you take the meds, I’m definitely calling 120.”
“Okay.”
As Zhu Yongwen departed, Lin Nan finally let out a sigh of relief, no longer holding back the pain, she sprawled out on the couch, clutching her belly and moaning in agony.
She muttered curses under her breath, as though that might shift her focus: “It’s all Lilith’s fault! All Li Lisi’s fault!”
If it weren’t for her, why was she suffering this much?
The pain triggered her fragile tear ducts, and despite having no intention of crying, tears streamed down onto the couch.
She whimpered, curling up tight like a crawfish, continuing to curse Lilith while lamenting the twisted whims of fate.
