### Late Night Conversation
Lin Nan was sprawled on Chen Yao’s back, her eyes misty and half-open, gazing into the dimly lit road ahead. She had her hands clutching onto him, her chin resting on his shoulder, her head swirling with a delightful haze.
“Didn’t I tell you to stop drinking so much?” Chen Yao said, carrying her as they walked down the street under the night sky.
Tu Junhui had also had his fill, but with his good alcohol tolerance, he strolled ahead with Xiong Da, chatting and laughing without a care in the world.
“I didn’t drink that much…” Lin Nan mumbled, looking like she had just resigned to life as she leaned against him.
Chen Yao turned his head to glance back at Lin Nan and sighed with a smile, “That cocktail was pretty potent. It felt like soda when you were drinking it, and now look at you—totally wasted. It’s basic knowledge!”
“Is that so?”
She tilted her head and, with an evil streak out of nowhere, suddenly bit down on Chen Yao’s ear.
“Ouch!” Chen Yao yelped, his whole body tensing up as he instinctively cursed, “What the heck?!”
“I heard lots of people’s ears are sensitive?” Lin Nan giggled, letting go of his ear and smiling like a mischievous kid.
“Of course it’s sensitive when you just go for a bite like that!”
This was Lin Nan’s first time being completely sloshed, the kind of drunk where walking was a challenge. She’d always known how to hold her drink; sure, she’d felt dizzy before, but it was manageable. Now she was using her drunkenness as an excuse to stir things up.
Like the first time she had kissed Chen Yao or confessed to him…
Tilting her head, she tried to remember those moments, recalling the nervousness she felt and Chen Yao’s astonished face, and she couldn’t help but giggle.
“What’s so funny?”
“Oh, nothing…” Lin Nan sidestepped his question, lifted her head to stare at the pitch-black sky, and suddenly asked, “When did you start liking me?”
Chen Yao froze for a moment, even stopping in his tracks.
He wanted to answer Lin Nan’s question but frowned in deep thought, shaking his head after a while, “No clue. It just kind of happened, I guess?”
“What do you like about me?” Lin Nan suddenly pressed her flushed cheek against Chen Yao’s face, rubbing against him and feeling the prickly stubble on his chin.
Chen Yao felt a rush of heat from her warm skin pressed against his face. In just a second, he was all flustered.
Lin Nan promptly noticed his tension and burst into giggles, but just as suddenly, she stopped.
“What’s wrong?”
She looked ahead at their two roommates, who were getting farther away down the street, and quietly asked, “Do you care that I used to be a guy?”
“If I cared, I wouldn’t have confessed to you, right?” Chen Yao helplessly turned back to Lin Nan, “Why are you so chatty after drinking?”
“That’s just how I get!” Lin Nan protested, then asked again, “You don’t mind that I used to have the same parts as you?”
“That’s just a quirk; it’s fundamentally different.” Chen Yao chuckled and asked, “It’s your business; why do I have to explain it to you?”
But it was a bit of a lie. The truth was, her transformation into a girl and getting a gender reassignment surgery were pretty much the same thing.
One was magic, the other was science.
Feeling a bit downcast, Lin Nan held onto the secret of her magic and her transformation tightly, fearing that one day, those secrets would be uncovered, and she would lose everything she had now.
Becoming a woman had already made her lose so much…
These past few months had left her feeling particularly uneasy. Magic, transformation—everything seemed so unreal, like a dream. She wished she could wake up and go back to being that boy but was terrified that the fragile lie she’d woven would break, turning her into an outcast in everyone’s eyes.
Chen Yao stopped walking, looking down at the little head resting on his shoulder.
“What are you worried about?” His voice was low and gentle, a soft smile on his face. “When you’ve had a drink, don’t think about weird things; it’ll only make you more confused.”
“Mm-hmm.”
Suddenly, Chen Yao set Lin Nan down from his back. Her eyes went wide with surprise as he firmly held her slightly cold hand.
She wobbled a bit, and he guided her to sit on a simple bench at the bus stop.
They huddled together, and Chen Yao finally spoke up, “Weren’t you just asking me what you mean to me?”
He leaned down, staring intently at Lin Nan’s profile. No matter how many times he looked at that delicate, fair face with its symmetrical features, he just couldn’t get enough.
“At first, I think it was your looks that drew me in,” he scratched his head and laughed. Before Lin Nan could respond, he continued, “But after that, I don’t know why, it seemed like I started to like you more.”
“Hmm?” Lin Nan looked up, her curiosity piqued.
“Honestly, I felt sorry for you. Meeting with all this stuff; I had to step up and help you as your best buddy!”
“And the more I helped, the more I found myself liking you,” Chen Yao recalled those moments and burst into laughter, “Plus, I suspect you liked me long before. Come on, you were definitely trying to lure me in, right? That confession at KTV was for real, wasn’t it?”
“And what about handing out flyers? Looking back, you liked me long before, didn’t you?”
Lin Nan sulkily looked away, “You’re so full of yourself.”
She was puzzled too, not knowing when she started to like Chen Yao.
It seemed that every time she unlocked a magical, embarrassing moment, Chen Yao was the first to pop into her mind.
From thinking of him as a helpful sidekick to realizing that marrying him wouldn’t be such a bad idea if she became a girl, and then living in his place—her feelings had grown uncontrollable. She felt too insecure to say anything, only hinting around…
After all, she had once been a man, and to this society, she was a freak. At that time, she had just faced rejection from her father, drowning in feelings of inadequacy.
Fortunately, Chen Yao had never shunned her past as a man and even took the initiative to confess.
Otherwise, with Lin Nan’s mentality, she probably would have never had the courage to confess openly.
“Well, I just like your personality; I like that you play games with me, and I think you’re pretty…” Chen Yao felt his words getting mushy but couldn’t help but continue, “I like everything about you, whether you’re drunk and acting up or all stubborn when sick…”
“I never act up when I drink!” Lin Nan retorted in embarrassment, “And I’m not that pretty!”
Even with the help of magic, not being able to do makeup, she still considered herself average, maybe even just the prettiest in the classroom, especially not when compared to those internet models or so-called goddesses.
“Then what do you like about me?” Chen Yao shot back, “When did you first like me?”
Lin Nan didn’t hesitate with her answer, “I don’t know!”
Maybe it was during that magical unlock moment when she just wanted to torture you a little?
Or maybe it was that time at the hospital when she let her guard down and cried in front of you?
Or possibly when you stood up to her dad for her…
She wrapped her arms around Chen Yao’s as if seeking solace, staring blankly at the empty street.
“If you have something on your mind, just tell me; don’t keep it all bottled up. You’re not cut out for that,” Chen Yao rested his head gently against hers and said, “I know you’ve got a lot you’re keeping secret.”
“Mm…”
