043. Uncle’s Invitation
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Playing games with Dong An wasn’t exactly a joyride.
Lin Nan initially thought his gaming style exuded testosterone, but as he started to process the situation, it felt more like a dose of tsundere vibes.
After a couple of rounds, Lin Nan was already feeling tired. Meanwhile, Dong An, the king of laziness, propped his legs up and pulled out a cigarette, ready to light it up.
“Smoke in the hallway,” Lin Nan shot him a glance, reminding him.
“Why? It only bothers you!”
Of course, Dong An ignored the warning, cigarette dangling from his lips as he took a puff.
It was clear he was just trying to get under Lin Nan’s skin.
Soon enough, Lin Nan caught a whiff of that smoke, and he wrinkled his nose in disgust, fanning the air with his hands. He quickly put his hands over his mouth and nose, but trying to completely cover up the smell was like trying to hide a hippo in a broom closet.
Reluctantly, he switched off the air conditioning and opened the front and back doors for some ventilation.
With his magic abilities, the summer heat didn’t really bother him much, but in Dong An’s case, well, who knows?
In less than two minutes, the cool air was gone, replaced by heat seeping in from the balcony, and the dorm room’s temperature began to climb.
October might be a bit cooler than the sweltering summer, but most students had been hibernating in the air conditioning, and without it for a while? Let’s just say, there’d be a lot of wailing and gnashing of teeth.
Dong An was thin but surprisingly sensitive to heat. After finishing his cigarette, he started poking around for the remote control to the air conditioner.
Of course, Lin Nan had already stashed the remote in a drawer and wore a look of utter innocence while playing on his computer.
It didn’t take long before the escalating heat became too much for Dong An. With no luck finding the remote, he turned to Lin Nan with puppy dog eyes. “Aren’t you hot?”
“Not at all! There’s still a breeze!” Lin Nan replied smugly, trying to mimic Dong An’s earlier lounging posture while leaning back in his chair. “Oh, where did I put that remote? My memory’s not the best.”
Dong An rolled his eyes, well aware of Lin Nan’s schemes, and started packing up his computer.
“Well, I’m heading back to my dorm. I can’t handle this heat without AC.”
“Like smoking in an air-conditioned room is any better for you.”
All three of Lin Nan’s roommates smoked, but none of them were addicted. They only lit up during breaks or when boredom hit, sitting politely on the balcony to smoke.
Even so, Lin Nan had given them a hard time about it for ages; he always felt that the clothes drying on the balcony got tainted by smoke.
Since Dong An was basically a stranger to Lin Nan, and they had awkwardly played a couple of rounds, this was the perfect excuse for him to report back to Chen Yao. He packed up and made a hasty exit.
Once he was gone, Lin Nan waited for the smoke to disperse before cranking the air conditioning back on. Even with magic, a little extra coolness didn’t hurt.
It was already evening, and Lin Nan realized he hadn’t eaten yet. He locked the front door and set about boiling water for instant noodles.
Being alone didn’t feel great, but Dong An’s visit made Lin Nan realize that sometimes having company was worse than being by himself. With that in mind, he felt a lot better.
Eating noodles, playing with his cat, and using a friend’s silver account to catch some fish, Lin Nan still felt a twinge of unease from living solo, but he was gradually adjusting.
“Tomorrow, I’ll go hand out flyers at the walking street, and the day after, figure out where to have fun…”
As he chatted away to himself, Lin Nan suddenly heard his phone ring.
Checking the caller ID, he saw it was his uncle, who worked in the same city.
Lin Nan had chosen this school mainly because it had a good dorm environment and the admissions line was close to his practice exam scores. A significant part of his decision was that his uncle also worked in this city.
He thought he’d score some unclely support while studying, but apart from one awkward pickup from the train station at the start of freshman year, they hadn’t really kept in touch.
After all, his uncle was a programmer, busy as a bee.
“Hey, is this Lin Nan?” His uncle sounded gravelly, thanks to long hours and a relentless smoking habit, giving him a proper “smoker’s throat.”
“What’s up, Uncle?”
“National Day is coming up, right? I’ve got three days off, and I heard you’re not going home. How about you come stay at my place for a couple of days?”
“Uh, sure?” Lin Nan responded, unsure.
“Great! I’ll drive over to pick you up tomorrow.”
Lin Nan had a decent relationship with his uncle when he was younger. Since he was just ten years older, they were practically more like brothers.
But after his uncle graduated and got a job, their connection fizzled out.
Now that he was going to crash at his uncle’s place for a couple of days, Lin Nan had to cancel his flyer job. By the time he returned, Chen Yao would be back in the dorm, which made for a seamless transition.
Then, a horrifying thought hit him.
The last time he saw his uncle was back during the New Year—more than half a year ago!
Since September, he’d become unusually feminine. While his facial features were still the same, his posture and overall aura underwent such drastic changes that even his unisex face and male haircut could be mistaken for a girl’s.
He might as well look like one of those short-haired girls now…
Having the same face didn’t help much. He had always had a neutral-looking face, with what possibly classified as “manly” features like rough pores, acne scars, and a sharp jawline, combined with those wild eyebrows.
Now, though, his skin was practically baby-soft, like he’d been Photoshopped, and that was more than enough to tip the scales toward femininity.
Would his uncle really keep quiet this time?
Worrying, Lin Nan stood in front of the mirror, scrutinizing his increasingly delicate face. He straightened up and twisted to check out his body changes.
Not much difference, but from the side, the little curve there was pretty noticeable. Had all this development pushed him into an A-cup range?
Furthermore, whenever he wore pants, he’d definitely noticed a little extra cushioning in the rear. Those once-loose pants now felt snug around his backside.
He looked in the mirror every day, aware of the changes, but no clue how drastic those changes really were.
“Why the heck is my b*tt getting bigger?” Lin Nan mumbled, dissatisfied.
His legs seemed to have changed too. There were times when he’d catch a few eyes lingering on them while swapping pants in the dorm, leaving him anxious about needing to change in the bathroom from now on.
Initially, Lin Nan was somewhat pleased with his femininity. After all, his previously acne-ridden face was now smooth and supple, showing almost no flaws apart from some subtle acne scars—something countless folks, both guys and gals, dreamt of.
Because of this mindset, his reluctance toward magic had only remained verbal. But who would’ve thought after only the third time using magic, his insides had already morphed into female parts?
If going back to normal wasn’t an option, and he had to choose to be female, Lin Nan would have to keep using magic… or just hit up a hospital for surgery. After all, if the insides matched, transforming the outside would just be a facelift away…
