### 442. Night
==============================
By the time they returned to the rental apartment, it was already five in the evening.
Chen Yao was sprawled on the sofa, looking as if life had lost all meaning. He hadn’t shopped continuously for four hours in what felt like ages.
Although his body wasn’t overly tired, his mind was practically screaming, convincing him that he could doze off at any moment.
Lin Nan was perched on a little stool, dumping all the figurines and merchandise she bought from the comic convention onto the coffee table. She puffed her cheeks and furrowed her brow, fiddling with the haul.
Spending over a hundred bucks on this stuff left her feeling a bit regretful.
“It’s all that convention’s fault, making me unable to resist buying everything I don’t need.”
What’s even the point of these posters? The rental can’t even accommodate them! And what if I have to move out later and can’t peel them off the wall cleanly?
And those figurines? How poorly made can they be? They can barely stand and feel like they were finished in a hurry.
Plus, they spent three hours wandering around the old district, eating and drinking, racking up another hundred. By the end of the afternoon, Lin Nan had burned through over three hundred bucks, and her heart ached at the thought.
“Clearly, shopping is not for me,” Lin Nan muttered as she started shoving the merchandise back into their bags. She turned to Chen Yao and scolded with mock severity, “Go take a shower! You smell like a wet sock!”
“Do I?” Chen Yao sniffed his arm. “I don’t smell at all.”
“Go! Hurry up! You’re dripping with sweat!”
With a resigned sigh, Chen Yao sat up straight, looked at Lin Nan with the expression of a puppy hoping for a treat, and added cheekily, “Then how about you take a shower too?”
“Of course I’m showering! After that, I’m never stepping outside again!”
“All squeaky clean, and then tonight…”
Lin Nan gave him a playful kick, pink with embarrassment. “Why are you always thinking about those things?”
He chuckled, catching her foot playfully. “What things? I’m just saying after your shower, I’ll whip up something delicious for you.”
“Let go!”
With one foot caught, Lin Nan lost her balance and couldn’t even sit up properly.
Chen Yao glanced down at her tender, adorable foot, which looked as soft and cute as a baby’s. A smirk crept onto his face as he gently ran his fingernail across her sole.
Instantly, a wave of intense ticklishness surged up her spine, making her uncontrollably collapse onto the floor, desperately trying to pull her foot back while shouting, “Let go! Let go! It tickles!”
She squirmed on the ground like a worm, but no matter what, her foot was stuck.
“Ticklish, huh? Stop squirming! I might just have to tickle you more!”
“Hey! Don’t move! I can’t take it anymore!”
Lin Nan wanted to fight back but was already laughing so hard she could barely move. Tears almost spilled from her eyes.
Eventually, she couldn’t speak anymore, lying on the floor, red-faced, out of breath, staring up at the ceiling with her mouth slightly open, looking like a toy that had been played too much.
Once her foot was freed, Lin Nan shot Chen Yao a weak glare and threatened in a soft voice, “Wait until I recover! I’ll get you back!”
“I don’t believe you aren’t ticklish!” With a tearful look in her eyes, she wasn’t intimidating at all.
“On the bed, perhaps?”
“Eh?”
Lin Nan froze, and in a fit of embarrassed anger, she tried to scramble off the floor, but before she could stand, Chen Yao had dashed into the bathroom for a shower.
What a guy, always thinking like that!
She weakly managed to get herself up from the floor, wiped the tears of laughter from her eyes, and began plotting her revenge on Chen Yao in her mind.
Sitting on the sofa, Lin Nan pondered for quite some time and concluded that direct action wouldn’t do; she needed to get crafty.
Listening to the sound of water in the bathroom, she suddenly slapped her thigh, filled with vengeful determination, muttering, “I’ll make sure you regret it tonight!”
Pretend to be totally on board, then pull the rug out from under him at the crucial moment!
Or surprise him with a sneaky kick to knock him off his game!
Hehehe!
Just imagine the scene when Chen Yao’s face turns red and he’s begging for mercy.
Lin Nan couldn’t help but chuckle at the thought.
“What are you laughing at?” Chen Yao opened the bedroom door, wearing only his shorts, towel drying his hair as he stared at her in confusion.
“Nothing!” Lin Nan quickly put on a serious face.
But her eyes couldn’t help but roam over Chen Yao. Sure, he might have gained a bit of weight recently, but those abs were still something to behold! Compared to Lin Nan’s flat tummy, he looked like a Greek god.
Though his muscles weren’t bulging like bodybuilders, they still derived from years of basketball, so they had that functional, toned vibe.
Lin Nan used to envy Chen Yao’s physique, but now, seeing him shirtless made her cheeks flush automatically.
She quickly diverted her gaze, pretending to be nonchalant. “Why did you spend less than ten minutes in the shower? Were you slacking off?”
“Well, I shower every day. Why go overboard?” Chen Yao stretched, grabbing a cola from the TV stand and lamenting, “Ever since hanging out with you constantly, I’ve played less ball, but I’m eating way more. I’ve put on quite a bit!”
“Not my problem,” Lin Nan shot back without hesitation, changing the topic. “What’s for dinner tonight?”
“I’ll hit the market in a bit.” A smirk crept back on his face as he tested her. “How about a drink tonight?”
Lin Nan frowned and shook her head. “No drinking! It’s bad for your health. From now on, other than social events, you’re not allowed to touch a drop.”
Mostly because she was worried that if he drank tonight, he’d really miss out.
She curled up on the sofa, feet tucked under her as she fiddled with her phone, continuing, “No smoking, no drinking—bad habits, they’ve gotta change.”
Chen Yao nodded compliantly, exuding an air of defeat. He wasn’t particularly interested in either habit, anyway.
“By the way,” Lin Nan suddenly looked up. “Have you ever been to the ‘exchange’?”
“???”
“I heard from TuTu that he’s had experiences…”
Chen Yao couldn’t help but roll his eyes, “He’s probably pulling your leg! Why do you believe everything?”
“He talked so seriously about it! He said if you’re looking for someone in a new place, just ask the taxi driver, and there’s a street near the school that’s… ugh, so scary.”
Lin Nan muttered. After almost twenty years as a guy, she hadn’t experienced it firsthand, but she had heard plenty of such stories during conversations with friends. Every time this topic came up, she had always been utterly clueless.
“Do I need to clarify things for you? A pure soul like mine is rare, you know!” Chen Yao walked to the window, pulling in the clothes that were hanging outside and putting on a short-sleeved shirt. “I’m off to the market. Text me what you want, or I’ll just buy whatever I see.”
Lin Nan thought carefully for a moment before hurriedly suggesting, “I want corn and pork rib soup! Just the ribs, no soup!”
“I’ll drink the soup then.” Chen Yao put on his shoes and headed for the door. “If you need anything, remember to text me. I won’t be going out again tonight.”
“Go, go!”
