459. Zhongshan Street
==============================
The night had completely swallowed the sky, yet Zhongshan Street still blazed with bright lights, as the buildings were bathed in a kaleidoscope of colors. The throngs of people swarmed around the streets, and it was only eight o’clock—peak party time!
Chen Yao wore a face as if he’d just stepped in a puddle of existential dread, balancing a mountain of snacks in one hand, his cheeks stuffed like a chipmunk preparing for winter. Meanwhile, Lin Nan, unbothered, continued her snack attack, enthusiastically buying every bizarre street food she laid eyes on.
But hey, it’s just a tourist trap! The food had its moments, sure, but most bites were bland enough to elicit a yawn, leaving Lin Nan to hand over her half-eaten treasure to Chen Yao with a sigh, “This one’s a bust.”
“Are you treating me like a trash can?” Chen Yao finished off a huge meat skewer, chucking the stick into a trash can before turning to Lin Nan. “Have you even calculated how much you’re spending? You see something, and bam! It’s in your basket!”
“That soup dumpling was absolutely dreadful!” Lin Nan pouted, scrunching her cute little face. “Online they look like majestic pillow-sized delights! But this thing? It’s like a sad little dumpling’s diet—the skin with no filling!”
“Yeah, not great,” Chen Yao took a nibble of the crab roe soup dumpling she’d bought, grimacing. “How much was it?”
“Fifty!”
Had she lost her marbles or what?
“That’s your money being wasted!” Lin Nan replied triumphantly, waving her phone in victory. “Oh look, I’ve got your phone! Just thought I’d help you out!”
“Excuse me?!”
Chen Yao blinked at the familiar phone for a moment, then asked, “My money is still your money, isn’t it?”
“Eh?”
Lin Nan paused, looking as if a light bulb had gone off in her head. “But my money is still MY money!”
You’re just a little money-grubber, aren’t you?
Chen Yao rolled his eyes, but behind him, Tu Junhui couldn’t help but chime in, “So, when you both start working, does Chen Yao have to hand over his salary to you?”
“If he wants to, sure!” Lin Nan took a sip of milk tea, only to wrinkle her nose in disgust. After a couple of sips, she lazily shoved the cup towards Chen Yao, continuing, “Why would he give his earnings to me? I can earn my keep!”
And when the real money problems hit, he’d better not squirm!
“Not in this area, huh?” Tu Junhui exclaimed, genuinely impressed. “I thought you’d want to grab Chen Yao’s entire salary and give him occasional bus fare!”
“Do I look like that kind of person?!” Lin Nan struck a pose, hands on her hips like a superhero. “I’m open-minded! I don’t want to be the money police!”
Seeing how she’d been a guy before, Lin Nan had always treated that role as a hard no. Now that she was a girl, there was no way she’d go back to torment Chen Yao like that.
Chen Yao too was surprised—he’d always thought Lin Nan dreamed about being the money manager in their lives.
Just then, Lin Nan caught sight of an iron plate barbecue shop, her excitement propelling her forward like a dog chasing a squirrel.
The trio sauntered after her, Tu Junhui’s round face filled with envy.
How did I not realize Lin Nan is a girl?
After living with her for a year and a half, especially the last six months where it was practically blaring “I’m a girl” on her forehead, the truth still hit Tu Junhui like a slow-moving train.
If he had only acted sooner… well, he wouldn’t be in this pickle with Chen Yao.
He might even be broke from her appetite.
“Why the heck didn’t we notice Lin Nan is a girl?” He turned to Xiong Da, who was glued to his phone.
“Maybe only you didn’t notice?” Xiong Da replied, looking thoughtful for a moment. “I suspected it all along but didn’t think much of it. It was obvious, really, but it was easier to just ignore it.”
He had his head too deep in his own world.
Really?
Tu Junhui was convinced that was just nonsense.
“Slow down, will you? There are so many people, don’t you worry about bumping into someone?” Chen Yao caught up with Lin Nan and grabbed her wrist, frowning. “Why are you bulldozing through the crowd like that?”
Lin Nan was unusually excitable today; maybe the lively atmosphere of Zhongshan Street was liberating her spirit?
“There are so many things I’ve never tried! Of course, I have to taste them all!”
“You’ve never had iron plate barbecue before?”
“Not this big!” Lin Nan’s eyes sparkled as they fixed on a giant squid prominently displayed outside a shop. “That squid is bigger than Tu’s face!”
What a strange comparison!
Chen Yao glanced at the squid, then back at Tu Junhui’s round, meaty face—it was actually a little bigger.
But man, that comparison was brutal!
Iron plate barbecue isn’t that hard to make, so it’s unlikely to taste awful. However, that squid was downright massive! Lin Nan impulsively bought one, took a few bites, then clutched her stomach in triumph, realizing she’d have to save some room for other goodies. She promptly returned the squid to Chen Yao.
He finished it off and felt like he’d hit the food wall.
Should’ve skipped dinner!
Initially, the unique architecture, chaotic crowd, and colorful lights of Zhongshan Street were breathtaking. But after wandering for half an hour, Lin Nan started losing interest. Everything felt repetitive—the scenery, the snacks—it was the same few things over and over.
Plus, those tourist trap snacks weren’t anything to rave about.
With a plan, Lin Nan bought two boxes of coconut cakes from a specialty store to send to her mother back home. Although, truth be told, she wasn’t a fan of the overly sweet treats—they were bad for her teeth!
After thirty minutes of the same old sights, something finally changed.
A narrow alley branched off from Zhongshan Street, and the stalls lining the sides were heaving with an assortment of clams, lobsters, crabs, and all sorts of seafood laid out like a buffet, making Lin Nan freeze in her tracks.
“Probably not fresh, right?” Chen Yao surveyed the seafood. “We can get live ones back home. Why splurge on their frozen stuff? It’s expensive and stale—if you want seafood, next time I’ll cook up something at my place.”
“There’s supposed to be a seafood market nearby. Way cheaper to cook it yourself or get a restaurant to make it,” Xiong Da chimed in, an expert local. “If you guys ever come to my house, I can treat you to seafood!”
“I just want to try it!” Lin Nan was skeptical, but her curiosity led her to one of the stalls to check prices before returning wearing a frown.
Suddenly, she just didn’t feel like eating.
