### 479. Old Home
This time, she needed to stay for three or four days. After packing two outfits for a change, she set off on her journey alone.
By the time she left, it was already six-thirty in the evening, and she didn’t reach the village until after ten.
Compared to the county town where her grandfather lived, this village could definitely be called her true old home, even if her dear grandfather had passed away long ago.
The village wasn’t poor at all. Along the way, cute little Western-style villas popped up here and there like mushrooms after rain. The former public restroom at the village entrance had been torn down, and the wasteland behind it had been covered up. Now, it was a grand ancestral hall and a bustling public square!
The village’s infrastructure was rather average. The biggest supermarket in town was on the outskirts, and the road cutting through the village was barely four lanes wide, littered with various trash, and wafting a delightful aroma of decay.
The streetlights weren’t exactly bright, but the small square in front of the ancestral hall was lit up like a Christmas tree. It even had a few exercise facilities, though they were mostly for show—barely anyone was around.
Lin Nan curiously observed the village that had changed so much since her last visit over a year ago.
At ten o’clock at night, most cities would be buzzing, but this village had already slipped into a peaceful slumber, with the barks of dogs and croaks of frogs echoing in Lin Nan’s ears, creating a surprisingly comforting atmosphere.
As she made her way to the center of the village, Lin Nan turned to glance at the convenience store and peeked in. To her surprise, the owners had changed from two middle-aged men to a young guy in his twenties.
The youth looked a bit familiar, and after some mental gymnastics, Lin Nan recalled that he had once bullied her as a kid, only to be thoroughly taught a lesson by a few of her cousins in a back alley. That gentleman was much more polite now.
Back in elementary school, this convenience store had even served as a black internet café, which was Lin Nan’s hangout spot back then. Who knew if it still existed?
Upon noticing a stranger peeking in, the young man raised his head and met the eyes of the girl outside, his face lighting up with surprise.
Pretty girls were a rare sight in the village; there were plenty of adorable little girls, but they all disappeared to the city once they got a bit older.
For some mysterious reason, he felt a strange sense of déjà vu, even though he had never seen her before.
“What do you want to buy?”
“Got any ice cola?”
The young man bent down and opened the freezer in front of him, retrieving a rock-hard, frozen cola.
Lin Nan stepped inside the convenience store. With the Dragon Boat Festival approaching, they had sweet and savory zongzi on display right in front of the young man.
She glanced at the store counter and asked, “I’ll take a meat zongzi too. Can you heat it up?”
“Sure can!”
“Do you still run that black internet café here?” Lin Nan casually leaned against the freezer, surveying the quaint little store.
The young man placed a zongzi in the microwave to heat. At Lin Nan’s question, he was taken aback and looked up to scrutinize her face again.
“Lin Dan?”
Lin Nan smiled broadly, playfully pretending to be her childhood friend.
“It’s been years; I almost didn’t recognize you! Did you come back for Lin Yong’s wedding? He’s quite the popular one, huh?”
“Yep.”
Fearing her cover might be blown, she kept her answers short, enjoying the thrill of chatting with a childhood neighbor while hiding behind a different identity.
Before long, the zongzi was heated, and Lin Nan didn’t linger in the store. With a zongzi in one hand and a cola in the other, she turned and headed out towards the gravel path extending by the roadside.
Both sides of the gravel road were lined with low bungalows. Walking along the unchanged path, Lin Nan could almost see her younger self peeing behind some wall and the image of her parents and relatives saying their goodbyes to her grandfather.
In reality, she had been here just last year, but now, with her gender and identity having changed, her heart was a whirlwind of emotions.
At the end of the gravel path, she stumbled upon a serene row of houses, where a few adults sat in front of their doors, playing Mahjong and chatting, but there weren’t any kids in sight.
It was late, yet half of the bungalows had their lights on. Although the village lacked nightlife options like KTV or barbecue stalls, many still enjoyed staying up late with reliable electricity, water, and internet.
Her arrival caught the attention of the group, who looked up and started whispering.
“Whose girl is that?”
“Which guy brought that girl back?”
“Real pretty!”
Lin Nan instinctively lowered her head, feeling a bit nervous, and quickened her pace as she passed them.
After another ten meters, she found herself in front of a pond, staring blankly at the weed-filled water for a moment before following a path along the water’s edge towards an old, crumbling wooden courtyard that looked like it belonged in a history book.
That was her grandfather’s home, where Lin Nan had lived as a child. But after her grandfather’s passing, it was reportedly rented out by her uncles.
Since her grandfather died, she hadn’t set foot in the yard again. Though she felt a twinge of nostalgia, she turned and headed towards the block of row houses beside it.
She gently knocked on the door, and a moment later, Lin Qi, who had come back a few days ago, opened it. He was a bit surprised to see Lin Nan.
“You’re here? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“It’s not like I forgot where I live!”
Lin Nan confidently stepped inside. Compared to the newly renovated homes around, Lin Qi’s place was still just a rough shell. The room was a mess; the walls and floors were barely covered with cement, and a single bed split the room in half.
The television was a relic from over a decade ago, and the flimsy furniture seemed one gust away from toppling over.
Lin Nan casually plopped down on a stool, peeled the leaves off her zongzi, and asked, “So, you’re staying here a few days?”
“Honestly, not used to this place. It’s not as cozy as the room I rented outside,” Lin Qi yawned as he leaned on the bed, quizzing her, “Where are you staying tonight?”
Oh right, where was she staying?
Lin Nan hadn’t even thought about that, her eyes going blank as she stared at Lin Qi.
When she came with her father, she never cared about where to stay since there were plenty of relatives who could host her.
But now…
“Guess we’ll just find a little inn on the street? We can grab a late-night snack while we’re at it.”
Lin Qi yawned again, stretching and casually sauntering out the door. Lin Nan hurriedly stuffed the leftover zongzi into her mouth and followed, clutching her cola.
The door wasn’t even locked… There was nothing valuable in here anyway.
“Breakfast at seven and lunch at noon at the ancestral hall is a go! It’s optional, but you must be there at six for the wedding of our eldest cousin!” Lin Qi led the way, explaining the recent happenings. “Uncle’s family is back too; you can hang out with them tomorrow. I’ll be busy helping out.”
“I’m not close with them…”
Just then, a door across the way creaked open, and a young, vibrant girl tiptoed out with a burly guy.
Once they carefully shut the door, they let out a sigh of relief, only to turn around and find Lin Nan and Lin Qi staring at them with inquisitive expressions.
The four of them exchanged glances.
