048. The Sneaky Little Money-Grubber
Wu Guodong wanted to avoid this situation forever, but alas, you can dodge for a moment, but not for a lifetime. After Lin Nan took a shower, she came knocking on the door again.
“Uncle! Do you have a hair dryer?”
“No.”
“Can we buy one?”
He stood up from his computer, opened the door, and was greeted by the sight of a dripping wet Lin Nan standing there, looking like a fresh-out-of-the-pool princess. His eye twitched, and he nearly accepted the fact that he was staring at a dude.
Her hair, wet and clinging to her cheek, obscured what might have been an imperfect face, making Lin Nan look like a real girl. Water droplets hung from the tips of her hair, cascading down, soaking her collar and chest, teasingly revealing more than he should be seeing.
Wu Guodong froze for a split second upon seeing this but quickly snapped back to reality, deliberately averting his gaze away from Lin Nan’s chest and that overly pretty face.
Is my nephew really this gorgeous?
He took a deep breath, striving for a zen-like calmness. Luckily, he was no sweet-toothed newbie; being confronted with this scene made him shake in his boots and clutch his thoughts with a vice.
“How about I get you some takeout and buy one?” Wu Guodong forced a neutral expression while trying to alleviate the awkwardness with his words. “My hair isn’t that long; I just towel it dry and crash right into bed without needing a hairdryer.”
“If you sleep with wet hair, your hairstyle will get all messed up.” Lin Nan stepped back a bit, towel-drying her still-wet hair, making an effort to stop the dripping at the ends.
Feeling a little anxious, she noticed her uncle’s flustered expression; it was clear that her physical transformation had left him dazed.
Should I keep my distance from Uncle?
She felt a twinge of mischief, clearly influenced by Lilith, and not entirely from her own feelings.
Even if it were her own feelings, she would never admit it.
Realizing this, Lin Nan took two steps back and said, “I’ll go play games first.”
“What do you want for lunch? I can order something in advance.”
“Anything is fine… How about dumplings?”
“Sure! I happen to know a place with great dumplings.” Wu Guodong nodded expressionlessly, though his eyes couldn’t help but dart down again to Lin Nan’s chest. Guilt twisted in his gut, yet he felt a tinge of voyeuristic thrill that he couldn’t shake off.
Shouldn’t I be wondering why my male nephew has br*asts instead of focusing on that…?
He swallowed hard, realizing he was parched. He thought about slamming the door shut and hiding, but instead, he grabbed a cup and went to pour water.
Hiding like this isn’t going to work.
Wu Guodong thought helplessly, yet his eyes kept sneaking glances at Lin Nan. Just yesterday, while gaming together, this wasn’t an issue. Lin Nan’s movements were slightly effeminate, but it was nothing he couldn’t handle. Now, though, he found himself fixating on points he definitely should not have been.
“Uncle, does the creator of Sekiro have any other games?” Lin Nan had blasted through half of the story in a day, with Uncle guiding her through the maps while she handled the bosses. She figured with an afternoon and a late night of gaming, they’d be near the end and wanted to try something different.
“Bloodborne and Dark Souls III.” He sat on the sofa, sipping water, his eyes inadvertently drifting to Lin Nan as she leaned forward, bending over to load the game into the console.
His gaze lingered on her tight little behind, and words like “sexy” popped uninvited into his mind.
“Are they all about forging weapons?”
“No, they’re quite different. There’s a boss later that has the vibe of Dark Souls; you might want to give it a shot then.”
Lin Nan straightened up, yawning a few times, and turned to see a hint of disappointment on her uncle’s face.
She understood; she too had been young and fiery once, critiquing every girl on the street. Seeing attractive girls would immediately grab her attention, and even now, her thoughts had shifted from the base instincts of a guy to wonder how someone could look so good.
But the question remains: Do I even have a figure to talk about?
Lin Nan glanced down at herself. Unless she turned sideways, there wasn’t much movement to see. In her short sleeve shirt, she could barely detect any curves.
This was a very deliberate choice of clothing; wearing a jacket in this weather was bizarre, and would only attract attention. But that black shirt with the floral design on the front was a lifesaver—anyone outside without a keen eye would struggle to spot anything unusual.
She thought of herself as flat as a runway. With longer hair, if it fell over her face, you might not even discern which part was front and back.
After all, it’s only been a month since her femininity began to blossom. Even though it accelerated, it couldn’t compete with the girls who had developed for five or six years or more.
When she returned to the sofa, she instinctively sat as far away from her uncle as possible.
“Are we going to game this afternoon?” Lin Nan handed him the controller. “Can you help me get through the map? I don’t know the way.”
It wasn’t that she was a “pathologically challenged navigator,” but rather that this game had no map or hints—normal players would get lost at the outset.
“If you want to go out, that’s fine. The issue is what you want to do.” Wu Guodong had outgrown the age of wanting to go out; now he preferred to coze up at home and play games. After some deep thought, he replied, “There’s a sports center nearby and a big mall… Other than that, I don’t know what else is fun.”
Lin Nan wasn’t a fan of shopping, mainly because she was broke.
Seeing her frown slightly, Wu Guodong added, “If you drive for an hour, there’s a scenic area where you can see the ocean and hike. How about that?”
“Is there anywhere to go where I wouldn’t have to spend money and where there’s no temptation to splurge?” Lin Nan’s little face scrunched up, showing her inner turmoil.
“Just say if you’re short on cash.”
Lin Nan truly wasn’t hinting at that; she just thought that if they went out, even if Uncle had money, it shouldn’t be all on him as she was an adult now.
As she watched Wu Guodong, his head bowed, moments later his phone buzzed.
A glance at WeChat showed a thousand-dollar transfer.
“Uh-uh! Uncle, I’m already an adult!” she adamantly refused.
“Then why accept it so quickly? Pay me back!”
“Once given, it’s already given! Besides, my mom hasn’t sent my allowance this month.” Lin Nan gleefully pored over the transfer record repeatedly.
“This is your mom’s allowance for you.”
“No way! She’s the type to transfer money straight, not make you hand it over!” Lin Nan looked at her handsome Uncle with blissful eyes, finding him more and more stunning, and without hesitation leaned in, playfully praising, “Uncle, you’re so handsome!”
The way she flattered him was all honeyed and syrupy, making Wu Guodong’s heart soar.
“I’ll give you five hundred more! Don’t spend it recklessly, okay?”
“Uncle, you’re the best!”
