489. Women’s Best Friend
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Grandpa may look like a grumpy old man most of the time, but I must say he’s been pretty nice to Lin Nan.
This time Lin Nan was staying on the second floor, in a room that originally belonged to Uncle.
That room was hardly ever occupied, and since its window faced the back mountain, Lin Nan had never liked it much since she was a kid.
The next day, she guessed she woke up around eight, tired and groggy.
Her head throbbed a bit—she had taken a shower last night and then flopped onto the bed, only to doze off around two in the morning after overeating. Plus, with the window right in front of a massive tomb on the back mountain, her mind went wild thinking about ghosts, replaying the scary movie she’d recently seen in her head.
Why on earth did I agree to help Li Na pick someone up?
In a place like the back mountain at midnight, the person I’m picking up is probably not a person at all, but a ghost, right?
If I hadn’t been so guilty at the time, I wouldn’t have been so eager to leave and agreed to Li Na’s request.
Sitting at the head of the bed, she pulled out three train tickets from her bag and stared at the identity information with a furrowed brow.
If it’s Li Na’s doing, getting a ghost a ticket with a fake identity wouldn’t be that shocking.
“Breakfast is ready!” Grandma knocked twice on the door, pushed it open, and walked in with a bowl of soy milk and two meat buns.
Lin Nan looked up and noticed that Grandma seemed a lot kinder towards her than usual.
Maybe it was because her grandkids hadn’t been around for a long time? Or maybe Grandma had just decided that grandsons and granddaughters weren’t that different?
With a smile blooming on her face, Lin Nan hurriedly got out of bed, took the breakfast from Grandma and placed it on the bedside table. “I’ll take it down after I finish.”
“Your grandpa asked what you want for lunch.”
“How about… McDonald’s?” Lin Nan tentatively suggested.
Grandma’s face darkened. “Always with the junk food.”
What’s wrong with junk food? It’s just a burger with bread, meat, and veggies! How is that junk?
Too scared to retort, Lin Nan chuckled awkwardly and thought about what else she might want to eat.
“I’ll grab something when I buy groceries.” Grandma scolded lightly but her expression brightened as she turned to leave the room. Then she suddenly stopped in the doorway, turned back, and asked, “Do you want me to call your cousin over to keep you company?”
“Cousin? Isn’t he going abroad?”
“With the way things are overseas, who knows?”
Fair point.
Lin Nan nodded eagerly: “Then let’s call him over to hang out.”
After all, in two days, she could head to the back mountain with her cousin.
Maybe it was because there wasn’t a computer or anything exciting around, but Cousin Wu Jiaming had always loved staying at Grandpa’s place. Lin Nan thought that was a bit odd.
After finishing breakfast at the head of the bed, Lin Nan felt a bit restless and pulled out her phone to connect to the Wi-Fi and look for some interesting videos.
In the past, when Grandma and Grandpa didn’t have Wi-Fi, Lin Nan would have gotten really bored after just two days without peers around. Thankfully, Grandpa had finally gotten the internet.
After fiddling with her phone for about an hour, the door swung open again.
Wu Jiaming strolled in with a forlorn expression, yawning, and sporting some serious dark circles under his eyes.
Lin Nan looked up, teasing, “Did you go out for a night of ‘fun’? ”
“I’ve been grinding it out in Summoner’s Rift all night.” He collapsed onto the bed, yawning again. “Now that jobs are scarce, I wanted to handle my papers before heading abroad for the new year, but with the chaos outside, it’s impossible.”
He flopped down onto the bed, suddenly noticing the faint sweet scent of the bedding—really nice.
Ignoring the cozy smell of the bed, Wu Jiaming turned to face Lin Nan, propping himself up on his elbows, and asked, “Aren’t you supposed to be studying? Isn’t today Friday?”
“I came back for a wedding. I’ll be leaving in two days.”
Lin Nan glanced at her cousin only to realize her toes were almost touching Wu Jiaming’s arm. She quickly tucked them back, sat up straight, and crossed her legs.
Looking down at her clothes, she saw that even though they were a bit messy, nothing was showing, so she continued, “Want to hike up the mountain together in a couple of days?”
Even though he was her cousin, she still paid extra attention to the distance between them, unlike before when she treated him like a best friend.
“But you don’t like going to the back mountain?”
Wu Jiaming laid flat on the bed, casually pulling over the blanket and covering his stomach, while mumbling, “I just pulled an all-nighter. I got home and immediately got dragged over here, leaving me dead tired.”
“Whose fault is it for poor time management?”
The room fell silent for a few minutes, and when Lin Nan looked up again, she saw her cousin had already dozed off.
So, that’s why you were summoned—to take over my bed?
And here I thought I’d still have room!
That guy was sprawled across the center of the bed, making it impossible for Lin Nan to stretch out. Being in the same room with a guy was slightly uncomfortable.
Chen Yao is definitely better.
If Chen Yao had stayed up all night, he’d definitely put up with Lin Nan’s insistence on chatting and gaming, no matter how sleepy he was.
It had been days since she’d seen Chen Yao, but oddly enough, his figure would occasionally float to the forefront of her mind.
But when they usually lived together, she was often bothered by his quirks—like being messy, too much of a straight guy, and ignoring her when he got into serious study mode.
And the main thing was that when they were in the rental apartment, if she craved something to eat, all she had to do was mention it, and he’d instantly order takeout or dash downstairs to buy it, to the point she worried she might have packed on a few extra pounds.
If I’m not home, Chen Yao must be so relieved, right?
Lin Nan got up from the bed, pushed open the door, and walked downstairs.
The electric bike was nowhere to be seen, and she had no idea where Grandpa and Grandma had gone. They were probably out at the market buying groceries.
There was no AC downstairs, just a big fan swaying back and forth, and the TV was still blaring a shopping channel.
In the kitchen, Lin Nan found a box of Wangzai milk. She grabbed a can and plopped down at the round table in the living room, aimlessly clicking the remote.
At that moment, the half-closed door suddenly swung open.
Lin Nan turned to look and saw the convenience store owner from last night.
“Where’s your grandpa?” The old lady came in carrying a small box of cola. “Your grandpa called me to get these special iced colas. I froze them overnight.”
“Just leave them there.”
The cola came in 300 ml small bottles, twelve in total.
“Do you really have a boyfriend now?” After putting down the cola, the old lady leaned in with a face full of gossip. “My son’s a decent guy, you know. Maybe you should consider him?”
“I really do, we’re even engaged.” Lin Nan had no idea why she was suddenly so popular with her.
Ever since she had become a girl, middle-aged women seemed to take a liking to her.
Like Chen Yao’s mom.
“Engaged already?” The old lady sighed in regret and scrutinized Lin Nan, saying politely, “If you want to buy anything, just come to me for a discount.”
Lin Nan felt a bit uneasy under her gaze but had no choice but to nod along.
She couldn’t shake the feeling of becoming quite the hot commodity—Women’s Best Friend.
