532. Conflict【3/30】
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In the end, Chen Yao didn’t get beaten up.
After all, they were adults now. His parents didn’t have the heart to do that, so they just waved a broom around, threatening and intimidating him a bit. Plus, with Lin Nan’s explanation, they easily decided to let it slide, but they did give Chen Yao a stern look.
Chen Yao had complaints but no one to air them to. He was constantly bullied by Lin Nan, and now that he finally wanted to take a jab back, he ended up getting caught.
What’s wrong with having some weird couple dynamics with Lin Nan?!
He finally managed to make it back to the county, but after dinner, Lin Nan still didn’t feel satisfied. Before nine o’clock, she suddenly had the urge to go out for barbecue.
But it had to be the sweet sauce kind!
Sweet barbecue was a rare delicacy; even in the county, most of their barbecue was salty and spicy—sweet options were becoming harder to find.
Lin Nan loved sweet barbecue, but staying at Chen Yao’s place made her hesitate about going out at night.
“Do you think Uncle and Aunt will say anything if we go out for barbecue this late?” Lin Nan listened to the television blaring from the living room, realizing Chen Yao’s parents were still awake.
Chen Yao, legs propped up as he watched software tutorials on his computer, replied without a second thought, “If it were me, I could disappear for days, and no one would bat an eyelid.”
Back in high school, he used to outright sleep over at Lin Nan’s house all the time, and he never got a beatdown for it.
“But you… and going out for barbecue? If they find out, you’ll definitely get an earful!” Chen Yao turned his head to look at Lin Nan, “Didn’t you have enough to eat?”
“I’m just craving it!”
“Why don’t you ask my mom to whip up some barbecue tomorrow?”
His Aunt made pretty tasty barbecue—healthy and generous portions—but it just didn’t have that street vendor charm.
Lin Nan shook her head, refusing.
Chen Yao thought for a moment: “Are you sure you want to go out for barbecue?”
“Uh-huh!”
“Mom!” He shouted, busting through his bedroom door, peeking at his parents on the living room sofa, “I want barbecue!”
“What does going out for barbecue have to do with me? You out of money or something?” Aunt was too busy playing cards on her phone to look up.
“Lin Nan wants to go too.”
Only then did Aunt put down her phone and glare at Chen Yao: “You know she gets greedy for barbecue, and you still suggest it?”
Even though Aunt hadn’t known Lin Nan for long, she had figured out her munching habits within the three days.
Lin Nan had no dietary restrictions—if it was tasty, she’d shove it right down her throat.
Last year, when Lin Nan stayed here, she’d gained about ten pounds; luckily, she went back to her grandfather’s house afterward and mysteriously lost it all over again.
After mulling it over for a bit, Aunt finally nodded, “Fine, it’s not that late. Just let her have some barbecue, but be careful when you go out.”
After all, Lin Nan often gave off a not-so-bright vibe, looked gorgeous, and going out at midnight could get her into all kinds of trouble.
“Yay!” Lin Nan burst out of the bedroom, practically bouncing with excitement.
In no time, the streets of the county gained one more couple.
Although it was in the county center, it didn’t differ much from the outskirts of the city where their school was located.
Right across Chen Yao’s house, there was a street vendor barbecue stall in the alley.
It was still early. Only a couple of tables were occupied, and the owner was just chilling, staring at his phone, probably lost in a game.
Lin Nan approached the barbecue stall, her eyes gleaming as she eyed the meat skewers.
She reached for a basket to fill it with food when suddenly a deep rumble startled her to the core.
Looking back, she saw two young men on modified scooters pulling up behind her.
“Hey, boss! Twenty chicken legs and wings!”
County security might be decent, but there was no shortage of street racing and ruckus at night.
When Lin Nan lived in the urban village, she could faintly hear the roar of mopeds. But now, it was the first time she saw them up close.
She glanced at the two guys and then at their cool scooters.
Noticing them heading toward the barbecue stall, Lin Nan quietly scooted closer to Chen Yao and whispered, “Those scooters are kinda cool.”
Forget about dolls and pretty things; Lin Nan never had that kind of girly preference. She was much more into cars, guns, and mechs.
She liked the color black far more than pink; pink felt way too weird to her.
Chen Yao caught a glimpse of the scooters too, feeling a twinge of envy, then explained, “Those scooters are unregistered; it’s illegal.”
They were actually electric scooters, equipped with extra batteries, looking more like motorcycles, zipping faster, but they required a motorcycle registration to be legal.
However, those two scooters had blank fronts and clearly showed signs of modification.
But the regulations in the small county weren’t very strict.
Chen Yao cast a quick glance, then continued ordering skewers.
“I remember you had a scooter in high school…”
“Then one time I drove too recklessly, crashed, and my mom sold it.” Chen Yao felt Lin Nan was purposely digging up his embarrassing history.
After placing their order, Lin Nan and Chen Yao found a vacant spot to sit.
While waiting, Lin Nan also connected with her cousin Lin Jin via phone.
This time, Lin Jin had gone straight back to the town and hadn’t stayed in the county; otherwise, Lin Nan would’ve asked her to come out for a late-night snack too.
After setting up a plan to meet the next afternoon, Lin Nan grew curious and asked Chen Yao about makeup.
Chen Yao’s mom occasionally taught her, but being older, Aunt’s style didn’t appeal to Lin Nan at all.
On the other hand, Lin Jin’s graceful and mature makeup style was much more to her taste.
“Boss! Is it ready yet? What’s taking so long?”
After waiting for several minutes, Chen Yao couldn’t help but glance back at the barbecue stand and noticed the boss was still busy preparing the chicken legs and wings. It looked like it’d take another half an hour, so he yelled, “Didn’t we come first? How come you’re starting with the chicken legs?!”
“Who are you yelling at? Don’t you see I was the first to order?!” One of the street racers turned and shot daggers at Chen Yao, “You in a hurry to be born again or something?!”
If it were any other day, Chen Yao would have let it slide—after all, playing games was a better distraction during such moments. But with his fiancée right there, he didn’t want to look like a coward in front of Lin Nan.
Suddenly, his male pride flared up. He slammed the table, stood up, and glared down at the guy, using his height and bulk to intimidate, “We were in line first! Why should we wait for you?!”
Lin Nan, worried, tugged at the hem of Chen Yao’s shirt, quietly advising, “Don’t engage with him. Just play a couple of games with me instead.”
But then, something unexpected happened.
The racer actually pulled out a kn*fe from his pocket, standing up angrily.
His buddy next to him gasped in shock, quickly blocking him, “Hey, bro! Let’s just chill out!”
That’s when Lin Nan suddenly realized something was seriously off.
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Four updates today, so few votes, little motivation, off to hunt monsters!
