539. Evening
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The two uncles on the third floor finished their smoke and disappeared, while Lin Nan, after getting the scoop from her uncle, dashed into the third-floor room and locked the door. Thus, she spent the entire afternoon holed up in there.
Unless something unexpected happened, she was planning to share this room with her mother for the night.
She watched a few dance videos on Bilibili, took a nice long nap, and then killed time with some novels. Before she knew it, it was already five in the evening.
“Nan Nan, get ready to head to Guohui for dinner!”
Her mother’s voice rang out from outside, accompanied by the sound of knocking.
Lin Nan flipped out of bed and scampered over to open the door.
Her mother had been busy playing Mahjong with relatives all afternoon, and judging by the joyful expression on her face, she must have won a good chunk of money.
Earlier, her mother had intended to come and have a heart-to-heart with Lin Nan, but by the time she arrived, the door was locked, and a few calls yielded no response.
“How was your nap this afternoon?”
Her mother stood outside, smiling as she ruffled Lin Nan’s hair.
“Not bad, just a bit noisy with all the Mahjong.”
Otherwise, I might have gotten some sleep.
Her mother sized her up. It hadn’t been that long, but her daughter was rapidly developing into a curvy young lady, exuding a hint of semi-mature womanly charm. The allure in her brows seemed to have intensified, and her skin had that fresh, rosy glow—she looked far more radiant than before, evidently well cared for.
After a moment, her mother began to piece things together, but that alone didn’t mean much.
Concern crept into her mind, thinking about how her daughter, suddenly thrust into womanhood, could fall prey to men. After hesitating for a moment, she leaned closer, whispering in Lin Nan’s ear, “Are you taking the necessary precautions?”
Lin Nan’s body seized up like a deer in headlights.
Now her mother understood that her daughter was, indeed, “giving it away.”
“Even if he is your fiancé, you’re still in school. And in this day and age, being unmarried doesn’t mean much…”
“Don’t rush headlong into giving everything away, okay? You still have years until marriage. Men change their minds so quickly; who knows what Chen Yao will be thinking by then?”
“And what if you get pregnant? You’re only eighteen! You don’t even have a title, and both of you are still in college; chances are you’ll have to terminate it.”
Lin Nan couldn’t listen to this talk, turning her head shyly, brushing it off with, “I know, I know—didn’t you say it’s time for dinner?”
Seeing her acting all bashful, her mother was somewhat annoyed. “I’m just worried you might get duped like I did, you know? Don’t play coy with me.”
Chen Yao wouldn’t…
She silently retorted in her mind, aware that her mother’s vigilance stemmed from losing faith in men.
“I really do get it!”
Perhaps surprised by Lin Nan’s cute display of teenage sulkiness, her mother paused, then felt a bit melancholic. She let go of the topic, taking Lin Nan’s hand and softening her tone. “Let’s go eat.”
The dining destination was a grand hotel, Guohui, located in the bustling area of their small town.
Relatives with cars took their families and left, while Lin Nan’s clan, lacking wheels, hitched a ride with Wu Guodong.
Grandpa, being quite independent despite his age, refused to be pampered. He preferred to do things himself. So, he hopped on an e-bike with Grandma, following Lin Nan and the others.
“Why don’t we squeeze together?” her mother fretted, repeatedly checking behind. “Guodong, can’t you say something?”
“You know what Dad’s like.”
When they were finally in the car, Lin Nan, who had kept quiet for a long time downstairs, felt a wave of relief wash over her since they were now all in familiar company. She chimed in, “Grandpa should be in the car, right? It’s a long way, and what if something happens on the road?”
Her mother shot a sidelong glance at Lin Nan. “You really need to watch your words.”
“When Lin Nan first got in my car, she asked if I had ever had an accident…” Wu Guodong silently complained. “And that was her way of chatting.”
But it was true.
Lin Nan, feeling guilty, shut her mouth and glanced back at her grandparents on the e-bike.
She wasn’t being a harbinger of doom; everything should be fine.
They had booked four tables for dinner. Even though it was a family gathering during the Dragon Boat Festival, many relatives who usually lived abroad hurried back home this year due to the pandemic. Some had even stayed in the country during the New Year celebrations.
Like several of Lin Nan’s uncles.
By the time they reached Guohui Hotel, half an hour had passed.
Normally, the small town wasn’t crowded and never had traffic jams. However, during festive seasons, the influx of returnees turned the already narrow roads into a parking lot. What should have taken about ten minutes turned into half an hour drive through the gridlock.
After waiting in the parking lot for a while, Grandpa and Grandma arrived safely.
Lin Nan breathed a sigh of relief; she clearly didn’t have the ominous luck she worried about.
Following Wu Guodong, the group sauntered toward the restaurant.
The spacious private dining room contained three round tables. Uncles, aunts, and a bunch of cousins sat at one table. These relatives were relatively close to Lin Nan and were mostly aware of her situation, while the three other tables were distant relatives; she could barely put a name to a face.
Lin Nan took a seat at the innermost table, her head bowed, though her eyes occasionally darted around.
Her cousin Wu Jiaming had shown up.
Her cousin Liu Xinyi and her family were also here.
The choice of dinner time was mainly to give those relatives living in other places a chance to return.
Her mother, considerate of Lin Nan’s mood, had intentionally seated these two next to her on either side.
Liu Xinyi was about to face her college entrance exams, but her grades were just average, and she didn’t seem very invested in studying, lacking the usual tension of a typical test-taker. Instead, she leaned closer to Lin Nan as soon as they met.
“Sis! Let’s watch a horror movie tonight!”
“Not a chance, scram!”
“Shouldn’t you be studying hard for your exams?” Wu Jiaming, sitting on Lin Nan’s left, casually opened the plastic-wrapped utensils, then glanced at Lin Nan like he didn’t know what to say and decided to bury his head in his phone instead.
It had been a while since Lin Nan had seen her cousin. It seemed Liu Xinyi had let her hair grow out. That once short boyish haircut could now barely be tied into a ponytail, making her look much more palatable.
Even Lin Nan’s mother beamed with approval upon seeing her: “I told you to let your hair grow! You used to look like a boy with that hair so short.”
Liu Xinyi pouted but didn’t respond; even though her hair was growing out, she evidently still preferred her previous androgynous appearance.
“Who’s this lovely girl?” Liu Xinyi’s mother, Lin Nan’s aunt, peered curiously at Lin Nan.
She hadn’t been around during the New Year and was unaware of Lin Nan’s situation.
Lin Nan, feeling embarrassed, lowered her head and fiddled with her fingers under the table, her face flushed with awkwardness, unsure of what to say.
“Whose girl is so pretty?”
“Hey, whose child is this? She’d be quite a match for my kid.”
As more relatives arrived, the unfamiliar faces sparked small talk with the adults at Lin Nan’s table. When they turned to her, it was often accompanied by questioning glances.
Her paternal relatives had already buried her socially in their village when she left without an explanation. Who knew what rumors they cooked up about her? And here…
Shooting a hesitant glance at her uncle, Lin Nan looked back to her mother for help.
