548. Mall Encounter [7/30]
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Chen Yao was doing quite alright in college—at least he managed to hit the class average, which is saying something.
When it came to art, he might not reach the god-like status of Tu Junhui in the eyes of mere mortals, but hey, he scored a solid ninety in his final drawing exam.
In comparison, Lin Nan’s miserable sixty was practically begging for a genius label to shine over Chen Yao.
With the new semester kicking off, Chen Yao jumped right into serious studying, diligently revising and practicing various design software at home. Whenever he had a spare moment, he was busy tracing his favorite game characters… if you added in his knowledge from the last two years, he surprisingly started snagging design orders online!
Of course, it was for designing covers for web novels, which isn’t exactly rocket science—orders ranged from five to twenty bucks. A couple of days for each order, and just watch them get sliced down by the website’s fees.
His original plan was to save up that cash to buy Lin Nan something nice, but when his mom brought up the word “stash,” he felt his whole body twitch involuntarily.
“Stash?” Auntie’s eyes lit up like it was Christmas morning.
Chen Yao gave his mom a perplexed look—was it just him, or had hunting down his dad’s stash turned into one of her favorite pastime activities? She was practically glowing!
Then, he glanced over at Lin Nan—there couldn’t have been any conversations about contributing to household expenses, right?
Even if they had, wasn’t it a bit early to start enforcing such rules, given they just got engaged?
Luckily, Lin Nan wasn’t keen on commandeering his finances and quickly said to Auntie, “It’s not really a stash, you know. We’re still each handling our own money.”
Auntie looked at Lin Nan, perplexed. “But if a guy has money, he can go wild—what if Chen Yao uses it to buy game stuff? You’re not worried?”
Hmm… I might have casually thrown some cash at Chen Yao for games too.
Mainly for League of Legends—those skins are freaking irresistible! Even if I’m not playing, good graphics just make my wallet twitch.
Lin Nan shrank back slightly, not daring to respond.
But wait a second; Chen Yao getting a new income stream and not mentioning it?
“Uh, for now, it should be fine, right?” Lin Nan said a bit nervously, “Chen Yao just finished his meal. How about we go shopping?”
“Sounds good.”
Even though Chen Yao’s home wasn’t right in the center of town, it was close enough—a short ten-minute walk to the nearby Walmart.
Initially, Auntie was worried Lin Nan might have some trauma from her late-night snack adventure, but the moment they stepped outside, she saw Lin Nan looked as carefree as ever.
With Auntie’s arm hooked on her left and Chen Yao’s hand in her right, Lin Nan gleefully pranced between them, glancing around as if everything was delightful and new.
By seven PM, the sun had barely dipped below the horizon, and the streets were buzzing with people—a vibrant smorgasbord of life.
As they passed People’s Square, Lin Nan paused to peek inside. To her surprise, amid a hoard of middle-aged folks doing their square dance routine, a group of youngsters were busting out some home-style dance moves to the energetic tunes of energetic paradise.
Do they not feel embarrassed?
“Tomorrow, you’re going back to school, right?”
Auntie halted too, following Lin Nan’s gaze. “Thinking of joining the square dance?”
“No, no!” Lin Nan quickly jerked her head back and shook it vigorously.
Whether it’s square dancing or showing off at a public space, Lin Nan simply couldn’t process any of it.
Meanwhile, Chen Yao was ridiculously fascinated by the home-dance crew. After standing still for too long, he noticed Lin Nan getting yanked away by Auntie, and hurried to catch up.
Sure, it was a small county, but the famous brands from big cities were all available here—though many came with their own knock-off versions.
As they strolled into Walmart, Lin Nan’s eyes lit up at the mall’s advertisements plastered all over the walls.
“Wait, we have Burger King now?!”
Auntie perked up, “Wanna eat? If so, I’ll buy!”
“No way, too expensive!” Lin Nan hurriedly shook her head. Although she was used to Auntie’s hospitality, she still aimed to spend as little as possible.
After all, Chen Yao’s family wealth… well, let’s just say it might just trickle down to her eventually.
Gotta save some cash in case Chen Yao turns out to be a flop in the income department—can’t leave the future kiddos hanging!
As for Chen Yao, he couldn’t figure out what odd thoughts were running through Lin Nan’s mind, but for some reason, his face turned a peculiar shade of red.
Once inside the mall, they stopped at the entrance for ice cream before Lin Nan trailed along with Auntie to start their shopping spree.
The first floor was mostly jewelry stores, and after barely taking two steps, Auntie grabbed Lin Nan and pulled her toward one of the stands just as Lin Nan tried to sneak away.
“Look at these. Which one do you like?” Auntie pointed excitedly at the shiny treasures inside the glass display. “Auntie’ll buy you one!”
Lin Nan stared longingly at those blinged-out pieces, swallowing hard while desperately holding back her inner voice crying, “I want them all!”
“No need, I’m not into these.” Lin Nan worried that Auntie was genuinely interested, so she shot Chen Yao a meaningful glance.
But Chen Yao misunderstood her look and fell into a momentary awkward silence.
“Not into them, huh?” Auntie furrowed her brow. “Are you sure? Maybe take another peek?”
Seeing Auntie’s genuine intent to buy something, Chen Yao tentatively suggested, “How about we get Lin Nan something with diamonds? She kinda likes shiny rocks.”
Lin Nan shot her foot down on Chen Yao’s as she turned her head to glare.
“Oh! I really adore diamonds!” Chen Yao quickly backtracked.
Zero mutual understanding!
Most boyfriends can read their girlfriend’s thoughts with a mere glance; why did Chen Yao go so far off track?
Am I really just a reckless spender in your eyes, huh?!
As Auntie started her hunt for diamond jewelry with the sales assistant, Lin Nan suddenly clutched her arms, her eyes wide and determined.
“Auntie, let’s skip it. I… I’m really hungry and craving Burger King!” Lin Nan scrambled for a lame excuse, then turned to the salesgirl waving her off, “We’ll just look!”
“Didn’t Chen Yao say you liked this kind of necklace and rings?”
“I already have a necklace.” Lin Nan quickly fished out the one Chen Yao had gifted her ages ago from her neckline, “I’ve worn this one for a while, so switching to another feels weird!”
Chen Yao began to suspect Lin Nan was using the classic reverse psychology on him.
Auntie examined the necklace hanging on Lin Nan’s chest, smirked, and said, “This cheap necklace Chen Yao gave you is worth, like, maybe fifty bucks. You’re treating it like it’s the crown jewels.”
“I know it’s not expensive…”
Before she could finish, Lin Nan suddenly turned her head to the couple across the way browsing through jewelry.
Her eyes brightened, and she excitedly interrupted the ongoing conversation, “Auntie, I just spotted a friend! Allow me to go say hello!”
“A friend?”
“Yep, my cousin!” Lin Nan rushed off after a brief explanation.
Normally, she wouldn’t be this forward, but her cousin had too many secrets, making Lin Nan too curious to resist.
