549. Mutual Transformation
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As Lin Nan walked towards the couple, they noticed her approaching figure.
“Jie!”
Lin Jin’s face lit up with a smile as she sweetly asked, “Didn’t I tell you to call me out to hang out whenever you’re free?”
“I was in the countryside yesterday.” Lin Nan got closer but then looked up at the man next to Lin Jin.
Definitely a bit better-looking than Chen Yao…
Last time, she had only stolen a glance, but now standing right in front of her, she could see him more clearly.
Just… his skin condition was nowhere near Chen Yao’s standard.
With a pout in her heart, her eyes turned into crescent moons as she sweetly called out, “Jiufu.”
Lin Jin had previously introduced her husband, Xia Tian, when they bumped into each other on the train.
The name’s quite odd, but it seems there are many people with the surname Xia. The most famous would probably be Xia Donghai.
Xia Tian eyed Lin Nan, who looked almost identical in height and figure to his wife, and there was even something similar in their aura.
“She’s the cousin you mentioned?” Xia Tian’s smile was warm and welcoming, making it easy for anyone to feel fond of him.
Chen Yao also joined Lin Nan’s side, inspecting the couple curiously. Just like Xia Tian, he noticed there seemed to be a shared aura between Lin Jin and Lin Nan.
A gentle femininity sprinkled with a hint of valiance?
No wonder when Lin Nan returned to her hometown for a wedding, despite only a brief meeting, she and her cousin were already getting along like old friends.
“This is my boyfriend, Chen Yao.” Lin Nan clasped Chen Yao’s arm, introducing him to the couple. “That stunning beauty is Chen Yao’s mom.”
“What stunning beauty? Nonsense!” Auntie had just arrived, catching Lin Nan’s comment and instantly grinning from ear to ear.
Lin Jin and Xia Tian were chatty, and it turned out Xia Tian was a restaurant owner while Lin Jin had become a housewife taking care of kids.
So how can you even have kids?
After chatting for a few minutes and feeling familiar, Lin Jin suggested, “Since we’re all here, why don’t we go for a stroll?”
Auntie shot a glance at Xia Tian standing beside her, feeling it’d be rude to disturb the couple, and shook her head repeatedly in rejection.
“It’s fine! I haven’t been back for a long time. Auntie taking me around sounds great!” Lin Jin smiled as she walked up to Lin Nan and linked arms with her. “I still have so much to talk about with Lin Nan!”
Lin Nan nodded eagerly.
And so, the two sisters stuck together while Chen Yao brooded as he walked alongside Auntie and Xia Tian.
Already, Chen Yao could imagine the things his mom would say.
Sure enough, after a brief chat with Xia Tian, Auntie couldn’t hold back and started scolding Chen Yao, holding up Xia Tian as an example: “Look at him! Not even a few years older than you, and he’s already got a kid!”
Chen Yao felt lost. Hello, he was still a college student!
“Where’s the restaurant that Xia Tian runs? I should pop by to taste the dishes and learn a thing or two.” After tossing a line at Chen Yao, Auntie turned back to Xia Tian, “How much do you earn a month now? You’re handsome and a big boss! No wonder you could find a beautiful wife like Lin Nan’s cousin!”
It seems to be a common parental flaw—always thinking their kid is less awesome than others. But Chen Yao was no fragile flower; he grumbled quietly in his heart while maintaining a well-mannered facade.
From time to time, he glanced back at the two sisters, who were huddled together, chatting away as if they were plotting something.
Lin Nan was growing accustomed to the cozy hand-linking that came with sisterly bonding, feeling no embarrassment as she linked arms with Lin Jin.
Curious about Lin Jin’s secrets, she asked, “How did you meet Chen Yao?”
Lin Jin, purely curious, wanted to dig into Lin Nan’s love life. “You two look more like siblings!”
“Really?”
Lin Nan instinctively reached to scratch her head, but Lin Jin stopped her: “Girls scratching their heads don’t look good; you should be more ladylike.”
She didn’t say more, putting her hand down and explaining, “I met Chen Yao back in middle school. We were like best buddies, so we probably seem more like siblings now?”
Even when they were close buddies, Lin Nan never thought of Chen Yao as a big brother.
Lin Jin appeared to reminisce about her own former best buddy, a nostalgic smile creeping onto her face: “Best buddies? Aren’t those usually wishing to be each other’s parents instead?”
Lin Nan nearly burst into laughter, nodding vigorously.
Chen Yao looked back, noticing the two sisters seemed to be having a blast. He wanted to join them, but Auntie had a firm grip on him, relentlessly pointing out his flaws while gushing over the newly met Xia Tian.
Mainly, Xia Tian, Lin Nan’s brother-in-law, looked mature and composed, plus he owned a restaurant, making him a never-ending topic for Auntie.
After bantering for a while and sensing the atmosphere had mellowed, Lin Nan cautiously broached, “Cousin, weren’t you going through surgery…?”
Fearing this topic might upset Lin Jin, she was cautious, treading lightly as if testing a soft spot: “Why else would you have a period and kids…?”
Lin Jin remained quiet with a smile, just gazing at her.
“Isn’t the technology so advanced now?” Seeing she wasn’t upset, Lin Nan pressed on.
Even if tech had reached this level, wouldn’t such operations be beyond the reach of ordinary folk?
Like, sure, we can go to the moon and Mars now, but not many folks have actually been to space. There’s that foreign company doing space tourism, but the costs are astronomical—no pun intended—making it unaffordable for the average person.
“Who told you that if I have a kid, it’s definitely mine?” Lin Jin countered.
Lin Nan fell silent for a moment.
Just about to respond, Lin Jin suddenly leaned in and whispered in her ear, “You don’t have a secret too, do you?”
She froze, staring blankly at her cousin.
“I don’t believe you’re really a hermaphrodite.” Lin Jin pulled away, her smile growing even brighter.
Upon hearing this, Lin Nan’s eyes widened in disbelief, unsure of what to say.
Could it be that her cousin was also transformed into a girl through magic?
This implication was just too obvious!
Lin Jin beamed at her, feeling an undeniable bond with her cousin.
Looking at Lin Nan’s reaction, it was clear that her transformation was also tied to the black cat somehow.
Both held onto their misunderstandings, sharing a mutual agreement to let the topic fade.
Lin Nan glanced at the three people ahead again, asking, “Does giving birth really hurt a lot?”
“If you’re scared of pain, you could have a C-section.”
“I’m not scared, just curious.” She had a temporary magic that dulled pain, but as she eyed Lin Jin, she sensed no magical aura coming from her cousin.
Maybe she had already exhausted her magic power?
Lin Nan guessed inwardly but then heard Lin Jin ask, “What color is your cat?”
“Cat?” The conversation had suddenly shifted to pets, and Lin Nan instinctively replied, “I originally had a black cat and a white cat, but I gave one to a friend.”
“Oh~” Lin Jin smiled meaningfully.
“??? What’s with the ‘oh’? Is there a misunderstanding here?”
Lin Nan was baffled but continued along with her cousin’s line of questioning, more convinced than ever that Lin Jin also had a magical transformation story.
After all, it was never stated that Lilith must be the first to arrive on Earth; the portal behind her grandfather’s house was the evidence.