557. Coping
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After waiting for five or six minutes, the bus didn’t show up, but the ridesharing app finally chimed in with a driver accepting the ride.
Sure, there were private motorcycles available in the county, but let’s face it, that’s only for two people.
Lin Nan leaned against a billboard, head lowered, afraid to let Li Ya see her expression, feeling an immense wave of embarrassment wash over her.
Even though her identity as a female hadn’t been revealed yet, the misunderstanding of her dating Chen Yao while dressed as a girl was hard to swallow.
What’s worse, she couldn’t even argue against it.
I’m too Nan for this…
Li Ya stared at Lin Nan with a shocked expression, unable to believe her outlandish guess had just been validated.
If Lin Nan and Chen Yao were indeed in a romantic relationship, then the bruise on Lin Nan’s collarbone supposedly from a bug bite didn’t seem so far-fetched anymore.
Although she had never had a boyfriend in her life, she wasn’t completely clueless.
Had Lin Nan and Chen Yao reached this level already?
Old friends turned into a couple?
What is this? A boys’ love novel come to life?
Li Ya’s jaw dropped a bit as she stared at Lin Nan’s bashful demeanor, gasping and unsure of what to say next.
Now it made sense why Lin Nan was acting so girly; after all, she was dressing up as a girl to date Chen Yao… Just thinking about it seemed absurd! How could this happen in real life?
After a long silence, Lin Nan managed to dispel the blush on her face, raised her head, and changed the subject, “The rideshare is almost here.”
“Yeah.” Li Ya nodded, but her curiosity got the better of her, and she asked quietly, “So… do Chen Yao’s parents know?”
“They know…”
Li Ya’s face lit up in realization. Apparently, Lin Nan’s girl disguise had not only fooled potentially judgmental passersby but even Chen Yao’s parents!
That’s downright terrifying.
Even though Lin Nan was wearing a slightly ill-fitting boy’s outfit, bundled tightly in a coat, that skin was still more beautiful and delicate than your average girl’s, coupled with her already good looks.
Imagining Lin Nan dressed as a girl wasn’t even necessary; she could just think back to how Lin Nan looked last night or check the little figure in the bottom right corner of the video.
Sure enough, she completely didn’t look like a boy—she was more feminine than the typical female.
Last night, she had been tricked too.
She thought Chen Yao’s girlfriend was just shy, always hiding behind him. After a quick glance, she found her pretty, never guessing that girl was Lin Nan.
Taking a deep breath, her mind swarming with questions made her temporarily lose her ability to think, leaving only shock and confusion.
Meanwhile, the rideshare they had called pulled up next to the bus stop.
Lin Nan checked the license plate number, opened the door, and settled into the backseat. It took Li Ya a moment to snap out of it and hurriedly sit next to her.
“Hey, beautiful, off to the pedestrian street, right?”
“Yep.” Lin Nan couldn’t be bothered to correct him; she was already a cross-dressing weirdo in Li Ya’s eyes.
A weirdo trying to hook up with an old friend…
That was just fine; even if Li Ya had a crush on her, the freak label would surely deter any thoughts.
Lin Nan turned to Li Ya, whispering earnestly, “Please don’t tell anyone about this.”
“I-I won’t…” Li Ya seemed a bit flustered.
This girl had always been on the shy side, and her usual brightness had only been because Lin Nan was an old classmate.
Now faced with this situation, she seemed to retreat a bit into her shell.
With her head down, she felt awkward after stumbling upon such an embarrassing topic and didn’t know what else to discuss with Lin Nan.
Only occasionally stealing glances at Lin Nan, who sat straight, her wrist as delicate as a wilting flower while using her phone, and those calves, oh-so-perfectly curved—she looked more feminine than Li Ya herself.
If they were to walk down the street and randomly ask a passerby who the guy was, they’d certainly point to Li Ya.
Lin Nan, trying to date Chen Yao, was putting even genuine girls to shame.
Li Ya suddenly felt a crushing sense of inadequacy as a woman.
The atmosphere in the car was getting a bit heavy, with the awkward vibe even making the usually talkative driver feel the pressure.
“I’m heading back in half an hour,” Lin Nan announced first. “I need to catch a train for lunch, so I have to leave some time to pack.”
“Right.” Li Ya was also beginning to think about parting ways.
This was too demoralizing for a woman…
“Hey, isn’t it hot wearing so many layers?” the driver couldn’t help but ask.
“Not at all, I’m coming down with a cold.”
Li Ya looked at Lin Nan’s profile. Even after walking under the sun for a while, Lin Nan’s neck and forehead had beads of sweat, but she remained dry in that coat, likely really not feeling the heat.
Spending time together had her noticing that Lin Nan’s personality seemed a lot more cheerful than in high school. Back then, she had also gone shopping with Lin Nan, but Lin Nan always in a rush, never initiated a conversation, glued to her phone whenever there was nothing to do.
“Um…” Li Ya pondered for a long while before softly asking, “Did you get plastic surgery?”
Plastic surgery?
Lin Nan immediately nodded, “Just minor adjustments.”
Too much had changed, and saying it was plastic surgery didn’t sound too far off.
After that, the car once again fell into an awkward silence, but thankfully, the pedestrian street was only about a ten-minute ride, and soon they were getting out at the street’s entrance.
Lin Nan paid on her phone, dropped a nice rating, then turned her gaze to the street ahead.
If they had arrived a few hours earlier, the pedestrian street with the largest market in the county would have been packed with people. In the evening, the street would bust with numerous stalls, transforming into the biggest night market around.
But at this hour, old folks were coming back with groceries, and young people were still lazing in bed during their holiday, leaving the street rather deserted.
With no one around, Li Ya found her voice again, tentatively probing, “Do you want me to help you pick out some clothes? This outfit isn’t doing you any favors.”
“Is that necessary?”
“Is it because you usually dress as a girl?”
“……”
If you keep talking like that, we won’t have anything to chat about!
Seeing Lin Nan’s silence, Li Ya took it as a yes and cautiously asked, “Do you… dress as a girl at school too?”
It seemed Li Ya’s mistaken belief that Lin Nan was a cross-dressing weirdo had only piqued her curiosity, fueling her gossip side.
Lin Nan contemplated the impact of answering that question, but her hesitation was taken as mere agreement.
Not knowing how to respond, she decided it was time to wrest the conversation back.
So after a brief moment of silence, she turned the tables, “So how come you still haven’t found a boyfriend? Isn’t that unusual?”
“I’m not good-looking and I don’t have a crush on anyone.”
There was someone once, but he was so oblivious it made her want to cry.
Recognizing that Li Ya had walked into her turf, Lin Nan chose to expand on the topic: “Actually, you’re really pretty, and you know how to do makeup. You even manage to dress up nicely now…”
“That’s just because I’m going out with you…”
Lin Nan couldn’t quite finish her thought.
So you’re still into me?
