574. Night Talk
Should Pan Maoxin just give up already?
Lin Nan sat on the bus back home, methodically pulling off rose petals one by one, squishing them into a gooey mess before tossing them into the trash can on the bus.
She knew the magic that had been cast on Pan Maoxin had side effects, but he had never shown any sign of liking her. This lack of attention made her a bit relaxed and led her to agree to have dinner with him.
Previously, whenever he looked her way, he wore an expression of defiance and annoyance—just staring at him made her want to punch something. She never expected things to end up like this.
Now, looking back, a twinge of regret hit her.
Who would have thought that the roses were meant for her?
Lin Nan grumbled to herself, feeling like Pan Maoxin had dashed her hopes. She thought he’d hold onto his true feelings despite the magic, but nope, he ended up liking her anyway.
Thank goodness it was the last day; they probably wouldn’t run into each other again. Otherwise, it would’ve been super awkward to teach him again.
Pan Maoxin must’ve thought the same thing, which was why he kept asking if she’d teach him next semester. After Lin Nan repeatedly said no, it was clear he decided to confess, having hidden his feelings well beforehand.
Arriving back at the rental apartment, Chen Yao didn’t seem to worry about Lin Nan eating out with other guys. He was too busy working on his final design assignment at the computer.
“How was your meal?” he asked, glancing up when Lin Nan came in.
“Don’t even mention it. Pan Maoxin confessed to me!” she huffed, plopping down on her bed, looking ready to explode. “I was just thinking it was normal for him to take me out since it was the last day, and then he goes and cooks for me and brings flowers…”
Lin Nan recounted the whole ordeal to Chen Yao, who was nodding along, clearly invested. But when she noticed a perplexed look on his face, she asked, “Aren’t you jealous?”
“What’s there to be jealous about? It’s only natural that a good-looking girl like you gets attention!” Chen Yao smoothly handed her a compliment before adding, “But really, you should avoid eating out alone with other guys in the future.”
“d*mn it! Tomorrow, I’m going to find Pan Maoxin and give him a piece of my mind! I treated him as a friend, and he wants to double-cross me!”
Having gone to Pan Maoxin’s house a few times, and spent class breaks playing games together, he felt at ease letting Lin Nan go eat with him.
After a moment’s thought, he suggested, “How about you just delete Pan Maoxin’s WeChat?”
“I know.”
Looks like he was a bit jealous after all.
Lin Nan peeked at Chen Yao’s final design, nodding in approval. “I’ll take this one. You can whip up another one; I’m too lazy to bother.”
Next week was finals week, a whole week without classes, just time for students to focus on their final designs. Lin Nan figured she could snooze the week away and maybe look for a job in the meantime.
The week after was exam week, three days of tests, and submitting final projects before the much-needed holiday.
Lin Nan had already worked on part of her design, so there was no rush. Taking out her phone, she started downloading a bunch of job-hunting apps to send out her resumes.
Now came the big question—how do you even write a resume?
Especially the work experience section. She couldn’t very well put down “distributed flyers” or “was a waitress or shop assistant,” could she?
And she definitely couldn’t list her role as dorm leader for room 402, also mentioning that she organized multiple dorm gatherings and even won the school’s e-sports championship.
Self-evaluation: can do magic, a one-person army against ten?
After much contemplation, Lin Nan reluctantly decided to include her tutoring experience, as that was all she had, staring helplessly at the vast empty spaces in her resume document.
“Nan Nan, my mom wants you to come back for summer break,” Chen Yao piped up, noticing she was deep in thought about the resume. “She said if you’re thinking about becoming a tutor, my aunt is running a tutoring class.”
“Ooh?” Lin Nan’s eyes lit up. “Are you saying there’s a shortcut?”
“Yup, it’s a primary school English tutoring gig. I heard the new teachers make around 4,000 a month.”
Primary school, huh?
Lin Nan despised kids, and among them, she loathed elementary school kids the most—middle schoolers were only slightly better.
Sure, those little tots in kindergarten could be rambunctious, but they were cute, and if you guided them a little, they were manageable.
But elementary and middle school kids were a whole different ballgame.
They thought they were all grown up, full of dramatic bravado, and their childhood shortcomings turned them into little terrors by the time they reached this age. You just knew trouble was brewing.
“I mean, most fighting happens in middle school, just like you, Chen Yao.”
After a moment of consideration, she asked, “Are there any high school English tutoring classes?”
“Complaining about going through the back door and still being picky?” Chen Yao chuckled.
True enough.
“Well, I’ll try looking for a job on my own next week. If I can’t find anything good, I’ll consider that back door.” Lin Nan mumbled, fully intent on avoiding becoming a tutor for elementary and middle school students.
As her sophomore year drew to a close, Lin Nan felt a sense of surreal nostalgia wash over her.
When she first entered sophomore year, she was just a moderately good-looking young man, and now, almost at junior year, she was engaged to her best friend and transformed into a beautiful young woman.
Lying in bed with the air conditioner humming, she couldn’t help but turn to Chen Yao and ask, “Did you used to like me?”
“Used to?”
“Back in middle school, high school, and freshman year.”
Chen Yao shook his head vehemently. “Back then, I really did see you as a bro.”
After all, who could blame him? Back then, Lin Nan was nothing compared to how tempting she had become now.
He admitted he liked her for her looks but also valued their deep friendship over the years that revealed the true Lin Nan.
Sure, she was pretty, but there were plenty of girls in school who were better at makeup. He never looked twice at them.
Could those pretty girls game with him?
Could they discuss the intricacies of their favorite anime plots?
He could not have asked for a better best friend than Lin Nan, whose interests overlapped so much with his that despite their differing personalities, chemistry just clicked—she was practically wifey material now!
“I was starting to wonder if you were into guys.” Lin Nan teased.
“Not a chance! Hurry up and shower, it’s time for a workout!”
Lin Nan caught the hint behind his words and shot him a playful eye roll. “Aren’t you back sore?”
“I’m young and strong!”
“You’re practically turning into a pig…” Lin Nan grumbled, “From now on, I’ll just call you Pig.”
They say there’s a kind of happiness when two people bloat together.
Yet in reality, it was only Chen Yao ballooning up; even hitting the gym and playing basketball, he could barely control the expanding waistline while Lin Nan stayed as slim as ever—still barely over a hundred pounds.
“That’s exactly why I need to exercise,” Chen Yao replied seriously. “Evening workouts are the best for your health and trimming down!”
