582. The Parrot-Phobic Grandma
By the time Lin Nan arrived at Chen Yao’s house, it was already eight o’clock in the evening.
The house was empty; Uncle and Aunt hadn’t come back yet. As soon as Lin Nan stepped inside, she began setting up the warming box for the lemon—her newly adopted parrot.
Worried that Uncle and Aunt might not like birds, she decided to stash the warming box in Chen Yao’s bedroom. Sure, the air conditioning would be blasting, but the warming box had its own temperature controls—just a bit more electricity spent here and there.
“Right back and busy with the bird already?” Chen Yao grunted, finally lugging his two heavy suitcases into the bedroom, only to find Lin Nan already tending to the lemon.
Lin Nan shot him a sideways glance and teased, “What’s with the heavy dose of jealousy?”
Who even gets jealous of a pet?
“Me? Not at all!” Chen Yao stuffed his clothes into the wardrobe and plopped down in front of his computer, itching to jump into a game.
He absolutely loathed his usual laptop—the screen was tiny, and the specs were dreadful. Every game he wanted to play stuttered and lagged, making him put on his best studious face instead.
“What do you want for dinner tonight?”
“Anything’s fine. I’ll see what takeout looks good.” Lin Nan perched at the edge of the bed, leaning back and supporting herself with one hand, while her other hand opened the takeout app.
She was so familiar with Chen Yao’s place that she didn’t feel like a guest at all. Stretching lazily, she flopped onto the bed, fully relaxed.
Of course, Uncle and Aunt didn’t treat her like a guest either; they’d left her slippers right at the door. But in the sweltering summer heat, Lin Nan wasn’t keen on wearing them.
“So when do you plan to head back to your grandpa’s?” Chen Yao asked, his game loading up.
Lin Nan thought for a moment before replying, “Maybe in a week or two? I’m considering going to your aunt’s to be a tutor. If I do, I’d head back early to visit Grandpa.”
“Why bother being a tutor? Isn’t summer for fun?”
Funny how he said that, but Lin Nan genuinely wanted to do something during her summer vacation.
Otherwise, if she just sat at home playing on the computer for two whole months, she’d probably have Chen Yao’s parents thinking she was a total slacker.
Unfortunately, she hadn’t found a job she liked near school last week.
She sighed dramatically, rolling around on the bed, and randomly ordered takeout, then got up to feed the lemon some baby formula.
“If I’m not working, I’ll just take care of the lemon at home. People say raising a parrot is just like raising a kid; they both need education.” As Lin Nan mumbled to herself, she opened her phone to check on parenting tips. “I finished teaching it kindergarten material already; what should I teach next?”
She was persistently using magic on the lemon, but alas, the little guy was too young to show any results yet.
“Teach it how to be a bird?”
“I can’t even do that…” Lin Nan muttered, wringing her head in frustration. “I heard it’s best to have an adult bird teach it how to eat seeds and fly during weaning.”
“I can’t teach it to eat seeds, but I could teach it to fly… though the principles might differ…”
Chen Yao turned around with a curious expression, “You can fly?”
“I can do that magic, but I’ve never used it.” Lin Nan said proudly, “I learned it during bungee jumping!”
“But aren’t you afraid of heights?”
After bungee jumping, Lin Nan’s fear of heights had eased quite a bit, but she still had her moments.
Otherwise, she wouldn’t have waited this long to try out flying magic.
While they chatted, the lemon took only a couple of sips of formula before waddling back to the warming box, clearly sensing that the temperature outside was not in its favor.
Chen Yao cranked the air conditioning down to sixteen degrees because that dude couldn’t stand the heat.
Takeout arrived surprisingly fast, and within half an hour, Lin Nan’s Korean fried chicken was at the door.
Eating chicken and sliding a chair next to Chen Yao, Lin Nan eagerly watched him play as he unleashed a monster-mashing massacre on unsuspecting victims, occasionally reaching into the warming box to gently scratch the lemon’s tiny head while magically imparting some avian wisdom.
Around ten o’clock, the front door of Chen Yao’s house creaked open.
“Lin Nan’s here?” Aunt burst through the door, peering inside and getting an eye full of the illuminated warming box. She jumped back, startled. “Why do you have a bird?”
“It’s my new pet!” Lin Nan explained, turning to face Aunt, who looked a bit pale. Suddenly, Lin Nan’s heart sank as she hesitantly asked, “Does Aunt not like birds?”
“I’m afraid of these sharp-beaked creatures…” Aunt said with a hint of embarrassment.
Wait, what? Someone’s afraid of sharp beaks? And she’s a chef?
Lin Nan didn’t expect everyone to adore the lemon. After giving it a moment’s thought, she replied, “Then I’ll just keep it in the bedroom, away from scaring you?”
“That’s probably for the best.” Aunt quickly shut the door, unable to even glance at the lemon.
A baby parrot scared a middle-aged woman in her forties? Guilt washed over Lin Nan; she should’ve asked Aunt about her feelings on parrots before making the purchase.
Meanwhile, Chen Yao was rather amused. “This works in my favor—now if the lemon’s around, my mom will stop barging in without knocking.”
“But we’ll have to clean the mess in your room later.”
“Don’t worry, that’s your job anyway.”
While living in the rental apartment, Chen Yao usually handled cooking and laundry for both of them, while Lin Nan took on the noble responsibility of vacuuming every couple of days.
A moment later, Aunt knocked on the door. “Lin Nan, come out for a sec.”
“Coming!”
She sprang up, swung the door open, and walked out to find Aunt holding two glasses of milk, glancing at Lin Nan with a hint of annoyance. “You could’ve called me when you got back. And a bird? You didn’t mention it.”
“I thought Chen Yao told you…” Lin Nan gave Aunt a puppy-dog look, cleverly transferring the blame onto Chen Yao.
“Aunt’s terrified of birds.” Aunt sighed, setting the milk in Lin Nan’s hand. “When I was a kid, I don’t know what I did, but every day when I stepped outside, there was this bird that would peck at me…”
Seriously? Did she disturb a bird’s nest or something?
Lin Nan stifled a laugh, sensing the seriousness of the situation.
But with her lips pressed together, she couldn’t help but shake with barely contained laughter.
“Don’t let that bird out, okay?” Aunt reminded her gravely.
“I got it! I won’t let it out to scare you.” Lin Nan nodded seriously.
Aunt finally felt a bit relieved, turning to leave but frequently glancing back through the bedroom door.
With two steaming glasses of milk, Lin Nan returned to the room and handed a glass to Chen Yao, asking, “Where’s Uncle?”
“He’s still cleaning up at his shop. My mom usually comes home to do the housework right after the shop closes.” Chen Yao chuckled, having overheard the earlier conversation, “Had I known Mom was afraid of birds, I would’ve used the lemon to leverage every time she compared me to other kids!”
Talk about a game-changer.
