### Epilogue Six
In the cozy hall of Grandpa’s little villa, there were a dozen people, either sitting or standing around.
Grandpa, nearing ninety, still stood tall and lean. Aside from a few extra age spots and wrinkles, he seemed almost unchanged from a decade ago.
He happily sat at the head of the dining table, scanning the group of kids surrounding him, and poured himself a glass of liquor with a look of contentment.
But that glass was snatched away by Grandma, sharp as a hawk: “Drink? You’ll drink yourself to d*ath!”
“At my age, can’t I enjoy a little?” Grandpa sulked as he watched his cup and liquor bottle retreat from him.
To be honest, a few years ago, his health had deteriorated to the point where he could barely stand. But mysteriously, one night, he suddenly regained the energy he thought he’d lost forever.
He had been a heavy smoker in his youth, but the d*ath of an old friend from lung cancer scared him into quitting. In his later years, he developed a fondness for alcohol, and after a hospital visit for gout and appendicitis a decade ago, his health took a nosedive.
He thought he wouldn’t even live to see his great-grandchild, but surprise, surprise—Lin Nan stepped up, pregnant despite her youth!
Perhaps having a great-grandchild made him feel sprightly again, and he was blissfully celebrating reaching this milestone.
“Lin Nan~” He turned to the Lin Nan seated beside him. “Where’s Chen Jing? Where’s his dad?”
“Out on the street,” Lin Nan chuckled.
Chances are, that unreliable dad took the kid to an internet cafe. Sure, Chen Jing’s too young to get his own account, but no one would bat an eye if he just gawked and occasionally tapped the keys.
As the first grandkid to have a child, Lin Nan’s status in Grandpa’s eyes skyrocketed—Liu Xuefei’s son didn’t stand a chance at “stealing the show” from Lin Nan.
Meanwhile, the big grandson remained childless even after marriage, while the younger granddaughter announced she was a lesbian…
Ah, Wu Jiaming, after going abroad, somehow transformed from a lazy bum to a DINK (Dual Income, No Kids). As for cousin Liu Xinyi, she was a lesbian from the start but chose to “come out” amidst the relentless homesteading calls from the elders.
Wu Jiaming was at least doing okay; Liu Xinyi hadn’t shown up to a family gathering in five years.
Lin Nan propped her head on her hand, taking in the scene.
Grandpa was still moping about not being able to drink, Grandma was busy keeping the younger ones entertained with cartoons, Liu Xuefei was skillfully catering to new relatives, and her mother was engaged in a heated game of mahjong with women her age.
From time to time, she caught some relatives casting envious looks her way.
How did she arrive at the cusp of forty? Her magic seemed to have run out, yet her appearance barely changed.
Looking over at Liu Xuefei, even with makeup, a forty-year-old’s looks couldn’t be concealed—the best a talented makeup job could do was turn her from forty to a little over thirty.
“Lin Nan~” Suddenly, Liu Xuefei popped up behind her, wrapping an arm around her from the back and whining, “Lin Nan, how do you keep looking so good? Your husband too, he’s forty and still growing more charming!”
“Maybe good genes?” Lin Nan replied cheerily, while brushing her off.
“Stop making stuff up! Wu Guodong, that guy, if he walks out with me, everyone thinks we’re father and daughter!”
Well, that’s what all the makeup was for! Although it didn’t hurt that men who don’t do heavy lifting don’t tend to age as easily. The age gap between Liu Xuefei and Wu Guodong was already sizable, and Liu Xuefei practically painted herself younger every day.
“Talking bad about me again,” Wu Guodong strolled out from the kitchen just in time to hear Liu Xuefei’s jab, affectionately ruffled her hair, then turned to Lin Nan with a smile, “Where’s Chen Yao?”
Just then, in came Chen Yao, dragging Chen Jing along, looking like he’d just rolled out of bed. He yawned loudly and greeted a few familiar faces.
Grandpa quite liked Chen Yao, as he was usually the one covering for his sneaky drinking sessions. Though, of course, Grandma had granted permission for most of those secret sips.
“Chen Jing, come here, come here!” Grandpa waved at Chen Jing with a jolly grin. “How’s school these days?”
Chen Jing was surprisingly composed, no shade of Lin Nan’s old shyness, marching right up, “Pretty good! I’m in the top ten in class!”
“Any girlfriends?” Grandpa said, pulling him closer and handing him a bag of sunflower seeds, sighing dramatically, “Your mom was dating your dad back in middle school and married right after college! You can’t lag behind!”
“Grandpa, early relationships are bad…” Lin Nan couldn’t be bothered to correct him.
What’s this about dating Chen Yao in middle school? Back then, she was still a guy! They were just normal best buddies!
“Mom, you dated Dad that young?” Chen Jing’s eyes widened in disbelief.
Lin Nan kicked him lightly under the table, causing Chen Jing to wince in pain.
“Isn’t that true? Your mom had a serious illness in university, and your dad lent her over a hundred thousand for treatment,” Grandpa continued with a straight face.
Please don’t say that! If it weren’t for that incident, I wouldn’t have become a wife!
Whenever Lin Nan and Chen Yao argued, she would always regret bringing up that excuse.
Chen Yao just chuckled, although he was momentarily confused as to when he ever lent Lin Nan any money, but once he learned about her magic, he gladly covered for her.
What’s done was done—all those years, the rumor never got debunked; mainly, no one ever brought it up again.
“Your mom was quite the troublemaker as a kid. She and Jiaming nearly set the back mountain on fire, and they used to sneak into the cemetery at night to mess around… Now she’s so much more responsible,” Grandpa sighed, reflecting on how his little grandkid grew up into a wise woman, married and now with a kid.
Lin Nan sat there, turning her head to the side.
Childhood—or rather, her male days—lingered like an unwanted ghost that she just couldn’t shake off.
She had totally transformed into a woman now.
Chen Yao stood beside her laughing, “Oh please, I was way worse! Fought all the time in middle school and dragged your mom out of class to play video games, but look, we both ended up in college!”
“Dad, did you cheat?” Chen Jing questioned with suspicion. “You don’t look like you’d make it to college.”
“Right! And you’re in the top ten, and I didn’t?” Chen Yao thumped him on the head. “With my genes, if you work hard, getting into Tsinghua or Peking University is a piece of cake!”
Chen Jing timidly rubbed his head, not daring to retort, shooting a wide-eyed look over at Wu Guodong: “Uncle, can I go play on the computer?”
“Wait ’til dinner. Now go on up and bring your cousin down,” Uncle waved him off.
Since Lin Nan’s generation was filled with only children, Chen Jing didn’t have many cousins, but he got along well with Wu Guodong’s son, who was closer to his age.
This year’s family gathering was hosted at Grandpa’s house instead of a fancy restaurant.
Some local chefs were busy in the kitchen, and a few round tables were set up in the hall, quickly filled with a swarm of relatives.
Lin Nan noticed a few familiar elder relatives were missing.
Even though she could barely remember their names or how to address them, she still felt a wave of relief wash over her.
If it weren’t for the magic she used on Grandpa and Grandma, they might have passed away a couple of years ago.
But magic could only buy time.
Aging brings not only a lack of visible change outside but inside too; it’s completely exhausting, always worrying about those you love leaving, making the world feel gradually more strange.
But thankfully, she still had Chen Yao by her side.
