081. Blind Date? 【4/26】
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The traffic management uncle lived in an old community near that pedestrian street.
On Tuesday, Lin Nan got the address and checked the map, realizing he didn’t need to take a rideshare; a bus would take him to the pedestrian street’s station, and then it was just a leisurely stroll of over a thousand meters.
Following the map, he arrived at the community’s entrance.
Looking up, he confirmed that the name of the community matched the address the uncle sent him, and he breathed a sigh of relief.
Not bad, he thought. Lilith’s spatial disorientation didn’t seem to have been inherited by him.
Previously, when Lin Nan made promises to the traffic management uncle, he was overflowing with confidence—just get the money first and worry about the rest later. But now that the moment had arrived, he felt a bit nervous.
Taking a deep breath, he initiated a voice call to the uncle on WeChat.
Very soon, he received the specific details: Building A, Room 704, seventh floor, no elevator, and the steps were even higher than usual.
His face darkened.
Based on his half-day experience delivering food, he thought this seven-story climb might just take his life.
This community seemed quite old; the apartment buildings weren’t more than six or seven stories high, the exteriors were peeling, and when he walked in, not only was there no property management in sight, he barely saw any residents either.
Lin Nan let out a long, defeated sigh and slowly began to scale the stairs.
Today, he wore a black short-sleeved shirt with a floral print, a gift from his uncle, plus a sun-protective jacket. On his lower half were some casual khaki pants. He wasn’t exactly a fashionista; he had been too lazy to do laundry, and now these were the only two pieces left—otherwise, he would’ve chosen an all-black outfit.
These casual pants used to feel fairly loose, but now they seemed to be squeezing his rear end awkwardly. He could have sworn his thighs were a bit thinner than before, and he couldn’t quite grasp why his transformation seemed to have made his b*tt perkier.
Could this be what they call the big b*tt theory?
Lost in these thoughts, he finally made it breathlessly to the uncle’s front door.
The uncle and his wife were both at work at this time, so Lin Nan’s first challenge was to get into the house.
He pondered for a moment. A longtime hermit like the uncle must have developed some social anxiety. These kinds of people are more reluctant than a cat at a dog show to venture out or talk to anyone; getting their trust was going to be tough.
After a moment of preparation, Lin Nan knocked on the door and said, “Open up, time for a water meter check.”
A moment later, a scrawny guy in pajamas opened the door, looking quite puzzled. “Water meter check?”
He looked down to see a lovely girl in front of him and immediately stuttered, “Y-you, what’s up?”
This must be Chen Jiang, right?
Sizing up the young man inside, Lin Nan noted that Chen Jiang was indeed skinny and looked a bit malnourished, but his head was rather large—proportionally, it would even rival Tu Junhui, who weighed in at over 200 pounds.
Lin Nan questioned whether this guy had faced discrimination for having a big head during job interviews, otherwise, how could he have been so socially awkward for so many years without stepping outside?
But the traffic management uncle didn’t have a big head, did he?
“Hi, your dad might have mentioned I’m here to visit,” Lin Nan replied with a smile.
“He did mention it…” Chen Jiang, perhaps still unclear about the purpose of Lin Nan’s visit, scratched his head. “He said you were coming over for a blind date.”
“??? ”
“Please come in.” He seemed a bit flustered, quickly grabbed a pair of slippers from the shoe cabinet and placed them on the floor, watching Lin Nan expectantly.
Lin Nan was utterly confused. Didn’t the uncle know he was male? Why was he even talking about a blind date? Was the uncle just making excuses, or did he honestly not think Lin Nan was a guy?
Maybe the uncle had this idea that Lin Nan was giving his socially-challenged son a chance?
His expression darkened slightly, feeling somewhat like a sheep wandering into the lion’s den.
“Well, um, please come in.”
“Okay, thanks.”
Lin Nan suddenly regretted his enthusiasm and greed, but there was no turning back now. Chen Jiang looked thin and weak; he probably posed no real danger.
He stepped inside, changed into the slippers, and took a seat on the sofa, guided by Chen Jiang.
Looking around, he realized this was a narrow two-bedroom apartment, probably not more than seventy square meters. The floor was wooden, giving it a cozy feel, though the furniture looked a bit old-fashioned, and the living room’s TV was one of those big, bulky models from over a decade ago.
Chen Jiang sat nervously at one end of the sofa, gulping down bottled water one sip at a time, stealing glances at Lin Nan who was seated not far away.
She’s quite pretty…
He swallowed hard. Initially, when he heard he was having a blind date today, he was quite against it, but when he found out it was at his own place, he reluctantly agreed. He thought whoever showed up would either be a tank or an eyesore, but to his surprise, it was a charming girl—though she did look a tad youthful, almost like a high school student.
Were even high school students facing arranged marriages now?
“So, um…” Chen Jiang, feeling a bit self-conscious, noticed the awkward atmosphere and forced himself to speak first. “You probably know my situation; I graduated three years ago and have been cooping up ever since…”
“No income?” Lin Nan finally registered that he was staring too hard, tilting his head to look at Chen Jiang.
At this, Chen Jiang got even more nervous, looking down, sitting up straight like a trainee student: “In the past two months, I’ve made a little over a hundred…”
“That’s even less than me,” Lin Nan shrugged, then suddenly thought that being a blind date didn’t seem so bad after all, so he asked, “Why have you been cooped up all this time?”
Chen Jiang hesitated, pulling his neck inwards, stammering: “Just… cooped up, I guess.”
“I heard you play games all day? What games? I like games too,” Lin Nan decided to use their shared interest to break the ice.
“Not much…”
“Hmm?”
“Mostly making games…”
Every word Chen Jiang spoke dripped with discomfort, “I mean, it’s like I’m doing something serious, right?”
“Never heard your dad mention that.”
“He thinks sitting in front of the computer means I’m just playing.” Chen Jiang’s tone betrayed some dissatisfaction.
Once Lin Nan heard “making games,” his curiosity skyrocketed, and he bombarded Chen Jiang with three questions in rapid succession: “What kind of game? Did you finish it? How do you even make games?”
Seeing Lin Nan’s interest piqued, the conversation shifted into Chen Jiang’s area of expertise; he swallowed hard and began to speak more fluidly: “I’m not a professional, but I’ve been learning for the past few years. The game is finished, but I made it all by myself, so it’s not that great.”
He paused, seeing Lin Nan was truly interested, and his tone turned a bit enthusiastic: “Since it’s all me, I had to handle art, programming, and the storyline on my own—especially the art! I never really learned it before, so I’m not so good at concept art or 3D modeling, and I can’t program either, so I’ve just been self-studying with books…”
Lin Nan listened as Chen Jiang rambled on for ages, but he was left dizzy from all the jargon.
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Today I updated six chapters, and starting tomorrow, I’ll add one more chapter daily. If I don’t finish by the end of this month, the rest will just have to carry over to next month.
Thanks to the two esteemed patrons who love reading and support me!
