084. Chen Yao’s Worries
==============================
Lin Nan exchanged contact information with Chen Jiang and by the time they returned to the dormitory, it was only four in the afternoon. As soon as Lin Nan stepped through the door, he was greeted by Tu Junhui’s loud and shrill voice.
“What the heck! You scared the life out of me! Nan Nan, can’t you knock a couple of times when you come in?”
Lin Nan looked up, puzzled, to find the three of them huddled around Tu Junhui’s computer, each sporting a serious, tense expression.
“What are you guys up to?”
He had been in a good mood, but getting yelled at as soon as he walked in felt unjust.
“Watching a movie, wanna join us, Nan Nan?” Tu Junhui replied while still glued to the screen.
Watching a movie?
Lin Nan heard the screams blaring from the computer speakers and glanced back at their anxious faces, immediately shuddering and refusing, “I don’t watch horror movies.”
Even so, before settling into his spot, Lin Nan couldn’t help sneaking a peek at the screen. He didn’t see anything terrifying but just the sound effects alone sent chills down his spine.
He had never understood why some people found watching horror films or playing horror games enjoyable, but after donning a girl’s outfit and strolling around town, he finally realized just how addictive that thrill could be.
Unfortunately, he was scared of nightmares at night, so despite his curiosity about the horror movie, he made a valiant effort to keep his gaze off Tu Junhui’s screen.
“Where did you go this afternoon?” As the plot mellowed out, Chen Yao turned to Lin Nan and inquired, “I wanted to ask you to watch the King’s Glory match, but you made a run for it right after class.”
“I’m not interested in that match, I went off to do part-time work,” Lin Nan said while grabbing the towel hanging on the closet door, then he pushed open the back door to wash his hands and face.
On his way back to school, Lin Nan had noticed the Grand Playground hosting a King’s Glory match. It seemed quite professional with three big screens, a commentator, and when he quickly glanced at the audience, there were at least a couple hundred people. The problem was that the ten players on stage were all glued to their phones, which didn’t exactly scream “competition.”
Naturally, having ten people staring at their computers might be acceptable for a live stream, but in real life, it just felt a bit odd.
After washing his face, Lin Nan returned to the dormitory, but his eyes just wouldn’t stop drifting toward Tu Junhui’s screen.
“Xiong Da, you really are a scaredy-cat! You jumped so suddenly you scared the living daylights out of me.”
“Who are you calling a scaredy-cat?” Xiong Da said, head down, mindlessly playing a mobile game and not in the mood to argue.
With the horror film’s plot calming down, the trio started to laugh and poke fun at the one who had been the most scared just moments ago, while Chen Yao remained calm and collected. This guy had guts—he once dragged Lin Nan to a haunted house and didn’t flinch even when Lin Nan cried in terror.
“Nan Nan, you seriously won’t watch?” After Tu Junhui finished bantering with Xiong Da, he quickly turned to tease Lin Nan, “You can’t be that big of a coward, right?”
“I never watch pointless movies like that,” Lin Nan shot back confidently.
“Then you must only be into art films, like To Live?”
“What’s that?” Tu Junhui’s movie-watching experience was nowhere near Lin Nan’s level.
“It’s an art film, pretty good! Highly recommend watching it and then reading the novel afterward; it’s motivational and totally hype-worthy!” Tu Junhui said with all the seriousness of a film critic.
He seemed overly enthusiastic, making Lin Nan suspect he might be talking about some kind of indie flick.
Chen Yao glanced at Lin Nan. In recent days, he hadn’t interacted much with Lin Nan because they were a bit too familiar and he worried it might skew their friendship.
But Lin Nan was definitely a girl now; there shouldn’t be any problem, right?
Although he had already mentally adjusted to thinking of Lin Nan as a girl, after so many years, that male image was still deeply etched in his mind, leaving him feeling quite conflicted.
He couldn’t help looking at Lin Nan again, only to find Lin Nan staring back at him with wide eyes.
“What’s up?”
“Wanna come back with me this Friday?”
Tu Junhui jumped in immediately, “Going back to meet the parents? Isn’t that a bit too soon?”
Lin Nan and Chen Yao simply ignored him.
Chen Yao, knowing that Lin Nan had a family incident involving a car accident, shrugged and said, “Then I’ll tag along with you.”
After thinking for a moment, he pointed towards the front door and said, “Let’s step outside to talk.”
“Sure.” Lin Nan immediately understood what he meant, got up, and followed closely behind Chen Yao as they exited.
Since Tuesday afternoon was a holiday, the hallway was still bustling with students. A few unfamiliar faces looked at Lin Nan as if they’d just seen a ghost.
Fortunately, Lin Nan had gotten used to such stares during classes. The dormitory uncle would stand there, arms crossed, helplessly watching Lin Nan come and go, but could never catch him on any suspicious activity.
I mean, he looked just like a girl, yet somehow lived in the boys’ dorm—wasn’t that a bit too strange? And they had made everything clear, reporting it to the school, which agreed there was no problem.
There were even posts on the school forum titled “A Girl Spotted in the Boys’ Dormitory,” but since Lin Nan had only recently adopted this androgynous appearance, the buzz hadn’t caught on yet. Occasionally, some classmates would post a few messages defending him.
Most students on this floor were his classmates, and Chen Yao paid no mind to the few unfamiliar looks, turning directly to Lin Nan to ask, “Is it going to be okay for you to go back now?”
“If I don’t go back soon, my parents really won’t recognize me…” Lin Nan laughed bitterly, “I’m honestly afraid they’ll think I’ve lost my mind when I go back.”
Chen Yao reassured him, “Honestly, it’s not that much different; if they looked closely, they’d still recognize you.”
“The real issue is, I look too girly… and then there’s that medical report…” Lin Nan suspected that if he showed his parents the report, he might just end up being taken in for surgery.
But he had no desire for surgery! I mean, with magic that could turn him into a girl, why would he undergo surgery that wastes money and might hurt like crazy after? What if there were complications during the surgery? He could be at risk of losing his life!
“What’s wrong with the medical report?” Chen Yao didn’t understand Lin Nan’s concern and naturally thought that if Lin Nan had been shown to be female, he should just go ahead and have the surgery to revert back.
Lin Nan fell silent. He felt he could trick his parents into giving him money for the surgery, saying he’d be going to the big city and wouldn’t need them to come with him, all the while intending to use magic to transform.
But no matter how trusting they were, there’s no way they’d let him go alone for surgery, right?
“What’s wrong?” Chen Yao noticed his expression was off.
“Let’s not mention this to my parents for now, okay?” Lin Nan lowered his head, looking troubled and pensive, “Let me think about how to explain it.”
Seeing Lin Nan’s expression, Chen Yao’s heart ached. His best friend from back in the day was now stuck in this situation, and he felt utterly powerless, even struggling to find comforting words to say.
In the end, he could only pat Lin Nan on the shoulder before turning to walk back inside.
