093. Swimsuits?【9/66】
==============================
When Lin Nan and her mother returned home, the atmosphere inside was a tad stiff.
Lin Nan stared at the floor with a blank face, stealing glances at her mother from the corner of her eye. On the surface, she seemed as steady as a rock, but inside, she was panicking like crazy.
Her mother’s expression was equally unreadable. She had her phone out, desperately trying to borrow money from relatives and friends.
The whole thing about female organ malformation wasn’t as simple as Lin Nan had hoped. The B-scan during the medical examination only confirmed that she had developing female organs inside. According to the oh-so-wise doctor, if surgery was required, it would call for more specialized tests, and all that hassle would cost around a hundred thousand, give or take.
Now, her mother was fretting over how to gather that sum, while Lin Nan was trying to figure out how to convince her not to throw money away.
All Lin Nan needed was to use magic a bit more, and she could totally transform into a woman. In fact, that was the card she had played; there was no point in worrying about turning back to being male later. In two months, if she strutted back home looking like the former man she was, her mother would likely have a heart attack.
The atmosphere felt heavy. For her mother, one hundred thousand used to be a sum she could whip out without breaking a sweat. She had already borrowed money from relatives and friends when buying a house, and hadn’t paid it all back yet. Explaining Lin Nan’s situation to outsiders was tricky too; it was basically like asking for money without a good reason.
Her mother’s expression was tense as she wrapped up her sixth call. Only Wu Guodong, or ‘Uncle Wu’ as Lin Nan calls him, was willing to lend five thousand.
Even though Uncle Wu seemed to be doing well these days, he had his mortgage hanging over him and didn’t have much money saved up. The fact that he could lend any money at all was a small miracle.
Watching her mother thank Uncle Wu profusely only made Lin Nan’s anxiety spike.
“Maybe let’s just forget about it?” Lin Nan ventured, trying to dissuade her mom. “It’s not that big of a deal; I was fine for eighteen years before…”
“Listen to me! We need to raise the money! Right now! Let’s go to the best hospital!” her mother insisted, cutting Lin Nan off abruptly.
Lin Nan flinched, taken by surprise. Her agitated tone sent chills down her spine, leaving her tongue-tied.
But after a moment of hesitation, she mustered the courage to say, “We don’t have enough money at home. Shouldn’t I save up for the surgery after I graduate?”
“Didn’t you hear the risks the doctor mentioned?”
The doctor’s so-called “risks” involved things like bl**d pooling, but Lin Nan could cast purification spells on herself, so she was basically the cleanest person on Earth—at least, that’s how she saw it.
This condition primarily had female organs internally, but due to the malformation, she also had a little buddy resembling a male. In the end, it just required some pesky cosmetic surgery.
That’s what Lin Nan had thought anyway; who knew there were further detailed checks, and that those checks would cost around fifty to sixty thousand?
“It should be fine…” Lin Nan muttered nervously.
“Fine?! What do you mean fine?!” her mother’s voice suddenly shot up a pitch, practically a shriek that made Lin Nan’s ears ring.
Lin Nan realized the situation was spiraling towards disaster. If she let her mother continue in her current frantic state, they’d be buried in debt for surgery and her own inevitable trip to the operating table.
But right now, her panicked mother was impossible to communicate with.
A little panic set in as Lin Nan saw her mother ignoring her plea and making more calls for money. Her mind subconsciously sought out some of the magic spells she hadn’t unlocked yet.
Were there any spells that could boost her persuasive power? She didn’t need to brainwash her mother; just getting her to listen would suffice.
But magic…
The very reason they were in this predicament was due to magic, and it seemed like magic was also the key to getting them out of this mess.
How did it turn into such a vicious cycle?
Seeing her mother still dialing for cash made Lin Nan anxious. She rubbed her temples, closed her eyes, and tried to think of a spell that could handle the current dilemma.
She had already dismissed the brainwashing spell earlier; the conditions to unlock it were too harsh and utterly beyond her consideration.
Recalling Lilith’s memories, she skipped over those wild nights and flirtations, and realized that Lilith had indeed learned some useful spells that could come in handy.
For example, there was a charm spell that could make someone utterly captivated for a short period. Once they were under its influence, they’d nod along to anything she said, although afterward they might question their life choices. The duration? About an hour, and it could only be used once per person.
If it was her mother, surely she wouldn’t go back on whatever promises she made while enchanted, right?
But was this even appropriate to use on her mom?
Lin Nan’s mind spiraled, associating “charm” with “little scheming girl,” which made her feel incredibly uneasy.
Having already dressed in various feminine styles and being mistaken for a girl on the street, she had long passed her limits of embarrassment. But the conditions to unlock the spell made her face darken.
“Beach swimsuit for half an hour…”
“What?” Her mother overheard her mumbling.
“Oh, I was just saying I wanted to go to the beach…” Lin Nan quickly backtracked.
She was kind of desperate now; trying a spell would only cost her half an hour of embarrassment. Not trying meant risking tens of thousands for surgery.
Swimsuits… There was no specification on styles or genders, but just imagining herself in a pair of swim trunks made her cheeks flare up in shame.
After all, her chest had developed more and more, and she couldn’t just strut around like Tu Junhui with her top off.
Even a completely non-revealing women’s swimsuit was far too much for Lin Nan to handle, even if it was just in the privacy of her bedroom. Don’t even get her started on those swimsuits European and American girls wear—they seemed barely different from underwear in her eyes.
And the thought of going to the beach meant there was no avoiding being seen.
Peeking down at her flat chest—which was notably less flat than before, and would be quite obvious in a women’s swimsuit—she realized this could easily be solved with a transformation spell, which also lasted half an hour—just enough time.
“Going to the beach, huh…” Her mother set her phone aside, reminiscing. “I remember when you were about three or four, I took you camping at the beach.”
She made a smile, recalling Lin Nan’s childhood eagerness to visit the beach again, but her busy work life had prevented her from doing so, even though they lived in a coastal city.
“Should we go camping at the beach?” Her mother smiled a little. “We can even have a barbecue by the seaside, but…”
She glanced down at Lin Nan’s chest. “It might be difficult for you to get in the water.”
Lin Nan felt heat radiating from where her mother’s gaze lingered on her chest; she awkwardly shuffled back, trying to avoid her mother’s eyes.
“I…” Lin Nan lowered her gaze, unable to meet her mother’s penetrating gaze. She opened her mouth several times but couldn’t spit out the words.
“What’s wrong?”
“I can wear a girl’s swimsuit!”
The moment those words left her mouth, the pent-up shame flooded her brain like an electric shock, leaving Lin Nan almost glowing red from head to toe. Her mind went completely blank.
