049. Daily Life with Uncle
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Wu Guodong never thought his own nephew could actually act cute for money.
He also never imagined that a man being cute could make his heart skip a beat, leading him to impulsively transfer five hundred bucks just like that.
The moment his finger hit the transfer button, it dawned on him what he had just done. He turned to Lin Nan, who was grinning from ear to ear while clutching the phone, and his eye twitched. His face darkened.
If this nephew were really a girl, that would be terrifying!
Lin Nan, blissfully unaware, continued to bask in his glee. Wu Guodong sighed and scooted to the very edge of the sofa, fearing that one slip-up could lead to yet another impulsive transfer.
But hey, he was pretty loaded—while he usually stayed home and after paying off his car and mortgage, the leftover cash mostly went towards buying games or some cool figurines. Money earned had nowhere to go but to sit in the bank, so splurging a bit on Lin Nan wasn’t causing him too much pain.
He glanced at Lin Nan, who was giving him those puppy-dog eyes again, and instantly his expression hardened: “No more money! Do you think your uncle is a millionaire?”
“Isn’t he?” Lin Nan chuckled, clearly in high spirits.
“NO!” Wu Guodong shot him a fierce glare, but Lin Nan was shamelessly inching closer, still trying to rope in more cash.
This scene was all too familiar for Wu Guodong. Years ago, when he was around thirteen or fourteen and Lin Nan was about three or four, he had saved up two to three hundred in crispy new red envelopes during the New Year. But that all went to Lin Nan—either through persuasion or just sheer cuteness.
Ah, those were the days when he thought he had to take care of his adorable nephew.
Clearly, this money-hungry trait wasn’t something that developed overnight!
Lin Nan, feeling a bit disappointed, let out a dramatic sigh. But even so, fifteen hundred bucks was basically enough to get rid of Tu Junhui’s debt. But alas, after a merry-go-round in his phone, the money magically appeared in Tu Junhui’s phone instead!
And wouldn’t you know it, he was still two hundred short.
It seemed that the only chance of fully paying off the debt and maybe even making a small profit was with Wu Guodong!
Lin Nan was busy playing a game but was still sneaking glances at his uncle, pondering how to “con” him for some cash.
He had already played the cute card once, and there was no way he would fall for that again…
“You’re really rusty today. You’ve tried beating Xuan Yilang a dozen times and still can’t do it.”
Talk about a distraction!
Without hesitation, Lin Nan shot back: “I passed three times! How about a hundred bucks wager?”
“Go away!”
Wu Guodong wasn’t an idiot. He’d seen Lin Nan’s gaming skills and reaction time yesterday; there was no way he was going to fall for that trick!
He turned back to the TV screen, and sure enough, with all that prior practice and Lin Nan’s quick reflexes, he practically breezed through the BOSS without a scratch.
“If you keep this up, it would be a shame not to go pro.”
“Let it go,” Lin Nan replied. He knew his peak reaction time only lasted a couple of hours. Outside of that, while he was quicker than the average Joe, he couldn’t compete with those dedicated pros who trained every day.
He’d thought about becoming a pro player before but quickly realized that it was a dead end.
First off, the career lifespan for pro players was pretty short—most could only stay at their peak for two or three years. After retirement, if they didn’t have any impressive “stats” to show, they’d just be a nobody in society. It was way easier to pick up a skill and land a job that guaranteed a good meal. Besides, most pros barely scraped by, and the ones who became household names were rarer than getting into Tsinghua or Peking University.
Lin Nan wasn’t in high school anymore; he understood these choices well. Plus, he’d seen plenty of complaints online from people lamenting their choice of turning a hobby into a career.
Wu Guodong tossed a light-hearted jab in his direction, then plopped down onto the chilly wooden floor.
The living room had no AC and only a fan, and even with the windows open, he was sweating buckets.
“How did you manage to sleep in this heat last night?”
“I just lay down and fell asleep,” Lin Nan said nonchalantly.
Having the magical power to control his body temperature, he had zero concept of being too hot. He looked around and asked, “Without a fan, how do you usually play games?”
“Then I take the game console into my room.”
Lin Nan’s eyes lit up, and he jumped up, excited. “Let’s bring this game console to the bedroom; I want to enjoy the AC!”
Even if he could control his temperature, there was no denying that the sweet relief of the air conditioning was hard to resist.
Wu Guodong had hoped maybe bringing Lin Nan home would inspire him to become less of a shut-in, but he never guessed that Lin Nan was a homebody himself.
This led to both of them having absolutely no intention of stepping outside.
Wu Guodong helplessly walked over to unplug the console, with Lin Nan trailing behind, eyes wide in wonder at the three game consoles.
“What’s with this weird-looking game console?”
“Switch. It looks like that! The performance is a bit worse than the others, but you can detach the screen and attach the controllers to take it anywhere. Super convenient!”
“And this one?”
“These two? They’re nothing special. Other than a few exclusive games, almost everything can be played on a PC. But I’m used to using controllers, so I bought these to play.”
Man, he was really loaded.
Lin Nan let out a sigh. Up till now, most of the games he played on the computer were pirated. Occasionally, he’d buy the legit ones during a sale, influenced by his roommates, but the problem was he hardly played them for more than a few minutes.
Just thinking about it broke his heart.
Once they moved the game console to the bedroom, the space was cramped—there was no room for a computer chair! As a result, Lin Nan casually plopped down on Wu Guodong’s bed, sitting cross-legged while gaming.
Wu Guodong cranked up the AC and lay on his side, supporting his chin with one hand while watching Lin Nan’s gameplay, occasionally cheering for him. But then it struck him; even his only entertainment option seemed to be getting monopolized by Lin Nan.
After Lin Nan defeated a BOSS, he tossed the controller to Wu Guodong, telling him to run around and k*ll monsters while he snuggled under the blanket, comfortable and cozy.
“Uncle, your blanket has a scent! How long has it been since you washed it?” Lin Nan wrinkled his nose in disgust the moment he got under the covers.
“Half a year.”
“Ewww…”
“If you don’t like it, wash it yourself. It’s sunny out; it’ll definitely dry by tonight.”
This blanket exuded a mild masculine scent—an aroma that was a blend of sweat and smoke—not overly strong but reminiscent of Chen Yao’s scent.
But Lin Nan merely wrinkled his nose at the blanket’s smell, disgusted.
Seeing that Wu Guodong was unfazed, Lin Nan’s brows furrowed as he asked, “Uncle, what’s this yellow stain?”
“Yellow?!” Wu Guodong jolted and immediately paused the game, turning around, “Where?!”
“Look! It’s yellow-orange. It can’t be…?” Lin Nan dramatically tugged at a corner of the blanket.
“Absolutely not!” Not bothering to check closely, he hastily yanked the blanket away and bolted towards the door, “I’ll go wash it!”
Yet, Lin Nan hadn’t even seen any yellow stains. Watching Wu Guodong’s extreme reaction, he clamped a hand over his mouth, stifling his laughter, terrified of being discovered by his uncle.
