068. The Misunderstanding in Class
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Ah, the three-point life of classroom, cafeteria, and dormitory begins once again!
Just a day before classes started, Lin Nan thought that the National Day holiday was less appealing than actual schooling. But now that classes are in full swing, as he sits in class listening to the mind-numbing course on Marxist Philosophy, he realizes that while the holiday was indeed boring, at least it was better than this snooze-fest.
“Roll call!” The teacher for the Marxist class was one of those rare responsible types. He would call the roll before each of the two small sessions and do his utmost to maintain order, forbidding any phone use. This had been a source of complaints from Tu Junhui for quite some time. He believed these classes were pointless—just make a note of the key points before finals and study at home. No need for actual attendance!
“Chen Yao.”
The class roster was arranged by gender and the first letter of last names. Once the female names were called, it was Chen Yao’s turn.
“Here!” Chen Yao responded with a lackluster demeanor, then promptly slumped back down on his desk, resting his head on his hands while only half awake, side-eyeing Lin Nan’s profile.
It dawned on him that he couldn’t help but see Lin Nan as a girl.
Last night in the shower, he even made a special effort to wear a short-sleeved shirt and shorts instead of his usual routine of just donning his underwear before heading to the dorm.
And Lin Nan must’ve known all along that his gender was a bit ambiguous, as he had never seen him shirtless since they met… Wait, hold on! Back in middle school, he did see his little “friend”!
Chen Yao was thoroughly confused; his long-standing perceptions collided violently with recent revelations, leaving him a bit flustered.
Originally, he wanted to comfort Lin Nan, who clearly wasn’t in the best mood before the National Day holiday. However, upon realizing the truth, he felt utterly powerless to help—and nearly had his worldview shattered.
“Lin Nan.”
“Here!”
Lin Nan, who had just finished sneaking a peek at his phone, quickly raised his hand. But as he lowered his arm and looked up, he noticed the middle-aged teacher adjusting his glasses and snorting, “Who’s the stand-in for roll call searching for girls now? Lin Nan, you’re marked absent. What’s your name?”
“？？？”
Lin Nan was utterly baffled.
I mean, come on! Even if I’m not much of a presence in class, you’ve seen my face every week during roll call, right? Not to say you know me, but I at least should be familiar! How am I suddenly a “stand-in” for someone?
“Which class are you from? I think I’ve seen you around. You’re one of my students, right?” The teacher jotted Lin Nan down as absent and continued to dig deeper, “Which class are you in? If you show up for my class next time, you’d be better off not coming; I’ll mark you absent anyway!”
“？？？”
Lin Nan was still spouting question marks, utterly lost, somewhat wronged even.
His classmates turned to gawk at him, ready to witness his embarrassment. This only made him more flustered, and his naturally thin skin turned an impressive shade of crimson.
He heard some of his classmates whispering, “Never noticed before; when did Lin Nan get so feminine?”
“No way! I thought a girl was sitting in for class! Turns out it’s Lin Nan?”
“Isn’t she Chen Yao’s girlfriend?”
Since he rarely interacted with anyone besides his roommates and preferred to be a wallflower, most people just assumed he was one of the pretty girls from another class based on his looks.
“Teacher, I’m a guy!” He didn’t even have time to think and shot up.
The teacher sized Lin Nan up and noticed the curves of his chest and the unmistakably feminine figure. Just as she prepared to throw some sarcastic comment his way, Chen Yao jumped up to defend him: “Teacher, I’m his roommate. He’s a guy!”
Although he could no longer see Lin Nan as anything other than a girl, he also knew that this wasn’t exactly the right moment for Lin Nan to be out there flaunting himself.
Xiong Da stone-faced, raised his hand: “He’s a guy.”
Tu Junhui, who loved to roast Lin Nan, calling him a girl on a regular basis, surprisingly joined in as well. He stood up, thumped his chest, and declared: “A guy, I swear!”
Lin Nan stared in bemusement at the trio that rose beside him. Usually, they were a pain in his side in the dorm, relentlessly teasing him and stealing his stuff. Yet here they were, showing true friendship in a pinch.
Now it was the teacher’s turn to be bewildered. She adjusted her glasses and approached Lin Nan for a better look, scrutinizing him thoroughly.
No matter how she saw it, he looked like a girl! Just look at that chest, that skin, that figure! Not just a girl; with a little makeup, she’d easily rank as one of the top beauties in class!
With over thirty years of teaching experience, the teacher started to doubt her own worldview and eyesight.
“Is my presbyopia acting up again?”
“Teacher, he’s a guy.”
Lin Yuan, sitting in the front row, suddenly chimed in. Then, another classmate—who often borrowed Lin Nan’s computer and buttered him up for gaming help—stood up as well, saying, “Teacher, Lin Nan has this K-pop style!”
After saying that, he winked at Lin Nan, clearly planning to ask for more gaming favors.
Lin Nan thought for a long moment and realized he only remembered this guy’s nickname: “Big Dog.”
Yeah, it actually means “licking dog,” given that this guy would fanboy over anyone and everyone without shame, even going so far as to call a 200-pound girl “plump” and “a modern-day Yang Guifei,” earning him the universally accepted moniker.
But since “licking dog” sounded too harsh, he ended up with “Big Dog,” and it eventually morphed into names like “Dog Brother” and “Dog Little Brother.”
Having called him that so often, Lin Nan completely forgot his real name.
Lin Nan gratefully shot a look of appreciation to Lin Yuan and Big Dog up front.
But as he scanned the classroom, he realized no one else was standing up to help him; however, the teacher had started to realize her mistake, awkwardly turning back toward the podium.
She took a couple of steps but then stopped, not looking back, and muttered, “Sorry.”
Lin Nan was momentarily stunned. It was the first time he’d ever heard a teacher or elder apologize to him like that.
Before he could respond, the teacher resumed her position at the podium and began the lecture. Reluctantly, he sat back down, propping his chin in his hand and staring at the teacher lecturing from a textbook on the platform.
Maybe she’s a good teacher after all?
“Don’t forget to carry me in two matches at noon.” Big Dog turned around to say.
“Got it.”
“You’d better treat us to lunch!” Tu Junhui pounced at the chance to take advantage. “Look how much we helped you!”
Lin Nan shot him a disdainful glance. “Do you want plain rice? I can take it to the cafeteria and pack it for you.”
“Come on, at least lobster and abalone, let’s go big!”
“You must be dreaming.” Lin Nan barely restrained himself from rolling his eyes, terrified that this might accidentally turn into a flirty wink.
