071. Post-Match【Extra Chapter for Monthly Votes】
==============================
The first day of the auditions went reasonably well, except for Dong An’s mid-lane being hammered by the enemy jungler and a top laner and support duo who turned him into a 0-7 punching bag.
On the bright side, Tu Junhui’s top lane and Chen Yao’s ADC were on fire during the auditions; they chased the enemy’s five players down like a pair of rabid puppies, finishing the match in just twenty-five minutes.
Meanwhile, Lin Nan noticed that they hadn’t even begun to take things seriously, yet their opponents were already crumbling like stale crackers.
“It’s pretty embarrassing to have our mid-laner get wrecked by a bunch of gold-tier players,” Lin Nan said, seizing the opportunity to mock Dong An, “I thought someone was a diamond player!”
“What’s the matter? I can barely stretch my arms here. Want me to squish in with you next time?” Dong An shot back without blinking, “You’re so short; I’m definitely stretching out better playing games with you!”
Lin Nan had long since stopped being sensitive about his height—after all, he’d been relentlessly teased by Tu Junhui for looking like a girl lately. Compared to that, being short was small potatoes.
“Oh please, you smell like a walking ashtray. It’s disgusting!” Lin Nan turned his head in disgust to focus back on his screen. Once the referee confirmed their win, he promptly closed the game and got up to rummage through his closet for clothes for the next day.
Sunscreen jackets were a must; otherwise, he’d be constantly on the receiving end of unwanted stares at his chest…
Lin Nan quickly glanced down at his chest—those little mounds were becoming harder to ignore. At one point, he could blame it on the air conditioning being too cold or on gaining weight, but lately, he realized his ‘development’ was getting out of hand, to the point where even a bit of extra sway while walking felt like an earthquake.
Living in a dorm meant he couldn’t wear girls’ underwear, nor could he use chest binders like in those novels. His only option was to rely on that sunscreen jacket.
He yanked out a brand-new sunscreen jacket that his Uncle bought him but hadn’t worn yet and tossed it on the chair, then slyly peeked at Xiong Da’s desk, hoping to find some scissors to chop off the tags.
He previously thought sunscreen jackets were rare among students and would draw too much attention, but he was now at the point where he really had no choice.
Dong An, still puffing on his cigarette, was packing up his computer. Although he often played games with the four guys in the room, he was still closest to Chen Yao and felt a bit stiff in this dorm setting.
Finally spotting a pair of scissors on Xiong Da’s bookshelf, Lin Nan hurried over, snagged the scissors, and took a glance at Xiong Da’s phone.
“Oh wow! Xiong Da is chatting with a girl?” Lin Nan gasped dramatically, “Is she your girlfriend?”
Xiong Da, caught off guard, looked up and promptly locked his phone, shooting Lin Nan a silent stare.
“Seriously? No way! You’ve betrayed the revolution so fast?!” Tu Junhui erupted, leaping from his chair—despite the chair crashing to the floor, he didn’t care. That hefty two-hundred-pound frame charged over like a gust of wind, “Where’s the picture? Show us the picture!”
Chen Yao, still engaged in small talk with Dong An, cast a glance over but didn’t seem too interested.
Living with Lin Nan had somehow elevated Xiong Da’s standards when it came to girls, okay?
“There’s nothing to see.” Xiong Da turned his head, a rare blush blooming on his cheeks, “It’s just an online thing; nothing’s confirmed yet.”
“So when are you guys meeting up?” Lin Nan leaned closer, his curiosity piqued, “Come on! Us roommates will help you scout her out! What’s the scoop on this imaginary sister-in-law?”
“If I remember correctly, you’re only eighteen, just barely an adult…”
“Are you planning to meet up during winter break?” Tu Junhui bombarded him with even more questions, “Where does she live? Far away? Are you aiming for first base or second base? Why not just go all the way home plate??”
Xiong Da glared darkly and slapped a book off his desk toward Tu Junhui, while Lin Nan was left bewildered by the whole exchange, completely oblivious to Tu Junhui’s references.
“What’s this first base, second base, home plate you’re talking about?”
Just then, he heard the door slam shut, looked up, and noticed Dong An leaving. At that moment, he felt something tugging at the back of his shirt—he had just been leaning forward, and now, he was being forced upright by Chen Yao, who was hauling him off somewhere.
“What now?!”
“The next topic isn’t suitable for kids, and you’re getting a bit too cozy with Xiong Da here—didn’t you notice he’s blushing?”
Xiong Da immediately shot back, “I’m not!”
“I’m eighteen! I dragged you to watch stuff back in middle school! How is any of this not suitable for kids?!” Lin Nan struggled, but given that Chen Yao had a height and build advantage, he eventually gave up, getting dragged back to his seat.
Chen Yao nearly forgot about that incident, shoved Lin Nan into his seat, and shot him a warning glare: “And you still have the nerve to complain about me making you watch that kind of content!”
That moment had turned into his own personal nightmare.
“I didn’t even mean to watch it together, who knew…”
Feeling guilty, Lin Nan sat up straight, pulling out the sunscreen jacket from under him, lowering his head to snip off the tag, suddenly chiming in, “I saw online that ‘World’s First Love’ is highly recommended. Heard that anime is pretty cute and sweet!”
“That’s a gay anime.” Chen Yao shot him a glare, “I tried to watch an episode but couldn’t get through it.”
“You really know your stuff!~” Lin Nan said, faux-admiringly.
After all the commotion, he felt a bit worn out, just wanting a nice hot shower and a good night’s sleep.
So much had been happening lately that Lin Nan’s mind was on high alert. He could handle a day or two—and even a week wasn’t too bad—but this had been going on for over a month.
This constant tension left him drained, as if even playing a simple game required all his remaining energy.
Stretched out and yawning, Lin Nan grabbed his clothes and set off for the bathroom to take a shower.
In the past, he would only bring along some boxers and a t-shirt to shower, but nowadays, it was a full outfit. Sure, they’d get wet in the bathroom, but that was still better than leaving the dorm wearing a bare minimum and tempting his roommate.
Just as he was about to push open the back door, he heard some commotion at the front door.
Lin Yuan walked in with his usual poker face, surveying the room before asking Chen Yao, “Did you finish your auditions?”
“Just wrapped up not long ago. The other side was garbage, we finished in twenty minutes,” Chen Yao leaned against the bed frame, chuckling, “If you’d shown up when we asked, our team would be a championship contender.”
“I don’t play this game much, but congratulations on making it to the next round,” he exchanged pleasantries, then pulled out a can of cat food from his pocket, squatting down to call out to Cola, who was curled up in the corner yawning, “Kitty, come here, tasty food’s ready!”
Uh… what happened to your cool persona?
Lin Nan wasn’t new to seeing Lin Yuan act like this, but no matter how many times he witnessed it, the contrast with his usual icy demeanor was always hilariously out of place.
——————
Three chapters still remaining for extra monthly votes; the rest will be posted in the next couple of days.
The recent frequency of extra chapters might lead to a drop in quality; please bear with us.
