072. Bad News
==============================
After the preliminary round, it was yet another weekend.
Lin Nan used to spend weekends lying in bed scrolling through his phone since he didn’t have a computer, but now that he had one, he was still lethargically lounging on his bed.
He needed to gather enough energy to handle the second round of auditions that evening, but with only a few dozen teams registered, they should be able to wrap things up after just a couple of matches.
He used to love lying on his stomach with his feet up playing on his phone, but unfortunately, with puberty in full swing, lying in that position now just brought him painful reminders about his growing chest. Hence, he was now wrapped up in a blanket, leaning against the wall, with his feet poking out and dangling over the edge of the bed.
Thanks to the National Day holidays messing up everyone’s routine, nobody in the dorm had been sleeping well all week. After finally reaching the weekend, everyone had gradually woken up around noon.
“Nana, why are your feet so small?” Tu Junhui, just waking up, wasn’t going to miss the chance to tease Lin Nan, lying on his side and peeking over.
“Size 37,” Lin Nan answered without lifting his head.
Lin Nan was mainly short, which also meant his feet weren’t very big, often forcing him to shop online for shoes—unless he wanted to be caught buying women’s styles.
“Truly worthy of being our dorm’s flower, even your feet are dainty and delicate!” Tu Junhui continued his banter.
However, it did make one wonder how Lin Nan’s feet could rival those showcased in the over-the-top photos of girls on the internet. He stared at Lin Nan’s feet before eventually giving up and returning to his book.
He was afraid that if he looked too much, he might get confused; now he tried to learn from Chen Yao and not lounge around the dorm bare-chested or in just his shorts. The problem was, after spending so much time with Lin Nan, it was hard not to subconsciously see him as a girl.
Meanwhile, Xiong Da appeared to have no such concerns and continued strutting around with his bony frame after taking a shower.
Maybe it’s a case of blissful ignorance?
“By the way, Xiong Da, did you change the cat’s food this morning?” Lin Nan suddenly poked his head over the edge of his bed to ask the night owl Xiong Da.
Cola’s food and necessities were generally shared expenses among the four of them, but Lin Nan and Chen Yao paid most of it, since they had initially agreed to keep the cat, while Tu Junhui and Xiong Da reluctantly nodded after being convinced.
But they were just students, so they couldn’t afford high-end cat food like Desiring, which meant Lin Nan could just about manage the cat food expenses without breaking the bank.
Plus, with litter and canned cat food, Cola’s monthly expenses barely topped 300. Although Lin Nan was a bit broke, scraping together a hundred bucks from his tight budget wasn’t too much of a stretch; he just had to be extra careful not to overspend on food.
As for cat toys, most of them were DIY creations, like a cardboard scratching post, a cardboard cat bed, and a disinfected tree trunk cat climbing frame scavenged from school.
Basically, anything at hand could serve as a toy for Cola; it’s just that the tree trunk ended up taking up precious real estate in the dorm where it had invaded the corner meant for clutter and luggage, making everything feel a lot cozier.
“Yeah, I fed it this morning and cleaned its litter. When you go down for lunch, take the bag I put in the bathroom with you,” Xiong Da said, surprisingly reliable.
It was already noon, but Lin Nan wasn’t feeling hungry, so he nodded and kept playing on his phone.
Before he got his computer, he’d always thought about getting one, and now that he had it and had downloaded a bunch of games using Chen Yao’s account, the motivation to actually play just wasn’t there.
He’d already wasted time downloading games; he couldn’t go wasting his life playing them, could he?
Lin Nan never really had a gaming addiction; mostly, school life became boring sometimes, and gaming was just a way to pass the time. Reading was completely out of the question; there was no way he would ever get around to reading a book.
“Are you guys going to watch the King of Glory tournament next Tuesday?” Tu Junhui suddenly asked.
“Not playing that game.”
Though it’s super popular now, the only time the guys in the dorm came together to game was when they were bored in class; otherwise, they largely played their own games separately.
Lin Nan yawned and glanced at the bed where Chen Yao was.
Their beds were right next to each other, and they always ended up sleeping head-to-head.
At the moment, Chen Yao was already awake, staring at the ceiling with bleary eyes, clearly still half-asleep.
“How about we go out for some all-you-can-eat today?” he suggested casually when he noticed Lin Nan’s gaze.
“I need to save money for Cola’s food and litter.” Even though he said that, his uncle had just given him some money, so his living expenses weren’t exactly tight.
While they were talking, Lin Nan’s phone suddenly rang.
He looked at the caller ID, confused, and then answered, “Mom, what’s up?”
Lin Nan’s parents rarely called; they usually just chatted on WeChat. But since he didn’t use it much, he often took a couple of days to respond.
“Hello, is this Lin Nan?” His mother sounded worried on the other end. “Your dad had a car accident and might not be able to send you money for a while.”
“Uh?”
He was instantly dumbfounded.
Both his parents were truck drivers, and especially after the recent incident where a truck had overturned on an overpass, they hadn’t dared to overload their trucks. They’d been driving for over ten years and were law-abiding citizens, for the most part…
“He ran a yellow light and got hit; can’t blame anyone,” his mother’s tone gradually turned calm. “You don’t need to come back; I’m here. Just try to find some part-time work for now. If you run out of money for food, just borrow some from your uncle.”
“???”
Lin Nan listened to his mother’s words in a daze.
“It should be okay, right?” He didn’t have the best relationship with his father, but he still asked.
“Should be fine; we have money to take care of him.”
Since his mother said so, Lin Nan reluctantly set his mind at ease.
In fact, car accidents could happen to anyone; some were just bad luck, and sometimes it was because parents or older generations had a terrible sense of traffic laws. Most of the time, there were no major issues… but Lin Nan never thought something like this would happen to his own family.
He just wanted to comfort his mother but didn’t know what to say.
“I’m going to hang up now.” His mother’s tone didn’t sound too grief-stricken, and soon she hung up the phone.
Lin Nan frowned, feeling even more downcast than he was before.
In reality, his parents were just cohabitating; the only reason they hadn’t divorced was likely because of him. He could understand his mother’s slightly cold demeanor now.
After all, the divorce rate across all age groups is around fifty percent now. Most of those who were forced to stick together due to old-fashioned matchmaking are finally splitting up as social attitudes have changed.
“What’s up?” Chen Yao noticed the same gloomy expression Lin Nan had worn before the holiday creeping back onto his face.
“Running low on money…” Lin Nan sighed, a mix of concern for his dad yet not wanting to show it to anyone else.
