096. The Dreary Lin Nan 【10/90】
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Near the beach, there’s a changing and shower room, but the problem is that maybe it’s due to the conservative mindset of the locals or perhaps because the temperature starts to drop in the evening, Lin Nan glanced at the beach from the restaurant and saw hardly any women in swimsuits.
Most guys were only in swim trunks or just their boxers.
If the beach was filled with girls in swimsuits, he might have gone unnoticed.
Lin Nan sighed softly, looked up, and met his mother’s confused gaze. He hurriedly explained, “It’s just too much.”
Uncle hadn’t returned yet, and his mother seemed to have thought of something else, adding a touch of worry to her expression. She looked at Lin Nan, hesitated for a moment, then asked, “What will you do now that you’re like this, living in the dormitory?”
“My roommates take good care of me, but they don’t know my situation. They probably just think I’m… naturally beautiful?”
“It’s best if you rent a place to live.” His mother voiced her concern.
“The school doesn’t allow students to rent places outside.”
Lin Nan actually had quite a bit of faith in his roommates. Sure, Chen Yao used to skip classes to go to internet cafes and do things that would make parents clutch their pearls, but at least he seemed pretty sane nowadays. And Tu Junhui, while he could talk a lot, instantly turned into a lovesick puppy around girls, so it was clear he wasn’t the reckless type.
As for Xiong Da, there was really nothing to worry about—a dedicated homebody, an expert in online romance, and an absolute bundle of nerves when talking to girls.
“Just be careful. After some time, when I gather enough money, I’ll get you that surgery. Then you can move into the girls’ dormitory.” His mother looked down at her phone’s balance, sighed helplessly again.
She managed to borrow fifty thousand from Wu Guodong and another ten thousand from Lin Nan’s grandfather, but the remaining tens of thousands had become impossible to secure.
And as for the relatives on Lin Nan’s father’s side, well, let’s just say his uncles were gambling fools and one was a drunken mess. Most of the relatives on his aunt’s side had also been cut off, probably worn out from borrowing money from those two.
In the end, Lin Nan’s father was the only one who sporadically offered help to those gambling hooligans, hoping they’d come to their senses. But after over a decade of this nonsense, he’d shelled out about two hundred thousand with no sign of getting a penny back.
This was where the real friction between her and Lin Nan’s father lay.
She wanted to say more, but Uncle came back, waving for the mother-son duo to leave the restaurant after finishing their meal.
Just moments ago, with a face of gloom, his mother now wore a smile, chatting happily with Uncle, while Lin Nan lagged behind, isolating himself, thoroughly engrossed in a rant about Korean BBQ with Chen Yao online.
Had he known Uncle was coming, he would’ve invited Chen Yao along. But here he was, bored to d*ath while Uncle and his mother had a grand old time.
Lin Nan felt a twinge of dissatisfaction, but what could he do? Just idly watch the surroundings or, trying to ease his nervous energy, glance toward the beach, dreaming of the day he’d spot more girls in swimsuits. If only he could blend in, no one would notice him!
Or maybe he’d sneakily change into a swimsuit at midnight—if the changing room was still open, that is.
The three of them descended the stairs, finally feeling their shoes sink into the sand.
Uncle pulled three pairs of new flip-flops from his backpack, handing the largest size to Lin Nan. “Just wear this for now. I didn’t know your shoe size so I got the biggest one. Don’t go running around too much or you’ll trip.”
“Thanks.” Lin Nan took the flip-flops and plopped down on the steps to change his shoes.
But seriously, these flip-flops were a tad too big, weren’t they?
Looking at his heels, they were at least three fingers too wide.
With such loose flip-flops, he might trip even on flat surface, not to mention on sand.
Lin Nan sighed despairingly; his mother didn’t even bother to call and check his shoe size. Luckily, this beach is a tourist spot, and most of the debris has been cleared away, so even if he fell, it wouldn’t hurt too much—right?
Once he’d changed shoes, Uncle noticed Lin Nan’s obvious struggle with the oversized flip-flops and purposely slowed his pace, guiding them toward the camping area while attempting to chat with Lin Nan.
“I heard the sunrise here is amazing in the morning. Should I wake you two up around five-thirty?”
He fell back a couple of steps to smile at Lin Nan, who was too shy to meet his gaze, pretending to observe the surroundings as he replied, “That sounds fine.”
“I’ll help you both set up the tent. Don’t be fooled by this big belly of mine—I used to be a special forces soldier!” Uncle reached out to pat Lin Nan’s head, but Lin Nan quickly stepped back to evade it. Uncle didn’t mind though and continued, “If you want to swim, just call me. If anything goes wrong, I can rescue you. And don’t forget to spray some mosquito repellent tonight, and watch out for pickpockets…”
Lin Nan nodded vigorously. Although he felt a faint liking for this chatty Uncle, it was mostly because he found him pleasant to look at.
If he had met someone like Uncle back in school, he would likely have happily chatted for a while. But now that he was back home, he felt particularly timid and unsure around everyone.
Mostly because Mom was right there, he guessed?
The camping area was pretty empty, with only seven or eight tents in sight, making it feel very spacious. Uncle brought one of the rented tents and, along with Lin Nan’s mother, began hammering down the pegs. Meanwhile, Lin Nan plopped down on the ground, gazing at the dimming sky, feeling utterly lost.
Why not just get on the surgery table and be done with it?
He had gone through the list of spells that might solve his problems, but they either had way too much red tape or seemed completely out of reach. Even the charm spell was a mystery in terms of effectiveness.
He glanced at a nearby family digging a sand pit, filled with their laughter and joy, and inexplicably wondered if, without encountering Lilith, he too would be as happy as that family in ten years’ time.
As night fell, though the floodlights continued to sweep the beach, the view was practically the same as during the day. The beachgoers had left, and fewer people were in sight, while the nearby town was still bustling, with echoes of his mother and Uncle’s laughter drifting over.
Lin Nan suddenly felt like an oddity in this world, an overwhelming sense of loneliness settling in, making him feel cold all over.
He curled up, wrapping his arms around his knees, resting his chin on them as he stared out at the endless waves, feeling the deep loneliness but then realizing, maybe he was just being dramatic.
“Nan Nan, the tent’s ready! Come check it out?”
His mother called out, and Lin Nan looked over, shaking his head gloomily.
“Uncle said he’s going to give you a red envelope!”
At that, he completely forgot about his previous melodrama and scampered over.
“How much?!”
