105. Aftermath 【13/97】
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Maybe it was because he had a tearful breakdown, releasing emotions that had been bottled up for far too long. The next day, Lin Nan finally returned to her usual self—well, sort of.
She still wore a serious expression, looking as if she had the weight of the world on her shoulders. The evidence of last night’s sob fest—puffy eyes and tear stains—still lingered on her face.
Standing in front of the mirror, she scrutinized her reflection. Sure, she had unlocked another magic spell, but this time the femininity wasn’t too obvious; at most, her skin was a tad brighter, her eyebrows softer, and her blemishes had vanished completely.
Her frame seemed smaller, with her wrists and fingers looking a little daintier. The shoes she wore felt a bit loose too.
Originally, her shoe size was 37, practically the lower limit for males, but now it seemed to have shrunk by two sizes. Yesterday, she almost face-planted several times while walking.
Her mood wasn’t great, but at least she didn’t look like she was about to dissolve into tears at any moment. She wore a brooding expression, seeming to have a bone to pick with just about everyone.
“Meow~”
At her feet, Cola, the kitten, nuzzled against her legs. Lin Nan paused, recalling how Cola had trembled in a corner last night, frightened by her antics. A pang of guilt hit her, and she crouched down to gently stroke the little furball’s head.
If only she could turn into a girl by the winter break.
The family already knew about her condition. If she went home as a girl, she could return the money her mother lent her without a scratch, skip surgery altogether, and her parents would probably just be baffled about which shady little clinic she went to for the operation… right? They might even be relieved that Lin Nan spared them some household expenses!
Then there’s the matter of changing her ID. If she could use those medical examinations before and after her complete transformation to get a gender change certificate at the hospital, it’d be a piece of cake! If not, she could always use her charm magic on some doctor to get them to write her a certificate without much fuss.
Of course, would her mother come marching into school and drag her off to get surgery? Even so, Lin Nan wasn’t planning on resisting; that would only break her mother’s heart.
It seemed like this hard-won magic had its uses after all.
Lin Nan sighed deeply. She didn’t know how many more spells she’d need to unlock to become a girl, but she at least had given up hope of becoming a “normal” person again.
“Waking up so early?” Chen Yao had finally dragged himself out of bed too.
“Mm.” Lin Nan glanced at him before getting lost in her own thoughts again.
Noticing the tear stains on her face, Chen Yao asked with concern, “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m good now.” Lin Nan poured some cat food for Cola’s breakfast and added some unfinished mineral water from last night into the kitten’s bowl before heading to the balcony to wash up.
But Chen Yao’s concern only grew.
What did “feeling good” even mean? Was Lin Nan on the brink of giving up on life?
Just a moment ago, he had been groggy; now, he sprang up, hurriedly climbed out of bed, raced to the balcony, threw open the door, and found Lin Nan standing by the sink, looking completely lost.
“What are you doing?”
“What do you mean, I’m good now?!”
“Ah?”
Chen Yao distinctly remembered what Lin Nan had said the day before. His heart raced as he scrutinized her confused expression, shock written all over his face. “You aren’t thinking about offing yourself, are you?! It’s not that big of a deal!”
Lin Nan blinked, unable to comprehend how Chen Yao’s brain had jumped to that conclusion.
She forced out a half-smile and asked helplessly, “Do I look like that kind of idiot? I don’t even have a girlfriend yet, I haven’t even gotten to rank up in LOL, and you’ve bought so many games that I haven’t even finished! Why would I off myself?”
“Well, you’ve got a point…” Chen Yao relaxed a bit, but still anxiously warned, “If you have something on your mind, talk to me about it. Bottling things up will just mess you up.”
“I know.”
Lin Nan had lived through this. The last couple of days at home had been suffocating, with emotional overload, or she wouldn’t have let one little comment from her father ignite her like a match and all but flee the city.
Looking back, yesterday’s actions did seem a bit juvenile and emotional, but the anger at her father’s words still simmered within her.
Who treats their spouse and child like that? Even if it’s a divorce, she and her mother had gotten along amicably, and her father was planning on giving her mother nothing at all.
If only she had managed to relieve some stress in those two days, maybe she wouldn’t have had to bolt out of the hospital like a scared cat facing her father one-on-one!
It was Monday, and she’d woken up early. It was just past seven, and she had an hour before class!
After washing up, Lin Nan tidied up the things she had brought back yesterday, finally sitting down in front of the computer, staring blankly at the Windows 10 screen.
She felt guilty towards her mother and wanted to send a heartfelt message just like her mother would, but she hesitated. After staring at the text box for what felt like an eternity, she finally typed five words and hit send.
Sorry, winter break.
Instantly, she felt a little lighter at heart and managed to smile genuinely for the first time.
Even though her mother hadn’t treated her well before, after spending these two days together, Lin Nan could feel that her mother cared for her deeply—truly loved her.
That feeling of being cared for was wonderful; there was a time when she even doubted if she was just picked up out of a trash can.
A slight smile crept onto her lips, her eyes twinkling, and two tiny dimples appeared on her cheeks. This radiant smile made Chen Yao, who had been watching from the balcony, freeze in place, unable to look away.
“What are you staring at?” Lin Nan noticed his gaze.
“When did you get dimples?” Chen Yao awkwardly looked down, pretending to brush his teeth while complimenting her, “You should smile more; you look so much better than you did yesterday.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, yesterday you looked like a character straight out of a tragedy, with eyes all red and puffy. It was downright scary!”
But it was strangely endearing, making me want to protect you.
Chen Yao thought to himself.
“I’ll try not to look like that again.” Lin Nan agreed, recognizing that her former brooding expression was indeed unappealing.
She had only eaten a bowl of fish balls yesterday, and after vomiting, her stomach felt empty. After sitting quietly for a moment, she quickly felt her stomach protesting.
“Want to grab breakfast?” She turned to Chen Yao on the balcony to ask.
“Hang on, just going to the bathroom.” Chen Yao had just walked into the restroom but then stepped back, looking bewildered as he asked Lin Nan, “You’re not, like, a fairy who doesn’t eat food, right?”
“Ah?” At first, Lin Nan thought he was complimenting her.
“I feel like I haven’t seen you use the bathroom in ages… You’re not actually constipated, are you?”
“Shut up!”
