Night Talk
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Late at night, Lin Nan and his Uncle were wide awake, brimming with energy.
The computer screen was playing a parasite-themed movie, the latest Korean film that had been sweeping Bilibili with its “deep” message. Lin Nan had initially thought it was some kind of anime similar to “Parasyte,” but turns out it was a cultured piece commenting on social issues.
He had once told Tu Junhui that he liked “deep” movies, but honestly, that was just a fancy way to say he wasn’t into horror flicks. The truth was, he usually watched movies in a daze, and when it came to art films or brain-bending plots, he came out more confused than a chicken playing the piano. He finished thinking, “I got this,” but if you asked him for details, good luck with that!
This film was no different; Bilibili had praised it to the skies, but Lin Nan merely found it somewhat interesting.
Beside him, Wu Guodong was even worse off. The guy had so much work stress that by the time he got home, he just wanted to unwind with games and brainless novels. The idea of watching a two-hour movie? Nah, thank you very much; he didn’t want to think, either.
“Tomorrow, I’m taking a colleague out to eat. Should I drop you back at school first?” Wu Guodong proposed.
“Sounds good,” Lin Nan said, resting his chin on his hand, curiosity piqued, “Colleague get-together?”
“One of my colleagues said he wants to set me up with a girl,” Wu Guodong replied, his face tightening with nervousness as he tentatively asked, “Do you want to come along?”
Lin Nan’s eyes lit up. “A blind date? Do you know what this girl looks like?”
“There’s a photo.”
Wu Guodong rummaged through his phone, handing it to Lin Nan a few minutes later, a resigned look on his face. “She looks kinda pretty.”
This reclusive guy could handle an ordinary girl, but a pretty girl had him sweating bullets. Just the thought of the blind date tomorrow made his heart race and stomach churn; he was half-tempted to back out.
Lin Nan didn’t really know much about girls either, with Li Na being the closest he’d come (and she was from another world, so her logic was a bit… out there).
But looking at the girl in the photo, Lin Nan furrowed his brow, feeling that she looked strangely familiar.
“Hey, she looks a bit familiar…”
“My colleague said she’s his sister. She’s nineteen.”
Nineteen? Lin Nan had imagined a girl closer to Wu Guodong’s age, not someone significantly younger.
“Are you sure she won’t think you’re old?”
“I’m forever eighteen at heart!” Wu Guodong chuckled, more hopeful than confident.
Lin Nan stared at the photo for a while. Most girls’ selfies online are packed with makeup, and after scrutinizing for ages, he barely recognized the girl.
“Oh, it’s Liu Xuefei!” he realized. “No wonder she seemed familiar—her makeup is next level!”
What a small world, running into someone he knew like this.
Wu Guodong perked up, leaning in. “You know her?”
“She’s in the class next door.”
Liu Xuefei was becoming a bit of a psychological obstacle for Lin Nan, especially after she had done his makeup for a magic show. He could have enjoyed lounging comfortably in their dorm all day, but instead, she insisted on dragging him outside. Otherwise, how would Chen Yao have seen him dressed as a girl, right?
Looking back now at the time he wore a swimsuit, it didn’t seem as humiliating considering he’d already done something worse, but the thought of Liu Xuefei still made him uneasy.
Honestly speaking, Liu Xuefei was just average-looking among girls, but her makeup skills definitely added some points.
“What’s her personality like? Is she really as pretty as the picture?”
Lin Nan thought for a moment, then scoffed, “She’s just a total weirdo! And flat! She must’ve stuffed some pads into her shirt for that pic! Plus, is that photo filtered on level ten?”
Wu Guodong instantly lost interest. “Forget it; I prefer them big and bold.”
He found an excuse, suddenly feeling a bit cowardly. “Maybe I won’t go after all…”
And that’s why Wu Guodong had been single from birth! Lin Nan truly couldn’t understand why some guys were scared of girls.
“You’re single for a reason,” Lin Nan sighed. “Isn’t your grandpa giving you a hard time? You’re twenty-eight!”
“I think you should worry more about yourself and when you’re having surgery. Your situation is way worse than my single status,” Wu Guodong shot back.
Lin Nan fell silent at the mention of surgery.
The atmosphere in the room shifted awkwardly, and Wu Guodong realized he might have put his foot in his mouth.
Just as he was about to apologize, Lin Nan suddenly asked, “What if after the surgery, my relatives don’t accept me… then what?”
“…”
Wu Guodong hadn’t thought of that, especially since he only learned about Lin Nan’s condition today.
“My dad’s side… I doubt they’ll accept me. I don’t even know what he’s thinking.”
“I know him pretty well,” Wu Guodong said cautiously. Being the brother-in-law meant he’d had some chat with Lin Nan’s dad. After a pause, he added with a wry smile, “From what I know, your dad is all about face. He’d feel embarrassed to have raised you for years only to find out you’re a girl. He’d have a hard time facing relatives.”
Lin Nan genuinely didn’t care much for his father’s side of the family. According to his mother, he was the only diligent one among them; the rest were just loafers.
The sad part was that not only was his dad old-fashioned, but his mom’s family probably wasn’t much better.
“Your grandparents…,” Wu Guodong grimaced. “They probably won’t accept it either?”
Actually, Lin Nan’s grandparents had always treated him well. As their grandson, he got better handouts than his cousins; every time he visited, they tried shoving money into his hands.
But that was as long as he was a boy.
“Ninety percent of our relatives have never even been to the provincial city, let alone traveled much—or even left the village! Their thinking is stuck in the old days,” Wu Guodong said, having a decent grip on the family dynamics. “They might say it’s fine, but behind closed doors, they’re all gossiping. It’s a bunch of big mouths.”
What Lin Nan hated most was their big mouths; no matter what happened, they had to dive into the gossip pool and twist things into absurd, often untrue tales.
If he had the surgery, the whole village would know he was a girl in no time! What started as a procedure for a congenital defect would undoubtedly turn into a “s*x change” tale.
“Well, let’s just take it one step at a time,” Lin Nan sighed, flopping back on his bed.
Wu Guodong, feeling helpless, said, “I’ll definitely be going home for the New Year. I’ll try to help explain things then…”
“Okay.”
