135. Cowardly Chicken
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It was already half past nine in the evening.
By around nine, the teaching building was basically deserted; the last class probably finished around eight-thirty. At this hour, the entrances and exits had all been locked up tighter than a drum by the security guards.
Lin Nan and Chen Yao, sporting expressions of perplexity, strolled towards the teaching building.
The school was surrounded by trees. Unlike those charming little groves found in other campus novels, their school’s woods had no paths whatsoever—just patches of weeds and trees, with nary a maintenance person in sight.
They arrived at the back of the teaching building, near a parking shed designated for teachers.
The lighting here was dim, street lamps sparse, and silence enveloped the area. Towering buildings loomed ahead, while behind them was the parking shed and a messy little grove, as if they were cut off from the world.
Lin Nan kept his head down, appearing somewhat restless, a flush creeping onto his cheeks. If he hadn’t started walking down the path of becoming a girl, he wouldn’t have felt this boldness.
Chen Yao was still clueless as to why Lin Nan had dragged him out here. Earlier in the dorm, he had mentioned wanting to become a dance district UP, but then he backed out, leaving things unresolved.
“So, what’s the deal?” he asked, hands stuffed into his pockets. Despite the late-night temperature being above twenty degrees, he still felt the chill through his short-sleeve shirt. He glanced at Lin Nan, clad in his oversized coat that made him look like he was in a girl’s outfit, and noticed Lin Nan was still facing away from him, seemingly hesitating about something.
“Is it about Li Na?” After a moment’s thought, he figured Lin Nan probably had something to say about Li Na, something best not discussed in the dorm, lest Tu Junhui overheard and stirred up trouble.
“Sort of,” Lin Nan replied, reluctant to get closer. His head felt like it was heating up rapidly, and his face was getting redder. Surely, he could hear a whistling sound in his ears, like a pressure cooker about to blow its top.
If this were a comic, there’d definitely be steam rising from his head right now!
Lin Nan thought about how he’d once casually mentioned wanting to wear a female swimsuit in front of his mother; saying something embarrassing to Chen Yao seemed like a piece of cake in comparison.
The trouble was, how could he phrase it to be embarrassing without facing dire consequences?
“Uh… here’s my phone. Can you set it up and film a dance video for me?” Lin Nan mumbled, glancing down as he handed his phone to Chen Yao.
Chen Yao still didn’t get it: “What’s going on? You really want to dance?”
He chuckled as he searched for a place to prop the phone, teasing, “You don’t actually think the dance girls out there dance all soft and fluffy without any skills, do you? They’ve practiced at least, and you’ve got no training!”
He stood on tiptoe to balance the phone on the windowsill outside the teaching building’s restroom, angling the camera toward Lin Nan in the distance. “You could give it a try. If you really want to post a video, I can help you edit it.”
“Editing… maybe that won’t be necessary?” Lin Nan muttered, casting a glance at the camera before ensuring he was in its line of sight, feeling somewhat relieved.
He really didn’t want another blunder; he’d embarrassed himself enough before.
Chen Yao stood at the windowsill, eagerly awaiting Lin Nan’s performance.
But recall, Lin Nan wasn’t known for his boldness. Chen Yao was curious whether something had spurred him on or if maybe Li Na had blackmailed him into doing something kooky again.
“Could you step a bit closer?” Lin Nan’s nervous breathing became a bit labored.
If he confessed to Chen Yao, he could always play it off later as a joke… surely that was better than insisting on a princess carry from him, right?
And with Chen Yao looking so confused, confessing seemed far less daunting than asking for a hug.
If only the world resembled those anime clichés, where the male lead swoops in to save the female lead from falling…
You know, unlocking magic would be way easier that way. No need for schemes upon schemes.
Chen Yao couldn’t catch what Lin Nan was saying, but took a step forward anyway: “What did you say?”
He found Lin Nan’s behavior tonight rather out of character, reminiscent of the time he got tipsy.
Then it hit him: that unexpected kiss!
“Chen Yao!” Lin Nan inhaled deeply, suddenly raising his face, which was now crimson to the ears.
“Huh?” Chen Yao blinked, sensing that things were turning awkward.
“I… I…” Lin Nan choked, words caught in his throat, as if his voice simply refused to co-operate.
Despite his silence, Chen Yao picked up on an oddly intimate atmosphere settling around them.
He instinctively tensed up, swallowing nervously, both eager and apprehensive about what Lin Nan would say next.
“Uh, I think… I might, um, want to go for a run,” Lin Nan eventually muttered, staring down again, gripping the hem of his coat, closing his eyes with steely determination.
I mean, how had it come to this?! Still couldn’t say it! It was just a silly joke to unlock some magic, right?!
But for some reason, when the moment arrived, he totally chickened out.
It wasn’t something monumental! He had worn a swimsuit outside, for goodness’ sake! It was just a playful confession! He could totally blame Li Na for this whole mess!
“Huh?” Chen Yao was completely baffled, the charged atmosphere dissipating; he looked at Lin Nan like he was some sort of goofball.
Lin Nan abruptly shifted gears, flashing a smile to cover his embarrassment, “You didn’t think I was going to confess to you, did you? Silly goose!”
Chen Yao scratched his head, unable to deny that earlier he’d actually entertained the thought that Lin Nan might confess.
Though it seemed all kinds of bizarre, upon reflection, given Lin Nan’s personality, an outright confession would likely be a lifelong impossibility.
Besides, he still thought of Chen Yao as a guy; there was no way he could like him!
Feeling a bit deflated, Chen Yao, true to his nature, shot back at Lin Nan: “Pfft! You think I’m an idiot? I thought you were getting ready to leave behind some last words before jumping off a building!”
“Just mess with me, why don’t you!” Chen Yao rolled his eyes, turning to grab the phone from the windowsill, “You just can’t be happy unless you’re pulling my leg, huh? You’d only get me out here for a run!”
“If I just shouted for you to go running, would you have even come out here?”
Lin Nan feigned confidence, though internally he was sweating bullets.
“I already exercised this morning, thank you very much!” Chen Yao sighed. He had held onto the mistaken belief that Lin Nan might have a crush on him, but reflecting on it now, it was probably just one of life’s great misconceptions.
There was no way this guy would like him!
Handing Lin Nan back his phone, Chen Yao could only accept his reasoning reluctantly: “Fine then, how about two laps?”
“Sure.”
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