143. The Dust Settles
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Lin Nan woke up in the dead of night.
With a sudden jolt, he opened his eyes and stared blankly at the ceiling, just like the last time he stayed at an inn. This time, however, he dreamed of being violated, but the “perpetrator” was right beside him.
He instinctively glanced over and saw Li Na curled up in the farthest corner of the bed, her arms and legs tucked snugly under the blanket, revealing only her adorable loli face.
She really looked quite cute while sleeping.
Lin Nan didn’t dare to poke her; if all was as it seemed, under that blanket, Li Na should be completely n*ked.
He sighed heavily. Last night, due to nerves, he had scarfed down some noodles and didn’t use Purification Magic on himself, which resulted in a desperate need to relieve himself that woke him up in the middle of the night.
It had been ages since he felt like this; he considered himself a fairy untouched by the mundane world.
With a flick of his wrist, he cast a Purification Spell and, voilà, the urge vanished. He fished out his phone to check the time, realizing it was already five o’clock in the early morning.
Chen Yao sent him a message nearly every half hour, yet Lin Nan hadn’t replied to a single one so far. The most recent message came in at three.
He wondered if Chen Yao was still awake.
Leaning against the headboard, he sneakily peeked at the sleeping Li Na. Suddenly, an idea struck him: how about a cheeky post-scene selfie with Li Na? That way, when he returned to the dorm, his pals would be so jealous they’d d*e one by one.
His stomach growled a bit, reminding him that he was slightly hungry; a gentle rub of his tummy revealed it was a bit acidy.
“Hey, you still alive?”
Lin Nan texted Chen Yao, not daring to leave the inn. If he did, Li Na’s plan might flop, and the consequence of that was Lilith resurrecting and taking over his body.
Almost immediately, there was a soft knock on the room’s door. Lin Nan tiptoed out of bed and creaked open the door just enough to see Chen Yao standing there, looking like a raccoon with his red eyes.
“She didn’t do anything to you, did she?”
Chen Yao frowned from outside, clearly having stayed up all night.
He instinctively tried to peer inside at the bed, which startled Lin Nan, who quickly slammed the door shut, almost giving Chen Yao a nose job.
“What are you doing?”
“Since when do you peek at a girl while she’s sleeping?” Lin Nan shot him a glare that could melt steel.
Chen Yao scratched his head, “Why do I get the feeling you’ve already been ‘conquered’?”
“You’re the one who’s conquered!” If it weren’t for needing something from Chen Yao, Lin Nan would have cursed him out. He merely shared a bed with Li Na, alright? The only physical contact was holding hands!
Chen Yao pursed his lips, feeling a pang of jealousy.
I’m the one who has known him since middle school, and I’ve never shared a bed with Lin Nan. Yet he manages to get all cozy with a girl she just met a few months ago?
Talk about feeling green.
“Get me two breakfasts from downstairs. I’m a bit hungry,” Lin Nan said while rubbing his tummy. “The noodles I had last night digested a bit too fast.”
“At this hour…” Chen Yao glanced at his phone hesitantly, then begrudgingly agreed, “I’ll see if I can find breakfast for you. This hour is tricky.”
Isn’t this like being cheated on while friendly enough to hand over the ketchup?
Is this an NTR plot?
Lin Nan thought about returning to watch some TV, but as he was about to close the door, he suddenly remembered, “Wait, aren’t you supposed to have a basketball match next Tuesday? Aren’t we getting a medical examination then?”
“The game can be played at night. What do you think all those streetlights on the basketball court are for? Duh.”
True that.
Lin Nan had secretly hoped the school had mixed up the medical examination schedule because he had a hunch that such things usually involved heavy consequences.
He closed the door in despair and returned to the bedside, only to find Li Na had been awakened by all the ruckus.
“Waking up so early?”
Lin Nan sat at the foot of the bed, too shy to look her way.
His mind was still that of a former little virgin. Last night, he was terrified of Li Na, but now, he just felt bashful.
Li Na, however, didn’t care one bit and sprang out of bed, bare feet heading straight for the bathroom.
Only then did Lin Nan notice that she wasn’t actually n*ked but rather clad in a sleek, black bodysuit. In the darkness last night, he had thought she was truly bare.
“What’s with that outfit?”
“This is the finest under-armor from my world. Think of it as a bulletproof vest; magic is ineffective against me.” Li Na raised a finger, and a flame suddenly burst forth, only to extinguish the moment it approached the black fabric, as if doused with water.
“And it offers some physical protection, too.” She nonchalantly grabbed a fruit kn*fe from the nightstand and jabbed it into her bodysuit, but the blade couldn’t penetrate the thin material.
After her demonstration, she looked up, “Who knows if you’d suddenly decide to off me at night?”
Though Li Na was strong, she was still a traditional mage. Even with passive magic, if Lin Nan unlocked a harmful spell, she could very well find herself in deep trouble while sound asleep.
Not only was Lin Nan wary of Li Na, but she was also afraid he might plot something sinister. There was one who painstakingly devised an invisibility spell, and another dressed in a “bulletproof outfit” for bedtime.
Lin Nan rolled his eyes. What could have been an exciting night sleeping next to a beautiful girl now felt rather dull with both of them playfully watching each other like hawks.
He turned on the TV to watch the morning news, but boredom settled in.
However, if Li Na’s plan worked out, he could transition into a female during the upcoming winter break without surgery!
Li Na dashed to wash up, and Lin Nan cheerfully followed her to the bathroom door.
“If Lilith revives, then my magic…”
“Won’t affect you much. Even if she comes back, she’ll just leave some residue inside you.” Li Na answered with a mouth full of toothpaste, her words barely intelligible. “You’ll still be able to use magic, and even magic you thought you couldn’t will unlock. Her memories will remain in your mind, and you’ll continue to resemble her more and more.”
Lin Nan’s expression darkened, but he heard her continue, “But without Lilith’s soul to interfere, you should easily shake off her influence on your personality and mannerisms.”
Now that sounded promising; if he didn’t hold back, there could end up being two Liliths wandering around this world.
He finally breathed a sigh of relief. His magical edge was still there! If he really became a girl, he could keep using magic. Not only would life be a cheat code, but he’d also get prettier each time—was he destined to be beautiful like a fairy?
“But don’t expect to become too pretty,” Li Na rolled her eyes. “Otherwise, my world would be filled with handsome guys and beauties!”
Thinking back on Lilith’s memories, wasn’t there a surplus of handsome guys and beauties everywhere?
After their bathroom routines, the two of them stared blankly at each other in the room. They couldn’t separate just yet; what could a regular Earthling and a world-hopping Saintess find to chat about?
By afternoon, they finally parted ways at the inn entrance, and Lin Nan let out a breath of relief.
Now he just needed to wait for good news from Li Na!
