166. Dong An’s Sister?
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Lin Nan was really struggling with his hairstyle.
If he stuck with his current look, he’d have to endure the annoying bangs blocking his view, and those long bangs made him look a bit too… let’s say “non-mainstream.”
But if he headed to the barbershop for a chop, he’d have to keep short hair even when he turned into a girl during winter break—yikes! Even though he was still pretty opposed to the whole becoming-a-girl thing, he thought he should at least match his hairstyle to his social identity.
It wasn’t that he was stuck in his ways; he just feared being the center of attention while walking down the street.
Not that he wasn’t already a bit of a spectacle.
With finals approaching, this was the last week of regular classes, which meant teachers were cramming in final assessments, while cultural studies teachers were highlighting last-minute knowledge points. Next week would be a glorious break for students to work on final project assignments, which mostly involved posters, drawings, and the like.
So, counting down, the actual exams were just two weeks away.
Lin Nan wasn’t too worried about his cultural classes; he diligently jotted down the key points during lectures and used magic for quick reading in his spare time. Sure, the magic sometimes made his head spin, but a ten-minute burst of magic and a half-hour rest usually did the trick.
The real problem was the final projects.
As a graphic design major, he had to deal with everything from painting to design software and copywriting, and Lin Nan had a painting skill that could only be described as “sadly lacking.”
Last semester, he barely scraped by with a 60 in drawing class, thanks to a soft-hearted teacher who saw him showing up to every class but still managed a pity pass. His attempts at color? Twice as painful—he had a bit of color blindness back then, after all.
He was a colorblind disaster with no drawing skills who thought picking graphic design was a good idea, mainly because he thought it meant he’d just be learning software.
And as for software? His skills were hardly better; he hadn’t had a computer before, so trying to self-study in the dorm was as difficult as juggling flaming swords—painful and likely to end in disaster. Now that he had one, it was mostly for gaming.
With finals creeping up, the class atmosphere had taken a serious dive.
Just a month ago, the classroom was filled with heads down, smartphones in hand, but now, outside of a few slackers who didn’t even want to graduate, everyone was paying attention and dutifully taking notes.
Lin Nan found that his speed-reading magic worked wonders during class, but oh boy, if he concentrated for ten minutes, he’d be hit with a 30-minute headache afterward, leaving him completely clueless.
Finally, class ended. However, Lin Nan painfully realized that he couldn’t relax in the dorm like he used to; months of slacking off were building up, and it was all crashing down during finals—he barely had time to breathe!
And the worst part? The school had announced that for seniors this year, they were canceling the cleanup exams, which meant if you flunked, you’d only get one more shot next semester, and no pass meant shelling out money to retake the course.
Back in the dorm, he opened up the SAI drawing software and stared glumly at the screen.
Sighing dramatically, he spun around with a ridiculously eager smile and called out to Tu Junhui, “Help me draw something, will ya?”
Tu Junhui turned, unceremoniously extending his hand and demanding, “Fifty-one bucks.”
“Such a cheapskate!” Lin Nan shot back, fuming, and resolved to work his own magic for this one.
He scoured the internet for reference images and began tracing them, painting with the eyedropper tool. He was determined to prove he could make it work!
One hour later, Lin Nan sent Tu Junhui fifty bucks.
“Money’s sent. Now draw for me.”
“Deal.” Tu Junhui checked his payment and found Lin Nan really forked over fifty bucks for a final project. He lazily sent over a character design he had previously whipped up for Lin Nan.
“Here you go, source file included.”
Not that it was live drawing, but a source file could fix a lot of issues.
Lin Nan felt a pang of regret as he opened the image, surprised at the quality.
Wasn’t this drawn during one of those late-night gaming marathons?
A white-haired, flat-chested, twin-tailed loli—check!
The background was a bit bland, but hey, it should pass muster with the teacher.
After glancing at the picture, he didn’t even realize it was his own character design, and gleefully zipped it up to send to the teacher’s email. Then, he opened a game to chill out.
He had been obsessively playing chess lately, but only a few times—mostly quick games.
“Chen Yao, wanna play chess?”
“Nah, I’m heading out in a bit.” Chen Yao was already lacing up his shoes.
Lin Nan raised an eyebrow; Chen Yao usually shot hoops for half an hour every night but rarely went out midday.
Noticing Lin Nan’s confusion, Chen Yao let out a wry smile and said, “A little sister from class asked me out for lunch. I’m TMD already done eating!”
“Wait, you mean you have a girlfriend now?!”
“Oh snap? A date?” Tu Junhui looked even more surprised than Lin Nan.
Xiong Da shrugged; after a near-miss with a pyramid scheme scam, he’d lost all interest in real-world women. He had been busy flooding the dorm chat with various 2D images lately.
However, after the birthday party a few days back, he’d managed to shake off the heartbreak, even if he still carried that permanent grumpy face. At least he was making an effort to wipe his “wife’s” face more often now.
“Not really a date,” Chen Yao scratched his head, “I’ve only seen her a couple of times.”
“Do tell!” Lin Nan was all ears.
Chen Yao couldn’t figure out why Lin Nan and Tu Junhui were so interested in his personal life, so he casually explained while putting on his jacket, “Her brother is Dong An, who plays ball with me often. The girl sometimes comes to the court to hang out. We’ve just played a few rounds of Honor of Kings together.”
“Who knows why she wants to go grab lunch with me; could just be coincidence or something.”
“Dong An actually has a sister? How come I’ve never heard of this?” Lin Nan raised an eyebrow. “She must be a gamer too, right?”
“Seems pretty quiet,” Chen Yao said, standing up to put on his coat.
Tu Junhui chimed in, “But is she… big?”
Chen Yao froze at that question, glancing at Lin Nan’s chest. Though it was covered by a jacket, you could still make out a little curve.
He then stroked his chin, clicking his tongue, “Pretty big…”
Way bigger than Lin Nan, that’s for sure.
“Should I come check her out too?” Lin Nan, blissfully unaware of the lingering gaze, eagerly chimed in, “I can help you find out if she likes you! Her character! Just in case she ends up being your girlfriend, you can get to know your sister-in-law in advance!”
“You’re almost two years younger than me!”
“Then can I at least meet my future daughter-in-law?”
