229. Awkwardness【39/170】
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Lin Nan originally just wanted to hang out with Chen Yao.
After a fun-filled afternoon, she could easily tell her relatives like Wang Guodong that she had gone to Chen Yao’s house to wish him a happy New Year, and no one would be the wiser.
But unexpectedly, as soon as she met Chen Yao, she was dragged all the way to his house.
Seeing his parents again, Lin Nan’s reaction this time was less awkward than before.
Following Chen Yao into the living room, she looked up only to find Auntie approaching with a big, warm smile, enthusiastically taking the milk she had in her hands.
“Why bring gifts when you’re just visiting?” Auntie feigned anger, narrowing her eyebrows as she pretended to glare at her. “Next time, I won’t welcome you if you bring more stuff.”
The milk was something Lin Nan had hurriedly bought from the convenience store downstairs, and it was Chen Yao’s money she had used.
Auntie’s over-the-top enthusiasm made Lin Nan feel a bit out of place, but fortunately, she had dealt with this once before, so she was able to handle it… sort of.
She forced a silly grin at Auntie, not knowing what else to say.
“Haven’t had lunch yet, right? In half an hour, it’ll be ready! I heard that you were coming, so I bought a lot of good stuff!” Auntie’s face was all smiles and wrinkles as she accepted the milk and scurried away to the bedroom. “Oh wait, you stay here; I have something for you!”
“Something?”
Lin Nan was a bit dazed and turned her head to look at Chen Yao, who also wore a confused expression.
“Let’s drink some cola first; God knows what my mom’s up to,” Chen Yao said, leading Lin Nan to the sofa as he fetched a bottle of cola from the fridge. He reclined back, crossing his legs and diving into his phone.
While he was playing on his phone, his eyes couldn’t resist sneaking glances at Lin Nan, who, feeling a bit tense, sat up straight with her legs tightly together, presenting a somewhat ladylike demeanor.
Thanks to her fitted suit, Chen Yao could clearly see the alluring curve of her waist and hips. When did his childhood friend become so curvaceous?
“By the way, where’s your dad?” Lin Nan suddenly realized someone was missing.
“Downstairs at the neighbor’s place playing mahjong, won’t listen to a word,” Chen Yao shrugged. “But it doesn’t seem serious; that neighbor hardly ever goes out.”
“Uh-huh.” Lin Nan nodded awkwardly, glancing down at her pink slippers and then asking, “What happened to those slippers I didn’t see last time?”
At the mention of it, Chen Yao could only manage a bitter smile: “My mom went to the supermarket last time and bought you a ton of household items. There’s even skincare stuff in the bathroom, towels, toothpaste, toothbrush—all nicely prepared! She even bought you a set of clothes…”
“Ah?”
“She wouldn’t listen, just assumed you were my girlfriend.” Although Chen Yao’s smile was bitter, it was also full of amusement.
“A bunch of my relatives think you’re my boyfriend too…” Lin Nan sighed, cradling her head in distress. “What exactly did you tell my mom that made her believe you’re my boyfriend? I can’t even figure out if I like boys!”
Though she instinctively wanted to curse, the thought of Chen Yao’s mom being just next door made her hold it back.
In reality, she rarely cursed, and only did it on occasions with playmates like Chen Yao.
“I just talked about our friendship up till now,” Chen Yao said with a crafty smile, clearly pleased with his success in winning over his future mother-in-law.
It wasn’t long before Auntie returned from the bedroom with a jewelry box, heading straight over to Lin Nan and opening it.
“These are the earrings Chen Yao’s dad gave me years ago. Try them on!” Auntie gently handed the jewelry box to Lin Nan.
Lin Nan’s eyes lit up as she gazed at the small diamonds on the earrings.
“These… are for me?”
She swallowed hard, pointing at her face: “Isn’t that a bit too much? They’re too valuable…”
They were diamonds! She had only seen such things in advertisements! They were not only pretty but super expensive!
Since her taste had been influenced by Lilith, Lin Nan couldn’t resist these shiny objects, and besides, such an item could fetch a handsome sum if she sold it.
Chen Yao noticed the sparkle in her eyes and thought Lin Nan was about to burst out laughing.
“Of course, my daughter-in-law deserves the best.” Auntie tried to put the earrings on Lin Nan but suddenly froze, asking, “You don’t have ear piercings?”
“……”
Lin Nan was at a loss whether to argue the daughter-in-law point or explain her lack of ear piercings.
Suddenly jolted back to reality from the jewelry excitement, she shook her head vigorously, refusing: “Auntie, I don’t even have ear holes! You should keep these… and besides…”
If I accept such an expensive item, wouldn’t that confirm I’m actually Chen Yao’s girlfriend?
“Don’t worry, this afternoon I’ll take you to get your ears pierced.” Auntie interrupted Lin Nan, disappointed as she put the earrings back. Then she suddenly remembered the soup simmering in the kitchen and dashed off.
Lin Nan was still a bit dazed, staring at the earrings left on the coffee table, almost tempted to grab and run.
So beautiful… my teenage heart…
“That’s just how my mom is, she thinks of something and goes for it. Just take it; last time you turned down her welcome gift, she scolded me for three days,” Chen Yao said with a yawn, legs crossed. “By the way, there’s a high school reunion tomorrow. Let’s go together.”
“Isn’t that some kind of infectious disease?” Lin Nan strained to peel her gaze from the jewelry box.
“It shouldn’t be a big deal, right?” Chen Yao scratched his head, feeling like the timing for a reunion was not great.
The country was stringent with pandemic control—cities were locked down with only a few cases reported! From the time it exploded into the news, it was barely a week.
But their province hadn’t seen any cases at all, and the high school pals attending the reunion didn’t return from the affected zones.
Lin Nan was fidgeting, the alluring earrings occupied her mind while the so-called reunion seemed less urgent.
“I should just take Uncle’s car back this afternoon. You go to the reunion,” Lin Nan stood up, heading towards Chen Yao’s bedroom. “I need to borrow your computer to play some games, that okay?”
“NO…” Just as the words left his mouth, Chen Yao saw Lin Nan push the door and walk straight into his bedroom. He was dumbfounded for a moment, then his expression changed dramatically.
“Wait! Don’t touch my computer!”
He dashed into the room anxiously, only to see Lin Nan sitting there in a daze, staring at the computer.
“What is this…?” She looked up as she heard the commotion, “Airi?”
“……”
“Dude, your mom’s still at home, and the bedroom door wasn’t even locked! You just opened this up on the computer desktop?” Lin Nan’s face turned beet red, but she still tried to act nonchalant, even considering making a joke to ease the tension.
Sure, she had shared adult material with Chen Yao before, but whatever! Stay cool! It was her who opened his eyes to a whole new world!
But even while thinking this, her brain was about to smoke.
Chen Yao felt immensely awkward, as if the air in the room had solidified.
“My mom always knocks before coming into my room…”
He was explaining while swiftly snatching the mouse away, his eyes darting to the progress bar and hurriedly shutting off the media player.
If he remembered correctly, Lin Nan had probably watched for more than ten seconds?
