274. Relatives Are Here 【8/122】
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Lin Nan’s big uncle was nearly fifty years old.
He was the father of Wu Jiaming, Lin Nan’s cousin. Many years ago, he made a questionable decision with his wife to sneak into a foreign country. About ten years back, he had another cousin abroad, which, not suspiciously at all, earned him a green card and his “identity.”
This year, like a bad reality show, Big Uncle returned after a standard fourteen-day quarantine, finally being freed today.
Lin Nan’s mother had already gone downstairs to socialize, while Lin Nan, feeling a bit timid, stood awkwardly at the corner of the stairs, peeking into the living room.
The living room was packed with people—Wu Jiaming’s family of four, Aunt, Grandfather, Grandmother, her mother, and her cousin, making a solid eight folks.
Feeling more anxious by the minute, Lin Nan hated these New Year greetings, and to top it off, she was now making her first appearance as a girl in front of the not-so-familiar big uncle. Talk about awkwardness!
“Nan Nan is looking quite pretty now,” someone suddenly brought her up, and the conversation in the living room shifted to Lin Nan’s “birth defect.”
No one seemed puzzled by her transformation into a female with all the functional perks—she even had XX chromosomes. If it wasn’t for some natural anomaly, the only remaining explanation could be… magic. But of course, that thought never crossed their minds.
“Back then, wasn’t Nan Nan premature and stuffed into an incubator? The doctor didn’t check properly! If they had known she was a girl, she wouldn’t have had to suffer so much!”
And just like that, the conversation turned into a full-blown rant against the doctor’s incompetence. Everyone was so riled up it felt like they’d march into a hospital to demand a rematch.
After eavesdropping for a solid ten minutes, Lin Nan couldn’t take it anymore. They were about to dig up ancient medical reports, and she had already turned a lovely shade of crimson.
Feeling an overwhelming urge to escape the bombastic nostalgia, she awkwardly descended the stairs, head lowered, sidling up to her mother’s side, avoiding eye contact with her relatives.
As she entered the room, the atmosphere froze for a moment, and after what felt like an eternity, Big Uncle’s wife waddled over, armed with a freshly cracked walnut, and stuffed it into Lin Nan’s mouth.
Lin Nan hadn’t seen this big aunt often, so she wasn’t quite sure how to protest. She opened her mouth and munched obediently, then bashfully murmured, “Thank you, Aunt.”
Big Aunt scrutinized Lin Nan’s face before glancing down at her… well, let’s say “enlarging” assets.
“Such a good girl! I always thought something was odd about you back in the day. Turns out you’re a girl! Absolutely stunning.”
“Right? If I hadn’t raised Nan Nan like a boy for so many years, every boy would be tripping over themselves just to get a peek at her!” Lin Nan’s mother chimed in, linking arms with her.
The others in the room had joined the show of inspecting Lin Nan’s looks. The Aunt had seen her before but was now engrossed in sunflower seeds, head down.
Big Uncle took a long gander but gave nothing more than a poker face. He slid Lin Nan a lucky money envelope: “Here, your New Year’s gift.”
Last year he had given her lucky money too, but it was snatched away by Lin Nan’s mom before she could do anything with it.
“Thank you, Big Uncle!”
Lin Nan’s eyes softened as she glanced at him.
Maybe it was because the relative was finally in the room, but the chat shifted from the previous topic. Big Uncle began talking about plans to whisk Wu Jiaming abroad.
Not understanding the dialect much, Lin Nan’s gaze wandered to her cousin, who was around ten, snuggled against Wu Jiaming in a secretive huddle, whispering conspiratorially.
Liu Xinyi, on the other hand, wasn’t closely related to anyone there and had plopped herself down on a small stool by the door, head bowed, completely engrossed in a game.
“Nan Nan looks so much like you did back in the day, absolutely gorgeous,” Big Aunt said, sitting to Lin Nan’s left while chatting quietly with her mother. “You had suitors lining up outside the village, and if you hadn’t been so picky, you could’ve landed a real catch.”
“Oh, that’s in the past!” her mother laughed, gazing lovingly at Lin Nan, wedged between them. “As long as Lin Nan is happy in the future.”
Lin Nan felt a little lost under her mother’s loving gaze. After all, they had only recently started to bridge the gap after nearly twenty years of limited communication.
Big Aunt pinched Lin Nan’s cheek playfully, and with no choice but to endure, Lin Nan heard her exclaim, “You’re not wearing any makeup? Your skin is so good! The last time I saw you, your face was a total disaster!”
“Uh, I guess it’s just the right skincare products?” Lin Nan replied sheepishly, feeling her cheeks sting a bit.
Even though Big Aunt was gentle, Lin Nan’s skin was delicately soft.
“If Nan Nan knew how to do makeup, she’d be a star on TV!”
“No way, my Nan Nan is way prettier than those stars!”
Lin Nan took a deep breath. She couldn’t handle it any longer, promptly stepping back to escape her mother and Big Aunt’s obsession: “I’m gonna go play with cousin Xinyi!”
Without waiting for approval, she dashed over to Liu Xinyi, who was still glued to her game.
But Big Aunt really wasn’t averse to her, and neither was Big Uncle. Although they weren’t close, Big Uncle had given her a red envelope without a hint of disdain.
Maybe living abroad had opened their minds compared to relatives like Big Aunt who barely stepped out of their village?
Sitting beside Liu Xinyi, Lin Nan hastily opened the envelope, only to discover a disappointment: two hundred bucks.
It wasn’t a total loss, but considering Big Uncle had just come back from abroad, she had hoped for a bit more in her envelope—it was even less than what Little Uncle had given her!
“Where’s Little Uncle?” Lin Nan curiously asked Liu Xinyi.
She looked around, but no sign of Wu Guodong was in sight.
“I think he went out for cigarettes? Everyone here is a chain smoker, and they probably ran out!” Liu Xinyi proudly displayed a cigarette she had just pulled out, “Look, Aunt gave me this pack!”
“Aunt…” Lin Nan’s mind raced to Liu Xuefei. If she really ended up with a little aunt, how would Lin Nan even be able to call her that? After all, she was only a few years older than Lin Nan.
“Right? Aunt has this cute little tiger tattoo on her shoulder, and she’s super strong. Jiaming big cousin can’t even beat her in an arm-wrestling match!” Liu Xinyi gushed, envy written all over her face. “I want a tattoo too!”
“That’s easy! Just sketch a nice one on your thigh. The more the merrier!”
Liu Xinyi gave Lin Nan a sidelong glance, but just then, Wu Guodong strolled back with a cigarette in hand, causing her to ditch Lin Nan and rush forward to nab some smokes.
Lin Nan sighed, glancing over at her mother, who was already deep into a game of Mahjong.
She then stole a glance at her little cousin, whose name escaped her, but she remembered her being adorably plump.
Suddenly surrounded by a bunch of unfamiliar relatives was proving to be a bit much for Lin Nan.
