286. Girl?!
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Lin Nan had thought that once her little secret got out among her dorm mates, she would be shunned, with the best-case scenario being she’d never be able to be friends again.
But to her surprise, both Tu Junhui and Xiong Da were completely unfazed by Chen Yao’s revelations.
Maybe it was because Lin Nan had already been looking like a girl last semester, and without even realizing it, they had subconsciously accepted her as one.
So that’s why they adapted so quickly, huh?
Tu Junhui was quite the clown.
He specifically dragged a chair over and bombarded Lin Nan with questions.
“Nan Nan, which is better, being a man or being a woman?” he asked curiously. “According to what I’ve seen online, you used to be unable to ‘drive’?”
“No wonder you never went for a joy ride with us before! So that’s how it is~”
“Did you know this last semester? Is that why you moved out?”
“So you liked guys before, huh?”
Lin Nan was completely flabbergasted, sitting there like a deer caught in headlights, unsure of how to respond.
Normally, Tu Junhui was all shy and bashful around girls—how could he chat her up so freely when it came to her?
Chen Yao yanked Tu Junhui’s collar and pulled him aside, looking utterly displeased.
Who on earth asks that kind of stuff?!
Xiong Da watched them clowning around, feeling a bit lost, but with Chen Yao’s words combined with Lin Nan’s performances last semester, he easily accepted the truth.
Still, it felt weird, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.
After thinking for a moment, he figured it was better to trust his dorm mates; they had been friends for a year and a half after all.
Besides, even if Lin Nan was a dude and Chen Yao was into him, what did it have to do with him? Aside from their s*xual orientation, wasn’t he still the same old roommate?
But his curiosity got the better of him, and he turned to the duo, asking, “Chen Yao, how’d you manage to get Lin Nan? Spill the beans!”
“Yeah! Our Lonely Singles Club just had two traitors! Unforgivable! You guys better share your wisdom!” Tu Junhui leaned in closer.
Lin Nan was too shy to speak, but Chen Yao claimed his ground with an indignant stance, “Good looks!”
“Pff~”
Lin Nan couldn’t help but join in with Tu Junhui’s teasing.
“Chen Yao, you’re worse than a rabbit! At least rabbits don’t eat their neighbors’ grass!” Tu Junhui gave him a look of absolute disgust.
But Xiong Da shook his head, saying, “There’s no way to avoid your own turf.”
“Exactly! I’ve known Lin Nan for over a decade, so what’s wrong with dating now?”
“I suspect you’re just after Lin Nan’s body.”
With that, Chen Yao maintained his righteous demeanor: “Exactly! I’m honest! I’m a man, I’m… Whoa! Lin Nan, don’t step on my foot!”
He jumped in pain, and Lin Nan, still shy, looked down, her head bent. If it weren’t for Chen Yao’s dramatic reaction, Tu Junhui wouldn’t have even noticed that Lin Nan had stepped on him.
Tu Junhui sighed deeply as he watched them: “So jealous… Lemon’s so sour…”
He turned to Xiong Da and suggested, “What if we two just got together?”
“Get lost,” Xiong Da crossed his arms, subtly distancing himself from Tu Junhui. “Even if you became a girl, you still look like a tank. No interest.”
“Why can’t it be you who becomes a girl?”
“If I turned into a girl, I still wouldn’t look at you.” Xiong Da replied with his signature icy expression.
Tu Junhui clutched his heart, looking like he was about to burst a bl**d vessel, and returned to his seat.
The atmosphere in the dorm seemed to revert to the usual rowdiness and playful banter of last semester, but Lin Nan felt like an outsider, watching their antics.
If it were before, Tu Junhui would’ve been all over teasing her.
She turned back to her desk, leaned over, and sighed deeply.
Meanwhile, Chen Yao was packing his bags. Regardless of whether he’d be moving off-campus with Lin Nan or whatever else was on the agenda, at least for the next few days, he was stuck in the dorm.
“Are we having a party tonight?”
Xiong Da suddenly suggested, “To celebrate Lin Nan finally reclaiming her gender?!”
“Pfft! Tonight is for the Lonely Singles Club! You two don’t count!” Tu Junhui said, but then switched gears, “How about we hit up Wanda for dinner? You two can treat us lonely souls!”
Chen Yao readily agreed, “No problem! I’ll treat!”
Lin Nan hesitated and tugged at his sleeve: “Wanda is really expensive…”
“No worries! My mom doubled my allowance,” Chen Yao grinned. “Half of it is for date funds, and I can always ask her for more if it runs out.”
“Isn’t that a bit much? Your family is going through tough times—be sure to save some money…”
“I know, it’s just one meal, it should be fine.” He scratched his head. He might’ve been clueless about money before, but after sending takeout home for a while, he realized just how hard it was to earn a buck.
Lin Nan nodded anxiously.
In the months leading up to this, Chen Yao’s family restaurant had only offered takeout. It just started dine-in service last month, but with the pandemic impacting everyone’s finances, business wasn’t as good as last year.
Plus, Chen Yao’s money—wasn’t that just my money?
The thought of going to Wanda and possibly spending five to six hundred on dinner made Lin Nan’s heart ache.
Watching the two whisper, Tu Junhui felt a pang of envy.
There’s been a girl living in the dorm for a year and a half, and I never noticed? If I had treated Lin Nan better, would I have a girlfriend by now?
Feeling a bit dazed, he sat in front of his computer, continuing to look up Lin Nan’s medical condition.
On the other side, equally puzzled, was Lin Nan’s counselor, Zheng Qian.
“Is this Lin Nan’s mom?” he said, sitting at his desk, stamping the already submitted student ID.
When he saw Lin Nan’s mother knocking at the door, he jumped up, having already heard about her from Lin Nan. He warmly welcomed her into the office.
After all, this could be his future mother-in-law!
Even though it might not be great if he was chasing her son, love knows no gender!
Zheng Qian poured a cup of tea for Lin Nan’s mother, and after some small talk, Lin Nan’s mom was completely flustered, almost forgetting what she came for.
“Teacher Zheng, right?” she placed the folder she carried on the table, visibly nervous, as she had never interacted with staff like him before. “I need to discuss Lin Nan’s situation with the school.”
“Oh, Lin Nan’s case? That’s something I prioritize,” Zheng Qian said with a smile, taking the folder and pulling out documents while casually asking, “Don’t be nervous, Auntie. Lin Nan and I are good friends. What’s going on?”
“It’s just… she had surgery and turned into a girl…” Lin Nan’s mom got straight to the point. “I’m worried that her gender change might cause issues with her graduation certificate, so the school needs to update her information.”
“Oh, so it’s a girl… A girl?!”
