287. Eating Lemon【13/122】
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My three-dimensional world, Yu Yu, and Shouji have vanished?
Zheng Qian was baffled, staring at Lin Nan’s mother, who wore a serious and stern face—she clearly wasn’t joking.
He pulled out the documents from his briefcase to double-check, only to discover that Lin Nan was actually a fake boy.
Something inside him felt like it just collapsed.
He forced a smile, “Changing gender info involves a lot of paperwork and I need to report to higher-ups; I can’t make the call myself.”
“But Lin Nan’s ID is already female. Aside from the hassle, it shouldn’t be wrong,” Zheng Qian’s enthusiasm immediately took a nosedive.
“Given Lin Nan’s situation, can she continue living off-campus?” Lin Nan’s mother asked anxiously. “It’s my fault for not realizing she was actually a girl after raising her as a boy for eighteen years. If she moves directly into the girls’ dorm, it might not go well…”
“She already has my permission to stay off-campus; there’s no problem there.” Zheng Qian’s mouth twitched, “But it’d be best to transfer her to another class, otherwise our students are too familiar with her and might spread rumors.”
“Eventually, she’ll still have to live in the girls’ dorm for a while. I’ll communicate with her new counselor, and she’ll be able to move out in a few days.”
“Yeah, that sounds ideal.” Lin Nan’s mother pulled out an envelope from her pocket, glancing around to see if anyone was watching, and tried to sneak it into Zheng Qian’s arms.
It was her first time doing something like this, and she felt awkward.
But Zheng Qian raised an eyebrow and firmly rejected the envelope, looking even more serious. “Auntie, you’re ruining my future here?”
“Besides, I’m so familiar with Nan Nan; how could I take your money?”
“That’s not it; I’m just offering you a tea treat…” the mother was startled by his words.
“Take it back. This isn’t the old days; there’s no way to get services without paying!” Zheng Qian shook his head, pushing the envelope back. “I’ll hold on to the documents. It’ll all be sorted within three working days… before next Thursday, and I’ll notify Lin Nan then.”
Once Lin Nan’s mother wrapped things up and stepped out of the classroom building, she suddenly realized she was lost.
This university, though smaller than Tsinghua or Peking University, still took up a massive area. Being here for the first time without anyone to lead her, it was easy to lose her way.
Fortunately, Lin Nan happened to be around, accompanied by three roommates.
“Mom.” Lin Nan approached, slightly worried about what Zheng Qian might have said to her mother.
“Everything’s sorted!” her mom said with a smile as she ruffled Lin Nan’s hair, quickly glancing at Chen Yao and the other two young men nearby, “Are those your friends?”
“Those are my roommates! The chubby one is Tu Junhui, and the skinny one is Xiong Da. I mentioned them to you before.”
“Got it.” Her mother fished out the still-unsent envelope again, attempting to distribute some ‘meet-and-greet gifts’ to the two newcomers, but Lin Nan decisively shoved the envelope back into her hands.
She shot her mother an annoyed look. No one gives money to their kid’s classmates upon meeting for the first time! Is money just burning a hole in her pocket?
“Mom, I’m planning to go out with them for a meal; you…”
“I’ll skip. Just give me your keys; I’ll tidy up the rental apartment. I’ll grab something to eat outside later.”
Lin Nan hesitated but then nodded, “Alright… Should I pack some good food to bring back?”
After dropping her mother off at the rental apartment, Lin Nan and her friends hopped on the bus, heading towards the distant walking street.
This was the same place where Lin Nan used to work part-time handing out flyers.
“You really do look like your mom,” Tu Junhui remarked, seeing Lin Nan’s mother for the first time.
“Yeah, I’ve taken after her since I was little.”
It was mainly because her mother’s genes were top-notch. Their whole family had been stunning when they were younger—Lin Nan, even before she got acne in middle school, had almost been a male clone of her mom.
However, since transforming into a female, though she still looked like her mother, the details of her face now bore more resemblance to Lilith, making them look less alike than before.
Winter break had come and gone, yet Xiong Da remained as engrossed in his producer dreams as always, glued to his phone for the entire bus ride.
Tu Junhui occasionally asked a couple of curious questions, but it wasn’t the same teasing banter as before. Lin Nan noticed he seemed a bit tense around her.
Sitting next to Chen Yao, she yawned and instinctively rested her head on his shoulder, only to realize Tu Junhui was watching her. She quickly sat up straight again.
Showing off their affection in front of roommates still felt a bit embarrassing.
Chen Yao was also slightly shy, both of them feeling a little awkward.
“It’s fine, I’m great at eating lemons!” Tu Junhui crossed his arms, puffing out his chest, “I’ll get a girlfriend sooner or later to flaunt in front of you two! d*mn!”
“Well, I think you should focus on losing weight first,” Lin Nan reflexively jabbed back.
“Nonsense! What if someone actually prefers me this chubby?” Tu Junhui retorted playfully, “You managed to snag Chen Yao; who knows, maybe some girl out there is also blind enough to like me.”
“Chen Yao is way better looking than you!”
Upon hearing this, Chen Yao immediately got cocky, rolled up his sleeves, and flexed his not-so-impressive biceps. “Leaving looks aside, at least I’m thinner than you. Just look at those arms of yours—they’re thicker than Lin Nan’s legs!”
“See, that’s just love-blinded nonsense!” Tu Junhui glanced down at his chubby arms, dramatically sighed, “I can’t compete with dog couples. I’m going to have a good cry now.”
As he spoke, he really began to pretend to sob like a little girl, complete with non-existent tears.
Lin Nan never quite finished a one-on-one verbal spar with Tu Junhui; she used to drag Xiong Da or Chen Yao into the front lines. Now, she didn’t even need to; Chen Yao had already become her most reliable teammate.
After all the noise, Lin Nan started feeling tired. After practically sitting on the bus all day, her eyelids were heavy.
Ignoring the curious glances from her two roommates, she leaned against Chen Yao’s shoulder, feeling the discomfort of her head against it, and then cheekily shifted to lay in his lap.
Chen Yao suddenly recalled the time he took Lin Nan to distribute flyers.
Back then, Lin Nan was also like this—sleeping in his lap on the bus.
He instinctively supported her waist and leaned his head against Tu Junhui’s shoulder next to him.
Tu Junhui peeked at the two, feeling all warm and fuzzy, then leaned back onto Xiong Da, whose large head was promptly smacked away.
“Your head weighs at least fifty pounds! How dare you lean on me?” Xiong Da glared at him, his face full of disdain. “Get back to munching on dog food; stop daydreaming.”
With that, he casually leaned against Tu Junhui’s shoulder, yawning a few times.
“I can’t believe this…”
Tu Junhui looked at Chen Yao on his left, Xiong Da on his right, then at the beauty in Chen Yao’s lap.
Speechless.
