292. A Novel?
==============================
At the entrance of Boy’s Dorm A, just before seven-thirty, a cute-looking girl in boy’s clothing was anxiously pacing back and forth.
Students who had risen early for exercise shot puzzled glances at her, which only made her more nervous.
About ten minutes later, Chen Yao emerged from the dorm carrying a few books.
“I’ll move your books to the rental apartment at noon,” Chen Yao said as he handed Lin Nan the textbooks he needed for the morning class, then curiously asked, “Why are you dressed like a guy?”
Lin Nan had gotten scolded by her mother for this earlier in the morning.
“Well, I haven’t switched classes yet…” Lin Nan mumbled, looking down and fixating on her shoe tips. “I’m afraid of what people will say.”
Chen Yao sighed helplessly, “It doesn’t matter what you wear; you can make anything look like girl’s clothing.”
“I know, but at least I can confidently say I’m not wearing girl’s clothes.” Lin Nan tugged at her jacket, zipping it all the way up to hide her curves completely. “Thank goodness I had a spare set of boy’s clothes; otherwise, I wouldn’t even want to go to class today.”
She followed Chen Yao toward the cafeteria, muttering, “I wonder if those classmates will even recognize me.”
“They probably won’t. With that mask on, how can they recognize you?”
That made sense; with masks on, everyone likely wouldn’t recognize each other anyway.
Upon entering the cafeteria, Lin Nan was surprised to see that the tables were split into little cubicles with cardboard.
Chen Yao bought breakfast for Lin Nan and casually plopped down to a seat, saying, “Big Dog from the dorm next door asked me where you’ve been. Lin Yuan also wanted to know if Cola would be back at the dorm.”
They were the two classmates Lin Nan was closest to, aside from her roommates. Other classmates didn’t even know her name and had never engaged in conversation with her.
“When I switch classes, I’ll just tell them I transferred schools. What do you think?” After pondering a moment, Lin Nan added, “Can you help me with attendance today? I’ll hide at the back and stay quiet; no one should notice me.”
“I’m basically invisible anyway.”
Chen Yao polished off a meat bun the size of his fist in three bites, realizing Lin Nan might still not know her reputation in class. He couldn’t help but chuckle, “You don’t check the class chat usually? Everyone’s saying that when it comes time to vote for the campus beauty in the forum this semester, they’ll pick you as number one.”
“Eh?”
“You’re already not invisible anymore.” Chen Yao took a sip of soybean milk, picked up his book, and teased, “With looks like yours, you can’t go anywhere without being noticed!”
Lin Nan wasn’t in the mood to hear Chen Yao’s compliments. She was too busy thinking of how to deal with her classmates when she got to class.
After they finished eating, Lin Nan and Chen Yao walked into the classroom one after the other. Lin Nan kept her head down, hoping to avoid being noticed.
Soon, Tu Junhui and Xiong Da arrived at the classroom, yawning as they sat next to them.
It wasn’t just Lin Nan who hadn’t slept well last night; all three of them were obviously suffering from sleep deprivation. Just a few minutes into sitting down, they yawned repeatedly and slumped over their desks.
More and more classmates trickled into the classroom, most wearing masks. Lin Nan scanned the room and realized she recognized only about a third of them.
However, it seemed many students had recognized her.
Lin Nan noticed several students turning to look at her, then whispering to each other with their heads down.
“Lin Nan!”
Suddenly, someone sat next to her. Lin Nan turned to see it was Big Dog.
But once Big Dog got a good look at Lin Nan’s face, he hesitated. With half her face hidden by a mask, he couldn’t see any male features. If it weren’t for her familiar outfit and the fact she sat near Chen Yao, he might’ve thought she was another cute girl from a different class.
“Nan Ge, you’re looking even cooler!” Big Dog had a knack for telling tall tales. Gazing at the pretty girl before him, he unabashedly complimented, “If I were a girl, I’d definitely throw myself at you!”
Lin Nan was still half-asleep, lazily responding as she rested her head on her desk.
Her voice had already shifted from its previous androgynous tone to that of an actual girl, leaving Big Dog feeling a bit strange.
After lingering for a moment, he intended to ask Lin Nan for help with a score but felt uneasy and obediently moved to the front row.
As class time approached, the teacher arrived.
This class was a new addition for the semester. The teacher had been seen once during online classes, but meeting him in person was a first.
“Attendance!” said the middle-aged man with a receding hairline, wearing a white shirt, his voice booming.
He scanned the classroom while calling out names, trying his best to familiarize himself with the students.
“Lin Nan!”
“Here!” Chen Yao shouted without hesitation.
Lin Nan’s voice now sounded almost indistinguishable from a girl’s, yet the roster still listed her as male. To avoid the mishap from last semester, Chen Yao had no choice but to assist with attendance.
Shortly after, the teacher called out, “Chen Yao!”
“Here!”
“That voice sounds familiar,” the teacher chuckled, “Are you calling two names for me? Who’s that sitting at the back?”
What’s with this teacher’s seriousness?
Chen Yao sighed, standing up reluctantly.
“What’s your name?”
“Chen Yao.” This was the first time he had been caught for speaking out for someone else, scratching his head awkwardly.
“I’ll mark you absent. If you miss three of my classes, it doesn’t matter how well you do on the final, you’ll fail. Pay attention next time.”
Chen Yao maintained a humble expression, “I won’t do it again.”
But once he sat down, he began muttering under his breath, “Does it really need to be this strict? I’ve never seen such a strict teacher. Ugh.”
“Watch your language.” Lin Nan couldn’t help but giggle, feeling a bit mischievous even as she sympathized with Chen Yao.
Just as she was enjoying the moment, Big Dog suddenly turned around from the front row and whispered to Lin Nan, “Ever read a novel? I found one from a friend.”
“Hmm?”
“You might get mad when you see it…” Big Dog mumbled, “It’s a yuri novel written by that girl Liu Xuefei from the next class, and it’s about you. It’s still a love story, you know?”
“A yuri novel?” Lin Nan was completely puzzled.
Big Dog looked incredulous, “You really don’t know? Half the girls in the class have probably read it.”
“It’s a yuri story starring you as the main character. I haven’t read it yet, though.”
Saying this, Big Dog sent Lin Nan a txt file, and Lin Nan immediately lowered her head to check it out. After reading just a few hundred words, she realized that not only was it a yuri novel, but it was also a steamy one!
Her face turned dark instantaneously.
Big Dog added with a sly grin, “I heard there are even illustrations, but I couldn’t find them.”
Lin Nan was shaking with anger, gritting her teeth, “No problem, I’ll go find her in her dorm at noon!”
“That’s outrageous!” Chen Yao huffed angrily, “Big Dog, send me a copy too! I want to critique this!”
