304. The Chubby Transformation
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Maybe it was because she had been cooped up at home for too long, but Lin Nan’s otaku personality had faded quite a bit.
After all, her grandfather’s TV was ancient, and the internet was pitiful. Spending days on end doing nothing was likely to drive anyone insane after a few months! Luckily, Chen Yao would frequently come over to hang out.
And here we were again, at the Wanda Mall.
The best cinema in the area was located here, and it was only after starting college that Lin Nan discovered there was something called 3Dmax movies!
Unfortunately, ticket prices were through the roof. In the past, Lin Nan had only ventured here once with her dormmates to experience it, and since then, she hadn’t dared to return for a movie.
Although only Tu Junhui and Xiong Da remained in their dorm, the four of them still sat together in the same row in class. Chen Yao often came back during breaks or when he had no classes. While Lin Nan had transformed into a female, Tu Junhui clearly didn’t mind. After a brief awkward phase, he quickly resumed his playful teasing of her.
Previously, he mostly mocked her for looking feminine, but now he enjoyed poking fun at her relationship with Chen Yao instead.
As for Xiong Da, he preferred to keep his head down, focused on whatever he was doing. Even when walking, he was glued to his phone, being the one who always trailed behind.
“Should we grab some food to take to the cinema?” Lin Nan looked around at the snack stalls in the mall. “How about octopus balls?”
“If you like them, go for it,” Chen Yao said, frowning and clearly not in a good mood.
Tonight was supposed to be a date between him and Lin Nan, a little romantic getaway, but here came Tu Junhui and Xiong Da crashing the party, turning the date into a dorm gathering.
No sense of boundaries whatsoever, just like Lin Nan’s cousin!
With these two around, Lin Nan felt uneasy about getting too close to Chen Yao, not even daring to hold hands.
“I’ll just check if there are any weekend part-time jobs available while we’re here,” she said, scanning for help-wanted signs at shop doors.
However, after the pandemic, many stores hadn’t opened in months. They were either struggling to survive or had permanently shut down. As she walked around, she barely saw any hiring signs, but there were plenty signaling businesses for sale.
Lin Nan finally realized how economic downturns could impact her life.
After packing a bunch of snacks, they made their way to the cinema on the elevator as the time came near.
For some reason, theaters always liked to dim the lights to a gloomy haze. Even though visibility wasn’t an issue, the corners were shrouded in darkness, and this kind of environment was Lin Nan’s least favorite.
Perhaps the cinema had just reopened because it was quite crowded, and they had to stand in line for tickets while Chen Yao and the guys picked out seats, preparing to wait for the movie starting in about ten minutes.
“It’s so dark…” Lin Nan finally got her tickets and joined her roommates, grumbling, “Almost couldn’t find you two, thank goodness Tu is such a chubby dude.”
“Where’s the darkness? With two big light bulbs like us?” Chen Yao subtly hinted.
Tu Junhui looked utterly confused, while Xiong Da was busy playing on his phone, and Lin Nan nearly burst into laughter.
Chen Yao sighed, wondering why Lin Nan could be so carefree.
If only they weren’t here, he could have sat in the last row with Lin Nan…
His mind suddenly wandered to some hilarious anime scenarios.
“By the way, what are we watching?” Chen Yao suddenly recalled.
“Watching what? Then why are you here?” Tu Junhui looked at him with disdain.
Chen Yao replied with confidence, “Where Lin Nan is, I’ll be there too. Why? Are you feeling sour?”
Lin Nan ignored the banter between the two and crept beside Xiong Da to peek at his game, munching on snacks nonstop.
On a whim, she jabbed a takoyaki with a skewer and offered it to Chen Yao’s mouth.
“Come on, open wide, ah~” she said with a cheerful grin as she popped the ball into his mouth.
“Lin Nan’s takoyaki is the best!” Chen Yao instantly gave a thumbs up.
“And me? What about me?” Tu Junhui leaned in eagerly, mouth wide open. “Ah~”
“……”
Lin Nan scooted her chair back a bit and sat next to Chen Yao, looking terribly unimpressed.
“Ugh, I’m heartbroken.”
She ignored Tu’s antics and swiped a plate of fried noodles from Chen Yao, taking a couple of bites before handing it back, “You eat this. It’s gross.”
“How about the milk tea?” He picked up a cup of milk tea from the table, inserted a straw, and held it to Lin Nan’s lips.
She took a sip and shook her head, “I don’t like bubble tea, you drink it.”
“Wait, but you wanted to buy this…” Chen Yao was bewildered, passing her a ten yuan chicken skewer. “This?”
“Yuck, I just had some,” Lin Nan shook her head vigorously.
“But I can’t finish it either!” Chen Yao grimaced and asked, “If it’s bad, then why did you buy it?”
“How would I know if it’s bad unless I tried it? Silly!” Lin Nan looked at him as if he were an idiot.
Great, so he was just a trash can for her leftovers.
Had he known, he wouldn’t have bothered with dinner.
With a bitter expression, Chen Yao took a bite of the chicken skewer and cast a pleading look at Tu Junhui, who had already fed him several lemons in the past and was now pretending to be engrossed in a novel.
“Xiong Da?” He tried reaching out for help.
Even though Xiong Da was busy gaming, he knew what was going on and shook his head without a hint of sympathy, “I don’t eat food someone else has eaten.”
Honestly, Chen Yao didn’t like doing that either. He never touched porridge his family had sipped or pastries they had bitten into. He thought chewed-on food was filthy. But this was leftover from Lin Nan, and it somehow smelled delicious.
After this meal, would he gain at least a pound by tomorrow?
He sighed. Now he understood why many men would start to plump up after dating—because they were being fed!
“Chen Yao, I want popcorn,” Lin Nan tossed her finished takoyaki into the trash and eyed the popcorn for sale in the cinema.
“I’ll go get it.”
Chen Yao sprang up without hesitation and headed to the counter.
Just as he returned with the popcorn, the movie began, leaving him awkwardly holding a bunch of snack wrappers and popcorn, scurrying after his friends to get them checked.
Who even knew if this cinema allowed outside food inside?
In a hurry, he finished the chicken skewer and dumped the fried noodles, packaging and all, directly into the popcorn bucket, managing to sneak by. After what felt like a mini adventure, he found his seat wearing the 3D glasses.
Only then did Chen Yao realize the theater seating was arranged with empty seats in between.
He stared at Lin Nan, who was just a few seats away, suddenly deciding that this date had gone utterly off the rails.
Not only had it transformed into a dorm gathering, but he couldn’t even sit next to his girlfriend!
“Chen Yao, this popcorn tastes awful…”
“I’ll eat it, I’ll eat it!”
