320. Light Bulb【2/99】
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On the weekend, Chen Yao’s face had slightly deflated.
Eating wasn’t so tough anymore, but with bandages on his cheeks, he still looked a bit… questionable.
“I wanna go out and play…” Lin Nan sighed dramatically on the bed, calling out to Chen Yao at the foot of the bed, “Let’s go see a movie! You pick what you want to watch.”
“Why not just watch it on the computer instead?”
Chen Yao shook his head repeatedly, “Too ugly! I don’t want to go out. Playing games at home sounds way better. Weren’t you super homebody back in the day? During freshman year, you could spend months without stepping outside!”
“But I was stuck at Granddad’s house for months not long ago…” Lin Nan rolled around on the bed and kept whining, “Let’s go out! Besides, you’re not exactly a heartthrob.”
“I’m basically the handsome version of Peng Yuyan from Fujian! If I’m not good-looking, then why are you even with me?”
“I feel sorry for you. You’re twenty and still single!” Lin Nan retorted bravely, “Someone as stunning as me deserves at least a Hu Ge level guy!”
Chen Yao made a disgusted face, “Who would even want to be with you besides me? Hu Ge isn’t as handsome as me.”
“Look at you getting all cocky!”
Suddenly, Lin Nan’s phone went off, and she froze for a moment before tumbling off the bed, glancing curiously at Chen Yao’s face.
Although Chen Yao had a so-called square face, it wasn’t so square that he’d look like a brick. At least he had a jawline and many handsome male celebrities had the same face shape, giving off a manly vibe.
Lin Nan used to envy that, you know?
The phone call ended quickly, and the lifeless Lin Nan suddenly brightened up, happily getting up to put on her socks and shoes.
“You’re going out?” Chen Yao sat up to look at her.
“Uncle wants me to be a light bulb for him.” Lin Nan explained to Chen Yao with a raised eyebrow, “His girlfriend is a girl from the next class; she promised online to be his girlfriend but probably hasn’t met him in real life.”
Chen Yao dramatically flopped back onto the bed, “So you’re just ditching your husband?”
“Not even close to husband material yet.”
“My mom said we’ll get engaged when we go back for May Day,” Chen Yao said with a sly smile. “She’s probably discussing the dowry and bridal price with your mom right now.”
It was Lin Nan’s first time hearing about this, and she looked at Chen Yao in shock, “Is it really that urgent?”
“We’ve known each other for seven or eight years, what’s the rush?”
“But we used to be bros!”
“Doesn’t matter; I’ve always had my eye on you.”
Lin Nan threw an empty bottle from the bedside table at Chen Yao’s arm, too lazy to deal with his nonsense, slipped on her shoes, grabbed her keys, and headed for the door, “I’ll probably just come back tonight and chill at home playing games!”
Hurriedly exiting the rental apartment, she found Wu Guodong waiting in his car outside.
She opened the back door and hopped in, giving a sidelong glance at Liu Xuefei before promptly reporting to Wu Guodong, “Uncle! Xuefei’s bullying me!”
“What bullying? Call me aunt!” Liu Xuefei said in her white dress, arms crossed and legs crossed, looking like she just scored some little victory.
“What’s going on?” Wu Guodong turned around, worried, “You two aren’t fighting, are you?”
Lin Nan copied Liu Xuefei’s pose, arms crossed and legs crossed, pouting, “She’s spreading bad rumors about me in class. Plus, I suspect she’s a yuri fan.”
“Yuri? She told me she’s a fujoshi.” Wu Guodong was headpalm-to-the-max, “Stop messing around. I’m taking you for a nice meal.”
Had he known Lin Nan and Liu Xuefei had a grudge, he would’ve left Lin Nan at home.
He’d hung out with Liu Xuefei before and it was all fine when they were just regular friends. But now, after their online relationship during the pandemic, meeting her in person for the first time was giving him jitters.
While driving, he kept glancing at them in the rearview mirror and noticed that Lin Nan had been raucous when she got in but just minutes later, they were huddled together, whispering about something.
“What do you want for lunch?”
“Hot pot!” Lin Nan and Liu Xuefei already had lunch plans, but she added an extra item, “And I want your game console! Throw in some game discs while you’re at it!”
Waiting at a red light, Wu Guodong, utterly baffled, turned to ask, “What do you want my game console for?”
“To let Chen Yao play!”
“You’re throwing me under the bus.” Wu Guodong cringed, “Just got a boyfriend and forgot about me. In a few years when you two are married you’ll probably forget I even exist.”
Liu Xuefei was suddenly shocked to find out Lin Nan actually had a boyfriend, pulling on Lin Nan’s arm with wide-eyed wonder and even swearing out loud, “d*mn! Where’d you get a boyfriend? Show me a picture! Is he that handsome guy named Lin Yuan from your class?!”
“You know Lin Yuan?”
“We take classes together every now and then; I’ve scoped out all the handsome guys in your class, alright? I even have their QQ.”
Lin Nan suddenly felt her uncle’s head getting greener by the second.
“Do you know Chen Yao?”
“Of course! The handsome dude you always sit with, right? I really like that type; he’s the reason I hit Star Rank!”
Why do I feel like my head is getting green too?
Meanwhile, in the rental apartment, Chen Yao suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.
Why does it feel like Li Na’s friends are all nuts? Is Liu Xuefei actually some kind of fangirl?
“See, I knew it! I noticed something was off about you two during that big lecture last time!” Liu Xuefei’s eyes widened, leaning in closer to Lin Nan, whispering, “So how long have you guys been together? Have you…” She leaned in even more, “You know… done the deed? What’s it like? Is it big?”
Lin Nan was utterly caught off guard by the barrage of questions and quickly flushed red in protest, “That’s so dirty-minded!”
She turned to look out the window, trying to ignore the perverted Liu Xuefei.
But Liu Xuefei wasn’t letting up, closing in even more, cornering Lin Nan against the car door with her obsessive smile, “Is it big? Is it big?”
“Get off! How am I supposed to know?!”
Lin Nan curled up in the corner, shivering.
Meanwhile, Wu Guodong driving the car realized that calling Lin Nan had actually made things less awkward, but now it felt like he was just the supporting character.
He kept checking the rearview mirror, and it was clear his girlfriend was practically leaning half her body against Lin Nan, looking like she was about to devour her.
“Here we are.”
Fortunately, they arrived in the underground parking lot just in time. Lin Nan hurriedly flung open the car door and bounced out, with Liu Xuefei chasing after her all too eagerly.
Wu Guodong locked the car, looking helplessly at the two girls running off while bickering.
Looks like I’m just the light bulb in this scenario, huh?
