### 470. All Traitors!
Lin Nan thought about what Lilith said regarding gifts—it really was something to ponder over.
What about treating Lilith to a nice meal?
But then again, although Lilith eats a lot these days, it’s mostly due to the side effects of resurrecting using a dead body.
Or maybe sending her some magic power?
Li Na worried that if Lilith got her hands on some magic, who knows what ridiculous rules she might break in this world.
After all, she and Lilith had been apart for hundreds of years, and after half a year together, she had only just begun to figure out her personality. Being essentially under house arrest, Lilith wasn’t likely to express her favorite foods or interests.
“So, what exactly is a magic wand?”
Lin Nan realized that since hanging out with Chen Yao, her mind had gotten a bit dirty. Now, if she said something, it’d lead to a fiery interrogation, leaving her blushing and stammering, completely at a loss for words.
Besides, in Li Na’s eyes, Lilith was merely a misguided little girl, not the partying witch everyone else imagined her to be.
If she made that clear, who knew what kind of trouble would follow?
“Um… you might find out later?” she deflected. Just then, the class bell rang, and her eyes lit up as she dashed for the classroom, “I’m off to class!”
Li Na stared blankly at Lin Nan’s retreating figure, fiddling with her hair behind her ear, with a furrowed brow.
When Lin Nan settled back at her desk, the teacher was just starting roll call. Seeing her return, Chen Yao curiously asked, “What did Li Na say to you?”
“She was just talking about how to chase after Lilith,” Lin Nan leaned on her desk, waiting for the teacher to call her name, casually explaining to Chen Yao, “She’s a bit anxious, worried someone might steal Lilith away.”
Chen Yao nodded but still couldn’t understand what girls were really thinking.
Back in high school, he’d seen his share of girls in love, but he’d never come across one determined to “turn” another girl into a straight one.
“Li Lisi must be having a tough time,” he thought empathetically, picturing what it would be like if a guy liked him, constantly trying to “turn” him. A public confession would definitely not end well.
Of course, the guy couldn’t be too handsome, hmm…
Reflecting on a time when he didn’t know Lin Nan’s true gender, Chen Yao suddenly wondered if he had been “turned” long ago.
“Maybe? I think she just has a bit of a psychological scar,” Lin Nan propped her chin in her hand, her eyes unfocused as she continued to recall memories of Lilith in her mind.
“Lin Nan!”
“Here!”
After answering the roll call, Lin Nan felt even more exhausted, as if all her energy had been drained away, leaving her in a state of existential crisis.
Though she had only missed half an hour of sleep, it felt like she’d been up all night.
Just as she was about to rest her head on her desk, Chen Yao piped up again: “I’m planning to join a debate team soon, can you help me find a suit online?”
“A debate team?” Lin Nan asked, barely interested. “What made you want to do that?”
“Just to enrich my campus experience, they say it’ll make finding a job easier later,” he explained.
Is that so?
Lin Nan recalled seeing that claim online, but it felt a bit dubious.
“I also plan to create some design works to post online. That way, I’ll have something to show when looking for a job. If someone likes my designs, I might even earn a little dough.”
“I can’t forget about editing either. I heard the pay isn’t great and you end up working crazy hours for it, but once I get good at editing, maybe I’ll learn special effects too.”
Chen Yao went on about his plans, and while Lin Nan felt a bit lost, she nodded along after each sentence.
Still, it felt like Chen Yao was maturing.
The old Chen Yao would never think about the future. He’d spend his school days playing games, hitting the basketball court after class, and gaming again in the dorm at night—he embodied the quintessential slacker college student. Well, except for Xiong Da, who at least paid half attention in class while on his phone.
Change was certainly good, but it left Lin Nan feeling a bit out of sorts.
It was like having a fellow slacker classmate suddenly buckle down and hit the books, gearing up to ace university—there was an odd distance to it.
Lin Nan perked up a bit: “Can I join too? I’m great at Photoshop!”
If continuing to slack off was going to make her feel distant, she might as well jump on the bandwagon.
“Who was it that used Photoshop for their final project but needed to download stuff off the internet?” Chen Yao teased with a smirk.
For some reason, if Tu Junhui had teased Lin Nan like that, she would’ve shot back with some snappy comeback. But when Chen Yao joked, it felt perfectly normal.
Chen Yao fell silent to focus on the teacher again, while Lin Nan lolled her head down on the desk, preparing for a power nap.
Earlier, she had mentioned giving Chen Yao extra lessons, but he was not as easy to fool as Pan Maoxin; after just one lesson, he caught on to everything and scared Lin Nan off from trying again.
Still, he kept saying he wanted to have a couple of late-night lessons, and it was obvious what those would be focused on.
But at least she could vent her hidden secrets through Chen Yao’s skepticism; the normal-wired Chen Yao didn’t seem to take her seriously.
The desk seemed like the ultimate sleeping spot. During the day, no matter how cushy a bed or air-conditioned room was, nothing compared to the buzzing classroom and the teacher’s voice.
In just five minutes, Lin Nan was out cold. Chen Yao glanced her way, but since the classroom didn’t have air conditioning, he wasn’t too worried about her catching a cold.
Tu Junhui and Xiong Da sneaked in late through the back door, sitting next to Chen Yao.
“Why are you sleeping like a pig?”
Chen Yao pondered for a moment and retorted, “Like a house cat; if she were awake, she’d say the same.”
These two had probably gamed all night again. Chen Yao used to pull all-nighters, but ever since he started hanging out with Lin Nan, he had to expend all his energy daily. Especially recently, staying up past midnight felt like a major achievement.
“Gaming?” Tu Junhui, just seated, immediately invited Chen Yao.
“No, thanks.”
Seeing Chen Yao looking up at the teacher, Tu Junhui frowned. After a minute of the lecture with Chen Yao, he quickly lost interest and bent down to team up with Xiong Da for some gaming.
He suddenly realized he was the only slacker left in the dorm.
Xiong Da could manage gaming while keeping up with the class; he almost never missed lessons. At night in the dorm, he would review. Chen Yao was now so focused on class that he didn’t even have time for games, while Lin Nan might not pay attention in class, but she aced every quiz and small test the teacher threw her way.
Leaving just him—the purest of slackers.
All those traitors! They promised to slack off together until graduation!
