499. Pretty is King
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Lin Nan certainly knew that cockroaches were everywhere. No matter how clean her rental apartment was, it was pretty much inevitable that cockroaches would still crash the party.
But this was the first time she’d seen one in the rental.
Fresh out of the shower, she sat glumly at the head of her bed, feeling thoroughly exhausted in both body and spirit.
The big clean-up had ended; all she’d managed to sweep from under the bed was a pile of her own hair, and that cockroach seemed to have mastered the art of invisibility, disappearing without a trace.
“Are you going bald or something?” Chen Yao teased, picking up the hair on the floor. He looked up at Lin Nan with that all-too-serious expression of his. “Should we take a trip to the hospital?”
“Having long hair means a few strands falling out just looks like a lot,” Lin Nan shot back with a sidelong glance, sighed dramatically, and flopped back on the bed with her arm covering her forehead, feeling a bit feverish in her head.
Who knew if it was from anger or just plain exhaustion?
“Wanna take a nap together?” After making the floor spotless, Chen Yao plopped down next to her, tilting his head to check out her tired face.
“What are you talking about?!”
“I’ve been chatting with you until past midnight every night, and I’ve got to play ball with my classmates in the morning,” Chen Yao shrugged. “So yeah, I’m pretty tired too.”
Lin Nan eyed his seemingly sincere expression suspiciously, pouted her lips, and wrapped herself tightly in her blanket.
Chen Yao’s heart was momentarily crushed by her action. In a melancholic tone, he asked, “You really don’t trust me?”
“First, put your hands where I can see them before we discuss trust.” Lin Nan looked down at his hand currently resting on her thigh, and her disgust level increased. With a dismissive flick, she swatted Chen Yao’s hand away, curling up like a cornered cat and casting watchful glances at him, warning, “I’m really tired, so keep your hands to yourself!”
“Alright, alright.”
With a helpless nod, Chen Yao changed course, moving to the computer to k*ll time with a game.
Once he was gone, Lin Nan sighed in relief.
When she was outside, worries and troubles came at her from all angles, but back in her apartment, she had to keep an eye on Chen Yao too!
Mainly because he loved to be touchy when she was drowsy, turning her into an insomniac.
Snuggled in her blanket, she lay on her side, yawning endlessly.
Finally, she thought she could get some good sleep.
A few minutes later, Chen Yao noticed that Lin Nan’s breathing had become more even. He looked over in surprise, only to find his girlfriend fast asleep.
Lin Nan never had the best sleep quality; it was a rare sight to see her fall asleep easily.
Worried that the sound of the mouse and keyboard would disturb her, Chen Yao tiptoed up, carefully pulled down her blanket so it wouldn’t cover her nose, risking a glance at her flawless, unmade-up face. Unable to resist, he leaned down and pecked her cheek.
It was so soft, like tofu, making him want to take a bite.
However, just that tiny movement jolted Lin Nan awake; she let out a cute, nonsensical sound, flipped over, and sprawled out on her back like a starfish, showing absolutely no regard for traditional sleeping positions.
Not daring to disturb her further, Chen Yao pulled the curtains to maximize the darkness, then cautiously sat at the head of the bed, leaned against the wall, pulled out his phone, and started reading a novel, waiting for her to wake up.
Three hours later, Lin Nan finally stirred, and by then, it was already getting dark. The already shaded room was dark as a cave. She instinctively turned her head to the side but didn’t see Chen Yao.
“Chen Yao?!” she called out, still groggy as she crawled out of bed, her bare feet hitting the floor. She opened the bedroom door to peek outside.
“What’s up?” Chen Yao replied, sitting near the electric stove and turning to face the doorway.
At that moment, Lin Nan’s eyes were half-asleep, glazed over with water, her face adorably dazed. Her pale feet were on the floor, and her oversized nightgown had slipped off, revealing one shoulder—too cute and tempting for words.
His breath caught for a moment, but he quickly shook it off, answering, “I’m making you dinner; there’s some curry left from lunch.”
“Hmm,” Lin Nan yawned, “What time is it?”
“A little past six.”
She’d napped a bit too long.
Lin Nan frowned in distress; she’d probably end up staying up late again tonight.
A few days of late-night sessions at the internet cafe until 3 a.m. had totally messed up her body clock. Now she was burning the midnight oil every day—fine when no classes were on, but tomorrow was Monday!
Standing in front of the bedroom door for a moment, her post-sleep daze gradually wore off. Lin Nan’s eyes began to glimmer, and she went back into the bedroom to freshen up.
About ten minutes later, she washed her face and changed into normal clothes before heading to the living room.
At that point, Chen Yao had reheated the leftover curry.
The chicken-stuffed curry rice tasted pretty good—plenty of meat and not worse than takeout. Although she had just eaten lunch, Lin Nan still dug in happily.
“Let’s go hang out with Li Na tonight?” she said, glancing up from her meal at Chen Yao.
She was curious to see how the three otherworldly visitors she’d brought along had adapted after spending an afternoon with Li Na and Lilith. Were they scrambled by a beatdown, or were they still as wacky as ever?
“Sure, I don’t have plans for tonight anyway,” Chen Yao nodded in agreement, reaching under the coffee table to pull out a bottle of sugar-free cola, handing it to Lin Nan. He added, “Are you thinking about hitting the gym? There’s one that just opened nearby.”
“Gym?”
“Yeah, it just opened yesterday. Tu Junhui already signed up for a month, saying he wants to lose weight.” Chen Yao sadly patted his stomach, reminiscing about his former abs. “Ever since I started hanging out with you, I’m getting fatter by the day.”
“That’s your problem, not mine! I haven’t gained a single pound,” Lin Nan proudly lifted her shirt a bit, showing off her flat stomach. When empty, it was easy to tighten and draw attention to the faint lines—this must be what they called a ‘devil’s line.’
But sadly, once filled with food, the ‘line’ turned into a little belly.
Chen Yao took a glance, pouty and mumbling, “I see you eating and sleeping all day; how come your body keeps getting better?”
“Good metabolism! I can eat without getting fat!” Lin Nan said, beaming with pride. “So you should go to the gym by yourself.”
Isn’t this the benefit of unlocking magic!
Though it may not have been as transformative as before, her body was looking increasingly healthy.
“Just don’t end up as that gross, muscle-bound freak,” she added hastily, casting a worried glance at Chen Yao. “You won’t get all… you know, gay at the gym, right?”
Chen Yao’s lips twitched; he really had no standing to rebut her.
After all, Lin Nan was originally male when he had first developed a crush on her. If Lin Nan had stayed a male all this time, he might have had to reconsider his choices.
After all, being pretty is king; gender isn’t that important.
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One more chapter coming later, writing while fence-sitting.
