529. High-Speed Train
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As Chen Yao sat on the high-speed train, his backpack was packed with over twenty fresh meat zongzi.
Originally, Zheng Qian thought that with fifty kilograms of glutinous rice, if each zongzi used a hundred grams, then dividing it equally among the class would mean everyone could have about five or six zongzi each.
But half the class didn’t show up.
Some students came just to play on their phones, taking two zongzi and then claiming they were tired; others strolled around the classroom, found it boring, and left.
So, Lin Nan ended up with a sweet deal.
With over twenty fresh meat zongzi that usually cost two to three yuan each in stores, Lin Nan scored some serious cash this time.
The thrill of getting a freebie kept her smiling as she sat by the window, shaking her legs, feeling like she’d hit the jackpot, which made her particularly happy.
“Are you staying at your place tonight?” Lin Nan turned around, beaming. “I’ll give Aunt ten zongzi I made myself! She’ll be so happy.”
Chen Yao, hugging his backpack, replied, “The problem is, it’s just the two of us at home eating meat zongzi. My parents prefer sweet ones.”
“It’s the thought that counts! Once I give it to them, what they do with it is none of my business.” Lin Nan toyed with her slender fingers, resting her head against the window, feeling the train’s gentle vibrations as she gazed at the increasingly desolate scenery outside.
After her happiness, she started worrying about the safety of her relatives and friends.
Before leaving school, she had texted Li Na, but for some reason, Li Na told her everything was very safe.
How can it be safe with all those otherworldly visitors around?
Could it be that her identity issue has been resolved?
But today’s Lilith has hardly any magic power. Even if she claimed to be a witch, no one would believe her. She’s the only one on Earth who looks like a witch… The more she explained, the worse it might get.
Her head was in a single-thread mode. The more she thought about it, the messier it became, so she decided to stop pondering, yawned, and prepared to take a nap on the train.
The train attendant started pushing a cart selling dinner and snacks.
In the past, she didn’t understand and, not asking the price, bought a meal on the train, only to be shocked when it rang up to forty-five yuan—a dish that typically cost fifteen to twenty.
Since then, Lin Nan never even considered buying anything on the train again.
She stretched, feeling a bit tired, and leaned on Chen Yao’s shoulder. “Take out two zongzi; I’m a bit hungry.”
The zongzi were already cooked, so they could quickly be thrown in the fridge when they got to Chen Yao’s place, likely lasting three to five days.
Chen Yao got up, took the backpack from the overhead rack, pulled out two zongzi, and was about to speak when suddenly, his attention was drawn to a girl a little way off.
She was quite pretty, with makeup that made her look even better than Lin Nan.
Still caught in the old, tight friendship mode with Lin Nan, Chen Yao poked her shoulder and whispered, “Look over there! That girl is super pretty.”
“Really?” Lin Nan leaned out to look and was suddenly stunned.
She set down her zongzi and, leaving Chen Yao with a confused look, excitedly walked toward the girl.
The beautiful girl was holding her stomach, frowning slightly, her face pale, looking quite delicate.
“Sis?” Lin Nan leaned in closer. “What a coincidence! You’re going home for the Dragon Boat Festival too?”
Lin Jin looked up, recognizing Lin Nan from a recent encounter.
“Uh-huh.” She nodded weakly.
Lin Jin also lived in the same city as Lin Nan, but her school was on the outskirts while she lived downtown. With Dragon Boat Festival tomorrow, she planned on visiting her relatives back home.
Seeing her looking so weak and delicate, Lin Nan curiously asked, “Are you sick?”
Let me cast a healing spell!
Divine light, ignore this…
Just as she was about to sneakily throw a spell at her cousin when no one was looking, Lin Nan’s gaze landed on the sanitary napkin in Lin Jin’s hand.
Ah, it’s from Seven Degrees of Space.
Aunt Flo has come knocking, and she’s probably cramping!
Lin Nan suddenly understood, retracting her raised hand, about to say something when she was shocked into taking two steps back.
Lin Jin gave her a glance, which dripped with elegance, a kind of refined maturity: “What’s wrong?”
“Is technology really at this level now?!” Lin Nan stared at her, dumbfounded.
And wasn’t Lin Jin said to have a child too?
Perhaps Aunt Flo had shown up, which explained the bad mood, so Lin Jin didn’t elaborate further, simply nodding while the stranger who occupied the bathroom conveniently walked out.
“I’ve got stuff to do, we’ll chat later.” Lin Jin entered the bathroom, closing the door and cutting off Lin Nan’s stunned expression.
Lin Nan bit her lip and returned to Chen Yao’s side.
Her mind was racing, suddenly doubting if her cousin had also been transformed by magic into a girl.
Or maybe Lin Jin was truly intersex?
When Lin Jin’s family moved away during Lin Nan’s childhood, she was too young to remember clearly, except for a vague impression of Lin Jin looking like a girl.
No wonder she seemed like a girl back then.
Lin Nan mumbled to herself but overheard Chen Yao asking, “Do you know that girl?”
“Yeah, she’s my cousin…” Lin Nan quickly explained without hesitation. “We’re not super close. She moved away when I was really little, but I got to know her again at my cousin’s wedding.”
Curiously, she peered down the aisle, but her cousin hadn’t come out of the bathroom yet. Hesitating, she whispered to Chen Yao, “It seems like her situation is pretty similar to mine.”
“Huh?”
She leaned into Chen Yao’s ear and whispered, “Back then… she must have been a boy, right? I can’t remember clearly; I was too young.”
Chen Yao looked a bit confused. Is there a genetic problem in Lin Nan’s family? Why is this kind of thing always cropping up? Or is her hometown just heavily polluted?
“I heard she underwent transformation surgery like a normal boy.” Lin Nan frowned. “But normal boys wouldn’t get their period even after surgery, and it seems like she might have kids too.”
Or maybe she was just faking it to fit better into the female experience?
She suddenly entertained that thought.
“Why think so much? Just ask her!” Chen Yao shifted slightly, tilting his head away, slightly flustered by Lin Nan’s breath while talking, and gently pushed her head away, setting his backpack in his lap with a wry smile.
Lin Nan shook her head. “I don’t know her that well, so forget about it.”
Although she got along well with Lin Jin, they’d only met a few times after all.
Besides, it seemed Lin Jin might also be on her period and in a bad mood.
“Why not ask her if she wants some zongzi?” Chen Yao pulled two zongzi from the bag and offered them to Lin Nan.
“Okay, I’ll wait for her to come out before grabbing more. My cousin is probably on the train as well.”
