544. Morning at Grandpa’s House
==============================
Family education is crucial for a child.
A lot of parents think that education just means dropping their kids off at school and letting the teachers handle everything. Meanwhile, they neglect family education, much like Lin Nan’s parents used to do.
When her mother discovered that Lin Nan had turned into a girl, she suddenly had an epiphany and began to rectify her past mistakes. But all this did was gradually ease their mother-daughter tension, and it was hard to admit that her status in Lin Nan’s heart was still below that of her middle school buddies, let alone her current boyfriend.
With a worried look, she gazed at her daughter, who was already fast asleep in bed.
Every time she focused on Lin Nan’s slumber, she noticed the unshakable frown between her daughter’s brows.
She wondered if Lin Nan was like this when she was with Chen Yao.
…
The next day, the lively atmosphere at Grandpa’s house had finally calmed down a bit.
Waking up, Lin Nan noticed that her aunt and little aunt had vanished. When she went downstairs, most of the relatives who had stayed overnight were already gone, leaving a few uncles gathered around her mother playing mahjong.
“Awake, are we?” Her mother, hearing her footsteps, hurriedly jumped up and shoved her mother, Grandma, back into her chair, “Mom, you help me play a couple of rounds.”
“Wait, sis, that’s cheating! You can’t count that!” Wu Guodong exploded, looking up at Lin Nan’s grandpa, “Dad, can you help me out for a couple of rounds?”
“Ha.” Grandpa crossed his arms, too uninterested in bullying the kids at mahjong.
Lin Nan stood on the stairs, still groggy and yawning, when she saw her mother rush over. Rubbing her eyes, she asked, “What’s up?”
“Breakfast?”
“Not hungry, I overate yesterday…” Lin Nan rubbed her bloated stomach. After a midnight snack last night, she felt a bit of indigestion coming on.
Her mother, half-amused and half-exasperated, stroked Lin Nan’s head and looked up the stairs, “Is Xinyi and Jiaming still not up?”
“Xinyi is upstairs playing games.” Lin Nan surveyed the living room and relaxed a bit when she saw everyone was familiar faces. A smile crept onto her face, “Isn’t cousin Jiaming in the same room as Uncle? I didn’t dare to go in.”
She was afraid she might walk in on Wu Jiaming wandering around in his boxers.
Though she was used to such scenes in a boys’ dorm, that was a different story now. She was not just a girl; she was also Chen Yao’s girlfriend.
Her mother nodded, kicking off her shoes and pulling Lin Nan upstairs, “I bought you a few outfits last night. Want to try them on?”
“Don’t tell me it’s another short skirt…” Lin Nan followed her mother up the stairs reluctantly, mumbling, “Last time, you got me a sailor suit, and I still haven’t worn it…”
“Trust me, it will look great! Don’t you believe in your mom’s taste?”
Lin Nan had learned to be wary of her mother’s fashion sense. While she was no longer as resistant to women’s clothing, she still worried her mom would bring home something embarrassing, “I could just buy something online myself.”
But this time, her mother had taken her acceptance of women’s clothing into account.
It was probably right on the edge.
A pair of cotton shorts, the ultra-short kind, the type that Lilith would sport daily, which Lin Nan hadn’t tried before.
Then, there was a camisole dress, exposing her collarbone with just two straps holding it up, the hem only two centimeters above her knee, and the material floated as if it had no connection to her body.
One could probably call this dress sexy.
“What do you think?” Her mother looked at Lin Nan expectantly.
Faced with the clothes laid out on the bed, Lin Nan didn’t know what to say and turned her gaze to Liu Xinyi, hoping her gender-neutral aesthetics could help convince her mom.
“I think it will look great on my cousin!” Liu Xinyi didn’t hesitate to throw Lin Nan under the bus.
This girl’s neutral taste was meant just for herself; she expected all other girls to look as pretty as possible.
Lin Nan twitched the corner of her mouth and suggested cautiously, “How about we return it instead?”
“It looks nice! Besides, you have long legs; these shorts are perfect for you. When do you see girls wearing three-quarter pants in the middle of summer?”
Umm, a lot, actually. Quite a few still sport long jeans in the summer.
“But this dress…,” Lin Nan could accept the dress, and the length was fine, but the material was just beyond comprehension.
She imagined herself in that outfit.
Sure, it looked good, and maybe she’d get used to it with time, but Chen Yao—the vinegar jar—would definitely turn into a vinegar pond.
So, she brought up Chen Yao: “Chen Yao doesn’t want me wearing clothes that revealing.”
“Did he really say that?”
“Uh-huh.” Lin Nan nodded vigorously, “He’s super jealous! If anyone looks at me for too long while we’re out, he shoots them a glare. How could he let me wear something so eye-catching?”
Chen Yao was always thrilled to see other girls’ long legs when passing by, but if another guy looked at Lin Nan too much, he would turn all grumpy. Maybe that’s just how guys are?
Her mother looked slightly regretful, thinking about putting the clothes away for return. After all, the tags were still on; returning them was still possible.
But just as she was about to put them in the bag, Lin Nan suddenly reached out and snatched it away.
Her mother looked at her in confusion as Lin Nan’s face turned a bit crimson.
“Uh… I think I’ll keep it?” Lin Nan stuttered, hugging the bag, “I mean, since you bought it already…”
“Oh~ Just don’t wear it out! But you can wear it for your brother-in-law!”
Lin Nan grabbed an empty bottle from the nightstand and chucked it at Liu Xinyi, who let out a squeal and dodged the water bottle, “Cousin! How can you be so unreasonable!”
“Told you to stop talking nonsense!” Lin Nan’s face burned bright as she lowered her head, clutching the bag and hurried over to her luggage, shoving it directly inside.
When she glanced back at her mother, she saw a teasing smile on her face.
That only made Lin Nan feel more embarrassed, and she lowered her head, trying to change the subject, “Xinyi, aren’t you leaving around noon? It’s already past ten.”
“My mom hasn’t come back yet, what’s the rush?” Liu Xinyi sprawled on the bed, swinging her little legs and asked Lin Nan, “Where’s your brother-in-law? Did he just leave you here?”
I’d like to know where Chen Yao is too.
Lin Nan looked back at her mother, pleading, “Can I just go back to school today? Xinyi is going back at noon; I’ll have no one to hang out with here.”
Or maybe go over to Chen Yao’s place.
“Isn’t Jiaming still around?”
“But Jiaming is a guy…”
Her mother sighed in exasperation: “Always looking for your little boyfriend.”
But she couldn’t say much more since, after all, she hadn’t really spent much time with Lin Nan on previous holidays.
“I don’t have one!” Lin Nan exclaimed, denying it fiercely, “I just think it’s boring here when I have to go to an internet cafe to play games. I don’t like the heavy smoke, so I’d rather not go there.”
“Fine, fine.” Her mother sighed again, and immediately Lin Nan’s smile blossomed brighter. Just then, her mother suddenly remembered something, “Aren’t you birthday coming up soon?”
“Is it?” Lin Nan couldn’t recall her own birthday, frowning as she asked, “I think it’s either July 8 or August 9.”
But she was sure Chen Yao’s lunar birthday was in mid-July this year.
“Isn’t that during summer break? We can celebrate your birthday this year!” Her mother asked tentatively, “Let’s find a restaurant and invite some friends over?”
