**577. The Daily Lives of an Unmarried Couple**
For several days in a row, Lin Nan participated in three interviews.
None of them went smoothly or successfully.
The first time she got stood up, the second was at a large chain company where, after a brief chat, she had to assess her teaching skills in front of the interviewer. Lin Nan was so nervous she ended up stuttering and was promptly eliminated.
By the time she got to the third interview, she discovered it was an irregular tutoring center hidden in a residential building. The person in charge was a terrifying old lady, so Lin Nan quickly made up an excuse and bolted.
These consecutive failures had Lin Nan feeling the dark side of society.
“I’m home,” Lin Nan sighed as she pushed open the door of her rental apartment, dragging herself to the sofa like a deflated balloon and face-planting onto the cushions.
Chen Yao, shirtless and sitting cross-legged on the floor, was engrossed in his video game. He couldn’t help but shake his head at Lin Nan’s sad demeanor. “Did you not make it again?”
“I thought the tutoring center would be okay, but it’s definitely dodgy,” Lin Nan moaned, burying her face in the sofa cushions and rubbing her head back and forth like a parrot begging for food. “Ahhh!!! If this goes on, I might as well go tutor elementary school kids at your aunt’s place!”
“What’s wrong with teaching elementary kids? Sounds pretty good, actually.”
“I absolutely refuse!” Lin Nan quickly found a reason to backpedal, “I want to bond with Lemon! No time to be a teacher for kids!”
“Well, if you can’t find an internship, I’ll just stay home and teach Lemon! Make him a genius!”
Chen Yao put down his controller and turned to Lin Nan with a grin. “What are you thinking? That parrot has the intelligence of a toddler at most—doesn’t even match up to a dog or cat.”
“But I can do magic!” Lin Nan retorted, puffing out her chest.
At that moment, she suddenly recalled the magic she had used on Pan Maoxin before. Would it work on Lemon too?
Even if the parrot wasn’t smart enough to grasp what she was saying, surely more weird knowledge in its little head would make it smarter, right?
And the side effect of the magic might even make Lemon fall in love with her!
With eyes wide open, she cheerfully pulled out her phone and found an early education video. “Let’s see if magic works on a parrot!”
“What if it does?”
“Then I won’t just be a teacher anymore; I could be training cats and dogs instead!” Lin Nan shook her phone victoriously, “Imagine the buzz—cats and dogs that can do math! How about that?”
Chen Yao pondered for a moment before asking, “But cats and dogs may not listen to you. They might just bite you when they see you…”
Lin Nan let out a huff. “Then I’d just hit them until they obey!”
When did her girlfriend become such a little tyrant?
Chen Yao shivered a little and decided to keep playing the game while saying sweetly, “I’ve finished my final design. How about you? Want help?”
“Nope, all done.” Lin Nan reached into the thermal container and gently petted Lemon, who had been home for nearly a week.
Usually, this parrot would waddle over clumsily to Lin Nan when it was time to eat, but nowadays it treated her hand like the enemy. It would chase and peck at her!
But today, Lemon was different. It stretched its neck and nestled against her thumb, eyes closed, letting her scratch its head like a good little bird.
“Lemon seems a bit off today?” Lin Nan furrowed her brows.
“Really?”
“It’s a bit too well-behaved, hardly makes a sound.”
Concerned, Lin Nan started mixing some baby formula for Lemon, but after a couple of sips, it scurried back to the thermal container like a tiny ninja.
“It won’t eat!” Lin Nan gasped. “I need to find a nearby pet hospital for parrot check-ups online.”
Chen Yao shrugged, unbothered. “What’s the big deal? It’s probably just not hungry. Look, it’s hardly chirping! Plus, carrying such a little parrot around isn’t good for its health.”
“Maybe I should observe for two more days…”
Lin Nan sighed and got up from the sofa to make dinner.
With no classes lately, she and Chen Yao had started cooking for themselves.
It had been a while since her last cooking adventure; chopping veggies felt a little rusty, but at least her foundation still stood.
While sorting through the ingredients Chen Yao bought, she asked him, “Have you not seen Lilith and Li Na around lately?”
“They probably went back? I checked her place a couple of days ago, and it was empty.”
“Really?” Lin Nan said, biting her lip as she wiped her hands on a kitchen towel and dialed Li Na’s phone.
But after a few minutes of ringing, it went unanswered. She tried Lilith next, but got a “disconnected” prompt.
Looks like they really did leave? Probably took Lilith with her.
After all, Li Na had only come here to find Lilith and give her a little mental makeover—which seemed mostly done by now.
But to leave without saying goodbye…
“I finally got the hang of some magic, and I wanted to borrow some of her magic power again. The last time I borrowed it, I used it all up.” Chen Yao leaned back against the coffee table, looking up at Lin Nan. “Need help with dinner?”
“Nope, just take Lemon to the bedroom, or the smoke will choke it.”
Chen Yao felt a bit neglected; Lin Nan seemed to care more about Lemon than about him.
Lately, even their night-time fun had fizzled out. Lin Nan now went to bed at eight or nine, completely misaligned with his schedule.
Maybe this was the price of having a ‘child’?
He ignored Lin Nan’s advice and strolled over to her side instead.
Lin Nan, wearing a scarf at her waist and with her hair in a ponytail—except for a few strands falling charmingly over her cheek—was slicing pork tenderloin with a gentle smile, looking like an ideal partner.
Unable to restrain himself, he wrapped his arms around her waist.
“What’s going on? I’m busy here.” Lin Nan shot him an annoyed look. “If you don’t want to smell the smoke, go hide in the bedroom. Why come over here to mess around?”
“Mess around? This is just being affectionate! Come here, give me a kiss.”
Chen Yao leaned in, grinning.
“Gross,” Lin Nan protested, but she still leaned her cheek toward him casually. Just as she made contact with his lips, she jerked back quickly, wiping her face with the back of her hand in disgust.
“What’s wrong with kissing?”
“Broad daylight—are you crazy?” Lin Nan brandished the kitchen knife as a warning. “Scram!”
Chen Yao took a couple of steps back, still smirking. “So nighttime is okay then? We’re basically an old married couple; what’s the big deal about a kiss?”
“Who’s an old married couple with you…”
Her face blushing, Lin Nan lowered her head, trying to focus on cutting the meat, but Chen Yao’s hands were getting a bit too familiar, slipping under her thin shirt.
Sparks of electricity flew through her skin, making her grip on the knife tremble.
Taking a deep breath, she angrily turned around to glare at him. “Get lost! Can’t you see I’m cooking?!”
“It’s not like I’m doing anything.”
“You’re corrupting Lemon!” Lin Nan raised her foot and stomped it directly on Chen Yao’s foot. “I told you to take the parrot to the bedroom—you’re just causing a ruckus here!”
Chen Yao grimaced in exaggerated pain, hopping on one leg to the side. “You’re trying to murder your husband!”
“Get out! So annoying!”