602. Chen Yao, Danger
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Lin Nan couldn’t guarantee that Zhu Yong Wen would cover for her like Li Ya did.
But that chubby guy showed surprising emotional intelligence the last time she met him. He must have studied “Emotional Intelligence” thoroughly.
But suddenly crashing this party? Who knew how Zhu Yong Wen would react!
If he reacted too strongly, wouldn’t that blow her cover?
Exposing her identity in front of dozens of classmates would be social s*icide! Just like at her cousin’s wedding—she’s already socially dead in that little village and has no face to return.
Pan Hui was busy ordering milk tea, while Li Ya was cheerfully urging Lin Nan to join the gathering. Lin Nan just kept rejecting her with excuses, completely baffled by Li Ya’s intentions.
Maybe she just wanted Lin Nan to join so the gathering wouldn’t look so bare with only a third of the classmates showing up.
After all, this mess was all Lilith’s fault—not because Lin Nan was bored and wanted to join in.
Li Ya leaned closer to Lin Nan, glancing at Pan Hui, and whispered, “Don’t worry; I definitely won’t expose you. I’ll just say you’re my cousin!”
“You’re definitely curious to join the party since you’re hiding here. Don’t sweat it; with such a big change and wearing girl’s clothes, who would recognize you?”
I’d prefer to wear boy’s clothes.
Lin Nan twitched her mouth, looking conflicted as she replied, “But Zhu Yong Wen would recognize me; he came to find me at school not long ago.”
“And he doesn’t know about my relationship with Chen Yao…”
Wrapping her arm around Lin Nan’s shoulder, Li Ya leaned in even closer. “Then just give him a call and ask him to cover for you!”
Lin Nan couldn’t help but feel tempted.
She hesitated, nodded, pulled out her phone, and dialed Zhu Yong Wen. After a few minutes of waiting without him picking up, she took a peek over at the food stall across the street, realizing he was slumped over the table, likely fast asleep.
“Well, that’s just great…” With the only classmate she recognized passed out, there was no way the class teacher or Chen Yao could expose her.
Lin Nan felt a lot more at ease, nodding her little head, and quickly finished the remaining half cup of milk tea.
Something tells me this feels dangerous.
But she also needed to keep an eye on Pan Hui’s moves, and she really wanted to join the party. Sure, using the identity of Li Ya’s cousin meant she wouldn’t blend in with them, but just getting into that atmosphere would be nice…
Over at Pan Hui’s end, she finished ordering milk tea, getting five cups to share with Chen Yao’s friends and a few girls, figuring they might serve as her backup.
After handing Li Ya a cup, Pan Hui shot her a knowing glance, then glanced at Lin Nan. Not really expecting much from the stranger, she led the way toward the food stall.
Lin Nan followed closely behind Li Ya, staring down at her heels, her palms starting to sweat.
Upon arriving at the stall’s entrance, about a dozen classmates finally noticed that Li Ya and Pan Hui returned with a beautiful girl in tow. Chen Yao was so out of it from drinking that he glanced at Lin Nan, who was wearing a mask, and didn’t even recognize his own girlfriend, continuing to drink and smoke with his friends.
Throwing a discreet glare his way, Lin Nan wondered if she should have him sleep on the sofa tonight.
“This is my cousin! She hadn’t had dinner, so I brought her along.” Li Ya, not the most extroverted girl, blushed a little saying this, obviously feeling a tad embarrassed about her request.
But Lin Nan really wanted to participate in this gathering. Yet, because of her drastically changed appearance, she could only hide on the sidelines and watch. It felt pitiful…
She took a deep breath, feeling much more confident. “Is everyone okay with that?”
Seeing a pretty girl, most of the guys had big grins and didn’t voice any objections, with a few enthusiastic classmates yelling out, “We’ve all been drinking with no food—perfect, someone can help eat!”
“Your cousin is so pretty; aren’t you worried that you girls will just be background decorations?”
This remark sparked a wave of laughter, but then the class teacher stepped up, declaring, “Waiter, add another chair.”
The class teacher smiled at Lin Nan, not revealing her identity at all.
At this point, Chen Yao was blissfully unaware, only realizing Lin Nan was there when he heard the laughter, and his mouth fell agape at the sight of his girlfriend being shoved into a chair by Li Ya, his mind flooded with question marks.
Wait, isn’t that my girlfriend?
When did she show up?
“Stop staring! Just because she’s pretty doesn’t mean you can gawk at her,” nudged one of his drinking buddies, “Come on, let’s drink!”
Chen Yao remained completely oblivious, just staring at Lin Nan who sat directly across from him, not paying any attention to his friends’ banter.
“Quit staring! What are you, lovestruck?”
Lin Nan shot a glance filled with subtle amusement at the dazed Chen Yao, smiling and nodding sweetly, her eyes radiating warmth.
Chen Yao immediately jolted, sweat dripping down his back; he put his drink down, disposed of the cigarette he was smoking, and sat up straight in the most proper way possible.
Meanwhile, his goofy friend nudged him again, asking excitedly, “Whoa, did Li Ya’s cousin just smile at me? She’s so cute! Should I go up now to ask for her WeChat or phone number, or is that too desperate?”
“Hey, if she wants to marry me, I wouldn’t mind her kid taking my surname! Whoa! She smiled at me again! She must like me!”
Stop being cute or you might d*e! It’s all your fault for making me smoke!
Chen Yao didn’t respond, cold sweat rolling down his brow as he kept up the most proper posture to eat.
His silly friend eventually caught on and put down the smoke and drink, clearing his throat to ask, “Girls don’t like guys who smoke and drink, right? They prefer guys to be more serious?”
Chen Yao was too tired to deal with this idiot and shot a glare at Li Ya.
What the heck did you bring Lin Nan here for? Wait, isn’t she supposed to be home playing with computer birds? Why did Li Ya drag her over in just ten minutes?
His cold sweat just got worse.
Lin Nan observed the two with confusion.
She could understand Chen Yao getting serious, but why was that guy next to him trying to act all proper too?
Pulling her gaze away, a new chair arrived, and the classmates made room for Li Ya to sit next to Lin Nan.
Lin Nan scanned around the table.
Only four familiar faces, and three were covering for her; the only exception, Zhu Yong Wen, was drunkenly slumped on the table, probably asleep.
Now Lin Nan felt a lot more comfortable. Afraid that removing her mask would expose her to sharp-eyed classmates, she decided not to eat and instead chatted amiably with the ever-cheerful Li Ya.
