603. Zhu Yong Wen Wakes Up
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Chen Yao was filled with regret.
Had he known Lin Nan would tag along, he would have limited himself to a bit of light drinking—definitely not to the point of being completely plastered with a cherry-red face, and he certainly wouldn’t have taken up smoking under the encouragement of his old classmates.
Now that Lin Nan had caught him red-handed, she didn’t make a fuss over it. Instead, she was happily chatting with Li Ya over there, and he had no clue what they were discussing, which only added to his anxiety.
After all, it was a small circle gathering, and Lin Nan suddenly crashing the party as Li Ya’s cousin left everyone treating her like a stranger. Sure, she was pretty, but all they did was whisper about her a bit; nobody even bothered to strike up a conversation.
With her mask, Lin Nan only revealed half her face, leading most people’s first impressions to be those seductive eyes of hers—like how some people think covering half their face makes them look cooler. For Lin Nan, it just added to her allure.
She didn’t even touch the food on the table, leaving her mask on, just grinning as she observed her old classmates.
“Are you really not going to say who you are?” Li Ya whispered to her.
“No need.” Lin Nan shook her head, her eyes crescent-shaped like the moon.
“Then aren’t you going to eat something?”
Shaking her head again, Lin Nan was worried that removing her mask would let sharp-eyed classmates recognize her.
Though the chance of that was slim, given that those who knew her were insiders, even if Zhu Yong Wen woke up and recognized her, he’d probably just go for a cover-up like Li Ya’s.
It must be said that while she had few friends from high school, they were all quite reliable.
She glanced around and noticed several classmates sneaking glances at her, while over at Pan Hui’s table, she had already dished out her bought milk tea to a few friends, looking like she was ready to spring into action.
Pan Hui had indeed blossomed since high school.
Comparatively, Li Ya looked a bit cleaner and slightly slimmer, and had learned to dress better, but her changes weren’t too drastic.
Pan Hui, on the other hand, had probably dropped fifty to sixty pounds. That chubby face with indistinguishable features was now a stunning one, with big eyes and a high nose bridge, a little makeup adding even more shock value.
Otherwise, Lin Nan wouldn’t have failed to recognize her earlier.
Both girls had positively changed, reaping heaps of compliments when dinner kicked off, while Lin Nan, with her transformation, was likely being whispered about as “feminine” behind her back.
In any case, they weren’t using any flattering terms.
Unable to resist the spread on the table, Lin Nan slightly pulled down her mask, revealing her mouth and nose, gulped a glass of cola, nibbled on some braised pork, then quickly pulled her mask back up.
Ah, no one noticed me.
Just then, Pan Hui abruptly collapsed onto the table.
As she did so, her spoon slipped and clattered loudly to the ground, catching everyone’s attention instantly.
“Not drinking anymore, not drinking anymore,” she half-opened her eyes, waving her hands, her face flushed as she pushed her wine glass aside.
“Then should you head home?” a male classmate who had benefited from Pan Hui’s milk tea asked concernedly, “It’s already past six, it’s unsafe at night. Who can take her home?”
Lin Nan shot a glance at the guy, thinking, six o’clock isn’t safe? Can’t you just say Pan Hui is too drunk to get home alone?
“Hey, Chen Yao, didn’t you say you’d take her home earlier?” the guy suddenly turned to the ever-serious Chen Yao who was enjoying his meal.
Chen Yao’s face was filled with question marks: “When did I say I’d take her home?”
“I don’t want to go home!” Pan Hui suddenly shouted, then quietly mumbled, “I can’t go home, I’ll get killed by my family for drinking so much…”
“Then Chen Yao, why don’t you take her to a nearby inn to get a room?” a goofy classmate sitting next to Chen Yao whispered suggestively, “It’s a perk!”
Chen Yao’s expression darkened further.
Lin Nan suddenly felt things were heading south.
Is Pan Hui actually trying to make some kind of move on my Chen Yao? Like, turning raw rice into cooked rice?
Though she had heard before that girls could be a bit forward, this was just too much!
She was starting to feel a bit uneasy, knowing Chen Yao wasn’t that kind of guy, but also understanding that men are creatures who can’t resist temptation.
At that moment, Chen Yao unequivocally shook his head: “Not happening, old class teacher, you take her to the inn. I’ve had quite a bit to drink myself.”
The class teacher nodded naturally, but Pan Hui wasn’t having it.
Isn’t he still a man?
Riding the wave of alcohol, she leaned in with a pout, “I want Chen Yao to take me to the inn!”
The whole table erupted with suggestive “ohs,” clearly catching on to Pan Hui’s intentions, while her already rosy complexion was now practically glowing, but her determination was palpable.
So, as they say, when the going gets tough, the tough get going—everyone started urging Chen Yao: “It’s fine, just go!”
“Yeah, you can’t have a girlfriend now, can you?”
Chen Yao had already turned a few people down, explaining helplessly: “I really do have a girlfriend! I can’t go.”
“Girlfriend, it can’t be Lin Nan, can it?” someone suddenly recalled what the teacher had said earlier, turning to Chen Yao teasingly.
“Is that true? Show us a photo.”
Chen Yao was feeling conflicted. Of course, he had photos of Lin Nan—he had normal ones and even some from their bungee jump adventure, all nicely tucked away in his phone gallery. Ten out of ten photos were stunning shots of Lin Nan.
But the problem was Lin Nan’s feelings.
He glanced up at Lin Nan sitting directly across from him, her head down and silent.
If he showed her photos without her consent, wouldn’t she be mad?
Amidst their childish antics, they had inadvertently roused the dozing Zhu Yong Wen. He stirred, rubbed his eyes, and, a bit confused, scanned the surroundings before his gaze settled on Lin Nan.
Li Ya, the teacher, knew Lin Nan was Chen Yao’s girlfriend, so after a moment’s hesitation, she planned to just spill the beans to everyone.
But when Zhu Yong Wen lifted his head, she immediately chickened out.
Zhu Yong Wen had no clue Lin Nan was Chen Yao’s girlfriend.
The tipsy chunk of a man was still a bit dazed, unable to comprehend what the ruckus was about among his old classmates, and now there was a masked Lin Nan in the mix.
After a moment of confusion, he turned to Chen Yao and asked, “When did Lin Nan get here?”
His voice wasn’t loud, but enough for those sitting near Chen Yao to hear.
Lin Nan was too far away to catch what Zhu Yong Wen was saying, but Chen Yao’s heart jumped, and without missing a beat, he denied, “That’s Li Ya’s cousin; Lin Nan can’t make it, didn’t I tell you?”
“Huh? They look so much alike?” Zhu Yong Wen stared at Lin Nan in confusion, causing her to promptly raise her mask higher and duck her head, hair draping over her face.
Scratching his head, his alcohol-befuddled brain still couldn’t wrap around it, he continued to ask Chen Yao, “So is it Lin Nan? Even with the mask, you can tell by the eyes.”
“That’s just a coincidence!”
