608. The Aftermath
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You know, Pan Hui has always had a pretty good feeling about Lin Nan.
Even though she only spent three years in high school with Lin Nan, those years were filled with her quiet admiration for Chen Yao, which naturally led her to pay attention to Lin Nan, who often seemed to blend into the background.
Back then, Lin Nan often skipped class, but he was humble and a bit shy, never stirring up trouble. He had a rather delicate appearance, though the pesky teenage acne made that cute face just a tad more “average Joe.”
Pan Hui had always been aware that Lin Nan was Chen Yao’s best bud, and after what happened last night, she was even more convinced of this fact. I mean, not everyone is willing to dress up as their best friend’s girlfriend just to get them out of a bind!
As for whether Lin Nan was a cross-dressing weirdo or not, that never crossed her mind. Weirdos like that are hard to spot in real life; usually, they’re hiding out at home.
After two years of not seeing each other, Lin Nan’s acne had vanished, and that delicate face now looked even more feminine. In a dress and wearing a wig? Well, Lin Nan was looking prettier than most girls out there! Pan Hui even felt a bit relieved that Lin Nan was a guy; otherwise, Chen Yao would have been totally wiped out by now!
It’s no wonder Li Ya had a crush on Lin Nan; maybe back in high school, she saw through Lin Nan’s not-so-great skin to glimpse his future good looks!
…..
At least, that’s what she thought last night.
But seeing Lin Nan again today, with long hair and a chest that seemed to have grown overnight, strutting around in a female nightgown, her head was buzzing and she felt utterly lost.
What happened to that “it was just Lin Nan dressed as a girl to save Chen Yao” thing from yesterday?
Lin Nan awkwardly smiled at her and took little tiptoes over to hide behind Auntie.
The room fell into a heavy silence. Auntie, sensing the weird atmosphere, suppressed her urge to speak and glanced back and forth at the confused group.
The strange vibe made Auntie hesitate for a while. She finally asked, “You know Lin Nan, right?”
Pan Hui nodded, still dazed.
“She is Chen Yao’s fiancée.”
“……”
Pan Hui swallowed, raised her head, and continued to look at Lin Nan with a blank stare. It wasn’t until Lin Nan and Chen Yao both gave a small nod that she realized Auntie wasn’t pulling her leg.
“But, but Lin Nan is a guy…” she exclaimed, incredulous.
Auntie’s brow furrowed. “Haven’t you two talked about this with your old classmates before?”
She always knew Lin Nan used to be “male” because Chen Yao had never been shy about it.
But that was all due to congenital issues, causing Lin Nan to live as a boy for years and even leaving her family in shambles.
That made Auntie sympathetic, hoping to fill in the gaps in Lin Nan’s life as a mother-in-law would.
Otherwise, she wouldn’t have taken such a shine to Lin Nan over her own son!
Auntie turned to glance at Lin Nan hiding behind her, then back at her child, shaking her head in disbelief. “Why hide this from your classmates? It’s not like it’s something that needs to be kept secret!”
Lin Nan remained silent.
Despite everything, she still hoped her old classmates would view her as a guy.
Even if reality would surely reveal her true self, playing games online and bragging about being a dude in chat groups kept that little male fantasy alive.
Plus, she was worried about how her old classmates would react if they found out. After all, these were people she had spent three years with, not those relatives she only saw once a year.
For now, Zhu Yong Wen only saw her as a slightly feminine guy with long hair, and Lin Nan hoped he had forgotten about last night’s feminine attire—who knows if he’d black out from all the drinking!
Pan Hui had probably just thought of her as a temporary cross-dresser helping a buddy out, a classmate who was looking prettier over the two years.
Li Ya had simply misunderstood, thinking Lin Nan was some sort of oddball, which made her lose interest… Lin Nan planned to clarify things over the summer; being seen as a weirdo wasn’t exactly great.
Pan Hui, however, was even more baffled. “Auntie, what’s going on?”
Seeing Lin Nan’s confused face and Chen Yao’s look of “whatever Lin Nan says goes,” Auntie felt a headache coming on.
I can’t just stand by while my daughter-in-law’s reputation gets dragged through the mud!
So, she plopped down on the couch, patted the spot next to her, and beckoned Pan Hui to sit down.
Lin Nan, feeling the pressure, hurried into the kitchen to bathe that imperial crab, with Chen Yao trailing behind, peeking around with eager curiosity.
Auntie and Pan Hui were talking quietly in the living room, and Lin Nan couldn’t catch any of it. Every now and then, she heard Pan Hui gasping in disbelief. She tried to push these thoughts aside and scrubbed the crab with Chen Yao’s help.
“I shouldn’t have snooped on your gathering last night,” Lin Nan mumbled.
Chen Yao was about to agree when he caught her slightly envious tone. “But if I hadn’t been watching, you probably would’ve hit it off with Pan Hui!”
“Can you trust me a little?” Chen Yao shot her an annoyed glare. “Am I that easy to seduce?”
Actually, he was pretty trusting. Just a smidge jealous, is all.
Both of them were the jealous types; they each had a healthy dose of possessiveness, and the moment someone even hinted at stepping into their territory, no matter how unlikely it was to succeed, the jealousy pot would still boil over.
After scrubbing the crab, they chopped up some ginger to eliminate the fishy smell and tossed it directly into Auntie’s large pot for steaming.
By this time, the living room chatter had wrapped up.
When Lin Nan stepped out of the kitchen, she found Pan Hui staring at her with a rather odd expression.
It wasn’t malicious, just a curious gaze mixed with an air of disappointment.
Probably feeling like it’d be far more effective for a girl to chase a guy than for best friends to pursue each other?
“I figured out your situation,” Pan Hui managed a strained smile, “Does Li Ya know about it? Do you want me to help explain?”
“Uh, it’s probably best to explain…” Lin Nan awkwardly turned her head, unable to face her.
“And what about Zhu Yong Wen…?”
After some internal debate, Lin Nan finally sighed, realizing she couldn’t keep that from Zhu Yong Wen forever. “Please explain for me, but let’s leave everyone else out of it. I’ll treat you to a meal next time.”
This time, she was definitely covering the crab all by herself.
Most other classmates were just casual friends; it wouldn’t likely be a big deal even if they ran into each other, and they probably wouldn’t recognize her anyway, so no need to complicate things.
“Alright then…” Pan Hui’s smile slowly became more genuine. “Wishing you and Chen Yao a lifetime of happiness.”
As Pan Hui left, Lin Nan sighed and headed toward her bedroom.
What if she had just explained herself to Pan Hui last night… Imagining it is pretty wild: a former high school classmate suddenly showing up in a dress, saying, “Hey, I’m a girl now and I’m engaged to the guy you’re crushing on.”
It would probably be a head full of question marks before considering whether this person had just escaped from a mental institution!
Now, that’s an absurd picture to have in her head.
Seems like a stretch, right?
