I Don’t Want to Be Turned into a Girl by Magic

Chapter 256 : February 14th

When Lin Nan woke up, the room was empty.

Cola was curled up on the pillow beside her, her small body producing thunderous snoring that made Lin Nan's ears hurt.

She raised her hand and slapped Cola awake. The cat's big, dazed eyes stared blankly, looking completely confused.

"You woke up from sleeping, why did you have to wake me up too?"

Cola meowed in protest at Lin Nan, who casually picked her up and held her close, nuzzling her face against the fur and burying her nose in it to take a deep breath.

"Holy crap! You really are the same kind of pervert as Lina!" Cola struggled free from Lin Nan's embrace, jumped off the bed, and disappeared in a flash.

Chen Yao had started working as a delivery person for his uncle and aunt a few days ago. He left early and returned late every day, leaving Lin Nan alone at home with nothing to do but play on the computer or sleep. Life had become incredibly boring.

Breakfast was set out on the dining table, and there were still leftovers from New Year's Eve dinner in the fridge. Lin Nan only needed to cook some rice each day and reheat the dishes. When Chen Yao was home, Lin Nan always complained that he was annoying, that he always left things lying around, that he never wrung out towels properly and left the bathroom floor wet everywhere, and that he always played games with the sound on.

But he'd only been gone a few days, and Lin Nan inexplicably found herself missing him.

Annoying as he was, at least having someone around to chat with and tolerate each other made the place feel more alive. It wouldn't be as cold and lonely as it was now, with just her sitting around bored.

Sitting blankly at the dining table, she propped her chin on one hand. Even the special sandwich Auntie made didn't seem appetizing. She stared despondently at the patterns on the table and let out a soft sigh. Without much appetite, she casually placed the untouched sandwich back on the plate, drank a couple sips of milk, then went back to sit on the living room sofa.

Cola leaped onto the dining table. Seeing that Lin Nan hadn't touched her breakfast at all, she decisively claimed it as her own meal and ate until her mouth was full of bread crumbs.

Lin Nan curled up her legs and turned on the TV, expressionlessly watching the morning news while her thoughts drifted further and further away.

If she hadn't met Chen Yao in middle school, she probably would have dropped out early and learned some trade outside, or gone to work in a factory on an assembly line, right?

Her parents had never worried about her studies. They thought that if she couldn't get into a top university, school was just a waste of money.

Even now, her mother had never cared about her education.

She recalled the scene from back then when Chen Yao had stood up for her and fought with the little thugs in class who were bullying her. At the time, she thought Chen Yao was like a legendary hero, the kind that would shine with light all over.

Unfortunately, the more time she spent with this "hero," the more Lin Nan realized that Chen Yao was just an ordinary person after all.

Suddenly there was a sound at the front door, instantly pulling Lin Nan from her thoughts.

Her nerves immediately tensed as she frowned and looked toward the door.

Logically, no one should be coming back at this time.

Could it be a thief?

The noise outside grew louder. Lin Nan tiptoed to her feet, grabbed the broom from the corner of the living room, and nervously approached the door. She looked out through the peephole, but the person outside was hiding just beyond the peephole's range. She couldn't see their face.

However, judging by that figure...

The door opened. Lin Nan pushed it open from inside and poked her head out to look at Chen Yao outside.

"What were you fumbling with out here for so long without coming in?"

Chen Yao was startled by her, his expression flustered and uneasy.

"What's wrong? Doing something guilty?" Lin Nan immediately noticed his unease. She gave Chen Yao a suspicious glance and discovered his pocket was bulging, as if hiding something.

"Nothing, I just couldn't find my keys." Chen Yao explained anxiously.

Lin Nan snorted and didn't bother arguing further. She casually grabbed a pair of slippers from the shoe cabinet and muttered, "Why are you so nervous about coming home to your own place?"

She watched Chen Yao enter and reached out to help him take off his thick coat, hanging it on a hook on the shoe cabinet. But when she turned around, she saw Chen Yao staring at her blankly.

"What?"

Chen Yao quickly shook his head. "Nothing, it's just that you seem a bit like an old married wife from a TV drama."

"Just habit." Lin Nan didn't pay much attention to his comment, but seeing his distracted appearance, she suddenly reached out and pulled whatever was in Chen Yao's pocket out. Without taking time to see what it was, she turned and ran.

She ran all the way to the dining room, but when she looked back, Chen Yao wasn't chasing her. Feeling a bit disappointed, she lowered her head to look at the item in her hand and discovered it was a beautifully wrapped chocolate.

"Oh ho, which beauty is this gift for?" Lin Nan teased Chen Yao at the doorway. "Let me meet her, stop hiding it." It's not someone from a dating app, is it? Lin Nan smugly held up the chocolate. Why didn't you just mail it directly to her house? Were you going to stuff a greeting card in here?

"Wait, does the post office still deliver?" She looked down to play with the chocolate and suddenly noticed there seemed to be a note stuck on the outer packaging.

Chen Yao didn't argue. He casually closed the door, and though he'd been a bit embarrassed before, he now suddenly seemed relieved and relaxed. In an indifferent tone he said, "It's for you. I'm not doing any online dating. That thing with Xiong Da was barely two months ago, wasn't it?"

The incident with Xiong Da being scammed into a pyramid scheme through online dating was still fresh in their minds.

"Why give it to me? I don't like sweets." Lin Nan, seeing he wasn't anxious at all, immediately lost interest in teasing him further. She walked up to return the chocolate to him. "So who were you planning to give it to? Your mom?"

However, Chen Yao took a step back and said rather seriously, "It was meant for you from the start."

"Really?"

Lin Nan froze, looking down at the chocolate in her hand again.

She still muttered complaints. "If you're going to give me something, you might as well just give me money. I don't eat stuff like chocolate."

She pulled off the note from the outer packaging and looked at it closely.

"Lin... my name really is on it?" She looked completely surprised. "Before, you'd only buy me game skins at most. Why are you suddenly giving gifts today?"

"February 14th."

"What's that?"

"Valentine's Day."

Lin Nan looked at him like he was an idiot. "What does that have to do with me?"

Chen Yao sat down on the sofa, hands stuffed in his hoodie pockets, nervously bouncing his leg.

The note had her name on the front. Flipping it over, Lin Nan discovered there was a line of small text on the back. Frowning, she read it word by word: "Lin Nan, be my girlf..."

She couldn't continue reading.

Lin Nan stared blankly at the note, looked up at the anxious Chen Yao, and her cheeks instantly turned bright red. She was at a complete loss, frozen in place not knowing what to do.

After waiting a moment and hearing no response, Chen Yao looked up at Lin Nan standing there dazed. His head heated up, and he suddenly gathered his courage and repeated the content of the note.

"Lin Nan! Be my girlfriend!"

"Eh?!"

She snapped back to awareness.