When Lin Nan woke up the next day, it was only five in the morning.

She felt like her head was about to explode, with a headache so severe it was almost unbearable.

But she didn't really care about the physical pain. Opening her eyes, she stared numbly at the ceiling, then shifted her gaze to Chen Yao sitting in the chair.

"Awake?"

Chen Yao, who had stayed up all night, looked somewhat tired with heavy dark circles around his eyes. He looked up at Lin Nan's cold, empty gaze and couldn't help but shiver inwardly.

"Should I go buy you some breakfast?"

Lin Nan had almost completely forgotten everything that happened after getting drunk last night, but she was still in low spirits. She shook her head and tried to make the corners of her mouth turn up slightly: "Not hungry."

"I called your mom. She said she's coming to pick you up today."

"Mm." Lin Nan didn't seem particularly happy about it, just staring blankly at the hotel furnishings.

Chen Yao didn't know what she was thinking, so he could only continue: "I'll go with you too. I don't have anything to do before New Year anyway, might as well go play in your countryside."

"Where would you stay?"

After a night had passed, Lin Nan was obviously in much better condition than when he'd seen her yesterday. She was willing to talk and would even show simple concern for Chen Yao.

But her eyes still carried some resistance and indifference toward the outside world, which made Chen Yao's heart ache.

You had to know that before this, Lin Nan had at most maintained strong wariness toward strangers, but had never been like this.

"If you have a place for me to stay, I'll stay there. If not, I'll just find a small hotel for a few days." Chen Yao yawned tiredly and stood up to stretch his body. "I'll go buy you breakfast. Don't wander off."

"Mm."

Lin Nan watched his departing figure, not planning to get up. She curled up her legs, glanced at the phone by the bedside.

Hugging her calves with her chin resting on her knees, she picked up the phone to fiddle with it.

She didn't know what to do with it. The short videos she usually found interesting held no appeal today. After looking through all the apps, her finger finally clicked on WeChat.

She didn't use WeChat much when she came back, usually only checking every few days to see if there were any messages from her mother. The last time she had opened it should have been a few days ago when finals were approaching.

At that time, she had sent a message telling her mother roughly when she'd be coming back. After waiting half an hour with no response, she had forgotten about it.

This time when she opened WeChat, she discovered her mother had sent a string of messages.

Looking from top to bottom, she found that two days ago, her mother had sent messages saying she had formally resolved the divorce issues, moved to live at grandfather's house in the countryside, and found a factory job, striving to gather Lin Nan's surgery fees as soon as possible.

The recent ones were voice messages from last night.

"Your friend just called me using your phone. Didn't I tell you to come directly to grandfather's house after you got back? What did you go there for?...

"What did he do to you again? I'll come over tomorrow afternoon and beat him up.

"I was dealing with the divorce before going to court. I finally managed to get half the house from him... The house will be sold at market price and he'll give us the money. Your surgery fees can be gathered soon..."

The voice in the WeChat message sounded somewhat choked up.

Lin Nan's originally dead heart gradually began to feel some emotion. Her face finally showed some smile. Her mother did still care about her; she had just been caught up in divorce disputes and unable to take care of her.

She began to look forward to meeting with her mother, anticipating her mother's care.

But why hadn't Chen Yao come back yet?

With some hope and expectation, Lin Nan's mood finally wasn't so depressed. It lifted slightly, and even her numb eyes became somewhat more lively.

But what about her father's side?

She still hoped her father could accept her, but her plan had been interrupted by Chen Yao.

After waiting a long time, Chen Yao finally returned, not only bringing Lin Nan's breakfast but also her luggage and Cola.

"Yo! Was last night fun!"

Cola meowed a greeting to Lin Nan, leaping from Chen Yao's arms onto the bed, looking around. But she didn't find any blood traces on the bed, nor did Lin Nan seem uncomfortable. She immediately looked at Chen Yao with full disdain and contempt.

So this man was gay?

Chen Yao looked completely baffled. Lin Nan reached out to hug Cola, gently rubbing her face against the cat a few times.

"You look like you're feeling a bit better?" Chen Yao placed the breakfast on the bedside table and sat down on the edge of the bed, asking, "Your mom should be coming to pick you up this afternoon, right? Want to stay at my house for a while?"

"Your house?"

"This hotel only lets us stay until noon. What else would we do with the cat for the rest of the time, take her to an internet café?"

Lin Nan had been to Chen Yao's house before, the latest being when he first cross-dressed. So without much hesitation, she nodded.

She got up from the bed. Although she had just woken up, she still felt physically exhausted, and her hungover head hurt so much she kept frowning.

But she didn't complain much about anything. She walked straight into the bathroom, and when she looked up, she saw in the mirror that her face was haggard, her complexion pale, and her hair disheveled like a bird's nest, looking like a ghost from a horror movie. But even so, Lin Nan looked like a female ghost, and quite an attractive one at that.

She didn't pay too much attention to her appearance, just used a comb to tidy her hair a bit for the first time, then after a simple wash and breakfast, she left the hotel with Chen Yao.

"Your mom said yesterday that she'd come in the afternoon in your uncle's car..." Chen Yao dragged the luggage beside her. "Does your uncle know about your situation?"

"He knows." Although Lin Nan's mood had improved somewhat because her mother would be coming in the afternoon, she was still taciturn, keeping her head down and using her somewhat long hair to cover her expression.

"Can he accept you?"

"Seems... okay, I guess?" Lin Nan nodded and didn't say much more.

Chen Yao was helpless with Lin Nan in this state. Even though she looked somewhat better than when he'd seen her last night, compared to her condition at school, she looked very troubled now.

Even if Lin Nan suddenly decided to commit suicide, Chen Yao wouldn't be too surprised. That's why he had decided to follow her to her hometown.

The two found a private three-wheeler, and in just ten minutes they arrived at the front door of Chen Yao's house.

Chen Yao yawned and pushed open the door to walk inside. Looking up, he was dumbfounded to discover that his mother was still at home this late.

"Mom, it's already past six. Aren't you opening today?"

His family ran a restaurant, usually operating from six in the morning to six in the evening, and his parents generally went out around four to buy groceries and prepare to open.

"It's almost New Year, it will be closed for a while."

He panicked a bit, turning to look at Lin Nan who had already taken off her shoes and entered the house, at a loss for how to explain.

His mother, who had been looking at her phone, looked up and was surprised to discover that her son had actually brought a girl home.

He had expected to be scolded, but Chen Yao suddenly discovered that his mother was actually beaming with smiles as she came forward, enthusiastically taking the luggage from his hands, then taking house slippers from the shoe cabinet and placing them in front of Lin Nan, looking at Lin Nan kindly and with great excitement.

"Come in quickly, dear. Auntie didn't prepare anything, this is too sudden."

His mother smiled so widely she couldn't close her mouth. Only then did Chen Yao suddenly realize that his mother might have mistaken Lin Nan for his girlfriend.

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