From Lina, he learned that unlocking about three to five more spells would allow Lin Nan to completely transform into a female.
But before becoming female, his body would definitely undergo even more feminine changes.
And by that time, Lilith might also revive and take over his body.
Only after her reminder did Lin Nan remember this Orochimaru-like character called Lilith.
Maybe he should just get the surgery if there was no other solution?
With a worried expression, he packed up his cafeteria meal and sat at his seat. After taking two bites, his eyes became vacant as he searched through his memories for unlockable magic.
Perhaps his shame threshold had lowered considerably. The last time he searched for magic, Lin Nan felt there wasn't a single remaining spell he could accept, but now, just glancing through them roughly, he felt several magic spells might be acceptable.
First was flight magic. Seeing the unlock condition of falling from a high place again, Lin Nan suddenly realized bungee jumping might be a good way to unlock it.
There were also some rather shameful unlock methods that, after experiencing the school swimsuit, didn't seem quite so shameful anymore.
"Chen Yao, are there any places nearby where you can go bungee jumping?" Lin Nan called out toward Chen Yao.
Chen Yao, still battling with Civilization, looked back. Those bloodshot eyes looked exactly like monsters from zombie movies.
Lin Nan was startled by those blood-streaked eyes and said with concern: "Don't drop dead in the dorm, or it'll become a haunted room and I won't be able to live here anymore."
"Aren't you afraid of heights? What the hell are you bungee jumping for?" Chen Yao ignored Lin Nan's concern, replied with one sentence, and continued playing on the computer.
Right, I'm terrified of heights.
Lin Nan held his forehead in pain. Last time that Ferris wheel had scared him to tears–bungee jumping would probably give him a heart attack.
But those magic spells that unlocked through shameful methods were really hard to bring himself to do.
Currently only Lin Nan and Chen Yao were in the dorm. Tu Junhui and Xiong Da had gone to a classmate's birthday party right after evening class, and would probably spend all night at an internet café–most likely not coming back.
Chen Yao was originally going to go too, but when that classmate saw Chen Yao's condition, he chickened out, afraid this guy would drop dead at the birthday party and turn a perfectly good birthday celebration into a funeral.
But Chen Yao had no intention of sleeping even in the dorm - somehow he was absolutely determined to finish this round of Civilization.
Lin Nan brought his chair over and sat beside Chen Yao, curiously asking: "Haven't you thought about finding a girlfriend? Back in senior year of high school, didn't you always say you'd find a sister-in-law once you got to university?"
"That would be your sister-in-law, not some 'sister-in-law.'" Chen Yao rolled his eyes at him, then said with a profound expression, "Back then wasn't it because I was tired of League of Legends? After getting to university, I discovered single-player games are pretty fun too. You can find women anytime, but after university there won't be time to play games."
"That makes sense! I think so too!"
Lin Nan felt there was a reason they could become best friends–even their values about finding girlfriends were the same.
"You'll probably have to find a boyfriend in the future."
Lin Nan's smile froze.
Chen Yao seriously turned to look at Lin Nan beside him, frowning slightly as he asked: "The problem is, can you accept that?"
"It's a bit..."
He lowered his head and said somewhat hesitantly: "When it comes to yuri..."
"You're probably overthinking it. Yuri probably looks as disgusting to women as gay guys look to us, right?"
That was true too.
Lin Nan suddenly realized that he had been asking Chen Yao about emotional issues, so how did it turn into Chen Yao questioning him?
"Single life is all I have, right?" he said hesitantly.
"You'll probably regret it when you're fifty or sixty, right? Seeing other families with three generations living harmoniously together, then looking at your own family with just you alone."
That made a lot of sense, and since Lin Nan had lived alone since childhood, he extremely hated solitude and loneliness. When he stayed alone in the dorm during National Day, he often had insomnia, was paranoid and neurotic - basically had an extreme lack of security.
This was fine for short periods, but if it went on long-term, he'd probably develop persecution complex.( TN: An irrational and obsessive feeling or fear that one is the object of collective hostility or ill-treatment on the part of others.)
He slumped back in his chair in despair, staring at the mottled ceiling, feeling his life was hopeless.
If he used magic to become a girl, Lilith might revive because of it, though he didn't understand the magical principle behind that. If he had surgery to become a girl, his family would be in debt for over 100,000 yuan. And after becoming a girl, he might face finding a boyfriend, getting married, even having children–all sorts of unacceptable things.
Lin Nan was very conflicted, but he also couldn't maintain his current half-male, half-female identity, since it was socially unacceptable.
Imagine a beautiful girl going to a company for a job interview, but when they check her ID card it shows she's male - probably nine out of ten times she'd be rejected, right?
In his current state, even if he shaved his head bald, he'd probably look like a nun rather than a monk.
"Whatever, I'll take things as they come." He wasn't someone who liked planning for the future anyway.
Standing up, he reached out his hand to Chen Yao: "Give me the membership card for that school barbershop, I'm going to get a haircut."
"You're really planning to cut your hair short?" Chen Yao asked in surprise. "I'll go with you, I need a haircut too."
Since haircuts near the school usually cost over thirty yuan, and as males they basically needed haircuts once a month, the entire dorm had gotten a joint membership card that gave a 20% discount.
Chen Yao paused his game, stood up and handed Lin Nan the sun protection jacket he'd casually tossed on the desk, then headed out the door first wearing flip-flops.
His hair was very short - basically a buzz cut with the sides almost completely shaved. Lin Nan always felt this hairstyle paired with his square face was a bit too rigid, though fortunately this guy's features were decent enough that on the street he'd generally be taken for something like a veteran or security guard, rather than someone just released from prison.
The problem was he didn't look like a student.
What student still has this kind of hairstyle nowadays?
Arriving at the on-campus barbershop, they were lucky–there happened to be two available chairs.
"Haircut." Chen Yao had been getting haircuts here for a year and was fairly familiar with the barber. "The usual–buzz it off."
"Just a simple trim?" Lin Nan said somewhat nervously to the Tony behind him, not daring to be as casual as Chen Yao, or his hair might be cut too short to look good. (TN: Tony refers to barbers/hairdressers. To help market themselves, they use English names, and Tony appears most often, to the point where most barbershops have a Tony.)
"Alright."
Lin Nan was full of anticipation that after his hair became shorter, he could return to his previous masculine appearance, or at least be less feminine.
But the more they cut, the more confused Lin Nan became.
When he got haircuts here before, didn't they always use clippers to first buzz the back of his head and around his ears? Why was the barber this time just using scissors and a comb, snipping away for ages? After all that cutting, only his bangs were a bit shorter - everywhere else seemed no different from before the cut.
"Alright, miss, if you're growing your hair out you should come for a trim once a month, otherwise when your bangs get too long you'll look listless. I can also trim places that grow too fast. This conditioner is fifty yuan a bottle right now–essential for long hair. Want to get one?"
"???"
I'm a guy!