Lin Nan had become increasingly skilled at distributing flyers. Of course, this job didn't require much technical expertise—you just needed to endure the heat and have thick skin.
His skin wasn't thick, but hiding inside the Kumamon mascot costume made him much bolder.
Since the university had Tuesday afternoons off for various activities, and some time slots had fewer classes, Lin Nan had managed to come here two or three times over the past half month, timing it carefully around his schedule.
As with his previous visits, Lin Nan distributed flyers while chatting with the traffic control officer beside him.
He had encountered this uncle twice before, and the man recognized Lin Nan immediately from his walking posture as soon as he approached the shade of the umbrella.
"Why didn't you come during National Day?" The uncle glanced at the red light across the crosswalk, then fixed his gaze on the pedestrians waiting in front of him while asking, "Where did you go for the holidays?"
"I spent a few days at my uncle's place." Lin Nan saw pedestrians crowding around waiting for the traffic light, answered briefly, then quickly seized the good opportunity to approach and hand out flyers.
When he returned to the uncle's side a moment later, he heard him say, "Your voice sounds better than before."
"Really?"
"If I hadn't seen you before, I would have thought it was a girl's voice."
Lin Nan pursed his lips inside the costume head. This was the first person to say his voice had also become feminine.
Perhaps ever since his appearance started becoming more feminine, Lin Nan's face had lost most of its flaws and taken on a somewhat youthful, doll-like quality. He realized he was becoming what you might call a "middle-aged friend." (TN: Think of when your parents just start chatting to others for forever while you were begging them to at least open the car so you can use the aircon before the 30 minute conversation about to take place.)
When shopping at the supermarket, the boss's wife always liked to chat with him for a few minutes. When he occasionally went to the small food stalls on the snack street behind the campus gate, the owners would always initiate conversations with him. The traffic control uncle in front of him and Manager Liu from the supermarket were especially like this, always enjoying some casual chat with him.
Lin Nan was naturally somewhat introverted, but he got along well with people, though he occasionally accidentally killed conversations.
The light turned green, and the uncle no longer needed to continue observing pedestrians. He turned to Lin Nan with a sigh, "If only my son were as sensible as you."
"Your son... he's in his twenties, right?"
"He's been living at home doing nothing for over three years since graduation." The uncle shook his head with a bitter smile. "I injured my leg years ago and have some lingering issues, so I can't do heavy work. His mother is just a sales clerk, so our family income isn't high, yet we still have to support that boy's food and drink. Other people's children at his age may not have wives and kids, but at least they can support themselves."
Lin Nan was silent for a moment. He was just a listener now, so he went along with the uncle's words and agreed, "That's really too much."
"If only he would be willing to leave the house." The uncle sighed again.
Lin Nan had never really experienced much parental love, but hearing this kind of sigh still made his heart ache involuntarily.
He immediately thought of his father in the hospital after the car accident. Although according to his mother, his father running the red light was his own fault, and while their family's money wasn't abundant, it was enough to treat his injuries.
But Lin Nan now inexplicably felt some heartache again.
Perhaps it wasn't that his parents didn't want to spend time with him, but they were just too busy trying to buy him a house in the provincial capital?
His grandparents' generation were all honest, simple farmers, and it was only his parents' generation that gradually prospered by running freight trucks. Unfortunately, when the family had money during his middle school years, they didn't think to buy a house in the provincial capital. They just brought Lin Nan to rent a place in the county town to give him a better educational environment, then invested the money and lost everything.
Later, the freight truck business became increasingly difficult...
If they had made the right choice back then, wouldn't his parents have been able to retire by now?
Lin Nan tried hard to think from his parents' perspective and understand them. Suddenly he felt an impulse to go back and see his father, but a round trip home would take at least ten hours, so he could only find time to go back next weekend.
He could also let his parents gradually adapt to his changes, and if possible, perhaps tell them everything that had happened to him during this time.
The uncle rambled on complaining about his unemployed child. Perhaps he had been suppressed for too long in daily life, so once he started talking about it, he couldn't stop. Lin Nan thought about his own matters while occasionally making agreeable sounds to show he was listening.
According to the uncle, his child had been unemployed for three years since graduation, just hiding in his bedroom all day without coming out. Fortunately, he didn't spend much money at home and would cook for himself, but he just didn't earn money or leave the house, and his body was becoming increasingly frail.
"That boy is hopeless. Who doesn't work when they're almost thirty?" The uncle shook his head with a bitter smile. "Even if I could support him for life, with that stick-thin body of his, I'm afraid I'll end up a white-haired person sending off a black-haired one." (TN: Send off: As in to die. So old man (white hair) is afraid his son (black hair) will die before him.)
"Is there any way I could help you?" Lin Nan asked rather abruptly.
He had never been a warm-hearted person, but suddenly he had this idea.
"Next Tuesday afternoon I happen to have no classes..." Just as Lin Nan finished speaking, he suddenly felt a bit regretful.
Lin Nan was also a homebody. If there were no financial pressure, he probably could stay in the dorm all day except for classes. Who knew how to get a shut-in out of his room?
The uncle was also a bit surprised. He had just been casually complaining.
After being stunned for a moment, he joked, "If you could get him to come out and exercise, I'd even pay you."
Hearing the word "money," Lin Nan found that he seemed unable to refuse the uncle.
"How much?"
The uncle was completely dumbfounded.
Lin Nan lowered his head and began counting on Kumamon's thick fingers, muttering to himself, "I can finish distributing flyers in one afternoon, about four hours for 150 yuan, so roughly 40 yuan per hour. If I can get him to come out and exercise, I'd definitely have to go to your house, so there should be a house call fee of at least 100 yuan, right? After all, I'd have to take transportation.”
"Hmm... I won't rip you off either. If I can't get him to come out and be active, I'll just charge the house call fee, and the hourly rate starts from when he leaves the house. How about that?" Lin Nan looked up cheerfully, but saw the uncle's expression was somewhat dazed. "Uncle?"
The uncle stepped back two steps, pretended to act nonchalant, and scolded a pedestrian who was about to step into the road, "Step back! Do you want to die?!"
Lin Nan thought he might have scared the uncle with his money-grabbing appearance. He pursed his lips, disappointed about losing a potential part-time job, then continued distributing flyers.
If this job had worked out, he might have even been able to write "tutoring" on his resume after graduation.
After distributing flyers for an hour, Lin Nan started worrying about Li Sisi.
After all, Li Sisi was still new and had probably never distributed flyers in the scorching sun wearing a heavy mascot costume. As a man, he had to show proper care and concern. A manly man at that.
So he went to a street-side milk tea shop and bought two cups of the cheapest iced milk tea, then headed straight toward that shopping mall.
Before he had walked far, he found Li Sisi under a tree not far from the shopping mall, drenched in sweat and having already taken off half of her mascot costume.
"Have some milk tea." Lin Nan gentlemanly offered her a cup.
"Thanks." Li Sisi, breathing heavily, took the milk tea and immediately slurped down half the cup. She stood with her legs apart, fanning herself with her hand, let out a long breath, and immediately started cursing, "This heat is killing me! Damn!"
Hmm... why do I feel like this girl is more manly than me?