Near the beach, there was a changing and bathing facility, but the problem was that perhaps due to Chinese people's more conservative mindset or because the temperature started dropping after evening, when Lin Nan glanced from the restaurant toward the beach, he didn't see many women wearing swimsuits.
Most were just men wearing swim trunks or shorts.
If the beach had been full of girls in swimsuits, he might not have attracted attention.
Lin Nan sighed softly and looked up to see his mother's confused expression, quickly explaining: "It's a bit too greasy."
The uncle hadn't returned yet, and his mother seemed to think of something else, her face showing additional worry. She looked at Lin Nan and after hesitating for a moment asked: "How will you manage in the dorm like this?"
"My roommates take pretty good care of me, but they don't know about my situation–they just think it's... natural beauty, I guess?"
"It would be better to rent a place outside to live," his mother said worriedly.
"The school doesn't allow students to do that."
Lin Nan was quite confident in his roommates. Although Chen Yao had fought, skipped classes, and gone to internet cafes–things that the parent generation considered bad kids did–at least he seemed to have proper values now with no criminal tendencies. And Tu Junhui, while good with words and turning into a simp around girls, clearly wasn't someone particularly bold.
Xiong Da didn't even need mentioning–a shut-in who was good at online dating but had a poker face in reality, even stuttering when talking to girls.
"You need to be more careful. When I save up enough money, I'll get you the surgery, then you can move to the girls' dorm," his mother said, looking down at her phone balance and sighing helplessly again.
She had borrowed fifty thousand yuan from Wu Guodong, then another ten thousand from Lin Nan's grandfather, but she had no way to get the remaining tens of thousands needed.
As for relatives on Lin Nan's father's side, that was even more hopeless—two uncles were gambling addicts, one was an alcoholic whose wife had left him, and they'd mostly lost contact with his aunt's family, probably scared off by the gambling addicts constantly asking for loans.
In the end, only Lin Nan's father would still occasionally help out those two gambling addicts, always hoping they'd turn over a new leaf. But over ten years had passed, and he'd lent them at least two hundred thousand yuan with not a cent returned.
This was also the biggest source of conflict between her and Lin Nan's father.
She wanted to say more, but saw the uncle had returned, calling for the mother and son who had finished eating to leave the restaurant.
The mother who had looked worried just moments ago now had a smile again, chatting and laughing with the uncle, while Lin Nan fell behind playing with his phone, complaining to Chen Yao online about Korean barbecue.
If he'd known the uncle was coming too, he would have invited Chen Yao along. Now the uncle and his mother were chatting happily while he was bored to death.
Lin Nan was a bit dissatisfied but helpless, only able to aimlessly observe the surrounding scenery or look toward the beach with some nervous anticipation, hoping to see more girls in swimsuits so he could blend in unnoticed.
Or maybe wait until late at night to secretly change into a swimsuit—he just didn't know if the changing room would still be open then.
The three of them walked down the stairs, their shoes finally touching the beach sand.
The uncle took three pairs of new flip-flops from his backpack, handing the largest pair to Lin Nan: "Make do with these. I didn't know your shoe size so I bought the largest. Don't run around later or you'll trip."
"Mm, thanks." Lin Nan took the flip-flops and casually sat on the steps to change out of his regular shoes.
But these flip-flops were way too big, weren't they?
After putting on the flip-flops, he looked back at his heels—they were at least three finger-widths too large.
Such loose flip-flops could cause him to trip even on flat ground, let alone on the beach.
Lin Nan sighed with resignation. His mother too—not knowing his shoe size, she could have called to ask. Fortunately this beach was a tourist spot where most of the debris had been cleared from the sand, so even if he fell it wouldn't hurt too much... right?
After changing shoes, the uncle saw that the flip-flops were obviously several sizes too large, so he deliberately slowed his pace, leading the mother and son toward the camping area while trying to chat with Lin Nan.
"I heard watching the sunrise here in the morning is really beautiful. Should I wake you two up around 5:30 tomorrow morning?"
He deliberately fell back two steps, smiling as he looked at Lin Nan, but Lin Nan didn't dare make eye contact, just pretending to observe the surroundings while answering: "That sounds good."
"I'll help you set up the tent later. Don't let this big belly fool you—I used to be special forces," the uncle said, reaching out to try to pat Lin Nan's head, but Lin Nan quickly stepped back to avoid it. The uncle didn't mind though, continuing: "If you want to go in the water, just call me. If there's an accident I can rescue you. Remember to spray mosquito repellent before sleeping, and watch out for thieves..."
Lin Nan kept nodding. While he had some good feelings toward this uncle, it was limited to finding him pleasant to look at.
If this had been back at school, meeting such a talkative uncle would have made him happily chat for a while, but ever since coming home he'd been constantly nervous, feeling guilty around everyone.
It was mainly because his mother was nearby, wasn't it?
The camping area wasn't very crowded—just seven or eight tents visible at a glance, making it seem particularly spacious. The uncle brought the rented tent and began cooperating with his mother to stake down the tent's corners, while Lin Nan simply plopped down on the ground, gazing at the gradually darkening sky, feeling quite lost.
Maybe he should just honestly go on the operating table?
He had looked through all the magic that might solve his problems, but those spells either had overly harsh conditions or their effects seemed unable to meet expectations. Even the charm magic—he didn't know if it would work.
He glanced at a family of three not far away digging in the sand, listening to their laughter, and inexplicably wondered if he hadn't encountered Lilith, would he be as happy as this family of three ten years from now?
Night gradually deepened. Although searchlights kept sweeping the coastal beach and visibility was basically the same as during the day, all the swimmers had come ashore and there was hardly anyone visible on the beach. But the small town outside the beach remained lively, and he could faintly hear laughter from his mother and the uncle not far away.
Lin Nan suddenly felt like he was an anomaly in this world. An inexplicable loneliness descended, making him feel cold all over.
He curled up his legs, hugging them with both hands, chin resting between his knees, gazing at the continuous waves of the sea surface, feeling the loneliness deep in his heart, but then suddenly felt like he was being overly sentimental.
"Nan Nan, the tent is ready. You want to see?"
His mother called out. Lin Nan looked over at her and shook his head gloomily.
"Uncle says he wants to give you a red envelope!"
He immediately forgot about his recent sentimentality and ran over excitedly.
"How much money?!"