Chapter 44: Halfway through the monkhood

“You’d have come earlier if you really needed them, right? You’ve just been dragging your feet until you couldn’t anymore, haven’t you?”

Xu Ou kept talking without pause, and later told Lin Xinyuan at length about the dangers of not having enough underwear, which made him both amused and exasperated.

He couldn’t very well say he was a late bloomer, could he?

Besides, he hadn’t completely turned into a girl yet…

He obviously couldn’t reveal the truth, so he could only listen quietly.

“That’s why, Xiaoyuan… maybe your family’s having a hard time, but don’t skimp on this kind of thing. Two pieces probably aren’t enough, right? How about this… Sister Ou will give you another one… no charge.”

Xu Ou took Lin Xinyuan’s hand gently, speaking with earnest concern as she reached for his shopping bag, ready to add another piece inside.

Feeling Xu Ou’s soft, delicate fingers, Lin Xinyuan blushed deeply—this was only the third time he had touched a girl’s hand…

Before he could fully process the sensation, he caught her meaning and quickly moved the bag behind his back.

“No, Sister Ou, that’s not right…”

But in the end, Lin Xinyuan still couldn’t refuse Xu Ou.

Not only did she give him an extra piece of underwear, she even stuffed in two pairs of panties and insisted he try them on in the changing room…

Not only that, but she also lectured him on his current outfit.

According to Sister Ou, his current style didn’t match the youthful vitality appropriate for his age, and was so outdated it was embarrassing—baggy and sloppy to the point of being unacceptable…

And it was true. Lin Xinyuan was still wearing his original clothes; after his body changed, his frame had become much more slender, so his clothes hung loosely.

The pant cuffs were even folded in layers at the ankles.

Thankfully, though his waist had slimmed down, his hips hadn’t changed much, so he could barely keep the waistband up without it slipping off…

Xu Ou looked at Lin Xinyuan’s clothes with sympathy.

Though they had just met, she had already taken this pretty girl, who felt so familiar, under her wing like a junior.

Her only son was studying abroad and only came home once a year, and her husband was busy with work, so she hardly had time to spend with him.

Out of boredom, she opened a lingerie franchise store—one of the few things besides playing mahjong with friends that could pass the time.

The more Xu Ou talked with the girl, the more she felt the girl’s personality suited her taste.

Not only was she well-mannered, but her face bore a striking resemblance to someone she knew—an uncanny sense of familiarity that couldn’t be ignored…

Of course, Xu Ou had wondered if she might be the child of an old acquaintance, but as far as she knew, that person only had one child, and it was a boy…

In any case, Xu Ou had poured some of the love and concern she felt for her long-absent son into Lin Xinyuan.

At that moment, she even imagined Lin Xinyuan’s family.

Perhaps he had a grown-up brother who was a spoiled baby, unloved by their parents, always wearing hand-me-downs from the older sibling…

The more she thought about it, the angrier and more heartbroken she became.

But she didn’t ask directly.

After all, they had only met once, and even if they could be considered acquaintances or friends, it wasn’t appropriate to pry so soon.

“Well then, Sister Ou, you get back to work. I’ll head off first! We’ll talk again when you have time!”

Lin Xinyuan’s eyes shone with gratitude as he waved goodbye to Sister Xu.

After chatting for a long time, the shop started to get more customers one after another, and Lin Xinyuan didn’t want to disturb Sister Ou’s business, so he decided to leave first.

No matter what, he felt this trip was worth it—making a friend like Sister Ou.

No, more accurately, someone like an elder, someone who felt even more motherly than his own mother…

In short, Lin Xinyuan left feeling very happy.

Before leaving, he exchanged phone numbers and added each other on Green Bubble.

“Take care! If you need anything, just message me on Green Bubble or call!”

“Yeah, Sister Ou, goodbye!”

Watching the girl’s figure slowly disappear, Xu Ou felt reluctant.

Looking at the many customers in her shop, she almost wanted to close up early.

After all, she ran this place just for fun, but thinking about it, she decided to wait—it wasn’t urgent, and there would be plenty of opportunities later.

“Maybe I should ask Xiao Liu to come back to work?”

Xu Yan was already considering whether to call employees back to work instead of letting them rest.

Shaking her head to dismiss the thought of exploiting her staff, she went back to attending customers.

Surname Lin… Zhan Nan City…

Come to think of it, I haven’t been back for a long time…

Back at the Nan Street residential complex, Lin Xinyuan first stopped by a small supermarket.

He bought a small bag of laundry detergent and also picked up a large bottle of mineral water.

This wasn’t a school with free drinking water, and his electric kettle was still en route, so when thirsty he had to buy bottled water.

As for laundry detergent, if it wasn’t urgent, he preferred buying it online—it was much cheaper than in stores.

After all, it wasn’t intimate underwear; every bit of saving counted.

With the rent to pay, he had to be careful with his expenses…

Thinking about having spent nearly four hundred yuan on underwear made Lin Xinyuan wince.

But remembering the kindness of Sister Ou, and that she had given him extra items, eased his pain somewhat…

Lin Xinyuan silently noted this favor.

If he got the chance, he definitely intended to repay her.

When he returned to his rented room, it was already past eleven.

He didn’t have the habit of eating breakfast, but now it was lunchtime and his stomach was growling loudly.

Since he was home, Lin Xinyuan was too lazy to eat out again and decided to order takeout.

While waiting for the delivery, he had nothing better to do besides watch videos and read novels.

Now with free time, most likely he would update his own novel.

Sitting on the sofa, Lin Xinyuan prepared to open his laptop and start typing.

The small table in front of the sofa served as his desk, which was functional enough.

Once the computer booted to the desktop, his eyes caught the date on the screen, and he suddenly remembered.

Tomorrow would be December…

Winter break was coming soon, wasn’t it?

Normally, Tianbei University’s winter break started around late December, but since the Spring Festival was unusually early this year, the break might start sooner.

But with the break came the end-of-term exams.

Logically, with less than a month left before finals, university students should be getting nervous and at least cramming a bit.

Yet Lin Xinyuan didn’t feel much.

Though he seemed leisurely every day, he actually completed what needed to be done in class and rarely left work for outside study.

In the first semester of his sophomore year, most of his computer science courses were theoretical; practical classes were few.

Most required memorization, and only courses like advanced math required real thinking.

Lin Xinyuan wouldn’t say he was an excellent student, but he felt confident he could pass…

To be honest, though he had chosen this major when filling out his Gao Kao application, right now he wasn’t very interested in his courses.

When he applied, he had simply picked a popular major without much thought…