At noon, a large group of about twenty to thirty people set out from his grandparent’s house, chatting as they walked. In less than ten minutes, they arrived at the restaurant.
This place was a two-story building. The first floor was filled with a variety of ingredients, water tanks full of different types of fish, shrimp, and various seafood products, even large lobsters.
As a coastal city, the variety of seafood here was both abundant and fresh. However, it's said that eating too much of it can lead to white marks on your fingernails, and if the white covers the entire nail, it's said that the nail will rot away...
Anyway, when Lin Jin was a child, his mother would always warn him not to eat too much seafood because it indeed caused white spots to appear on his fingernails, and the more he ate, the more spots there would be.
As a result, Lin Jin barely eats seafood now. Of course, being too lazy to peel off the shells was one of the main reasons.
A group of people in their twenties and women with young children sat at one table. A group of drinkers and smokers sat at another table in the corner. A third table filled with a mix of people filled another, squeezing the second floor full with three large tables.
Lin Jin and Lin Chen sat at the innermost part of the table. They sat at the table with their peers and the women and children. Lin Jin could barely recognize anyone at this table.
There was the cousin Weiwei, the tomboy cousin Zhao Ruo, and another older cousin who could be considered the most handsome among his cousins.
This older cousin was already twenty four years old. He went to the UK before finishing high school. It was said that when he first arrived in the UK a few years ago, he was already earning 400 pounds a week. Now, it was at least 5 or 6 hundred pounds. He had a mature personality and used to play with Lin Jin, Lin Chen, and a bunch of younger cousins when they were kids. He even promised Lin Jin when they were older he would marry him.
However, this was purely because the young Lin Jin was particularly cute, and at that time, this older cousin had no concept of gender, even once mistaking Lin Jin for a girl... Later, Lin Jin's family moved to the county city and they lost much contact.
Nevertheless, it's worth mentioning that although they didn't keep in touch much, they maintained a relationship of going out once a month. Probably around the time Lin Jin was in middle school, he still looked cute, the kind who could be mistaken for a girl or boy with a wig on, and by then his older cousin had long understood that Lin Jin was actually male... So, one day when Lin Jin stayed over at his grandparent’s house and they shared a bed, when Lin Jin woke up first the next morning, he jokingly tried to slap his cousin’s butt hard…
And then he accidentally ended up slapping his private part. After that, this cousin's attitude towards Lin Jin plummeted, almost ceasing all contact with him.
Who would have guessed that his cousin slept on his back instead of lying on his stomach? Who would have thought that
Who would have known that cousin was lying on his back sleeping instead of on his stomach! Who would have thought that bump in the morning was not his butt, causing Lin Jin to make that embarrassing mistake!
Now that he thought about it, he felt it was so unfair, okay?! He even got scolded for it!
Lin Jin briefly reminisced about the past at the dining table, then lowered his head to go on his phone.
"Brother Lin Jin" Zhao Ruo, the tomboy sitting to Lin Jin's left, leaned over and asked, "Why are you so pretty?"
"Because I have good genes" Lin Jin glanced at her. This cousin had always been like a boy since childhood. It was okay when she had long hair, but now with short hair, she looked totally like a ‘top’ in a lesbian relationship.
With her neutral clothing and short hair, anyone who didn't know better would mistake her for a man at first glance. She was practically a copy of Lin Jin.
Although Lin Jin had seen most of the people at the dining table before, he couldn't name them. There were some he didn't even know how he was related to, so he just kept his head down and went on his phone. Fortunately, the table was full of young people. Occasionally two acquaintances would chat or something while the rest were mostly on their phones, so it didn't feel awkward.
After a few minutes, a dish of crab fried noodles was served. Lin Jin wasn't very hungry, so he just took a bit into his small bowl and continued to look at his phone. Lin Chen also seemed quite restrained, he was only nine when he left and now he couldn't recognize anyone upon his return.
The older cousin was sitting on the outermost side of the dining table. Since he had gone to work in the UK without finishing high school, he was considered the most mature among the young people at the table. He was also busy sharing drinks and cigarettes with relatives, taking the initiative to serve the dishes. Being handsome, he was quite popular among the relatives and nearly everyone had a word of praise for him.
Although Lin Chen was also handsome and looked more robust than this cousin, his somewhat immature personality would be exposed the moment he spoke, putting him on a completely different level.
While eating, Lin Jin noticed this older cousin occasionally glancing up at him, his eyes carrying an inexplicable expression.
Was he recognized before even revealing his identity?
Despite his lack of appetite, Lin Jin still intermittently picked up dishes with his chopsticks. He didn't enjoy overly lively places, such as where he was right now, but he still tried to maintain a smile on his face.
After all, it was the Chinese New Year and it was also a gathering of relatives. Even if few of these people recognized each other, they all still had to try their best to at least appear happy.
"Cousin Lin Jin, after we finish eating, how about calling big cousin to go shopping with us?" Cousin Zhao Ruo, snatched up the dishes on the table like a starving ghost. When she was free, she asked Lin Jin, "Big cousin used to take us out to play every day."
"That was in the past." Lin Jin once liked big cousin very much, but since this older cousin had become distant towards him, he wasn’t interested in being warm to someone so cold.
Of course, the like was just that he enjoyed playing with this older cousin.
This older cousin's name was Wu Jia. His parents both worked in the UK, his father was Lin Jin’s maternal grandparent’s son, Lin Jin’s uncle. He was also Lin Jin’s grandfather’s favourite grandson. Even though he often made their grandfather angry before he went to the UK.
Before the meal ended, Lin Jin already felt full. He greeted Lin Chen and walked out the door with his phone.
He looked at the pedestrians and vehicles passing by the road in front of the door and found a place to squat down. He leaned against the trees by the road and rested his cheeks in his hands.
Although this was only a small town, it still changed every year. Last year, when Lin Jin came here, the road was cracked into pieces by trucks, filled with various potholes here and there. But in the last year, it had been smoothed out and was not much different from the roads in the big cities.
"Lin Jin?"
Lin Jin heard someone calling him, turned his head, and saw cousin Wu Jia standing beside him with a cigarette in his mouth.
"What?" Lin Jin turned his head again, looking down at his phone, not really wanting to pay attention to him.
"You really are Lin Jin?" Wu Jia was somewhat surprised, "You’re prettier than when you were a kid."
"If you didn't look almost the same as in middle school, I wouldn't have recognized you." He looked at Lin Jin who was squatting on the ground with astonishment, "But now, you're even prettier than you were in middle school."
"mhm."
"Do you want to come to my shop this afternoon?" Wu Jia invited.
"Shop?" Lin Jin looked up at him, "Aren't you working in the UK?"
"Not anymore, I opened a bubble tea shop here in town. The business is pretty good." He lit the cigarette, took a deep breath, and exhaled. The smoke swirled towards Lin Jin, causing him to cough several times.
Although Lin Jin also smoked, under the black cat’s restrictions, he hadn't touched a cigarette for two or three months, and now the smell of smoke was somewhat intolerable.
"That works, my cousin just happened to say we are going shopping this afternoon." Lin Jin pinched his nose and nodded.
"Then it's settled. If there aren't many customers in the afternoon, we can go to the internet cafe together." Cousin Wu Jia nodded with a smile on his face.
Why had this cousin who was once cold suddenly so enthusiastic?
Lin Jin frowned in distress, thinking of a very frightening possibility.
Could it be that this cousin... was attracted to my looks?!
What the fuck?! I treated you as a cousin, yet you actually want to f*ck me!
Ploania Translator's Note: In case anyone didn't know, Chinese New Year in China is usually followed by a week long public holiday.
At noon, a large group of about twenty to thirty people set out from his grandparent’s house, chatting as they walked. In less than ten minutes, they arrived at the restaurant.
This place was a two-story building. The first floor was filled with a variety of ingredients, water tanks full of different types of fish, shrimp, and various seafood products, even large lobsters.
As a coastal city, the variety of seafood here was both abundant and fresh. However, it's said that eating too much of it can lead to white marks on your fingernails, and if the white covers the entire nail, it's said that the nail will rot away...
Anyway, when Lin Jin was a child, his mother would always warn him not to eat too much seafood because it indeed caused white spots to appear on his fingernails, and the more he ate, the more spots there would be.
As a result, Lin Jin barely eats seafood now. Of course, being too lazy to peel off the shells was one of the main reasons.
A group of people in their twenties and women with young children sat at one table. A group of drinkers and smokers sat at another table in the corner. A third table filled with a mix of people filled another, squeezing the second floor full with three large tables.
Lin Jin and Lin Chen sat at the innermost part of the table. They sat at the table with their peers and the women and children. Lin Jin could barely recognize anyone at this table.
There was the cousin Weiwei, the tomboy cousin Zhao Ruo, and another older cousin who could be considered the most handsome among his cousins.
This older cousin was already twenty four years old. He went to the UK before finishing high school. It was said that when he first arrived in the UK a few years ago, he was already earning 400 pounds a week. Now, it was at least 5 or 6 hundred pounds. He had a mature personality and used to play with Lin Jin, Lin Chen, and a bunch of younger cousins when they were kids. He even promised Lin Jin when they were older he would marry him.
However, this was purely because the young Lin Jin was particularly cute, and at that time, this older cousin had no concept of gender, even once mistaking Lin Jin for a girl... Later, Lin Jin's family moved to the county city and they lost much contact.
Nevertheless, it's worth mentioning that although they didn't keep in touch much, they maintained a relationship of going out once a month. Probably around the time Lin Jin was in middle school, he still looked cute, the kind who could be mistaken for a girl or boy with a wig on, and by then his older cousin had long understood that Lin Jin was actually male... So, one day when Lin Jin stayed over at his grandparent’s house and they shared a bed, when Lin Jin woke up first the next morning, he jokingly tried to slap his cousin’s butt hard…
And then he accidentally ended up slapping his private part. After that, this cousin's attitude towards Lin Jin plummeted, almost ceasing all contact with him.
Who would have guessed that his cousin slept on his back instead of lying on his stomach? Who would have thought that
Who would have known that cousin was lying on his back sleeping instead of on his stomach! Who would have thought that bump in the morning was not his butt, causing Lin Jin to make that embarrassing mistake!
Now that he thought about it, he felt it was so unfair, okay?! He even got scolded for it!
Lin Jin briefly reminisced about the past at the dining table, then lowered his head to go on his phone.
"Brother Lin Jin" Zhao Ruo, the tomboy sitting to Lin Jin's left, leaned over and asked, "Why are you so pretty?"
"Because I have good genes" Lin Jin glanced at her. This cousin had always been like a boy since childhood. It was okay when she had long hair, but now with short hair, she looked totally like a ‘top’ in a lesbian relationship.
With her neutral clothing and short hair, anyone who didn't know better would mistake her for a man at first glance. She was practically a copy of Lin Jin.
Although Lin Jin had seen most of the people at the dining table before, he couldn't name them. There were some he didn't even know how he was related to, so he just kept his head down and went on his phone. Fortunately, the table was full of young people. Occasionally two acquaintances would chat or something while the rest were mostly on their phones, so it didn't feel awkward.
After a few minutes, a dish of crab fried noodles was served. Lin Jin wasn't very hungry, so he just took a bit into his small bowl and continued to look at his phone. Lin Chen also seemed quite restrained, he was only nine when he left and now he couldn't recognize anyone upon his return.
The older cousin was sitting on the outermost side of the dining table. Since he had gone to work in the UK without finishing high school, he was considered the most mature among the young people at the table. He was also busy sharing drinks and cigarettes with relatives, taking the initiative to serve the dishes. Being handsome, he was quite popular among the relatives and nearly everyone had a word of praise for him.
Although Lin Chen was also handsome and looked more robust than this cousin, his somewhat immature personality would be exposed the moment he spoke, putting him on a completely different level.
While eating, Lin Jin noticed this older cousin occasionally glancing up at him, his eyes carrying an inexplicable expression.
Was he recognized before even revealing his identity?
Despite his lack of appetite, Lin Jin still intermittently picked up dishes with his chopsticks. He didn't enjoy overly lively places, such as where he was right now, but he still tried to maintain a smile on his face.
After all, it was the Chinese New Year and it was also a gathering of relatives. Even if few of these people recognized each other, they all still had to try their best to at least appear happy.
"Cousin Lin Jin, after we finish eating, how about calling big cousin to go shopping with us?" Cousin Zhao Ruo, snatched up the dishes on the table like a starving ghost. When she was free, she asked Lin Jin, "Big cousin used to take us out to play every day."
"That was in the past." Lin Jin once liked big cousin very much, but since this older cousin had become distant towards him, he wasn’t interested in being warm to someone so cold.
Of course, the like was just that he enjoyed playing with this older cousin.
This older cousin's name was Wu Jia. His parents both worked in the UK, his father was Lin Jin’s maternal grandparent’s son, Lin Jin’s uncle. He was also Lin Jin’s grandfather’s favourite grandson. Even though he often made their grandfather angry before he went to the UK.
Before the meal ended, Lin Jin already felt full. He greeted Lin Chen and walked out the door with his phone.
He looked at the pedestrians and vehicles passing by the road in front of the door and found a place to squat down. He leaned against the trees by the road and rested his cheeks in his hands.
Although this was only a small town, it still changed every year. Last year, when Lin Jin came here, the road was cracked into pieces by trucks, filled with various potholes here and there. But in the last year, it had been smoothed out and was not much different from the roads in the big cities.
"Lin Jin?"
Lin Jin heard someone calling him, turned his head, and saw cousin Wu Jia standing beside him with a cigarette in his mouth.
"What?" Lin Jin turned his head again, looking down at his phone, not really wanting to pay attention to him.
"You really are Lin Jin?" Wu Jia was somewhat surprised, "You’re prettier than when you were a kid."
"If you didn't look almost the same as in middle school, I wouldn't have recognized you." He looked at Lin Jin who was squatting on the ground with astonishment, "But now, you're even prettier than you were in middle school."
"mhm."
"Do you want to come to my shop this afternoon?" Wu Jia invited.
"Shop?" Lin Jin looked up at him, "Aren't you working in the UK?"
"Not anymore, I opened a bubble tea shop here in town. The business is pretty good." He lit the cigarette, took a deep breath, and exhaled. The smoke swirled towards Lin Jin, causing him to cough several times.
Although Lin Jin also smoked, under the black cat’s restrictions, he hadn't touched a cigarette for two or three months, and now the smell of smoke was somewhat intolerable.
"That works, my cousin just happened to say we are going shopping this afternoon." Lin Jin pinched his nose and nodded.
"Then it's settled. If there aren't many customers in the afternoon, we can go to the internet cafe together." Cousin Wu Jia nodded with a smile on his face.
Why had this cousin who was once cold suddenly so enthusiastic?
Lin Jin frowned in distress, thinking of a very frightening possibility.
Could it be that this cousin... was attracted to my looks?!
What the fuck?! I treated you as a cousin, yet you actually want to f*ck me!
Ploania Translator's Note: In case anyone didn't know, Chinese New Year in China is usually followed by a week long public holiday.
