Chapter 106 104. The First Obstacle
An Han always had the nagging feeling he was tempting fate.
But if he kept following his old approach—always picking the easiest Option 3 just to placate the system—he’d inevitably become a full-blown, drop-dead gorgeous pseudo-girl.
He’d end up with an improbably ample chest, stunningly beautiful features, porcelain-smooth skin… and still have a dick.
Even worse—what if the system eventually turned him into an actual woman?
After all, he’d already unlocked the “Painless Periods” trait. Wasn’t that clearly foreshadowing his eventual transformation into a girl?
Just letting his thoughts wander slightly sent chills down his spine.
Down with the system’s tyranny!
“Su Peng!” An Han suddenly looked up and waved at Su Peng, who was standing not far away. “Come on! Let’s start training!”
Su Peng blinked, utterly bewildered by An Han’s sudden burst of fiery enthusiasm.
One moment An Han was coldly pushing him away; the next, he was practically dragging him back in?
An Han’s mood swings were harder to read than a woman’s—and made even less logical sense.
Was he too nice? Did An Han think he could toy with him endlessly, switching between hot and cold whenever he pleased?
Walking over, Su Peng asked, “Weren’t you just saying you didn’t want to train anymore?”
“Train? Of course I’ll train! We already agreed on it!”
An Han reached into his pocket—only to realize he’d forgotten the silk scarves used for leg-binding back in the dorm.
“Wait here for a sec—I’ll run back to the dorm. I forgot the scarves.”
“No. I’m not training.”
“Huh?”
An Han froze. Su Peng’s face was blank. Before An Han could even ask what was wrong, Su Peng shoved his hands into his pockets and turned to walk off the field.
Just like that—Su Peng had quit.
An Han stared dumbly after him, his mind drawing a complete blank.
What just happened? Did he suddenly get mad?
Su Peng was always so easygoing—how could he be angry when An Han hadn’t even done anything?
An Han hurried after him, grabbing the hem of Su Peng’s jacket. “Did something come up? Can we train tomorrow instead?”
“No.”
“How about the day after?”
Su Peng just shook his head again, his expression still unreadable, his face clouded with gloom.
“You’re not… mad at me, are you?” An Han genuinely couldn’t figure out what he’d done wrong.
If Su Peng truly was angry, wouldn’t his affection level have dropped at least a point or two? Yet the system hadn’t given any notification about a change in Su Peng’s feelings.
Watching Su Peng march ahead, An Han gritted his teeth and rushed to keep up, his face flushed with confusion and panic.
Was this the first hurdle of deliberately defying the system’s tasks?
But this made no sense! Su Peng—who’d never once refused his requests and was always gentle—was acting like a completely different person!
“But we promised to do the three-legged race together! If you don’t train, we’ll totally embarrass ourselves at the meet!”
“It’s fine. We just won’t go.”
“Huh?”
An Han was even more confused now. He hurried ahead and blocked Su Peng’s path, pleading, “I already promised the class advisor we’d participate! You—”
Su Peng stopped short. He felt his resolve soften—An Han’s flushed, anxious face and pitiful expression almost made him relent.
But… maybe that was exactly the problem.
An Han’s moods were so unpredictable—if Su Peng kept being overly accommodating, he’d just be seen as a doormat.
So he hardened his expression again, ignored An Han’s words, and brushed past him toward the dorm building.
An Han stood rooted to the spot on the grassy field, utterly lost.
This shouldn’t be happening.
Why?
Was this some kind of reverse-psychology trap? A calculated move by Su Peng to “play hard to get”?
“System, check Su Peng’s current affection level toward me.”
【Su Peng: Affection Level 90】
Nothing wrong there. No sudden drop due to any hidden trigger.
But his behavior right now was eerily similar to how Wang Yu acted back when his affection was in the single digits! With a 90-level affection, Su Peng should practically be head-over-heels for him.
Yet there wasn’t any trace of disgust in Su Peng’s eyes—in fact, if anything, An Han thought he caught a flicker of… smug satisfaction?
What on earth was going on?
Completely baffled, An Han could only trudge back to the dorm in defeat. He slumped in front of his computer, his face clouded with gloom.
“What’s wrong?” Wang Sheng, seated beside him, glanced over mid-game and asked curiously.
“Su Peng suddenly got mad at me.”
“Su Peng? He gets mad?” Wang Sheng scratched his head in disbelief. “What did you do to him?”
“I didn’t do anything!”
Chen Junjie turned around from his own desk, smirking as he chimed in, “Maybe you sabotaged his brand-new girlfriend again?”
“Impossible! If he found a girlfriend, I’d be the happiest person alive!”
Same went for Long Xing—if Long Xing got a girlfriend, An Han would throw a party.
“You’ve got a track record, you know,” Chen Junjie pointed out.
“Tch! Dong Ming’s so-called girlfriend was clearly trouble—I was doing him a favor by exposing her!”
But in the next moment, An Han recalled Su Peng from that weekend.
Su Peng was supposed to go on a blind date—but instead showed up at the anime convention, sticking to An Han’s side from morning until the next morning without leaving even once.
Could it be… that Su Peng’s blind date fell through because of that? And that’s why he’s giving An Han the cold shoulder today?
But Su Peng chose to stay by my side on his own! I never asked him to!
An Han couldn’t decipher Su Peng’s true thoughts—but his gloomy expression quickly vanished. A bright, mischievous smile spread across his face as he turned to Wang Sheng.
Wang Sheng, still focused on his game, suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. He looked up in alarm. “Why are you smiling like that?!”
“Let’s sign up for the sports meet together!”
“Huh?”
“Su Peng was supposed to do the three-legged race with me, but he suddenly backed out—so now it’s your turn!”
*Damn, I’m a genius!*
If he was going to defy the system’s tasks, there was no need to worry about accidentally maxing out Su Peng’s affection during the event!
Wang Sheng’s affection level was only just over 50—no way it’d skyrocket past 80 in just a few days!
“I’m a hardcore shut-in…” Wang Sheng groaned, visibly distressed. “I take five minutes to run a kilometer—you’re signing me up to embarrass us both? Why not ask Long Ge?”
“Don’t be silly! It’s a *cooperative* event! Our legs are almost the same length—perfect match! Long Ge’s 180 cm—how would that even work?”
Wang Sheng tried to protest further. “But your esports team—”
“Fine! I’ll do it, okay?!” Wang Sheng covered his face in despair.
He was painfully introverted—never even shouted cheers from the sidelines, let alone actually compete.
“Great! Finish this game, then we’ll go downstairs and practice!”
Try to trip me up, you damn system?! Not happening!
———
There should be an extra chapter later—check back in the morning, don’t stay up late!
Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!
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