Chapter 154 152. The Second Day
The next day, after the morning classes ended, An Han went to the counselor’s office and stood obediently in front of the desk.
“An Han, from now on you can move out and live off campus whenever you want.”
Ren Chi handed her a document stamped with an official seal. “Sign here. While living off campus, you’ll bear full responsibility for your own safety.”
An Han nodded excitedly, took the document, and happily signed her name.
“Brother Ren~ Thanks!”
“And your parent’s signature as well.” The counselor pointed to another signature line.
Her smile instantly vanished as she slowly looked up at Ren Chi.
“Can I… sign this one myself?”
“Of course not.” Ren Chi lowered his head and waved her off. “Bring it back tomorrow after it’s signed.”
“No, I mean—even if I take leave right now and go back to Q—” she rattled off a place name, “it’d take at least two days round trip, right?”
“That’s not my problem.”
An Han froze for a moment, then quickly realized she’d asked a stupid question.
After all, he was a counselor—there was no way he’d outright tell her she could just forge the signature herself.
She picked up the pen again and swiftly scribbled her mother’s name, then handed the document back to Ren Chi. “All done.”
“Alright. From now on, the dorm supervisor won’t care whether you’re in the dorm during late roll calls.” Ren Chi glanced at the signatures and yawned. “Found a place to rent yet?”
“No. Too expensive.”
“Then take your time and choose carefully. Pick somewhere with good security.”
When An Han walked out of the office, Su Peng was already waiting outside.
Hands in his pockets, he leaned casually against the corridor railing. “The counselor agreed to let you live off campus?”
“Yeah.”
After thinking for a moment, Su Peng asked, “Do you want me to help?”
Hearing that, An Han shook her head without hesitation. “No!”
If this guy hadn’t insisted on coming along, she wouldn’t even have wanted Su Peng to know she was planning to live outside the dorm.
Just to avoid some overbearing-CEO-novel scenario where Su Peng buys an apartment and rents it to her.
Sure, that kind of imagination was pretty far-fetched—Su Peng probably wouldn’t do something like that—but paying for her rent was entirely possible.
“Alright then. If you run into trouble, let me know.”
An Han followed behind Su Peng. Ever since she’d impulsively confessed everything to him yesterday afternoon, she’d been a bit unsure how to face him.
But today, he seemed not to have taken her words to heart at all.
Still that gentle, shallow smile. Still that rich-kid demeanor…
Somehow, that made her a little annoyed. She’d needed immense courage to reveal the secret of the system, yet Su Peng didn’t seem to take it seriously.
She narrowed her eyes slightly, her gaze fixed on Su Peng’s back.
“By the way, what’s your family situation like?”
At that moment, Su Peng suddenly turned around, their gazes colliding.
An Han immediately looked away and replied casually, “My dad’s abroad. My mom’s at home taking care of my younger sister.”
“Sounds pretty good.”
“Mm.”
She strongly suspected that Su Peng had interpreted her mention of a “system” in some strange way.
But if Su Peng actually believed something like a system existed, he probably wouldn’t be far from a psychiatric hospital.
After a brief silence, An Han couldn’t help muttering, “Not that great. I’ve only seen him two or three times in twenty years.”
Su Peng’s interest was instantly piqued. His eyes lit up, and he slowed his pace to walk beside her.
Although An Han’s words last night had sent his imagination running wild, he hadn’t dared comment or give advice since he didn’t understand the situation.
Now that An Han was willing to talk, that was naturally for the best.
“Which country is he in?”
“England.”
“Coming back isn’t that hard, is it?”
An Han spoke expressionlessly, as if talking about someone else. “Back then he said he snuck out of the country. Later, after he got a green card, he came back a few times.”
“I see…”
Su Peng weighed his words, his mind spinning quickly. With a curious look, he asked, “If you’ve only met a few times, the relationship must be pretty distant, right?”
“It’s alright. He sends me living expenses every month.”
He noticed An Han’s expression wasn’t great—there was irritation and impatience between her brows—so he wisely stopped asking.
She said “alright,” but chances were the father-daughter relationship was pretty bad.
Could it be that An Han’s father was the reason she dressed as a boy and lived in the boys’ dorm?
Su Peng speculated, picturing a rigid, conservative, old-fashioned patriarch who favored sons over daughters.
When they reached the cafeteria, it was peak lunch hour.
Dozens of meters of food windows were packed with people, shoulder to shoulder. Only one mala tang stall was relatively empty, its reputation having suffered after someone had found iron wire in their food some time ago.
An Han glanced around, then walked straight toward that mala tang stall without hesitation.
The other lines were too long, and she couldn’t be bothered to squeeze through the crowd.
Now that she was a girl, she didn’t want anyone taking advantage of her. If possible, she even planned to avoid standing-room-only buses in the future.
“Go find a seat. I’ll buy it for you.”
“And you’re paying?” An Han shot back.
“Sure.” Su Peng nodded with a smile, pointing at some empty seats not far away. “You just save us a spot.”
Does he seem… nicer to me?
That thought suddenly crossed An Han’s mind. She didn’t refuse and followed where he pointed, finding an empty seat to sit down.
After Su Peng learned her secret, she realized her resistance toward him had weakened quite a bit.
After all, it was a secret only the two of them knew—even if he might have misunderstood something.
An Han scratched her head, wondering whether she should make Su Peng fully believe in the system’s existence, or just spin a lie and let him keep believing what he’d imagined.
This is way too hard!
I should’ve never said anything!
Why did I blurt it out on impulse yesterday?!
And I even said that if I accepted my current identity, I’d accept Su Peng too!
Thinking with my head overheated really does ruin lives!
“Here.”
Su Peng arrived beside An Han with two cafeteria-style trays and sat down next to her.
An Han’s body stiffened. Instinctively, she wanted to create some distance, but the cafeteria seats were individual chairs, not long benches.
“Why did you buy so much? I can’t eat all this,” she said, struggling to keep a straight face.
“Three meat dishes, one vegetable, and a stewed soup. Eat more—you’re too thin.” Su Peng smiled as he pushed a bowl of stewed pig brain toward her. “I remember you like pig brain, right?”
“I don’t like it if it smells gamey.” An Han scooped a small piece with a spoon and tasted it. “This one’s okay.”
“See? I eat the stewed soups here pretty often.”
An Han felt that his smile was filled with indulgent affection. After hesitating for a moment, she asked, “How did you know I like pig brain?”
“I’ve noticed that you often look at the pig brain stew but don’t buy it.”
An Han paused, pursed her lips, and lowered her head.
This guy is way too smooth!
Good thing I’m a guy—immune!
——————
Insomnia! Stomach pain! Back pain!
Started writing at five in the morning and only finished one chapter!
One update for now—will make it up if I feel better.
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