Chapter 196 194. A Coward
So, Su Peng really was the strong, domineering type.
Once he made up his mind, there was no room for negotiation at all.
An Han thought that if she deliberately acted pitiful and even cried, she might be able to change his mind—but she didn’t try. Instead, she walked down the street like a lifeless husk. Dressed in men’s clothes, she didn’t dare get too close to Su Peng, afraid that passersby might misunderstand and think the two of them were a gay couple.
If it were any other girl, going out dressed in men’s clothes with someone she liked wouldn’t cause these kinds of thoughts at all.
But she had only become a woman not long ago. Even with the system’s influence, what was deeply ingrained in her thinking was still twenty years of living as a man.
She knew she had advantages in appearance, but even so, she felt guilty and insecure. Her head was lowered, and there was none of the excitement she’d had back in the rental.
It felt as though everyone she passed was pointing at her, as if they could all tell she was a man, as if they were all gossiping about her and Su Peng being gay.
All the gazes on the street seemed to converge on her. When she wore women’s clothes, she could calmly accept those looks—whether appreciative, surprised, or ill-intentioned. But now, she felt as though every glance was questioning her very existence.
That only made her more constrained and afraid. Her body was tense, her head almost buried in her chest, shoulders slightly hunched inward.
Meanwhile, Su Peng beside her was completely unaware of her pressure.
“There’s a barbecue place nearby…” he said, smiling gently as usual. “I saw a self-serve barbecue online. The reviews say it’s pretty good.”
“And it’s not expensive—less than a hundred per person.”
His cold now only caused him to cough and sniffle from time to time; the other discomforts were gone.
Looking around the street, Su Peng muttered, “The navigation says it’s around here.”
“Maybe we should go back…” An Han murmured softly, her face tense as she quietly put a bit more distance between herself and Su Peng.
Standing too close might make passersby misunderstand…
“Found it!” Su Peng’s eyes lit up. He reached out instinctively to grab An Han’s wrist, but his hand caught only air.
He hesitated and looked to his side, only to find that An Han had moved at least two meters away from him.
“What’s going on with you?”
“Should I go find Lin Yi to help me with makeup?” An Han looked up at him with a pitiful expression. “I want to borrow an outfit from her. Otherwise, this just feels really weird.”
Only after putting on makeup and women’s clothes could she truly and confidently think of herself as a woman—only then could she reasonably go on dates and do intimate things like eating out with Su Peng.
Otherwise, she felt hollow inside, as if everyone around still saw her as a man—and even she herself saw herself that way.
Seeing the moisture gradually welling up in her eyes, Su Peng panicked.
He hurried over to her, about to speak, but she suddenly darted away again like a startled rabbit.
“This…” The happy smile on Su Peng’s face vanished. He coughed lightly a couple of times, then softened his expression, squatting down slightly with his hands on his knees and beckoning to her. “Tell me—what’s really going on?”
He could clearly sense something was wrong with An Han.
“Coming out with you dressed like this is just… too strange…”
“Just think of me as Long Xing or Chen Junjie,” Su Peng said. “You go out to eat with them all the time. Does that feel strange? This isn’t a date.”
No! It clearly was a date!
Going out with different people felt completely different—there was no such thing as “just treating it the same.”
An Han argued silently in her heart, her head drooping toward her increasingly full chest.
After completing the task of accepting Su Peng’s invitation, she had gained another point in physique.
Even if it wasn’t obvious yet, she could clearly feel the swelling discomfort in her chest.
She took a deep breath, forced the corners of her mouth upward, her eyes curving into crescents to form a strained smile. “Your cold isn’t completely better yet. What if you infect other people?”
“I’m wearing a mask,” Su Peng pointed at his face.
“That’s still not completely safe…”
“Come on, stop dawdling.” He suddenly stepped forward and grabbed An Han. “You can’t keep running away forever.”
She hadn’t expected him to act so suddenly. Panicking, she struggled and shook her head. “Forget it! Let’s go back!”
Su Peng stopped, conflicted. He turned to look at An Han and saw the fear and panic on her face.
Then he gestured around them. “If we don’t leave now, people are going to start gathering to watch.”
Almost instantly, An Han darted straight into a nearby storefront.
Su Peng immediately followed after her.
“Miss, sir, this way please,” the waiter said, guiding them upstairs to the restaurant.
“Did you hear that? She called you ‘miss,’” Su Peng whispered beside her, more or less understanding where An Han’s panic came from. “Even in men’s clothes, no one can tell.”
An Han lowered her head. Back when she had just encountered the system, being labeled feminine would have made her stew with frustration.
But now, hearing the word “miss” made her quietly happy.
She lifted her head slightly and glanced at the waiter’s professional smile.
Still a little scared…
After just one look, she quickly lowered her head again and hid behind Su Peng.
“You’re usually so cocky, but the moment you go out, you shrink?”
“You’re the one shrinking!” She lightly kicked Su Peng’s calf and continued to keep her head down, pretending to be an ostrich.
She used to be fairly outgoing—not exactly a social butterfly, but definitely not this bold-at-home, timid-outside mess.
Her cheeks were flushed red, her eyes full of wariness and timidity. Her small head kept swiveling as she observed the passersby around her.
Glancing at her, Su Peng smiled and asked, “The environment here isn’t bad, right?”
“How much is it?”
“Less than a hundred. It’s a buffet.”
“The most expensive buffet I’ve ever eaten was just over sixty…”
They followed the waiter to a window-side seat. This self-serve barbecue place wasn’t particularly upscale, and there weren’t many customers at noon, which finally let An Han relax a little, her tense body loosening.
But because the seat faced the street, she still kept nervously peeking outside through the glass.
“One couple’s set meal.”
Her body stiffened instantly. She shot Su Peng a questioning look, then nervously glanced up at the waiter.
“It’s better value,” Su Peng explained with a smile. “It covers two people’s buffet, plus snacks and drinks.”
Noticing her gaze, the waiter looked down at her and met her eyes. The stiff, forced smile of customer service unconsciously softened. “Miss, this set includes unlimited drinks.”
“…Got it.”
An Han immediately looked away, pulling out her phone to distract herself.
Even though she was dressed plainly in men’s clothes, even though her voice was still neutral, even though her figure was hidden under thick clothing—it seemed no one was treating her as a man.
When Su Peng mentioned the couple’s set earlier, the waiter’s expression hadn’t turned strange either.
The last trace of unease gradually faded.
“Wait—who said we’re a couple?” An Han suddenly reacted.
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