Chapter 200 198. Sudden Attack [8/17]
“Damn, these gloves are really ugly as hell!”
In the afternoon, when An Han arrived at class wearing the knitted gloves, Chen Junjie craned his neck to take a look and was instantly shocked by just how ugly they were. “You’re actually wearing these and not embarrassed? Why would you buy gloves this ugly?”
“They’re called ‘distinctive,’” An Han replied expressionlessly as she flipped open her book with her gloved hands.
Her gaze kept drifting to the black gloves. On the back of each was a white cat head that barely even looked like a cat. They were fingerless gloves, so she could still play games and use her phone, but Su Peng’s craftsmanship was truly awful. Aside from being a bit warm, they were actually uncomfortable to wear.
She really couldn’t understand where Su Peng got his confidence from. Even the three-to-five-yuan gloves sold by street vendors were better than these…
Despite all the complaints in her heart, they were still something Su Peng had made himself, stitch by stitch—and his very first gift to her.
“Hey, Su Peng’s not knitting anymore,” Chen Junjie said, glancing back at Su Peng with sudden realization. “He gave them to you, didn’t he?” “No,” An Han replied flatly. “I accidentally bought some counterfeit junk.” “I could make something better than this with my feet.”
She shot Chen Junjie a calm look, then glanced at Long Xing, who wore a completely dead expression as he put away his pink thermos. She suddenly had the urge to smash open Chen Junjie’s head with the power of knowledge and see whether it was filled with water.
Even Long Xing had figured it out and tactfully didn’t ask. Only this idiot kept digging deeper!
“An Han, you and Su Peng aren’t… you know… a thing, right?” Chen Junjie lowered his voice and whispered. “Tell me—I’ll keep it secret.” “No.”
An Han wouldn’t believe a single word that came out of Chen Junjie’s mouth, even if ghosts did.
“Hey, I didn’t go around telling people that Long Bro likes you, did I?” Back when she explained why she’d moved out of the dorm, she had told Chen Junjie about Long Xing falling for her when she was dressed as a girl.
“That’s because you’re afraid Long Bro would beat you up.” She knew this guy all too well. Sharp tongue, total coward when it came to fighting. With Long Xing’s build, one slap would probably land him in the hospital.
She stopped paying attention to him and instead looked toward Lin Yi’s side. A group of girls was sitting there, their eyes glued to her ever since she entered the classroom, whispering among themselves about her gloves. It was obvious they’d figured out the gloves were from Su Peng.
Ugly as they were, they still stirred up envy among the girls. What was there to envy anyway…
An Han rested her cheek on her hand with a headache, thinking she really ought to give something in return so she wouldn’t owe Su Peng another favor. Something handmade… preferably practical.
She half-asleep through the afternoon classes. By the time they ended, the sky outside had already darkened. Autumn and winter nights always came early. Unlike at noon, she didn’t plan to linger in the library. She packed up her things and prepared to head back to the rental.
Her phone rang abruptly.
She took it out and froze for a moment when she saw the number. After taking several deep breaths to steady herself, she answered. “Hello, Mom?”
Moving away from the crowd, she asked in a calm tone, “What’s up?” “I talked it over with your sister, and we’re thinking of coming over to visit you this weekend.” Her mother’s gentle voice came through the phone, but the topic made An Han feel like she’d plunged into an ice cellar.
She swallowed hard. “Mom, there’s really nothing fun around here. It’s boring.” “Of course you think it’s boring—you’re there every day. Your sister isn’t studying right now, and I’ve got nothing to do staying home with her. Might as well go travel over there for a couple of days.” “Hotels are expensive… and train tickets too…”
An Han tried her best to discourage her mother. She wasn’t ready to face her family with her current appearance.
【Option One: Refuse your mother’s request. Reward: Change relatives’ perception of your gender
Option Two: Wear women’s clothing and travel with her for two days. Reward: Female identity
Option Three: Bring your boyfriend (in women’s clothing) to travel with her for two days. Reward: Random attribute point】
Here it comes!
“We haven’t seen you for months, and you don’t even call. Your sister keeps pestering me, saying she wants her big brother.”
An Han’s body tensed up. Her brain automatically filtered out her mother’s words as her eyes locked onto the three system options. This time, she wasn’t thinking about difficulty or rewards—another thought popped into her head.
Can I get everything except Option Three?
Reject her first to complete Option One, then wear women’s clothes and go traveling with her? That way, she’d get a female identity, and her relatives wouldn’t question her appearance.
But Option One was obviously a trap! And Option Three looked the hardest, but if she brought Su Peng along, maybe some variable would make it unexpectedly easy.
Wait—I don’t have a boyfriend…
Should I gamble? Turn a bicycle into a motorcycle?
“We’ve never taken a plane before. How about flying from our place to yours?” She snapped back to reality from her dilemma and pursed her lips, replying softly, “It’s too close. Flying would be a waste.” “Why does your voice sound weird? It sounds like a girl’s.”
“I…” An Han coughed hard twice, using the vocal skill reward she’d gotten earlier to lower and masculinize her voice. How was she supposed to handle this sudden attack?!
Which task should she choose?!
Though her tone remained calm, just like usual when speaking with her mother, her eyes darted around in panic, desperately trying to find a figure that could make her feel at ease.
Couldn’t I just wear men’s clothes and put on masculine makeup to see my family?
An Han felt increasingly anxious. She’d planned to slowly reveal bits of her situation to her mother, feel out her attitude, and only then come clean—but this sudden strike completely threw her off balance.
A hand suddenly pressed down on her shoulder. In that instant, her emotions stabilized a little. She turned her head and saw Su Peng standing behind her.
What’s wrong? From his concerned look and moving lips, An Han roughly understood what he meant. She shook her head slightly, then continued into the phone, “Mom, how about this—you come Friday night and head back Sunday afternoon?” “Sure. I also want to visit your school.” An Han’s temple twitched. “That’s fine.” “Then it’s settled~ I’ll transfer you some money. Help me and your sister buy two high-speed rail tickets and book a hotel.”
She obediently agreed, but the moment she hung up, she lifted her head with a miserable expression. “Su Peng…” “Who was that?” “My mom… she says she’s coming to see me.” “Huh?” Su Peng didn’t understand why An Han was so panicked.
He still thought An Han had become a girl during summer vacation—that her parents already knew. But in reality, her family was completely in the dark.
An Han took a deep breath, suddenly full of energy, and raised her voice. “To the dorm! I need to set up my bed!”
No matter how scared or guilty she felt, she had to face it eventually!
——— My family will most likely come traveling this weekend, so updates may be unstable.
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