Chapter 205 202. Sudden Attack!
“Is it okay?”
After having her hair trimmed again, An Han’s brows furrowed even deeper.
Her hair had been cut quite a bit shorter this time. It did look much more androgynous now, but paired with her face, it still leaned toward a feminine hairstyle. Compared to the previous cut, it was also quite a bit uglier—or at least, it didn’t match An Han’s aesthetic.
Forget it. Even if she shaved her head, she’d still look like a nun.
An Han didn’t continue to trouble the barber. She stood up and asked, “How much?”
“Forty.”
“???” She looked up at the barber in confusion, then quickly scanned the price list on the wall.
How the hell could such a tiny barbershop charge this much? The decor wasn’t fancy at all, and the whole place only had eight barber chairs! A real small shop in every sense.
She already thought the thirty-yuan barbershop behind the school was a rip-off, and now she’d run into an even more expensive one.
“If you get a membership card, haircuts are twenty.”
“No thanks.”
She was never coming back to this shady place again!
With a dark expression, An Han pushed open the glass door and walked out. Su Peng followed closely behind, joking with a smile, “It’s not bad. You look a lot cuter than before.”
“I wanted to look handsome!”
She shot back irritably.
No matter how handsome the hairstyle was, once it was on her head, the best it could be described as was “cool.”
An Han understood this logic herself. She sighed helplessly and handed her phone to Su Peng. “Hold this for me.”
She was wearing a short skirt and a long-sleeved top, without a single pocket anywhere. She’d had to keep her phone in her hand the entire time, never letting go, whether during the shampoo or the haircut.
“Mm.”
“Let’s go. We still need to buy clothes.”
Mentioning shopping instantly lifted her previously lifeless mood brought on by the haircut.
Because of her aesthetic preferences, she’d always envied the pretty clothes worn by girls on the street, and today she finally had a chance to choose and buy some herself.
Unfortunately, her budget wasn’t enough—she could only buy one outfit.
Before Su Peng could even react, An Han had already dashed into the clothing store across from the barbershop.
“Why are you running so fast?” he asked, following her with a helpless smile.
But as soon as he reached the shop entrance, he saw An Han already pushing the door open and coming back out.
“Men’s clothing store,” An Han explained casually. Then she lifted her head and scanned the surrounding shops with burning interest. After only a couple of glances, she suddenly turned back and asked, “Are you buying clothes?”
“Me? I’ll pass.”
“I’m curious how much the clothes you usually wear cost—are they luxury brands worth thousands?” She suddenly leaned in, peering around Su Peng’s body for tags. “I heard rich people all wear designer clothes.”
“Then I’m probably a weirdo. I buy everything online,” Su Peng replied honestly. He’d never had any interest in luxury fashion since he was young.
“You like luxury brands?”
An Han shook her head like a rattle drum. “No. I’m just curious about how rich people live.”
She had zero interest in luxury brands. Spending several thousand yuan on a single piece of clothing made far less sense to her than buying games. A good game could give her dozens or even thousands of hours of enjoyment—far better value for money than designer clothes.
She’d never been interested in strolling around shops before. Even when she did go out, she usually headed straight for her goal, bought what she needed, and left immediately.
But this time, whether because Su Peng was with her or because she had become a woman, even though she had a clear goal, she wandered through the commercial street more like she was leisurely strolling. Any store that caught her interest, she had to go in and take a look.
“Those clothes just now were pretty nice. Why didn’t you try them on?” Su Peng asked as they walked out of a women’s boutique, glancing back at the small suit An Han had been especially interested in.
“Too feminine.”
And that suit cost over three hundred!
Way over budget.
An Han muttered to herself. She had marked a few more androgynous hoodies, but planned to walk through the entire street before deciding which one to buy.
Su Peng could only smile helplessly, still unable to figure out what was going on between An Han and her family.
There was no real reason for An Han to dress masculinely in front of her family… and especially not in masculine women’s clothing.
Sensing Su Peng’s confusion, An Han turned her head and smiled brightly. “Don’t think too much. I’ll handle it.”
She’d already told Su Peng about the system, but he didn’t believe her at all.
If she said any more, he’d probably think she was crazy.
However, Su Peng noticed a hint of strain in her smile.
“Let’s just buy the clothes already. I’m too lazy to keep browsing,” An Han stretched lazily, then smiled and reassured Su Peng. “It’s fine. If I can’t handle it, aren’t you still here?”
“How did it turn into you comforting me?” Su Peng said with a wry laugh, nodding.
“What else would it be? I’m not some soft, delicate little girl who cries and screams for help whenever something happens.”
Sooner or later, she would have to face it. Even if her mother hadn’t suddenly come to visit for a trip, even if she wore men’s clothes and completely presented herself as male when interacting with her family, during that one-month winter break, she would inevitably be exposed no matter what.
Rather than panicking when she got caught off guard later, at least now she still had time to think carefully about how to deal with it.
They went straight back to a women’s clothing store they’d visited earlier. Just like before, An Han tried the clothes on to confirm the size, didn’t nitpick or bargain, and within five minutes, decisively scanned the QR code and paid.
The sales assistant was stunned. “Miss, this outfit is seventy percent of the original price…”
“Huh? Really?”
An Han looked up from the counter, staring blankly at the assistant. “Then… can I get a refund?”
“You should’ve said it was discounted earlier…”
She muttered softly, a blush appearing on her cheeks from embarrassment.
After the assistant finished packing the clothes, Su Peng naturally stepped forward and picked up the shopping bag.
“So, heading back now?” Su Peng asked, holding a bag in each hand.
“Let’s go!”
……
A little after eight in the evening, one tall figure and one shorter figure got off the bus.
In front of the bus stop was a massive university campus; behind it was a low-rise urban village. Located in the suburbs, at this hour, the village entrance had seven or eight food stalls set up, with a decent flow of people—most of them clearly students.
A woman stood there wearing a tasteful long dress, a pearl necklace around her neck, a wide-brimmed hat on her head. She pulled a suitcase behind her and wore low-heeled shoes, looking exactly like a tourist.
She looked around to observe her surroundings, then took out her phone from her shoulder bag and dialed her son’s number.
At that moment, another bus pulled into the stop.
A pretty girl ran off the bus first, then turned back with a slightly flustered expression. “Hurry up and give me my phone!”
“What are you rushing for? I’m carrying a bunch of stuff,” someone replied.
A tall, slender man carrying two clothing bags stepped off the bus. He turned slightly sideways. “It’s in my jacket pocket. Just take it yourself.”
“This outfit doesn’t even have pockets~” the girl complained as she leaned in, reached out to take the phone, and glanced at the caller ID. With a headache-inducing sigh, she said, “As expected, it’s my mom calling. Other than mobile service and scammers, only my mom ever calls me.”
“Mom, that big brother is so handsome.”
A little girl around ten years old tugged at the woman’s clothes and pointed at Su Peng, exclaiming, “He’s way more handsome than my brother.”
Hearing this, Su Peng turned and smiled at the little girl. “You’ve got good taste.”
Only then did An Han answer the call. “Mom?”
As she spoke, she also looked toward the little girl—and her expression instantly froze.
“An Han, we arrived two days early. Come out and pick us up.”
The gentle voice on the phone overlapped perfectly with the woman’s voice beside her.
“……”
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