Chapter 223 220. Going Home
Two hours later, the two of them arrived outside the waiting hall once again.
This time, she was really leaving.
An Han lowered her head and slowly loosened her tightly held grip on Su Peng’s hand.
Then, very abruptly, she lifted her foot and stepped hard on the top of his shoe.
“Ah—!”
Su Peng was startled by the sudden pain and hurriedly jumped aside. “What are you doing?!”
“See you next semester!”
An Han grabbed both suitcases and bolted toward the waiting hall as if fleeing. “And don’t even think about stepping on me back!”
“You’re unbelievable… bye.”
Su Peng’s voice came from behind her. Her pace gradually slowed, and she forced herself not to turn around, unwilling to let him see her reddened eyes.
She didn’t know why—this was only a short separation, yet she felt an overwhelming urge to cry. To her, that impulse felt childish and embarrassing.
Her thumb gently rubbed the rough texture of her gloves as she reached the entrance to the waiting hall. She glanced around, then walked toward the facial-recognition gate.
“What if this machine can’t recognize me anymore…?”
The thought suddenly hit her. But if she went to the manual check counter, the issue probably wouldn’t stop at recognition.
She might even be questioned about her gender.
If she couldn’t get through, her only option would be to go back and hitch a ride home.
Without overthinking it, she pulled her ID card from her pocket, pressed it against the machine, and looked up at the screen.
Access granted.
It seemed that although the system had changed her facial features and face shape, the adjustments were still within a recognizable range.
To her, the change felt drastic—almost like having a completely different face.
After entering the waiting hall, An Han finally turned back and looked outside through the huge glass wall.
Su Peng was still standing there. When he saw her turn around, he gave her a gentle smile and lifted his hand in a small wave.
An Han nodded slightly and casually found a seat.
Leaning back against the chair, she stared at the large information screen in the distance, waiting for the train to arrive.
She lightly touched her cheek. Recalling the scene in the underground parking garage, a smile unconsciously crept onto her lips.
But soon, she crossed her arms, crossed her legs, and the blush she’d had while with Su Peng slowly faded. Her expression cooled, and her whole body radiated a sense of distance and vigilance, as if warning others to stay away.
After leaving Su Peng, the intense unease she’d felt since becoming female resurfaced once again.
---
Late at night, in a coastal town.
An old short-distance bus, reeking strongly of gasoline, stopped on the town’s busiest commercial street.
The rear door opened, and the girl struggled to lift two suitcases, wobbling as she stepped off the bus.
She raised her head. Before her was a bustling street that hadn’t changed in over ten years.
Most of the buildings were no taller than seven stories. The ceramic tiles on their exteriors were long cracked and peeling. Tricycles and motorcycles weaved through the crowded street. Thick white smoke rose from roadside barbecue stalls, drifting upward before dispersing.
The air was filled with the aroma of street food. Yet An Han bent over, clutching her chest, and dry-heaved a few times before slowly straightening up, wiping the tears squeezed from the corners of her eyes.
“Damn it, when are they going to replace these buses?”
“They shake like crazy and smell awful.”
Grumbling, she pulled out her phone and sent Su Peng a message saying she had arrived safely.
“Miss! Need a ride?”
A tricycle driver parked nearby waved at her. “Where you headed?”
An Han ignored him, expressionless, and dragged her suitcases away quickly.
Her home was located at the edge of the commercial street.
As she pulled her luggage to the entrance of an alley, she immediately spotted a food stall at the corner.
“Auntie, two oyster pancakes. Extra meat.”
She hadn’t eaten much that night and had been on the road for nearly three hours. She was starving.
And although both cities had oyster pancakes, the ones back home were still the best.
The golden pancakes, sprinkled with a few peanuts, were soon ready. She scanned to pay, took the clear plastic bag, then glanced at the auntie and pursed her lips.
As expected—she wasn’t recognized.
Everyone in this alley was her neighbor. She’d grown up here, infamous enough that even dogs disliked her.
If this were before, the auntie would’ve already handed her an extra pancake as a kind of “protection fee.”
“Aunt Wang, you don’t recognize me?”
An Han leaned her face forward, unwilling to give up.
Aunt Wang, in her fifties, looked up and shook her head blankly.
It seemed the change really was significant. Or maybe the women’s clothing made her hesitate even if she had a guess.
An Han took a bite of the pancake, didn’t dwell on it, and continued walking into the alley.
The alley was roughly shaped like the Chinese character for “eye,” with entrances at the four corners, formed by rows of connected buildings.
Her home was in the center. Passing through the damp, dim alley and turning a corner, she saw her younger sibling playing on a phone at the doorway.
At the same time, her sibling turned to look at her.
“Brother!”
An Han’s expression darkened instantly.
You still call me ‘brother’ when I’m dressed like this?!
Her sibling immediately turned around and shouted into the house, “Mom! Sister’s back!”
Their mother hurried out, greeting her with a gentle smile. “Why did it take so long?”
“There were some things to handle at school, so I had to reschedule,” An Han replied. She had originally planned to share the oyster pancakes with her sibling, but now decided to keep them all to herself.
Her mother took the luggage without paying attention to the details and asked with a smile, “Want some late-night food?”
“I ate a lot on the way. I’ll just shower and go to sleep.”
An Han yawned deliberately, pretending to be tired, and followed her mother inside.
Their house had three floors, but each floor was probably no more than thirty to forty square meters. A staircase in the middle divided each floor into front and back rooms.
The front of the first floor was the kitchen and dining area—small and cramped. The back was a living room with an old bulky desktop computer that her mother used to play mahjong.
The second and third floors shared the same layout: the front room had been converted into a bathroom, and the back room was a bedroom.
An Han lived on the third floor. As soon as she entered, she grabbed a suitcase, kicked off her shoes, and headed upstairs, asking her mother, “Is my sibling on break already?”
“She’s been on break for a couple of days,” her mother replied, carrying luggage up after her.
“Did she take her stuff out of my room?”
Normally, while An Han was at school, her sibling slept in her room. Now that it was vacation, her sibling should be sleeping with their mother again.
“She’ll sleep with you.”
“What?”
An Han froze on the stairs.
“You’re both girls now. Sleeping together is no big deal.”
But I really prefer sleeping alone…
An Han turned to look downstairs and saw her sibling grinning at her. She immediately forced a stern look back.
That brat was definitely going to be noisy at night again.
Helpless, she accepted her mother’s decision. Her last bit of private space was officially gone.
Even voice or video calls with Su Peng would probably be under her sibling’s constant surveillance now.
Author's Notes
Continue later. I just got a call from work again even though there was still a lot of work left unfinished arghh...
Thank you for the chapters