At dusk, after class ended, An Han and Wu Dongming walked side by side out of the teaching building.
He was trying hard to make his gait return to how it used to be—but it felt as if those delicate, girlish movements had been etched into his very DNA. Unless he consciously corrected himself, the slightest lapse in attention would cause those feminine mannerisms to slip out unintentionally.
"It's only been a day since we last saw each other, right?"
"What about it?" An Han feigned indifference, his expression blank as he asked.
"You seem even more girly now."
An Han's heart twitched inwardly, but he forced a smile: "Impossible! Are you blind?"
"Could it be that dressing up as a girl awakened some weird trait in you?"
"Ling...[Meng |^ First Release..."
An Han turned his head away. Dressing as a girl hadn't awakened any strange traits—just a bizarre system.
Wanting to steer the conversation away from himself, he quickly changed the subject: "Aren't your parents coming to see you tonight? Where's your rented girlfriend? Hasn't she arrived yet?"
"She's from another school. She just got out of class; it'll be past seven by the time she gets here."
"Is she hot? How much does she cost?" An Han asked curiously.
Wu Dongming pulled out his phone and showed An Han the photo his "rental girlfriend" had sent him. "Honestly? She's not as pretty as you in drag."
Even without the dress, you're still better-looking than her.
"Your mouth never says anything nice!" An Han retorted irritably. "With your looks, you should be grateful anyone's willing to pretend to be your girlfriend!"
The two bantered as usual, yet Wu Dongming's eyes kept lingering on An Han.
They'd spent so much time together that minor changes in An Han hadn't stood out at first. But now, recalling how An Han used to be, Wu Dongming realized just how drastically his friend had changed in just one week.
"Ever since you cross-dressed last week, something about you's been off," he muttered under his breath. "You used to just be a jerk—but now you actually want to become a woman?"
That hit a nerve. An Han kicked him hard and snapped angrily, "Screw you! I'm never supporting you in games again!"
This friendship is over!
An Han kept telling himself he was just getting more handsome—but Wu Dongming had just bluntly exposed the truth about the system, leaving him furious.
"Don't! I still need you to support me! Random teammates are dumber than pigs!" Wu Dongming hurriedly tried to calm him down. "I'm just worried about you, okay?"
"Worried my ass!"
Still arguing, they arrived at the school's east gate.
From a distance, Wu Dongming spotted his parents being held back by the security guard outside the gate. He immediately abandoned An Han and dashed toward them.
"I'm heading back now!" An Han called after his retreating figure, finally relaxing his tense posture once Wu Dongming was gone.
First, grab dinner at the cafeteria.
Ever since buying those girls' clothes, his monthly allowance had run thin. These last few days of the month, he'd had no choice but to stick to cheap cafeteria meals.
But he hadn't walked far when Wu Dongming's voice rang out again from behind.
"An Han! Come over here for a sec!"
What the hell?
An Han turned around to see Wu Dongming already standing beside his parents, waving eagerly at him.
Normally, he'd ignore this nonsense—but out of basic politeness in front of Wu Dongming's parents, he jogged over.
Standing before them, he silently sized up the elderly couple, then smiled and greeted them politely: "Uncle, Auntie, hello."
The couple looked quite aged—probably in their mid-fifties, likely having had Wu Dongming late in life.
No wonder they were so anxious about his sexuality and love life.
Gone was An Han's usual loud and boisterous demeanor. He forced a smile at the couple, then shot Wu Dongming a confused look.
What's going on?
"This is An Han, Mom and Dad—the friend I've mentioned before," Wu Dongming introduced him while giving An Han a meaningful wink.
How the hell should I know? You expect me to read your mind?
"An Han?" Auntie paused for a moment, then broke into a wide grin, her wrinkles bunching up. "Oh, I remember! The one who called you 'husband' over the phone!"
"Yeah, yeah! I told you it was just a joke, but you wouldn't believe me."
Auntie turned to examine An Han again, her expression growing increasingly pleased as she nodded repeatedly, beaming ear to ear. "Very nice, very nice."
An Han felt goosebumps all over. He sidled closer to Wu Dongming and tugged his sleeve, whispering, "What's going on? Why's your mom so happy?"
"I have no idea either."
"Could it be I'm so handsome she wants to adopt me as her son and split your inheritance?"
"Dream on!"
Their hushed whispers only made the elderly couple even happier.
The way the parents looked at them sent chills down An Han's spine—and even Wu Dongming could feel the ominous vibe.
"Mom, let's go eat dinner, okay?" Wu Dongming quickly changed the subject. "There's a good restaurant behind the school—I'll take you."
"Alright. An Han, you're coming too, right?"
Wait, why are you inviting me to your family dinner?
Wu Dongming shot An Han a bewildered glance and scratched his head. "He's heading back to his dorm."
"I already ordered takeout—it's probably already at my dorm," An Han added with a polite smile, trying to decline.
Auntie looked surprised. "But didn't we agree to have dinner together tonight? Why are you ordering takeout?"
An Han froze, his suspicions growing worse by the second.
Don't tell me they think I'm Wu Dongming's girlfriend?
He knew he looked unusually delicate these days—but surely not so feminine that anyone would mistake him for a girl. After all, his short hair barely covered his eyebrows; that couldn't possibly look like a girl's, right?
Could it be his posture?
Nowadays, plenty of girls were "tomboys," looking just like delicate boys.
An Han glanced down at his chest.
Though he'd deliberately worn a jacket, a slight curve was still visible—especially after two rounds of stat boosts. Being mistaken for a girl wasn't entirely impossible.
Just as An Han was about to explain, Wu Dongming slung an arm around his neck with shameless confidence. "Yep! An Han's my girlfriend!"
"???"
An Han stared at him, utterly baffled.
So after all I've done to help you, this is how you repay me?
Wu Dongming grinned smugly—but before he could laugh properly, An Han smacked him hard on the back of the head.
"Ow! You actually hit me! I was just joking!" Wu Dongming yelped, clutching his head and crouching down in pain.
"Auntie, Wu Dongming and I are just regular friends—and I'm a guy," An Han said without even glancing at him. "His real girlfriend should be here by seven."
"A guy?"
"Yes!" He slapped his chest firmly. "One hundred percent, genuine man!"