Just as An Han was agonizing over his choice, someone knocked on the door.
"Is anyone in?"
"Who is it? The door's unlocked."
Su Peng pushed the door open and stepped inside, visibly delighted. "Thank goodness you're still here! Otherwise, I'd be bored to death over the National Day holiday."
An Han was equally thrilled. So you didn't leave either!
Without further hesitation, he immediately selected Task Two.
Truthfully, An Han could have accepted a no-penalty task like this and simply ignored it—but right now, he desperately needed to check Long Xing's affection level toward him.
If Long Xing returned to the dorm after the holiday and, due to an unexpectedly high affection level, started making moves on him while An Han acted as carefree as usual… that would be absolutely terrifying.
And to check affection levels, he needed the system to level up.
The moment Su Peng entered the room, he shivered involuntarily, as if a cold draft had brushed past him, sending chills down his spine.
He glanced around suspiciously, then finally looked up at the air conditioner and shuddered. "Why's it set to 16°C? Aren't you freezing?"
"Not at all," An Han replied, turning around with a radiant smile.
His cheeks dimpled slightly, his eyes sparkled with playful innocence, and the curve of his lips resembled a crescent moon—his smile was as sweet as honey. Just one glance made Su Peng's heart race and his mood inexplicably sweet.
Yet, that very smile only made Su Peng feel even more uneasy.
He had to admit—An Han's smile was undeniably cute and beautiful—but he was still a guy!
Suddenly, Su Peng recalled what had happened between them at the hotel last time. Back then, he'd already started wondering if An Han was trying to "turn him gay."
Now, it seemed his suspicion might actually be true.
"Am I… interrupting something?" Su Peng asked warily.
"Of course not~" An Han sprang up instantly, grabbed Su Peng's arm, and gently but firmly pushed him into a chair. "I was getting bored too!"
This was way too enthusiastic!
Su Peng couldn't handle An Han's sudden warmth. He was even more worried that An Han was about to pull another prank on him.
Nervously, he sat stiffly in the chair, occasionally sneaking glances at An Han beside him.
Since when did An Han sit so… elegantly?
He hadn't interacted much with An Han recently—only catching distant glimpses during class, and even that had been less than two days total.
But in just those two days, An Han seemed to have changed again.
Su Peng's furtive gaze slowly drifted downward—landing on An Han's subtly budding chest.
An Han, completely absorbed in figuring out how to raise Su Peng's affection level, had entirely forgotten he wasn't wearing his usual concealing jacket.
"How about we go out and hang out?" he asked tentatively, eyes bright with hope.
"Go out in this weather?" Su Peng gestured toward the window, where torrential rain poured down relentlessly, the sound of it filling the room.
Autumn was typhoon season. For people in southern coastal regions, typhoons were practically a blessing—only during these storms could the usual scorching 40°C heat finally ease up.
"Then… wanna play games?" An Han's eyes shimmered with anticipation.
Would playing games together increase affection?
Probably not, right?
Su Peng shifted uncomfortably in his seat, his eyes darting toward the door as he half-heartedly replied, "Sure, I guess. I'll just go back to my dorm and voice-chat with you."
"No need! Just use Wang Sheng's computer—he's got an external monitor too."
An Han had clearly noticed Su Peng's unease, but he was just as flustered himself—his cheeks already tinged a soft pink.
Why are you panicking?! Shouldn't I be the one freaking out?!
I'm the one worried about being alone in a room with another guy and him getting… inappropriate thoughts!
He hunched his shoulders inward, lowered his head, and frantically tried to figure out how to boost Su Peng's affection without making things too awkward.
"Wanna play Dota?"
"Wang Sheng's computer doesn't have it installed." Su Peng had already opened the computer and was browsing through the games. "Wait, does he only play CS:GO?"
"Yeah. He keeps saying he's going pro, so he only plays that one game."
On weekends, Wang Sheng could sit in front of his computer playing CS:GO all day without getting tired.
"Oh… right, I think I've heard something about that."
Mentioning Wang Sheng reminded An Han of something else. "He said he's going to a gaming club for a trial during the holiday. If it works out, he might actually go pro."
"That's great."
Even as they chatted, An Han's mind was entirely preoccupied with how to increase Su Peng's affection level.
Twenty points of affection—surely that wasn't much, right?
Common ways for guys to bond included doing something reckless together, checking out girls, drinking, or gaming…
But they'd played games together countless times over the past three years—if that could raise affection, it wouldn't be by much now.
Drinking seemed promising. An Han had a solid alcohol tolerance; he'd never gotten drunk before.
But would inviting Su Peng for a drink this early in the morning make him look like a lunatic?
"Let's find a small game to play." Su Peng had already opened 4399.com. "It'd be rude to install random stuff on Wang Sheng's computer."
"True."
An Han scooted his chair closer and leaned in to look at the screen.
He used to visit sites like 4399 all the time in elementary and middle school—there were plenty of fun games there.
He'd once spent an entire summer obsessed with Flash Action, and during middle school computer class, he and his classmates would often team up for Naruto vs. Bleach.
Su Peng aimlessly clicked through the website, searching for something interesting.
"How about Fireboy and Watergirl?"
"I've already beaten that."
"Then what do you want to play?" Su Peng muttered—then suddenly caught a faint, indescribable scent near his nose, something milky yet delicate.
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed An Han's face was practically pressed against his own. He could even see the fine, soft hairs on An Han's cheeks.
An Han's skin was flawless—pores nearly invisible, complexion luminous and slightly flushed, radiating an almost ethereal cuteness.
And his cheeks felt really nice to touch too…
Su Peng suddenly remembered poking An Han's face back at the hotel.
"I—I think I'll just go back to my dorm to play with you. These little games aren't that fun anyway." He was growing even more restless, his eyes darting everywhere.
Even though the AC was blasting at 16°C—and he'd felt cold when he first walked in—his body was now starting to feel strangely warm.
[Su Peng's Affection +5]
An Han froze for a second, then nearly jumped with joy. Looks like this task wasn't hard at all! Just playing games together already worked!
"No need to leave! Let's play Naruto vs. Bleach—I'm seriously amazing at it!" He grew even more energetic, boasting proudly, "Back in middle school, I was unbeatable! No one in my class could beat me!"
But after a moment, he realized Su Peng was spacing out.
So An Han leaned forward even more, stretching his arm out to grab the mouse.
Now their faces were even closer—Su Peng could clearly see the smooth, pale curve of An Han's neck.
Su Peng's expression grew even stiffer.
"I—I just remembered I've got something urgent to do!" he suddenly blurted out, standing up so abruptly that An Han nearly jumped out of his skin.
"What's wrong with you?! Why are you acting so weird all of a sudden?!"
Su Peng turned his back to An Han, his voice laced with both apology and urgency. "My advisor said he needed to talk to me about something."
"Your advisor's got issues too, right? What does he want during the holiday?!"
"I've gotta go!"
And just like that, Su Peng bolted out the door, leaving An Han staring helplessly after him.
My task…!