Chapter 41: Give Me a Hand, Brother
‘I wonder what Chengzi is doing right now…’
An Yuan was still sitting in the milk tea shop, resting his chin on one hand, lost in thought.
Chen Cheng had only left a short while ago, but his face kept appearing in An Yuan’s mind, making him restless. Completely killing his interest in the date.
That pitiful, downcast look… That nervous, pleading expression… The way he blushed so hard that even his ears turned red, his gaze darting around shyly…
Chen Cheng was different from him. After changing genders, he was struggling to adapt to his relationships. Still socially anxious and introverted, An Yuan was the only true friend he had left.
Right now, Chen Cheng was dealing with a huge disconnect between his physical and psychological gender. This was when he needed a brother’s support the most.
And yet he was still thinking about dating, trying to provoke Chen Cheng at a time like this.
What a terrible friend!
“Sir? Do you need anything else?”
The server’s voice snapped An Yuan out of his thoughts.
He realized he had been zoning out for who knows how long. With an awkward smile, he got up and left the milk tea shop, wandering aimlessly around the mall.
He had originally planned to take Chen Cheng to the claw machine arcade. That guy had always loved claw machines, even back when she was still a man. Though she could never win anything and would always end up angrily asking An Yuan for help.
Entering the mall’s restroom, An Yuan stopped in front of the sink, bent down, and splashed cold water on his face. He rubbed his cheeks hard before looking up at the mirror, his brows furrowed.
If he avoided dating to distract himself, this hot-blooded young body of his wouldn’t cooperate. His thoughts would keep straying in the wrong direction when he was with Chen Cheng, and his mind would start wandering toward things it shouldn’t.
But if he did date, at least he could focus on his girlfriend and keep his friendship with Chen Cheng intact… except that would probably hurt Chen Cheng’s already fragile heart.
His friend had never been that mentally strong to begin with, and now, on top of everything, he had to deal with this whole mess.
An Yuan sighed, troubled. “Screw it. If it’s wrong, so be it.”
Actions speak louder than thoughts. Sure, he might be using Chen Cheng as mental inspiration sometimes, but in reality, he was treating him like a brother.
Taking out his phone, he was about to message Chen Cheng when he suddenly noticed several missed calls from his mother.
"Hello? Mom?"
He called her back.
“You brat! Are you out of your mind?! Did you break up with Chengzi?!”
An Yuan was completely confused. “No? We were never even dating.”
“Then why were her clothes at our house a few days ago?”
“Uh…”
This was a huge misunderstanding!
“Get home right now!”
An Yuan let out a relieved sigh. Thank god he and Chen Cheng really were just brothers. If they had been a couple and planned to get married, his parents and in-laws would be watching his every move. If Chen Cheng ever felt wronged, An Yuan would get beaten up on the spot. His status in the household would probably be lower than the family dog.
Meanwhile on the other side, Chen Cheng was miserably working on her homework.
She had just finished lunch, and the house was quiet. Her mother was napping, her father had gone out to visit friends, and the silence was so deep that she could hear the scratching of her pen on paper… and even her own heartbeat.
“What’s An Yuan doing right now?”
“Did he really go on a date with that girl?”
“Leaving his brother behind to go flirt… What a jerk.”
Chen Cheng grumbled to herself, but after an entire hour, she had barely finished a single page of homework.
Her mouth was complaining, her hand was writing, but her mind was stuck on those four words—"neither man nor woman."
“Maybe I should just give up. Being a woman isn’t so bad.”
“It’s better than being stuck in between…”
But then… what about the 27 years he had lived as a man? Were they completely meaningless?
Chen Cheng slumped over her desk in frustration. The reflective side panel of her computer case showed her face. So flawless, it looked like a carefully crafted 3D model. Even with her dull, lifeless fish eyes, she was still a gloomy yet heartbreakingly beautiful girl.
Her phone lit up beside her. She glanced at it, and in an instant, her spirits lifted. She grabbed her phone and checked the message.
“Damn! My mom almost broke my legs!”
Chen Cheng smugly typed: “Serves you right.”
That’s what you get for ditching your brother to go on a date! Now karma’s caught up with you!
“Open the door, I’m outside your house.”
“!!!”
Chen Cheng anxiously peeked out of her bedroom, glancing toward the master bedroom to make sure her mom was still napping. Only after confirming that did she tiptoe barefoot to the front door.
She carefully unlocked it. An Yuan had been waiting outside for a while.
“What are you doing here? My mom’s still home!” Chen Cheng whispered nervously, glancing toward the master bedroom. Leaning closer, she tiptoed and murmured in An Yuan’s ear, “If you need something, can’t we just talk over the phone?”
The moment she got close, An Yuan caught a whiff of the soft, sweet scent unique to girls. Instinctively, he took a subtle step back.
Chen Cheng didn’t notice and instead bombarded him with questions. “Did you go on a date with that girl just now? Why are you back so soon? Didn’t you at least go see a movie? Did you confess? Did she say yes?”
Only after the flood of questions did she suddenly realize she was prying too much and awkwardly apologized. “Wait, I shouldn’t have asked. Just pretend I didn’t say anything…”
“Why so many questions the moment we meet?” An Yuan rubbed his earlobe with a wry smile. “No, I wasn’t on a date. I was just zoning out outside.”
“Just zoning out?”
“Yeah, thinking about some stuff.”
Chen Cheng looked at him, confused. “What could you be thinking about for that long?”
“I just feel like, as brothers, we should stick together through tough times. I mean, you’re struggling right now, so how could I go off dating like nothing’s wrong?” An Yuan said righteously.
“Right?! Exactly! That’s why I was upset when you wanted to date!”
Chen Cheng nodded vigorously, her smile brightening.
“Besides, school’s the priority right now. Imagine going through all this, only to end up barely making it into a third-rate college.”
“Exactly!” She nodded so fast it left afterimages.
An Yuan tested the waters. “So… what’s your plan from now on?”
“Huh?” Chen Cheng was caught off guard, staring at him blankly. “Just study, go to school, and invest heavily in you so you can carry me to success? Didn’t I already give you a thousand? After buying clothes, there’s still like seven hundred left.”
Wow. Not even a shred of ambition as a transmigrator.
But that was just like Chen Cheng.
“Besides, I don’t really have much of a ‘future’…” Chen Cheng’s smile faded as she lowered her gaze gloomily. “I can’t turn back into a guy. Even if I just want to cut my hair short, my mom says I look neither here nor there. I can’t accept this body, but there’s nothing I can do. I’ll just drift along.”
An Yuan wanted to pat her head, but halfway through, he awkwardly scratched the back of his own head instead.
He could hear the struggle in Chen Cheng’s voice. At times like this, you just need someone to give you a push.
Before the college entrance exams, he’d stay by Chen Cheng’s side, helping her adjust, accept her new body, make more female friends, and fully integrate into this life.
After all, it was because of him that Chen Cheng had ended up in this situation. He had to take responsibility, right?
As for dating? They were only seventeen. There was plenty of time for that in college. His right hand would just have to tough it out.
“Chengcheng? Who are you talking to?”
A voice suddenly came from the master bedroom.
“No one! Just the TV!” Chen Cheng panicked and shot An Yuan a warning look. Raising her voice, she asked, “Did I wake you up?”
“I’m going back to sleep. Wake me at two.”
“Okay~”
Chen Cheng let out a sigh of relief, then hurriedly whispered to An Yuan, “Go, go, go! If my mom sees you, I’m screwed! I still have homework to do!”
“Wait, wait, there’s one more thing.”
“What now?”
An Yuan grinned mischievously. “That new short skirt you bought, when are you going to try it on?”
“Go ask your girlfri—”
Chen Cheng instinctively started to refuse but suddenly remembered that An Yuan had specifically said he wasn’t going to date, for her sake.
She swallowed the rest of her sentence. Then, seeing An Yuan looking at her with a dramatic, heartbroken expression, as if to say, ‘I even gave up dating for you! No girlfriend, no romance, nothing!’
Chen Cheng knew exactly what he was doing… but she just couldn’t say no.
“…Fine.”
Step one in helping Chen Cheng accept her new body, get her to wear girl’s clothes.
Yes! That’s all it is! It’s definitely not because An Yuan wants to see his brother in a skirt!