Chapter 60: A Gift?
"Ugh, I’m so full~"
Chen Cheng sprawled out on the bed, arms and legs spread wide, completely unbothered by how ungraceful she looked.
After an entire day of either having no appetite or not liking what was on the menu, she finally had a satisfying meal with the late-night snack.
An Yuan was sitting at the computer playing a game. The sweet scent of the girl in the room filled the air, but he resisted the urge to turn around and look at her and said, "I’ll head back, take a shower, and come up again later."
"No need, just wear my clothes! Why are we acting so distant when we’re basically brothers?"
"If you just want to see me crossdress, just say it." An Yuan scoffed. "There’s no way I’d fit into your clothes."
"What a shame."
Chen Cheng rolled onto her side, tucking her slightly chilled legs under the blanket. Since she wasn’t wearing pants, the soft fabric of the sheets wrapped around her legs, making her feel extra comfortable.
She had tried sleeping completely naked before, but it just didn’t feel safe, and she ended up sleeping poorly.
"If you don’t like wearing pants at home, why not wear skirts instead?"
"If you just want to see me in a skirt, just say it. That’s not the same thing."
"Well... I do want to see—"
"Pervert."
Leaning against the headboard, Chen Cheng played on her phone, occasionally glancing at the computer screen. "Wow, you suck. Why are you always dead every time I look?"
"That’s just how Dark Souls is."
An Yuan tried to stay focused on his game, but every time his character died, his eyes couldn’t help but drift back to the bed.
The way her thin nightshirt stretched slightly at the chest… so soft and full.
Because of that community doctor’s warning, he had been trying to control himself lately, didn’t want to end up with kidney problems before even getting a girlfriend. But all that pent-up frustration wasn’t going to just disappear. It was all hitting him now, and his body refused to listen to reason.
He was burning up, his body restless. Even his eyes were starting to look a little red.
"I’m going to take a shower."
He needed to deal with this before facing Chen Cheng again.
"Mhm~" Chen Cheng lazily responded from the bed.
She was busy scrolling through food videos, looking for ideas to challenge An Yuan’s so-called cooking skills tomorrow.
"Buddha Jumps Over the Wall looks good… but that might be too much."
"Lobster’s nice, but it’s expensive. Plus, steamed is the best way to eat it, and even I can do that…"
"Oh, this girl is really pretty."
Her mind wandered, and suddenly she thought of something completely unrelated.
"Wait, isn’t An Yuan’s birthday coming up?"
She absentmindedly stared at the video while trying to remember. Pulling up her phone’s calendar, she thought for a while but could only recall that his birthday was in December. She couldn’t remember the exact date.
She was never good at remembering dates. In fact, she couldn’t even remember her own parents’ birthdays. Every year, she only realized it was coming up when the month arrived and had to ask them directly.
For her parents, she just sent money after graduating from college. For friends, she usually gifted video games or in-game skins. She had even given fancy lighters before.
Without thinking too much, she sent An Yuan a message, "When’s your birthday again? It’s soon, right?"
"Next Tuesday."
"Why does it change every year?"
"Duh, it’s based on the lunar calendar. I’m in the shower. Talk later."
An Yuan had big hands, but it was still a struggle to type one-handed on a 26-key keyboard.
Chen Cheng started typing, "What do you want as a birthday gift?"
But before hitting send, she deleted it. Instead, she sat up, quickly opened her wardrobe, and started rummaging through it.
There was no need to ask, knowing An Yuan’s annoying personality, he’d probably say he wanted to see her in a skirt just to make her embarrassed.
Too bad for him.
Over the past month, she had been trying to adapt to this female body and society’s expectations. She had secretly worn skirts plenty of times by now. Even though it still felt a little weird, like she was crossdressing, the sense of rejection has long faded.
“No way am I giving him the reaction he wants!”
This time, she was going to completely crush An Yuan’s weird expectations!
"Black stockings!"
Chen Cheng’s taste was heavily influenced by anime. Compared to the pantyhose people usually wore in real life, she obviously preferred stockings.
She even bought them online behind her mom’s back and paid cash on delivery.
"A cute little slip dress! Or maybe a short skirt!"
"Way better than those borderline inappropriate streamer outfits, right?"
After putting on the skirt and stockings, Chen Cheng stood by the bed, hands on her hips, and bent down slightly to check herself in the small mirror on the nightstand.
"Something still feels off..."
Frowning, she thought about checking herself in the bathroom’s full-length mirror. But the moment she lifted her leg, her stockings started slipping down.
She pulled them up again, but after just a few steps, they slid back down. Walking like this was impossible.
After struggling with them for a bit, she finally understood why you rarely saw people wearing these in real life, they mostly showed up in anime.
Should she have bought the ones with anti-slip bands? Or maybe garter belts?
Just then, the sound of the front door opening came from outside, An Yuan was back from his shower.
Chen Cheng, who was completely engrossed in researching thigh-high socks, didn't leave her room when she heard the noise. She sat on the edge of the bed, applying transparent tape to her thighs.
So when An Yuan walked into the room, the first thing he saw was Chen Cheng sitting with her legs wide open, her skirt messily spread out, revealing her underwear and the tops of her thighs.
His “little brother”, which had just calmed down, was starting to get restless again.
"What the hell are you doing?"
"Hold on, I’m almost done."
She glanced up and immediately noticed the awkward look on his face. Raising an eyebrow, she casually asked, "Wait, are you embarrassed?"
"I’m almost thirty, what’s there to be embarrassed about?" An Yuan forced himself to keep his eyes on her face. No way was he admitting that his brother was making him flustered. "But could you at least act like a normal person? You’re sitting there like a damn monkey."
"You’re the monkey! Anyway, done!"
She stood up, smoothed out her skirt, and confidently posed with her hands on her hips. "Looks good, right? Your birthday present!"
Wait.
Was she saying she was the gift?
…Oh, she meant the outfit.
At this point, An Yuan couldn't let his guilt make him look away. He pretended to be calm and looked Chen Cheng up and down without any hesitation. “Not bad, a skirt suits you well.”
The black stockings pressed slightly into her soft thighs, making a tiny bulge, plump and full. As the skirt moved, a flash of white skin tempted the gaze towards the hidden depths below. The girl's hands were on her hips, and her waist seemed so small it could be held in one hand.
He had never seen her wear anything this... seductively.
And she wasn’t even wearing a bra!
But the girl seemed completely unaware, her expression so innocent. That unguarded innocence somehow made the whole situation even more dangerous. He had the sudden, almost overpowering urge to pin her down and—
Chen Cheng started to feel uneasy.
An Yuan’s gaze felt sharp, intense, like a predator sizing up its prey. It was as if he was about to devour her whole.
But there was no way she was going to back down and let him see her flustered. She squared her shoulders and stubbornly held his gaze. "Anyway... this is your birthday gift. So next Tuesday, don’t expect anything else from me."
Her cheeks burned. Her heart pounded under his stare. She could almost feel his gaze on her skin, like a physical touch tracing over her body.
"I’m going to bed!"
She couldn’t take it anymore. Grabbing the blanket, she dove under the covers, hiding herself completely.
An Yuan, still looking perfectly composed, calmly reminded her, "I’m the only one who still treats you like a guy. Don’t dress like this in front of anyone else."
"I’m not stupid. Have you ever seen me wear a skirt outside?"
So... she only dressed like this for him?
An Yuan felt a little dazed as he sat down at the computer. Before he could process that thought any further, the room was plunged into darkness, Chen Cheng had reached out from under the blanket and flicked off the lights.
A long silence.
Then, An Yuan suddenly realized something important.
"Wait. Are you seriously making me sleep on the couch in this weather?"
"Sleep on the floor, fool! What, you wanna sleep with me? Try it, and I’ll steal your blanket!"