Chapter 17: A Date with My Roommate
At eight in the evening, the area around the school on the outskirts of the city was still brightly lit.
Most students spent their nights either staying in the dorms playing online games together, or hanging around food stalls and small entertainment shops outside the school.
The school track field sat in one corner of the campus, taking up a huge space. Inside the 400-meter track was an always-green artificial lawn. Not far from the field stood a basketball court surrounded by a wire fence, and a small section there had even been turned into an area with pool tables.
The field lights shone as bright as daytime, but in one corner, a streetlight that had been broken for two weeks still hadn’t been repaired.
Long Xing, wearing a tight short-sleeved shirt that showed off his muscles and a pair of sports shorts, had washed his face three times to make sure he looked fresh and clean before coming here.
“I still don’t even know her name,” he muttered to himself as he walked under the broken streetlight. Looking around and not seeing the girl, he sat down on a stone bench nearby and decided to wait patiently.
He had arrived half an hour early, he didn’t want to give a bad first impression on their first real date.
At the same time, An Han had also left the hotel, with Su Peng following behind him, looking quite awkward.
Spending the whole afternoon with An Han had been pure torture for Su Peng.
Even though An Han’s crossdressing only looked average, like a normal-looking girl, there weren’t any noticeable flaws. Except for a few small masculine habits and gestures, he looked completely like a woman.
If Su Peng saw him walking on the street without context, he would’ve just thought it was a “female version” of An Han, like those gender-swap edits of male celebrities online, and never guessed it was a guy in disguise.
And seriously, how was this guy’s body so perfect for wearing women’s clothes?!
The entire afternoon, Su Peng had to remind himself again and again not to treat An Han like an actual girl.
Thankfully, An Han’s voice was still deep like a man’s.
“Mm! Ahem! Cough!”
Right after stepping out of the hotel entrance, An Han cleared his throat a few times, then turned around with a sweet smile.
“Brother Su Peng~”
The sudden soft, girly voice made Su Peng jump in shock, stepping back with a startled look.
“So? How is it? I practiced fake voice for two days.”
“Uh… it’s okay, I guess?”
Su Peng scratched his head awkwardly. “It sounds like you’re forcing your voice down. Kinda weird.”
“Yeah, that’s why I’ll only use it if I really have to.”
An Han nodded seriously.
After all, only practicing fake voice for two days. It was impossible to sound perfect.
Luckily, his crossdressing “character” was supposed to be a shy, quiet girl, so not talking much made sense anyway.
By eight o’clock, the streets outside the school were filled with students. The atmosphere was lively and full of energy.
The last time An Han went out in women’s clothes was around three in the morning, when the streets were dark and almost empty.
But now, as soon as he stepped out of the narrow alley where the hotel was, and saw the crowded street full of people, he froze and instantly hid behind Su Peng without hesitation.
“What’s wrong with you?”
Su Peng turned to look at him and noticed that at some point, a faint blush had appeared on An Han’s cheeks.
“It’s nothing. Let’s go. To school.”
An Han tried to act calm, but his eyes were darting around nervously, scanning the crowd outside.
What if someone finds out I’m a guy...
Even though it was nighttime and the streetlights weren’t as bright as daylight, there were still so many people outside.
What if someone sharp-eyed noticed?
“You chickened out?” Su Peng said with a teasing smile. “This afternoon you looked pretty happy wearing women’s clothes. But now that we’re going out, you’re scared?”
“When was I ever happy about wearing it this afternoon?”
An Han immediately denied something that had never even happened. When it came to arguing, his stubborn mouth could probably crack walnuts.
“Relax, your crossdressing…”
Su Peng paused, then looked at An Han’s hand with a complicated expression.
Normally, if you want to tell whether a “girl” is actually a guy, you can look at the details. Bone structure, joints, hands, things like that. No matter how perfect the makeup, there’s always something off. After all, crossdressing is one thing, but shrinking your bones? That’s impossible.
But An Han… was this what they called “born talented”? How had he never noticed before that An Han’s frame was so small, almost like a girl’s?
His hands were pale and slender, not rough like a man’s, and even his elbows looked smooth and delicate…
“Perfect. No one will notice,” Su Peng said finally.
“Really?”
Even though An Han thought so too, he still couldn’t help feeling nervous.
He wasn’t really afraid of strangers noticing he was male, what he feared was running into someone from school.
Not every classmate was as easygoing as Su Peng. If he met a gossip, his crossdressing would probably spread through the entire school circle by tomorrow, social death.
He lowered his head, looking timid and uneasy, taking small steps behind Su Peng, carefully keeping his face hidden in Su Peng’s shadow.
“I’ve never seen you like this before,” Su Peng said, hands in his pockets, teasing as they walked. “You really look like a girl now, the soft and cute kind.”
“Shut up!”
An Han’s face turned bright red as he snapped back.
Step by step, they finally made it to the school’s sports field. Thankfully, no one seemed to notice anything strange about his gender.
An Han didn’t know whether that meant the students had noticed but didn’t say anything or that his disguise was just that perfect.
From a distance, he spotted the dark corner of the field and in that shadow stood Long Xing.
Even though he could only see the outline, the tall, solid build and the aura that kept everyone within five meters away made it clear: that had to be Long Xing.
“I’m heading back,” Su Peng said, stretching. “Still got homework to do.”
“Don’t rush. Let’s go back together later and remember to let me copy your homework,” An Han replied, taking a deep breath before walking toward Long Xing.
Normally, his stride was wide and casual, like most guys. But now, because of nerves and embarrassment, his steps became small and shy.
He lowered his head, his bangs covering part of his face, and his hands fidgeted awkwardly until he decided to clasp them together in front of him.
So when Long Xing looked up, what he saw was a shy, cute girl, like the sweet girl-next-door type, walking gracefully toward him.
“She really looks like An Han… but way prettier,” he mumbled to himself, quickly standing up to greet her.
“H-Hi.”
He walked up to her, but the romantic lines he had practiced in his head completely vanished. All he could manage was a nervous, stammering greeting.
“Mm…”
The girl slightly bent forward to tug up her slipping stockings without showing any emotion.
Her voice is so soft…
And that little motion was so cute too…
That one sound made Long Xing’s heart race faster. He smiled awkwardly, even drooling a little without realizing it.
“Um, um…” He struggled to find words for a long moment. “Have you eaten yet?”
“……”