Chapter 40: The Mission
To be honest, An Han thought An Kexin and Su Peng were actually a good match.
Even though there was a bit of a gap in their looks, An Kexin’s personality was exactly as Su Peng had described. Gentle, shy, and introverted. She was a really cute girl.
“What are you doing in this area?”
An Kexin looked around and realized this whole section was full of women’s products.
An Han turned his head away, feeling a bit guilty. “Uh, nothing. The power went out, so I’m just wandering around.”
He didn’t even know how he had ended up in the women’s section, maybe deep down, he already sensed that he might become a girl one day, so he wanted to get used to it early.
But still, he wanted to resist it if he could.
Once I have money, I’ll buy some anti-estrogen medicine!
He turned to look at An Kexin again. She wasn’t exactly beautiful, a little on the chubby side, but her slightly flushed cheeks gave her a kind of soft, adorable charm that easily made men feel protective.
He couldn’t help but wonder if Su Peng saw him the same way.
Even though his blushing was usually not from shyness but from embarrassment or irritation, to others it probably looked about the same.
“Where’s Su Peng? I haven’t seen him all afternoon.” An Han quickly changed the topic, he didn’t want to keep talking about how “girly” he was.
An Kexin shook her head. “I don’t know. After he ditched me this morning, I didn’t talk to him again.”
“You’re not mad about that?”
“Of course not.” She shook her head quickly. “It’s normal for him to like playing games. I just can’t play with him.”
“So, you do like him, huh?” An Han suddenly had an idea.
Since Su Peng didn’t want him to be his “wingman,” maybe he could be An Kexin’s wingman instead.
It didn’t really make a difference. Either way, the goal was to help the two of them get together.
Su Peng would definitely be thankful for that, right?
“N-no, it’s not like that~” An Kexin said, her face turning bright red. “We’re just… close friends. Yeah.”
“Close friends?” An Han gave her a strange look.
A guy being called a “close friend” usually wasn’t a great sign.
“Yeah! What’s wrong with that?” An Kexin shot him a glare in return. “We’re just good friends.”
Seeing her reaction, An Han figured she probably did like Su Peng but was too shy to admit it, so she used “close friend” as an excuse.
“What a pity.”
“What’s there to pity? Why are you suddenly playing matchmaker?”
An Han didn’t know how to explain it, so he just laughed awkwardly.
He glanced at the shelves nearby. Standing among a bunch of sanitary pads felt kind of awkward, so he slowly started walking toward the exit.
“So, Su Peng only said I was weird or something?”
He wanted to hear how Su Peng described him to others.
He didn’t really care much about completing the “mission” anymore, but if his behavior had made Su Peng uncomfortable before, he wanted to make up for it, so things wouldn’t end with them being unable to stay friends.
An Kexin looked at him carefully. “You really want me to tell you?”
“Go ahead.”
“You won’t get mad, right?”
An Han shook his head casually. “When have you ever seen me get angry?”
“He said… maybe you want to be a woman.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me, Su Peng!” An Han suddenly exploded. “I eat barbecue with him, play games with him, and that’s what he tells you?!”
“Don’t get mad. Su Peng was just joking…”
Those words hit a sensitive spot, but when An Han saw how startled An Kexin looked, he quickly calmed down.
It wasn’t the first time someone had said something like that about him anyway.
“What else did he say?”
“He also said… he suspects you might like him.”
“I wouldn’t like him even if he were the last person on Earth!”
Originally, An Kexin had thought the same, but now that she looked at An Han, noticing how his face seemed to be getting prettier, his actions softer and more delicate. She couldn’t help but wonder.
“Well… it’s not impossible,” she mumbled quietly.
After all, if An Han wore a wig, he’d probably look even better than a real girl, maybe even better than her.
An Han didn’t catch her quiet muttering. With a dark look on his face, he continued, “Then what? What else did he say about me?”
“He said… you’d definitely look great in women’s clothes.”
Obviously. Su Peng had already seen him in women’s clothes before.
As An Kexin spoke, her gaze lingered on An Han. After a moment, her eyes fell to his chest, where there was a faint, natural rise and fall.
“Aren’t you hot wearing a jacket outside?”
“It’s fine. I caught a bit of a cold,” An Han replied calmly.
He’d used that excuse countless times and it always worked.
“Hmm…” An Kexin frowned slightly, then suddenly reached out and poked his chest lightly.
It was like an electric shock. An Han instantly jumped back, stepping away half a meter, clutching his chest with both hands and staring at her in shock, his face quickly flushing red.
His reaction startled An Kexin too. She stammered, “Wh-what’s wrong with you…?”
“I—you…” An Han couldn’t even form a full sentence.
Did she find out? Did she really find out?!
His whole body tensed up, and his mind went blank.
She must have found out! What do I do now?!
Panicking, he looked at her for a few seconds, then trembled slightly as he lowered his hands and turned his head away, trying to sound calm. “Y-you just startled me when you touched me all of a sudden.”
“I was just curious if you were hiding something in your shirt.” An Kexin glanced at her finger. The touch had been soft, and oddly familiar.
And his reaction… it was exactly like how a girl would react after being groped.
“My wallet’s in the chest pocket,” An Han quickly made up an excuse.
But his guilty tone only made her more suspicious. She looked at him curiously, noticing how he avoided eye contact.
“The power in the dorm should be back by now…”
[Option 1: Tell her the truth and confess everything. Reward: A girlfriend.]
[Option 2: Leave immediately and never mention it. Reward: Custom-made chest binder.]
[Option 3: Make something up and find a reasonable excuse. Reward: +1 attribute point.]
Why does the system have to show up now?!
No way I’m confessing everything! Are you crazy?
…But that reward does sound a little tempting.
An Han froze and looked at An Kexin, starting to wonder if the “girlfriend” the system mentioned might be right in front of him.
But this was clearly the hardest option. Who knew what would happen if he told her the truth? Besides, An Kexin wasn’t that pretty… and her chest wasn’t exactly big either…
If “Option 1” had been swapped with “Option 3,” he might’ve confessed without hesitation.
“An Han?” An Kexin looked at him in confusion. “What’s wrong? You just zoned out all of a sudden.”
“I just haven’t been sleeping well,” An Han said, shaking his head.
Better to just leave, that custom binder could actually be useful.
Definitely better than accidentally gaining some weird “charm that attracts men” stat.
“I’m heading back to the dorm for the air conditioning,” An Han said, turning to walk away.