Chapter 42: ???
After hiding in the bathroom for half an hour, An Han finally stopped hearing any sound from the dorm room.
Only then did he let out a sigh of relief, still not understanding why Su Peng suddenly seemed to care about him so much.
And he even said they were best bros…
But before this, the two of them had only played games together occasionally, borrowed each other’s bikes sometimes, and chatted briefly when they ran into each other. At best, they were just normal friends.
Otherwise, An Han would’ve already started calling Su Peng “my son.”
Could it be because of that small increase in favorability points?
It seemed that Su Peng hadn’t connected the change in his chest to the idea of developing, or even if he did, he probably thought it was more likely to be an illness.
What should I do… what should I do…
There’s no way I can really take off my shirt and show him, right?
Su Peng’s concern only made An Han more nervous, he was terrified of accidentally exposing the truth about his body.
But if he kept avoiding the question and not giving a straight answer, that also didn’t seem right.
Forget it, Su Peng should’ve gone home by now anyway.
An Han pushed open the bathroom door and peeked outside.
Thankfully, Su Peng really was gone!
The tension in his head instantly melted away. Humming a little tune, he cheerfully skipped over to the wardrobe to find the item the system had given him as a reward for completing the task.
While searching, he suddenly realized something.
Since the system said the chest wrap could make the chest completely invisible, even if he was shirtless...
Then couldn’t he wear the chest wrap and then take off his shirt to let Su Peng check, just to ease his worries?
He thought about it for a moment, but there was still a problem.
Even if his chest was hidden, his body shape was definitely that of a woman. After all, what kind of man had such a slim waist and round hips?
“There’s no way out of this… I’ll just have to avoid Su Peng.”
An Han sighed in frustration and finally pulled out the chest wrap from the wardrobe. A piece of white fabric that looked a lot like a girl’s camisole bra.
He was just about to undress and try it on when he suddenly glanced toward the dorm door.
Last time, he forgot to lock it while changing, which was how Su Peng ended up walking in.
Otherwise, the task related to Su Peng would’ve been done long ago.
Rushing to lock the door, An Han then began trying on the chest wrap.
It was simple to use, just like wearing a regular undershirt. He reached behind to fasten the clasp, then stood in front of the mirror and looked himself over.
The fabric was extremely thin and light, barely noticeable once worn, though he did feel a bit of tightness around his chest, making it slightly harder to breathe.
Definitely not something you could wear while exercising.
But as for the effect, it worked perfectly!
An Han touched his chest. The softness was completely gone. It felt firm and flat again, just like before he ever met the system.
However, in the mirror, his waist now looked far too slim.
“Finally, something actually useful.”
A smile spread across An Han’s face as he muttered to himself, “The system actually did something good for once.”
Compared to the chest wraps he had bought online, this one was on a whole other level. It was amazing!
“But… wait.”
He suddenly froze, his smile stiffening.
“Wasn’t it the system itself that made me like this in the first place?”
???
There was a soft knock on the door, followed by a slight tremble of the wooden frame. Then Su Peng’s voice came from outside:
“An Han, why did you lock the door?”
“I’m coming, I’m coming!”
An Han quickly put on a short-sleeved shirt, no jacket this time, wanting to see how Su Peng would react.
He hurried to open the door and peeked outside, only to see Su Peng holding out a bottle of cola right in front of him.
“You went out to buy cola?”
“Yeah.”
An Han happily took the drink, raised his head, and gulped down a big mouthful. Then he let out a satisfied sigh and a small burp.
But as he enjoyed that first refreshing sip, his eyes quietly stayed fixed on Su Peng.
This guy’s staring at my chest again!
Heh, didn’t expect that, did you? It’s flat now!
Bet he’s totally confused!
Humming smugly to himself, An Han turned and walked back into the room. Sitting in front of the computer, he crossed one leg over the other and asked,
“Wanna play a game?”
“Wait, no…”
“Don’t listen to An Kexin’s nonsense. Tumor? Seriously? I just gained weight too fast, okay?”
Looking down at his now-flat chest, An Han grinned proudly.
“See? As long as my shirt’s a little fitted, you can’t even tell, right?”
“……”
He continued to speak in a serious tone, bluffing confidently.
“It’s not an illness, really. I checked online, if you gain weight too quickly, sometimes your chest gets bigger. Some people even get stretch marks.”
Neither of them knew much about medicine, all their “knowledge” came from quick online searches, but hearing An Han sound so sure made Su Peng begin to doubt his own worry.
Besides, why had he gotten so anxious just because An Kexin said An Han might have something growing in his chest?
She was only joking when she said it, yet he panicked, searched it up online, and found a bunch of weird results that made him even more nervous.
Now, hearing An Han’s confident tone, Su Peng’s mind instinctively started to believe him.
Thinking Su Peng still didn’t quite buy it, An Han sighed helplessly.
“What, you want me to be sick that badly?”
“If something really were wrong with me, I would’ve gone to the hospital already. You wouldn’t have to tell me, okay?”
“At least then I could skip class for a few days.”
Su Peng nodded absentmindedly and sat down, opening his laptop.
But for some reason, An Han seemed more charming than usual today, even more attractive even.
Everything he said sounded convincing, and Su Peng found himself wanting to believe him more and more. Yet at the same time, he started to wonder…
Am I… turning gay?
That couldn’t be, right?
He had met plenty of handsome guys and pretty girls before, but none of them had ever made him feel the way An Han did.
Besides, An Han wasn’t exactly “handsome,” and calling him “beautiful” might be stretching it. At best, he just had this… alluring kind of vibe.
“Log in already! I’m scoring a hundred points today!”
“No way.”
“That’s called having a goal, okay?”
Even his voice sounded softer now, and the faint sweet scent coming from him made Su Peng feel like he was sitting next to a girl.
His heartbeat sped up uncontrollably. As he logged into the game, his eyes kept drifting toward An Han.
The atmosphere around An Han was intoxicating, his presence alone made Su Peng’s head spin and his mood strangely happy.
He used to think An Han was too feminine, but now, the more he looked, the more comfortable he felt. And then, out of nowhere, a strange thought popped into his mind.
If An Han were a girl, I’d marry him right away…
[Su Peng’s Favorability +5]
[Su Peng’s Favorability +5]
[Task Complete! Reward: System Upgrade — “Change Outfit Freely”]
Change Outfit Freely: 1-day cooldown. Match a photo to instantly transform into the outfit and makeup shown in the photo.
An Han’s eyes lit up in delight.
The task was complete! And he even got extra points!
Su Peng was really pulling his weight today, a whole ten favorability points in one go!
He happily chugged two more gulps of cola, ignoring the dazed Su Peng beside him, and called out in his mind:
System, system! Check Su Peng’s and Long Xing’s favorability toward me!
[Long Xing: Favorability 85]
[Su Peng (Charmed State): Favorability 77↑]
“Huh???”