Chapter 109: At Night
“One, two, one… one, two, one…”
“Step with your left foot first, follow the rhythm.”
“Ah!”
An Han suddenly fell forward, but Su Peng quickly grabbed his hand just in time, stopping him from hitting the ground face-first again.
“Your steps are too big! Move—together!” Su Peng helped him stand up. An Han sighed helplessly. “The sports day is tomorrow, and today’s our only chance to practice.”
“If we go like this, people will definitely laugh at us.”
Even though An Han was still bothered by the thought that Wang Yu might already know that Long Xing liked him, by nighttime he could only push all those messy thoughts aside and focus on completing the reverse task.
“You okay?” Su Peng asked, worried only about whether An Han was hurt.
“I’m fine, didn’t fall this time.”
An Han wiped the sweat from his forehead, put his hands on his waist, and breathed heavily.
They had already been practicing for nearly half an hour. At first, they kept falling every few steps while walking with their legs tied together, but now they could barely run in sync, which was at least some progress.
“Let’s rest a bit,” he said.
He sat down heavily on the ground, leaning back with both arms supporting his body, looking up at the pitch-dark sky.
Su Peng also sat down. After calming his breathing a little, his eyes naturally drifted to An Han’s legs.
Tonight, An Han was wearing sports shorts. His smooth, fair calves were tied together with Su Peng’s using a scarf. Su Peng could clearly feel the soft, warm touch of An Han’s leg against his. The more he noticed it, the faster his heartbeat became.
His eyes then moved upward and stopped at An Han’s chest.
…It seemed slightly bigger than before?
After exercising, An Han’s scent had become stronger. A faintly sweet smell, like milk mixed with fruit. It lingered in Su Peng’s nose, making his body relax and his mind go soft.
[Su Peng’s Favorability +2]
An Han suddenly sat upright and suspiciously looked at Su Peng, who quickly turned his gaze away, pretending to look at other students jogging on the track.
Forget it, he already expected this to happen. As long as it doesn’t go over a hundred points…
Why does my bottom line keep getting lower?
An Han lowered his head, then suddenly asked, “Do you smoke?”
“No.”
“I smell smoke on you.” He turned his head aside and covered his nose and mouth with one hand.
Seeing An Han’s disgusted expression, Su Peng lowered his head and sniffed his collar, confused. “Maybe it’s from my roommate, he smokes a lot.”
“Mm.”
In truth, An Han didn’t really hate the faint smell of cigarettes. After all, Chen Junjie was basically addicted, smoking a pack a day, so An Han was used to that smell.
But besides the faint smoke, Su Peng also carried another scent. Strong and fiery, almost overwhelming, the kind that made one’s heart beat faster as if it could swallow him whole.
That smell felt very familiar…
An Han looked down and untied the scarf that bound his leg to Su Peng’s.
“That’s enough for today.”
He had smelled that same scent before, when he used the disguise tool.
Back then, it was because of the tool’s side effects that his body became overly sensitive to hormones, his brain completely absorbed by the attraction. But now, his mind was clear. Even if his body reacted, he could still control himself.
But his face felt so hot… Even his breathing seemed to burn, and his mind was completely filled with pink haze.
An Han stood up, pretending to be calm as he looked at the students jogging in the distance. He took several deep breaths of the cool night air.
I can’t get close to Su Peng anymore!
This kind of reaction had never happened before. Not last time, not the time before that!
He instinctively wanted to stay away from Su Peng, afraid that if this continued, even his sexual orientation might get messed up by the system’s influence.
But tomorrow was the sports day…
Should he really give up now? If he quit the sports day, then his plan to apply for the overnight trip with Ren Chi would definitely fail.
Su Peng, watching his behavior, thought An Han was acting just like he had been earlier when trying to cover up his own guilty conscience after sneaking glances.
“I’m going to buy milk tea. You want one?”
An Han quickly calmed down and nodded lightly.
Forget it, let’s stop practicing. Even if I embarrass myself tomorrow, that’s still better than being too close to Su Peng again.
And he just gained another two points of favorability...
“Wait here for me,” Su Peng said, jogging off the field.
An Han could clearly feel that Su Peng was trying to be nice to him. There was a strange comfort in being cared for like this, but that only made him more alert.
That’s not right! There haven’t been any new attributes added recently, and I haven’t used any system tools! The most I did was cosplay as a girl at the convention a few days ago.
Could that really have this much effect?
He wanted to stand up and leave instead of waiting for Su Peng, but then he suddenly remembered what Su Peng said last night.
Fine… If I leave now, he probably won’t want to compete with me tomorrow. Even though staying might lower his favorability toward me, completing the reverse mission is still more important.
An Han rubbed his temples. After waiting for about ten minutes, Su Peng returned with two cups of milk tea.
Su Peng handed him one with milk foam on top and said, “Seventy percent sugar, no ice.”
“Mm.”
He even remembers how I usually order my milk tea...
After taking a sip, An Han was instantly softened by the sweetness. He couldn’t help showing a slightly dreamy look, and the heat from earlier vanished completely as he let out a long sigh.
That sigh sounded almost like a moan, soft and pleasant, and it made Su Peng’s heart itch.
“After I finish this, I’m going back to shower and sleep.”
“Not practicing anymore? If we do another half hour—”
“I’m tired~” An Han replied in his usual tone, trying not to sound distant or cold.
“Oh~ You’d better wear a sports bra tomorrow.”
“……”
An Han silently turned to look at him, then glanced down at his own chest.
Seeing that reaction, Su Peng couldn’t hold back his teasing smile. “Don’t worry, it’s nighttime. Even with the streetlights, no one can see clearly.”
If he hadn’t said that, An Han would’ve gone out tomorrow completely unprepared. Not wearing anything under his shirt in front of everyone. Normally, it wasn’t noticeable with a jacket on, but during the sports event, he’d have to take it off… and it would be broad daylight.
But hearing this kind of reminder from you, why does it sound like you’re flirting with me?!
An Han glared at Su Peng’s smirking face and confirmed it… yes, he was teasing him.
He pressed his lips together and kicked straight at Su Peng’s lower body.
Startled, Su Peng quickly jumped back. Luckily, he had practiced martial arts since he was young and was agile enough to dodge. Otherwise, that kick would’ve been deadly.
A few more of those and he might really be done for.
He gave a bitter smile. “Don’t react so violently…”
“You flirt with me and expect me to act shy instead?!” An Han snapped, glaring at him.
Su Peng imagined that scene for a moment, and his eyes lit up.
So An Han kicked at him again.