Chapter 110: Sports Day
Early in the morning, An Han hurried to the dorm balcony and looked up at the sky.
There was no rain, no strong wind, and the sunlight was as soft as usual. Just like the weather forecast had said.
It seemed that the system didn’t have the power to change the weather.
Just like in the previous two years, the music for the sports day was already playing through the loudspeakers, and even from the dorm, he could hear the lively noise coming from the field.
An Han finally felt relieved.
The sports day was starting as planned. No delays, no cancellations.
So what kind of trick could that stupid system still pull to force me out of the competition?
He thought for a while, then looked down worriedly at his legs.
Could it actually make me break a leg or something? That’d be way too much…
“Yo, morning.”
From the next balcony over, Su Peng greeted him with his usual gentle smile. But since his favorability toward An Han had already gone past ninety, there was always a hint of complicated emotion in that smile now.
An Han nodded slightly in reply. He just wanted to brush it off and go back inside, but before turning away, he raised his voice and said cheerfully, “Morning! Want to have breakfast together later?”
The sports day was about to start, and he couldn’t risk Su Peng refusing to show up again.
For now, it was better to act a little kinder, a little closer. As long as Su Peng’s favorability didn’t go over one hundred, it was fine. He could think about how to fix things after the event.
“Sure.”
An Han glanced at Su Peng not far away, thought for a moment, then reminded him, “Keep an eye on me these two days, don’t let me fall.”
“Huh?”
“If I fall, I won’t be able to join the competition.” He smiled brightly. “This is the last sports day, and I’m teamed up with you. I don’t want to have any regrets.”
Under the rising sun, his smile looked pure and radiant, like an angel’s. Su Peng’s heart started pounding fast.
Was that… a confession?
But we’re both guys… that’s not right, is it?
“I don’t want regrets either,” Su Peng said after swallowing hard, starting to feel like maybe he was overthinking things.
Watching his subtle reactions, An Han started to form some guesses in his mind.
A favorability level over eighty usually meant “liking”, that much was clear from both Long Xing’s and Su Peng’s behavior toward him. But even so, neither of them had taken the next step.
They were probably still struggling with the thought of whether a “rabbit should eat grass near its burrow” and the fact that they were both male didn’t make things easier in society’s eyes.
But if their favorability ever went over one hundred, those things probably wouldn’t matter anymore. After all, “love conquers all,” even social taboos.
An Han thought, If I were a girl, eighty points of favorability would’ve been enough for them to confess already. But I’m a guy.
While brushing his teeth, he rechecked Su Peng’s current status.
[Su Peng: Favorability 92]
Still eight points left to work with.
“An Han.”
“What is it?”
“I… ah, never mind. I’ll tell you next time.”
Su Peng shook his head.
Ninety favorability and he’s already getting restless?
An Han sighed silently, finished washing up, and went back into the dorm. As soon as he looked up, he saw Long Xing sitting in front of the computer, holding that pink, girly thermos cup, staring blankly with a serious expression.
Just seeing that thermos made An Han’s head hurt.
This guy was practically obsessed with it, taking it everywhere he went. Even when classmates teased him, he didn’t care at all. He even told Wang Yu that it was “a gift from the girl I like.”
Wang Yu has probably already realized that the person Long Xing likes… is me.
An Han sat down on Wang Sheng’s bed and bent over to put on his socks and shoes.
When his phone vibrated, he paused and checked the message.
It was from An Kexin: “Your event is tomorrow at 5 p.m. Don’t forget to arrive early.”
Tomorrow, huh? If only it were today.
He just wanted to find out as soon as possible what method the system would use to force him to complete its task.
“You’re heading out this early?” Long Xing suddenly asked, turning his head.
“Yeah, going to have breakfast with Su Peng.”
Long Xing’s expression froze for a second but quickly returned to normal as he asked in a careful tone, “I was just about to grab breakfast too…”
An Han had already put on his shoes and immediately noticed Long Xing’s intention.
No way. I’m not sitting through breakfast caught between two guys with over ninety favorability points toward me.
“I’m heading out first.”
Without actually rejecting him directly, he just dashed out of the dorm before Long Xing could react or make plans.
Su Peng was already waiting in the hallway. When he saw An Han jogging out, he flashed a bright, sunny smile. “Why are you always in such a hurry?”
An Han froze for a moment, shivered slightly, and ignored the comment as he walked toward the stairs. “Let’s go eat.”
Damn it, he’s trying to act cool on purpose!
He used to smile in a gentle, friendly way before, but now he was deliberately putting on the look of a “cheerful sunshine boy.”
Good thing my orientation is still fine…
A breeze passed by, and a familiar, faint scent reached An Han’s nose, making his body suddenly stiffen.
His heartbeat started to speed up on its own.
What’s going on?! The system hasn’t made me more feminine lately, so why can I still smell Su Peng’s scent so clearly?!
Last night, he could at least blame it on post-exercise hormones… but how was he supposed to explain it today?
He sneaked a look at Su Peng. Only to see him quickly turning his head away, clearly flustered.
You’ve been secretly staring at me this whole time, haven’t you?! You didn’t even stop!
[Su Peng’s favorability +1]
What did you even see to make your favorability go up again?!
An Han quickly checked his outfit.
Long pants, a T-shirt, and a light jacket. The same casual clothes he’d worn for more than a month. Nothing strange at all.
Could it be because I was the one who invited him to breakfast?
I really can’t keep getting close to him like this. I should end this soon.
But his event wasn’t until the second day of the sports festival… meaning he’d have to keep this up until tomorrow evening before he could safely switch back to a cold attitude.
An Han felt torn.
If I keep testing the system and Su Peng’s favorability goes over 100, that could be a disaster. Maybe I should just obey the system and skip the competition entirely.
But if he actually chose to complete the first task, the consequences might be something he couldn’t handle…
When they reached the cafeteria entrance, just before walking in, An Han suddenly looked up and said, “Oh, I just remembered, the counselor asked me to help with something.”
That excuse felt a bit overused, so he quickly added, “Something about writing a cheer-up article or something. I should go there first.”
Su Peng looked surprised. “You could still make it even if you eat first…”
But before he could finish, the beautiful young man in front of him flashed a bright, dazzling smile, so sweet it nearly made Su Peng’s knees go weak.
An Han waved at him and then turned to run toward the sports field.
A compromise, I’ll just try to avoid him as much as I can before the competition.
And if I have to see him, I’ll just act all cheerful and enthusiastic again, even if it risks pushing his favorability over 100.
He suddenly thought that maybe he should check which nearby hospital had the best-rated proctology department… just in case.