Chapter 194: Coward
So, Su Peng really was the pushy, stubborn type. Once he decided on something, there was absolutely no way to change his mind.
An Han thought that maybe if she pretended to be pitiful and even cried a little, she could make him reconsider.
But now, she was walking down the street feeling lifeless and miserable.
Dressed in men’s clothes, she didn’t dare walk too close to Su Peng, afraid that passersby would misunderstand and think the two of them were a gay couple.
If it were another girl in her place, wearing men’s clothes while going out with the person she liked wouldn’t cause such strange thoughts.
But she had only recently become a woman, and even with the system’s influence, her mind still carried the habits of more than twenty years of living as a man.
She knew she looked good, even in men’s clothes, but she still felt nervous and insecure. Her head hung low, and all the energy and excitement she’d shown back in the apartment was completely gone.
It felt like everyone on the street was staring at her, pointing fingers, whispering about her, as if they could all somehow see that she was originally male. It was as if everyone was judging her and Su Peng for being together.
All those imagined gazes made her even more nervous. Her body tensed up, her head was almost buried in her chest, and her shoulders curled inward slightly.
Meanwhile, Su Peng didn’t notice her discomfort at all.
“There’s a barbecue place nearby…” he said, glancing around while checking his phone. “I saw an all-you-can-eat one online, people say it’s pretty good. And not expensive either, less than a hundred per person.”
He smiled as warmly as usual. The cold had left him coughing and sniffling, but he seemed fine otherwise.
Looking around the street, he muttered, “According to the map, it should be right around here.”
“Maybe we should just go back…” An Han mumbled softly.
Her face was stiff, and she subtly stepped farther away from him. Standing too close would make people misunderstand…
“Found it!” Su Peng’s eyes lit up. He reached out to grab her wrist, but his hand closed on empty air.
He looked to the side, confused, only to see that An Han had moved a full two meters away.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“I think I should go ask Lin Yi to help me with makeup,” she said with a miserable look. “Maybe borrow some of her clothes too. Otherwise it just feels weird.”
Only when she had makeup on and wore women’s clothes could she truly and confidently think of herself as a woman. Only then could she feel comfortable doing things like eating out, or “dating”, with Su Peng.
Otherwise, her heart just felt empty. Everyone around her seemed to see her as a man… and even she couldn’t help seeing herself that way, too.
Seeing the faint mist of tears in her eyes, Su Peng suddenly panicked. He hurried over, wanting to say something. But before he could, she jumped back like a startled rabbit.
“Uh…” His happy smile froze. He coughed twice, then softened his voice and crouched slightly, resting his hands on his knees. “Hey, tell me what’s wrong?”
He could clearly tell something was off.
“Going out in men’s clothes with you… it just feels weird…” she said quietly.
“Just think of me like Long Xing or Chen Junjie,” Su Peng said gently. “Would you feel weird eating with them? It’s not a date.”
No! This clearly is a date!
Different people made her feel different things, she couldn’t just “treat it the same.” She argued silently in her heart, lowering her head further, her chest rising and falling slightly.
After completing the task of accepting Su Peng’s invitation, one of her body attributes had increased again. Even though the change wasn’t obvious to the eye, she could definitely feel the soreness and fullness in her chest.
She took a deep breath, forced the corners of her mouth up, and curved her eyes into crescents to make a barely passable smile.
“You still haven’t fully recovered from your cold. What if you infect someone else?”
“I’m wearing a mask,” Su Peng said, pointing to his face.
“That’s not completely safe either…”
“Let’s go already. Stop wasting time.” He suddenly stepped forward and grabbed An Han’s wrist. “You can’t just keep running away forever.”
An Han didn’t expect him to suddenly grab her, and she panicked, struggling and shaking her head. “Forget it! Let’s just go back!”
Su Peng stopped, looking troubled. He turned his head toward her and saw her frightened expression. Then he pointed around. “If we don’t move soon, people will start gathering to watch us.”
Almost instantly, An Han darted into the nearby storefront. Su Peng quickly followed behind her.
“This way, miss, sir,” the waiter said, leading them upstairs to the restaurant.
“See? He called you miss,” Su Peng whispered with a soft smile, guessing what she was nervous about. “Even wearing men’s clothes, no one can tell.”
An Han lowered her head. Back when she had just gotten the system, being called anything feminine would have made her annoyed inside. But now, hearing the word miss actually made her secretly happy.
She lifted her head slightly and glanced at the waiter’s polite smile. Still a bit timid…
She only peeked for a moment before quickly bowing her head again and hiding behind Su Peng.
“You act so bold at home, but out here you shrink up?”
“You’re the one who’s shrinking!” She lightly kicked Su Peng’s calf and kept her head down like an ostrich hiding in the sand.
She used to be more outgoing, not exactly the sociable type, but definitely not this shy and nervous.
Her face was red, her eyes were filled with a mix of caution and shyness, and her little head kept turning as she secretly looked at the people around them.
Su Peng glanced at her and asked with a smile, “The place looks okay, right?”
“How much is it?”
“Less than a hundred per person. It’s a buffet.”
“The most expensive buffet I’ve had before was only around sixty…”
They followed the waiter to a seat by the window. The barbecue buffet wasn’t fancy, and since it was lunchtime, there weren’t many customers. That made An Han quietly sigh in relief, her tense body relaxed a little.
But because they were near the street, she still nervously glanced outside through the clear glass.
“We’ll have the couple’s set,” Su Peng said.
Her body froze. She immediately gave him a questioning look, then nervously glanced up at the waiter.
“It’s just more cost-effective,” Su Peng explained with a laugh. “Covers both meals and includes snacks and drinks.”
The waiter noticed her gaze and smiled a bit more warmly. “Miss, the drinks are unlimited with this set.”
“Got it…”
An Han quickly looked away and pulled out her phone to distract herself.
Even though she was wearing plain men’s clothes, her voice still neutral, and her figure hidden under thick fabric… it seemed like no one really mistook her for a man.
Even when Su Peng said “couple’s set,” the waiter’s expression hadn’t turned strange. That little bit of uneasiness in her heart slowly began to fade.
Then she suddenly realized and snapped back to attention.
“Wait! Who said we’re a couple?”