Chapter 198: Sudden Attack
“Whoa, these gloves are really ugly!”
That afternoon, when An Han came to class wearing the knitted gloves, Chen Junjie peeked over and was immediately shocked by how bad they looked.
“You’re not embarrassed to wear those? Why would you buy such ugly gloves?”
“They’re called unique,” An Han said expressionlessly, flipping open her book with her gloved hands.
Her eyes kept drifting toward the black gloves on her hands, there was an unrecognizable white cat head pattern on the back.
The gloves had open fingertips, so she could still play games or use her phone.
But Su Peng’s craftsmanship was terrible. While they were warm, they actually felt a bit uncomfortable to wear.
She really couldn’t understand where Su Peng’s confidence came from. Even cheap street-market gloves costing just a few yuan looked better than this…
Still, even though she grumbled about them in her heart, it was a gift Su Peng had made himself. The first thing he had ever given her, hand-knitted, stitch by stitch.
“Hey, looks like Su Peng stopped knitting stuff.”
Chen Junjie turned to glance at Su Peng, suddenly looking enlightened.
“He gave those to you, didn’t he?”
“No.” Expressionless, An Han replied, “I accidentally bought fake, low-quality products.”
“I could do better with my feet.”
An Han gave him a flat look, then turned to see Long Xing putting away his pink thermos with a hopeless expression.
For a moment, she really wanted to knock on Chen Junjie’s head with the power of knowledge just to check if his brain was made of water.
At least Long Xing knew better and didn’t ask. But this guy just had to dig into everything!
“An Han,” Chen Junjie lowered his voice. “You and Su Peng don’t… have something going on, right? You can tell me, I’ll keep it secret.”
“No.”
Even if ghosts were real, she’d believe them before believing anything that came out of Chen Junjie’s mouth.
“Come on, I didn’t even tell anyone about Long Xing liking you.”
Last time, to explain why she moved out of the dorm, she had told Chen Junjie that Long Xing had a crush on her when she was dressed as a girl.
“That’s because you were afraid he’d beat you up.”
An Han knew him too well, always running his mouth, but when it came to fighting, he was a total coward. One slap from Long Xing could probably send him straight to the hospital.
She stopped paying attention to him and looked toward Lin Yi’s side instead.
That corner was filled with girls who had been glancing at her since she entered the classroom, whispering among themselves about her gloves. They had clearly figured out that the gloves were a gift from Su Peng.
Even though they were ugly, the gift still made them envious.
What’s there to be jealous about…
Resting her cheek on her hand, An Han sighed silently. She started thinking maybe she should prepare a return gift for Su Peng, just to repay the favor so she wouldn’t feel she owed him. Something handmade… preferably useful.
After dozing through the afternoon class, the sky outside had already turned dark. In autumn and winter, night always came early.
She didn’t plan to stay at the library like she did at noon. She packed her things, ready to head back to her rented apartment.
Then suddenly, her phone rang.
Pulling it out, she saw the number on the screen, her heart skipped. After taking a few deep breaths to calm herself, she finally pressed “answer.”
“Hello? Mom?”
She stepped away from the crowd and spoke in a calm voice. “What’s up?”
Her mother’s gentle voice came from the other side of the phone, but the words made An Han feel like she had fallen into an ice pit.
“I was talking with your sister, we’re planning to come visit you this weekend.”
An Han swallowed hard, almost in disbelief.
“Mom, there’s nothing fun here. It’s boring.”
“You think it’s boring because you stay there all the time. Your sister isn’t in school right now, and I’ve got nothing to do at home. So we might as well go travel for a couple of days and see you too.”
“Hotels are expensive… and so are train tickets…”
An Han tried her best to stop her mother from coming. She wasn’t ready to face her family with her current appearance.
[Option 1: Refuse your mom’s request. Reward: Change your family and friends’ understanding of your gender]
[Option 2: Wear women’s clothes and travel with your mom for two days. Reward: Female identity]
[Option 3: Bring your boyfriend, both in women’s clothes, to travel with your mom for two days. Reward: Random attribute point]
Here it comes!
“It’s been months since we last saw you. You don’t even call anymore. Your sister keeps asking for her big brother,” her mom said.
An Han’s whole body went stiff. She automatically tuned out her mother’s words and stared at the three system missions on the screen.
This time, she wasn’t thinking about the difficulty or the reward, a wild idea popped into her head instead.
Can I do all of them… except the third one?
If she first refused, that would complete the first mission.
Then she could still wear women’s clothes and travel with her mom, that would also complete the second one.
That way, she’d get a female identity, and her family wouldn’t question her appearance anymore.
But the first mission looked like a trap!
And even though the third one seemed hardest, bringing Su Peng along might actually make it easier…
Wait, but I don’t even have a boyfriend! Should I just take the risk and gamble on it?
“We haven’t taken a plane before,” her mom said cheerfully. “How about we fly there?”
That pulled An Han out of her thoughts. She pressed her lips together and replied quietly, “It’s too close for a flight, it’s not worth it.”
“Why does your voice sound strange? You sound like a girl.”
“I…” An Han coughed twice and quickly used the system’s old singing skill reward to make her voice lower and more masculine.
A sudden attack like this, how am I supposed to deal with it?! Which mission should I pick?!
Even though her tone sounded calm, just like when she usually talked to her mom, her eyes were darting around in panic, searching for someone who could make her feel safe.
Can’t I just wear men’s clothes and use makeup to look like a guy when I see them?
An Han’s heart was in chaos. She had planned to slowly explain her situation to her mom, to drop small hints first, then confess once she knew how her mother felt. But this sudden surprise threw all her plans into panic.
Then, a hand gently rested on her shoulder. In just that brief touch, her emotions calmed down.
She turned around and saw Su Peng standing behind her.
What’s wrong?
From his concerned eyes and moving lips, she roughly understood what he meant.
After shaking her head lightly, she continued talking to her mom.
“Mom, how about this, you come Friday night and go back Sunday afternoon?”
“Sure! I also want to visit your school.”
An Han’s temple twitched. “Okay.”
“Then it’s settled! I’ll send you some money. Help me buy train tickets and a hotel for your sister and me.”
An Han obediently agreed to her mom’s plan. But the moment she hung up, her face fell as she looked up at Su Peng.
“Su Peng…”
“Who was that?”
“My mom… She said she’s coming to see me.”
“Huh?”
Su Peng looked confused, he didn’t understand why An Han was so nervous. He still thought that An Han had turned into a girl during summer break, which meant her parents already knew. But in truth, her family didn’t know anything.
An Han took a deep breath. Suddenly, her expression grew determined. She raised her voice.
“To the dorm! I need to fix up my bed!”
No matter how scared or anxious she was, she would have to face it sooner or later!