Chapter 205: Intelligence
The morning sunlight poured in through the window, falling on the curtains and turning into a soft, hazy yellow glow.
Dust floated in the light, and the room that had been dark all night slowly filled with sunlight.
An Han woke up early but didn’t get out of bed. She pressed her forehead against her mother’s shoulder, quietly enjoying the warmth coming from her mother’s body. She never thought her mother would trust her like this.
In her memory, her mother had always been gentle but strong-willed, someone who liked to stay in control and wasn’t easy to talk to.
Because of that, after meeting the “system,” when her body started becoming more feminine and eventually turned into that of a woman, An Han had never thought about telling her mother what had happened.
Even with the winter break coming, she had planned to just muddle through it somehow without explaining anything.
But her mother had chosen to believe her. Her twenty-year-old son becoming a daughter, anyone else would have thought it impossible.
Last night, An Han had cried hard, letting out all the frustration and sadness she had been holding in from the system’s torment.
She cried until she couldn’t breathe, until her body had no strength left, before finally falling asleep.
In truth, she had originally wanted to choose the second task—“Admit to having a cross-dressing hobby.”
But thinking about it now, lying to her mother, who lived with her every day, would have been even harder than just telling the truth. And it would have meant continuing to suffer inside.
She still felt weak. Carefully, she lifted her mother’s hand that was resting on her waist and sat up. Her movement made her little sister wake up too.
“Brother…”
“I’m going to class,” An Han said, her eyes still red and swollen. She smiled softly at her sister. “Keep your voice down, don’t wake Mom.”
“Okay.”
An Han tiptoed toward the bathroom. But as soon as she turned on the tap, she noticed her sister had followed her to the doorway.
“Do you need to use the bathroom?”
“No.”
An Han turned and saw curiosity and worry in her sister’s eyes, she clearly wanted to help but didn’t know how.
“Shouldn’t you be studying right now?” An Han asked while splashing cold water on her face, washing away the traces of tears.
“I was sick before. I took a week off.”
“Are you better now?”
“Yeah.”
Her sister was nearly ten years younger than her and not related by blood, she was adopted. Her mother had adopted her because she didn’t want An Han to be alone after she passed away. She hoped the two of them could look after each other someday.
Even now, An Han still didn’t know how her mother had managed to adopt her legally, since back then An Han herself had only been around ten years old.
After washing her face, the tear stains disappeared easily, but her swollen eyes still stood out, and the tired look on her face didn’t fade.
When she finished washing up, An Han walked out of the bathroom and stretched.
“I’m leaving now. When Mom wakes up, tell her I’m in class.”
“I know.”
Her sister seemed quieter than usual today, probably still scared from what happened yesterday, or maybe she still didn’t understand what was going on with her “brother.”
An Han reached out to rub her little sister’s head and took a jacket from the wardrobe to put on.
“Can I come with you?”
As she searched through a pile of books for her textbook, her sister came closer and asked.
“I’ll ask my advisor this morning. If they say yes, I’ll take you to class in the afternoon.”
An Han had never seen a student bring a family member to class before.
“Then… should I call you brother or sister?”
Her steps froze at the door. The warmth on her face disappeared, replaced by a sudden blush. A strong wave of embarrassment rose inside her all at once.
The shame she felt when facing her mother wasn’t even as strong as what she felt now.
My image in my sister’s eyes must have completely collapsed… Everything I’ve built up over more than ten years is ruined.
An Han didn’t dare turn around, afraid her sister would see how red her face had become. She softly muttered,
“If Mom agrees, then… call me sister.”
“Sister~”
An Han immediately rushed out the door, closing it quickly but gently behind her, then let out a long sigh of relief.
“She did that on purpose! Little devil!”
Her sister had always been the mischievous type ever since they were little, often blaming things on her. She must have noticed how embarrassed An Han was just now and purposely called her “sister” again.
It was a small thing, but she would get back at her for it!
A smile slipped onto her face despite herself. She bounced lightly on her toes once, walked a few steps, then bounced again.
After months of holding everything in, she had finally cleared her heart in just one night. It felt amazing! Mom was really the best~
Click!
The door next to hers suddenly opened, and An Han’s smile froze instantly.
“Morning,” Su Peng greeted, holding two books as he stepped into the hallway. His eyes looked a little complicated.
He had thought that since An Han cried so miserably last night, this morning might be a chance to comfort her. But instead, he saw her smiling.
“You didn’t go home last night?” An Han quickly turned her head away, avoiding his gaze.
The apartment walls were thin, and her crying had been loud… It wouldn’t matter if other tenants had heard it, but the thought of Su Peng hearing made her feel deeply embarrassed. How humiliating.
“No, I followed behind you and came back here,” Su Peng said with a warm smile. “Looks like things went pretty well?”
“I guess so…”
An Han hugged her textbooks and hurried past him.
“I was worried something might’ve happened to you,” Su Peng continued. “Guess I was overthinking.”
“I was with my family, what could possibly happen?”
“Well, if things got heated, I could’ve helped calm everyone down, right?” he joked, walking alongside her. “Good thing it didn’t turn into an argument, or I wouldn’t have known what to say.”
An Han thought that if Su Peng had shown up last night, her mother probably wouldn’t have stayed so calm.
If her mom misunderstood and thought Su Peng was her boyfriend…
Her son wearing a short skirt was shocking enough. If she also thought he had brought a boyfriend home, she might’ve completely lost it.
“You seem really different today,” Su Peng said.
“Do I?” An Han asked, walking lightly on her toes, unable to hide her good mood.
Su Peng looked her over with curiosity, then smiled. “Yeah. You seem brighter, more full of life.”
It wasn’t because of any random attribute reward from completing a mission. It was simply because she had finally lifted a heavy weight from her heart.
“I’ve been meaning to ask,” Su Peng added. “Why do you always carry so many books to class?”
An Han glanced down at the stack in her arms and smiled. “I’m going to memorize all the key points today. Then for the next few days, I can just focus on showing my family a good time~”
Ever since she got the system, she had been waiting for this day. She finally got the Intelligence attribute!
One of the classic three: Strength, Agility, and Intelligence.
She had assumed the system’s stats would follow the same pattern, but it clearly didn’t play by the usual rules.
From now on, studying and attending class would be so much easier!