Chapter 232: Early Morning
Every day, breakfast began with their mother shouting.
“Get up and eat! It’s already past eight! Why are you still sleeping?”
“After you eat, you still need to do your homework! How much of your winter homework have you finished?”
Early in the morning, their mother knocked on the bedroom door. She tried turning the doorknob and was surprised to find it unlocked.
She pushed the door open and looked at the three people inside who were startled awake. She quickly ignored the father and An Han, then walked straight toward the little sister.
“Wake up, time to get up!”
“That’s not fair~ You never wake sister up.”
Still half-asleep, An Han suddenly woke up completely. She grabbed her sister’s head and covered the girl’s mouth with her hand.
What are you saying!
It’s only the second day! We need to go slowly!
She glared at her sister fiercely, and only after seeing her mother’s expression did she suddenly realize something. She lowered her head and looked at her own chest.
She quickly hid under the blankets and pretended nothing was wrong.
“Mom, I’m going to sleep one more hour. Tell my sister to leave. Don’t bother me.”
“You need to be more careful,” her mother rolled her eyes. “Always acting loud and messy.”
“Got it, got it~”
An Han wanted to ask when her mother planned to kick her father out of her room. It wasn’t that she disliked him, when she was still a boy, she didn’t mind sharing a bed with him. But now it was really inconvenient to sleep in the same room.
And her father was clearly awake too, making constant sounds while turning over.
She couldn’t say it too directly.
But her mother also realized the problem. Just as she was about to leave with the little sister, she suddenly turned her head and said:
“Tonight, you and your sister will sleep in my room.”
“Uh… okay, that works.”
Sleeping on a floor mat in her mother’s room was much safer than sharing a room with her father.
After her mother and sister left, she lay back on the bed tiredly.
Yesterday’s little test made her father vaguely notice the feminine parts of her behavior.
Slowly, step by step, she wanted him to start accepting that… She could have controlled her feminine habits yesterday, but she didn’t.
But the problem was… he seemed to have noticed her chest earlier than expected.
Feeling uneasy, she turned over. She could no longer fall asleep.
Retreat to advance… If she talked about her father’s issue first, he wouldn’t have the mind to think about her chest.
“Dad, how long are you and Mom going to keep fighting?”
Her father was clearly awake. But the moment she mentioned the argument, he suddenly went quiet.
“A grown man apologizing isn’t a big deal, you know. You’re making me and my sister unable to sleep well,” she muttered. “You two aren’t actually planning to get a divorce, right?”
“No.” Her father finally answered.
“Then just apologize and lower your pride a bit.”
An Han let out a long sigh.
“You two are the same, too stubborn for your own good.”
“How are you talking about your parents?”
“I’m sorry~”
She surrendered immediately, burying herself deeper into the blankets, leaving only her eyes showing.
Under the blanket, she had already started secretly taking off her clothes and putting on her chest binder.
Outside, morning sounds had already begun. Neighbors chatting, cars passing in the distance, and the occasional shout of breakfast sellers.
An Han wasn’t worried about the noise she made being heard. She only worried her father might suddenly get up and look at her.
“But my sister is still young. You and Mom fighting and giving each other the cold shoulder isn’t good for her mental health.”
“I know.”
Her father was a university student in the 1990s, someone with a good education. He understood mental health better than strict, old-fashioned parents who didn’t care about such things at all.
He stayed quiet for a moment, then asked back, “I want to ask about your mental health.”
“Huh?” An Han froze.
“Last year you weren’t like this. Why do you look more girly this year? Like a woman.”
“I’m talking about you arguing with Mom! Don’t change the topic.”
She finally finished putting on her chest binder. After putting her sweater back on, she stood up.
“I’m going to wash my face.”
Her father’s eyes fell on her chest, and he looked even more confused.
Because of her sensitivity, An Han could clearly feel the confusion in her father’s gaze. Inside, she even had a small sense of pride for fooling him.
She hummed, “Hurry and fix your argument with Mom. Don’t really get divorced.”
If they really divorced, she would choose to live with her mother. Would that mean her father couldn’t interfere with her gender problem anymore?
The thought suddenly popped up in her mind, but then she remembered she was already an adult.
Once you’re an adult, you don’t “live with someone” the same way anymore.
After washing up in the bathroom, An Han stretched lazily and slowly walked downstairs.
“Mom, what’s for breakfast?”
“I bought you two egg burgers. You like them, right?”
Her mother looked up toward the stairs and asked with concern, “You didn’t remove your makeup last night?”
“Mom! I want egg burgers too!”
The two of them completely ignored the little sister’s loud complaining.
“Mhm, just a few more days. I’ll endure it.”
An Han walked downstairs slowly. On her usual seat at the dining table, two egg burgers and a bowl of freshly boiled raw milk were already waiting.
“No girl purposely makes herself look ugly.”
She picked up her chopsticks and lifted the thin layer on top of the milk, rolled it up, and ate it in one bite.
The milk was freshly boiled. After blowing it a few times, she pursed her lips, yet it still burned her tongue and scared her. She switched to grabbing the egg burger, but that burned her hand too.
Ever since becoming a girl, her skin had become softer, and her sensitivity made her more afraid of pain.
“Be careful,” her mother said with a warm smile.
An Han placed two napkins under her fingers, then carefully picked up the egg burger and ate it in small bites.
She had to admit that food from her hometown really tasted good.
Even though egg burgers were common everywhere in the country, the ones from home always tasted better.
Footsteps came from the stairs. The next moment, An Han sensed her father’s eyes on her, watching her eat like a little hamster.
She should have immediately changed to a more “manly” way of eating, or at least stopped acting so feminine.
But under her father’s gaze, she forced herself to continue.
If her father couldn’t even handle her being a bit girly, then telling him she had become a girl was even more impossible.
Even though the two things weren’t directly related, she didn’t see her father often, so she wanted to build some sense of safety first.
“An Han, go out with me at noon.”
“Huh?”
She looked blankly at her father, who was already dressed neatly again, looking like an elegant old gentleman.
“A classmate of mine has a daughter who studies abroad. She came back home recently. I want to introduce her to you.” Her father smiled kindly. “She’s very pretty and has a nice personality. Maybe you’ll like her.”
“This… isn’t it a bit bad?”
An Han’s face turned red.
She had mocked Su Peng for going on blind dates…
She had barely escaped her mother wanting to arrange a blind date for her…
And now her father wanted to arrange one too?
Do you two really think I have no charm!?
If I didn’t try to control myself, with my crazy system I could probably charm all the handsome guys in class!
And catch a few yuri girls too!
Her father said with a smile, “I already showed her your photo. She’s very happy with it.”
“What about Mom?” An Han looked at her mother.
After her mother nodded, she let out a long sigh.
“Fine… okay.”