Chapter 243: Side Effects
On New Year’s Eve, all kinds of shops on the street were still open in the morning, but by the afternoon, most of them had already closed. Only a few heartless bosses still hadn’t given their workers a holiday.
The number of people walking on the streets became fewer and fewer. Almost everyone had gone home to prepare for the New Year’s Eve dinner.
At dinnertime, there were seven or eight dishes on the table. Another small folding table beside it held more than a dozen small bowls. Because of the extra table, the small room felt even more crowded.
The strong smell of fireworks filled the air. It was a bit choking, but it also made the New Year atmosphere stronger.
Mother sat on a small stool at the doorway. In front of her was a big metal bucket with flames burning inside. From time to time, she added a handful of yellow paper into it.
When she finished burning the few stacks of yellow paper, she stood up, closed the door to block the smoke outside, then turned around with a smile and said, “We can eat now.”
Only then did An Han start eating, reaching out to take a fried chicken leg.
On New Year’s Eve, almost everyone in the family had cheerful faces, except the little sister, who pouted and picked at the dishes unhappily. She was venting her anger from being forced to do homework all day.
An Han glanced at her and knew the little girl was asking for a beating again.
“An Han, you need to watch out for that boy from this morning,” Mother suddenly said, turning the topic to her. “He doesn’t look like a good person.”
An Han paused, instantly remembering Lin Fan’s pale face. She couldn’t help but laugh. “Don’t worry, I’m not stupid.”
“I think you are stupid. He gave you something to eat and you just ate it so casually,” Father said unhappily. “You can’t eat random things from outside. Even your sister knows that.”
Well…
“He’s Lin Yue’s cousin…” An Han muttered.
“Are you dumb? Didn’t you see the news? Bad people like to target people they know,” Mother said, agreeing with Father. “How can you eat something someone else gives you? What if he put drugs in it?”
“……”
Wasn’t that way too ridiculous?
An Han felt like her parents were treating her like a little kid.
Her sister, who was complaining moments ago, now happily joined in, nodding like she understood everything. “Yeah! Even I know not to eat food from strangers.”
“It’s New Year’s Eve, can’t we talk about something nicer?”
But her mother only got more serious. “You’re a girl now, you need to pay more attention to your safety.”
“Don’t go to bars and KTVs if you don’t have to, and be careful around your friends. Who knows what they’re really thinking?”
“Exactly,” her father added.
“And that rental place of yours, sharing a house with many people is dangerous. Let your dad spend some money and rent you a proper apartment next semester.”
“Your mom is right. You should listen carefully,” Her father said.
“I know, I know…”
It had been a long time since An Han was lectured like this.
When she was still underage, even if she didn’t come home at night, her parents barely cared. Now she was already in her early twenties, yet they were lecturing her like they lectured her little sister.
As she dealt with their nagging, she glanced at her father from time to time. A few days ago, he had strongly rejected her gender after finding out. But today, he had already completely accepted that he had one more daughter.
It was just that whenever he went outside, he still avoided the neighbors’ eyes.
“I’m full.”
She put down her bowl and chopsticks, stretched lazily, and walked upstairs.
“Remember to come down at eight to watch the New Year Gala.”
“Sister! I want to play games too!”
Her little sister put down her half-eaten bowl of rice and quickly followed behind her.
An Han originally planned to chase her away, but then she suddenly remembered the system item in her closet. She should try it out.
Her parents didn’t say anything directly, but when An Han checked the computer on the first floor, she found many strange search records on the browser.
“Reasons why a boy becomes a girl,”
“When will a son turn into a daughter,”
“What happens if someone suddenly becomes a girl,”
“Should we buy a house for a daughter,”
“Psychology of a 20-year-old girl,”
…
Obviously, as long as they didn’t know why An Han became a girl, they couldn’t relax.
“Sister! I want to play that shooting game!”
“Play what? In half an hour we have to go downstairs to watch the New Year Gala.”
An Han pushed open the bedroom door on the third floor. After her sister rushed inside, she closed the door and locked it.
The sound of the lock made her sister turn around. She asked curiously and in surprise, “Sister, are you going to do something secret?”
“Are you going to video chat with that handsome guy again?! If you let me play games for half an hour, I promise I won’t tell Mom!”
“You’ll only tell Dad, huh?” An Han rolled her eyes. She already knew this little girl’s tricks.
She opened the closet. All kinds of girls’ clothes filled almost the whole wardrobe. Two days ago, her mother bought her some, and now her father was also excited about buying clothes for her. The small closet was packed full.
From the back of the closet, An Han found her physical check-up report.
“You can play later.” She turned around and saw her sister already opening the computer impatiently. “Come here.”
“What is it?”
Her sister came over with no awareness at all that she might become a test subject. She looked curiously at the item in An Han’s hand.
“What’s that?”
“Take a look.”
An Han opened the system item.
Her sister’s eyes were immediately drawn to the check-up report. Her pupils slowly lost focus, as if she was reading something. After a few minutes, she suddenly lifted her head,
“Ohh~ so that’s how it is! No wonder big brother became big sister!”
“What do you mean?” An Han asked nervously.
She had no reaction when she looked at the item, but her sister seemed to see something. She didn’t know if the side effect of the item would affect her sister.
“Sister is sister!”
Her sister said confidently. Then she ignored An Han and ran to the computer, shouting, “Sister! The shooting game!”
Is it some kind of hypnotizing effect?
No matter how much she thought about it, An Han couldn’t figure it out. But from her sister’s appearance, the item didn’t seem to have any side effects.
She walked to the computer, bent over, and used the mouse to start CSGO for her sister.
“Sister, this is different from the game I played last time.”
“It’s the same.”
Last time, her sister played the browser version of Cross Fire. An Han felt that such a simple game wasn’t suitable for her “super smart” little sister.
While distracting her with words, An Han carefully observed her expression. She quietly sighed in relief.
As expected, no side effects.
Her sister’s attitude toward her didn’t change, and nothing strange happened to her body.
Good.
She pushed aside some hair that fell in front of her eyes and was about to help her sister start a bot match when she suddenly froze.
Wait! When did my bangs grow long enough to cover my eyes?
She had clearly cut her hair just one month ago.