Chapter 244: New Year’s Eve
“The side effect is… my hair growing longer?”
About… a few centimeters?
An Han almost pressed her face against the mirror, gently pulling her smooth, soft short hair, not sure what kind of expression she should make.
If she said she was happy… well, after her family found out her real gender, she actually did want to grow pretty long hair. Now she could openly live as a girl… well, except when facing Lin Fan’s annoying behavior.
If she said she was worried… using this item to grow long hair might make people notice something strange.
“I can say it’s hair extensions?” An Han whispered to herself. “Or I can do it slowly, show the item to one person each time, and only grow a few centimeters each time?”
“What a strange side effect…”
Her hair was a bit longer than before. She tried gathering it to tie a small ponytail, but in the end she could only tie a tiny little tuft.
“Let’s set a small goal, before the next semester starts, I want to be able to tie a real ponytail.”
Feeling happy, An Han talked to herself.
“Best if it grows all the way to my waist! Long straight black hair is so cool! I wonder what kind of face Su Peng would make when he sees it.”
She couldn’t help her mischievous thoughts again. Just imagining Su Peng’s expression, shocked, confused, then completely stunned, already made her excited.
That was her favorite kind of reaction!
But she still needed to test it on her father…
An Han thought to herself. The previous two items had separate effects for men and women. This one might also change depending on the user.
Maybe it makes women grow longer hair, but if a man uses it… the side effect might be something else?
“An Han! Come downstairs to watch the New Year Gala! Bring your sister!”
Her mother’s voice came from downstairs. Even though An Han wasn’t very interested in the Gala, spending time with her family while playing on her phone until midnight didn’t sound bad.
Walking out of the bathroom, she opened her room door and called, “Let’s go! We’re going downstairs to watch the Gala!”
Her sister lifted her head with a tired and angry expression, cheeks puffed out. Clearly she was frustrated.
“Sister! Why can’t I hit anyone?!”
“I used up all the bullets shooting one person, yet not even one bullet hit!”
“What a stupid game!”
Seeing her sister suffer at the hands of the bots, An Han was very pleased.
“Alright, stop playing.”
“Even if you beg me, I won’t play that stupid game again!”
Her sister stomped out of the room. That little girl always acted noisy and dramatic, always running, never walking, bumping into things everywhere.
Bringing her sister to the first floor, An Han saw that her parents weren’t really interested in the New Year Gala either. They were sitting together on the sofa, both staring at their phones, excitedly grabbing red envelopes.
“An Han! Your aunt sent a big red envelope! Go grab it!”
Her eyes lit up. Without even sitting down, she quickly took out her phone and opened WeChat.
But that so-called “big red envelope” was only a few yuan… and with her bad luck, she only got one cent.
She scrolled up the chat to check past messages. The biggest envelope in the relatives’ group was fifty yuan from her younger uncle. Most of the rest were small red envelopes of only a few cents.
Who knew why her parents were so excited?
Even if she grabbed them the whole day, she probably wouldn’t make enough for a milk tea.
She instantly lost interest, sat down on the sofa, yawned, leaned on the armrest, and looked at the TV with her chin resting on her hand.
“Mom! Move over!”
Her sister rushed over holding a peach cookie and squeezed herself into the tiny sofa space.
The Spring Festival Gala was the same as always, and even the comedy shows couldn’t catch An Han’s interest. But very soon she noticed something exciting.
She turned to look at the other side of the sofa. Because her little sister was sitting there too, her parents were squeezed together, shoulder to shoulder. Her father lifted one arm and placed it on the back of the sofa. He hesitated, as if he wanted to put his arm around her mother’s shoulder.
Her parents had been fighting for almost half a year. Even after her father came back home, they hardly talked to each other, let alone sit this close.
Ever since her father learned about An Han’s true gender, he didn't dare to sleep in her room anymore. He slept on the sofa every day and didn’t share a bed with her mother.
The reason for the fight didn’t matter anymore. The problem now was that both of them cared too much about their pride, and neither wanted to take the first step.
An Han watched her father’s movements with great interest.
Her mother was busy trying to grab red packets on her phone, but her father kept glancing at her. His arm on the back of the sofa slowly, carefully moved downward bit by bit.
So An Han quietly reached out and grabbed her father’s wrist. Under his shocked, confused stare, she pulled his wrist down and pressed his hand onto her mother’s shoulder.
Perfect!
Her mother was clearly startled. She turned to look at the hand on her shoulder, then at her father’s awkward smiling face. But in the end, she said nothing and even leaned comfortably against his chest.
Suddenly, An Han felt like she was being force-fed public displays of affection.
She pouted, then pushed her sister a bit toward their mother with her hip.
Now her parents had even less space on the sofa, and the two leaned against each other without complaint.
“Sister! Why is your butt so big! Why do you take up so much space by yourself!”
But her sister did complain. She stood up, whining. An Han, who had just been called big-bottomed, raised an eyebrow. Her face felt a little hot, and she glared fiercely at her sister.
Look at your flat body, front and back look the same. You’ll be jealous when you grow up!
Even after her sister left and the sofa had more space, her parents still didn’t separate. Her mother kept grabbing red packets with a straight face and said calmly, “Peach crisp.”
Her father immediately broke off a small piece of peach crisp and held it to her lips.
Ugh, I can’t watch this.
So An Han lowered her head and looked at the message Su Peng had sent.
“Happy New Year.”
“It’s still more than three hours before New Year,” she replied. She crossed her legs, leaned on the sofa armrest, rested her chin on one hand, and happily swung her calf.
“Why so serious? What plans do you have for New Year?”
“None. I’ll just stay home and play on the computer, and sometimes hang out with Lin Yue.”
Su Peng sent an “I see” sticker. Suddenly, An Han felt like this guy might be planning a surprise visit…
Absolutely not. If Su Peng came, her parents would each kick him once and he’d be dead.
Before she could type back, her mother suddenly spoke.
“An Han, go check what your sister is doing. Watch her when she plays with sparklers.”
“Got it.”
An Han leaned forward to look toward the door. Sure enough, her sister was holding two sparkler sticks and waving them around.
She immediately got interested too, so she bent down, grabbed the fireworks and firecrackers her sister had stored under the table, and walked outside.
“You’re such a big girl, why are you still playing with those?” her mother muttered. “Can’t girls be a bit quiet and ladylike?”
Her father quickly echoed her mother. “Yes, yes, being quiet is better. Your sister is noisy enough already.”
An Han felt like her father was turning into her mother’s repeating machine.