Chapter 335: Rainy Day
The long spring rain made the weather, which had just started to get warmer, turn cold again.
An Han put on her wool gloves and fluffy earmuffs, wearing a bulky white down jacket. She wrapped a towel around her neck, covering herself tightly from head to toe, leaving only her eyes visible.
On her last birthday, she had shown her system items to Lin Yi and Kexin, and because of that, her hair, which had barely reached her ears at the start of the semester, had now grown to her chin. At this point, you couldn’t see any trace of her past as a boy.
“Maybe I should find a barber and get a nice haircut.”
“But that’s another thirty yuan… and if a girl dyes or curls her hair, it might cost even more.”
Worried about her wallet, An Han frowned while getting dressed. White breath came out of her mouth as she exhaled. She rubbed her hands together and hunched her shoulders as she walked out of the bedroom.
Su Peng had been waiting in the living room for a while.
“My scholarship came in.” As soon as they met, he told her the good news and smiled gently. “Let’s eat something good tonight? Grilled fish or barbecue?”
“Shouldn’t you save your money?”
An Han’s feet never handled cold and wet weather well, so she kept stepping in place. “How much did you get?”
“Third-class scholarship, seven hundred.”
She frowned slightly, then refused his idea. “Forget it. If it was two or three thousand, eating something good would be fine. But seven hundred… that’s too little.”
“You probably make only about a thousand a month delivering food!”
Su Peng froze for a moment, then nodded as if he finally understood the real value of money.
He had never lacked money growing up. Money had always been just a number in his bank account. Even though he didn’t care for fancy brands and didn’t spend like crazy, he still spent hundreds now and then on games…
“Alright, I’ll save it then.” He smiled and agreed. “The money was sent to my tuition card. I probably need to save another six thousand before my senior year.”
“You’re not planning to ask your parents for tuition…?”
An Han couldn’t even imagine how intense the fight must have been when Su Peng went home to confront his parents, nor could she imagine the resentment he held toward them.
Even though being angry at your parents sounds unfilial… honestly, which kid doesn’t feel that way sometimes?
Anyway, her mission would probably be delayed for a long time.
“In a while, there’ll be spring recruitment. I want to see if I can find a weekend internship.”
“Mm.”
As he spoke, Su Peng put on a bright red raincoat.
An Han tugged at the raincoat with a look of dislike. Even her nose wrinkled a little. “It looks so ugly…”
Su Peng normally looked good in anything because of his good looks and good body shape. But in the raincoat, he still looked unbelievably ugly.
“I’m riding a bike, and I have to deliver food at noon. I can’t hold an umbrella.”
Su Peng stepped out first, but the cold morning air mixed with misty dampness hit his face, making him shiver.
He pushed his bike out of the hallway and wiped the seat with a cloth. Just as he was about to call for An Han, the bicycle suddenly shook, and her arms wrapped tightly around his waist.
“Be careful.”
Su Peng looked back at her sitting on the back seat. He lifted the raincoat and said, “Come inside.”
“No way. I’ll just hold an umbrella.”
“It’s going to be really cold. And once you’re inside, no one will see you anyway.”
After thinking for a moment, An Han felt he had a point. She bent down quickly and slipped her upper body inside the raincoat, pressing closely against Su Peng’s back.
“Let’s go.”
Inside the raincoat, it was very warm. No wind could be felt at all. Su Peng’s body constantly gave off heat, making An Han’s cheeks turn completely red.
She especially liked this small, warm space and happily rested her cheek against Su Peng’s back.
“Su Peng~”
In the light rain, An Han held onto Su Peng’s waist and called his name in a soft, relaxed voice.
“What is it?”
“Other couples call each other by cute nicknames.”
Su Peng paused. “Xiao Han?”
“Doesn’t sound nice. It feels like a Teacher or Brother Long is calling me.”
“Hanhan?”
“Are you insulting me?”
“Little dummy?”
“Get lost!”
An Han poked both sides of Su Peng’s waist with force.
But Su Peng was wearing thick clothes, so her fingers couldn’t poke through the padding at all, and he didn’t feel any pain or tickle.
Fifteen minutes before class, the bike stopped at the cafeteria entrance.
An Han quickly jumped off and ran under the cafeteria roof. Her face was red from the cold, and the warm air she breathed out became a long line of white mist.
After parking the bike, Su Peng followed her inside.
“You don’t work in the morning, right?”
She quickly moved close to him, holding his arm and enjoying the constant warmth from his body.
“Only at noon and evening. Today in class, let’s sit near the back door. I need to leave early to deliver food.”
“Won’t that affect your grades?”
“No.”
“I’ve never even seen you study seriously…”
During class, Su Peng was always whispering with An Han or watching videos and playing on his phone with her. She had never seen him study hard, yet he was always near the top of the class.
They bought two breakfasts and sat down at an empty table.
Looking at the rain still falling outside, An Han complained quietly, “I don’t like rainy days. It’s damp and cold. I feel like my socks are wet.”
“I’ll warm your feet tonight.”
She knew exactly what Su Peng meant and rolled her eyes at him.
Ever since he got a benefit once, he had become greedy. Almost every day he looked at her hoping she would help him. After many times, his “threshold” had increased, from falling apart instantly to now being able to hold on a bit. A small improvement.
But if Su Peng had needs, so did she… and lately she was less willing to help him. Otherwise, he got to feel good, but she ended up unable to sleep well.
“Forget it. I’ll sleep by myself.”
She muttered and looked away from Su Peng, just in time to see three people entering the cafeteria together.
“I wonder if Brother Long managed to win that girl over.”
Watching the three dormmates, she asked Su Peng, “Did he ever tell you?”
“No? I’m not that close with them.”
When they lived on campus they were neighbors and sometimes visited each other, but without An Han, Su Peng didn’t really have much connection with Long Xing and the others.
“They don’t really hang out with me anymore.”
The three sat somewhere else. Ever since that birthday, An Han hadn’t talked to them much for an entire week.
“They probably don’t want to disturb us. And maybe they’re afraid people will misunderstand something.”
“Ugh…”
An Han pouted and lowered her head to eat, not wanting to think too much.
It wasn’t obvious, but her male friends really were slowly becoming distant from her.
Luckily, she still had Su Peng, and Lin Yi and An Kexin had also become her friends.