Ren Chi didn't bluntly bring up the cross-dressing incident—thankfully, he still cared enough about An Han's dignity. Both pretended nothing had happened and avoided mentioning the matter entirely.
"Remember to make your bed properly from now on," Ren Chi reminded An Han. "School leaders will be doing inspections right after National Day. If you get marked down, I won't be able to help you."
"Mm." Although neither of them had mentioned the cross-dressing, An Han still asked anxiously yet hopefully, "So… Teacher, you won't tell anyone about that, right?"
"I know."
Now An Han finally felt completely relieved.
Though it was mortifying to have been caught cross-dressing by his counselor, at least it was Ren Chi who saw it. If it had been some big-mouthed student union member—or worse, someone like Chen Junjie, who already held a grudge against him—the situation would've been far worse.
The cafeteria food was incomparably cheaper than eating out. Though the taste wasn't great, for An Han, as long as it filled his stomach affordably, he was satisfied.
After finishing his meal, An Han was just about to get up when Ren Chi suddenly spoke again.
"There's a sports meet after National Day. You're joining."
"Huh?" An Han pointed at himself in confusion. "Me? The sports meet?"
Every year, counselors struggled to find enough participants, but Ren Chi had never considered An Han before—he looked far too frail. And now, not only was he still skinny, but also "girlish," making him look even less like an athlete.
"I heard you're fast. If you place high enough, you can compete at the city level."
"But we've got sports-track students, you know…"
An Han was indeed fast—he regularly jogged around the track a few times a week—but compared to actual sports-track students, he was just average, probably even slower than Long Xing.
Just as he was about to refuse, he caught Ren Chi's smiling eyes. Instantly shivering, An Han nodded without hesitation: "I'll sign up! I'll definitely join the sports meet!"
Damn it! Nothing's creepier than those squinty, smiling eyes—they're so sneaky!
His slight goodwill toward Ren Chi, built up just moments ago, instantly plummeted into negative territory.
"Good. Just sign up with the class monitor after the holiday."
"It doesn't have to be track and field, right?"
"Any event is fine."
That was a relief.
In past years, An Han would only show up for the opening ceremony and then spend the rest of the sports meet holed up in his dorm playing games. To him, the event was practically a three-day vacation.
If he had to compete in track events, he'd likely endure two or three rounds of races—ruining his free time completely.
As he pondered which event would let him appear briefly and exit quickly, Ren Chi added with another smile, "This year, I won't allow any of you hiding in your dorms playing games. We'll take roll call every hour."
"…"
"A sports meet is a sports meet—what's the point if you're all just hiding in your rooms?"
"Got it."
Having a strict counselor was bad enough—but worse, this counselor held something over him.
Otherwise, even if roll calls happened every ten minutes, An Han wouldn't care. After all, these weren't official classes; at worst, the counselor might threaten to deduct credits—but in all his years, An Han had never actually lost any credits over it.
Yet another headache.
An Han walked out of the cafeteria in low spirits, racking his brain over which event to sign up for.
Ideally, something that ended in one round, took just a few minutes on the field, and was at least somewhat within his skill range—enough to avoid embarrassing himself.
He sighed miserably. Life just kept getting worse.
First, his roommate started eyeing him suspiciously. Then came Wu Dongming's threats and manipulations. Now he had to deal with Ren Chi, who held his secret.
At least Su Peng was decent—he'd kept his secret this whole time and never tried to blackmail him.
Glancing around campus, An Han hoped to spot Su Peng, but by the time he returned to his dorm, he still hadn't seen him.
He was just five points away from raising Su Peng's affection level.
As soon as he stepped inside, An Han took off his jacket and stood directly in front of the air conditioner, grabbing a towel to wipe the sweat from his face.
He'd only been outside for half an hour, yet his back was already soaked.
"I need to order a sun-protective shirt online," he muttered to himself.
He peeled off his T-shirt and used the towel to dry his body. Though drenched in sweat, he couldn't be bothered to shower—preferring instead to lounge under the cool blast of the AC and fan.
"Things are getting weirder," he thought. "I haven't completed any tasks or gained any stats these past few days, yet my body feels like it's changing every day… Even if the mirror doesn't show it."
Standing naked before the mirror, An Han examined himself up and down.
Admittedly, while his chest was still flat as a board, his figure was undeniably alluring—especially to those weirdos who preferred petite, flat-chested girls. They'd probably find him irresistible.
He opened his wardrobe and reached for a fresh T-shirt. Just as he was about to pull it on, the dorm door suddenly swung open.
"An Han."
It was Su Peng's voice!
His heart skipped a beat. He froze, slowly turning his head—only to realize the wardrobe door blocked Su Peng's view. For now, Su Peng could only see his legs below the wardrobe.
"Wanna go eat at the cafeteria together?"
Su Peng's footsteps drew closer—each step sounding like the approach of doom.
If Su Peng saw his body, it wouldn't drive him to despair like some conservative girl—but it would expose just how feminine his physique had become!
Then he'd really be done for at school!
As those footsteps neared, An Han trembled uncontrollably and shrieked, "Stop!"
His voice pierced the air so sharply it nearly ruptured eardrums, startling Su Peng into halting mid-step. "Huh?"
"Get out!"
Su Peng instinctively stepped back, scratching his head in confusion. "What's wrong?"
"I—I'm changing!"
"So what? You've changed in front of me before."
"…"
Damn it! I'm speechless!
Su Peng had seen him shirtless countless times over the years—An Han often wandered around the dorm in just his underwear after showers. But things were different now!
"Get out!" An Han screamed again, his voice cracking with panic.
"Alright, alright!" Su Peng, thoroughly startled, quickly retreated and shut the door behind him.
He genuinely couldn't understand why An Han was reacting so intensely. Weren't they both guys? It was just changing clothes…
An Han was getting stranger by the day—impossible to read.
Standing outside, Su Peng's mood soured after being yelled at for no reason. After a brief hesitation, he decided to head to the cafeteria alone.
But just as he turned to leave, the door opened again. An Han's flushed face peeked through the crack, his big eyes brimming with apology. "I… I had something going on just now."
"Oh." Su Peng replied coolly.
[Su Peng's Affection Level –3]
No, no, no! All that hard-earned affection—gone!
An Han's heart lurched. Without thinking, he darted out and grabbed Su Peng's arm.
Under Su Peng's bewildered gaze, he apologized repeatedly: "I'm sorry, I'm really sorry…"
Seeing those dark, pleading eyes, Su Peng's expression softened slightly. "Wanna go eat dinner together?"
"Yes!" An Han said instantly.
Even though he'd just eaten—he'd eat another meal if he had to!