The earlier incident had left an awkward, frozen tension between them.
An Han was filled with regret. Because all his roommates had gone out, he'd let his guard down and forgotten to lock the door while changing clothes.
What a careless mistake!
Luckily, the wardrobe door had blocked Su Peng's line of sight—otherwise, who knew what might have happened.
And his reaction had been way too intense! If only he'd stayed calm and politely asked Su Peng to leave, things wouldn't be so awkward now.
Su Peng must be angry—otherwise, his affection level wouldn't have dropped.
From Su Peng's perspective, An Han's behavior must have seemed utterly bizarre.
Earlier, An Han had already eaten dinner before five, so this meal he only ordered a bowl of extra-sour wonton soup. As he ate, he kept his eyes lowered, occasionally sneaking glances at Su Peng from beneath his lashes.
He really needed to find a way to calm Su Peng down.
Sighing inwardly, he had no idea what to do.
It really was his own fault—Su Peng had every right to be upset.
While An Han racked his brain over how to smooth things over, he didn't notice that Su Peng was also stealing quiet glances at him while eating.
Right now, An Han looked just like a little puppy who'd done something wrong—huddled in the corner, looking utterly dejected, occasionally peeking up with big, dark eyes toward his "owner," but quickly looking away before their eyes could meet.
…So cute.
Su Peng's anger gradually faded, replaced by a teasing curiosity. "What were you doing in the dorm just now? Something you couldn't let anyone see?"
"N-nothing at all!" An Han shook his head frantically, his obvious panic making Su Peng burst out laughing.
"What's so funny…" An Han muttered softly, lowering his head again. "You're getting worse and worse, Su Peng."
"How am I being 'worse'?" Su Peng asked.
An Han didn't know how to explain. He was internally grumbling about that stupid +20 affection task—why was it so hard to complete?
Long Xing had gained +10 affection in one go!
But Su Peng? He only gave +5 at a time—and just now even deducted 3 points! How could there be such a huge difference between people!
"Where did you go this afternoon?" An Han asked curiously.
"Someone asked me out to watch a movie."
That instantly piqued An Han's interest. He leaned forward eagerly. "A girl?"
"Yeah."
"Ohhh~" Seeing that Su Peng wasn't angry anymore, An Han started teasing him playfully. "After the movie, did you two go book a short-stay room or something?"
Now he felt completely reassured—Su Peng clearly liked girls. There was no way he'd ever have any designs on him.
Su Peng rolled his eyes. "No."
"Is she pretty? She chased after you, right? Do you like her?" An Han bombarded him with questions nonstop.
"Why do you care so much about my business?"
"If it were Brother Long, he'd tell me everything."
"That's because he likes you in girls' clothes."
"…"
An Han was speechless.
"Eh, she's alright. Not really 'like' like, just… a bit of a crush," Su Peng said while eating, sensing something odd about An Han's line of questioning.
Could it be… that An Han was testing whether he already had someone he liked?
Looking at An Han's slightly flushed cheeks, he really did seem shy.
"Oh, I see~" An Han's curiosity surged. "What's her name? Do I know her?"
"An Kexin."
"I remember her! She was in that debate competition, right?"
Because An Kexin shared his surname, An Han had remembered her name and face.
But thinking back carefully, she wasn't exactly stunning—actually, she was a bit on the heavier side.
An Han muttered under his breath, "She's not even as pretty as I am. Last fitness test, I think she weighed like 120 pounds."
Thanks to his system, he now dared compare his looks to girls'.
Su Peng's sharp ears caught every word of his quiet grumbling.
Confirmed!
"Your taste is terrible."
"She's got a nice personality."
"Yeah, her personality's probably okay…" But An Han was a firm believer in looks—if not, he'd have had his first love back in middle school instead of staying single until now.
Suddenly realizing he shouldn't badmouth the girl Su Peng liked, An Han panicked and tried to backtrack: "But personality matters way more than looks, right?"
"Yeah."
An Han quickly lowered his head again, hoping Su Peng wouldn't see his embarrassment.
Su Peng was growing more and more convinced that An Han might actually have feelings for him.
He paused, feeling this couldn't continue, and gently asked, "An Han… you don't… like guys, do you?"
"What?! Of course not!" An Han looked at him in shock. "Why would you even think that?"
"It's just that you…"
Ah! So Su Peng was worried that An Han had a crush on him!
That was almost exactly An Han's own fear.
An Han instantly understood Su Peng's concern and waved his hand dismissively. "Even if I went to hell, I'd never like a guy, okay?
I've just been hanging around you because I'm so bored alone in the dorm—none of my roommates are around, and unlike you, I don't have girls chasing after me. I just needed someone to kill time with."
Su Peng nodded silently.
(If only he hadn't seen An Han pretending to be a girl online, he might've believed him.)
After dinner, An Han's stomach was full to bursting, and his steps back to the dorm felt heavy. He was still obsessing over the affection points—but at least Su Peng seemed less angry now.
He tentatively asked, "Wanna go watch a movie together?"
Over the years, An Han had rarely gone to the movies with his roommates, mainly because he wasn't really into films.
But Su Peng knew that too, and frowned. "What movie do you even want to watch?"
"I dunno."
An Han just wanted a chance to spend time alone with Su Peng to boost affection.
But Su Peng grew even more suspicious.
If An Han really liked guys, then two guys going to see a movie—especially when he couldn't even name a film—was definitely suspicious.
"Don't worry! I'm just bored and thought watching a movie sounded fun," An Han waved his hand casually. "If you don't wanna go, how about we duo queue for a game tonight instead?"
"Fine."
"Then… are you staying in my dorm again?"
"Let's skip that."
If Su Peng stayed over again, people would really start thinking they were "that kind" of couple.
An Han didn't press further, just hoping gaming together could still raise their friendship points.
"At least bring your laptop to my dorm—it's annoying playing with just voice chat."
"Well…" Su Peng turned to look at him—and saw An Han's big, hopeful eyes staring right back. Reluctantly, he gave in. "Alright, fine."
"You promise!" Overjoyed, An Han threw an arm around Su Peng's neck.
Su Peng suddenly felt a soft, warm body pressed against his own. He squirmed uncomfortably but couldn't pull away.
An Han smelled so good…
It dawned on him—the scent on An Han's bed wasn't from perfume at all. It came from An Han himself.