"Su Peng! Help, help, help! They're after me again!"
"Coming, coming!"
"I just wiped them out! Three against one—and I turned the tables! Do they even know how to play?!"
"Chase them down and finish them off!"
Inside the dorm room, An Han was deeply immersed in his game, muttering to himself—until suddenly his character froze.
Puzzled, he looked up. "Did the internet cut out?"
Then a long, sharp *beep* sounded, and the air conditioner shut off too.
Su Peng corrected him: "It's a power outage."
Since it was National Day break, few students remained in the dorm building—but the moment the lights went out, groans erupted from every direction.
They exchanged a helpless glance. Though the laptops wouldn't shut down immediately, losing internet connection was a serious blow.
An Han, furious, grabbed his phone to angrily message their class advisor, Ren Chi—but then noticed the class group chat already had an announcement:
"Power maintenance today at noon. Expected to resume around 3 p.m."
After reading it aloud, he groaned dramatically, "Half my life is gone!"
"What's wrong with you now?"
"No air conditioning!"
Su Peng chuckled and tossed him a small booklet. "Fan yourself, then."
He took his laptop back to his own dorm. But when he returned to An Han's room, he found An Han pulling out a bamboo mat from his closet and spreading it on the floor.
"What are you doing?"
"Sleeping on the floor for my nap. By the time I wake up, the power'll be back."
"You'd be better off going to an internet café."
"Too lazy. Internet cafés are disgusting."
Even though modern internet cafés were getting cleaner, nothing could get rid of all the smoke and sketchy characters.
An Han had zero intention of going out. He flopped down comfortably onto the mat, pressing his cheek against the cool surface, savoring the last traces of air-conditioned chill in the room.
"Once the cold air's gone, remember to open both doors for ventilation."
Su Peng, lounging in a chair with one leg crossed over the other, rolled his eyes. "Open them yourself—I'm heading out soon."
"You're actually leaving me alone?"
An Han yawned, his voice already drowsy, and settled back onto the mat.
Wrapped in the fading coolness of the AC, he drifted into a hazy half-sleep. Dimly, he sensed Su Peng's gaze looking down at him—and then felt a light blanket being gently draped over his body.
He actually cares about me?
Before that thought could fully form, he was already fast asleep.
…
"Su Peng, what time is it?"
The moment he woke, An Han mumbled the question without opening his eyes.
When no answer came, he finally opened them and looked around. The dorm was empty—Su Peng was nowhere to be seen.
Both front and back doors stood open, letting in a breeze that chased away some of the heat. Still, An Han had broken out in sweat during his nap.
He sat up, straightened his back, and stretched his arms out lazily.
"I wonder where Su Peng went…"
He grabbed his phone from the desk to check the time.
Thirty minutes until power was restored.
He really didn't feel like going out—every time he put on a jacket, the heat made him question his life choices.
But honestly, it wasn't much cooler outside than in here. Might as well go for a stroll instead of just sitting around.
He slipped on his jacket and headed for the door—but then suddenly froze.
Wait… these past few days, I haven't really been hiding my… small chest from Su Peng.
He stood still for a moment, then gave a bitter, helpless laugh.
Hope he doesn't think I'm some weird creature…
Like a futanari or something…
Or maybe Su Peng's just blind and never even noticed?
An Han felt a nagging unease. It was starting to make sense why Su Peng sometimes avoided him.
If he himself met a boy who was overly friendly and looked unusually feminine… well, maybe he'd end up liking both genders!
In the quiet afternoon of the holiday campus—nearly deserted—An Han finally relaxed a bit. The usual tension he felt around others eased slightly.
He headed to the campus supermarket to pick up some snacks and daily necessities.
Damn Chen Junjie—he'd used up all his shampoo!
The school's two-story supermarket was huge; you could find just about everything there. An Han wandered the aisles, casually browsing for what he needed. But he hadn't gone far when his steps suddenly halted.
He stood before a shelf lined with sanitary pads.
"I wonder when I'll need this stuff too…"
A wave of sorrow surged through him.
He sighed quietly and was about to walk away—when a girl approached the same aisle.
"An Han?"
Someone I know?
He quickly pulled his jacket tighter and turned around.
An Kexin?
"Kexin!" He smiled at her, then leaned in conspiratorially. "Hey, I heard you've been hanging out with Su Peng a lot lately?"
"Huh?" Flustered, An Kexin took a step back. "N-no! That's not true at all!"
"But didn't you go watch a movie with him?"
Her face flushed. "He… just happened to want to see the same one…"
"He told me he really likes you," An Han teased with a playful wink.
"R-really…?"
Because they shared the same surname, An Han didn't remember many of his female classmates—but An Kexin was an exception. She was practically his only female friend in class.
Her cheeks turned bright red, and she looked down nervously. "But… Su Peng stood me up this morning."
Ah, even a slightly chubby girl is more entertaining—and cuter—than teasing my dormmates.
"Yeah, he came back to play games with me instead."
Wait… do I somehow feel like I'm cheating on someone?
And I'm the other woman?
An Han quickly shook that absurd thought out of his head and changed the subject. "Has Su Peng mentioned me to you recently?"
"You?" An Kexin looked up, thinking for a moment before nodding. "Yeah… he said you've been acting really weird lately."
As she spoke, her eyes began to study him more closely—and only then did she realize that, though they hadn't talked much in the past week, An Han seemed completely different.
He's… gotten prettier?
An Han noticed her gaze and confidently placed his hands on his hips. "Don't I look way more handsome now?!"
"Huh?"
"I've put on a bit of weight—no longer that skinny, scrawny guy. My face looks fuller too!"
"Now that you mention it… yeah…"
"So I'm handsomer now, right?"
Bewildered by his sudden confidence, An Kexin hesitantly nodded. "Yeah… you do look better."
"Exactly!"
"But Su Peng always says you're kinda… girly."
An Han froze for a second, then turned away muttering, "That jerk's been calling me girly behind my back! I'll beat him up someday!"
"You're so full of yourself—you're nowhere near as good-looking as him!"
This girl can't be allowed to live! Who says that to someone's face?!