"I'm going back to the dorm to enjoy the air conditioning."
An Han chose to leave immediately. His mind was still reeling from the breast-grabbing incident just moments ago. Where could he possibly find a plausible excuse to complete Task Three?
He rarely opted for compromise solutions like this, and he had no idea how difficult they might be.
When he reached the supermarket entrance, he glanced back and saw An Kexin hadn't followed him out. He was genuinely astonished.
"Seriously? That's it?"
This task felt no harder than the usual third-option tasks—was it really just about saying a sentence or doing one simple thing?
But the system hadn't yet given him the "task completed" notification.
He couldn't afford to let his guard down.
Nervously scanning left and right, he half-expected An Kexin to suddenly leap out from some corner and grab his chest again—or worse, yank off his jacket, point directly at his chest, and leave him utterly speechless.
But... An Kexin wasn't that kind of person, was she?
Could the system really alter other people's behavior just to make tasks more challenging?
An Han walked with exaggerated caution, eyes darting everywhere, afraid his worst-case scenario might actually unfold.
Yet by the time he reached his dorm building, nothing unusual had happened—and right then, the system finally gave its prompt:
[Task Completed. Reward: Custom Chest Binder
Custom Chest Binder: Flattens any size chest perfectly into a "flat plane." Hidden Feature: Remains completely invisible even if you're shirtless. Self-Cleaning Feature: Never needs washing.]
He breathed a sigh of relief. No matter why the task turned out so easy, at least he'd secured the reward.
This thing was way more powerful than he'd ever imagined!
Since it worked even when he was shirtless, he could go back to his old habit—walking around in just his shorts after a shower, completely carefree in front of his roommates!
Even if his chest eventually grew to a size E, F, or G, this binder would still make it vanish!
And best of all—he'd never have to worry about washing or drying it where roommates might see!
If he'd known the system's items were this good, he'd have chosen this option ages ago!
An Han's mood instantly brightened, and he quickened his pace toward his dorm room, eager to test whether the binder really lived up to its description.
But just as he turned the corner onto his dorm hallway, he froze.
Su Peng was standing right outside his dorm room, waiting.
"How does this guy keep showing up out of nowhere?"
An Han muttered under his breath but raised a hand cheerfully. "Su Peng! Looking for me?"
Su Peng turned to look at him, his scrutinizing gaze making An Han's steps slow down instinctively. A vague unease crept into his chest.
Did I play some prank on him recently?
Why's he looking at me like that?
Trying to mask his nervousness, An Han forced his usual friendly expression and clapped Su Peng hard on the shoulder as he approached. "Where'd you run off to earlier? I woke up and you were gone."
"My phone died. Went to borrow a power bank from a friend."
"You should've just said so—I've got one!" An Han noticed Su Peng's eyes drifting toward his chest again.
Casually pulling out his keys, he unlocked the door. "Your phone's charged now?"
"Yeah."
"Finally, some AC." An Han stretched lazily as he stepped inside, all the while racking his brain: Had he done something to upset Su Peng?
That didn't make sense. Sure, there'd been that one dip in Su Peng's affection level, but it had been steadily rising again since.
If he'd really offended Su Peng, wouldn't the system have flagged another drop in affection?
He grabbed the remote and turned on the air conditioner, then began tidying up the bamboo mat left from lunch. Su Peng followed him in, closed the door, and sat down in a chair.
He watched An Han work in silence, clearly struggling with how to begin.
"You wanted something, right?" An Han asked without turning around, still crouched on the floor rolling up the mat.
Since An Han had asked directly, Su Peng finally spoke. "Kexin messaged me earlier."
"Oh, her?"
An Han's heart skipped a beat. So this was the aftermath of the task!
"What did she say?"
"She said… Look, just take your shirt off so I can see."
"You're a freak, dude!"
An Han had just shoved the rolled-up mat into the closet and nearly yanked out a wrench to smash Su Peng over the head.
In the past, he wouldn't have hesitated to strip off his shirt—but now? Absolutely not.
He turned slowly, studying Su Peng carefully from head to toe.
Huh. He looked like a decent guy—definitely not some creepy pervert.
"I'm serious," Su Peng frowned. "I looked it up online. Your condition might be serious."
"My… condition?"
An Han genuinely didn't understand, but he could see real concern in Su Peng's eyes.
Now he was even more confused. "Wait—what exactly did An Kexin tell you?"
Su Peng said gravely, "She thinks you might have a tumor on your chest—it hurts when touched, and sounds pretty serious."
"I don't!" An Han instinctively followed Su Peng's gaze down to his own chest. "It's not a tumor! That's way over the top!"
"Then maybe it's nodules?"
What the hell was that?
An Han was completely lost, shaking his head frantically. "No way!"
"You can't seriously be… developing, can you? You shouldn't hide it. Let me take you to the hospital for a check-up."
An Han laughed awkwardly, wondering if Su Peng had already figured everything out and was just messing with him.
But now he understood what had happened.
An Kexin had noticed the "lump" on his chest, and since he'd left without offering any explanation, she'd told Su Peng about it.
If he'd just chosen Task Three and given her a reasonable excuse to calm her down, none of this would've happened.
Damn it—the system's tasks were always full of traps!
"You're not saying anything," Su Peng said earnestly. "We're practically best friends, right? If something's wrong, you've got to tell me."
"There's really nothing."
But Su Peng clearly didn't believe him.
He'd noticed An Han's chest contours before but never paid much attention—until now, when he was determined to get to the bottom of it.
"It's probably… I've just been gaining weight too fast," An Han lied shakily, tugging at his shirt hem. "Some guys get puffy chests when they gain weight—even bigger than girls', you know?"
"But you're not fat."
"Maybe… maybe I've been eating too much soy? You know how people say soy products can make you more 'feminine' or whatever."
"I checked that too. Apparently, if a guy's chest starts protruding or sagging, it's a medical issue—even if it's from soy, you should still see a doctor."
Watching An Han's fingers nervously clutching his shirt, his eyes stubbornly fixed on his own feet instead of meeting his gaze, Su Peng raised an eyebrow. "You've gotten really obvious when you lie—especially when you're nervous."
"Have I?" An Han froze for a second, then quickly composed himself and bolted toward the bathroom. "Oh crap—I suddenly really need to go! Don't wait up!"
A tumor, my ass!
What was An Kexin even thinking!