Late at night, An Han tiptoed toward the dorm room door, still dressed in women's clothing.
He first poked his head inside, scanning the room carefully. Seeing that none of his roommates had woken up, he let out a quiet sigh of relief and crept in on his toes.
Thank goodness none of his roommates had decided to pull an all-nighter tonight.
He didn't even have time to change. Hurrying straight to the balcony bathroom, he relieved himself, then finally made his way to the sink, cupping cool water in his hands and splashing it onto his face.
He was exhausted.
It had practically been a long-distance run—performed under extreme emotional stress, no less. The physical toll was obvious.
Just then, a system interface suddenly popped up before his eyes:
[Mission Completed
Reward: Affinity Trait — +10 Affinity with Long Xing
Affinity Trait: Everyone will gain +10 affinity toward you.
Affinity Level: Keep it below 80. Exceeding 100 carries unknown risks.]
Finally—mission accomplished.
Pity the reward wasn't as straightforward as the house from his first mission. That would've been much better.
Excitedly, An Han scanned the mission panel, quickly skimming through before his eyes settled on the "Affinity" stat.
*What even is this?*
*Brother Long gained 10 points of affinity toward me?*
It was probably due to that "Affinity Trait," but he couldn't wrap his head around why hitting 100 affinity would pose a risk.
"My system is seriously the worst," he grumbled as the panel vanished from view. "Not even a dumb AI assistant to explain things for me. Look at other people's systems—they're all so helpful and cheerful! Mine just ghosts me, only showing up to give or complete missions. Call it, and it never answers!"
Time to change!
"Honestly, this outfit isn't half bad."
It wasn't like An Han had a thing for cross-dressing—he just genuinely liked the cool, snug sensation of the stockings hugging his legs.
Plus, the fabric was light and soft. Even though he usually preferred loose, casual pants, he found skirts surprisingly freeing and comfortable… *He really wasn't a pervert.*
Just as he was about to head back into the dorm, his peripheral vision caught movement on the neighboring dorm's balcony.
*Someone's there!*
An Han froze, holding his breath.
The dorms were built symmetrically, with adjacent balconies less than ten meters apart. He was practically face-to-face with the student on the next balcony!
He glanced over discreetly—and his blood ran cold.
It was Su Peng, Wu Dongming's roommate and a close friend who'd jokingly called An Han his "master" before.
And right now, An Han was still wearing that short skirt and black stockings.
Su Peng was staring at him with clear curiosity. An Han couldn't tell if he'd recognized his face or was just confused about why there was a girl in the boys' dorm—but if he *was* recognized…
*That would be social suicide!*
*Oh no, oh no!*
His muscles tensed, trembling slightly. He snapped into action: *Most important—don't let him see my face!*
An Han immediately reached up and switched off the balcony light, then stiffly shuffled back into the dorm room.
*As long as he didn't get a good look at my face, maybe Su Peng will just assume it's someone's girlfriend staying over?*
*Tomorrow, I'll casually test the waters with him…*
Standing in front of the wardrobe, he glanced at his roommate sleeping on the lower bunk, then opened the closet door—using it to shield his body as he changed out of the dress.
Their dorm was a four-person room with bunk beds. Aside from the central aisle, two metal bunk beds, four desks, and two wardrobes were symmetrically arranged on either side. An Han shared his wardrobe with his lower-bunk roommate, meaning it offered zero privacy. He carefully tucked the女装 deep inside, sandwiching it between layers of winter clothes.
Today had completely drained him.
But he still had one more thing to do.
After quietly changing into his usual clothes and resting briefly, An Han slipped on his sneakers, packed the little leather shoes into a shoebox and hid it away, then grabbed a chair before slipping out of the dorm.
He still had to rescue Long Xing, who was stuck outside.
An Han was just too kind-hearted to leave his roommate sleeping on the streets.
"Long Ge!"
When he arrived at the back gate, chair in hand, he spotted Long Xing sitting on the ground outside the fence, scrolling through his phone.
Long Xing looked up, delighted. "Xiao Han! How'd you know I got locked out?"
"Went to pee and saw your message in the group chat," An Han panted, catching his breath as he lifted the chair. "Move back a bit—I'm tossing this over for you to stand on."
With that, he hurled the chair over the fence. It landed with a loud *thud* on the other side.
It was a plastic chair, about 40 centimeters tall—part of a set of four stacked in their dorm corner, usually used for hotpot or cooking.
"Ah, Xiao Han~ You're the best~" Long Xing cooed gratefully.
"Just bring me lunch tomorrow, and we're even."
"I love you so much!"
Long Xing was tall enough that, standing on the chair and stretching on his tiptoes, he could just reach the top of the wall. Plus, the night breeze had mostly sobered him up. This time, climbing over was effortless—he vaulted over in no time and landed beside An Han.
"We'll grab the chair tomorrow," Long Xing said, glancing back at it before slinging an arm around An Han's shoulders, buzzing with excitement. "Dude, you won't believe it—I just met the most gorgeous girl!"
"…"
An Han's smile froze instantly.
"She looked a lot like you—but way prettier."
"Well, duh—I'm a guy! I'm handsome, not 'pretty'!"
Arm in arm, they headed back toward the dorm building. Long Xing kept chattering about his encounter: "She was super shy—didn't say a word the whole time."
"And after I helped her get into campus, she just ran off! Can you believe it?"
"Maybe it's because you look like a gangster?"
"I've thought about getting my tattoos removed," Long Xing sighed, shaking his head. "But it hurts too much. Back then, I thought they looked cool… Now I wonder how many girls I've scared off."
"At the very least, grow your hair out a bit."
Seeing that he hadn't been exposed, An Han relaxed back into his usual playful self, teasing Long Xing: "Wait—don't tell me you've fallen for her already?"
"I have!"
"Love at first sight?"
"Yep!"
"???"
*You're seriously crushing on your roommate's cross-dressed alter ego—and you're this shameless about it?!*
An Han stared at him, utterly baffled.
"You have no idea," Long Xing gushed. "She had short hair, a short skirt, and thigh-highs—totally my type! I've always loved girls with that bold, spirited look!"
"So you like tomboys?"
"That's called 'bold and spirited'!"
"Your XP seriously needs a system reinstall," An Han groaned.
*Looks like I need to get rid of that outfit ASAP.* If Long Xing ever found out the girl he was smitten with was actually his own roommate, their friendship would either sink like a stone—or awkwardly morph into a love boat.
*That'd be absolutely terrifying.*
Just one day with this system, and already danger seemed to lurk around every corner!