At eight o'clock in the evening, the area surrounding the university on the city outskirts remained brightly lit.
Students' nightlife mostly consisted of either staying in their dorms playing online games together or hanging out at various street food stalls and entertainment spots off-campus.
The school's sports field occupied a large corner of the campus. Inside the standard 400-meter running track lay an evergreen artificial turf field. Not far from the track, a basketball court was enclosed by wire fencing, and within it, a small section had been designated for billiard tables.
The stadium lights shone as bright as daylight—except for one corner where a streetlamp had been broken for two weeks straight, with no one bothering to fix it.
Long Xing arrived at the spot wearing a tight-fitting short-sleeve shirt that accentuated his muscular build, paired with athletic shorts. He'd washed his face three times with facial cleanser and showed up spotlessly clean.
"I don't even know her name," he muttered to himself as he reached the broken streetlamp, glancing around but not seeing the girl anywhere. He sat down on a nearby stone bench and waited patiently.
He'd arrived half an hour early, determined not to make a bad impression on their first official date.
Meanwhile, An Han had just left the hotel, with Su Peng trailing closely behind him, his expression rather odd.
Spending the afternoon with An Han had been the most torturous few hours Su Peng could remember.
Although An Han's cross-dressing skills were merely average—his feminine appearance was just that of an ordinary girl—Su Peng could barely detect any signs that An Han was actually male. Aside from a few lingering masculine mannerisms, everything else was utterly convincing! If Su Peng had seen him on the street, he'd have assumed An Han was simply a female version of himself—like those viral "female versions of male celebrities" online—and never once suspected cross-dressing.
Moreover, An Han's figure was just *too* well-suited for women's clothing.
For the entire afternoon, Su Peng had nearly started treating An Han as an actual girl.
Fortunately, An Han's voice still remained distinctly masculine and deep.
"Hmm! Ahem! Cough!"
Right after stepping out of the hotel entrance, An Han cleared his throat dramatically, then turned around with a sweet smile. "Brother Su Peng~"
Hearing that suddenly soft, girlish voice, Su Peng jumped back in shock, his face twisted in utter bewilderment.
"How's that? I've been practicing voice feminization for two days."
"Uh… it's… okay, I guess?" Su Peng scratched his head awkwardly. "But your voice sounds like you're straining your throat—it's kinda weird."
"Yeah, so unless absolutely necessary, I won't use it," An Han nodded firmly.
Of course, two days of practice couldn't possibly perfect his feminine voice.
Still, his cross-dressed persona was that of a shy, introverted girl—so speaking little would be perfectly reasonable.
It was already past eight in the evening, and the streets outside campus were packed with students, bustling with activity.
The last time An Han had gone out in women's clothing was at 3 a.m.—pitch dark, with hardly a soul in sight.
Now, stepping out of the alley where the hotel was located, An Han froze at the sight of the dense crowd and immediately ducked behind Su Peng.
"What's wrong?" Su Peng turned to look at him, only to find An Han's cheeks already flushed with a rosy blush.
"Nothing. Let's go—back to campus," An Han replied calmly, though his eyes darted nervously among the crowd.
What if someone found out he was actually a guy…?
Although it was nighttime and streetlights couldn't match daylight brightness, the real problem was the sheer number of people.
What if someone sharp-eyed figured it out?
"Scared now?" Su Peng teased with a grin. "This afternoon you seemed perfectly happy dressing up, but now that we're heading out, you're chickening out?"
"When did I ever seem 'happy' dressing up this afternoon?" An Han flatly denied something Su Peng had never actually claimed.
If stubborn denial were a sport, An Han could crack walnuts with his mouth.
"Don't worry—your cross-dressing…" Su Peng paused, glancing complexly at An Han's hands.
Normally, one could tell if someone assigned male at birth was cross-dressing by examining skeletal structure, joints, or hands. No matter how flawless the makeup, these subtle details usually gave it away—after all, no one had actual bone-shrinking kung fu.
But An Han… was this some kind of natural talent? How had Su Peng never noticed before that An Han's bone structure was as petite as a girl's?
His hands were fair and slender, nothing like the roughness typical of men. Even his elbows and joints looked delicate…
"It's perfect. Nobody will notice."
"Really?"
Although An Han believed this himself, he still felt uneasy deep down.
He wasn't really worried about strangers spotting his true gender—but what terrified him was running into a classmate or friend.
Not everyone was as easygoing as Su Peng. If he met someone with a big mouth, news of An Han's cross-dressing would probably spread across his entire social circle by tomorrow, leading to complete social death.
Head lowered, still visibly nervous and guilty, An Han shuffled along in tiny steps behind Su Peng, carefully hiding his face within the shadow cast by Su Peng's taller frame.
"I've never seen you like this before," Su Peng said, hands in his pockets as he walked, teasing lightly. "You actually look more like a girl now—like one of those soft, cute types."
"Shut up!" An Han snapped, his face burning red.
Nervously tiptoeing all the way to the campus sports field without anyone exposing his secret, An Han wasn't sure whether people simply chose not to say anything—or if his disguise truly was flawless.
His eyes immediately spotted the dark corner of the field and the silhouette standing within it.
Even as just an outline, that unmistakable physique and the aura that kept everyone within a five-meter radius away could only belong to Long Xing.
"I'm heading back," Su Peng stretched lazily. "I still have homework to finish."
"Wait a bit. Walk back with me later—you'll let me copy your homework, right?"
An Han took a deep breath and walked straight toward Long Xing.
Normally, his stride was as bold and careless as most guys—sometimes even slightly pigeon-toed—but now, overwhelmed by anxiety, embarrassment, and sheer shyness, his steps had turned into timid, mincing movements.
He kept his head down, using his bangs to partially obscure his face, his hands fidgeting nervously until he finally clasped them tightly in front of him.
Thus, when Long Xing looked up, he saw what appeared to be an adorably shy, neighborly girl walking gracefully toward him.
"She really looks like An Han… but way prettier," he mumbled under his breath before quickly standing up to greet her.
"H-hi," he stammered as he approached her. All the smooth lines and romantic phrases he'd rehearsed in his head had completely vanished, leaving only a clumsy greeting.
"Mm…" The girl subtly bent forward just a little, adjusting her slipping knee-high socks.
Her voice was so soft~
The way she secretly tugged at her socks was so cute~
That single, gentle response instantly sent Long Xing's heart racing. He grinned like a lovesick fool and swallowed hard.
"Um… uh…" He racked his brain desperately. "Have you… eaten yet?"