Translator: Dj2203
Editor: Dj2203
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After the cut, they left the barber shop. There happened to be a shopping mall nearby, so Lin Jianlu suggested going inside to browse and choose a men’s suit for Yan Han.
“…No need, I always wear a uniform at school and don’t usually go out.” Yan Han scratched his head. “Besides, it’s not nice to be seen wearing men’s clothes when going out. I’m just taking advantage of you today and having some fun…”
“I just think you look better in men’s clothes.”
“Huh?”
“I’ve always thought you looked better in men’s clothes,” Lin Jianlu said, then briefly recounted his initial impression of Yan Han.
When he first saw him in androgynous clothing, he thought he looked better in a skirt. Although no one else had the same idea, he even suspected he might be a cross-dresser. But once he discovered his true identity, Lin Jianlu was completely convinced that his intuition was correct.
“Last time I saw you in a cheerleading skirt, I thought it looked weird. Your temperament… men’s clothes are more suitable for you.”
Yan Han: “!”
Already perverted by that perverted task, Yan Han also had a perverted obsession with men’s clothing. Now that Lin Jianlu had said this, the two of them hit it off and went shopping at the mall again.
Shopping with Big Brother Lin had its advantages. For example, he could keep an eye on him, preventing him from being recognized by familiar faces. Although this mall was quite far from the school, most students went to the shopping district outside the school, where no one came, and the chances of being recognized were thus lower.
But now Yan Han felt strangely relieved.
Summer was here, and the barriers between men’s and women’s clothing had broken down for many sports and casual brands. At least for Yan Han, it was hard to tell if the same pair of shorts was men’s or women’s.
But no matter what style, as long as someone told him it was men’s, he felt comfortable wearing it.
And if he could help it, he really didn’t want to touch the clothes in the dressing room again. Of course, he couldn’t. He still had to do tasks like drag queen to earn points.
But after all the shopping, Yan Han did buy two sets of men’s clothes, one casual and one sporty, and paired them with a baseball cap. He managed to make the ordinary T-shirt and shorts look like a fashionable brand.
Looking in the mirror at Lin Jianlu, wearing the same sweatshirt and hat as him, Yan Han decided that this life, forced to dress as a woman on a regular basis and occasionally reverting to men’s clothing to let loose, wasn’t so bad.
He could still manage.
So when Lin Jianlu said, “You can come to my house on weekends to do homework together,” Yan Han agreed without a second thought.
After shopping, Lin Jianlu was walking him back to school. As they sat in the back seat of the car, Yan Han realized what was happening and asked, “But Big Brother Lin, you’re usually busy on weekends, aren’t you?”
Lin Jianlu replied, “Only occasionally, but I don’t miss anything.”
“…”
The days flew by. Whether he’d gotten used to this life or what, each day felt like flipping through a book. After a monthly exam and a final, summer vacation officially arrived in July.
Several significant events occurred during this time. The first was that through his diligent and outstanding performance, Yan Han successfully achieved the achievement “Labor,” unlocking a treasure chest and gaining the skill [Music Expertise].
Musical Expertise was also a level-able skill. As the name suggested, possessing it granted the user a musical talent, as if their Ren and Du meridians had been opened. Not only would his long-standing off-tune singing problem be corrected, but as his skills improved, he would also be able to gradually master various instruments, developing an understanding of musical rhythms beyond the average person… though Big Brother considered this completely useless.
As for how he’d drawn such a skill… it all started when Xiao Wu used his connections to select Deep Focus for him.
According to Xiao Wu, that incident was later investigated by the higher-ups. Since it was different from the mobile dressing room, it was deemed an illegal operation. Not only was he reprimanded, but the system also banned Yan Han from accessing the black box.
So, this time, Yan Han had drawn it entirely on his own, bearing the consequences, good or bad.
While Yan Han felt deeply regretful, he reflected on the fact that he now possessed the learning and necessary life skills. Besides the daily hardships, there wasn’t anything he couldn’t overcome, so he accepted the situation and chose to continue living optimistically.
The second thing was that he and Lin Jianlu were finally no longer the top couple on the anonymous forum.
Wei Ningxin, one of the top ten campus celebrities, and Gong Yuxue, their school’s most prestigious arts education star, had somehow gotten together. Countless people had snapped them together, and the anonymous forum had even created dedicated forums dedicated to their relationship. The hype had reached such a level that even Yan Han had heard about it. Even though he didn’t have anyone close to him who was into this couple,
Yan Han had never taken it seriously, nor did he care to listen to such gossip. The only thing that slightly concerned him was that he remembered the arts education star was crazy about Big Brother Lin. How could she get with Wei Ningxin so soon?
There was nothing similar about their temperaments, interests, or personalities, right?
He didn’t know why, but he had a feeling there was something going on.
But he couldn’t understand it, and Lin Jianlu, with his lack of emotion, couldn’t understand it even more.
He had indeed spoken to Gong Yuxue after the last basketball game, mainly regarding the bullying incident. Now that this matter had erupted and was ultimately traced back to her, Lin Jianlu couldn’t just ignore it.
There were no clear school rules to punish this kind of soft bullying. Considering their families’ long-standing friendship, Lin Jianlu just had a private conversation with her.
Later, it was reported that Gong Yuxue had disbanded her clique, and all her former close friends and sisters had also cut ties. As for how the two of them met, no one else knew. However, for a while after that, Gong Yuxue focused solely on her studies and stopped forming cliques.
As for how she ended up with Wei Ningxin again…
During a gossip gathering, the topic came up, and Yan Han casually asked, “Brother Lin.” Unexpectedly, Lin Jianlu deadpanned, “That’s not my responsibility.”
Yan Han: “?”
Lin Jianlu replied seriously, “It’s the disciplinary committee’s rules. We’re not responsible for cracking down on premature dating.”
Yan Han: “…”
Okay, so his train of thought was wrong again.
Yan Han thus stopped paying attention to the matter.
After the final exams and the parent-teacher conference, summer vacation officially began.
Yan Han’s grandfather attended his parent-teacher conference. He subsequently performed well on both exams. While not a dramatic improvement, he had at least established himself in Class 14. If he maintained this performance, he’d move up at least one class on the next semester’s placement test, potentially reaching the fourth floor.
Furthermore, he’d performed exceptionally well this semester, making several outstanding contributions, which made his grandfather proud to attend the parent-teacher conference.
However, Yan Han didn’t return home with his grandfather during the summer vacation but stayed at school.
Besides wanting to stay and focus on his studies, another important reason was the Street Dance King finals, which was set to begin in a few days.
Unlike the academic competition, the Street Dance King finals were postponed until the summer vacation after the top eight were selected. Yan Han only later learned that the organizers had deliberately chosen the summer vacation to hold the finals, hoping to attract sponsors while students were on vacation and traffic was high, using the contestants as free advertising.
After all, the finalists were selected in waves, and the remaining eight were either incredibly skilled or, like Yan Han, incredibly good-looking, making them a truly exciting prospect.
The organizers of the finals specifically invited television stations and major media outlets, hoping to capitalize on this gimmick and rake in a ton of advertising revenue.
While this practice might irritate the contestants, who might feel exploited, hosting such competitions was both expensive and labor-intensive, and there had to be some sort of benefit, so Yan Han understood.
After all, his goal in participating was simply to win the prize, while others, who simply wanted to appear on TV, would see this as a valuable platform and opportunity.
Furthermore, it was still a competition, and if they truly felt they couldn’t handle it, they could withdraw.
But they had all fought their way to the top, so who would choose to withdraw at this point? Therefore, even though the finals suddenly became incredibly complex and lengthy, like a foot-binding embroidery, the remaining eight contestants persevered.
Meanwhile, Yan Han, who had recently unlocked his musical expertise, also gained new insights into dance machines and dancing.
Already delicate and frail, Yan Han’s ability to follow rhythm and eight-beat time was a powerful advantage. He defeated his opponents in six or seven matches, advancing directly to the semi-finals.
During this period, the organizers used media platforms to conduct a voting campaign, and unsurprisingly, Yan Han received the highest vote share.
Although the competition was exhausting even for Brother Yan, making money never came easy. Yan Han understood this and accepted the situation, waiting for the final three. However, he didn’t expect the organizers to go too far, even directly requiring them to cooperate with various sponsors in photo shoots, which made him a little unbearable.
– “You can take pictures, but you have to pay for it.”
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