It was likely just a delusion born from Bai Yao’s guilty conscience.
He couldn’t shake the feeling that Qiu Ye had recognized him in his women’s clothes.
After hiding in bed to calm down for a long time, the more he thought about it, the more panicked he became.
He regretted how he had let his head get turned by the System’s egging on, leading him to sneak out in drag on a whim.
Not only had he been spotted by Wang Zuhao, but he had also run into Qiu Ye.
Bai Yao tossed and turned on his bed, sighing in distress, unable to find any peace of mind.
“What’s going on here?”
Chen Zhilong had returned after playing mahjong all afternoon.
As soon as he entered the room, he heard the commotion of someone rolling around on the bed, making the frame creak and rattle.
“No idea. He’s probably having a fit,” Qiu Ye said. He was currently struggling to operate the keyboard with his left hand, treating it as a form of rehabilitation training.
“Did you win any money?”
“I won dozens of yuan,” Chen Zhilong said boastfully.
“What are we eating tonight? It’s my treat.”
“How about hotpot?”
“Should we get some booze too?”
Although Qiu Ye was tempted, he shook his head. “Look at my condition. Let’s skip it.”
Rather than being afraid of something happening because of the alcohol, he was more afraid of making Bai Yao angry.
If another accident happened because he was drinking, Bai Yao would definitely be furious enough to break off their friendship.
“If you won’t drink, I’ll drink with Brother Hao.”
The sky outside was already growing dark.
Chen Zhilong beckoned to Qiu Ye.
“Shall we go? Let’s head to the supermarket to buy some hotpot meatballs and mutton rolls. Bring your backpack so we can load it with beer.”
Qiu Ye paused his game and looked up toward the curtain of the top bunk.
“Bai Yao? You coming?”
“I’m not eating.”
the two roommates looked at each other.
Chen Zhilong looked helpless.
“He used to hide in bed and skip it whenever we had hotpot before, too. He’s just not a social sleeper.”
“What’s the matter with him?”
Qiu Ye stood up and walked over to Bai Yao’s bed.
He pulled back the zipper of the curtain and peered inside, only to see a lumpy heap of blankets.
Bai Yao was buried so deep that not even a single strand of hair was visible.
He reached out and patted the duvet.
“Time to get up. Why are you being a hermit again? Nobody’s picking on you.”
“How about you drink a little tonight too? Brother Long and Brother Hao will keep you company.”
Chen Zhilong leaned in to agree.
“Accompanying you for drinks, food, and chat — I’m a professional at the ‘triple-service’!”
Since things had been put that way, it would be unreasonable for Bai Yao to stay silent any longer.
He suppressed the panic in his heart and let his eyes peek through a gap in the blankets, looking at the two men standing outside.
‘Regardless of whether Qiu Ye found out about my crossdressing, at least he won’t talk nonsense…’
“I guess that’s fine.”
Bai Yao nodded hesitantly.
After getting out of bed, Bai Yao secretly observed Qiu Ye’s expression, but he couldn’t detect anything out of the ordinary.
He followed Qiu Ye and Chen Zhilong toward the Off-campus Supermarket.
Although there was an On-campus Supermarket, it didn’t sell fresh or frozen goods.
The group arrived at the supermarket and walked into the frozen section.
Qiu Ye looked at the rows of frozen products in the freezer and turned to Chen Zhilong.
“Should we buy less? If we’re doing hotpot and buying booze, those dozens you won definitely won’t be enough.”
“Then I’ll chip in a bit more. Just treat me like a big spender and fleece me.”
Chen Zhilong was always generous.
Although he never revealed how much his allowance was, it was estimated to be quite high.
“You two handle the shopping. I’m going to go buy the beer.”
“Bai Yao, what do you want to eat?”
Qiu Ye turned around, only to see that Bai Yao was still staring off into space.
He had no idea what was going on in that little head of his.
He reached out and rubbed Bai Yao’s head, finally snapping him out of his wandering thoughts.
“Huh? What?”
“What do you want to eat?”
“Anything is fine…”
Bai Yao mumbled as he took a step forward, looking at the various bags in the freezer.
“Fish balls, beef balls, or something?”
Qiu Ye picked through the items and selected a value pack containing both beef and pork balls.
“What is wrong with you today?”
“…”
“If something is up, why can’t you just tell me?”
Qiu Ye glanced at Bai Yao’s chest.
“Did they grow and get bigger again? I told you to see a doctor.”
“They didn’t.”
Bai Yao immediately hunched his shoulders to hide himself, his gaze flickering as he avoided eye contact with Qiu Ye.
It wasn’t just because he was worried about the social death of having his crossdressing discovered.
It was more because he realized that he didn’t seem to dislike dressing as a girl…
He might even like it a little.
He was clearly a man, and he was terrified every time he wore women’s clothes.
Since he was a child, he had never been able to fit in because of his appearance.
He felt like an outsider, so he had always hoped he could live the way society expected him to.
Yet, it seemed he was straying further and further from that path.
When he put on women’s clothes and did his makeup beautifully, receiving the admiring gazes of strangers on the street actually made him feel a sense of accomplishment and a secret joy he couldn’t stop.
‘Is it because there’s absolutely nothing worth praising in my daily life?’
That was also why he liked being around Qiu Ye, even though Qiu Ye’s praise was often a bit too exaggerated…
Bai Yao walked beside Qiu Ye, holding the shopping basket, and started to zone out again.
His expression looked a bit vacant when he spaced out, his lips slightly parted.
Qiu Ye tossed a bag of assorted hotpot ingredients into the basket, glanced at him, and used a toothpick to skewer a sample fish ball, stuffing it directly into his mouth.
“Mmph! What are you doing!”
Bai Yao was startled and instinctively snapped at him in annoyance.
“Who told you to space out again?”
Qiu Ye said with a mischievous grin as he pulled the toothpick back.
“At least I didn’t stick my finger in your mouth. Is the fish ball good?”
“It’s just okay!”
Bai Yao chewed the fish ball vigorously, shooting a disgruntled glare at him.
The more he resisted and got angry, the more excited Qiu Ye became.
“The way you had your mouth open just now was really cute, okay? It’s a pity I didn’t take a photo.”
“Get lost!”
Bai Yao angrily moved 2 meters away from Qiu Ye.
However, this flash of anger completely occupied his mind.
The worried thoughts from before were tossed to the back of his head, replaced only by annoyance and a desire for revenge as he stared fixedly at Qiu Ye, waiting for an opening.
“Alright, alright. Which of these mutton rolls do you want to eat?”
Bai Yao continued to watch Qiu Ye warily.
“My bad, okay? Come help me look. This one is cheap but the portion is too small, and this one is too expensive…”
Only then did he hesitantly walk back to Qiu Ye’s side to help select the mutton rolls.
“This one? It’s pressed meat, but it’s cheap and there’s a lot of it.”
Qiu Ye picked up a large pack of mutton rolls and held it up for Bai Yao to see.
“It’s not like it’ll kill us.”
“Um… let me see?”
Bai Yao pulled out his phone to calculate the price per pound.
As a college student, his math skills had already declined from their peak, and he now relied on a calculator.
“It’s fine. It really is quite cheap.”
“Then we’ll get this. Is there anything else you want to eat? My treat.”
“Me? You don’t have— “
“I have money, okay?”
Bai Yao frowned and scanned the surrounding freezers.
He asked hesitantly, “Chaoshan Beef? Brisket Fat is quite tasty.”
Qiu Ye lowered his voice and plotted with him in a whisper, “We’ll buy it secretly. We’ll wait until they’re full before taking it out so Brother Hao and Brother Long don’t eat too much of it.”
“Is that okay? Brother Long is being so generous…”
“Brisket Fat is expensive, alright? Besides, it’s not like we won’t give them any.”
Bai Yao suddenly felt a surge of excitement from plotting something bad, along with the pleasure of being given special, biased treatment.
He guiltily looked around for Brother Long’s figure, his voice as small as a mosquito.
“You’re the one buying it; what does it have to do with me? Why are you so selfish?”
“Do you want to eat more or not?”
“I do… Don’t give Wang Zuhao a single bite!”
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