Lin An got home at nine.
After arriving, he rinsed his mouth first. He kept feeling like there was some strange taste, though it was probably just his imagination.
The lights were on. He walked to Xu Qinghuan’s door and gently knocked.
When they were home together, they usually kept their doors closed. If either of them wanted to enter the other’s room, they knocked first.
They each had their own privacy. Respecting that was important.
Xu Qinghuan slowly called, “Come in.”
Lin An pushed open the door. She was stacking dice.
More precisely, she was bored and piling them higher one by one, curious to see how tall the tower could get.
She had already stacked twenty-four.
When she saw Lin An enter, she turned her head slightly and met his eyes. The corners of her lips curled up a little.
“Want to play a game?”
“Uh… What kind?”
“Keep stacking from here. Whoever knocks them down has to agree to one condition from the other person.”
“Heh. Bring it on.”
Lin An immediately broke into a delighted grin. He walked over to Xu Qinghuan, picked up a die from the table, and gently placed it on top of the twenty-fourth one.
He set it down securely, but he did angle it slightly.
Xu Qinghuan didn’t mind at all. She picked up another die and lightly placed it on top.
The tower wobbled.
Then, with a loud smack, the whole row crashed onto the floor.
Xu Qinghuan didn’t hurry to pick them up. She puffed out her cheeks and stared into Lin An’s eyes.
Lin An reached out and poked her cheek. Before Xu Qinghuan could do anything herself, his hand had already settled on her shoulder.
Her porcelain-white skin seemed to glow with a hazy radiance beneath the light.
She saw the greed in his eyes.
“You really do a great job maintaining your figure,” Lin An muttered.
“Hmph, of course I do. Having a large chest comes with its own troubles, you know?”
As she spoke, she bent down to pick up the dice.
She could sense that Lin An’s breathing had grown slightly heavier.
When she straightened up, she raised one finger and pressed it against his lips.
“Don’t say that you want me. Don’t say you’re craving my body. You’re not allowed to say anything like that. Hehe.”
“…You’re so cruel.”
“That’s right, that’s right. I’m exactly that cruel. If you really want it…”
She smiled.
“Go figure out a way yourself. I won’t stop you from leaving the house now.”
“I’m not leaving.”
“Hmm?”
Xu Qinghuan moved a little closer to him.
“Really not leaving?”
“Not leaving.”
“Then there’s no reward.”
Xu Qinghuan saw straight through Lin An’s little thoughts.
“But compared to me, Su Yuejin is more your type, isn’t she?”
“That’s different.”
“How is it different, hmm?”
Xu Qinghuan pressed closer to Lin An and leaned toward his ear.
“Do you want it?”
He couldn’t answer. Xu Qinghuan’s hand was still blocking his lips.
“…”
“Agree to one condition, and I’ll give you a little reward.”
Her voice was as alluring as a witch’s temptation.
“What is it?”
Seeing the playful mischief in her eyes, Lin An guessed it wasn’t anything important.
Her urge to tease him had simply returned.
“Since we’re going to the anime convention on the third, why don’t you wear a dress?”
“…Please allow me to refuse.”
Lin An had grown up as a proper, steel-hearted straight man for more than a decade.
He declared that he would never accept something like this, not even to the grave.
But Xu Qinghuan continued coaxing him beside his ear.
“I just want to see it. I feel like you might look cute in girls’ clothes.”
“…I don’t think I’d look cute.”
Lin An really wanted to reject the idea. But Xu Qinghuan had already caught his hand.
She looked at his face with a teasing smile.
“Are you agreeing?”
“I don’t…”
“Are you agreeing?”
“I…”
“Are you agreeing?”
“I think… I could consider it.”
“Three… two…”
“I agree.”
Lin An ultimately surrendered beneath Xu Qinghuan’s authority.
At least, he felt that description was perfectly accurate.
So she really had planned this from the beginning, hadn’t she?
She’d known she would lose, and had offered him a little reward first. Then she’d slowly lured him in.
Under those circumstances… how could he possibly refuse?
Xu Qinghuan happily ran to the wardrobe and brought back a maid outfit, along with a black wig.
“Then let’s try it on first, okay?”
“You knew from the start that I couldn’t refuse.”
“You could’ve chosen to refuse.”
“I really wanted to refuse, but you’re just too…”
Lin An looked at her smug expression with helpless amusement.
“Too much.”
Xu Qinghuan had always been full of bad ideas. When they were younger, she’d taken great joy in bullying and teasing him.
Lin An had basically never managed to break through her defenses.
She knew exactly how to use her advantages.
Her soft, coquettish voice. Her pitiful eyes. Even her alluring figure.
They always made it impossible to reject her completely.
Lin An was forced to strip in front of Xu Qinghuan and put on the maid outfit.
Its skirt wasn’t very long.
He was rather slim, so Xu Qinghuan handed him a pair of white thigh-high stockings.
“…”
Lin An’s mouth twitched.
But seeing how expectantly she was looking at him, he still played along. He put on the stockings.
Xu Qinghuan then helped him put on the wig.
Of course, that still wasn’t enough.
He needed makeup too.
Makeup was a truly miraculous thing. It softened his features, or perhaps made him look…
Coldly beautiful.
“Say something.”
Xu Qinghuan stared into his eyes.
“Idiot.”
That was Lin An’s answer.
“I mean, use a girl’s voice.”
Xu Qinghuan reached out and pinched his cheek.
“I can’t.”
Lin An shook his head like a rattle drum.
“Don’t think I don’t know about how you used a female voice to attract rich players while working as a gaming companion.”
She squeezed his cheek again.
“Hurry up. I know you learned how to do it.”
“…”
Lin An knew there was practically nothing he could hide from her.
“Idiot Xu Qinghuan.”
He said it again.
Only then did Xu Qinghuan beam with delight.
He was imitating an older-sister type of voice, and it sounded surprisingly natural.
Lin An sat on the edge of the bed with a deeply humiliated expression.
“I’m telling you, know when to stop, Xu Qinghuan… You…”
“Hehe.”
Xu Qinghuan was especially happy, as if she’d gotten an incredibly fun new toy.
But she didn’t rush to apply his makeup. Instead, she had him take off the dress and remove the wig.
Lin An’s eyes turned resentful.
“Hehe, then get up early on the third. I’ll finish your makeup before we leave.”
“You can go find your Su Yuejin afterward. I’ll go play some games…”
She narrowed her eyes.
“Maybe I’ll need you for something then.”
“For what…?”
“That support player is such a damn idiot. She plays Soraka and manages to eat two of my ranged minions and a siege minion with one Q.”
“Can someone like that just die already?”
“I’ll think of a way to put you in the match. Then you and I can smash those useless losers on the other team to pieces.”
As expected, she had an even deeper wish behind all this.
One scheme linked to the next.
Lin An could only feel helpless. Of course he didn’t like wearing skirts. He didn’t have any strange preferences like that.
“Then, Miss Xu Qinghuan, can you give me my reward now?”
“Fine, fine. Lie down obediently.”
………………………………
At eleven that night, Miss Xiao Chacha, unable to sleep after tossing and turning, sent Lin An a message.
“Are you asleep?”
“If you’re planning to call and harass me, I’m not answering.”
Lin An sent that reply while Xu Qinghuan went to rinse her mouth and brush her teeth.
He had returned to his own room and was staring at the ceiling, contemplating life.
“Really? You don’t want to…?”
“No.”
“Are you still going to play games at home tomorrow morning?”
“Otherwise, what else would I be doing?”
Just as Lin An thought that, his phone suddenly rang.
But the number wasn’t Xiao Chacha’s.
It wasn’t Su Yuejin’s, either.
Lin An had a fairly good memory for numbers.
That number made his body tremble for a moment. After roughly four or five seconds, he chose to answer.
His voice wasn’t particularly cold. Instead, he asked in a quiet, indifferent tone, as though it were an ordinary call.
“Hello, Qin Xueming?”
“Lin An.”
Her voice reached his ears.
Her tone sounded calm as well, but her voice was trembling.
Lin An could tell.
He casually asked, “Don’t you usually go to bed before eleven? What’s wrong? Is something the matter?”
“A few days ago, I went to meet Xu Qinghuan. She probably told you about it, right?”
“She did. So?”
“I wanted to ask you…”
She paused.
“Are you free tomorrow evening? Would you like to meet up and have dinner together?”
“Sure.”
“I thought you’d refuse.”
Qin Xueming froze for a moment.
There seemed to be a faint hint of joy in her voice, and the corners of her lips lifted.
“What happened back then wasn’t your fault, but you should still apologize to me, shouldn’t you?”
“So having you treat me to a meal isn’t too much. Can I bring someone?”
“Your… girlfriend?”
“Yeah.”
That was Lin An’s answer.
“Bring her, then. I’d like to meet her too.”
“I want to see what your current girlfriend is like.”
“Okay. Goodbye. Tell me the location tomorrow.”
“I’m going to sleep with Xu Qinghuan now.”
With that, he hung up and walked out of the room.
Xu Qinghuan was probably still drawing.
Her lips were slightly swollen, just a little.
Lin An walked up behind her and gently placed his hands on her shoulders.
“Qin Xueming called me just now. She said she wanted to meet me.”
Xu Qinghuan froze.
“If I avoid her, that’ll only prove I’m afraid of her, right? I agreed.”
“I told her I’d bring my girlfriend along.”
“Who are you planning to bring? Su Yuejin?”
“Su Yuejin won’t do. She can’t win her lane against Qin Xueming.”
Lin An smiled.
“But I do have a pretty good candidate.”
“You mean that female boss you work for as a gaming companion?”
Lin An only smiled.
“That won’t do. She’s a huge brat. If she messes things up, I’ll be in trouble too.”
“But it looks like I don’t have much choice.”
“Then who are you choosing?”
Who indeed?
Su Yuejin or Xiao Chacha?
Su Yuejin was beautiful and cute. Xiao Chacha was sly and calculating.
Both were actually good choices.
Or perhaps it didn’t matter who he chose.
But he could only pick one.
So who should he choose…
to be his girlfriend?
