Lin Nan had never felt so powerless.
He was mistaken for a girl again–a girl who was growing out her hair, no less.
However, after the trim his hair was indeed much more manageable. Previously his hair tips would inexplicably stick up, and his bangs would either obstruct his vision or irritate his eyes, but now it was more comfortable.
Only somehow, although his hair had been longer than normal for males before, it still fundamentally looked like a male hairstyle. Now after Tony-sensei's trimming, no matter how he looked at it, it seemed like a girl's short haircut.
Fortunately, Lin Nan felt this hairstyle was much better than his previous messy bird's nest, so he didn't feel too uncomfortable about it. He was just a bit afraid that when he went out or to class, people might recognize masculine features and call him a trap or something.
Though quite a few classmates had already labeled him as such...
He had originally wanted to properly experience male life before completely becoming female, so how was he becoming more and more feminine?
Thursday had one less class than usual, so Lin Nan was already done by 10 AM. Feeling somewhat dejected after his haircut, he kept his head down and was reluctant to go out.
His class was fine since everyone knew the situation–they saw each other every day, and even if they gossiped, it was usually after returning to their dorms. But when leaving the classroom and walking around campus, he could always see students pointing and whispering about him.
Tuesday's competition had given him considerable fame at school, and after a few days, through the power of word of mouth, Lin Nan felt like the entire campus knew about him.
Chen Yao and the others had gone back first. Lin Nan was too lazy to wait until noon to go down to the cafeteria for lunch, so he decided to go pack his meal now. If possible, he could also watch the freshmen's military training along the way.
But just as he entered the cafeteria and stood at the counter directing the cafeteria lady to serve his food, a bespectacled, refined-looking student accidentally bumped into Lin Nan's shoulder.
"Sorry." The student stepped back, looked up, and was stunned. "Are you... Nan Nan?"
Being called so intimately by a stranger gave Lin Nan goosebumps.
"Lin Nan," he corrected coldly.
"Hello, senior."
"A freshman?" Lin Nan was a bit curious. While waiting for the cafeteria lady to pack his food, he asked, "Aren't you supposed to be in military training?"
This student happened to be packing lunch too, so he simply stood beside Lin Nan and explained: "I was born with my heart on the right side, so I'm not really suitable for military training. I got a medical excuse from the hospital."
"That's pretty nice." Lin Nan was quite envious. When he did military training, it was absolutely miserable–besides daily drills, there was also physical training.
Back then he could still keep up with the group during physical training. His running, push-ups, sit-ups were all at average levels among the male students, and because of his lighter weight, he could even manage one pull-up. But now, forget pull-ups, he probably couldn't even reach the bar if he jumped.
His physical fitness had weakened considerably, causing Lin Nan quite a bit of trouble. Sometimes after class, just walking up the stairs to the dorm would leave him gasping for breath, which indirectly made him increasingly reclusive.
"What's so good about it?" The guy responded, pointing at several dishes. "Auntie, pack these for me."
This underclassman looked quite refined and scholarly, wearing black-framed glasses with somewhat dull eyes, a bit like a so-called bookworm.
However, he was obviously more talkative than a bookworm. After chatting casually for a bit, he steered the conversation toward gaming: "I watched your competition live stream the other day. You really play support well–I'm slowly becoming a fan!"
"Really?" Lin Nan received his packed meal from the cafeteria lady, pleased by the praise but trying to be modest: "I wasn't in good form that day and didn’t play my best."
"You looked like you were on a completely different level from the opposing bot lane."
Seeing that Lin Nan seemed about to leave, the underclassman quickly asked: "I also play support. Could you teach me how to play as well as you?"
"I need to get back." Though delighted, Lin Nan remained somewhat reserved.
"You're in Building A too, right? Just tell me on the way."
"Alright, I'll wait two minutes for you."
This underclassman looked like a scholarly type–refined and eloquent, and his praise made Lin Nan feel wonderful. Although Big Dog from the neighboring dorm also often praised him, it was so over-the-top and obviously purposeful that it clearly wasn't as good as this underclassman's praise.
Or as good at bootlicking?
"I only made it to Platinum as support and can't climb higher. Random ADCs are all idiots."
This hit right at the heart of support players. Lin Nan nodded vigorously in agreement: "In lane I baby them like their father and mother, getting them all fed, then in teamfights they get one-shot by the enemy's 0-3 top laner, or they position for ten seconds to auto-attack once. It's so frustrating to watch."
"So reaching Diamond with support makes you practically a god."
Due to image issues, or perhaps because he was an unfamiliar stranger, Lin Nan felt his praise was particularly sincere.
"Senior, how about adding me on QQ? I can ask you when I need help?"
"Sure."
Happy from the praise, Lin Nan tried his best to answer the underclassman's support questions on the way back to the dorm. When they reached the second floor, the underclassman thanked him and left, while Lin Nan cheerfully carried his takeout back to his own dorm.
Upon entering the dorm, before even setting down his takeout, he excitedly said to Chen Yao: "You should have seen it! I just met my little fanboy while getting food!"
"Fanboy?"
Chen Yao was confused: "What fanboy?"
"From watching the competition! He also plays support! He really admires me!" Lin Nan put his hands on his hips, looking proud. "I think I'm at least the number one support in the whole school!"
"His head must have been kicked by a donkey."
Lin Nan was displeased and put down his takeout, glaring at him: "Why are you insulting me!"
"You can't see what's going on here?" Chen Yao felt helpless about Lin Nan's thick nerves. Maybe Lin Nan's thought process still operated on a male level, so he completely didn't think in other directions.
Tu Junhui came over, chuckling as he patted Lin Nan's shoulder: "He definitely asked for your WeChat, right?"
"I gave him my phone number too." Lin Nan asked in confusion, "He said he'd ask me when he has gaming problems. What's wrong?"
"Tsk tsk." Tu Junhui teased, "Someone as naive as you, I could trick into bed twice."
Without a word, Lin Nan kicked at him: "You damn idiot! I could scam all your money!"
But he was already starting to realize something. After kicking Tu Junhui away, he looked down at Chen Yao sitting there and asked hesitantly: "You mean... he was hitting on me?"
"Obviously, right?" Chen Yao rolled his eyes at him. "Use your waterlogged brain to think - if you met a Master or Challenger player, would you go up and shower them with praise?"
Lin Nan tilted his head slightly, frowning: "I'm thin-skinned, so I definitely wouldn't, but Big Dog might."
He still said with complete bewilderment: "If he was hitting on me, he must know who I am, right? Doesn't everyone know I'm male?"
"Some people only care about looks, not gender."