The nearest internet café was a thirty-minute bus ride from school.
Because of this, even though Lin Nan didn't have a computer in the dorm, he usually couldn't be bothered to go to an internet café.
Each bringing their ID cards and phone chargers, the four of them eagerly arrived at this internet café.
In fact, Lin Nan and Chen Yao went to internet cafés almost daily to play games together during middle school. Neither of their homes had anyone around during the day, so after meeting, they spent all their time hanging out together. Chen Yao stood up for Lin Nan, who was often bullied back then, while Lin Nan played support for him in games and occasionally treated him to meals when he spent all his money on character skins.
Their friendship mysteriously deepened to the point where they even copied each other's college application choices.
Fortunately, in their county town, although real-name registration was required for internet cafés, the counter kept a thick stack of ID cards specifically for minors to get online. After Lin Nan's family bought a computer in high school, he stopped going to internet cafés, and he wasn't sure if the internet cafés back home were still that chaotic.
But he was certain that this internet café near the school must be properly regulated.
Arriving at the internet café and feeling the air conditioning, they instantly felt at home. The four eagerly paid their fees and sat together at a four-person station in the main hall.
Then those who needed to charge their phones did so, and those who wanted to watch dramas did so—surprisingly, no one played games after arriving at the café.
Lin Nan sat between Chen Yao and Tu Junhui, occasionally glancing at their computer screens and then looking at his own.
"Want to play a game?" he suggested. "I'll carry you."
"Not now, I haven't finished this episode."
"Wait, I'm watching some newly uploaded videos."
Speaking of videos, Lin Nan suddenly became interested. Craning his neck to look at Chen Yao's computer, he discovered that the video he mentioned was from when Lin Nan had crossdressed.
Fortunately, Chen Yao's position was at the edge, so the other two roommates couldn't see—otherwise, they might have recognized the girl in the video at a glance.
Although he had used magic while crossdressing, since his facial features were basically the same, Lin Nan felt particularly shameful watching himself in the video's corner occasionally making feminine gestures.
He hadn't noticed while filming, but watching now, he saw himself in the video constantly furrowing his brows, looking afraid and pitiful, sometimes startled by sudden jungle ambushes with a frightened expression, and showing particularly unwilling faces with tears welling up in his eyes when defeat was certain—rather endearing.
Although using feminine descriptors in the video felt somewhat inappropriate, Lin Nan couldn't apply phrases like "broad-shouldered" or "handsome and refined" to his crossdressed self.
He wasn't sure if Chen Yao's channel had many followers, but the entire video was almost filled with bullet comments.
Chen Yao noticed Lin Nan peeking at his screen and leaned his head over, whispering: "Look, the comments really like your crossdressing."
"Pah! Never again!"
"Some even want you to be their wife."
Lin Nan's face immediately flushed red as he retorted: "Tell them to get lost!"
"I already promised another crossdressing video at 500,000 followers."
"Then I hope you never reach 500,000 followers in this lifetime," Lin Nan cursed viciously.
"Just from your crossdressing video alone, I gained 30,000 followers!" Chen Yao put his hands on his hips, grinning proudly, "You should probably start preparing for your next crossdressing session."
Lin Nan couldn't be bothered to respond, controlling himself so as not to roll his eyes. He was about to turn back to his computer when his nose twitched, and he suddenly caught a strange fragrance from Chen Yao. Mysteriously drawn closer, he moved his nose toward Chen Yao's shoulder, where the subtle fragrance became more apparent. At this moment, Lin Nan suddenly noticed his body starting to feel increasingly hot and bothered.
What's going on?
Chen Yao glanced at Lin Nan, who was sniffing around him, bewildered. He smelled his own clothes before asking in confusion: "Is there a cigarette smell?"
"Did you put on perfume?"
"Am I that girly?" Chen Yao sneered, "Actually, you're the one who smells like milk. Did you take a milk bath yesterday or something?"
"I did not!"
Lin Nan suddenly seemed to understand something and sat back in his seat, lost in thought.
Chen Yao didn't pay much attention to Lin Nan's milk smell or his own supposed scent, only wondering if it was sweat from the afternoon power outage.
"Alright, let's duo queue." He turned to look at Lin Nan but saw him sitting there, lips slightly parted in a daze, as if shocked by something.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing..."
"Why is your face so red?"
The internet café's lighting was somewhat dim, hiding the imperfections in Lin Nan's skin. However, the computer screen's light still revealed his crimson cheeks.
Lin Nan shook his head numbly, then pressed his hand against his chest, feeling his heart beating wildly as if dancing.
"I'm going to the bathroom." He stood up and hurriedly ran toward the restroom, leaving behind a confused Chen Yao and Tu Junhui.
"What's wrong with him?" Tu Junhui scratched his head and asked.
"Maybe... sudden stomach ache?"
The internet café's bathroom was in the deepest corner, and when Lin Nan arrived at the bathroom door, he found the lighting very dim.
He walked to the sink in the center of the bathroom, leaning slightly forward to examine himself in the mirror.
The dormitory mirror was brighter, while it was so dark here he could barely see outlines. Looking in the mirror under these conditions was like applying a low-quality beauty filter—at first glance, he subconsciously thought the reflection was a girl.
It wasn't because his face looked particularly feminine or pretty, but simply because his body language had subconsciously become more feminine while looking in the mirror.
"Damn it," he cursed softly and was about to straighten up when he suddenly felt someone pat him from behind.
"Nice and perky, good feel, keep it up."
Although annoyed, when Lin Nan turned around, he found it was Tu Junhui.
"What's wrong with you?"
"You definitely gained weight."
"Idiot! You must be gay!"
Tu Junhui grinned stupidly and walked straight into the men's room. Lin Nan washed his face, trying to cool down his feverish temperature with cold water.
After washing with cold water several times, the flush finally receded from his face. Lin Nan felt exhausted in body and mind, sighing deeply with helplessness.
How long would this life continue?
Those emotions that didn't belong to him, body movements that weren't his, and aesthetic preferences that weren't his were affecting his life constantly. Even worse! Even his body was gradually developing in an alarming direction.