302. Public Announcement【18/122】
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Lin Nan was very curious about what kind of inhumane treatment Lilith would suffer at the hands of that creepy yuri enthusiast.
But she also hoped that Li Na would go easy on her; otherwise, Lilith might just hold a grudge against her.
Today was the third day of school.
Lin Nan donned women’s clothing.
It was basically a white hoodie paired with women’s jeans—a look she frequently wore, making it one of the earliest outfits she was comfortable in as female attire.
Wearing female clothing to class for the first time filled Lin Nan with dread, and she hid timidly behind Chen Yao, clutching onto his arm as if she were an introverted girl-next-door who had never seen the world.
She wanted to stay in this class.
Going to another class would mean almost no familiar faces, having to make new friends, and fitting into a new social circle. That prospect was already intimidating for her. Plus, unless she transferred or completely reinvented herself, it was only a matter of time before everyone found out she used to be a guy.
So she decided to boldly wear women’s clothing and stay in the familiar class with her new gender.
Sure, she had only exchanged a few words with most of her classmates and they were only familiar faces at best, but after three semesters of classes together, it felt like home.
That was her plan, anyway.
But when push came to shove, she chickened out.
Chen Yao suddenly felt Lin Nan tugging at his sleeve, glancing down to find her eyes glistening red.
“We’re already at the teaching building,” Chen Yao sighed, “ didn’t you choose this?”
“Scared…” Lin Nan murmured, “Should I just go back and change into guy clothes?”
Chen Yao shook his head: “Too late for that.”
“Ah?”
She looked up at Chen Yao blankly, only to suddenly hear Big Dog’s voice from behind: “Chen Yao! You found a girlfriend?”
Lin Nan instinctively turned around to see Big Dog, who was flanked by Lin Yuan and two of his other dorm mates.
Her face instantly flushed crimson, and she instinctively took a step back, retreating behind Chen Yao, cautiously peeking out with her eyes to assess Big Dog and his crew.
“Sis is pretty cute, Chen Yao! Where did you pick up this lovely girl?” Big Dog swaggered over, ready to throw an arm around Chen Yao like usual, but suddenly noticed Lin Nan’s cheeks.
He froze, as did Lin Yuan, while the other two dorm mates merely offered a nod and attempted to head straight to the classroom. But after a few steps, they sensed something was off and dumbly turned back.
Although the difference between male and female clothing was huge, Lin Nan hadn’t worn any makeup, so her normal male look didn’t diverge much from her current appearance.
Yet, she was definitely cuter in women’s clothing. Her long legs, usually hidden under loose sweatpants, were now elegantly highlighted by the jeans, and the curves in her chest were no longer concealed by a bulky outer layer. They weren’t particularly large, but they attracted attention nonetheless.
Big Dog’s voice trembled a bit: “Nan, Nan… Sis Nan?”
Lin Nan’s flush deepened, and she shot Big Dog a fierce glare.
Lin Yuan stood there looking completely puzzled, unsure of what to say.
“You didn’t lose a bet, did you?” Big Dog suddenly blurted, “Truth or dare?”
Chen Yao helplessly looked down at Lin Nan, knowing she wouldn’t say it aloud, so he took it upon himself: “Lin Nan is a girl.”
“Ah?”
“She’s not a creep,” Chen Yao stated seriously.
Big Dog nodded vigorously, as if the term “creepy crossdresser” referred to those that made your eyes bleed; Lin Nan’s outfit was more like cross-dressing art—sacrificing oneself for the sake of art.
But Lin Yuan grasped the crux of the matter, and his ice-cold face finally cracked a little, revealing slight surprise: “A girl?”
“Yup, always has been,” Chen Yao nodded, not bothering to say more and led Lin Nan towards the classroom.
Leaving the others to stare blankly at one another, unsure of what to say.
This was Lin Nan’s thought.
If she wanted to stay in the class, she would have to publicly acknowledge her gender—but if it was during the class meeting with Zheng Qian making a grand announcement, just the thought of that scene made her wish she could faint from embarrassment.
But what if she revealed it discreetly…
Given her feminine appearance, Lin Nan usually caught some classmates subtly pointing at her during class or mulling over her name in discussions, so she figured revealing she was a girl would be better than letting them guess wildly.
Most people were naturally gossipy, so she estimated it wouldn’t take two class periods before the whole class knew Lin Nan was a girl.
And that way, she wouldn’t have to endure the humiliation of a public reveal; she could just sit quietly in class and bear up under the usual gazes and discussions.
It seemed like a good plan… but when Lin Nan found herself sitting in the back row, she still couldn’t lift her head under the watchful stares of her classmates.
“I told you Lin Nan looks great in girls’ clothes, but you wouldn’t believe me!”
“Did she get hit in the head today?”
“Did Big Dog just say Lin Nan was always a girl…?”
“Can you really trust what Big Dog says? He talks nonsense all the time!”
“Did she travel to Thailand or something? Hey, come on, we’re classmates, let’s not go too far.” That person noticed Chen Yao’s stare and awkwardly lowered his head, realizing those comments were a tad excessive.
Lin Nan buried her head on the desk, trying to eavesdrop on the whispers around the classroom but could only catch bits.
She regretted this decision, thinking she should’ve just worn guy clothes to class today.
Chen Yao and Tu Junhui sat next to the anxious Lin Nan like door gods, sitting upright with an air of authority, ready to glare at anyone who dared to cross the line or throw paper balls if someone went too far.
Though Chen Yao wasn’t the most muscular guy in class, his fierce look could scare off a few.
Tu Junhui was the biggest guy around; no sane person would provoke him.
Finally, when the teacher arrived, the classroom’s chatter faded into silence. The teacher glanced around the class and began calling names from a brand-new attendance roster.
It seemed like that roster hadn’t changed at all; why did Zheng Qian suddenly claim the old one was unusable?
“Lin Nan.”
“Here.”
“Lin Kexin.”
“Here.”
The teacher suddenly noticed the growing noise and, frustrated, set down the attendance book, picked up the chalkboard eraser, and pounded the podium a few times, fuming: “What’s all this racket? Didn’t we just call names?”
But his fury had no effect; the students quieted for just a moment before erupting into even more noise.
“Lin Nan changed seat numbers!”
“Now she’s sitting with the girls!”
“She’s really a girl?”
“I heard it’s some kind of freaky thing that made Lin Nan think she was a guy all this time, and she only corrected it over the winter break.”
“That’s just sad!”
“I wish I could be a girl too…”
Due to how the attendance book was organized by gender and initials, normally they called girls first, then boys, so this incident really solidified Lin Nan’s gender.
Lin Nan kept her head down, hunched over her desk, her right hand securely held by Chen Yao under the table.
“I wonder if this handling will be any better…” she muttered to herself helplessly.
“Better than making a public announcement in class, or being pointed at by a whole group of strangers, right?” Chen Yao replied with a smile. “They all know you; they won’t make too much of a fuss. If you went to another class, who knows what they’d say.”
“Fair enough…”
