“Ji Qingchan, what makes you think I can’t accept the real you?”
Even after returning to school, Ji Yuennian couldn’t shake off those words from his mind.
“Ji Ge, Ji Ge.”
A hand waving up and down flicked before Ji Yuennian’s eyes, stirring a faint breeze. Only then did he snap back to reality—he was having dinner with Su Tian on the second floor of the cafeteria.
“Ji Ge, are you okay?” Little brother Su Tian looked at Ji Yuennian with genuine concern. “Since we came back this afternoon, you’ve been completely distracted. Even while playing games, you spaced out several times, totally out of it.”
“I’m fine.” Ji Yuennian shook his head lightly.
He picked up a chopstick of fish-flavored shredded pork and put it in his mouth, but it was tasteless, nowhere near as delicious as usual.
He put down his chopsticks and looked at Su Tian across from him. After a long pause, he finally spoke slowly, “Old Su, can I ask you something?”
“Go ahead, Ji Ge.”
“I have a friend…”
“Huh?”
“An online friend I met on the internet. Don’t get the wrong idea, it’s not a joke or anything. About that—right, this friend of mine is a male crossdresser. Looks pure and innocent, but deep down, he’s actually quite cheeky.”
Ji Yuennian paused, as if sorting out his thoughts, then continued, “He met a local friend online while browsing, and because of certain things, the two ended up becoming a couple. But the other person doesn’t know he’s a crossdresser, nor that his pure and cute ‘little girl’ persona is just a deliberate disguise.”
“Not long ago, because of some incident, the friend found out that the crossdresser is actually an old lecher at heart, and that the cute pure persona was fake. Just when the crossdresser thought they might break up, the friend said it didn’t matter, and even wanted to get to know ‘her’ more deeply.”
“But here’s the problem: although the friend knows he’s a crossdresser, he has no idea he’s not a girl. And the crossdresser himself is worried about being discovered, not knowing how to refuse, so he vents constantly in the group chat every day.”
“Old Su, what do you think he should do?”
Having said it all in one breath, Ji Yuennian took a sip of tomato egg soup, finally feeling relieved, as if the suppressed emotions had been completely released with those words.
Meanwhile, Su Tian, who had just confidently pounded his chest, ready to help solve the problem, was left utterly baffled:
Crossdresser? Online friend? Pure? Old lecher?
What kind of nonsense is this?!
Su Tian felt his head spinning. He tried hard to understand what Ji Yuennian was saying but still felt completely lost. “I think… I think…”
“I think… the best thing is to let it take its natural course, and leave the choice to those involved…”
“You mean just go with the flow? Enjoy it while it lasts?”
Ji Yuennian’s eyes suddenly lit up, shining with a spark.
“Exactly, exactly! That’s right! As expected of Ji Ge, we think alike!”
Seeing Ji Yuennian willingly picking up the thread, Su Tian quickly gave a triple nod of approval, then hurriedly changed the subject: “By the way, Ji Ge, do you actually like crossdressers?”
Smack!
A heavy slap landed on his shoulder, nearly sending Su Tian stumbling.
Ji Yuennian gave him a side-eye: “My orientation is perfectly normal, okay? And I only like beautiful people.”
“Is the other party very pretty?”
“She’s a welfare queen, a natural crossdresser with a saintly body, pure and cute type. From appearance alone, there’s no difference from a girl, but inside she’s quite the tease.”
“Ji Ge, let me see! I’m collecting some casting materials recently.” Talking about something risqué, Su Tian shamelessly leaned in—after all, no matter how loudly the ‘big brother’ rejected such things, the ‘little brother’ still wanted to see.
Smack!
Another slap.
“You wish, kid!!”
Ji Yuennian responded with an adorably tsundere “hmph.”
After finishing dinner, he sent Su Tian out to buy some barbecue and beer for late-night snacks.
Ji Yuennian glanced around, making sure no one was nearby, then quietly took out his phone and switched accounts.
The original nickname, “The Doomed Crybaby Xiao Bai Lian·Jiang,” was now changed back to “Jiang Chi.”
Jiang Chi: “Date on Saturday. I’m waiting for you. Show me your truest self.”
My truest self.
Ji Yuennian murmured those words under his breath.
*****
At the Jiang residence.
Beef, lamb, chives, a big pot of soup, red dates, goji berries—the food went down like a storm as Jiang Chi devoured everything in sight, leaving the two women feeding him stunned.
“Mom, Aunt Huang, I’m full now.”
With that, Jiang Chi put down his chopsticks, wiped his mouth, picked up a book from the sofa, and headed into the newly built gym room.
At the dining table, the two women exchanged a glance.
“Why does your son eat so much? Love really is a powerful magic, but it shouldn’t increase one’s appetite. When I was pregnant, I never ate this much.” Huang Qingchuan couldn’t help but ask.
“Maybe he’s been working out a lot recently, burning more calories, so his appetite grew,” Chen Mengrou scratched her head and guessed.
Inside the gym.
Jiang Chi didn’t start exercising right away. Instead, he stood in a corner holding his book, so he could both read and train his posture—good for his spine.
The Perfect Boyfriend’s Self-Cultivation
Jiang Chi held himself to the standards set in this book: a healthy physique, sharp perception, a confident attitude, and some playful tricks for couples.
Although some content differed slightly from the love advice videos he’d seen online, the effects were obvious—whispering in the ear, wall slams, kissing without saying a word—all learned from this book.
The later chapters covered rope art, bondage, subconscious dependency, how to cultivate a well-behaved girlfriend (Sur), and so on.
Jiang Chi naturally realized that some of these topics in the latter half probably wouldn’t pass official publishing standards, but it didn’t matter. He was a pragmatist—after all, he had sought out folk remedies to cure his germophobia.
His main goal now was to win over the girl he liked.
After reading for a long while and stretching his limbs, Jiang Chi finally began his workout.
He started with a full three-kilometer warm-up, then moved on to squats, jump rope, and high knees. Since he was still new to fitness, he approached it humbly and eagerly.
Everything had to be done step by step; there was no such thing as shortcuts, whether in growth, exercise, or relationships—all progress was gradual, deepening over time.
From strangers, to liking each other, to boyfriend and girlfriend, from boyfriend and girlfriend to newlyweds, from newlyweds to husband and wife.
Jiang Chi thought again of the girl he liked—from the wary feelings at their first meeting to now, when his heart fluttered and he had confessed his feelings; from his initially cold demeanor to his current strong, domineering attitude.
Qingchan—Ji Qingchan.
Such a beautiful name, like a melody from heaven. And he had met her.
At first, he thought it was a “honey trap,” but later realized she was just a pure, cute silly girl.
But now, beneath that innocent exterior was an unrepentant old lecher, especially when drunk, spilling out all sorts of things.
Jiang Chi didn’t think of this as deceit.
On the contrary, he felt very lucky that after Ji Qingchan temporarily disappeared from his life, he had searched for her, and through this search, he came to understand her better.
If the old Ji Qingchan was well-behaved, cute, and pure—like a flat, two-dimensional anime character—then now, her hobbies, her tone, her expressions were three-dimensional, making people curious and eager to explore deeper.
As for her being an old lecher at heart?
From his perspective as her boyfriend, that was even better. A girlfriend who could be a maid, wear a cheongsam, understand all her boyfriend’s quirks—pure on the outside, naughty on the inside, a perfect blend of innocence and desire.
Thinking of this, his nose suddenly felt warm again.
Besides, if she were too purely innocent, Jiang Chi felt that if they ever reached the ultimate step, he might feel guilty deep down when making a move.
After finishing his workout, Jiang Chi drank a few mouthfuls of electrolyte water and headed into the shower.
His shower routine was precise: nine minutes total, divided into three minutes of hot water, three minutes of cold, then three minutes of warm.
The first three minutes of hot water washed away the remaining sweat, the cold water constricted muscles and skin, and the warm water rinsed clean before finishing.
He’d heard this remedy from a website—that showering this way after working out made it easier to develop mermaid lines and abs. Uh… apparently, girls liked their boyfriends to have mermaid lines and abs.
Like he said, he was a pragmatist.
After washing up, Jiang Chi changed into his white pajamas and returned to his bedroom.
Lying on the bed, he took out his phone and thought for a moment before changing the contact name for her from “Junior Sister Ji” to “Girlfriend—Qingchan.”
His eyes suddenly landed on the message he sent: “Date on Saturday. I’m waiting for you. Show me your truest self.”
Qingchan’s truest self.
The corner of the young man’s lips curled slightly.
He was really looking forward to it.