Humming a tune, Ji Yuenian, who had changed back into his clothes, lightly kicked the door open with his foot.
Normally, during class hours, the dormitory should be empty, with only the bare furniture remaining.
But as the slightly ajar door swung open, what greeted his eyes were flowing ancient-style women’s dresses, and on the balcony stood a handsome “young master” dressed in ancient attire, holding a folding fan.
Hearing the noise, the handsome “young master” turned around, and Ji Yuenian now saw his true appearance—long hair cascading down to the waist, lips red and teeth white, a fair complexion, and features delicately outlined with an eyebrow pencil, as exquisite as a figure stepping out of a painting.
That was… Yao Shiming?!
Ji Yuenian: ???
Ji Yuenian:…
Ji Yuenian: !!!
Yao Shiming also saw Ji Yuenian at that moment.
Just as he was about to say something, there was a loud “bang”-the door was slammed shut!
“I saw nothing! I respect everyone’s unique preferences! Old Yao, don’t worry, I really didn’t see anything today! Just pretend I never came back to the dorm today!!”
Through the thin door, Ji Yuenian loudly explained.
Who would have thought Old Yao had such a hobby too-truly a fellow enthusiast… wait, no no no! Think nothing of it, saw nothing!
Putting himself in the other’s shoes, if his roommate saw him cross-dressing… just the thought made Ji Yuenian feel like he’d want to silence any witnesses.
So, the pot calling the kettle black-no one should laugh at anyone else!
Thinking about it, he hadn’t visited Wan Yi at the maid café for several days.
Now would be a good time to grab a few drinks and show some care for the working girl.
On the way, he could even grab some cotton candy, and afterward, treat himself to a 998-yuan foot massage.
With these thoughts, Ji Yuenian was ready to make a quick exit!
“Old Ji!” Suddenly, a voice called out, stopping him in his tracks.
The door opened, revealing Yao Shiming standing behind it, dressed in ancient attire and holding a folding fan, black lines practically forming on his forehead.
He rubbed his temples and said helplessly, “Uh, it’s not what you think. And this is actually men’s clothing.”
“Also, come inside first.”
Yao Shiming pointed toward the hallway, where curious onlookers had poked their heads out of their dorm rooms to watch the commotion.
After all, during this time, while some were in class, others weren’t.
Ji Yuenian stepped inside, and Yao Shiming closed the door before casually sitting down on a chair.
Without waiting for Ji Yuenian to ask, he began explaining the whole story.
The matter wasn’t complicated.
The Arts Department was organizing a performance event, and all members could sign up.
The first-place winner would receive a 5,000-yuan prize and extra academic credits.
This was what had tempted Yao Shiming, and the ancient costumes on the bed were all rented from the Costume Department.
“Brother Hu, time to come out,” Yao Shiming suddenly called toward the bathroom.
He paused, then added, “Old Ji’s here too. Let him see your new look.”
“Ahhh! Old Yao! I demand 60% of the prize money!!”
A sharp, almost girlish voice rang out from the bathroom.
“Fine, fine, no problem. 70% is fine too,” Yao Shiming replied with a chuckle.
After a while, Hu Li appeared before the two of them, dressed in ancient-style women’s clothing.
His face was flushed crimson, his expression shy and bashful.
His fair cheeks were rosy like a ripe apple, tender and delicate.
His hands nervously fidgeted with the hem of his clothes, making him look like a young girl who had just stepped into the world, utterly delicate and charming.
Looking at this “young girl” who was both pure and mischievously adorable, Ji Yuenian couldn’t help but twitch the corner of his mouth.
He glanced at Hu Li before finally settling his gaze on Yao Shijie.
“You two…”
“It’s just cross-dressing, that’s all. Hu Li is the reinforcement I invited,” Yao Shiming said without a hint of awkwardness.
He walked over to Hu Li, their heights of 173 cm and 165 cm forming a stark contrast.
(Cross-dressing: men dressing as women, or women dressing as men)
“Originally, we chose the scene from The Legend of the White Snake where Xu Xian first meets Bai Suzhen. But since we’re in the era of viral trends, we took some advice and made a few… creative adaptations.”
As he spoke, Yao Shiming suddenly seemed possessed by the urge to perform.
With a flick, he opened his folding fan and gently lifted Hu Li’s pointed chin, curling his lips into a roguish and arrogant smirk as he teased:
“Little lady, won’t you call me ‘husband’ already~?”
Hu Li froze instantly, his face turning as red as a ripe tomato.
Immediately after, he instinctively swung his delicate little fists and lunged at Yao Shiming.
“You annoying jerk! Call you ‘husband’ my foot!”
“Brother Hu, calm down! I was just joking!”
“Calm down my ass! You stay right there!”
Meanwhile, Hu Li’s tiny fists rained down on Yao Shiming like a storm, while the latter dodged and laughed, pleading for mercy.
* * *
“So yeah, these days, men are more useful than women!”
That night, in Secret Base No. 1, during Bao Yue’s livestream, Ji Yuenian complained about the day’s events while deftly maneuvering his game character toward the shrinking poison zone.
“Bao Yue, when you said ‘I have a cross-dressing friend,’ were you actually talking about yourself?”
“Wow- Lifting his chin like that, he’s so smooth~”
“Bao Yue, you little b*tch, I, Hu Hansan, am back!!”
“A creatively adapted Legend of the White Snake? That sounds so fun, I really want to see it~~”
Comments flew across the screen rapidly, with everyone seemingly intrigued by the creatively adapted Legend of the White Snake.
However, Ji Yuenian had deliberately obscured names, appearances, and locations while ranting, using vague terms like “I have a friend.”
Unless one of the mere 250-plus viewers in the livestream happened to be from Wanqing Academy and was also a current member of the Arts Club, no one could guess Ji Yuenian’s identity.
“Mods, do your job.”
Ji Yuenian spotted several hateful comments and promptly notified the moderators to ban them in one go.
“Little b*tch! This is my fifth account!!”
“I’m so mad!! Watch me resurrect like a phoenix!!”
“Bao Yue, you little b*tch, 180 a night, come get some!!”
“Hehehe! In five minutes, I’ll be back stronger than ever!!”
Comments filled with insults and attacks flashed by like lightning, only to be swiftly deleted, their posters slapped with 30-day bans.
The live stream room instantly became much quieter.
After chatting casually with the audience for a while longer, Ji Yuenian exited the stream.
He stood up, humming a little tune leisurely, picked up the hot water kettle, and made himself a cup of brown sugar water, adding two or three slices of ginger.
The warm, sweet liquid flowed gently down his throat, the slight sweetness mingled with a faint spiciness, noticeably easing the cramping pain in his lower abdomen.
Ji Yuenian let out a long, contented sigh.
Lately, for some unknown reason, his stomach had been aching faintly.
He suspected it might be due to drinking too much iced coffee prepared by his little maid, Wan Yi, which had chilled his stomach.
“Feels like my abs are getting softer the more I train them.”
After finishing half the cup of brown sugar water, he lowered his head and lightly poked his slightly softened yet still impressively defined four-pack abs, muttering under his breath.
Dude setting up himself to be locked up in the future