Friday. The temperature in Tianbei City was dropping even further.
Even though it was two in the afternoon—the warmest time of the day—the thermometer still didn’t reach twelve degrees Celsius.
It was only late November, and already it felt this cold. One could easily imagine this winter would be harsher than usual…
But such cold weather didn’t bother Lin Xinyuan much at the moment. He was already busy preparing to move his things over to the rented apartment.
Thanks to Qin Nanfeng’s help, finding a place to rent was quickly resolved.
The apartment was located just behind South Street, only a ten-minute walk from campus, which was much more convenient.
Lin Xinyuan had already checked the place yesterday. It was a single room with its own bathroom and a small balcony. The space was decent, and the decor was quite nice.
The rent, probably because of Qin Nanfeng’s connections, was only 780 yuan a month—much less than he had expected.
There was even no minimum lease term, which was a relief for Lin Xinyuan.
If it required a two- or three-month minimum rental, he’d have to shamelessly borrow money.
He was glad to have Qin Nanfeng’s help…
The others in the dorm were a bit surprised by Lin Xinyuan’s departure, but no one said much. They all seemed to guess something was going on.
Especially today, Lin Xinyuan looked even more like a girl; some of them could hardly tell he was male anymore…
This led them to suspect that Old Six might have some illness. Taking medicine wouldn’t cause this level of change. Maybe, just maybe, it was what people online called… pseudohermaphroditism?
Otherwise, they had no explanation.
They couldn’t just blame it on superstition, right?
When Lin Xinyuan was ready to move his luggage, a few of them wanted to help, but he politely refused without hesitation. He didn’t plan on bringing all his things over at once.
He hadn’t reported staying off-campus to the Counselor because that required parental consent, and he knew his parents definitely wouldn’t agree.
Besides, they probably didn’t have time to care about him.
To be honest… Lin Xinyuan hadn’t yet figured out how to tell his parents, and he didn’t want to bother them while they were working hard away from home.
So he decided to put it on hold for now and just move out secretly. No one would check the number of residents in the dorm anyway, just for forbidden electrical appliances at most.
Lin Xinyuan didn’t have a lot of stuff. He just took the necessary things over; no need to trouble the others. Having Qin Nanfeng help was enough.
As for the rest—like textbooks—he could ask his roommates to bring them later when needed. No need to carry everything at once.
After packing up, Lin Xinyuan looked up, about to say goodbye to the others before leaving, but then he saw Xiong Wei and the others with those “pained” expressions.
He felt a bit reluctant.
He thought himself lucky to have met this bunch of guys.
He remembered how guarded he had been when he first arrived at the dorm. They had changed him quite a bit—at least he wasn’t as extreme as before…
Though he didn’t want to leave, it was too inconvenient to stay in the dorm.
Especially these past few days, he’d noticed his roommates’ reactions. It was awkward not just for him, but for them as well.
At his current pace, it wouldn’t be long before he completely became “her”…
As Lin Xinyuan thought this, his gaze caught Chen Ze’s especially exaggerated expression—a look of utter despair.
It instantly wiped away the warmth that had been brewing inside him. He let out a long sigh:
“Can you guys not make that face? Especially Old Five, you look like someone just died! I’m only moving out, not going to Syria to be a mercenary. I’m just nearby; you can see me anytime. I’m not not coming back.”
“Whatever… I’m heading out now!”
After bidding the others farewell, he turned to Qin Nanfeng and said, “Let’s go…”
Since they were close by, Qin Nanfeng caught a glimpse of Lin Xinyuan’s delicate side profile beneath his hood. A strange glint flashed briefly in his eyes before fading away. He nodded: “Yeah.”
Soon…
Heh…
Lin Xinyuan was carrying only light luggage, including that set of women’s clothes.
Although Qin Nanfeng knew about his situation, to avoid awkwardness, it was better for Lin Xinyuan to carry his own things.
The heavier stuff was left to the Yellow-Haired Brat, since no one asked him to help…
Standing at the door, Lin Xinyuan took one last look at the place he’d lived in for over a year.
308…
Maybe he’d never come back…
Goodbye…
With that thought, Lin Xinyuan didn’t hesitate and headed down the dormitory stairs with Qin Nanfeng.
As expected, the Dormitory Supervisor downstairs noticed him again—though this was nothing new.
The Dormitory Supervisors rotated daily, and this one wasn’t the same as the one from a few days ago.
Since Lin Xinyuan had started wearing the jade bracelet again these past days, his changes were dramatic. The Dormitory Supervisor naturally couldn’t recognize him.
Seeing him, she shook her head strangely and muttered, “Ah, nowadays’ girls… really…”
She didn’t stop or ask questions, letting the two of them leave. After all, she only cared who came in, not who went out!
Lin Xinyuan felt uneasy under her gaze but slipped out quickly under Qin Nanfeng’s cover.
Though he didn’t catch all her words, it was probably nothing flattering…
But that was normal now. His identity was too sensitive; to others, he looked no different from a girl.
Once outside the dorm, under the watchful eyes of some passersby, the two headed straight for the rental behind South Street.
Lin Xinyuan’s mood was urgent, so he walked quickly.
Qin Nanfeng, however, looked relaxed, carrying much heavier things yet keeping pace easily.
After some time, they finally left the campus gates. Lin Xinyuan was already a little tired.
He felt so weak now. Things he used to carry effortlessly were now exhausting after a short walk.
“Hey, are you okay? Want me to help?”
The Yellow-Haired Brat teased. Lin Xinyuan stubbornly turned his head, frowning: “It’s nothing, just hurts my hands a bit.”
Qin Nanfeng smiled knowingly, instantly spotting Lin Xinyuan’s trembling hands—obviously unconvincing.
He quietly chuckled but kept a straight face: “Alright then, rested enough? Let’s keep moving.”
“Fine, let’s go!”
Usually, it took just over ten minutes from the campus gate to the apartment, but this time it took over twenty.
The reason was Lin Xinyuan finally couldn’t hold on halfway through.
After dawdling for a while, he accepted his weakness and asked Qin Nanfeng for help.
Behind South Street was South Street Community.
Lin Xinyuan’s rental was in this complex, which offered not only single rooms but also one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments.
Each was in a separate building; his rental was a single-room building.
The community’s infrastructure was very complete. There were small supermarkets and shops—very convenient.
You had to scan your face to enter the community, but Lin Xinyuan had already registered his facial information when he came yesterday, so they got in smoothly.
They found the building and took the elevator to the third floor.
An elevator!
Lin Xinyuan had been shocked when he first came here. Not only was the facility complete, but there was even an elevator.
In a first-tier city like Tianbei, although this location was relatively remote… it was still first-tier.
Judging by the apartment and facilities, if someone told him the rent was 1,500 yuan a month, he would have believed it—let alone just 700.
Lin Xinyuan kept teasing Qin Nanfeng, but inwardly, he was even more grateful and silently stored this favor in his heart.
He would repay it however he could…
Finally reaching the third floor, they arrived at a door. Lin Xinyuan immediately put down his things and wiped the sweat off his forehead.
“Exhausted!”
Hearing that, Qin Nanfeng gave him a sidelong glance.
“You’ve got the nerve to say that?”
Lin Xinyuan awkwardly scratched his head, looking at the Yellow-Haired Brat’s big bundles and then at his own hands, feeling a bit embarrassed…