"What the hell is that look on your face? What are you so excited about?" Zheng Wenxuan couldn't help but blurt out, seeing Xu Yecheng's expression.
"N-nothing! Just… thought of something," Xu Yecheng quickly replied, turning back toward his computer with feigned nonchalance. "So, what kind of shop is it anyway?"
Zheng Wenxuan chuckled. "I knew you'd get curious." He cleared his throat dramatically before continuing, "It's a coffee shop—super high-end, full of that 'aesthetic' vibe. Probably won't even let us poor, scummy nerds step inside."
"Oh?" Xu Yecheng let out a sound of genuine intrigue, now thoroughly interested.
"Forget it. Even if you got plastic surgery and dressed in women's clothes, I'd still spot you as a dude from a mile away," Zheng Wenxuan said, already launching a game on his screen.
Xu Yecheng froze—Zheng had just accidentally hit half the truth of what he'd been thinking.
He really wondered if this guy had some kind of secret past.
"How the hell are you so ahead of the curve? Did you do something like this before?" Xu Yecheng shot back teasingly.
"Once, I accidentally clicked into a BL doujinshi," Zheng said with a sigh. "The male lead cross-dressed and worked at a café, and then got… forcefully taken by the other male lead." Another sigh followed. "Man, the adult world is deep. Good thing I backed out before hitting the paid content."
Xu Yecheng burst out laughing. "You only realized it *after* watching that long?"
"Damn it! That mangaka drew the uke so damn pretty—until he started undressing, I had no idea he was a guy!" Zheng's voice rose in exasperation. "The way that guy looked in girls' clothes was literally dancing right on my XP."
Xu Yecheng's face twisted into a knowing, mischievous grin. "Just admit it—you're totally into it, Nantong."
Zheng Wenxuan didn't snap back the way Xu Yecheng expected. Instead, he fell into deep thought for a moment, then said seriously, "To be honest… if they're hot enough, I guess I could give it a try."
"You're amazing," Xu Yecheng couldn't help but praise him.
"I'm not even sure myself," Zheng added, his expression suddenly relaxed. "If someone really looks convincingly like a girl, gender probably wouldn't matter much to me."
"…"
"Anyway, my sweet Cheng, ganbatte!" Zheng said sweetly.
"Ugh, stop being gross," Xu Yecheng shuddered, covered in goosebumps.
*Only hires girls, huh…*
Xu Yecheng's expression grew serious.
That mask he had might actually come in handy after all.
But the problem was—it was way too underwhelming in effect.
Setting aside the issue of his body shape, his voice alone was already a dead giveaway. That alone was fatal.
As Xu Yecheng mulled it over, a horrifying realization suddenly struck him.
If he really got the job… would he actually have to wear women's clothing?
Whoa—him, a full-grown man, in a dress?
The main reason Xu Yecheng hesitated wasn't shame—it was just… *so cringey*.
But once the mask was on, no one would know he was Xu Yecheng. He could even buy a set of girls' clothes and admire himself in private.
He didn't mind playing dress-up for his own amusement—that was fine. Besides, he honestly didn't know what else to do with the mask if not try it out.
Even if he looked terrible in it, it'd just be for his own eyes—no one else would suffer.
Now that he actually had something like this, it'd be a shame *not* to give it a shot.
He skimmed through two MOOC lessons—though in reality, he just had Bilibili playing in one window while the course video ran in the background, essentially slacking off. To ease the nagging guilt inside, he half-heartedly reviewed some CET-6 vocabulary.
Next came the dreaded campus running session. Since Xu Yecheng had worked the night shift yesterday, he had to make up for two days' worth of running today.
Each semester required 80 kilometers total. If you ran consistently every day, it wasn't too bad—but aside from He Xiaohan, who reliably clocked two kilometers daily, the other three roommates strictly followed the "avoid running at all costs" policy.
Xu Yecheng didn't actually hate exercise. Most of the time, his reluctance came simply from the effort of dragging himself from his dorm room down to the track.
By the time he returned from his run, Zheng Wenxuan was still sprawled on his bed, doing absolutely nothing.
Exhausted, Xu Yecheng sank into his chair. His physical fitness was passable—his PE scores hovered around 70 for most events—but running double the usual distance in one go was still tough.
"By the way, sweetie Cheng," Zheng suddenly said, "It's my birthday in a few days. Let's go out as a dorm and celebrate—I'll treat."
"No problem," Xu Yecheng panted, wiping sweat from his forehead.
"Saving you a meal's worth of cash," Zheng grinned.
Xu Yecheng snorted. Sure, that's exactly what he'd say when someone else was paying.
"Thanks, really," he said sincerely.
"Ah, it's a dad's duty to take care of his son," Zheng added smugly.
"Then why don't you, oh mighty father, give your starving son some pocket money?" Xu Yecheng shot back sarcastically. "Your kid's about to starve to death under your 'care.'"
"I'm broke too. My dad hasn't sent my allowance this month."
"Lol," Xu Yecheng said, opening Bilibili on his computer.
Once he'd rested enough, Xu Yecheng stood up, grabbed his change of clothes, and headed into the bathroom.
Maybe it was the centipede bite from earlier, or maybe it was just from being out of shape—but he felt utterly drained.
After his shower, he tossed his dirty clothes into a bucket.
Too tired to wash them tonight, he decided to leave it for tomorrow.
But just as he was about to drift off to sleep while scrolling through videos in bed, he suddenly remembered—he had *two shifts* tomorrow…
After the chaos of work, he knew full well that "future Xu Yecheng" would just choose to slack off again.
With a sigh, he heard Zheng Wenxuan's steady, rhythmic snoring.
*Already asleep?* Xu Yecheng frowned, got out of bed, and walked over to Zheng's bunk. Sure enough, Zheng had tangled the entire blanket around his legs.
Being the model Chinese roommate, Xu Yecheng couldn't just leave him like that. He carefully pulled the blanket back over Zheng's body.
*Hope you suffocate from the heat!*
After tending to his "dear" roommate, Xu Yecheng dragged his aching body back to the bathroom to finally wash his clothes.
As he rummaged through the pile, he found the mask still tucked in his pant pocket. He pulled it out, yawned lazily, and glanced at the foggy shower shelf—immediately feeling a wave of disgust.
He looked up at the clothesline hanging across the ceiling, then hung the damp mask there.
Back to scrubbing his clothes, Xu Yecheng suddenly realized—the clothesline ran directly above the toilet bowl. If the mask fell, it'd land straight in the… *you-know-what*.
Alarmed, he immediately stood up—but just then, something flashed past his eyes, and an icy-cold sensation suddenly brushed against his face…