Crossdress Ch11

The next morning, Xu Yan was jolted awake by his alarm. He sat up and silently rubbed his temples.

His head throbbed like he’d been beaten the night before. He was still wearing the same clothes as yesterday, faintly reeking of alcohol.

Climbing down from the bed, his throat was parched to the point of cracking. He grabbed the water cup on his desk and gulped down several big mouthfuls before finally feeling a bit better.

Being drunk was absolutely miserable. But he didn’t even remember feeling that drunk—why did he end up completely blacking out? He couldn’t recall how he got back to the dorm, let alone into bed.

Did some kind soul bring him back?

After finishing his water, he wiped his lips with the back of his hand. Then, out of nowhere, a vivid image flashed through his mind. He quickly covered his mouth—his hand froze mid-movement.

It felt like… someone had touched his lips the same way last night.

Not only that—he remembered a long, strong finger slipping into the corner of his mouth, gently prying apart his moist, soft lips, pressing lightly against his teeth.

Later, when he kept muttering about being thirsty, someone even fed him water…

Zhao Qingji happened to come in just then, holding a stack of freshly washed clothes. He saw Xu Yan standing at the desk, clutching a cup and looking deep in thought.

“I’m heading to the library later,” he said. “I won’t be back until tonight.”

Xu Yan gave a dazed “Oh.”

As Zhao Qingji walked to the balcony to hang up his laundry, he casually said, “You’re getting pretty close with those computer science guys, huh?”

Xu Yan snapped out of it. “What?”

“Wen Sinian brought you back last night,” Zhao Qingji said.

Xu Yan’s head whipped around. “What?!”

“He even tucked you into bed before leaving,” Zhao added.

Xu Yan looked like his world had collapsed. “WHAT?!!!”

Zhao Qingji added, just to make sure Xu Yan couldn’t survive this morning in peace, “Why are you so surprised? You were pretty obedient last night—he told you to get in bed, and you got in bed.”

Xu Yan nearly spilled his water. So those scattered, blurry memories were real—it was Wen Sinian who drove him home.

He tried desperately to remember if anything else happened last night. But his head was still fuzzy, and all the bits and pieces he could recall refused to come together into a coherent memory. He really couldn’t tell if he’d done anything weird.

Leaning against the window, he asked weakly, “Class rep… did you hear anything else last night?”

“Nope,” Zhao Qingji replied. “You went to bed and immediately fell asleep. Wen Sinian left afterward—he didn’t stay in the dorm.”

Xu Yan let out a small sigh of relief. Looked like he hadn’t caused any major trouble.

Wen Sinian’s impression of him had already dropped enough—if it dropped any lower, it’d be in the negatives.

He glanced at his phone and saw a long string of unread messages from Shen Nanli. Apparently, Shen Nanli couldn’t find him at the party. Lin Xingxian had said he was drunk and had someone send him home. Shen Nanli had stayed a bit longer at the party, then since it was late, Lin Xingxian arranged overnight accommodations. The rest of them had only just returned that morning.

Xu Yan messaged Shen Nanli back, then went to the bathroom to wash up and packed his bag for his part-time shift at the café.

But when he was packing, another devastating realization hit—the glass bottle of Icelandic water, which he’d worked so hard to get and was saving to gift someone, was gone.

He clearly remembered putting it in his bag before going to the party.

Where did it go?

Then a terrible possibility occurred to him.

Was that… the water he drank last night?

Xu Yan licked his lips, trying to recall how it had tasted. He’d only seen people online say it was the best water they’d ever had—smooth and incredibly refreshing.

Ugh. What a waste. It was so expensive… and he couldn’t even remember the flavor.

He grabbed a plain egg pancake for 6 yuan at the school gate for breakfast. It had no extras—if he’d added meat or ham it would’ve cost 8, and the deluxe version was 12.

The 6-yuan one was already huge—enough to fill him up till lunch.

He finished eating on the bus and arrived at the café.

After changing into his uniform, there was still a bit of time before opening. His phone rang. He checked the caller ID, smiled as his eyes curved, and walked to a quiet corner to answer.

“Grandma.”

“Sweetie, are you awake yet?” his grandmother sounded full of energy today, her voice clear and lively. “I didn’t wake you from sleeping in, did I?”

“No, no—I’ve been up for a while. A classmate invited me out to hang later.”

Xu Yan never told his grandma about his part-time job. He was afraid she’d feel guilty and refuse to continue her treatment, thinking she was a burden. So he and the village doctor had conspired to tell her that the medical savings still hadn’t been used up—nothing to worry about.

He was incredibly grateful to Dr. Sun, who had been helping them all this time. Xu Yan was away at school and couldn’t be by his grandma’s side. A few caretakers they had hired were fired by her, saying she could take care of herself and didn’t want to waste money. Dr. Sun had noticed Xu Yan’s worries and promised to keep an extra close eye on her—so Xu Yan could rest a little easier.

They had agreed: if either of them missed the other, they could call anytime.

But Grandma also knew Xu Yan was busy with school, so even if she missed him, she’d wait until the weekend to call.

“Going out to play is good,” she said cheerfully. “I’ve heard Northern City is big and fun. Sweetie, make sure you go out and explore while you’re still in school. Walk every corner of it if you can.” Then, like any doting elder, she added with a sly tone, “Sweetie, is your classmate a boy or a girl?”

Xu Yan could read between the lines. He answered helplessly, “A boy, Grandma.”

“Oh, good, good! Boys are good,” she laughed. “Either way is good.”

He asked gently, “How are you feeling these days? Have you been following the doctor’s orders—getting your shots and taking your meds?”

“I sure have,” she said proudly. “Do you think I’d dare not listen to Dr. Sun? He’s strict! He even sends a nurse every day to bring me a banana and stands by my bed watching me eat the whole thing before leaving!”

She sounded a little aggrieved. “Sweetie, Grandma’s turning into a monkey with all these bananas.”

They say old people become like children—and it was true. As she got older, her temperament had become more like a child’s.

Xu Yan laughed and patiently coaxed her, “Dr. Sun is just trying to help you get better, Grandma. That’s why you have to listen to him, eat well, and take your medicine on time. That way you’ll recover faster and get discharged sooner.”

She gave a little hum in response but said nothing—clearly sulking.

Xu Yan softened his voice. “Grandma, I’ll have seven days off for National Day. If you keep eating and taking your medicine on time, I’ll come visit you as soon as the break starts, okay?”

A few seconds later, she answered with a little sniffle, “Okay. Sweetie, you take care of yourself out there too, and eat well.”

“I miss you, Grandma.”

“I miss you too, sweetie.”

After they hung up, Xu Yan checked his bank balance and transferred some money to Dr. Sun for banana expenses, along with a message of thanks.

He rubbed his eyes and put on a professional smile—time for work.

There were a lot of customers at the café on Sunday morning, plus plenty of delivery orders—Xu Yan was running around nonstop.

Shang Jia and Shen Nanli dropped by to visit him but didn’t disturb him. After ordering, they found a table and did their own thing.

At noon, Xu Yan swapped shifts with a coworker for a break, and Shang Jia treated them to lunch.

Xu Yan said he wasn’t very hungry, but Shang Jia worried he was just being polite and ordered him a big bowl of crab roe noodles, insisting he finish it.

“Look how skinny you are,” she said, pinching his arm. “Even skinnier than me. A strong wind could blow you away.”

Xu Yan pinched his own arm, then his thigh. “I’m okay. My legs are actually kind of fat.”

Shang Jia glanced at the two skinny legs swinging under his pants and went speechless.
“…Who are you kidding?”

Shen Nanli was scrolling on his phone and suddenly said, “I stayed at HP Hotel last night, right? In the middle of the night I heard a commotion outside and looked out the window—turns out someone got arrested for attempted molestation. Guess who it was?”

He sent a news link into their group chat.

“That scumbag?!” Shang Jia cursed. “He really went to the hotel? Who did he manage to trick?”

Xu Yan clicked the link. The person exposed with their full name, school, class, and student ID was none other than lip—the same person who flew into a rage when Xu Yan turned him down.

Shen Nanli said, “No one knows—the victim’s info is protected. But Lin Xingxian was hosting a party at the hotel last night, and this guy just happened to run into them. He does have a bit of money, but compared to Lin Xingxian, it’s nothing. Lin Xingxian helped the victim press charges. Now that he’s messed with the Lin family, he’s done for.”

“Serves him right.”

Xu Yan stayed quiet the whole time. He silently logged into the app’s backend, initiated a refund for the tip lip had given him, and even added a 5% transaction fee out of pocket.

After that, his expression deflated.

He was already barely scraping by, and now this. Despite all his hard work, the goal of cashing out 1000 yuan only seemed to be getting further away.

Poking at his noodles, he looked discouraged.

Maybe he really wasn’t cut out for online content. No matter how many followers or likes he had, they were just virtual numbers on a screen.

It all felt so unreal—like being suspended in midair, drifting wherever the wind blew. Visible, but intangible. A dream with no weight.

He’d already poured in so much energy and effort, but juggling both reality and online life was exhausting. He was seriously starting to consider quitting the account altogether.

As he was thinking, he opened his creator wallet to check the balance… and was stunned by what he saw.

He leaned in, eyes wide—the number hadn’t changed: 1456.9.

Someone had tipped him 1000 yuan?!

Wait—no, the platform took half as commission. That meant someone had tipped 2000.

Shang Jia leaned over, curious, and shouted in shock, “Holy—?!”

“Quick! Check your fan leaderboard!”

Sitting comfortably at the top was a new account with the nickname year. It looked like a fresh alt account.

After what happened last time, Xu Yan was wary of new accounts—who knew what kind of people were lurking behind anonymous usernames?

But Shang Jia’s eyes sparkled. “Out with the old, in with the new! Quick, add him!”

Xu Yan sent a friend request using his alternate WeChat account. The request was accepted almost immediately, but he hesitated with his phone in hand. “I don’t know what to say… Should I say the same thing as last time?”

Shang Jia snatched his phone. “Of course not. Last time your message read like an Oscar speech. How’s the guy supposed to respond? This time, treat him like your sugar daddy. Be sweet. I’ll send you my collection of ‘Simp Scripts 101’ later—you’ve got a lot to learn.”

Then she started typing furiously.

【Yanyan】: Gege, you’re number one again~ Whatever reward you want, you can have~

【Yanyan】: Kitty wink emoji