A large crowd of students had gathered outside.
The student plaza was as lively as the university’s massive club recruitment fair, with rows of small tents neatly arranged across the square.
A wide pathway, spacious enough for two cars to drive side by side, ran straight through the center toward the main entrance of the auditorium.
Golden waves rippled through the autumn breeze as withered yellow leaves drifted down from the branches.
Occasionally, migratory birds heading south would attempt to perch on the trees for a brief rest, only to be startled by exploding confetti cannons and bursts of cheering.
They would immediately flap their wings and fly away.
Every class had its own tent.
Outside, the flower basket girls enthusiastically handed out flyers promoting their class performances to passing students.
Some participants had even dressed up as mascots, doing everything they could to attract more attention.
“Divine Silence Anime! Live-action cosplay performances bringing you an entirely new 5D anime experience!”
“Come check out our choir!”
“One vote from you, one vote from me, and tomorrow our lead dancer will make their debut! Come support the best street dance class at T University!”
Gu Yan forced a stiff smile onto his face.
Imitating the other flower basket girls, he waved his stack of flyers enthusiastically, making the papers rustle loudly.
Wang Zhiliang stepped forward and immediately bellowed,
“COME WATCH OUR CLASS PLAY!”
His loud, rough voice was like someone suddenly striking a deep drum in the middle of an orchestral performance.
The voices of the other flower basket girls abruptly fell silent.
Everyone turned to look.
And what they saw was quite a shock.
A muscular young man was wearing the largest maid outfit available, enthusiastically stuffing flyers into the hands of passing students.
Before the students could even process what was happening, they already had an extra sheet of paper in their hands.
A guy dressed as a flower basket girl this year?
The students burst into laughter and crowded around with growing interest.
Some pulled out their phones to take pictures, while others rushed into the tent to cast their votes.
Gu Yan soon found himself surrounded by the crowd as well.
“Are you a boy too?”
A student raised their phone and asked curiously.
Gu Yan opened his mouth, then quickly pressed his lips together.
He couldn’t imitate a girl’s voice, so he had no choice but to pretend he couldn’t speak and shake his head.
His beautiful eyes were remarkably expressive, almost as though they could speak for him.
“Oh, you’re a girl… You’re so tall that I thought you were a boy too.”
“She’s really pretty.”
“She looks so shy and sweet.”
“…Her chest is a little flat, though.”
Gu Yan: “…”
Seeing the attention their class was receiving, the flower basket girls from the other classes began trying even harder to attract visitors.
Some even resorted to showcasing their talents, standing outside their tents and playing the violin.
Thanks to Wang Zhiliang’s spectacularly attention-grabbing performance, Gu Yan soon managed to distribute all his flyers.
The leather shoes he was wearing were rather stiff and had begun rubbing painfully against his heels.
He couldn’t imagine how girls managed to stand all day in low heels.
Afraid that a sudden gust of wind might lift his skirt, Gu Yan could only take tiny steps, each less than half his usual stride, as he made his way toward the tent.
“Look! The special guests are here!”
“Wow, they invited so many people this year!”
The surrounding students turned their attention toward a group of people slowly approaching from the distance.
Everyone crowded along both sides of the pathway to get a better view.
The crowd formed an almost impenetrable human wall, completely blocking Gu Yan’s way.
He tried slipping through gaps on the left and circling around on the right, but nothing worked.
In the end, he had no choice but to stop and watch the approaching guests along with everyone else.
T University’s cultural festival was always an exceptionally grand occasion.
Every year, its scale rivaled that of the university’s anniversary celebrations.
The university invited accomplished alumni from all over the country, people who had achieved considerable success in their respective fields, to return and participate in the cultural performances.
Leading the group was the president of T University.
He wore an immaculate suit and had a broad smile on his face.
From time to time, he turned toward the person beside him, introducing the various activities planned for this year’s festival.
Gu Yan caught sight of the familiar figure walking next to the university president and froze for a moment.
Then a thunderclap seemed to explode inside his head.
It was Yi Heng!
Yi Heng walked at the very front beside the president.
Following them were the deans of the university’s various schools and several other distinguished alumni.
Gu Yan suddenly felt completely at a loss.
He instinctively rubbed his earlobe, his mind racing.
But before he could turn around and make his escape, the group had already arrived right in front of him.
“Just like in previous years, the most popular attraction at this year’s cultural festival is the Flower Basket Girl competition. Each class chooses its representative through a collective nomination by all its students.”
The university president’s smile visibly stiffened the moment he caught sight of Wang Zhiliang.
However, he quickly pretended not to notice anything and hurriedly changed the subject.
“This year, we’ve also specially introduced…”
Yi Heng’s pale, indifferent eyes lingered for an extra two seconds on a flower basket girl dressed in a maid outfit, her head lowered.
Meanwhile, Gu Yan kept repeating the same words silently in his mind.
You can’t see me. You can’t see me. You can’t see me…
If Yi Heng discovered that he was wearing women’s clothing, it would be unbearably embarrassing.
It wasn’t as though he had some strange hobby like that!
“…In addition, we’ve increased the number of cultural performances by ten compared with previous years. Our goal is to enrich students’ extracurricular lives and encourage a healthy balance between study and recreation.”
The university president continued speaking enthusiastically.
But if he had glanced at Yi Heng even once more, he would have noticed that the corners of Yi Heng’s usually straight lips had curved into an almost imperceptible smile.
His expression was no longer quite so cold.
To put it simply, he suddenly seemed a little more human.
It was as though a notoriously strict judge had finally discovered something interesting, causing his stern expression to soften.
Gu Yan kept his head lowered the entire time.
It wouldn’t have been much of an exaggeration to say that if Yi Heng didn’t leave soon, Gu Yan was going to stare a hole straight through the patch of concrete beneath his feet.
Finally, the special guests followed the university president toward the auditorium.
Gu Yan let out a long, heavy sigh of relief.
The sun was shining warmly, bathing the plaza in gentle sunlight.
Yet Gu Yan felt unbearably hot all over.
He had been so nervous that even the tip of his nose was covered in sweat.
Once all the promotional flyers at their tent had been distributed, Gu Yan wanted nothing more than to rush to the changing room and take off the skirt he was wearing.
Unfortunately, the class arts representative believed that having male students dress as girls was the most innovative feature of their class’s participation in this year’s festival.
It had completely overshadowed the other classes.
She therefore hoped they would remain outside the tent a little longer.
Naturally, Wang Zhiliang had no objections whatsoever.
Gu Yan hesitated for a moment.
But in the end, he couldn’t resist the girl’s hopeful gaze.
He reluctantly remained standing outside the tent, wearing a grim expression like a guard stationed at his post.
His face hardly looked welcoming to students coming to vote.
Instead, it seemed to issue a silent warning.
Go ahead. I dare you to come over.
The cultural performances in the auditorium were about to begin, and the number of students remaining in the plaza gradually dwindled.
At last, the arts representative finally took pity on them.
“Come on, hurry inside and change! We need to get to the auditorium to watch the performances!”
“Our class attracted so much attention today! I’m sure we’ll get loads of votes when the performances are judged!”
“Thank you both for all your hard work!”
“Oh, and Gu Yan! You’ve also been voted the prettiest Flower Basket Girl at this year’s cultural festival!”
Gu Yan: “Huh?”
What kind of competition was that? Who were the judges?
He needed to find them and have a serious discussion about this!
Wang Zhiliang wiped the sweat from his forehead and burst into hearty laughter.
“Well, at least they’ve got good taste! As long as our Yanzi’s face exists, his beauty will reign supreme! That legendary nickname, ‘Eighteen Guys in One Month,’ wasn’t earned for noth… Mmph!”
Gu Yan hurriedly clamped a hand over Wang Zhiliang’s mouth before he could continue spouting nonsense.
The murderous look in his eyes was practically overflowing.
“Eighteen Guys in One Month” was a nickname outsiders had given the original Gu Yan.
Apparently, within a month of breaking up with Lin Chen, the original Gu Yan had fooled around with more than a dozen people.
But Gu Yan absolutely had to clear up one detail on the original owner’s behalf.
There hadn’t been eighteen people in a single month!
That was nothing more than an exaggerated rumor.
The original Gu Yan had only kept twelve fish in his pond!
The arts representative covered her mouth and giggled with her girlfriends.
Gu Yan couldn’t be bothered to explain further.
Seeing that Wang Zhiliang still seemed to have something to discuss with the arts representative, he left his friend behind and headed toward the changing room alone.
As he passed a flowerbed, he caught sight of a male student crouching on the ground, absorbed in his phone.
There’s a perfectly good bench right beside him, yet he insists on squatting on the ground. What a weirdo.
Gu Yan had barely finished complaining to himself when his eyes narrowed.
Something wasn’t right.
Why is that guy’s phone showing the camera interface?
And why is the lens pointing in my direction?
Gu Yan quietly approached the student from behind.
That was when he discovered the boy was secretly using his phone camera to take pictures beneath the short skirt of a girl standing nearby.
The girl was laughing and chatting with her friends, completely unaware of what was happening.
Meanwhile, the boy kept pressing the shutter button.
Gu Yan reached out from behind and snatched the phone straight out of his hand.
The boy jumped in fright.
“What the hell are you doing? Give me back my phone!”
Gu Yan raised the phone high, easily keeping it out of reach as the boy tried to grab it.
“So you can take it home and enjoy all those pictures in your gallery at your leisure?”
The boy’s face instantly turned pale.
Then, upon hearing Gu Yan’s voice, he stammered in surprise.
“Y-You’re a guy? I have no idea what you’re talking about!”
Gu Yan raised an eyebrow.
At this point, he no longer cared that his disguise had been exposed.
An icy glint flashed through his eyes.
Without hesitation, he handed the phone to the bewildered girl standing nearby.
The moment she saw the photographs taken beneath her skirt, she let out a shrill scream.
“Ah! You disgusting pervert! You were secretly taking pictures of me! Everyone, there’s a pervert here!”
“I… I didn’t! I was just…”
The surrounding students immediately turned to look.
The boy’s expression became frantic.
Afraid that someone might recognize his face, he quickly pulled on a hat to conceal it.
The girl hurriedly deleted every photograph of herself from the phone’s gallery.
Her eyes filled with tears of humiliation and fear.
Her friends glared furiously at the boy.
Some even stepped forward and held their phones directly in front of his face, taking pictures with the intention of exposing his behavior.
The boy shoved hard at Gu Yan, who was blocking his path, and shouted angrily,
“Get lost! What the fuck does this have to do with you? Do you know it’s illegal to snatch someone else’s phone without permission?”
“Oh? Doesn’t this count as stepping in to do the right thing?”
“You…”
Realizing he had no argument against Gu Yan, the boy lunged toward the girl, trying to snatch his phone back.
But Gu Yan took a single step sideways, blocking his path once again.
“GET OUT OF MY WAY!”
Growing desperate, the boy grabbed at Gu Yan and tried to pull him aside.
But Gu Yan knew how to fight, and his movements were exceptionally quick and agile.
Not only did the boy fail to push him away, but he nearly ended up being thrown to the ground himself.
“At least wait until she’s finished deleting the pictures. Don’t you know exactly how many you took?”
“SHUT THE HELL UP!”
In a moment of carelessness, Gu Yan allowed the boy to grab his wig.
What the fuck???
The wig had been secured to Gu Yan’s real hair with several clips.
A sharp pain shot through his scalp.
The wig was forcibly yanked sideways, slipping over his eyes and blocking his vision.
Gu Yan: “…”
When the surrounding students realized that the prettiest Flower Basket Girl of the day was actually a boy, they immediately raised their phones and began snapping pictures.
This was Gu Yan’s first time wearing women’s clothing.
And he swore it would absolutely be his last!
Heaven and earth could bear witness!
There would never be a second time!
If the skirt hadn’t restricted his movements, that boy would have been beaten into silence long ago.
The girl finally finished deleting the photographs.
She also emptied the Recently Deleted folder and carefully checked the other albums to make sure nothing remained.
Only then did she finally relax.
The boy immediately snatched his phone back, covered his head, and fled in panic.
“Thank you. If you hadn’t noticed what he was doing, I… I…”
The girl looked at Gu Yan with genuine gratitude.
Her body was still trembling slightly.
Clearly, she hadn’t fully recovered from the shock of what had happened.
“You’re welcome.”
Gu Yan hurriedly tossed out a brief reply before turning around and quickening his pace toward the changing room.
He partially covered his face, not wanting the surrounding students to take any more pictures of him.
He had clearly just helped someone, yet somehow, he wasn’t in a particularly good mood.
I’m never wearing women’s clothing again!
Gu Yan ground out every word of that vow in his mind.
It was embarrassing, humiliating, and he’d nearly been recognized by Yi Heng!
With a sharp swish, Gu Yan pulled the changing room curtain closed, desperate to get out of the outfit he was wearing.
Unfortunately, the more hurried he became, the more things went wrong.
He couldn’t tell whether the zipper was broken or he’d simply pulled too hard, but the zipper on the back of his dress suddenly got stuck halfway.
It wouldn’t move up or down.
Gu Yan spent ages reaching behind himself, twisting into every possible position, but nothing worked.
Being a girl is seriously hard work.
He was practically sweating from the struggle when an entirely unexpected voice suddenly sounded behind him.
“Need some help?”
Gu Yan trembled from head to toe.
His hand froze on the zipper.
Turning around, he saw Yi Heng lifting the curtain and stepping inside.
It felt as though someone had suddenly seized his heart and squeezed.
His breathing quickened sharply.
For a moment, he thought he was hallucinating.
But the shadow Yi Heng cast as he approached, along with his unmistakable scent, sent signals racing through Gu Yan’s nerves, confirming that this was very real.
“You…”
Gu Yan’s face turned scarlet.
His voice sounded so stiff and unnatural that he barely recognized it as his own.
“Weren’t you going to the auditorium? Why are you here?”
He was still wearing the maid outfit!
Gu Yan’s gaze darted frantically around the tiny room, as though he were seriously considering which wall would be best to smash his head against.
Yi Heng replied,
“The performance hasn’t started yet. When I arrived, I saw you… so I came over to take a look.”
Yi Heng’s gaze traveled slowly downward, finally settling on the black leather shoes Gu Yan was wearing.
The words he’d left unfinished were obvious enough.
Gu Yan desperately avoided his eyes.
Unfortunately, the changing cubicle had been cramped to begin with.
Now that Yi Heng had entered, it felt even smaller.
There was absolutely nowhere for him to hide.
“Do you need help?”
Yi Heng asked again.
Given his height, he could easily see the top of Gu Yan’s head.
With his wig removed, Gu Yan’s ears were so red they looked ready to bleed.
His beautiful eyes appeared even brighter and more captivating in this situation, making him look particularly easy to tease.
Gu Yan gritted his teeth and forced a single word out of his throat.
“Yes.”
“Turn around.”
Yi Heng’s deep voice sounded especially alluring in the confined space.
Gu Yan’s face burned, and his heart felt ready to leap straight out of his chest.
Yi Heng took hold of the zipper and gently worked it up and down a few times before freeing the fabric caught between its teeth.
The zipper that had been so stubborn in Gu Yan’s hands behaved like an obedient little pet for Yi Heng.
With one smooth movement, he pulled it down.
Gu Yan’s waist and back were beautifully pale, their contours clear and graceful.
A shallow groove ran down the center of his lower back, disappearing beneath the elastic waistband of the dress and continuing toward his unseen tailbone.
His waist was the most sensitive part of his body.
As Yi Heng withdrew his hand, his slightly cool fingertips accidentally brushed against Gu Yan’s skin.
Gu Yan instinctively arched his waist forward, pressing his entire body against the wall.
“I-Is it done?”
He asked softly, his breathing already unsteady.
A hoarse “Mm” was his only answer.
Gu Yan had barely begun to relax when the outer door of the changing room suddenly opened.
Wang Zhiliang’s voice rang out.
“Yanzi, are you in here?”
Gu Yan’s eyes widened instantly.
Each individual changing cubicle was separated by a curtain that didn’t quite reach the calves.
All Wang Zhiliang had to do was lower his head, and he would see two pairs of legs standing inside.
“Yanzi?”
Wang Zhiliang scratched his head and muttered in confusion.
“That’s weird. I’m sure I saw him come in here.”
Seeing that Wang Zhiliang was about to start lifting the curtains one by one, Gu Yan hurriedly spoke up.
“What are you doing? I’m changing! Don’t go pulling the curtains open!”
Wang Zhiliang let out a startled curse.
“Holy shit! You scared me! If you heard me, why didn’t you answer? Anyone who didn’t know better would think you were sneaking around having an affair in there. Why does your voice sound so weak?”
Wang Zhiliang walked over to Gu Yan’s cubicle.
Behind the curtain, a pair of long, straight legs was visible.
He glanced at them twice, then leaned against the wall with a grin.
“By the way, I’m not sitting with you during the cultural performance later. The arts representative invited me to watch it with her.”
What a shameless friend who abandons his brothers for a pretty girl.
Gu Yan replied,
“Fine. Now get lost.”
“Why are you being so rude? I’ll treat you to dinner after I finish watching the show with her.”
“Sure…”
The voice behind the curtain suddenly stopped.
After a brief pause, Gu Yan awkwardly corrected himself.
“A-Actually, never mind. I can’t. I’ve got something to do tonight. Some other time.”
Wang Zhiliang was still basking in the joy of being invited out by his goddess and failed to notice anything unusual about Gu Yan’s voice.
“All right, some other time, then.”
“But seriously, Yi Heng keeps you on such a tight leash. He won’t even let you go to bars.”
“One day when he’s not around, I’ll take you to the most luxurious private club in Kyoto for a proper night of relaxation!”
“Eight handsome guys giving you massages, and you can pick whichever ones you like!”
Behind the curtain, Gu Yan had already jumped into Yi Heng’s arms.
His legs were crossed tightly behind Yi Heng’s back, clinging around his waist for dear life.
He was terrified that if he slipped down, Wang Zhiliang would discover there were two people inside the cubicle.
Then he felt the large hands supporting his bottom loosen slightly.
At that moment, Gu Yan wished his glare could pierce straight through the curtain and send Wang Zhiliang flying.
“…No, thanks!”
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