Chapter 2: A Shocking Revelation

“Huh—?!”

Jiang Nanjin nearly choked on her milk tea, swallowing with visible difficulty before erupting into a fit of coughs.

“You two are together?”

“Huh?”

“Eh?”

Zheng Qiao and Bai Ruijin mirrored Jiang Nanjin’s astonished expression, with Bai Ruijin almost losing her grip on her own milk tea.

“Since when?”

Su Linxi, wearing a triumphant smile, flashed a V-sign.

“Yesterday.”

“Are you… sure you’re not messing with me?”

“Nope.”

“Wait, Linxi… Zhong Tian… you’re both the same gender…”

Bai Ruijin was so utterly flabbergasted that her words stumbled out disjointedly.

“Haha, I forgot you two didn’t know yet.”

Su Linxi leaned against Zhong Tian’s shoulder, a playful glint in her eyes, “Zhong Tian is actually a boy.”

“Pfft—”

Zheng Qiao, too, lost her composure, setting down her fruit tea and breaking into a cough.

“Hold on, hold on, Zhong Tian… is a guy?!”

“Cough… yes…”

“You look like this, and you have the nerve to claim you’re a man?!”

“My appearance isn’t something I can control, you know…”

“But you, you usually at school…”

“There’s a reason for pretending to be a girl, you see.”

Zhong Tian felt a blush creep up his neck, scratching his cheek awkwardly, “It’s quite a hassle to explain… but it’s certainly not a hobby of mine…”

“A boy…”

Bai Ruijin appeared to have completely crashed, staring blankly at Zhong Tian and murmuring to herself.

“A boy… a boy…?”

“Xiao Bai, snap out of it already!”

“In any case, that’s the gist of it,” Su Linxi, the only one without a drink of her own, took Zhong Tian’s lemon tea, removed the straw, and took a leisurely sip, “Zhong Tian is a boy, and he’s my boyfriend now~”

“I… I still can’t quite believe it…”

“Me neither…”

Zheng Qiao and Jiang Nanjin both wore expressions of profound skepticism.

“While your relationship has always been quite good, for you to suddenly be together… it’s just too fantastical…”

“More importantly,” Zheng Qiao interjected, “I’m still more preoccupied with Zhong Tian’s true gender…”

She scrutinized Zhong Tian’s face, then glanced at his chest, a furrow deepening between her brows.

“This is fake, actually…”

Zhong Tian subtly pulled down the collar of his shirt, then tugged at the transparent strap securing the prosthetic breasts, displaying it for Zheng Qiao to see.

“Seriously, it’s fake…”

Zheng Qiao’s expression steadily morphed into the bewildered look of a ‘subway phone old man’ (TL Note: A Chinese internet meme depicting an elderly person looking utterly bewildered or shocked while staring at their phone on the subway.).

Ultimately, she shook her head, “No… I’d rather believe you’re a lesbian than a man…”

“I can totally understand,” Su Linxi chuckled, “Honestly, even I didn’t quite believe Zhong Tian was a boy until last night.”

“Hey!”

“?”

“?”

“…?”

“Alright,” Zhong Tian quickly covered Su Linxi’s mouth, “This topic is officially closed!”

“You’re blushing, aren’t you?”

“So… last night you two…”

“No! Nothing happened!”

Zhong Tian hurriedly cut them off, “Don’t let her mislead you all!”

“Hahaha—”

“…Please stop making jokes that can be so easily misinterpreted…”

“I know, I know, hahaha.”

Su Linxi continued to laugh heartily.

Her infectious amusement even made Zhong Tian struggle to suppress a smile.

“What a wonderful relationship…”

Jiang Nanjin sighed, observing the two laughing together before her.

“Indeed…”

“A boy…?”

“Xiao Bai, it’s about time you accepted reality…”

Jiang Nanjin picked up her milk tea once more.

Her mood was a complex tapestry.

There was joy, but also a distinct thread of sorrow.

The joy stemmed from witnessing the two before her finally come together, while the sorrow originated from thoughts of Lin Yu…

She wondered what Lin Yu’s reaction would be upon learning this news…

She would likely be consumed by regret… If only she had been a little more forthright, a little more honest with her own heart, perhaps it wouldn’t be Su Linxi sitting opposite her today.

Phew… it’s probably best to keep it from her for now.

After all, she was on the cusp of the college entrance exams; she shouldn’t be distracted by such matters.

Jiang Nanjin continued to sip her milk tea, her gaze drifting towards the bustling crowd outside the tea shop.

A figure suddenly burst into her line of sight.

“Oh oh! I’m here!!”

Li Jianren stormed into the shop with a flamboyant, attention-grabbing run, swiftly collapsing into the seat they had reserved for him.

Jiang Nanjin glanced at her watch, “You’re ten minutes late, you know…”

“Haha, I just accidentally got caught in traffic.”

Could getting caught in traffic truly be an accident…?

“Hmm? This atmosphere… did I miss something crucial?”

“Guess what you missed?”

Su Linxi asked, a teasing smile playing on her lips.

“That’s a question only someone with centuries of cultivation could answer.”

Li Jianren, ever the jester, quipped back, “I’m just an ordinary high school boy; you might as well just tell me straight.”

“Then I won’t.”

“Huh? So mysterious?”

Li Jianren cast a glance at Zhong Tian, “Old Zhong, what’s going on?”

“Cough…”

“Huh?”

“Jiang Nanjin?”

“I don’t know either.”

“Xiao Bai?”

“…A boy…?”

“Zheng Qiao?!”

“Why are you yelling so loudly?”

“Huh??”

“Hahaha—”

“Hey, hey, you guys, don’t just keep laughing, sigh, someone explain it to me, please…”

****