Chapter 5: The Skirt Situation and a Mind-Reading Revelation

“Lin Yu called…”

“Give it to me!”

Zhong Tian’s cowlick twitched. With a swift motion, he snatched Li Jianren’s phone and, in the same breath, dragged him out of the internet café.

“Lin Yu! Where are you? Where are my clothes?!”

–Ah… it’s little Zhong, isn’t it?– a pleasant female voice echoed from the other end of the line. –Comrade Jianren has been apprehended by you.–

“Enough chatter! Where are you?!”

–Hehe, I know you’re in a hurry, but listen to me, don’t rush just yet.–

Just from her voice, Zhong Tian could tell precisely how smug the woman on the other end of the line was.

“I’ve been wearing these clothes all day! I can’t stand it anymore! If I ever believe your nonsense again, I—I’ll eat this wretched phone!”

Li Jianren offered a faint reminder, –Old Zhong, that’s my phone…–

“Shut up!”

“……”

–Well… you’ve already worn it for a day, anyway…– Lin Yu said. –Wearing it a little longer, even home, shouldn’t matter, right?–

“It absolutely matters! I have an older sister at home, you know! I’ll be socially dead!” Zhong Tian nearly roared.

–Oh~ so your sister doesn’t know you like cross-dressing, does she…?–

“Please change ‘like’ to ‘forced,’ thank you,” Zhong Tian retorted. “And this isn’t just ordinary cross-dressing; it’s cosplay, you hear?!”

–Old Zhong,– the voice on the phone shifted, –you’re so cute that even in your original male clothes, you look like a girl. So, going home in a skirt wouldn’t make much difference, would it?–

Hearing that tone, it was undoubtedly Jiang Nanjin!

“The nature of it is completely different, okay?! I absolutely, resolutely, must change back into my clothes! My male clothes!”

To earnestly persuade him into cross-dressing—was this truly the act of a friend?

–Well… since you put it that way, Old Zhong…–

‘Had they finally seen reason?’

–Then just wear it home.–

A sharp beep—

Following the grating alert tone, the phone fell utterly silent.

****

Zhong Tian raised his hand.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, don’t get so worked up, Dad,” Li Jianren rushed forward, clutching Zhong Tian’s arm. “You can’t smash this thing.”

“…Let go,” Zhong Tian sighed. “I’m not that impulsive.”

Li Jianren took back his phone, tucking it into his pocket as if granted a great pardon.

“Ren-dog, tell me where those two are?”

“Ahaha, I wouldn’t know…” Li Jianren let out an awkward laugh, his hands shoved into his pockets, looking guilty enough to whistle.

“……”

Zhong Tian took a step forward, lifting his head, his deep, beautiful eyes meeting Li Jianren’s.

A golden light flashed in the depths of Zhong Tian’s eyes, his pupils transforming into a profound, almost black, blue. Countless images flickered before him.

This was his ability.

He had discovered this wondrous ability in his childhood: mind-reading, or rather, seeing projections of others’ inner thoughts.

Initially, Zhong Tian could only perceive others’ thoughts as if watching a film, but as he matured, his ability underwent a radical transformation.

At sixteen, he could not only discern people’s immediate thoughts but also glimpse their pasts and even brief flashes of their futures.

It was more akin to scrutinizing another’s very soul.

Of course, such an act came with side effects, and unpredictable ones at that. Heaven knew what debuff it might inflict upon him, but to retrieve his male clothes… he could only accept this necessary sacrifice.

‘So those two are at McDonald’s…’

‘Well, well… so you were the first to raise your hand in approval during their scheming, laughing so vilely!’

Zhong Tian wavered for a moment, then took a step back.

‘This time, the side effect was merely a slight dizziness…’

From his canvas bag, Zhong Tian retrieved a hair tie and simply gathered his cascading black hair into a ponytail.

“Wow… Old Zhong, your hair is ridiculously long… Aren’t you going to cut some of it off…?” Li Jianren suddenly chimed in.

“Do you think I want it this way…?” Zhong Tian deadpanned, casting a sideways glance at Li Jianren. Indeed, for a boy, such hair was unbelievably long, practically reaching the heavens. And in the height of summer, letting such long hair hang loose felt like being roasted alive, but…

“……”

‘After summer break, he still had to maintain the appearance of a girl at school…’

‘He could only endure the heat.’

‘Moreover, Zhong Tian felt his face didn’t suit a boy’s hairstyle…’

‘Shxt…’

“No… even cutting it short, above your neck, would be good…”

“……” Zhong Tian remained silent for a few seconds. “No.”

“Why not…? Don’t you find it troublesome too…?”

“…Can’t I have grown attached to it?”

“…” Li Jianren recoiled slightly. “I can’t quite follow your thought process, bro. It’s like you’re playing a love song to your own hair.”

“Get lost, what ‘playing a love song’!” Zhong Tian’s cowlick shot up instantly. He spun around, casually whipping his ponytail to smack Li Jianren across the face. Immediately, he raised his leg, delivering a kick to Li Jianren’s waist.

Of course, he hadn’t used much force.

Yet, the fellow dramatically covered his kidneys with both hands, collapsing to the ground with a pig-like shriek.

“Aow, aow, aow, aow! Murder! My son’s murdering his own dad!”

‘He was practically weeping dramatically…’

‘To hell with your dramatic tears.’

Zhong Tian added another kick.

“Get up, you idiot dog, let’s go find Lin Yu.”

“Huh…?” Li Jianren lay sprawled on the ground, lifting his head to glance at Zhong Tian. “You’re probably heat-addled, where exactly are we going to find her…?”

“Still pretending?” Zhong Tian enunciated each word slowly. “Mc-Don-ald’s!”

“Holy crap, how did you know?!”

Li Jianren sprang to his feet in an instant, looking like a husky bewildered by its owner.

“…So many questions, let’s go!”

“……”

“Oh, right, you idiot dog, remember to treat me to a lemon tea,” Zhong Tian said. “It’s compensation.”

“Meow? Compensation for what?”

“For laughing so vilely back then!”

“???”