After I Cross-Dressed, Even My Roommate Kissed Me - Chapter 8

Pei Yisheng felt a sense of urgency. After all, he didn’t have much money on hand. To be safe and avoid putting all his eggs in one basket, he inquired about part-time work at a bar.

The high-end bars he used to frequent during his time as “Young Master Pei” offered high service fees and tips, but the clientele there were likely people he currently couldn’t afford to offend or resist. In contrast, the bar near his university was close by, convenient for commuting, and mostly populated by students; they wouldn’t go too far.

Although the pay was a bit lower, it was safe enough. He decided that unless he truly couldn’t continue as a stand-in photographer, he wouldn’t consider working at the upscale bars.

Pei Yisheng had a good look about him. Almost as soon as he stood before the manager, he was hired. After receiving his uniform and a list of precautions along with a brief training session he officially started his shift.

It had to be said that this bar had its merits. The environment, the drinks, and the games were all things young people enjoyed. People started pouring in automatically from 9:00 PM, and the atmosphere remained heated and energetic until 2:00 AM.

Pei Yisheng weaved through the various booths and tables like a busy little butterfly. By the time he finished his shift, the deafening music seemed to still echo in his ears, and his body was marinated in a chaotic blend of various scents.

In his pocket was 400 or 500 yuan in tips, earned from chatting with people and pouring drinks. Overall, it was more exhausting and less lucrative than being a stand-in photographer.

Pei Yisheng comforted himself by thinking of it as a long-term gig at least it was stable. He dragged his weary body back toward the school. Lacking experience from his first day at the bar, his legs felt like they no longer belonged to him. He wandered slowly, finally reaching the dormitory at 3:00 AM.

Using the last shred of his strength, he took a shower and climbed into bed. He didn’t even have time to pull the bed curtains shut before he collapsed and fell fast asleep.

This sleep was extremely restless. In his dreams, the sky was dark and the earth was dim; torrential rain poured down as if the entire world were turning upside down into chaos. From within the curtain of rain came cries of heartbreaking lamentation even if they couldn’t be seen, the sound was agonizing.

Hearing those voices, Pei Yisheng wanted nothing more than to rush into the rain immediately. But the rain was like a cage, trapping him firmly inside. He screamed, but the rain swallowed all his sounds. He was like an anxious, trapped beast. After an unknown amount of time, when all external sounds finally vanished, he lowered his head as if resigning to fate.

Crystal tear streaks traced like small streams across the corners of his eyes, soaking into the pillow. Pei Yisheng curled up and hugged himself.

Pei Yisheng was woken up by the sound of someone talking on the phone. Song Wen’s highly recognizable voice flirted back and forth with the person on the other end. Within a few sentences, the conversation became explicit. The voice from the phone, which made one’s bones feel soft, drifted over faintly. Pei Yisheng desperately wanted to plug his ears.

In the past, Song Wen never took calls in the dormitory, and he certainly wouldn’t flirt like this. Did he not realize Pei Yisheng was sleeping in the room?

Pei Yisheng struggled to open his eyes, only then realizing his bed curtains were open. His bedding was very soft and fluffy, making it difficult for someone below to notice him.

This was awkward. Pei Yisheng slowed his breathing, not wanting to face such a “social death” moment.

Fortunately, the person on the other end was persuasive; Song Wen didn’t stay long before leaving. Once the door closed, Pei Yisheng hurriedly scrambled out of bed to tidy up. His eyes were swollen like peaches and his spirit was listless. Looking at the person in the mirror, he almost couldn’t recognize himself he looked as if his essence had been drained.

He rubbed his face to make it less stiff. Since there was class in the afternoon, he made himself an iced Americano to reduce the swelling and finished his brunch with a small piece of bread. Taking advantage of the little time he had left, he threw his dirty clothes into the washing machine and tidied the room while he was at it. The physical labor kept him from overthinking.

“If that’s what you want to think, there’s nothing I can do about it.” The corner of Song Wen’s mouth hooked into a smirk, but there wasn’t a hint of a smile in his eyes. “I have things to do, so I won’t stay.”

The other person had said they prepared a surprise, but it turned out they just wanted a formal status. They really couldn’t see things clearly.

Song Wen had come in high spirits but left disappointed, losing all interest in playing around. He went straight back to school. He hadn’t shown his face before his tutors and professors for a while, and since he had plenty of gifts in his car, he decided to deliver them to make a good impression.

Parking the car under the administration building, Song Wen carried the gift boxes and walked gracefully up the steps. The transparent glass doors reflected the scene inside. In front of a full-length mirror, someone was standing with their back to the door, crying pitifully. From Song Wen’s angle, he could see a glimpse of a chin.

He slowed his pace. The person seemed startled by the sound of footsteps and whipped around. With bloodshot eyes and a wronged expression, they looked quite delicate and pretty.

Fang Xin hadn’t expected anyone to come at this time, let alone see him crying. He hurriedly wiped his eyes with his sleeve, wanting to run away.

Song Wen, however, felt a surge of interest. He had never met someone who was not only indifferent to his presence but also just wanted to flee. Although this person looked timid, wasn’t timid even better? Being timid meant they wouldn’t be as difficult to deal with as the one he dealt with today.

“Classmate, are you having some trouble?” When Song Wen pretended to be a good person, he was quite convincing.

Fang Xin knew the other person was talking to him. He gave the man a subtle look and stopped moving, hesitating as he said, “It… it’s not really a problem.”

“I see. My mistake then.” Song Wen made a move as if to leave. “Classmate, go wash your face. The restroom is in that direction.”

As expected, Fang Xin was misled by Song Wen’s act, believing the man was a kind soul sent from heaven to help him. As Song Wen turned around, Fang Xin couldn’t help but seek help. “Classmate, can you really help me?”

“Tell me about it,” Song Wen said, looking at him with a face full of smiles.

Fang Xin’s problem was both big and small. He was only able to attend school because his family took out a loan. He thought they could pay it back slowly, but his family had been scammed into taking a high-interest loan from loan sharks. If the payment wasn’t made by today, the interest would snowball to a height his family couldn’t afford.

Helpless, he wanted to ask the school to return his tuition fees. He knew the school could arrange student loans, and he could just switch to that later. But the teacher said the tuition had already been processed and there was nothing they could do. Fang Xin really didn’t know what to do, which is why he started crying as soon as he left the teacher’s office.

Hearing this, a smile tugged at the corner of Song Wen’s mouth. Money was never an issue for him. “Easy. I’ll lend it to you.”

“Really?” Light erupted in Fang Xin’s eyes.

Of course Song Wen could. His gaze traveled up and down the other man. After Fang Xin stood up, his physique was quite slender. Although his skin wasn’t as white as Pei Yisheng’s, his features weren’t as refined, and his temperament wasn’t as good, he could still serve as a minor substitute for a while. Song Wen was getting annoyed with being unable to “get a taste” of the original.

Fang Xin was immersed in the joy of being saved. He said tentatively, “It might take me a long time to pay you back, but I will work hard and try to return it as soon as possible.”

Having just met the guy, Song Wen still had the patience to play through the “plot.” He reached out and wiped a tear from Fang Xin’s face. “It’s a small matter. Your studies are more important; don’t overwork yourself.”

Unlike Pei Yisheng’s reaction to such words, Fang Xin nodded with a slight blush. The smile on Song Wen’s lips faded slightly as he thought disdainfully: A substitute is just a substitute; they can’t even resist a little bit of petty favor.

He lost interest in playing further, had Fang Xin add him on WeChat, and then went upstairs to see his teachers.

Fang Xin held his phone to his chest, his eyes following Song Wen until he disappeared around the corner of the stairs. He first paid off the loan sharks and comforted his parents before clicking on Song Wen’s WeChat profile.

Song Wen was naturally high-profile. His profile picture was a photo of himself surfing; his physique was like a male model’s, and his face was dashing and romantic. One look into those “peach blossom eyes” for too long and anyone would fall in love.

Fang Xin thought with a blush: Why are Qin Zhou and Wen Xiuyun ranked ahead of Song Wen? Clearly, Song Wen is the best.

He secretly saved Song Wen’s profile picture to his album. He looked at the photos of Qin Zhou and Wen Xiuyun he had saved from the forum posts earlier; he zoomed in to look at them but still couldn’t bring himself to delete them. After admiring them for a while, he hesitantly deleted the photo of Wen Xiuyun that had a tiny silhouette of Pei Yisheng in the background after zooming in.

He didn’t like that person. Not one bit.

Pei Yisheng suddenly sneezed.

“Are you okay, Sheng sheng?”

“I’m fine, Senior,” Pei Yisheng rubbed his nose. “Maybe someone is thinking of me.”

Meng Zihua laughed. “You cocky kid. Just as long as it’s not a cold. It’s settled for the CP exhibition then don’t stand me up!”

Pei Yisheng shook his head. “I won’t, Senior. Don’t worry. But… can I really pull this off?”

“Definitely. Your conditions are fantastic. It’s just that you don’t like it; otherwise, I would have dragged you into the studio to take commercial orders long ago.”

With her guarantee, Pei Yisheng felt much more relieved. After seeing Meng Zihua off, Pei Yisheng told Su Yiyi the news. They had originally agreed to go to the exhibition together to support Cheng Cheng and take photos, but now that he was going to be on stage himself, he wasn’t sure how Su Yiyi would feel. Knowing he was technically “flaking” on Su Yiyi, Pei Yisheng consciously brought some delicious treats before telling her.

To his surprise, Su Yiyi was quite excited. “Sheng sheng, really? You’re going as a rescue? Then can I come with you? I’ll be your little assistant!”

“But it’s very tiring.”

“Then I definitely should go, so you’ll have the strength to come back. Besides, I have makeup skills. I can help with touch-ups or changing costumes.” Su Yiyi counted the benefits of her going on her fingers.

Pei Yisheng was deeply moved, a small dimple appearing by his cheek, looking sweet and well-behaved. “Thank you, Yiyi. I’ll treat you to a big meal afterward.”

“Then I’ll be waiting for that feast!”

To achieve the best effect, Pei Yisheng spent the next few days running to his Senior’s studio to try on makeup and alter clothes.

Pei Yisheng had a good face and a tall stature; he was slender but had lean muscle. Everything he wore looked right. He didn’t even need to tighten the waistband for his back and waist to look incredibly beautiful. This was part of the reason he had been chosen as a stand-in photographer before.

However, this time he was going to wear female clothing. The original coser had undergone a minor aesthetic procedure and hadn’t recovered by the end of the recovery period. She had kept it from the Senior, which led to the time crunch and the need for Pei Yisheng to step in.

“Don’t worry. Once this makeup is on, no one will recognize you as Pei Yisheng. Your daily life won’t be affected.”

Meng Zihua stared at Pei Yisheng greedily. She circled him twice and sighed, “Sheng sheng, your waist is so slim.”

Pei Yisheng was already uncomfortable with the corset and the ornate, palace-style gown. After being teased by Meng Zihua, his face flushed a deep pink, making him look like a ripe, succulent peach.

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