You can't wear it, your chest is too small.

_

The two finally arrived at the shop selling swimwear.

Standing before a dazzling array of women's swimsuits, Tong Yao stared at Lin Li beside her, who was dressed in women's clothing without any sense of incongruity, and fell into a brief silence. The scene was undeniably bizarre.

She decided to ignore her "best friend" and began to focus on choosing a swimsuit for herself.

However, Lin Li quickly switched into "shopaholic" mode. He excitedly picked up various styles of women's swimsuits, constantly holding them up to himself, and occasionally tugged at Tong Yao's sleeve, asking in his fake voice with "sincere" sincerity:

"Yaoyao, what do you think of this one? Does the color suit me?"

Wow, this lace-trimmed dress is so pretty! Do you think I'd look sexy in it?

"Hey, this retro onesie looks pretty good!"

His tall stature and overly enthusiastic "performance" drew the attention of other customers and staff in the store.

Tong Yao felt her ears burning, and wished she could disappear into a crack in the ground.

Looking at the oblivious person who was embarrassing her, she secretly made a decision.

Lin Li finally had her fill and hung up the swimsuit she had been trying on.

Turning around, he saw Tong Yao pick up a uniquely designed swimsuit. He leaned closer, his gaze sweeping over her chest, and in a low voice, "sincerely" suggested—in a tone only the two of them could hear:

"Tsk, you can't wear this one."

He pointed to the 3D cups on the upper part of the swimsuit and added with a mischievous grin, "Your breasts are too small, they'll leave gaps!"

Tong Yao remained expressionless, but her hands moved with lightning speed, precisely twisting his soft side with a familiar motion.

"Hiss—" Lin Li gasped in pain, but remained defiant, "To be honest... I just can't wear it!"

Tong Yao was too lazy to waste any more words with him. She picked up the swimsuit, walked around the annoying guy with a blank expression, then casually took one from the shelf next to her and went straight to the cashier.

Seeing that Tong Yao had made her choice, Lin Li remembered her own business.

He quickly ran to the men's swim trunks section, but the men's swimsuits were all the same. He lost all enthusiasm for the women's section, grabbed a pair of dark blue beach shorts, and went to pay for them.

As they emerged from the swimsuit shop, the summer heat enveloped them once more. Tong Yao handed Lin Li a small bag bearing the shop's logo, her tone flat and indifferent:

"Here, your birthday present." She paused, a very faint, almost imperceptible smile curving her lips. "I just noticed you really like this style."

Lin Li, unsuspecting, happily accepted it: "Oh, how kind of you!"

How come he didn't notice when Tong Yao went to the men's clothing section to pick out clothes?

He happily opened the bag, then looked down—

The smile froze on his face.

What lay in the bag was not swim trunks at all, but a set of surprisingly little fabric and an extremely daring design... a black lace bikini.

Lin Li picked up the thin strap and the small triangular piece of fabric, and three black lines seemed to appear on her forehead.

He looked up at Tong Yao, who had a calm and composed expression.

"Tong Yao!" He practically spat out the two words through gritted teeth.

Tong Yao merely raised an eyebrow slightly, her tone remaining calm: "Don't you like it? I saw you were quite engrossed in your gestures just now. It's a birthday, after all, there should be some... special surprises."

Lin Li picked up the thin piece of fabric and threw it back into the plastic bag "aggressively".

"Change it, I don't want this one!" he said in a muffled, coquettish voice, shaking Tong Yao's arm.

Seeing his embarrassed expression, Tong Yao was secretly delighted, but her face remained calm and composed.

She withdrew her arm and said calmly, "Once a gift is given, there's no reason to take it back. I think it suits you very well, 'Lili' classmate."

"No...this..." Lin Li looked at the almost transparent fabric in his hand, imagined himself wearing it, and felt a chill run down his spine. He tried to reason with her...

"This is completely unwearable!"

“It’s okay,” Tong Yao stopped and looked back at him, a hint of teasing in her eyes. “You can keep it as a memento, to commemorate the first time you’ve received such a ‘unique’ birthday gift.”

Looking into her smiling eyes, Lin Li knew that the gift couldn't be exchanged!

Fine, Tong Yao, you're ruthless!

A thought arose spontaneously: "I would be no gentleman if I didn't avenge this."

He stopped arguing about exchanging gifts and simply tucked the small bag into the bottom of his shopping bag.

But in his mind, he had already made a deep note of Tong Yao's name.

_

August 12th.

Lin Li was still dressed as "Lin Lili"—a floral dress and a long, straight black wig—and brazenly took Tong Yao from Tong's mother.

"Goodbye, Auntie! I'll take good care of Tong Yao!" Lin Li smiled sweetly and obediently.

"This is so much fun!" Mom stood at the door, waving with satisfaction.

Only after leaving the residential area did Tong Yao look at Lin Li speechlessly: "Are you planning to go to the water park dressed like this?"

Lin Li said helplessly, "What else can I do? If I don't do this, will your mother let me take you away?"

"Besides, we can just change it when we get there."

Tong Yao hummed in agreement, seemingly thinking of something interesting, and a slight smile appeared on her lips.

_

The water park was bustling with activity; the sounds of huge splashes of water, the laughter of visitors, and the broadcast music mingled together, creating a vibrant summer atmosphere.

In the wave pool not far away, Song Tian was wearing ordinary swimming trunks, his body submerged in the water, but his eyes kept glancing towards the entrance of the pool, with obvious anticipation.

"I wonder if I'll be able to run into Sister Lili today..." he muttered to himself, feeling a mix of excitement and nervousness.

Song Tian was the boy who came out to throw away the trash next door to Tong Yao's house. He would be in his third year of junior high school this fall, and was a year younger than Lin Li and Tong Yao.

Ever since that fleeting glimpse in the elevator that day, Lin Lili's tall and beautiful figure and lively smile have lingered in his mind.

When he heard that "they" were coming to the water park today, he almost impulsively bought tickets and rushed over hoping to bump into them.

---

Lin Li and Tong Yao finally arrived at the park. After storing their belongings, they each carried a bag containing their swimsuits and headed towards the changing room area.

Tong Yao's gaze held a hint of mockery as she watched the "tall girl" in the floral dress walk towards the men's locker room, preparing to enjoy the "show" to come.

Contrary to Tong Yao's expectations of embarrassment, Lin Li was completely unfazed and even felt a little amused.

He walked confidently into the men's changing room, head held high and chest out, a bag containing men's beach shorts in his hand.

Sure enough, the moment he entered, he instantly attracted everyone's attention. A barrage of astonished, puzzled, and scrutinizing gazes fell upon him like spotlights.

However, Lin Li did not feel embarrassed at all.

Awkward? Not at all.

The men's changing room had no partitions, so Lin Li had no choice but to walk to the only empty locker in the middle.

He turned around, facing the locker, his back to most people's gaze, his movements swift and efficient.

With a "whoosh," he pulled down the zipper on the back of the dress.

Then, grabbing the hem of her skirt with both hands, she deftly lifted it up and pulled it off!

In an instant, the highly deceptive dress was stripped off, revealing the lean yet muscular upper body of a young man, with broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and fair skin, creating a devastating contrast to his previous "girl" image.

That's not all!

Amidst the deathly silence and even more shocked gazes around him, he remained unfazed and then took off the safety shorts he had worn to conceal his identity...

When the last bit of the "female disguise" was removed and the truth was revealed to the world—

"hiss--"

A chorus of gasps of astonishment erupted from the surrounding area.

All the boys who witnessed this "transformation" looked as if they had been struck by lightning.

Their gazes unconsciously swept quickly between their own and Lin Li's private parts, and then their faces revealed incredibly complicated, even somewhat questioning, expressions.

A roar of inner turmoil rose and fell:

Damn it! It's bigger than mine when I pull it out!

That's a guy! Am I blind?!

Are all cross-dressing men these days so incredibly well-endowed?!

Lin Li could feel the burning gazes behind her, filled with all sorts of complex emotions. What was originally not awkward now made her feel shy.

He suppressed the urge to dig his toes into the ground, quickly slipped on his dark blue men's beach swim trunks, grabbed a towel and toiletries bag, and practically fled the changing room, leaving behind a room full of men whose minds were shaken and who needed time to rebuild their worldview.

Tong Yao waited outside the women's changing room for a while, and then saw Lin Li come out wearing swim trunks, with an unnatural blush on her cheeks.

"What's wrong?" Tong Yao asked, pretending not to know and suppressing a laugh.

"He's acting like he's sick, staring at me like that!" Lin Li complained angrily, then pulled Tong Yao away from this troublesome place.

_

On the way to the pool, the sun was blazing and the water was splashing joyfully.

Tong Yao keenly noticed many gazes, some openly, some subtly, scrutinizing the person walking beside her. Most of those gazes came from young girls, and even some bold boys, their expressions filled with undisguised admiration and wonder.

She frowned slightly, following those gazes to turn her head and look at Lin Li—

He was shirtless, with nothing covering him.

His chest muscles undulated sharply, his six abdominal muscles were clearly defined, and most striking was the "shark muscle" on his waist, which contracted and stretched clearly with each step, exuding a sense of power and wild beauty.

"Wow--"

"My God, that figure..."

"I really want to touch it!"

The faint whispers and gasps of surprise she heard inexplicably stirred a sense of irritation and annoyance in Tong Yao. She glared at Lin Li with a displeased expression, her tone stiff:

"Put it on!"

Actually, it was the first time he had ever gone shirtless in public like this, and he was already a little embarrassed. But when Tong Yao yelled at him like that, he was more than happy to oblige. He quickly took the towel she handed him and hurriedly wrapped it around his chest, trying to cover himself up.

But this time, he tied the towel in a knot in front of his chest, like a shy young wife wearing an off-shoulder dress. Combined with his delicate face and slightly reddened ears, he looked even more... eye-catching.

Tong Yao's temples twitched involuntarily as she looked at his pretentious and affected "flirtatious" behavior, which only made things worse.

She took a deep breath, reached out abruptly, and ripped open the knot on her chest, causing the bath towel to slip off.

"What are you doing!" Lin Li exclaimed, instinctively crossing her arms to cover her chest, looking terrified as if she had been molested, her eyes wide open.

Tong Yao was too lazy to waste words with him. She grabbed a bath towel, unfolded it neatly, and then—draped it directly over his shoulders.

The large bath towel, like a small cape, perfectly covered most of his alluring figure, revealing only his collarbone and calves. It blocked those annoying gazes without appearing too deliberate or awkward.

“That’s fine,” Tong Yao patted his shoulder, her tone leaving no room for argument, “Let’s go.”

Lin Li paused for a moment, looked down at the towel on her shoulder, then at Tong Yao's slightly flushed profile, and suddenly understood something. The corners of her mouth slowly curved into a smile.

He immediately moved closer to Tong Yao, lowered his voice, and said in a teasing tone, "What? You don't want to show it to others?"

Before Tong Yao could object, he immediately added with a smile, his eyes crinkling, "Then I'll only show it to you from now on, okay?"

After saying that, before Tong Yao could react, he trotted off like a happy large dog towards the beach shop next door.

Not long after, he returned with a thin white sun-protective shirt, which he neatly draped over his shoulders, zipping it up all the way to his collarbone, completely covering his previously alluring physique.

He walked back to Tong Yao's side, tugged at the hem of his sun-protective clothing, and looked at her with a triumphant expression, his eyes sparkling: "Is that alright now? I promise I won't let outsiders benefit from it!"

Tong Yao looked at his upper body, which was completely covered by sun protection clothing, and met his eyes, which seemed to say "Praise me for being sensible." The awkwardness in her heart instantly disappeared.

She gave a soft "humph," turned her face away, but the corners of her mouth involuntarily turned up slightly.

"You're quite self-aware."