Chapter 2: A Girl
"How did I turn into a woman?!"
Looking down, the girl saw a pair of slender, delicate hands. Her fair skin looked smooth under the dim glow of the room’s light.
Her balance felt off. She instinctively leaned forward, only to realize the extra weight on her chest was heavier than expected. She pulled at the neckline of her camisole and took a quick peek inside.
Just one glance at the soft curves inside was enough to make her face flush red, and she quickly covered herself up again.
...They’re actually pretty big. And so pink and soft…
Wait, am I really a woman now?
Still unsure, Chen Cheng hesitated and reached down under her skirt—
"I’m still here, you know."
An Yuan’s voice cut in just in time, stopping her from exploring further.
"But why did I turn into a woman?!"
"My best guess? You got drunk last night and said you wanted to be a woman. And now… well, here you are."
"...That’s some beaver-level logic."
"Sounds pretty reasonable to me," An Yuan retorted, rolling his eyes. "And you still have the energy to joke around?"
Chen Cheng immediately straightened up, crossing her legs and putting on a serious face.
"I was just talking nonsense while drunk! I didn’t actually want to be a woman! Did you wish to be young again last night?"
"No. We got hit by a truck and ended up time-traveling."
"WHAT KIND OF LUCK IS THAT?! I wasn’t a terrible person in my past life, was I?!"
An Yuan pinched the bridge of his nose. "We got hit by a huge truck when I was helping you out of the barbecue place. And boom, here we are."
"......"
"It’s…" He pulled out a phone and checked the calendar. "Ten years ago."
An Yuan sat on the edge of the bed. "So we’re back in our senior year of high school. Of course I look younger."
Chen Cheng’s eyes widened, round and filled with disbelief. Her heart nearly stopped.
"NO WAY!!!"
"You mean… we’re screwed?"
Chen Cheng collapsed face-first onto the bed, burying her head into the pillow.
"Let me sleep! Please let me wake up from this! I don’t want to go through senior year again! This is a nightmare! AHHHHH! And I don’t want to be a woman either!!!"
The trauma of high school had haunted her nightmares for years, and now, against all logic, she was actually back!
This has to be a dream!
Still wearing the same camisole dress, she sprawled out on the bed in despair. The fabric had ridden up, exposing white underwear and the soft curve of her waist. Her smooth, youthful legs stretched out in plain view.
An Yuan rubbed the tip of his nose.
As a man with the mind of a 27-year-old, he could appreciate the beauty of a teenage girl. But the problem was, this wasn’t just any girl.
This was Chen Cheng.
His childhood best friend. The same dude he once compared sizes with when they were kids. The same guy he had a brotherly bond with, so close they could’ve shared underwear.
His instincts told him to look.
His soul violently rejected the thought.
How the hell did his lifelong brother turn into such a naturally beautiful girl?
Every little expression, every movement. It was all effortlessly feminine.
Feeling an unwanted reaction stirring in his young body, An Yuan calmly grabbed a blanket and covered her exposed legs.
"Wait!"
Chen Cheng suddenly shot up, excitement replacing her earlier despair.
"We’re from ten years in the future! Who cares about school? We should be making money!"
Completely oblivious to An Yuan’s inner struggle, she crawled to the edge of the bed, eyes gleaming with excitement.
"I remember gold prices are gonna skyrocket! We should buy hundreds of kilos and stash them!"
She grabbed An Yuan’s arm, leaning in close.
"Stocks! Future tech! Electric cars are gonna blow up, right?"
Their faces were barely ten centimeters apart.
An Yuan could see every little detail. Her long, fluttering lashes, her bright, eager eyes. They blinked playfully, full of anticipation.
He subtly leaned back to create some distance.
“Stop overthinking. This is a parallel world. There’s no guarantee the future will happen the same way.”
“How do you know it’s a parallel world?”
"If not, why are you a woman now?"
Chen Cheng frowned, unconvinced. “Uh…”
“I checked the gaming news before coming here. The all-Chinese team won the S5 championship.”
“…It really is a parallel world! No way! Absolutely no way!”
An Yuan sighed as he watched the girl roll around on the bed, still dressed in nothing but a camisole. With the way she was moving, everything was on full display. He quickly averted his eyes and took in the room instead.
It wasn’t big, maybe a little over ten square meters. The floor was a warm-toned wood, and a 1.5-meter bed sat against the wall. At the foot of the bed was a floor-to-ceiling wardrobe, and a small desk with a computer was set up beside it.
Since the owner of the room was now a girl, everything had changed accordingly. Pink bed sheets, cute decor, and a hamster-shaped pillow on the bedside table. Other than that, it wasn’t much different from his memories.
An Yuan picked up a test paper from the desk and skimmed through it. Even after turning into a girl, Chen Cheng’s name remained the same, her handwriting was still a messy scrawl, and her grades were… well, still below average. She might barely make it into a regular college.
Actually, he wasn’t even sure if she could still understand the Pythagorean theorem at this point.
“Oh yeah, how did you get in?”
“I rang the doorbell, but no one answered, so I took the spare key from the shoe cabinet.”
“Oh~ Then my mom’s probably out playing mahjong all night.”
As they talked, there was a rustling sound. An Yuan turned his head just in time to see Chen Cheng standing in front of the wardrobe, about to change clothes.
“Hey! At least tell me to leave first!”
“Hm?” Chen Cheng glanced at him. “Are you getting shy?”
“No. I’m almost thirty, why would I be shy? But you’re a girl now.”
Understanding finally dawned on Chen Cheng. She clapped her hands together. “Ohhh~ Don’t tell me you’re drooling over my body?”
“Get lost!”
An Yuan lost his composure and stormed out of the room, cursing under his breath.
But Chen Cheng wasn’t done teasing. She grinned and shouted after him, “Hey! I’m super pretty now! Wanna have some fun, bro?”
“Stop making me sick! Scram!”
“Ha! If you’re disgusted, that means it worked!”
Hearing the door slam behind him, Chen Cheng wrinkled her nose and looked down at herself, muttering, “Shouldn’t I be the one disgusted? Woke up as a woman out of nowhere…”
Sure, having a girl’s body was nice in theory, pretty and all. But she didn’t want to be a girl!
The thought of being chased by guys in the future, or worse, having to marry one…
Goosebumps crawled up her arms. She shuddered and shook her head vigorously.
“No way, never! I’d rather stay single forever, just like in my last life!”
If her family ever tried to push her into marriage, she’d just run off to another city again.
At least she still had An Yuan, her best brother who still saw her as a guy.
Feeling slightly relieved, she quickly pulled off the camisole. One quick glance downward made her brows furrow even tighter. She pulled out a pair of long pants and a T-shirt from the wardrobe and threw them on.
Never wearing skirts again!
“An Yuan! I’m ready! Let’s hit the internet café and pull an all-nighter!”
“It’s already past eight. We have school tomorrow.”
As An Yuan looked up, the first thing he noticed was how the white T-shirt swayed with her every step. It didn’t take much imagination to see what was underneath…
“Damn it! I don’t wanna be a senior again!”
Chen Cheng grumbled as she stomped over, raising her arms and resting them on An Yuan’s shoulders, standing on tiptoe. “Damn, you’re tall now!”
“Or maybe you got shorter?”
An Yuan had no idea where to look. The cool, smooth sensation of her skin against his neck was messing with his head. He quickly lowered his gaze and stared at his phone.
“Get some rest. No matter how much you complain, you still have to go to school tomorrow. Otherwise, your mom will kill you.”
“Ugh, I skipped classes all the time in college, and nothing happened.”
“…Also, before you leave the house tomorrow, wear a bra.”
“Huh?”