Chapter 59: Voice
Li Mu actually liked his homeroom teacher, Yang Ye.
It’s just that sometimes he talked a little too much.
Right after the third class in the afternoon ended, Li Mu saw Yang Ye again.
“Everyone, move out! To the sports field! Basketball time!” Yang Ye waved his hand and led the whole class out of the classroom. The way he walked forward with the students behind him, it almost looked like he was leading a gang into a street fight.
Li Mu followed at the very back, looking like he had given up on life.
He did know how to play basketball. Back in elementary and middle school, he had even been obsessed with it for a while. But now, most of his muscles had faded, and his stamina wasn’t as good as before.
By the time the group arrived at the school’s basketball court, more than 20 of the 40+ students in the class had already disappeared. In the past, Li Mu would have also snuck away by now to go eat at the cafeteria.
“Hey, Li Mu, I heard you’re playing too?” Yu Fan somehow appeared beside him again, smiling. “Want to team up?”
“Nope. I’ll just be on the sidelines cheering.” Li Mu shook his head.
Being a cheerleader still counted as participating. After all, the teacher just wanted him to join group activities, he didn’t have to actually play.
“Then you have to wear a short skirt and do a dance with those pom-pom things.”
Li Mu turned his head away, not bothering to reply.
This guy clearly had some weird thoughts, always trying to get him to dress up like a girl.
Probably one of those people who just love drama and chaos, like the kind who always beg streamers to wear cosplay for laughs.
“Alright! Players, come up and form teams! Cheerleaders too, make your own team. The winning group gets burgers today, my treat!” Yang Ye added something new this time, which suddenly gave the students a boost of energy.
After all, chances to take advantage of a teacher don’t come often.
Yu Fan happily ran to the center of the court. Even though he didn’t play much basketball, he was over 180 cm tall, which gave him a bit of an advantage.
Li Mu yawned and sat on the edge of the flowerbed next to the court. He looked around, saw no one nearby, and quietly asked, “How does it feel?”
“A little cramped, but not bad otherwise.”
“Good to hear.”
He was talking to himself, but the voice that answered came from Xiao Jing, who spoke through his voice. Xiao Jing’s tone was cute and soft, and combined with Li Mu’s now more gender-neutral voice, it sounded a bit like a gentle girl’s voice.
If he used this voice to replay that moment when Lin Xi’s ghost possessed him and made him confess to Yu Fan, maybe it wouldn’t have felt so awkward.
“When are we going to sing?” Xiao Jing asked again.
“Friday, fourth class in the afternoon. We’ll go to the main building for the audition,” Li Mu replied. But then he suddenly realized something.
If he, a guy, went on stage to sing and what came out was a girl’s voice...
Even though he was acting more feminine lately, using a girl’s voice to sing might still seem really weird, right?
He fell into deep thought.
“Li Mu! Don’t just space out there, cheer for me properly!” Yu Fan had already picked a team and ran over to boss him around. “You’re a cheerleader, so go buy drinks. I want sports drinks.”
“Nope.” Li Mu said with a blank face. Then he looked up, and saw that Yang Ye was walking toward him too.
“You’re not joining?” the teacher asked with a smile.
“I don’t know how to play well... and my pants are too tight.” Li Mu looked down at his own pants, which were tight around his thighs.
He did some research online, people with higher body fat often have thicker legs, and most women’s legs actually aren’t as slim as men’s.
But that didn’t stop girls’ legs from looking nice. Men's legs, no matter how lean, are just like bamboo poles, while a girl's legs, even if the legs were a little thicker, they still looked well-shaped and balanced.
Right now, even though he wasn’t a girl, his body fat was probably about the same as a normal girl’s. If he hadn’t lost a lot of weight recently, his previous weight of 130 pounds would’ve made him look chubby because of how much fat he had.
He wanted to wear loose shorts, but since he had no hair on his legs, it felt like showing his calves would reveal one of his “flaws.”
“Alright then, you’ll be a cheerleader,” Yang Ye didn’t push him and just smiled and nodded. “Since when are you and Yu Fan such good buddies?”
“We’re just normal classmates.”
“What do you mean? Li Mu and I are brothers who’ve been through life and death together!” Yu Fan said loudly at the same time, smiling as he wrapped an arm around Li Mu’s shoulder.
Li Mu gave him a tired look but didn’t bother arguing.
Yang Ye, seeing that Li Mu had finally made a friend in class, felt happy for him.
As the two went off to play basketball, Li Mu yawned and sat there with little interest, watching Zhao Pan come over.
This shy and quiet roommate usually had no interest in basketball. But today, maybe because of the free burger prize, he stayed on the court too.
“Brother Mu, which team are you cheering for?” Zhao Pan asked with curiosity.
“The teacher’s team,” Li Mu answered casually. He didn’t even look up at the court, just kept staring at his phone, checking the details for the school’s “Top Ten Singers” event.
It was pretty much the same as what Yu Fan had told him. The first audition would be on Wednesday. The second and third rounds would also be held every Wednesday. If there weren’t many participants, they might choose the top ten in just one round.
The first round would be held in the dance room in the main building. The later rounds would be held on the school’s outdoor stage.
It all sounded... super embarrassing.
Li Mu stayed quiet. He never liked being in the spotlight, and now he had to go on stage and possibly make a fool of himself...
“Xiao Jing, can you sing well?”
If she could sing okay, it might be fine. But if she sang badly... that would really be humiliating.
But from what he remembered, his little sister was pretty good at singing. His parents had even signed her up for singing classes when she was five or six.
Still, this was a different body and a different voice. Who knew if Xiao Jing could get used to it?
“Mhm!”
“Alright, I’ll find a place for you to try it out.”
Li Mu looked up at the court. Right now, Yang Ye was focused on defense and clearly not paying attention to him.
As for Zhao Pan, he was staring at Li Mu with curiosity, not sure why he was talking to himself.
Li Mu stood up and started walking toward a quieter part of the school. But after a few steps, he looked back, and saw Zhao Pan was following him.
“What are you doing?”
“Just going to the shop to get a snack.”
“The shop is that way,” Li Mu pointed in the opposite direction.
Zhao Pan scratched his head and gave an awkward smile. “Brother Mu, where are you going? I’m kinda bored.”
“None of your business.” Li Mu gave him a cold look and turned to leave.
He didn’t stop walking until he reached a quiet corner between the dorm building and the school wall.
This was the same place where he had once jumped over the wall and got into a traffic accident. Usually, no one came here, and the water drain nearby still had a slight foul smell.
He didn’t care about the surroundings. He stood up straight, closed his eyes, and said, “Alright. Let’s begin.”
“Mhm!”
A moment later, his eyes opened again, now full of curiosity.
He touched his throat and then said in a soft and playful voice, “This is a boy’s body~”
Although the voice sounded neutral, Xiao Jing’s way of speaking made it sound very feminine, almost like the cool, calm voice of a mature woman.