Chapter 169: I Will Never Go Back on My Word! That's My Ninja Way!
“Ahhh~~~”
Lin Yibai let out a long sigh.
This wasn’t the first time the landlady had come to bother her. Maybe she wanted to raise the rent. Or maybe she wanted to sign a new long-term lease.
Lin Yibai could have just stayed quiet like most people, but then someone wanted to stand up for her.
To be honest, that kind of feeling was addictive. She didn’t have to worry about anything, she could leave the important stuff to that guy.
But… was thinking like this a bit too lazy of her?
While doubting herself in her heart, she still said out loud, “You did great! If it weren’t for you, the landlady would probably still be here blabbering a bunch of nonsense.”
She was starting to give in, and even enjoyed the feeling of being protected. After all, if the sky falls, that annoying guy can catch it for her, right?
But her stubborn little red mouth still wouldn’t admit it. She had the look of, ‘Even though you helped me, and I’m touched, I’m not going to thank you.’
Xia Changyu asked, “That’s it?”
Lin Yibai looked a little guilty, and mumbled, “W-what else do you expect? Don’t you know helping others is a kind act?”
Xia Changyu smiled and said, “I don’t care about that. I just want to know, will you repay me?”
Lin Yibai blinked and asked, “Repay how?”
Xia Changyu said, “By marrying me?”
Lin Yibai quickly waved her hands, panicked, and ran into the kitchen.
“You help me once and expect me to give myself to you? That’s way too cheap!”
Xia Changyu continued teasing. “Then what wouldn’t be cheap?”
Lin Yibai was already falling into his trap, but didn’t notice at all. She answered, “Well, if this were ancient times. At the very least, it would need a formal marriage proposal, with proper bride price, official letters, and a wedding carriage carried by eight… ah—?!”
Xia Changyu: “Eight what?”
Lin Yibai suddenly realized she was being tricked again, and said angrily, “You’re teasing me again?! I’m so mad… I’m not talking to you anymore! The food’s about to burn!”
So, was it the food in the pot that was about to burn, or was it her so-called “man’s heart” that was getting roasted too?
Lin Yibai didn’t know. But she did know her heart was feeling all messy.
Dinner wasn’t anything fancy, but luckily, Lin Yibai was a good cook.
During the meal, Xia Changyu kept hinting that she should move into the apartment in the city center. He said the place was big and felt empty with just him there.
But sadly, she turned him down.
At least for now, before everything was settled.
Whether she chooses to be more like a man, or fully becomes a woman someday. Before marriage, she wants to stay independent. And she meant in every way.
She saw her independence as a sign of self-respect.
As a woman, she had already gained so many advantages in society that she never even dreamed of before. So if possible, she still wanted to keep some personal freedom.
She stuffed Xia Changyu’s travel backpack into his hands and said, a bit annoyed, “I know you mean well. But if you truly care about me, then I want to ask you to respect my choice.”
Xia Changyu sighed and said helplessly, “Why are you so different from other girls? My roommate’s girlfriend stayed in Fucheng for the summer too. He paid for her rent, bought her furniture, you should’ve seen how happy she was!”
Lin Yibai snorted and replied, “Then go find a girl like that! Why keep bothering me?”
Xia Changyu quickly sat up straight and seriously said, “No, no, don’t get me wrong! I didn’t mean it that way. But I think you already understand what I was trying to say. I just wanted to make you happy, to please you, that’s all. But... chances like this are really rare. Sigh.”
Lin Yibai was about to argue back, but when she heard her annoying rival sigh, she scratched her head and said, “Ah, just hurry up and leave already! Soon it’ll be rush hour, and since you live in the city center, the traffic will be horrible!”
Finally, she got the annoying rival to leave!
Lin Yibai naturally walked into the kitchen, wanting to clean the dishes. But then suddenly remembered, he had already washed everything earlier.
Now, the place felt a little too quiet.
She didn’t know what to do next.
Her computer had broken recently, and she still hadn’t bought a new one. If she had one, maybe she could play the game with that annoying rival.
That way, she wouldn’t have had to send him away so fast.
But Lin Yibai shook her head hard and said, “Ah, what nonsense am I even thinking about?”
Instead of thinking about stuff that might not even matter, she figured it was better to focus on her current mess, like that annoying transformation system.
She really didn’t want to pay attention to it, but this “correction value” thing kept affecting everything she did.
What was the last recorded permanent value again? It was 20%, right?
After exams and being lazy at the rented place over summer break, she had gone through a few more transformations. Now it had reached a scary 29.8%.
What did that mean?
It meant that nearly 30% of her entire body was now completely female.
Her face, her features, her skin, even her chest had already changed.
What was left that hadn’t changed?
Two little “eggs,” a fire stick, and... her hair?
Lin Yibai didn’t think those three parts alone could make up the remaining 20% of her transformation, but... she also couldn’t think of anything else that might still change.
“Sigh~”
She let out a long breath, watching the transformation value slowly drop again. Once it hit 30%, it stopped.
At the same time, she changed back. No, more accurately, she only changed back partially into male form, because many other parts had already turned fully female.
Lin Yibai started to worry. “At 30%, what will change?”
Before, by process of elimination, only three things were left: the two “eggs,” the fire stick, and her hair.
So this time, would it be the two eggs?
Would she turn into some weird species or something?
The fire stick? The hair?
In the end, the result came out. There was no need to explain too much. It was more or less what she had guessed. Once again, the system gave her a “fair?” choice.
Now, what should she pick?
Should she lose something from her body or gain something?
Honestly, the two eggs and the fire stick were the final, final, final parts of any man’s pride and dignity.
So compared to... long hair?
She suddenly remembered a well-known Naruto quote, ‘I will never go back on my word! That's my ninja way!’
She wiped the cold sweat from her forehead and forced a smile, saying, “There are plenty of guys with long hair, right?”
So, the answer was already clear.
It was a simple question of adding or losing something, losing something just wasn’t worth it compared to gaining something.
As for what hairstyle she wanted...
She was still thinking about it.