Chapter 214: I Misjudged You All, My So-Called Best Brothers
At the main building, Lin Yibai didn’t have to wait long.
She soon saw that annoying “rival” walking out slowly with a stack of documents in his hands. He looked a bit troubled and even sighed.
Lin Yibai put her hands behind her back and gently called out to him, “What’s wrong? Is it really hard to deal with?”
Xia Changyu let out another sigh. But the moment he saw Lin Yibai, his mood brightened right away. He smiled and said,
“Actually, it’s not that bad. It’s just that there are so many little things to deal with, like repaying the school loan, the compensation for leaving the business space they gave us, paying water and electricity bills, cleaning fees, and so on. And since we won’t be getting startup support from the school anymore, I also have to help everyone get passes for their electric scooters before we move out of the startup zone.”
Lin Yibai felt her head spinning just hearing all that. It wasn’t really difficult, just too many things to handle.
Suddenly, she felt like this annoying “rival” wasn’t so useless after all. He actually seemed... kind of capable.
The two of them walked around the newly reopened school for a while. Not long after, Lin Yibai found an excuse to leave early. And since Xia Changyu still had to deal with those tasks, he had to cancel the rest of their hangout.
As Lin Yibai walked through the campus alone, she suddenly felt a little emotional.
It had only been a few months. But somehow, everything felt so different now.
And senior year was bound to be special. It meant graduation was getting closer.
“Still, I should go see my old brothers first.”
Before entering the boys’ dorm building, Lin Yibai put on a baseball cap, tied her not-so-long hair into a ponytail and let it hang out through the back hole of the cap, and put on a mask.
She used her phone screen to check how she looked, then quietly asked herself, “Is this really okay?”
But even with a mask, her beautiful face and attractive figure, especially her big chest and the skirt she was wearing, still stood out clearly.
It seemed… no matter what she did, she simply couldn't trick herself.
“But with the system’s timeline correction ability…” Lin Yibai started to speak but stopped.
She was feeling frustrated. She had always been someone who acted quickly and decisively. So why was she being so hesitant now, just to meet some old friends?
An ugly bride still has to meet the in-laws, right?
A beautiful brother also has to face her best buddies.
Alright, alright! She told herself there was nothing to be nervous about.
Then, she boldly walked into the boys’ dorm building.
From the first floor up, the floors were damp, looks like a lot of guys had been washing their dorms with water. Some were walking around shirtless, and strange howls could be heard from odd corners. Everything around her was full of that typical “guy” atmosphere.
Sometimes, Lin Yibai would ask herself, ‘Do I ever miss the days when I was still a guy?’
She would usually answer, ‘What’s the point? Things have already changed.’
But in moments like this, in places like this, she would think, ‘Maybe… maybe I do miss it a little.’
Step by step, Lin Yibai finally arrived at her old dorm room.
She saw the door wide open, and inside, Yang Chenjun was handing out local souvenirs, some cute little wood carvings.
The second brother seemed to be in a relationship, chatting away on the phone.
The third brother had just arrived after a long trip and was lying on the bed like a dead fish.
She stood outside the door for a long, long time. So long that the guys inside finally had to take notice.
They looked at Lin Yibai, who hadn’t moved an inch at the doorway, and asked curiously, “Hi, can we help you?”
Yang Chenjun: “Huh? A pretty girl?”
Second Brother (putting down the phone): “Hello?”
Third Brother (sitting up weakly): “Is she one of those girls handing out flyers? Too shy to come in?”
How annoying! Even my closest brothers… didn’t recognize me?
Not a single one of them noticed who I was. I see right through you now, my fake best friends!
But deep down, Lin Yibai knew the truth. She really did look like a girl now, with a mask and a hat. Even her own parents probably wouldn’t recognize her anymore.
She took a deep breath, then pulled down her mask and called out loudly.
“Brother Yang! Long time no see! Second Bro, Third Bro… it’s me! Xiao Bai!”
What??
The moment she took off the mask, the dorm instantly fell silent.
That beautiful girl at the door… the more they looked at her, the more she reminded them of their old buddy, Lin Yibai.
Then, as if something finally clicked in their heads. They all started shouting at once.
Yang Chenjun: “Whoa—Xiao Bai?!”
Second Brother: “Xiao Bai? What the—my goodness!”
Third Brother: “AAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!” Looks again “AAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!”
What the heck?! Xiao Bai… turned into a beautiful girl?
Was this an illusion? A nightmare? Or did something go wrong with the world?
But from the moment they saw Lin Yibai, the worldline correction had already begun. All of this… was the result of that correction.
They thought, maybe this whole ‘our bro turned into a girl’ thing isn’t normal. But also, maybe there’s a reason behind it. A hidden story. Some kind of struggle.
Maybe it’s all because of the timeline correction. And because of that, they felt like it actually made sense.
Yes. Xiao Bai becoming a girl was… the right thing.
But then again, what "cause" made it make sense that Xiao Bai became a girl?
Their brains were struggling to keep up.
Yang Chenjun furrowed his brows and asked carefully, “Xiaooo…baaaai~~?”
Lin Yibai nodded and said, “Yeah, it’s me. It’s a long story. Let me ask you first… Have you ever heard about people whose bodies are actually female from birth, but they have male genitals?”
Yang Chenjun: “I know it.”
Second Brother: “Heard of it.”
Third Brother: “Saw a science video on it.”
Lin Yibai: “Well… unlucky for me.”
Yang Chenjun’s eyes went wide. “No way! Xiao Bai, you had that condition?!”
Lin Yibai nodded, “Yeah. And during summer break, I had surgery for it.”
Was that excuse really believable? Maybe not exactly. But so what?
Thanks to the system’s worldline correction ability, even her weak explanations would be "corrected" into something that made sense.
Then, as they looked at her pretty face, all the brothers started to feel a little excited.
But that feeling quickly passed. Even though they had joked before about how if Lin Yibai became a girl, she’d have to “let the brothers enjoy”. Now that it had actually happened, they all became serious and respectful, even careful with their words.
It was a kind of respect for the opposite sex, coming from the heart.
Yang Chenjun nodded and said seriously, “I see now. No wonder you kept getting prettier during college. I was always wondering about that. But don’t worry, Xiao Bai. You’ll always be our good brother. No matter what others say, at least in this dorm, we’ll never treat you differently.”
Second Brother put down his phone and said sincerely, “Xiao Bai was always good-looking. I always said so! I just didn’t expect… you were actually a girl.”
Third Brother sat up on the bed, laughed loudly, and said, “Xiao Bai, you’re the fourth in our dorm, right? Well, you’re still number four, just now you’re our fourth sister! If anyone bullies you, we’ll still beat them up together, like always!”
Good brothers, who understand. These were guys who used to say ten curse words in one sentence, but now they were even holding back their dirty jokes.
Lin Yibai felt relieved. She thought she’d have to explain everything at length!
The reason she gave, maybe not perfect or completely true, but thanks to the system’s “worldline correction,” whatever excuse she gave would seem reasonable. As long as no one looked too deep, it was fine. Just leave the rest to the system to take care of.
Lin Yibai finally stepped into the dorm room. When she sat back down on her old bed, she couldn’t help but sigh and say, “I guess… I can’t really come back to how things were, can I?”
Yang Chenjun laughed and said, “We’re not stopping you, as long as you’re not scared!”
Second Brother added, “But seriously, for your own good, it’s better to avoid awkward situations.”
Third Brother asked, “Are you gonna move into the girls’ dorm?”
Lin Yibai shook her head and said, “I’ve rented a place outside. I’m staying there for now.”
Yang Chenjun finally let out a breath and nodded, “That’s the smart thing to do.”
Lin Yibai brushed her hair behind her ear. “You guys—”
Yang Chenjun asked, “What is it?”
Lin Yibai shook her head again and said, “I thought you’d all be freaking out when you saw me like this… But you’re way calmer than I expected.”
Yang Chenjun gave a bitter smile, “Well, what else could we do? Back then, none of us were interested in the guy version of you anyway. And if we suddenly got all excited about you just because you’re a girl now… wouldn’t that be even weirder?”
Damn. Was Yang Chenjun being… too normal?
But actually, maybe his “normal” reaction really was the right one.
They accepted that their good brother used to be a guy, and now also accepted she had become a girl.
But if they suddenly lost their minds just because she changed, that’d be way more strange, right?
Second Brother sighed and said, “This semester hardly even has any classes left. Even if I was interested in you, Xiao Bai, what could I do? Take you back to my tiny village in the countryside?”
Third Brother said dramatically, “Once, there was a beautiful goddess standing right in front of me, but I didn’t know how to treasure her. If Heaven gave me one more chance, I’d say… Xiao Bai, you should’ve changed sooner!”
Lin Yibai: “……”
She chatted a lot with her brothers that day. But she couldn’t explain why, even though it was just the start of their senior year, she already felt a quiet sadness, like they were about to say goodbye.
Yang Chenjun threw this semester’s class schedule to her. There were only three to five classes a week. Everything would be taught within two months.
Yang Chenjun also reminded him, “They say it’s a two-month course, but really, most of that time is just for writing our thesis. You know how it is.”
Second Brother said, “Everyone goes back to their own place.”
Third Brother added, “It’s like what we said back in high school when we graduated. Everyone went to different parts of the country, and now we’re just going back to those places again.”
After hearing that, Lin Yibai couldn’t help but feel a little sad. “You guys are such jerks. Was it really necessary to make it sound so emotional?”
Yang Chenjun sighed and said, “It’s just reality.”
Lin Yibai asked, “Have you guys thought about what you’re going to do after graduation?”
Yang Chenjun smiled and said, “My family is pooling money with some relatives to start a stainless steel business in the central-western region. I’ll probably go help out over there.”
Lin Yibai’s eyes widened in surprise. “You majored in business and management, and now you’re going to make stainless steel?”
Yang Chenjun chuckled and said, “You know me, Xiao Bai. I’m practical. There’s nothing wrong with doing stainless steel. Besides, most people don’t even work in the same field as their major after they graduate, right?”
Second Brother and Third Brother also had their own paths planned.
But it was Lin Yibai who seemed to be the most uncertain. She still didn’t know what she really wanted to do. She might be talented, but she also had her moments of confusion.
After leaving the dorm, Lin Yibai still felt a little lost. Without realizing it, she walked to the office building of her “love rival.”
Maybe she had gotten used to coming here over the past two months. She even knew exactly what time he would show up.
Xia Changyu saw the sad look on the girl’s face and softly called her. “Baiyi?”
Lin Yibai said, “Ah, you’re off work already!”
Xia Changyu asked, “You...?”
“Shh!” Lin Yibai put a finger to her lips, telling him not to speak.
Then, for the first time, she took the initiative to hug her love rival. She leaned her forehead against his shoulder, closed her eyes, and said, “Just let me just hug you for a bit. Just for a little while.”
Xia Changyu, worried, asked, “What happened? Did someone upset you? I’ll go beat them up right now.”
Lin Yibai, feeling down, said, “No one upset me. It’s just… school just started, but everyone’s already talking about graduation. It still feels like we just finished our military training yesterday... Am I being too emotional?”
So that’s what it was.
Xia Changyu hugged her back and told her it was totally normal to feel that way. He gently patted the back of her head and said,
“You’re still better off than some. The dormitory room next to mine finished all their courses in third year. At the start of the semester, five out of six people in their dorm already left. The one guy who stayed behind cried like crazy.”
Lin Yibai, showing rare weakness, said, “Then I’ll cry too. Boo hoo~~”
Xia Changyu knew she wasn’t really crying, but he still played along and comforted her.
Such a sensitive and emotional girl…
If I don’t take care of her, then who will?