Chapter 23: I Want to Become a Cute Girl! (Part 1)

I stared at the information Lin Yu sent me on my phone.

My fingertips rested on the screen for a long time, and the light reflected on my face, casting long shadows with my eyelashes.

The data was clear:

The Star-mark Groove of the Old Observatory, during the Magnetic Field Instability Period — the 1st hour after Orion’s Three Stars rise — would trigger a gender switch for anyone standing within it.

However, the magnetic shock released at the moment of the Transformation would cause harm to those near the one changing, ranging from dizziness and nausea to memory loss.

After 1 hour, the magnetic field enters the Magnetic Field Stability Period.

If one stands in the groove then, the current gender will be permanently locked and will no longer change.

I read it over three times, my thumb scrolling back and forth on the screen until those few lines were practically engraved into my brain.

If I went with Xiao Yan at the agreed time, she would also be within the range of the magnetic field.

The shock from the switch would hurt her.

I didn’t want her to get hurt anymore.

I didn’t want her to have headaches, bleeding, or nightmares because of me.

I also didn’t have the courage to face her.

After she worked so hard to help me turn back into a boy, I was giving up…

So, I made a decision.

I would go alone, ahead of schedule.

During the Magnetic Field Instability Period, I would stand alone in the Old Observatory and turn back into a girl.

By the time Xiao Yan arrived, everything would be over.

She would only need to see the result without bearing the risks of the process.

I tucked my phone into my pocket, zipped it up, shouldered my canvas bag, and walked to the entryway to change my shoes.

Suddenly, as if possessed, I went back to my room and took that Astronomy Club Sailor Uniform, stuffing it into the bag.

It was the same one I wore when I was still a girl.

The lock on the security door was a bit stiff.

My hands were trembling slightly from excitement, and it took two turns to open it.

The hinges gave a faint creak.

I slipped out and slowly pulled the door shut behind me.

The latch clicked softly, sounding exceptionally clear in the quiet hallway.

The house was silent, save for the humming of the refrigerator.

At 8:30 PM, the night was like cotton soaked in ink, wrapping the path on the School Rear Mountain in a suffocating darkness.

Carrying my canvas bag, I kept my footsteps light, intentionally avoiding the smooth main road I had walked countless times with Xiao Yan.

That road was too bright, with streetlamp after streetlamp.

She would be coming from the opposite direction and would be able to spot me at a glance.

I chose the overgrown trail on the Back Mountain.

The gravel-covered surface was bumpy and uneven, and the branches sticking out from the bushes on both sides would occasionally scrape against my pant legs, making a faint rustling sound.

Behind the bushes to the right was a steep slope; I couldn’t see how deep it was under the moonlight.

Inside the bag, the neatly folded Sailor Uniform brushed against my back.

Even through the canvas, I could feel its soft texture.

Just as I rounded a corner, my foot caught hard on a protruding tree root.

I pitched forward, my palms hitting the ground first, stinging as they scraped against the gravel.

My phone slid out of my pocket, clattering twice against the stone steps.

The screen shattered into a spiderweb and went completely black.

Sss —

I knelt on the ground, my knees aching from the impact, and looked down.

My pants were torn, and blood was seeping through the skin.

I scrambled up and picked up the phone, pressing the power button several times, but there was no response.

The cracks on the screen looked like ice patterns, reflecting tiny specks of light in the distant city’s afterglow.

It was broken.

I pursed my lips, shoved the phone back into my pocket, brushed the gravel off my palms, and continued moving forward in the dark.

With every step, the wound on my knee throbbed with pain, as if something were pulsing beneath the skin.

After only a few steps, I tripped over a tree root again.

This time, I grabbed a nearby branch to keep from falling, but the spot on my knee that was already bruised hit the edge of a stone step.

The pain made me gasp, and my eyes began to sting.

I bit my lip, crouched down, and rubbed my knee.

My palm felt a warm wetness.

Blood was leaking out, sticky and coating my hand.

‘It’s fine.’

I used the tree trunk to push myself up slowly, wiped the blood from my hand onto my pants, and continued through the darkness.

The iron gate of the Old Observatory finally came into view.

Under the moonlight, heavy chains were wrapped around the iron fence over and over.

The lock was the size of a fist, reinforced by Lin Yu when she left last time.

I gave the chain a tug, and the clatter echoed far into the night, startling a few birds resting in the treetops.

I went around to the side.

Most of the glass in the window there had long been shattered, and a few jagged shards still hung from the frame, looking like a row of sharp teeth in the moonlight.

The windowsill was covered in dust.

I reached out and wiped it, a layer of gray-black dust sticking to my finger.

I took a deep breath.

I gripped the windowsill with both hands, kicked my toes into the cracks of the brick wall, and climbed up bit by bit.

The muscles in my arms grew sore, and the canvas bag on my back pulled me down, digging into my shoulders.

Just as I reached the height of the windowsill, my palm pressed against a piece of broken glass.

A sharp sting followed.

I didn’t let go, gritting my teeth as I continued to pull myself up.

The inner side of my wrist was sliced open, and beads of blood immediately seeped out, trickling down my wrist bone and dripping onto the stone steps.

They bloomed into small, dark red marks that looked as black as ink in the moonlight.

When I tumbled through the window, my old knee injury hit the frame again.

I crashed onto the floor inside, landing on my back with the canvas bag cushioning the impact.

There was a dull thud.

Dust billowed up, making me cough twice.

I lay on the cold concrete floor, staring at the pitch-black ceiling above, panting for quite a while.

The blood on my wrist was still flowing, trailing down my forearm to my elbow and dripping onto the floor with a faint patter.

I pressed my sleeve against the wound.

The fabric was quickly soaked with blood, sticking to my skin and stinging every time I moved.

Biting my lip, I sat up and used the wall to slowly stand.

My knees felt weak from the pain.

I leaned against the wall for a few seconds until the dizziness passed, then limped further inside.

I suddenly felt a surge of regret.

I really wanted to act spoiled with Xiao Yan, to have her hold me for a while, but she wasn’t here.

In the core area of the Observatory, a blue light was glowing faintly, like a silent eye.

Tiny specks of light floated in the air, like scattered star dust.

Some landed on my hair and shoulders, feeling cool to the touch, like the first snowflake of early winter.

The slight vibration brought by the Magnetic Field fluctuations spread from the soles of my feet to my entire body, as if something were turning over underground, making my bones hum softly.

The screen of the Observation Device Lin Yu gave me was flickering wildly, and a line of white text was particularly piercing:

[Magnetic Field Instability Period activated]

Looking at that line, my heart suddenly grew calm.

The pain in my knees and wrists seemed to fade away.

I forgot about them and walked step by step until I was directly under the blue light, where I stood still.

My soles scraped against the concrete floor, making a faint sound that echoed through the empty Observatory.

A surge of heat rushed up from the soles of my feet.

It wasn’t a burn, but a warmth that seeped out from the gaps in my bones, like being soaked in warm water.

Every pore was slowly opening.

Unlike the panic of my last involuntary Transformation, my consciousness was incredibly clear this time.

I could clearly feel my bones slowly contracting.

First, it was my ankles; the joints made a faint click, as if someone were turning a mechanism inside my body.

Then came my calves, knees, and thighs — every inch of bone was rearranging itself.

The lines of my shoulders became softer, my collarbones emerged from beneath my skin, and my originally broad shoulder blades retracted inward like folding wings.

My jacket suddenly became loose and baggy.

The collar slid from my Adam’s apple to my collarbones, feeling empty.

Wind blew in from the broken window, pouring into the collar with a chilly draft.

The waistband of my pants began to slip.

I grabbed it with one hand and braced myself against the wall with the other.

Long hair cascaded down my neck.

I could feel the strands brushing against my ears and cheeks, a ticklish sensation accompanied by the faint, lingering scent of shampoo.

It was the orange-scented one Xiao Yan used when she helped me wash my hair.

Leaning against the wall, I slowly shuffled to a dust-covered mirror nearby.

I wiped the surface of the mirror with my palm, leaving a clean streak that revealed a blurry reflection.

The girl in the mirror had long hair draped over her shoulders, soft features, and delicate collarbones.

Her height was exactly as I remembered — a bit shorter than Xiao Yan.

She was very cute.

I tilted my head, and the person in the mirror did the same.

A lock of hair slid from my shoulder, resting on my collarbone.

The corners of my mouth curled up.

I turned and pulled the Sailor Uniform out of my canvas bag.

The white collar and deep blue skirt felt incredibly soft.

It was the Astronomy Club’s Club Uniform, the one Xiao Yan had helped me put on before.

I put it on slowly, starting with the top.

I fastened the buttons one by one, pausing for a moment when my fingertips touched the collar.

The buttons here were in the opposite direction of men’s clothing — something I used to be accustomed to.

Then came the skirt.

The zipper was on the side.

I turned sideways and pulled the zipper up.

The fabric tightened, clinging to my waist.

The hem fell to my knees.

The wind blew in through the broken window, gently lifting a corner like a butterfly about to take flight.

I looked down, reaching out to press the hem back down.

My fingertips touched the skin of my thighs; it was cold.

I walked to the observation window and pushed open the dusty wooden frame.

The hinges were rusted, letting out a piercing screech as I pushed.

Dust fell in flurries, landing on the back of my hand.

I wiped my face with the back of my hand and continued pushing until the window was fully open.

The night sky was unbelievably clean.

Orion’s Three Stars were shining brilliantly, like three diamonds pinned to deep blue velvet.

I leaned against the windowsill, habitually reaching out to check the time on my phone.

Feeling the shattered screen in my pocket, I remembered it was broken.

The last time I checked when I arrived, it was around 8:40 PM.

Never mind, the time should be almost up.

The Resonance Badge in my pocket vibrated slightly.

I reached in, pulled it out, and held it in my palm.

The small Star Badge gleamed silver-white under the moonlight.

The engravings on the back were so faint they were almost invisible, with only a few shallow scratches remaining.

The vibration traveled from my palm to my wrist, making the wound throb in rhythm with it — one beat at a time, like a heartbeat.

I stroked the badge and gripped it in my hand instead of putting it back.

On the screen of the Observation Device, a new line of text jumped out:

[Magnetic field stability countdown: 45 minutes]

Leaning against the windowsill, I used my uninjured left hand to slowly wipe the dust off the glass.

My fingertips glided over the glass, making a faint squeaking sound.

Every time I cleaned a spot, I could see a bit more of the starry sky.

Dust stained my fingertips black; I casually wiped it off on my skirt.

Time passed second by second. I watched the numbers of the countdown slowly tick:

44 minutes, 43 minutes, 42 minutes.

The vibration of the Magnetic Field became more and more stable, like a pot of boiling water slowly cooling down.

However, my heartbeat steadied, synchronized with the vibration of the badge.

The badge in my pocket vibrated gently again.

This time, I could feel its frequency was exactly the same as my heartbeat.

‘Would I regret today’s choice? Probably not.’