Chapter 26: Today I Start as a Girl! Hot Spring Trip! (Part One)

The next day after school, I stood in the hallway for a long time, clutching the little rabbit hair tie.

My fingers repeatedly stroked the fuzzy ears on the hair tie as I hesitated over whether or not to ask Xiao Yan about it.

‘She said “something was going on at home” yesterday, but what exactly was it?’

“Senior Han Han!”

Song Tao suddenly jumped out from somewhere and grabbed my wrist.

Her grip was so strong that I stumbled.

She wore her hair in two buns today — one slightly higher than the other — accented with orange slice hairpins that jiggled like skewers of candied haws as she ran.

“Come on, come on! There’s a surprise in the club room!”

“Wait — wait a minute!”

She didn’t wait.

She dragged me toward the Old Teaching Building, my backpack clattering against my back the whole way.

Li Li followed behind us, carrying a thick stack of astronomy magazines.

Her steps were light, and she kept her head down, avoiding my gaze as if afraid of exposing something.

Her ponytail was tied very low with a simple black rubber band.

Her bangs were a bit long, nearly covering her eyes, but she didn’t reach up to brush them aside.

The moment the club room door was pushed open…

Warm yellow fairy lights flickered on with a click.

Large characters were written on the blackboard in rainbow chalk:

“First-Generation Astronomy Club Tradition Revival! Liaoshun City Hot Spring Team Building Initiated!”

Xiao Yan stood by the podium, holding the President’s Badge in one hand while tapping a stack of team-building plans with the other.

A mischievous smirk played on her lips as she beckoned me over.

“Surprise!”

Her eyes were bright.

“When I said I had something to do yesterday, I was going to the teacher to apply for our slots. I also took the opportunity to seize the position of President.”

Song Tao lunged forward and hugged my arm, swinging back and forth.

“We can finally go out and play with the President and Xiao Yan!”

Her buns brushed against my chin, and her orange slice hairpin tilted to one side.

Standing nearby, Li Li revealed shallow dimples as she whispered, “The weather index for this weekend… is five stars. It’s perfect for observation.”

She looked down and flipped through the magazines in her arms.

Stopping at a certain page, her fingertip pointed at a star map.

“Orion will rise very high. If the weather is good, you can see the nebula with the naked eye.”

Xiao Yan stepped down from the podium and draped an arm over my shoulder.

The force of it made me lean toward her.

“This is limited to the four of us in the Astronomy Club: you, the former President; me, the new President; plus Song Tao and Li Li. We’re going to Liaohe City for the hot springs this weekend, and at night, we’ll go to the stargazing platform to see the autumn sky.”

I looked down at a photo pinned to the plan.

It was a picture of the two original founders.

Two girls were standing at the entrance of the observatory, their shadows overlapping as they smiled sweetly.

That was the photo Xiao Yan and I had found together after my transformation.

My eyes felt a bit warm.

“A hot spring trip means swimsuits are a requirement.”

Xiao Yan poked my side with her finger, causing my shoulders to instantly tense up.

Her smile grew even more wicked.

“Let’s go shopping now. Everyone buys their own — don’t expect me to cover the whole bill.”

Song Tao jumped up.

“Yay! I’m going to help Senior Han Han pick out the cutest one!”

She hopped to my left and grabbed my other arm.

“President Han Han has such fair skin; she’ll definitely look great in light colors!”

Li Li nodded with a blush, her fingers twisting the hem of her shirt.

“I… I’ve never bought a swimsuit before, either.”

The tips of my ears felt hot. I hid the little rabbit hair tie behind my back, unable to find my voice.

***

The four of us sat around the old wooden desk, the warm yellow light spilling over the yellowed notebooks.

I flipped through the notes from the original team-building trip and read them aloud.

“You should wear a thick coat after soaking in the hot springs, otherwise it’s easy to catch a cold.”

Xiao Yan leaned in to listen, her elbow intentionally bumping against my arm.

Her fingertip secretly brushed against the back of my hand resting on the table.

My pen paused for a second, but I didn’t pull away.

Song Tao leaned over the table, scribbling on the packing list.

“Peach soda, strawberry daifuku, chocolate…”

Her handwriting was round and large, like a primary school student’s.

After finishing, she secretly added a line of small text at the bottom.

She used her arm to block it while writing, thinking no one could see.

“Song Tao.”

Xiao Yan’s voice drifted from behind her.

“Ah!”

Song Tao quickly hid the list behind her back.

The orange slice hairpin on her buns tilted even further.

“I didn’t write anything!”

Xiao Yan arched an eyebrow.

“If you don’t behave, I’ll swap your strawberry daifuku for dried bitter melon~”

Song Tao shut her mouth instantly, covering it with both hands while her eyes darted around.

After a moment, she reached under the table and crossed out “CP Support Stickers” from the list.

She crossed it out so hard that the paper nearly tore.

Li Li used a pencil to map out the travel route.

The sound of her nib was light and soft, skritch-skritch-skritch, like silkworms eating mulberry leaves.

She wrote very slowly, marking each location with a check-in number and noting the arrival times next to them.

“It might get cold at night. We should bring scarves and hand warmers.”

Her voice was very soft, as if she were afraid of disturbing someone.

She pushed her notebook over for me to see.

It showed the location of the National Astronomical Observatory’s stargazing site in northwest Liaoshun City.

It was very close to our hot spring resort.

She had marked the best observation points, sheltered spots, and the locations of nearby convenience stores.

That was a small platform reserved by the National Astronomical Observatory for astronomy enthusiasts to set up telescopes.

“I managed to apply for an observation spot, so we can go straight there.”

Li Li’s handwriting was tiny and neat, with a small star drawn in the corner.

“You’re amazing!” I said.

Li Li shook her head, the tips of her ears turning red.

“It’s just…”

Her face gradually turned crimson, and her voice trailed off.

Xiao Yan finalized the room types for the guesthouse, her fingers scrolling across her phone screen.

“The Dean’s office approved it. We can book two double rooms. Han Hanhan and I will share one, and Song Tao and Li Li will share the other.”

Song Tao giggled behind her hands.

“The official pairing!”

Xiao Yan gave her a look.

Song Tao immediately wiped the smile off her face, pretending to seriously study the map Li Li had drawn.

However, the corners of her mouth were still curled up, and she secretly poked Li Li’s arm.

Li Li kept her head down, pretending to count stars, her ears burning red.

***

The girls’ swimsuit shop had lace bows hanging over the entrance.

The lighting was soft, and the shelves were filled with various styles of swimwear.

Rabbit patterns, strawberry embroidery, ruffled skirts… it was a dizzying array.

Song Tao dashed through the racks like a runaway pony, her orange slice hairpin bouncing along.

“Wow! This one is so cute! This one is beautiful too!”

She picked up a bright yellow athletic swimsuit and held it up against herself.

“This will be perfect for chasing fireflies after the outdoor hot spring!”

Then she picked up an orange one with orange embroidery.

“This matches my hairpin!”

Li Li followed behind, her fingers lightly trailing over the swimsuit fabrics.

She stopped when she touched a light purple one-piece with lily-of-the-valley embroidery.

She checked the price tag and put it back.

The sharp-eyed Song Tao grabbed it immediately.

“If you like it, try it on!”

Li Li shook her head and whispered, “It’s too expensive…”

Song Tao had already stuffed the swimsuit into her arms.

“Trying it doesn’t cost anything!”

Xiao Yan grabbed my wrist and dragged me into the section at the very back.

“This one.”

She held up a light blue one-piece swimsuit with rabbit ears against me.

Her fingertip brushed across my collarbone.

“You’ll definitely look good in this.”

Then she picked up a pink two-piece with ruffles and stuffed it into my arms.

“You have to try this one too.”

I held the two swimsuits, about to say it was enough, when she reached out and pulled another one from the rack.

It was black.

It had thin straps and a very low neckline that formed a downward curve from the chest.

The back was almost entirely bare, save for a few thin, crisscrossing straps.

There was so little fabric that it was probably only the size of a palm when folded.

It was thin and silky, feeling weightless in my hand.

My face instantly began to burn.

“This — this is too much!”

“Too what?”

She arched an eyebrow at me as she shoved the black swimsuit into my arms.

Her fingertip grazed the back of my hand.

“Hmm~? Just give it a try.”

Her voice was low, audible only to me.

I clutched the thin bundle of fabric, my palms slick with sweat.

Song Tao shouted from not far away.

“Xiao Yan! Does this purple one look good?”

She held up a purple swimsuit with sequins against her body.

Xiao Yan didn’t even turn her head.

“It looks good.”

Her eyes were still fixed on me.

“Go try them on,” she said.

I ducked into the fitting room and pulled the curtain shut.

I finished trying on the blue bunny one-piece and the pink two-piece very quickly.

I lingered as I hung them back on the hooks, only picking up the black swimsuit at the very end.

The fabric slid through my fingers, the thin straps dangling like spider silk.

I turned it over and over for a long time, unable to tell the front from the back.

The neckline was so low that I couldn’t imagine what it would look like once I put it on.

There was only a single buckle on the back — a tiny metal ring caught on a thin strap.

Biting my lip, I began to pull the swimsuit onto my body.

The shoulder straps slid off my shoulders, twisting and tangling together.

I couldn’t reach the buckle on the back.

My fingers fumbled behind me for a while, but they only met bare skin and thin strings.

I had no idea where the buckle had slipped to.

The fabric got stuck at my waist; I couldn’t pull it up or down.

The thin layer felt cool against my skin.

I crouched on the floor, struggling with those few thin straps.

The more I panicked, the more tangled things became.

The straps were wrapped around my arms, and the back buckle was still nowhere to be found.

Song Tao’s voice came from outside, muffled by the curtain.

“Li Li, you’ll definitely look great in light purple! Trust me!”

Li Li whispered something in response, but I couldn’t hear it.

“Are you done yet?”

Xiao Yan asked from outside.

I hesitated for a moment, but a hand suddenly reached in through the gap in the curtain.

Its long, slender fingers wiggled as if searching for something.