Flowers, trees, the sky, a gentle breeze, clouds, the sun…
White Li froze, her brain completely shutting down in that instant.
Go to the bathroom… together?
What does that mean?
Is this one of the campus etiquettes in this world?
Or is this guy harboring some forbidden feelings towards men?
No, no, no, no.
She forcefully suppressed that thought, opening her mouth to say something, but her throat felt blocked, unable to squeeze out a single word.
Lin Du watched her reaction, tilting his head slightly, seeming somewhat confused.
“What’s wrong?” he asked. “Aren’t you going? The next class has a test, and you can’t go to the bathroom during it.”
White Li finally snapped out of it, taking a deep breath.
Okay.
Very good.
Calm analysis.
Lin Du said “go to the bathroom together.” This might be a perfectly normal social behavior among boys. She could understand that.
But the problem is, she’s not a boy right now!
Even though the Disguise Bracelet makes everyone see “male high school student White Li,” her body is undeniably that of a developing girl.
Moreover, she couldn’t even be sure if the bracelet had the function to virtually manifest that thing. After all, she was forced to stay seated the entire day yesterday and never got a chance to check.
If she walked in and the bracelet hadn’t manifested that thing, how would she explain it?
No, absolutely not.
But…
She did drink quite a bit of soy milk this morning, and Lin Du bought her a one-liter bottle of iced black tea during lunch.
To say she didn’t need to go to the bathroom would be a complete lie!
Damn it!
“Um… um…” White Li’s brain spun rapidly, her legs subconsciously squeezing together. “I-I’m not in a hurry, you go first, I…”
“You can go even if you’re not in a hurry,” Lin Du’s tone was perfectly natural. “The break is only ten minutes. If you delay any longer, class will start.”
He had a point, but White Li felt her face inexplicably growing warm.
Was it shame?
She actually still had something like that.
She wanted to say something more when a soft chuckle suddenly came from beside her.
She whipped her head around and found several boys in the back row staring in their direction with subtle expressions.
“Ohhh—” one of them drew out the sound, his eyes sweeping back and forth between the two. “Lin Du, when did you get so close with the transfer student?”
“Yeah, yeah, even going to the bathroom together. How girly,” another boy chimed in, nudging his companion with an elbow.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk.”
White Li’s face turned completely red.
She wanted to explain, but didn’t know where to start.
She wanted to retort, but didn’t know what to say.
Lin Du, however, remained expressionless, glancing back at those boys.
“She helped me with something yesterday. What’s wrong with inviting her to the bathroom together today?”
Helped?
If that kick last night could be considered help…
Those boys were clearly stunned too, looking at each other, momentarily at a loss for words.
Lin Du turned back to look at White Li.
“Let’s go. If we don’t go now, it’ll be too late.”
Forget it. It seems there’s no escaping this. White Li finally sighed.
Fine, let’s go.
She’d just have to improvise on the spot and find a way to get into a stall. That’s all there was to it.
She refused to believe a living person could actually die from holding it in.
“Coming, coming.” She stood up and followed Lin Du out.
Behind them came the hushed discussion of those boys:
“What’s going on with them?”
“No idea. Isn’t Lin Du usually pretty aloof? He hardly talks to anyone.”
“You know what, the transfer student is actually quite good-looking… even though he’s a guy…”
“You don’t get it. Isn’t jade that resembles glass even more perfect?”
“Pfft—!”
White Li stumbled in her step, almost falling.
Lin Du promptly reached out to steady her.
“Th-thanks.”
The two walked out of the classroom one after the other. The hallway was bustling with people—students hurriedly carrying homework, girls chatting leaning against the wall, and a few boys chasing and roughhousing.
Lin Du walked ahead, his pace neither hurried nor slow.
White Li followed behind him, her gaze involuntarily landing on his back.
The school uniform was ordinary, a blue-and-white tracksuit, but it looked neat and proper on him.
His shoulder blades rose and fell slightly with each step, his back straight, walking with a breeze.
But no matter how you looked at it, he was just an ordinary high school student.
“We’re here,” Lin Du stopped.
White Li looked up. Before her was the entrance to the boys’ bathroom.
A faded plastic sign hung on the door, with the character for “Male” written in red paint. The paint was already somewhat peeling, and a faint smell of disinfectant lingered in the air.
She subconsciously froze on the spot. Lin Du looked back at her, a trace of confusion in his eyes.
“Aren’t you coming in?”
White Li really wanted to nod, but her body was on the verge of breaking the dam. She could feel that pressure growing stronger and stronger.
What to do?
Should she just come clean to him?
No, no. There was no suitable excuse.
“In!”
White Li gritted her teeth and threw caution to the wind.
It’s just going to the bathroom! Don’t underestimate me!
But the moment she walked into the bathroom, White Li immediately regretted it.
Four stalls, all with red “Occupied” signs. Like four great mountains, pressing down before her.
“Oh, this…” White Li felt like the sky was falling.
While she was still stunned, Lin Du had already finished and walked over, raising an eyebrow at her.
“Go on, what are you spacing out for?”
“Oh… okay.”
White Li mechanically walked towards the urinals, each step feeling like treading on the edge of a blade.
She stole a glance back.
Lin Du was standing by the sink, turning on the faucet. The water rushed out noisily.
He had his back to her, looking quite relaxed.
Confirming he couldn’t see her, White Li breathed a sigh of relief and prepared to start her performance.
One inch, two inches…
Her hand was trembling, her heart was pounding, her mind a complete blank.
[Knight’s Vision]
An invisible ripple spread out from Lin Du’s body.
Borrowing the power of the Blazing Knight, insect-like compound eyes formed an image before his retinas. The world became completely different in his eyes.
The texture of the walls became clearly visible. Dust particles in the air were magnified into dancing snowflakes.
And that figure not far away…
Lin Du’s heart was just as anxious and uneasy as White Li’s.
He knew he shouldn’t use his power, but he couldn’t control himself.
Just one look. Just to confirm.
Ever since that day on the rooftop when he met the girl with fox ears, he hadn’t been able to forget that face.
The fox fur he plucked had been treasured by him, hung on his wall.
Not long after that, a new transfer student arrived in the class. It was hard not to make a connection.
And the incident in the alley made him even more suspicious of this transfer student.
If it really was that fox girl in disguise, then he absolutely had to ask for a clear answer.
If not, then he would continue observing her as a suspected paranormal entity until confirming she was truly an ordinary human.
So please, just one look.
White Li’s heart was in her throat. She tried to slow her movements as much as possible, hoping one of the stall doors would open and let her in.
But heaven didn’t grant her wish—or rather, the fox’s wish.
The four doors remained tightly shut, with someone inside humming a tune.
Finally, her gaze drifted downward, and she couldn’t help but widen her eyes.
Wow, a golden legend.
“You… came back?” she murmured in amazement.
“……”
Lin Du withdrew his vision. That outline was crystal clear. No need for further words.
He felt as if his body had been drained. Leaning against the wall, he walked out of the bathroom, his face pale.
“I… I’m going back to the classroom first,” the young man’s voice was somewhat hoarse.
“Oh… okay.”
White Li responded, somewhat excitedly reaching her hand down, only to grasp at empty air.
“So it was just a phantom after all…”
Her heart sank back to the depths. Dejectedly, she pulled up her pants.
At the same time, one of the stall doors opened. A chubby boy walked out, looking at White Li with a puzzled expression.
“Did you… go to the wrong one?”
“Didn’t go wrong. Excuse me.”
The chubby boy hurriedly stepped aside, watching as White Li slipped into the stall like an eel. He scratched his head.
“Hiss— that was really weird.”