Gu Chen had barely dared to sleep for the last few days, fearing that the nightmare from that night would return.
Every day, he emerged for meals with dark circles under his eyes.
Seeing this, his dad grew increasingly worried.
“Chen, why have you been so listless lately? Is something on your mind?”
his dad asked cautiously, placing a piece of meat into Gu Chen’s bowl.
“It’s nothing. I’ve just been having some insomnia. I’ll be fine in a while.”
Ever since the man realized Gu Chen still resisted being called “daughter,” he had reverted to his old way of addressing him.
Gu Chen didn’t want to worry his father, so he rubbed his eyes and insisted he was fine.
‘Nonsense. If anyone else suddenly changed sex, how could they stay lighthearted…’
“I see! Well, Chen, in a few days, I’ll take the household register and change your gender. Also, your name—I’ve already picked out a new one for you. How does Gu Qian sound?”
Hearing this, Gu Chen instantly lost his appetite.
He put down his chopsticks and said, “Eat by yourself. I’m full.”
“Why did you eat so little? Is the name not good? How about Gu Xing?”
His dad hadn’t noticed anything unusual and tried again.
Gu Chen ignored him and went back to his room, locking himself inside as usual.
During this time, he had been trying very hard to adapt to the rhythm of being a girl.
For example, having to sit down to use the bathroom… trying his best not to catch a cold, researching female health, and on top of that, not sleeping well.
He was almost on the verge of a breakdown.
And just like that, the time for school to start arrived.
—
Although he had previously thought about never seeing anyone again for the rest of his life, he eventually gave in after seeing the expectant look on his father’s face every day.
After all, his father was unemployed, and having his son—or daughter—drop out of school would be a double blow that might drive him to despair.
Besides, Nezha had said whether he was a demon or an immortal was up to him.
So, shouldn’t whether he was male or female be up to him, too?
The condition for going back to school was a strict agreement with his father: he must never reveal the gender change to anyone.
Otherwise, he would die right in front of him!
Stepping out after such a long time, the world outside felt a bit foreign.
The first day of school was always particularly lively.
Many freshmen were reporting at the gate, where teachers were responsible for registration and leading them to their classrooms.
Gu Chen scanned the crowd; there was no shortage of sweet-looking juniors, which was quite a pleasant sight.
According to the rules, both classes and dormitories were shuffled every new semester.
That said, it was basically just a formality.
It usually meant the whole class just moved to a different location to continue their lessons.
As for the dorms, it was similar.
If they were truly reallocated, people who had finally gotten to know each other would have to start all over again.
For Gu Chen, it was the same.
He even enjoyed the only two-person dorm in the school, living only with Fatty.
It was much quieter.
(The protagonist will commute later. Because no one currently knows he’s a boy, he has to stay in the boys’ dorm temporarily. Some readers might find this hard to accept! Sorry, sorry!!!)
As for the reason, that guy had explained it to the school.
Because Earth’s gravity had intensified, leading to a reduction in atmospheric ozone and a tilt in physical space, the dormitory was prone to quantum entanglement gravitational waves, causing frequent hazards.
And then, that reason… actually… passed!
Anyway, it definitely wasn’t because of Gu Chen, the school bully, or the fear of getting beaten up at any moment…
Walking into the dorm, before he even saw the person, a familiar voice drifted over.
“Heh heh, this new anime character is pretty good. Tsk, tsk.”
Guo Ming was sitting at his desk, making the chair creak under his weight.
He was watching a new anime release on his laptop, and he was almost drooling.
Without even thinking, Gu Chen knew he must be planning his “Clothes Disappearing Technique” again.
“Boss, you’re here!”
“Your little brother missed you so much!”
Hearing footsteps, Guo Ming turned around.
Finding that it was Gu Chen, his face flushed with excitement.
His massive, heavy body lunged forward with open arms, looking as lecherous as a man who hadn’t seen a woman in ten years.
“Get lost!!”
Gu Chen usually hated how this guy would constantly pounce for a hug, and now, he was naturally even more repulsed.
He directly raised a foot and kicked him.
“Ouch—”
But it seemed this guy’s “thorns” ability had improved again.
Not only did the kick do no damage, but Gu Chen was actually bounced back, nearly falling to the floor.
“Boss, are you okay?”
Guo Ming brushed the dust off his belly.
“I’ll be fine as long as you stay the hell away from me,” Gu Chen warned with a grimace.
“Oh, come on, we haven’t seen each other all break. I missed you!”
Guo Ming rubbed his hands together, his face full of flattery.
This guy often used Gu Chen’s name to swindle people at school, and whenever trouble arose, he would say it was under Gu Chen’s orders.
In the class monitor’s eyes, specifically, out of 100 bad things in the world, 101 of them were done by Gu Chen. She never even doubted it…
‘I don’t miss you at all!’
Gu Chen glared back.
“Boss, it looks like your massive hemorrhage issue is cured. You’re full of energy. Fighting the class monitor for another 300 rounds wouldn’t be a problem at all.”
Guo Ming looked him over and immediately cheered him on.
“You still dare to mention that!”
If this animal hadn’t turned Wang Meng into some “fan-book” character, causing Gu Chen’s hemorrhage, he might still be a real man right now.
Thinking of this, Gu Chen wanted to send this kid to a butcher shop and have all his fat chopped into mincemeat!
“What’s wrong? Is it not better yet? It didn’t affect your… functionality, did it?”
“It’s better than ever.”
Gu Chen suppressed the urge to chop him into mincemeat and lied through his teeth.
This was his deepest secret; he couldn’t let anyone know.
“That’s good. I’ve got a few more new works here. Boss, do you want a preview?”
Guo Ming arched his eyebrows and spoke sneakily.
*Hiss—*
“Not interested!”
Gu Chen suppressed the urge to chop him into mincemeat once more.
He didn’t want to recall the painful lesson from before at all, so he simply turned and left, planning to check out the classroom.
The grade had changed, but the class remained the same; he just had to walk up one more floor than before.
Along the way, people who recognized Gu Chen were so frightened that they scrambled to make way.
A vacuum zone seemed to form several meters around him, as people were terrified of getting beaten up if they provoked him.
Following the path, he finally found the door to Class Five.
“Excuse me, Senior, are you in this class?”
Just as he was about to enter, a girl who looked like a freshman called out to Gu Chen from behind.
“Yeah, why?”
“I’m looking for someone. Could you please help me call him? His name is Li Zixuan.”
The girl was very sweet-looking, and her eyes were clear.
“Who are you?”
“I’m his younger sister.”
Gu Chen looked at her and figured she was probably introverted and too shy to go in herself, so she was seeking help.
Gu Chen nodded and shouted directly into the doorway, “Li Zixuan, is the person outside your sister?”
The voice carried into the classroom, and it instantly became dead silent…
Then, Li Zixuan came scrambling out.
When he saw Gu Chen standing with his sister, he froze.
Then… he knelt before Gu Chen with a sob, clutching his leg.
“Boss Gu Chen, please, I beg you, let my sister go! She’s only 17—she’s still just a child!!”