No matter the time, as a student, there was always the burden of heavy coursework.
Su Yao stared at the thick stack of test papers in front of her, her eyes devoid of any sparkle.
She flipped through them casually and then gave up, collapsing face-down onto the pile.
“I really don’t want to write these tests at all!”
Thinking about the upcoming exams and the fact that she’d have to drag herself back up again, she gazed at the densely packed English characters.
Was the Question Sea method useful?
Yes and no.
But it was the simplest way.
Parents paid for tutors, and when the money was there, the grades improved.
Su Yao didn’t have that kind of money, so she could only drown in the endless Question Sea.
Grabbing a pen, she began painstakingly working on that day’s homework.
Yes, with so many test papers and several workbooks, that was just the homework for today.
Even if tomorrow’s workload was lighter, it wouldn’t be by much.
They said you reap what you sow.
Su Yao thought to herself, it seemed like hard work was the only path forward.
“…”
She let out a light sigh, stretched lazily, then looked out the dim window.
Suddenly, clear droplets began to fall.
Humans called this rain.
The sound of raindrops was soft and steady.
Amid this white noise, Su Yao shifted her gaze back to the papers on her desk and picked up her pen to write again.
Because it was raining, Su Yao didn’t ride her bike home but walked instead.
The post-rain air carried the scent of earth and grass, giving a refreshing feeling, lasting about half an hour.
More precisely, thirty-nine minutes later, Su Yao arrived back home.
Seeing the still empty living room, her heart twitched for no particular reason.
She closed the door behind her, stepped through the entrance hall, and as usual, dropped her schoolbag before heading into her room to find fresh clothes in the wardrobe.
Just moments ago, it had started drizzling again, and she had gotten wet.
That damp feeling was unpleasant, so she planned to wash up first.
She turned on the shower, the curtain of water hitting the floor with a loud splash and steam rising in white wisps.
She took off her clothes and tested the water temperature, which felt quite suitable.
Stepping under the spray, the warm water poured over her body.
As she washed, for some reason, Su Yao felt a sudden wave of stuffiness.
Rubbing her temples, she quickly dried off, changed into her prepared clothes, intending to lie on the bed a bit before finishing the remaining homework.
But as she lay there, she inexplicably fell asleep.
She dreamed she had finished the exams and no longer had to face endless test questions every day.
She imagined a beautiful holiday, being alone at home, drifting off to sleep peacefully.
But as she slept, a strange sense of urgency crept in.
Su Yao clamped her legs together and suddenly jumped up from the bed.
“Oh no, it’s going to overflow!”
Trying to get to the Bathroom quickly without triggering anything, Su Yao’s forehead was drenched in sweat from the immense psychological pressure.
Only after hastily removing the water-blue panties with the little butterfly bow and squatting down did the hissing sound start, and finally, relief came.
Su Yao glanced down and frowned.
After flushing with the paper, she went to the washbasin to wash her hands.
Looking into the mirror at the girl in the camisole nightdress, Su Yao’s confusion deepened.
“Did I just dream all that?”
She couldn’t clearly remember the exact details of the dream.
Outside, the wind howled, reminding Su Yao that it was deep winter, and the clothes she wore now were totally inadequate to keep warm, leaving large areas of fair, smooth skin exposed.
Shivering, goosebumps prickled all over her body, the fine hairs standing on end.
Hurriedly returning from the Bathroom to her bedroom, the warmth there immediately enveloped her, much more comfortable than the chill outside.
Su Yao lay back down and, as usual, checked her phone briefly.
She was just about to slip under the covers when she felt a damp sensation.
Pausing, she leaned down and sniffed.
Her brows furrowed immediately.
Sweat contains sodium chloride, urea, lactic acid, fatty acids, and other compounds which, when mixed and fermented in a stuffy environment, don’t smell pleasant.
Moreover, she couldn’t detect her own Information Pheromone, and after a deep inhale, she definitely didn’t want to take a second.
So, the world’s “fragrant sweat” was a lie!
All of it was fake!
With a slightly disgusted look at her bedding, Su Yao flipped the quilt over and decided to just sleep first, planning to change the duvet cover tomorrow.
She raised her arm, sniffing first her forearm, then her whole arm.
There wasn’t much smell, but in her current state of mind, she still felt some odor because she hadn’t showered properly today.
She suddenly thought of Mu Nanqiu, who always smelled sweet and fragrant—an aroma that made Su Yao swallow involuntarily.
Thinking of that, Su Yao found it hard to sit still.
She hurriedly got up, rummaged through her drawer for tomorrow’s clean clothes, and spent the night washing herself thoroughly until she was sure there was no trace of any scent she could detect on her body.
Only then did she lie down contentedly under the covers.
Having just washed, she found it a little hard to fall asleep.
She planned to count sheep but couldn’t recall the dream she had just had.
She had assumed that dreaming about exams was simply because the final was approaching—what you think about during the day appears in your dreams at night.
But as she remembered more details, Su Yao was quite surprised.
Because the dream actually took place during her High School days, just a little over half a year ago.
The strange part was, she was already female then, but her female form only manifested in University—and it hadn’t even been a month since!
“Why did I have that dream?”
“It feels so tight. Could it be that I’ve gotten fat?”
Facing the mirror, Su Yao pulled up a pair of black skinny jeans.
Compared to the ones she had before, these were especially form-fitting, tightly wrapping around her legs, hips, and abdomen.
Inside, she wore fleece-lined thermal tights.
At first, they felt a bit too tight, but once buttoned up, she got used to it.
She put on a white down jacket and swung her arms left and right, trying a few poses and expressions.
Only her eternally unchanged peace sign looked out of place.
She made a fist with the other hand and posed like a cat’s paw, shyly letting out a “meow.”
“Ugh, so embarrassing!”
Her cheeks flushed red, and she hurriedly lowered her hands.
Yesterday, Mu Nanqiu had taught her a lot, and she had collected some moves, intending to show Mu Nanqiu, but it still felt inexplicably awkward.
Shaking her head, she threw her hair back with one hand, picked up the scarf Mu Nanqiu had given her earlier, wrapped it around her neck, tidied her slightly messy hair with a comb, grabbed her schoolbag and the books she needed for the day, then headed out.
She got up early again today, not asking Mu Nanqiu to come pick her up.
Due to the cold winter, P.E. classes had been moved indoors.
Su Yao held a basketball and tried to throw it, but it didn’t even touch the rim.
She blushed a little and quickly ran to pick up the ball before moving away.
She had been accepted into the Girls’ Camp, led by Luo Yu, walking alongside Ji Yun and the others.
Su Yao rarely started conversations or actively participated, but she responded when spoken to, like an NPC.
Because the others were quite interested in her, they didn’t skip the dialogue directly.
“Su Yao, do you live nearby?”
“Yeah.”
She answered softly, not foolish enough to reveal her exact neighborhood or the route and time it took from school to home.
If it were someone else, they might launch into stories about what they encountered on their way to school, but Su Yao was not that kind of person.
She kept her head slightly lowered and remained silent.
“Let’s go to the Food City together this afternoon?”
“Sure, sure!”
“The same place as last time?”
“Aren’t you tired of it? We’ve been there several times already. Let’s try somewhere else. Didn’t we see a Barbecue Restaurant nearby with good business? Let’s check it out.”
“Sure, sure.”
“You only know how to say those two words, huh?”
“Sure, sure.”
“Ah! Don’t mess with me!”
The girls’ voices were pleasant, laughing and chatting, occasionally hugging each other—a beautiful scene of lively camaraderie.
As they joked and teased, the plan was already set, and Su Yao, before she realized it, had become part of the group.
But she had already promised Mu Nanqiu to study together, so how could she go eat with the girls?
Yet Su Yao didn’t dare to break the mood by throwing cold water on the situation.
Luo Yu seemed to notice her thoughts, stepping forward and grabbing Su Yao’s arm.
“We won’t go. We promised to study. Otherwise, failing won’t be good.”
“Oh~ then each of us will have to do more.”
“Why? Isn’t it about eating more?”
“Next time, then.”
Su Yao glanced at Luo Yu, then at the others, quietly saying,
“Definitely next time.”
They seemed used to Luo Yu’s independent streak and didn’t argue further.
The topic quickly shifted to the latest gossip in the entertainment world, about which Su Yao knew nothing, prompting her to quietly close her mouth.
“Let’s play badminton! I remember you can borrow rackets here.”
“Sure, sure.”
“Stop it! Say one more word and I’ll tear you apart~”
“Sure, sure… I was wrong!”
From the Management Office of the sports hall, they borrowed two sets of rackets for seven people.
According to the rules, only one set could be borrowed, but the young female teacher on duty had weak resolve.
Facing seven beautiful girls surrounding her, she gave in after just a few words, exclaiming, “Borrow, borrow whatever you want!”
Holding the rackets, Su Yao stepped onto the badminton court.
It was class time, and because it was winter, not many people were exercising, so there was plenty of room on the courts.
Su Yao stood in the middle of the court, ready to receive the shuttlecock.
Suddenly, she noticed a familiar figure.