“Cousin, I’ve already received your well-meaning reminder.”
Jiang Xiao frowned, a little angry. “Now I’m telling you, she’s not as bad as you think. She’s the best girl in this world, and the one who likes me the most!”
“Little cousin, you’re too naive. Back then, you must have been played around by her because of that, right?”
Jiang Zhi also furrowed his brows, not backing down.
That little girl named Song Qiuyu really knew how to handle men.
In this situation, unless it was completely mutual, his cousin would end up losing everything.
Eventually, he might even jump off a building to kill himself.
Just like those people who fail at stock trading.
Falling in love is itself a gamble, a stock market—you need to pay attention to ups and downs, decide whether to invest or sell in time. One wrong step, and it’s meeting on the rooftop.
He had seen far too many of these over the years.
The more they talked, the more the atmosphere became tense. Soon, others noticed something was off between the two.
Just as people were about to mediate, Jiang Xiao’s phone on the table let out a ding—he had received a message.
Jiang Xiao took one last look at his cousin’s confident expression, then turned around, picked up his phone, glanced at it, and a smile curled at the corner of his mouth.
Jiang Zhi certainly wasn’t impulsive enough to snatch his cousin’s phone. Seeing the expression on the other’s face, he had already figured it out.
Maybe their relationship was stronger than he had imagined.
They would rather sneak around like this than choose anyone else?
He suddenly thought of a possibility.
Were they simply enjoying this stolen thrill? Finding it exciting?
There were quite a few people in society who liked doing that too—like appearing to discuss business with a client while a female secretary was crouched under the table sneaking a bite, or the secretary happened to have some extra little items on her, with the other part of those items in the hands of the person doing business.
These were things he had always looked down on.
Whenever he encountered clients like that, he always refused to cooperate with them outright.
He didn’t know yet what these two young people were thinking. The only thing he was sure of was that the information he had was still missing the most crucial piece.
That piece was why a boy had inexplicably turned into a girl… Such an unbelievable thing was unheard of.
“Cousin, have you ever been in love? Are you married?”
Jiang Xiao suddenly asked.
“For me right now, women are a nuisance.”
Jiang Zhi said frankly.
“So you don’t have a wife, not even a girlfriend.”
Jiang Xiao interpreted directly.
“What are you trying to say?”
Jiang Zhi raised an eyebrow, smiling gracefully at his younger cousin.
“Cousin, you don’t have a wife, but I do. And she said she’d bring me back some milk tea.”
Jiang Xiao shook his phone, showing off. Then, holding the phone, he dealt with the people who came to break up the argument.
“He’s already calling her ‘wife.’”
Jiang Zhi was taken aback. He squinted and looked toward the audience.
Sure enough, Song Qiuyu and Sang Tian quickly returned, each carrying several bags of milk tea.
He thoughtfully withdrew his gaze, wiped a bead of sweat, then couldn’t help glancing at his cousin twice.
Thinking of the other’s childish behavior just now, he suddenly found it a little funny.
Wasn’t this still just a little brat?
What was there to be proud of?
The basketball game ended with the alumni’s victory.
Some cheered, some worried, and one person resolutely walked toward someone in the audience, displaying unprecedented gentlemanly manners and politeness, then pulled out a business card.
“Huh?”
Song Qiuyu looked at Jiang Zhi in confusion.
“Actually, I’ve seen those short videos you used to make before.”
Jiang Zhi said with a smile. “You really have talent, and you work hard enough. Have you considered signing with a management company?”
At these words, Song Qiuyu was stunned for a moment. The next second, she felt gazes from all directions, along with cameras from the media.
Yes, this alumni basketball game had quite a few reporters, and even several talent scouts mixed in with the crowd.
Whether she agreed or not, she would most likely end up on a trending search next.
Since last year, trending topics like “So-and-so girl looks like so-and-so actress,” “So-and-so high-scoring examinee from the college entrance exam,” “So-and-so signed a new high-value rookie” had occasionally popped up in her feed. She guessed that this time, she would be the star of those trending searches.
With that in mind, Song Qiuyu took a shallow breath, thought it over carefully, and still accepted the business card he handed her.
“Thank you for the appreciation, but I’m still a freshman. I still have a lot to learn. Signing now would be irresponsible to you, Mr. Jiang, and to myself.”
“But I’ll think it over properly.”
After saying that, she put on the most camera-ready expression and adjusted herself to the most flattering angle for the media to photograph.
She didn’t know what Jiang Xiao’s cousin was up to this time.
But there was no reason to turn down this overwhelming wave of attention.
Most importantly, she was already in the frame, so she had to do her best to appear in the best possible state.
Time flew by, and soon it was the end of the semester.
During this period, with the traffic Jiang Zhi had given them, all their accounts’ metrics had skyrocketed.
However, this also meant that many imitators appeared on various platforms, and even people secretly reposted their videos.
For most of the semester, aside from their daily classes, filming short videos, and preparing for the postgraduate entrance exam, their main energy had gone into fighting fakes.
But even though they were already busy running around, their class counselor still ruthlessly called them to the admissions office to work unpaid.
“Holy crap, why do we have to make the school’s recruitment videos too? Just because we’re too awesome?”
“And we even have to handle calls from parents asking for information?”
“My precious summer vacation!!”
At the malatang shop, Xie Zhuran took a bite of ham sausage and tearfully complained.
“True.”
Song Qiuyu agreed wholeheartedly.
She really didn’t want to work for free.
“But since we agreed, we just have to do it well.”
Lin An adjusted his glasses, also full of resistance.
Only Jiang Xiao remained very calm, quietly eating the instant noodles in his malatang.
It was mid-June, and the shop’s fan was whirring nonstop. Song Qiuyu’s seat happened to be right in front of the fan, but even so, she was still sweating profusely from eating.
The temperature today was already too high—36 degrees Celsius.
Thinking about how her mother had been planning a summer trip to Hawaii during the winter break, she couldn’t help feeling a bit of anticipation.
And she also needed to prepare a nice swimsuit.
But more than that, there was something more urgent to do.
Her father had already sent word—the gender-swapping illness would be made public to the masses at the start of July!
So now, there was a confession session waiting for her.
She took a deep breath, put down her chopsticks, and looked seriously at Lin An. “Lao Lin, you and Xia Qi should both be free this afternoon, right?”
“Yeah, why?”
Lin An looked up at his roommate across the table, whose face was half-red from the spice, with fine beads of sweat continuously sliding down her cheeks.
Over this past half semester, this person seemed to have gained more feminine softness and become even prettier.
“Later, go pick up Xia Qi and come to mine and Jiang Xiao’s rental apartment. I’ll call Sang Tian over too.”
Song Qiuyu clenched her hands, still nervous.
“Don’t be nervous. I’ll be with you.”
Jiang Xiao turned his head and smiled gently at her.
“Mm!”
Song Qiuyu immediately relaxed a lot.
Hearing this, Lin An narrowed his eyes, already sensing something. He glanced at Xie Zhuran, lost in thought.
Over this half semester, it wasn’t just Song Qiuyu who had changed; Xie Zhuran had changed a lot too.
Meaning, he kept going to the barbershop with that Shen Zhou guy.
But after all that styling, he’d ended up back where he started—right back to the white cockroach hair.
Even so, maybe because Xie Zhuran’s overall vibe had become more like an uncle’s, that white cockroach head surprisingly suited him.
As if sensing his thoughts, Xie Zhuran paused his malatang-eating and turned to look over.
“Lao Xie, this afternoon, I also have something to tell you and Xia Qi.”
“……”
Lin An couldn’t help but smile slightly.
“Are you two talking about the same thing?”
“Yeah, yeah!”
Xie Zhuran nodded without thinking.
“Alright, I roughly understand the situation. I’ll let Xia Qi know.”
Lin An smiled again.
Xie Zhuran cheerfully picked up his chopsticks and continued eating.
It felt like something had been added to today’s malatang—it was especially addictive, the more he ate, the more excited he got.
After finishing the malatang, Lin An left first to pick up Xia Qi. The remaining three walked back along the path they had come, heading toward the predetermined rental apartment.
On the way, Sang Tian received Song Qiuyu’s message and rushed over immediately.
They chatted and laughed as they headed straight for their destination.
But even so, faced with this first same-sex friend she had made after becoming a girl, Song Qiuyu couldn’t help comparing herself to her.
Her nature as a girl who loved beauty had long been impossible to suppress.
Many times, seeing Sang Tian casually applying makeup and wearing dresses, she felt genuine envy.
Unlike Sang Tian and the others, who had been girls from the very beginning, Song Qiuyu, still pretending to be a boy, could only wear the less pretty summer clothes meant for boys.
The only thing she could control was not being as sloppy as other boys—she wouldn’t just slip on a pair of flip-flops and run around everywhere.
A little while later, at the rental apartment, everyone who was supposed to be there had arrived.
Song Qiuyu greeted them, then immediately walked into the room.
She rummaged through her luggage and pulled out a white fluffy skirt and some cool white stockings that had been buried at the bottom, then took a couple of deep breaths.
This white fluffy skirt was something she had bought online in secret.
Even Jiang Xiao didn’t know about this little dress!
She steadied herself, pursed her lips tightly, and quickly and skillfully took off her boy’s clothes, then undid the chest binder.
Her slightly raised skin was exposed.
Compared to the very beginning, it had taken on a bit more of a girl’s shape, maturing a couple of degrees.
But compared to Sang Tian’s, it was still far too lacking.
Face slightly flushed, she slipped the skirt she had taken out over her body, then rolled the white stockings by the bed into the easiest-to-put-on shape.
Her small, delicate feet slowly entered, stepping onto the smooth, soft fabric of the stockings.
Gently pressing into her sandals, she pinched the fabric and slowly pulled upward, wrapping the white stockings around her slender, straight calves.
Her slightly fleshy thighs were gently compressed, and gradually, they were completely encased in the cool white stockings.
Then, she walked to the full-length mirror, adjusted her appearance, and when she was satisfied, she closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths.
She abruptly opened her eyes, turned, and walked toward the door of the room, then opened it.
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