The infirmary was on the first floor of the teaching building, east side, a small room at the end of the hallway.
Its window faced the big banyan tree by the playground; the canopy cut the sunlight into dappled spots that scattered across the pale green curtains.
The air carried a faint smell of alcohol and disinfectant, not unpleasant. Against the wall stood two iron-framed beds with white sheets that looked clean enough, though the edges were a little frayed.
An old wooden desk sat by the window, with a neat stack of medical records, a bottle of iodine, a pack of cotton swabs, and a polished blood pressure monitor on top.
The on-duty medical teacher was a middle-aged woman with round glasses, her surname Kiryu. She was sitting at the wooden desk flipping through a record book when she heard the door push open.
She looked up and saw a girl with long, straight black hair carrying a white-haired girl inside, her expression as tense as if she were about to tear down someone’s house.
“What happened here?” Teacher Kiryu stood up.
“She hurt her wrist.”
Hisa gently set Rinna down on the bed by the window.
The sheet crumpled slightly under her weight, and Rinna’s white hair spread across the white pillow, almost blending into the pillowcase—only the red hairband stood out vividly.
“Let me see.”
Teacher Kiryu walked over and lifted Rinna’s wrist. A faint red mark still lingered around the slender right wrist, standing out sharply against the pale skin.
“How did this happen?”
“Someone grabbed her.”
Hisa stood nearby, arms crossed in front of her chest.
Teacher Kiryu bent down for a closer look, pressing two fingers lightly against the reddened area. Rinna’s eyelashes fluttered, and she didn’t make a sound, but Hisa’s arms tensed even tighter.
“It’s nothing, just a minor abrasion. The skin’s thin here, so it got squeezed a bit.”
Teacher Kiryu let go and turned to grab a cotton swab and the iodine.
“Just disinfect it, you don’t even need a bandage. Is this classmate physically weak? The vascular reaction is very obvious—turns red at the slightest touch.”
Hisa didn’t say anything, her lips pressed into a thin line.
Teacher Kiryu dipped a cotton swab in iodine and gently dabbed it over the red mark on Rinna’s wrist. The cool sensation made Rinna’s fingers curl slightly, but she held still.
“All set. Avoid water for the next two days, and it’ll be gone by tomorrow. Next time, be careful not to let anyone grab you again.”
Teacher Kiryu tossed the swab into the trash, took off her glasses to wipe them, glanced at Hisa’s expression, wisely said nothing else, and turned back to her seat.
The infirmary door clicked shut softly. Only the cicadas chirping outside the window and the faint sound of a lecture from some distant classroom remained.
Rinna sat on the bed, looking down at her wrist, now coated with a layer of light yellow iodine.
The red mark was already starting to fade, but the iodine overlay made it look even more like an injury.
She raised her other hand and carefully touched the skin with her fingertips. It felt cool, with a slight tingling sensation.
She sighed.
‘Damn it,’ she cursed inwardly.
Rinna—full name Shirase Rinna—sixteen years old, a first-year high school student.
But that identity only belonged to this body.
A month ago, she had been an adult male, six feet one inch tall, weighing 176 pounds. A big guy, thick eyebrows, big eyes, muscles in his arms.
He could do forty push-ups in one go and carry a water jug up five flights of stairs without losing his breath.
Life wasn’t great or terrible—just an ordinary future office drone. His biggest daily worries were getting enough discount for food delivery and losing streaks in games.
Then one morning he woke up and found the ceiling had changed color.
More precisely, everything had changed.
The view was lower. The arms were thinner. There were two extra lumps on his chest that shouldn’t be there. The pants had turned into a skirt. And beside his pillow lay a red hairband.
It took him three full days to accept that he had become a sixteen-year-old high school beauty.
Then, on the fourth day, a mechanical voice rang coldly in his mind.
[Ding! ‘Vicious Brat Upbringing System’ bound successfully]
[Host: Shirase Rinna]
[System Explanation: The host must follow system requirements to play the role of a ‘vicious brat.’ Accumulate brat points by means such as verbal mockery, mental suppression, and domineering attitude.
Points can be exchanged for physique-enhancing items. If mission execution is refused or if no brat points are accumulated for seven consecutive days, the forced punishment mechanism will be triggered.]
[Current Physique: Sickly (Extreme)]
[Warning: Host currently has extremely low physique. Please act with caution and avoid physical conflict.]
She lay in bed at that moment, staring at the ceiling, with only one thought in her head.
‘God, are you messing with me?’
First, becoming a girl—she could accept that.
Becoming a sickly beauty—fine, she could accept that too.
But being forced to play some kind of “vicious brat”?
A vicious brat? The kind of annoying lolita who puts her hands on her hips and says “You pleb~ pleb~”? A smug little brat who gets off on mocking others?
How embarrassing was that?
Rinna lay in bed agonizing over it for another two days.
On the third day, she found Kikyo and staged a scene with her. Only the two of them knew the truth. Even Hisa didn’t know.
……And so today’s incident in the stairwell happened.
Rinna leaned back against the pillow in the infirmary, finished her recollection, and cursed the heavens three more times in her mind.
She called up the system panel.
A pale blue translucent interface floated in her vision, visible only to her. The information was clear and concise:
[Host: Shirase Rinna]
[Age: 16]
[Strength: 4]
(Note: Below normal level. Cannot lift heavy objects. Easily loses strength with slight exertion. Out of breath after climbing two flights of stairs.
Even walking fast is strenuous. It is recommended not to attempt carrying items over 3 kg. Last week, tried to move a stack of textbooks—wrist immediately gave out.)
[Agility: 5]
(Note: Below normal level. Movements are soft and slow. The body cannot keep up with the mind’s commands. Even when the brain has already figured out the next step, the feet haven’t reacted yet—prone to tripping on flat ground.
Last week, tripped three times on the school hallway floor. Once was mistaken for insurance fraud by a Disciplinary Committee member.)
[Physique: 3]
(Note: Extremely sickly. Anemic, sensitive to cold. Must wear the winter uniform even in June. Prone to fainting, easily fatigued, chronic light cough, shallow breathing as if it could stop at any moment.
Essentially zero stamina. The consequence of running 50 meters is lying in bed for three days. It is recommended to treat “staying alive” as the main exercise goal.)
[Intelligence: 11]
(Note: Above normal level. Sensitive and sharp-minded. Strong observational skills. Tends to think quietly, more intelligent than average. Perhaps because the body can’t move, the brain works extra hard.)
[Spirit: 9]
(Note: Slightly above normal. Emotions are fragile and easily exhausted, but willpower is tough—won’t break down easily. The type that’s ‘crying inside but still holding it together on the surface.’)
Rinna stared at that glaring “3,” her feelings mixed.
‘A total, complete loser.’
She bullied someone else and ended up hurting herself. Rinna let out a self-mocking laugh in her heart.
Who would believe it if she told them?