Chapter 3: Red Rose Ring

Ding-a-ling~ Ding-a-ling~

“Ugh~”

Ye Jinyi groggily reached for her phone, which was blaring with the alarm.

Beep~

The alarm stopped.

“I’m heading to work…”

Ye Jinyi muttered, sitting up in bed with her usual daily obsession.

Rubbing her sleepy eyes, she looked out the window at the foggy sky.

“Every day, every day, every single day!”

Ye Jinyi had had enough. “Every day I have to wake up earlier than the sun!”

Ding-a-ling~ Ding-a-ling~

Just then, the second alarm went off.

Beep~

Ye Jinyi turned that one off as well.

Now she was fully awake.

She picked up the phone next to her, ready to shut off the rest of the queued alarms.

?

Ye Jinyi felt something was off.

“Did the phone get bigger?”

The moment she said that, she finally realized.

“Crap, I forgot I turned into a loli!”

With that thought, Ye Jinyi felt a headache coming on.

She couldn’t say for sure if her head really hurt, but this pile of hair was definitely heavy.

Not exactly long, but not short either.

“Whatever, time to wash up.”

Ye Jinyi jumped out of bed, then dragged her chair to the bathroom to freshen up.

After washing her face, she looked at her messy hair and suddenly realized—she didn’t have a comb…

“This body is such a pain…”

Ye Jinyi felt drained; she still didn’t know how to adjust to this body.

Last night, she’d tried to think of this body as her wife.

But looking at it now, it felt more like a daughter.

“Whatever, whatever!”

Ye Jinyi was too lazy to think about it anymore.

“I’ll just do whatever makes me happy!”

Then she struck a pose in front of the mirror like a catgirl being cute.

“Nyaa~”

“So… so adorable.”

Ye Jinyi felt like her heart had been completely healed in an instant.

Somehow, the hardships in her life didn’t feel that hard anymore.

After finishing up in the bathroom, Ye Jinyi returned to her bed, grabbed her phone, and got ready to send in her resignation letter.

She opened her messaging app and found her boss’s contact.

Staring at the screen for a long time, she realized the boss wouldn’t be at work for a while.

She still had time to think this over.

Ye Jinyi mulled it over for a long time before finally writing a resignation letter and sending it, without giving too many reasons—and certainly without revealing the truth.

In the end, with trembling fingers, she hit send.

After sending the message, Ye Jinyi slumped back on the bed in disappointment.

“Total defeat.”

Ye Jinyi could already picture her future.

It would probably be just like that viral joke online.

Lying under a bridge wrapped in a tiny blanket, secretly wiping away tears, then going back to sleep after crying.

Saying “yes, yes, yes” to anyone who passes by.

“So living freely… means quitting your job and waiting to die at home?”

“Waaaah~”

Ye Jinyi let out a cute yet helpless wail, feeling as though reality had completely and utterly defeated her.

“Whatever, nothing to do anyway, sleep it is!”

Ye Jinyi decided to keep lying flat.

Even if she didn’t want to, this body definitely did.

After all, you couldn’t expect a child’s body to handle such intense demands.

She’d already gone to bed super late last night, and now had to get up this early in the morning.

If it were her old self, maybe she could’ve handled it—but in this body, Ye Jinyi just felt groggy and out of it.

Actually no, even her old body couldn’t handle it!

Sleeping at 4 AM and waking up at 6?

That was basically practicing immortality every day.

Now that she was on an indefinite break, she had to catch up on all that lost sleep!

Gradually, Ye Jinyi drifted off again.

She seemed to be dreaming—dreaming she lived in a luxurious villa, with endless resources at her disposal, no need to work ever again.

Ye Jinyi lay in a bathtub, delicate water currents gliding over her body, washing away her fatigue.

“So comfy~”

Ye Jinyi soaked in the comfort of the flowing water, feeling her exhaustion melt away.

How long had it been since she felt this relaxed?

She could hardly remember.

“If you like it, why not come home?”

Just then, a sweet voice—just like hers—drifted through her mind.

“Huh?”

Startled, Ye Jinyi opened her eyes and looked toward the source of the voice.

It was a little loli who looked exactly like her.

“Who are you?”

Ye Jinyi was curious about the girl’s identity.

The girl soaking in the same tub with her just blinked in response, tilting her head slightly, as if she were the one feeling curious.

“I’m you, Ye Jinyi~”

“Uwah!”

Ye Jinyi hurriedly backed away, trying to put some distance between herself and the girl.

Once she felt far enough, Ye Jinyi launched into her usual complaints.

“Wh-Who’s you?! I-I’m a macho man! A macho man!”

The girl looked at Ye Jinyi with a mischievous grin.

“Looks like Miss Demon still hasn’t accepted herself. Alright then, I’ll keep referring to myself as ‘you,’ Mr. Ye Jinyi~”

Ye Jinyi had no idea what that even meant.

“Can you stop talking in riddles?!”

The girl helplessly shook her head.

“If Mr. Ye Jinyi could accept herself, then you’d understand—I mean exactly what I said.”

“Before you can fool the world, you have to fool yourself. And from that perspective, I’d say I’ve done a great job.”

As she spoke, her face lit up with pride.

Ye Jinyi stared at the smug confidence on the girl’s face and could only think—she’s got a few screws loose.

“So what exactly are you trying to say?”

The girl tilted her head, thought for a moment, then smiled.

“I guess I just wanted to congratulate Mr. Ye Jinyi for returning to her true self~”

“True self?”

Ye Jinyi looked at her current self—indeed, she was no different from the girl in front of her—but there was no way she was going to accept that!

“This is all that stupid ring’s fault!”

Ye Jinyi believed that if it weren’t for that broken ring, she wouldn’t be in this situation at all.

Hearing that, the girl looked a bit disappointed and helpless.

“The Red Rose Ring has always been a part of your body. It is your flesh, your limbs, your form. Can you really bear to be separated from your own body?”

“But I was living just fine before…”

Ye Jinyi didn’t want to hear all this nonsense.

What she really wanted to know was how she was supposed to go on with her life now.

“I understand your pain,” the girl said, stepping out of the tub and walking over to Ye Jinyi.

She took her hand and pulled her up so they stood eye to eye.

“Alright, I’ll tell you a secret phrase. If you ever reach the point of utter despair, say it out loud. Then, the Red Rose Ring will help you resolve your crisis.”

“However, the phrase isn’t a cure-all. Each secret phrase has a different effect, and the more times you use one, the more your mind will shift toward becoming a loli.”

Ye Jinyi didn’t find this very convincing.

“What, is it going to erase all my memories of being a macho man?”

The girl shook her head.

“No, I’d never erase my own memories. In this absurd world, the only thing truly precious is everything that belongs to yourself.”

Ye Jinyi didn’t expect this girl to have such a philosophical side—wait a second, who even are you again?!

“Alright, alright, just tell me the phrase already. I need it to build a better future.”

Ye Jinyi really didn’t want to keep talking to her.

This whole conversation felt like it could give her a brain hemorrhage—none of it made any sense.

The girl didn’t reply, only gave a soft hum.

The next instant, Ye Jinyi suddenly felt the environment around her twist and collapse.

Just before everything completely faded away, she vaguely heard the girl’s final words.

“The secret phrase is already in your hand. Remember—you can only use it once.”

Whoosh—!

Ye Jinyi suddenly bolted upright from her bed.

“Huh?”

She looked around and realized she was back in her rental apartment.

So that had just been a dream!

“Can’t even sleep in peace.”

Ye Jinyi didn’t feel like sleeping anymore.

Even her dreams had people pestering her—was there no justice in this world?

Grrr~

Just then, a loud growl voiced her current condition.

“So hungry…”

Ye Jinyi got ready to climb out of bed with her phone and head out to buy some food.

Just then, she suddenly felt something in the palm of her left hand.

“What’s this?”

Ye Jinyi opened her hand and saw a slip of paper.

Picking it up, she read the message written on it.

Secret Phrase: I, lifted by thread, reflect you manipulating thread in the mirror, constructing a parallel nation.

Effect: Upon use, a nation of your own will automatically be created.

Hmm?

Hmm??

∑(O_O；)

This powerful?!

Ye Jinyi pinched her own cheek to check if she was still dreaming.

“Ow!”

Guess not a dream.

Could her entire dilemma really be solved this easily?

Wasn’t this a bit too ridiculous?

Whatever, who cares!

Without hesitation, Ye Jinyi read the words on the slip aloud.

So what if she was a loli now?

Being a loli was way better than being an overworked corporate slave.

“I, lifted by thread, reflect you manipulating thread in the mirror, constructing a parallel nation!”

…

…

Nothing happened.

Crap!

I got played!

Of course, like something so good would just fall into her lap for free!

Ye Jinyi was about to toss the useless paper away as trash, when suddenly, she noticed something odd about how it felt…

There seemed to be a small bump in the middle of the paper.

Wait a second, was there a hidden layer in this sheet?

Without hesitation, Ye Jinyi tore it open—and found another slip of paper hidden inside!

She pulled it out and looked—written on it was, to activate, a single drop of a magical girl’s blood must be placed on the tip of the tongue while reciting.

…

…

“What the hell! Might as well not have given me either of these stupid scraps!”

Magical girl’s blood?

Yeah, right.

Ye Jinyi knew full well she was just a regular person.

And going up against a magical girl to get blood?

That was like entering a boss fight in a game with no gear, no skills, and no clothes.

At least in a game, you could respawn. In real life? She’d end up in a mass grave.

Fine, this was just plain old trash—two pieces of garbage taking up space in her garbage bag.

“Whatever, I still need to eat.”