Su Mu coughed violently, her throat burning as she struggled to catch her breath.
It took a good while before the fit finally subsided, leaving her gasping but alert.
The good news?
She was wide awake now, her senses sharp as a blade.
The bad news?
Her mouth reeked of something acrid, like she’d swallowed a vial of pungent alchemical fumes.
Thankfully, she’d mastered the art of using her handheld device to purge herself of various ailments.
As long as the affliction didn’t involve magic, she could banish most negative states with a flick of her wrist.
Diseases, though?
That was murkier territory.
Su Mu suspected her device was useless against them, as its scans never revealed any details about illnesses.
No data, no fix, she figured.
“You tricked me!”
Su Mu gingerly rubbed her reddened nose, glaring at Tang Nai with accusation blazing in her eyes.
“I didn’t trick you,” Tang Nai replied, spreading his hands in a gesture of mock innocence.
“This was just the quickest way to snap you out of it.”
Su Mu muttered under her breath, “I should’ve tested the device myself first.”
At her words, Tang Nai’s expression shifted, a strange, almost cryptic look flickering across her face.
“I’d advise against relying too heavily on that ability,” she said, her tone suddenly serious.
“Especially not for tweaking your condition on a whim. Overuse it, and you might end up with mana sickness.”
“Mana sickness?” Su Mu’s eyes narrowed, suspicion curling in her chest.
“Sounds like something you just made up.”
She glanced inward, silently probing Irina for confirmation, but her companion was silent—likely in one of her rare dormant states.
Tang Nai sighed, undeterred.
“Sinking too deep into tainted, murky mana is what causes the fall in the first place. If you keep using magic to fix yourself, the next time you slip into a dream, you’ll sink even faster.”
Her words landed oddly in Su Mu’s mind, twisting into a strange metaphor.
‘I must conquer the desires in my heart! Done!’
Something like that, she supposed.
Which made her wonder—could using her “pinch” to ease Lando’s inner turmoil lead to…
‘Magical girl dependency.’
The thought sent a shiver down her spine.
Lando, sweet little Lando, forever tethered to the adorable Su Mu and her soft, comforting pinches.
Her hands grew clammy, her body trembling at the image.
“I get it,” she said quickly, forcing conviction into her voice.
“I’ll be careful!”
Tang Nai raised an eyebrow, studying her sudden rigidity.
“…I’m not sure what you think you’ve understood, but you don’t need to be that uptight about it.”
Su Mu stiffened even more, and Tang Nai let the matter drop, her lips twitching as if suppressing a smile.
***
Today marked the first day Jiaotong University returned to normalcy, and with it came the dreaded physical fitness test Su Mu had been dodging for weeks.
Her dilemma?
Could she still blend in with the boys’ group undetected?
No one in their right mind would run a thousand meters in a bulky coat, would they?
Even if she bundled herself up like a winter mummy, the jostle of movement would surely give her away.
After much deliberation, Su Mu decided to experiment with her handheld device, tweaking her appearance just a touch.
Maybe something rugged, imposing?
Nah, too much. Â
Instead, she leaned toward reverting to her original look.
Not exactly masculine, sure, but it was her.
Authentically Su Mu.
Moments later, a delicate figure with ear-length pink hair appeared on the edge of the track, stretching with quiet confidence.
‘Heh, flat as a board!’
She hadn’t tampered with her gender outright—just compressed certain assets into a tidy little package.
Pinch.zip.
Now, as slim and light as a tablet, her body felt gloriously unburdened.
For the first time in ages, she could look down and actually see her toes.
The sensation was exhilarating.
Su Mu bounced lightly on her feet, reveling in the newfound elasticity of her body, enhanced by her boosted mana index.
Her legs felt taut, springy, almost eager to move.
But then she noticed the stares.
Eyes from all directions locked onto her, curious and unyielding.
Unaccustomed to such scrutiny, she hunched slightly, turning away with an awkward shuffle.
Thankfully, the gym teacher across the field waved, signaling the start.
The crowd’s attention shifted, and they lined up at the starting mark, though whispers still buzzed in Su Mu’s ears.
“Who’s this pink-haired girl doing here? Is she… actually a guy?”
“Nah, doesn’t look like it. No curves, sure, but no Adam’s apple either. Bet she’s got some gender identity thing going on, hiding her chest on purpose.”
Su Mu’s face twitched.
‘What the hell? Why are their imaginations running wild like that?’
Just wait—she’d leave them all in the dust and see who was smirking then.
“Could be a guy, though,” another voice chimed in, calm and refined.
“I mean, he’s standing here, right?”
Su Mu’s heart lifted.
‘Yes, exactly! Keep talking, buddy!’
But when she stole a glance over her shoulder, her blood ran cold.
The “refined” speaker was sporting a cross pendant dangling from his neck.
‘Wait, no, stop talking. I’m scared now…’
She edged away subtly, but before she could retreat further, the starting whistle blared.
The group surged forward in a chaotic scramble, yet within a few strides, Su Mu found herself inexplicably at the front of the pack.
‘Uh… is this right?’
In her mind, she’d expected to barely keep pace without tapping into her mana.
But she’d underestimated the gains from her dreamworld exploits last night—and overestimated the stamina of the average modern college student.
Most of them were already panting just from dragging themselves to an 8 a.m. class.
With barely any effort, Su Mu’s lithe form left her competitors trailing far behind.
She even began closing the gap on the girls’ group, who’d started two hundred meters ahead.
It was exhilarating.
Her current pace was a leisurely jog by her standards, yet it rivaled the average speed of a two-hundred-meter sprint.
Astonishing, really.
But just as she prepared to overtake the girls ahead, a petite figure with flowing aquamarine hair caught her eye at the front of the pack.
‘Luo… Luo Jialan?! What’s she doing here?’
Luo Jialan sensed the gust of speed closing in behind her and glanced back, her eyes widening in shock as she recognized Su Mu—currently in her compressed state.
‘Su Mu? Wait, where’s my pinch?!’
Panicking, Su Mu considered slowing down to slip back into the crowd and avoid Luo Jialan’s scrutiny.
But it was too late—their eyes locked, and she had no choice but to grit her teeth and pull up alongside her.
Luo Jialan’s pace was leisurely, almost a stroll, as if she were deliberately holding back to avoid standing out.
She knew full well her extraordinary stamina had nothing to do with “martial arts training.”
Su Mu recalled Luo Jialan’s high school tale—shattering the average person’s eight-hundred-meter record so badly that officials thought she’d missed a lap.
As Su Mu drew closer, Luo Jialan wasted no time voicing her suspicion.
“Hey, are you missing something?”
Su Mu averted her gaze, guilt prickling her skin.
“Just… reducing wind resistance,” she mumbled.
“Don’t mess around with magic like that,” Luo Jialan scolded.
“For the rest of the tests, you’d better change back.”
Su Mu’s heart wailed.
‘Oh, come on!’