February 7th, the sun warm and drowsy.
Today marks exactly one week since I became a girl.
I’ve started to adapt, just a little, to this new identity.
I have to admit, this body has brought a lot of inconvenience.
Not only is my stamina worse, which seriously slows down my food delivery runs, but the subtle electric sensation from the fabric brushing against my chest sometimes makes me want to bury my face in embarrassment while waiting at red lights.
Being a girl is such a hassle.
Wrapped in a scarf, I stood outside Yan Dong’s door and let out a sigh before pressing my finger to the security lock.
“Miss Lin, good afternoon. The current time is 12:46:45. Clock-in successful. Wishing you a pleasant workday.”
As the electronic female voice confirmed my clock-in, I pushed open the black front door.
That familiar scent of cedar mixed with always-warm indoor air swept out through the doorway.
Just like always, I stepped into the entryway.
I was bending down to get my indoor shoes when the soft rustle of knit fabric, carrying Yan Dong’s cedar scent, drifted in from the living room.
“Let’s go shopping.”
“Young Master, there’s enough food in the fridge to last you several days.”
I lowered my head and quietly slipped on my indoor shoes.
When I stood up, I deliberately turned slightly under the pretense of adjusting my scarf to avoid the casual glance he cast at my chest.
“And we just did a grocery run yesterday. The house should still be fully stocked…”
“Not anymore. We’re going out. Let’s drive.”
Yan Dong cut me off abruptly, his car key ring spinning a silver arc around his index finger.
“No need to change clothes, just head out like that.”
I had no idea what kind of mood swing this was again.
Even though the reason sounded legitimate and was hard to decline, it was obvious I didn’t want to go out with him.
Not for any dramatic reason, just because this rich young master, who has no concept of money, always ends up buying overpriced and useless junk.
The truffle chocolates he impulsively bought three days ago went 300 yuan over this month’s budget, and after just one bite he said his teeth still hurt and never touched them again.
And when the base monthly living budget gets overspent, I’m the one who has to front the cost temporarily.
As for his own allowance, he’d rather spend it without blinking on ten 648-yuan game top-ups than cover a single cent of household expenses.
So I figured I’d try delaying him, hoping he’d forget about the whole thing: “Young Master, I suggest you spend this outing time on your studies instead. Besides, I still haven’t mopped the floor.”
“Lin, how did you become so naggy after turning into a girl? Can you stop clinging to the floor like a moldy rag?”
Clearly dead set on going out, Yan Dong wasn’t buying it.
He stood his ground, left hand stuffed in his hoodie pocket, right index finger still spinning the car key like he had a twitch.
“Got it.”
I let out a frustrated sigh, set down my canvas bag, and stepped back into the sneakers I’d just taken off.
Then I turned and opened the cabinet.
“Is one shopping bag enough?”
“Why bring some crappy plastic bag?”
He scoffed, clenched the car key in his palm, and walked right past me to push open the door toward the elevator.
“You think that thing’s worthy of my Rolls-Royce?”
“It’s an agate gray Porsche,” I corrected softly, pulling two neatly folded reusable shopping bags from the cabinet in the entryway and following after him.
Instead of heading to the nearby grocery store by the complex, Yan Dong deliberately drove farther to a larger supermarket.
Though I didn’t love wasting time on this kind of detour, I figured we were already here, so I tossed a few promotional spices into the cart.
I had to admit, the heating in this store was overkill.
After walking around for a bit, I felt a wave of stuffiness and reached up to loosen my scarf slightly.
“Your neck still hasn’t healed?”
Yan Dong’s voice came from the shelf to my right.
He was holding a glass jar of Italian black truffle sauce that probably cost four figures, studying it between two fingers.
“Almost.”
I answered offhandedly and quietly tossed a bottle of soy sauce into the cart, marked “Original Price 21, Now 10 Yuan.”
“Lin Yunxia.”
A sleeve cuff suddenly reached out from the shadows of the shelf.
Yan Dong tapped a price label with his finger and sneered, “You picking out discount stuff looks like a stray cat that hasn’t eaten in three days.”
The cedar scent rolled over again as he leaned in. I stood still, confused, staring into his eyes until he suddenly tapped my jasmine hair tie with the sauce bottle.
“Would it kill you to talk with a little girlish charm and cheer?”
His pointless nitpicking made me frown slightly, I honestly couldn’t figure out what triggered this random episode.
Then again, this spoiled rich kid rarely needed a reason to act up.
I shot a cold glance at his mocking face, my tone as emotionless as always.
“If I act cute and cheerful, will Young Master stop causing me trouble?”
“Sure, but only if you perform well.”
Yan Dong tossed the truffle sauce into the air casually.
As the glass jar flipped under the warm lighting, it drew an iridescent arc, like a rainbow glint.
“Start by practicing the look a girl makes when she sees her secret crush. Make it sincere.”
He caught the bottle effortlessly, like he was toying with one of Uncle Yan’s antique teacups, nonchalantly, but with dangerous precision.
I took a deep breath.
I had originally planned to throw on some fake sugary lines and flash a fake bubbly grin just to gross him out.
But aside from when I was with my mom or Uncle Yan, I genuinely had no idea how to smile in any way other than my usual professional one.
A mechanical “ding” sounded from the bakery section, and the air filled with the rich scent of freshly baked bread.
I tried to move the corners of my mouth, but the muscles in my face were stiff like frozen soil.
In the end, I just lowered my gaze and stared at the dirt stain that had somehow appeared on his sneakers.
“Forget it. I give up.”
“So boring. Lin Yunxia, why is it such a chore for you to even smile?”
He caught the airborne truffle sauce and placed it neatly back on the shelf.
His Adam’s apple bobbed as he chuckled softly, the sound rolling up from his throat.
“And here I thought the way you avoided my gaze earlier while changing your shoes was out of embarrassment.”
Instinctively, I gripped the cold handle of the shopping cart tighter, my lips curling into my usual sarcastic smile.
“Young Master, you really should get your delusions checked.”
“Right, that was me overthinking. Like a stiff, gloomy girl like you, who adapted instantly to being female, could ever get shy. That’s so ridiculous I could laugh for a year.”
I didn’t bother reacting to Yan Dong’s deliberately provocative jab.
I just tossed a bag of discounted chicken bouillon into the cart and kept walking.
As we passed a pyramid-shaped display of Thai jasmine rice and neared the fresh food section, I suddenly caught sight of a familiar figure.
Class monitor… Zhao Qinghe.
The bright red vest burned like fire against my retinas, stopping me in my tracks.
She was bent over the freezer, rearranging frozen dumplings.
Her ponytail swayed with each movement, brushing over the shoulder patch with the supermarket logo.
Ever since the Qian Jiangche incident, Zhao Qinghe had been avoiding me.
Even if we happened to run into each other, she acted like I was invisible.
I’d never been one to care much about what others thought of me, but still, being treated like that never felt good.
Instinctively, I turned the cart away, only to feel Yan Dong’s sharp-knuckled hand press firmly down on the handle.
“The salmon’s this way. Where do you think you’re going?”
I didn’t look at him.
I kept my head low, staring at the blurry reflection of myself in the freezer glass.
The red ribbon on my jasmine hair tie quivered faintly under the supermarket’s vent draft.
“They’re probably selling rainbow trout here. You don’t like the taste.”
“I’m not picky. Whatever you cook, I’ll eat.”
He suddenly leaned in, and the heavy scent of cedar overwhelmed the cold air from the freezer.
“What happened to all that nosy bravado from the other day?”
He was already reaching to push the cart forward when I held it in place with force.
“She doesn’t want to see me, and I don’t need to see her. We’re not close.”
“If you’re not close, then why are you avoiding her?”
“This is my business.”
My fingers gripped the cart handle so tightly they turned pale.
The old wound in my throat flared up with a fresh burn.
“It has nothing to do with you.”
“Lin Yunxia, you’re such a pain in the ass.”
He suddenly leaned over the edge of the cart, cedar scent closing in like a trap.
“On the surface, you’re all polite and cheerful with everyone, but in reality, you don’t have a single person you can talk to honestly.”
His words made me grip the cart handle even harder, my expression darkening completely.
“Still better than you, Young Master, who doesn’t even bother pretending to be polite with anyone.”
“Can’t really say who’s better. I just don’t care to make friends. You don’t even know how.”
“Do you have to humiliate me to feel satisfied?”
I yanked at the cart, but just as we were locked in a tug-of-war, Yan Dong suddenly let go.
The cart lurched forward, sending me stumbling into a wall of instant noodles.
The hard plastic corners pressed into my back, and for a split second, the choking sensation from that night, my throat pinned to a wall, surged back up my spine.
Seeing my face grow paler, Yan Dong finally let out a mocking laugh.
“And who was the one who rushed in like a hero that night? What, getting cold feet now?”
“It’s not the same.”
I lowered my head, pretending to adjust my scarf.
My voice was shrinking, almost too quiet to hear.
Even though I had no real confidence behind it, I still refused to move the cart forward.
“This is… a different matter.”
“You’re great at making excuses for yourself.”
He scoffed, straightening up.
Just then, the store’s speakers started playing Jingle Bells.
Yan Dong suddenly raised his voice, his sharp, clear tone slicing right through the cheerful music.
“Qinghe-senpai.”
Zhao Qinghe froze.
The price tag in her hand fluttered onto the frozen dumplings, her long lashes damp with freezer mist now trembling uncontrollably.
“What… what a coincidence.”
Her expression was visibly strained as she mechanically straightened a crooked pack of frozen goods.
The sleeve of her red vest rode up just enough to reveal a wrist still faintly bruised.
“Yan… Yan Dong. And Lin… classmate.”