(1)
“And after that?”
“After that, I got home and went to sleep first.”
“Holy crap, you’ve got some nerve. You could actually sleep through that?”
“Because I thought it might have been a hallucination from being too late at night, so I figured I’d sleep on it first.”
“And you found out it was real after waking up?”
“Exactly. Plus, my parents seem to think I’ve always been their daughter. That includes Brother A-Qiang and my other friends. They all call me ‘Zhou Zhao’ now. Only you remember my original name.”
“Wait a minute… you didn’t… do *that*… with a girl… and that’s why…?”
“Maybe it’s just a coincidence.”
“But no meteorites fell on Falling Star Mountain that day, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Uh…” An Jing glanced at her bracelet. “Do you think this stone could be affecting the people around me…?”
Zhou Zhao slightly knit her willow-like brows and pressed her thin lips together. “I’m not sure about that.”
“Wait a second. If you turned into a girl after doing it with a girl once, what if — I mean, if it’s possible… could you turn back into a man if you did it with a guy once?”
“Ho?” A playful smile curved at the corners of Zhou Zhao’s mouth. “If it really works like that, then I’d definitely have to let Brother A-Qiang have some fun.”
“But I’m guessing it probably won’t change back, just like me.” An Jing sighed. “You have to be prepared… I really don’t know if this counts as some kind of **[Curse]**…”
Zhou Zhao rubbed the slightly upturned corners of her eyes and shook her head with a wry smile. “It’s fine. I’ve never been a woman anyway. I might as well experience it occasionally. It might actually feel pretty good.”
“Hey, hey, maintain some self-respect! You’re not going to act like you used to even after becoming a girl, are you…? And with a guy… don’t you find it disgusting?”
“If he’s a bit handsome, it’s not exactly unacceptable. Someone like Yang Lingfei.”
“Holy crap, you really are okay with anything, aren’t you?”
“Heh.” Zhou Zhao draped her slender, soft arm over An Jing’s shoulder. “Your big brother here is different from a little virgin like you!”
“You’re way too open.”
“It’s a pity you turned into a girl. Otherwise, I could have let you have some fun first.”
“Forget about Brother A-Qiang for a second. I think Sun Wei would definitely be happy to accept.”
“Haha, that kid won’t do. He’d at least have to clean himself up a bit, right?”
“You mean, if he cleaned himself up, you wouldn’t be against…”
“Hmm — it wouldn’t be so bad to do a favor for a brother, right? He’s a brother, after all.”
“Crap, can you still be called brothers after doing that kind of thing?”
“Why not?” Zhou Zhao smiled, her eyes brimming with charm. “Wouldn’t that make us even better brothers?”
“What kind of brothers go to bed and do that together!” An Jing helplessly covered her forehead. “And the way you look right now, you really seem like a vixen. Your voice is soft and seductive, you have phoenix eyes, and when you smile, it’s like you’re enticing people.”
“In theory, I shouldn’t like this type myself.”
“Maybe because you were like a male version of a vixen when you were a guy…” An Jing struggled to find the right words. “And it’s not the kind of charm that’s faked. It feels like a natural daintiness. Because you look so pure, it’s even more…”
“A pure bitch?”
“Can’t you get something decent out of your mouth?”
“The word just popped into my head. If that’s the case, you might actually be my type.”
“Huh?”
“See, wasn’t the first person I liked just like that?”
“…Let’s not talk about her. It’s all in the past.” An Jing curled her lip. “Does becoming a girl make you feel helpless?”
“Not really. I actually find it quite exciting.”
“Still acting tough? Who was the one telling me ‘something big happened’ earlier?”
“Haha…” Zhou Zhao’s hearty laughter dissipated the constant feeling of seduction. “Fine. Honestly, having another unlucky person like me to chat with does make me feel a lot better. Even if I can’t change back, at least I’ll have someone to talk to in the future.”
“You could talk to Wangwang too. She already knows about my situation. Knowing about yours shouldn’t be a problem, right?”
“Forget it. The fewer people who know about this, the better. Otherwise, I’ll end up like you, constantly being treated like a lab rat for experiments.”
“Well… consider it a sacrifice for the cause of science.” An Jing spread her hands. “So, what are you planning to do today?”
“What else can I do? I’ll take things as they come. How about I take you for a ride?”
“You didn’t get enough yesterday?”
“A ride in the morning and a ride in the evening feel completely different.”
“You’ve really been obsessed with riding lately.”
“It’s spring. The breeze is very comfortable.” Zhou Zhao threw an arm around An Jing’s shoulder. “So, let’s go?”
“Fine, let’s go… but I have to be back in the afternoon. I still have to do my homework and review.”
“Don’t worry. It’s still early. One morning is plenty.”
(Two)
A slender young woman sped down the village road on a red rural motorcycle, while the petite girl behind her gripped the stainless steel handrails on both sides tightly.
Zhou Zhao’s flowing long hair looked exceptionally cool at this moment, especially when she gave it a light toss, exuding a sense of heroism.
The surrounding mountains and farmlands were stained with the green of spring. Unlike the lushness of summer, spring green was a vibrant, dripping emerald, full of upward vitality and bursting energy.
“A sea of green. It’s really easy on the eyes.” Zhou Zhao smiled with some emotion. Her delicate voice was like a handful of sugar sprinkled over the spring earth, making even the wind feel sweet. “I definitely like green the best now.”
“Huh? Since when? Didn’t you use to like blue?”
The hand Zhou Zhao used to twist the throttle loosened slightly, and the bike’s speed gradually slowed down. “Ever since the first time I was cheated on.”
“Pfft… shouldn’t a normal person start hating green because of that?”
“Hehe, your big brother isn’t a normal person.” Even though her voice was entirely that of a girl, she still used the tone she had as a boy, which instead added a layer of informal cuteness to her.
“Let’s stop here for a moment.”
“Is there something special here?”
“Nothing special. It’s just that the road ends ahead. Didn’t you notice?”
“Oh… eh? You’re right… it’s all weeds up ahead.”
“These fields might be resting this year. Nothing has been planted yet.”
“It’s bare. Though quite a few weeds have grown.”
“Weeds make great fertilizer. We can burn them later, bury them in the soil, and sow seeds next year. There will definitely be a good harvest.”
“If I didn’t know better, I’d think you had thirty years of farming experience.”
“Ha, I’m just an armchair enthusiast. If I actually had to farm, I’d definitely find it too tiring.”
“You just enjoy the feeling, right?”
“Yeah.” Zhou Zhao used the key to open the motorcycle’s trunk and took out a folding alcohol stove. “That spot over there is pretty good. Let’s make something to eat.”
“What did you bring?”
“Nothing.”
“Then what the hell are we going to eat…?”
“We’ll find ingredients on the spot. The nearby mountains and that wilderness are full of edible things.”
“What about seasoning…?”
“Well, your big brother definitely brought that.”
“It looks like someone planted some potatoes over there… should we dig some up?”
“Stealing potatoes?”
“You said it yourself, find ingredients on the spot. I saw someone growing corn on the way here. Why don’t you go grab a couple of ears?”
“Haha, why don’t you go?”
“I like to sit back and enjoy the fruits of others’ labor.”
“Holy crap, since when did you become so blatantly shameless?”
“I learned it from you.”
“You might as well say you learned it from A-Wei!”
(Three)
A small iron pot sat on the simple alcohol stove, bubbling as it stewed potatoes and wild vegetables. Beside it, a small bonfire made of stones roasted the stolen corn with scavenged dry branches.
The fire wasn’t big, but it still kept them warm.
Zhou Zhao leaned against a large rock by the field, weaving a cushion out of some resilient green grass. The cushion was already taking shape before the corn was even cooked.
An Jing scooped a spoonful of the wild vegetable and potato soup and brought it to her lips. She carefully stuck out her pink tongue to take a lick. “Mmh… it seems about ready.”
“How does it taste?”
“Very fresh. There’s also a tomato flavor — are those things really wild tomatoes?”
“Yeah. I told you, but you didn’t believe me.”
“Because the ones you picked looked all shriveled and tiny…”
“Wild things are generally very small.” Zhou Zhao lowered her eyes. She took another blade of green grass, her slender fingers moving nimbly back and forth, weaving it tightly in just a few movements.
“Are you weaving a cushion?”
“Yeah, a seat pad. We can use it to sit on later.”
“I didn’t expect you to know how to weave this.” An Jing smacked her lips. “You wouldn’t… also know how to knit sweaters, would you?”
“I can’t do sweaters, but I actually do know how to knit scarves.”
“Holy crap, when did you learn that?”
“Just last year.”
“Did you knit scarves for your girlfriends?”
“It saves money and expresses how I feel. Why not?”
“Looking at it this way, you actually put a lot of effort into having girlfriends. No wonder girls like you… maybe some of them were even willing to be fooled.”
“I wouldn’t say they were willing. They just had fantasies that I would treat them sincerely.” Zhou Zhao smiled faintly, her voice turning a bit low.
An Jing tilted her head to look at the boiling soup in the pot again. Then she used a wooden stick to poke at the corn being roasted in the fire with its husks. “Zhou Chao, maybe you’ll be quite a virtuous wife as a woman… Huh?!”
“What’s wrong?”
“Hey, hey, what the… eh?”
“What is it? Just say it.”
“You, you turned back?!”
“Ah?” Zhou Chao’s eyes lit up. He quickly felt his chest and then reached down. He cleared his throat loudly. “Really?”
“Why? Holy crap, you actually changed back? Does that mean I have a chance to change back too?” An Jing raised her left wrist, staring intently at the bracelet. ‘Is the meteorite really testing me…? If that’s the case, have I been acting a bit too overconfident lately…?’