Chapter 33: A Narrow Escape

“Click!”

The sound of a key entering the lock echoed from outside the door.

It was such a faint sound, yet at this moment, it felt like a heavy hammer smashing into Yu Qing’s head!

Yu Qing’s heart skipped a beat instantly, scared out of his wits!

Someone’s back?!

Who?!

Why at this time?!

An overwhelming fear, like a cold, giant hand, gripped her heart tightly!

One last step before ten meters—she was still in Fu Yi’s form!

On the brink!

Yu Qing lunged forward, slamming herself against the wall.

“Thud.”

It hurt.

But the distance was enough!

When that familiar sensation of constriction swept over her entire body, Yu Qing’s suspended heart finally fell.

Her vision blurred for a moment, then rose.

At the last second, Yu Qing managed to revert to her original form!

Yu Qing almost wanted to sit right down on the floor at the entrance.

Once the extreme terror was lifted, her body instantly relaxed, but this didn’t help; instead, her entire body trembled, her legs barely able to support her.

She staggered back to her seat, ready to face whatever came, but the expected sound of the door opening never arrived.

Outside, it was still silent, as if the sound of the key just now had been her imagination.

Maybe the loud noise from earlier made the person outside realize something, so they didn’t immediately open the door, giving her a chance to catch her breath.

But Yu Qing’s tense nerves refused to relax.

She strained her ears to listen carefully, then moved quietly toward the balcony to retrieve the iron box.

Seconds ticked by, but there was still no movement from outside.

Yu Qing successfully retrieved the iron box and hid it back in the bookshelf.

All was well.

She let out a sigh of relief but looked toward the door in confusion.

What was going on?

Was it not someone returning to the dormitory?

Or perhaps someone passing by who mistook the dormitory?

Yu Qing frowned, pondering deeply.

She stared at the wooden door of the dormitory, suddenly realizing her bangs had already covered her eyebrows, reaching down to her eyes.

With a slight upward glance, she could see the thick hair.

Was this transformation about the hair this time?

With that thought, she consciously started paying attention to her own changes.

After this transformation, the strands of hair hanging over her forehead were much longer than before.

Even a slight shake of her head caused them to brush softly against her lashes, bringing a faint itch.

It wasn’t just the hair…

Yu Qing looked down at her own hands.

Compared to before, her fingers seemed longer and more slender, the joints less pronounced, the skin smoother, and overall, they looked almost sixty percent like a junior schoolgirl’s hands.

She seemed shorter as well—or rather, her frame had shrunk, her entire body edging closer to a feminine form.

Her clothes hung a bit loose—not enough to fall off, but loose enough to be uncomfortable.

These clothes had been bought a size larger on purpose, but now they were slightly ill-fitting, though still passable.

This change…seemed more obvious than any before.

Yu Qing sighed but felt no emotional turmoil.

She couldn’t even describe her own feelings.

The main body becoming more attractive should have made her happy, logically.

While she was lost in thought—

“Cre-eak—”

The dormitory door was pushed open slowly from outside.

Yu Qing jumped, forcing down her anxiety, and pretended to look casually at the door to see who had returned.

At the doorway, Li Ming stood there, wearing a complicated expression—embarrassed yet curious.

The “thud” from earlier had obviously been caused by Yu Qing.

Only then had he sobered up a bit, realizing he’d been unusually excited by the prospect of watching his friend’s antics.

He’d waited at the door for several minutes, giving Yu Qing enough time to recover, before finally opening the door.

Yu Qing’s gaze fell on his hand still gripping the doorknob.

Clearly, the one who had lingered outside was him.

Their eyes met.

The air froze.

No, man, are you coming in or what?

Standing at the doorway is making things awkward!

Yu Qing grumbled inwardly, forcing herself not to react strangely.

She glanced away, turning her attention to the extracurricular book she’d just taken from the bookshelf to pretend to be reading.

Just like usual.

Li Ming’s eyes swept quickly across the room, finally settling on Yu Qing.

The computer was on, but nothing was displayed.

The room was tidy—no sign of mischief.

Yu Qing sat at the desk “reading,” and apart from holding the book upside down, everything looked perfectly normal…

Yeah, right!

Old Yu, I won’t even mention that you’re holding the book upside down!

But why are you reading the “Guide to Elegant Lady’s Noble Etiquette”?!

Planning to go to Thailand and marry into a rich family afterward?!

You’d be better off with “Postpartum Care for **”—at least then I could hypnotize myself into thinking you’re researching for a pig farm and preparing for future work!

“Ol—Old Li? Why are you standing there like an idiot? Come in already.”

Yu Qing stammered, her voice trembling with nervousness, making her guilt all too obvious.

“You… Why did you come back so early? Ahahaha, and without saying anything first.”

Trying to cover up, Yu Qing wished she could slap herself.

Where had her language skills gone?

Why did every word explode the moment she spoke?

Only then did Li Ming seem to come back to himself.

He coughed awkwardly, face twisting, then walked in and closed the door behind him.

“I was at the library. Someone messaged me about a package I hadn’t collected, so I went to check. Turns out it was a scam. Since the dormitory wasn’t far, and I wasn’t in the mood to study, I just came back to rest.”

He explained vaguely, pulling out his phone to show Yu Qing the message, then quickly put it away.

The date was today—but from last year.

But he was sure Yu Qing hadn’t noticed, as she now wore a look of realization.

Putting his phone away, Li Ming returned to his desk, but his eyes still discreetly sized up Yu Qing.

The more he looked, the stranger it seemed.

It felt… like Yu Qing had gotten more attractive?

No, not just felt—she had become more attractive.

He hadn’t noticed before, but in his memory, Yu Qing was just a tall, skinny, somewhat delicate-looking guy.

Now, with one glance, she seemed more appealing—though more in a feminine way.

To put it bluntly, Yu Qing had gotten a bit effeminate.

Had this guy… secretly gone for cosmetic surgery?

No, that couldn’t be.

He’d never heard Yu Qing mention it, and she didn’t seem the type to spend money on such things.

In fact, he’d never seen Yu Qing put any effort into her appearance.

Or… could cross-dressing really change a person’s aura?

Thinking of all the bizarre online posts, Li Ming looked at Yu Qing again and started to wonder if there was some truth to it.

He fretted inwardly but maintained a composed expression.

It couldn’t be medicine, could it?

“……”

No, that wouldn’t do.

He had to ask—he couldn’t let Yu Qing go down a path that would harm her health.

Li Ming struggled to control his facial muscles, determined not to let Yu Qing see any suspicion.

He set his backpack down and asked casually, “What are you reading? You seem really into it.”

He walked over and glanced at the cover in Yu Qing’s hands—”Principles of Economics.”

She must have switched books while he was putting down his bag.

Fast hands.

He hadn’t even noticed.

But that also meant his plan to use the previous book as a conversation starter had failed.

“Nothing much. Just flipping through it out of boredom.”

Yu Qing closed the book, secretly relieved.

Luckily, she’d reacted in time and switched books while Li Ming wasn’t looking.

If he’d seen her holding a book on feminine etiquette—

No, she would definitely have been branded a pervert!