Beneath the silvery moonlight, on this dimly lit street, Autumn Ease told himself this was real, not a dream—he had died and come back to life.

By the time Autumn Ease woke up, it was already midnight.

He had set out at dawn, meaning almost a full day had passed since then.

Throughout that day, no one had discovered his... corpse lying in the alley.

Not until he resurrected.

The alley wasn't particularly deep; usually, people who liked shortcuts would pass through. But today, everything felt eerie—as if everyone had unconsciously avoided this place.

First, he was stabbed to death by someone who looked exactly like himself. Then, upon resurrection, his body had transformed into the form of the girl from his dreams.

Yes, that meant...

Autumn Ease touched her smooth, small face, the silky long hair, then brushed against two small mounds, and finally the flat expanse—likely one without any grass.

Dazed, Autumn Ease stood up. She looked down at the scarlet bloodstains on her clothes, while the pool of blood on the ground had completely vanished. If she left this place, everything would return to normal as if nothing had happened.

Everything had happened too abruptly, too inexplicably, leaving her mind still hazy, as if in a dream.

Her whole body ached as if hit by a truck—except there were no injuries from such a collision.

“Ugh…” Autumn Ease covered her head, brushing aside a few strands of silky hair that blocked her vision. Unconsciously, she let out a crisp, melodious murmur, but she was in no mood to appreciate it.

The purpose of her initial departure was long forgotten. Now, her only thought was to return home, sleep soundly, and perhaps wake up the next day as if nothing had happened.

In the small city at midnight, few pedestrians were on the streets; only hurried cyclists sped by.

Autumn Ease stood before the crosswalk, her hair messy and disheveled, looking like a ghost wandering at midnight.

The red light flickered and instantly changed color. No stars were visible in the small city's night sky; the traffic light's glow seemed like the only spark on her way home.

Pushing open the door, a stale, musty smell hit her nose. Dazed, Autumn Ease walked in and slammed the door shut behind her.

In the quiet apartment building, the sound echoed, seemingly worsening the sleep quality of many residents.

Autumn Ease tossed the blood-soaked clothes onto the living room floor and headed straight to the bathroom.

Since the water heater hadn't been turned on today, even with the temperature set to max, only cold water came out.

Autumn. Midnight. Icy water.

It instantly cleared Autumn Ease's mind a little.

“What the hell is going on… my head hurts…” she mumbled to herself. This time, she finally noticed her voice—clear and crisp like a mountain spring.

Even ordinary speech sounded as melodious as singing.

Autumn Ease looked at herself in the mirror and felt no stranger, even though she had only seen this girl in dreams.

Now, the girl from the dream had become Autumn Ease herself.

Like a cycle… or perhaps another reincarnation.

She rubbed her eyes and made a silly face. Even with such an exaggerated expression, she still looked adorable. The smooth texture of her skin confirmed this was indeed her own body.

Naked in the mirror, her figure wasn't overly seductive but had a delicate curve that made Autumn Ease stare blankly.

The girl in the mirror also wore a dazed, almost lovesick expression.

Her fair skin faintly flushed pink, and not a single stray hair covered her body.

“Ahem!” Autumn Ease dared not look further, as if afraid of desecrating the goddess in her heart—even though that goddess was herself.

So… she closed her eyes, haphazardly applied shampoo and shower gel, rinsed off messily with cold water, unsure if all the foam was gone, and then crawled into bed.

The bed, which usually didn't smell bad, today emitted a strange, awful odor that almost made Autumn Ease vomit when she burrowed in.

How to describe it? Probably the typical body odor of a young man, mixed with the musty smell from years of not being aired out.

She pinched her nose and took a while to barely get used to it.

Her mind was blank; she couldn't even recall why she had gone out that day.

“Right… to find GuanPeng… to discuss the girl from my dreams. But now I've become her… even if I saw GuanPeng, I wouldn't know what to say.” Autumn Ease thought, picking up her phone. The clean, empty screen—no texts or missed calls—showed that GuanPeng hadn't contacted her today.

This wasn't normal. Such a broken promise should have warranted a call to ask what happened.

Unless GuanPeng's contact that day was just a hallucination.

Perhaps… it really was a drunken hallucination.

Autumn Ease rubbed her temples, not wanting to delve deeper. Right now, she just wanted simple, relaxing thoughts to ease her tension.

So, as a man, what could best help him relax temporarily and forget everything else…?

Hmm…

Undoubtedly.

Of course, those naughty little videos he watched once a week.

Playing them in his mind was much more convenient than on a computer.

No waiting for buffering, no hassle of skipping the progress bar to the one-third mark.

Just that the image was a bit blurry and easily interrupted by other chaotic thoughts.

When thinking of weird things, the body heats up—it's a normal physiological response.

Autumn Ease had never used a girl's body before; it felt particularly strange.

Rubbing her legs together, she couldn't help but let out soft, little gasps.

But her body was too exhausted; even wanting to do something naughty, she lacked the energy. With these strange thoughts, she drifted into sleep.

That dream…

Perhaps, it could be called an erotic dream.

But it was definitely a kind Autumn Ease had never experienced before.

She had never imagined being pinned down by a man, and… and… in the dream, it felt quite good…

No, no. When this thought arose, a chill ran through her, and she jolted awake from the dream.

The person who pinned her down in the dream—wasn't it herself?

—her male self.

It was a sunny morning.

Warm morning light filtered through the curtain gaps into the dim little room.

The house in this small city was bought by Autumn Ease's parents years ago. Though a bit run-down, it was livable. Don't underestimate small-city housing prices; with high-speed rail connections to big cities and rising costs, by 2014, it had reached ten thousand yuan per square meter.

Squinting at the beam of light from the window, Autumn Ease sorted through the incredibly chaotic memories from the past few days, all because of that dream.

He didn't often live in the small city. After graduating from university, he had been working and renting in Hangzhou. He had taken leave these days just to attend the wedding of his high school crush.

Memories told him he had liked her, but after that dream, his feelings for her had faded almost completely—perhaps also because she was now married.

Autumn Ease's parents rarely came home; over half the month, they were away on long-haul trips. That's why the house felt so lifeless and devoid of warmth.

Stepping out of the room, he staggered to the mirror. In it was his male self.

As usual, nothing strange about it.

But he clearly froze for a moment, because… yesterday, he seemed to have turned into a girl?

Perhaps it was just a hallucination.

Were hallucinations becoming too frequent lately?

A man's face-washing was simple: splash water, wipe with a towel, done. That's what Autumn Ease did.

He felt much clearer and more energetic. He saw the pile of changed clothes in the living room.

The blood on them made yesterday's seemingly blurred memories sharp again.

There was a hole in the chest of the clothes; indeed, a knife had once stabbed into his chest.

In fact, he had truly died.

But for some reason, he had come back to life.

When he returned to the bedroom, he found a few strands of jet-black, shiny long hair beside the pillow. Judging by the length, they were definitely not his—after all, for convenience, Autumn Ease always kept his hair short and messy, barely enough to grab with one hand.

These were undoubtedly a girl's hair.

But there were no girls in the house.

Did this prove that last night, Autumn Ease had indeed turned into a girl?

He scratched his scalp, feeling an itch on his head.

Whenever he pondered complex, troubling matters, he got this feeling.

“Right… GuanPeng… how is he doing?” Autumn Ease decided to confirm whether that call when he set out was really his hallucination.

He dialed the phone; after a while, it was answered, not by GuanPeng, but by another man.

That was GuanPeng's best friend, and also Autumn Ease's other best friend: Wanjianlei.

“Hello? Autumn Ease?” came Wanjianlei's tired voice from the other end.

“Bro Lei, why are you answering the phone?”

“I was bringing breakfast to GuanPeng's place. This kid was eating, then fainted halfway through. Scared the hell out of me; I rushed him to the hospital right away.”

“What? Is he okay?” Autumn Ease's heart tightened.

He had an accident, and now GuanPeng did too.

Was something in the unseen realm preventing him from uncovering the truth?

“He's fine. The doctor said it's just anemia from too many all-nighters. This kid damn well has nothing better to do, gaming all night. Let's see if he dares to do it again.” Wanjianlei said angrily, but his tone betrayed concern.

“Uh…” Autumn Ease wanted to say he'd visit GuanPeng, but feared another accident if he went out. Hesitating, he said, “When he wakes up, have him call me.”

“Got it.”

“I'll hang up then.”

“Mhm.”

Autumn Ease hung up, gazing at the bright sunlight outside, lost in thought.