“Ugh…”
The dim room was lit only by the monitor’s glow. The rhythmic *tap-tap* of keys and *buzz-hiss* of electronics were the only sounds besides the audio leaking from his headphones.
Hua Xin snatched the white “strategic supplies” just before reaching the peak, then exhaled deeply.
Life… sometimes it’s like waiting for misty rain under a pale sky while I wait for you. That’s when you need—
Ugh.
Guilt crashed over him. The frantic scene still playing on-screen suddenly felt hollow.
*Thud.*
After a careless wipe.
The crumpled paper sailed perfectly into the trash bin.
Frowning in frustration, he tugged his sweatpants up, yanked them down, then back up again. He gave a thumbs-up, then a thumbs-down, scowled, and finally made a wavy “ocean” motion with his hand before sighing angelically and grabbing a fresh tissue.
He chugged an entire bottle of Binglu water, exhaustion weighing him down. With a flick, he killed the still-playing action movie. Hua Xin stumbled off his gaming chair, legs unsteady, and collapsed face-first onto his bed.
The hollow ache of post-pleasure washed over him all at once.
Numb.
“Today’s… fourth time already…” he mumbled unconsciously, his whole body trembling with weakness.
*Can’t keep this up… If I do, I’ll really end up a bedridden mess…*
But every time he scrolled videos, those “dancers”—dressed in everything from school uniforms to bunny ears—made his mouth water.
Buried in his pillow, a thin blanket pulled up to his navel, Hua Xin reached for his phone beside the bed.
2:24 AM.
No messages.
*Figures.*
Same old loneliness.
Eyes closed, sleep crashed over him like a wave. That intense “battle” had drained him. Add the exhaustion debuff from all-night gaming, and Hua Xin was teetering on the edge of collapse.
“Starting tomorrow… I’ll quit lust. Exercise. Quit games. Fix my social anxiety…”
Consciousness faded. Clutching a plushie from that gacha game, he drifted into dreams.
But as he sank into sleep…
His body began to change.
—
Morning sunlight, fierce and bright, failed to pierce the blackout curtains. A strange pressure below his waist made Hua Xin frown. Groggy, he shuffled to the bathroom.
Wait.
Wait.
Wait.
Wait.
The same routine for over a decade. No room for error.
*Wait…*
Impatience flared. *Why’s this feel so unfamiliar?!* He gritted his teeth, about to burst. In desperation, he activated his “Identify” skill!
Uh.
Still… nothing.
Huh?
Sleep vanished instantly. He looked down, blurry vision sharpening into shock.
His usually flat stomach was paler than before—but the whiteness didn’t stop there. *W. White!* One of the Four Sacred Beasts of Lust!
?
“Am I dreaming?” *So pretty… I want to—*
*WANT TO WHAT, YOU IDIOT?!*
*WHERE’S MY BULL?!*
Hua Xin’s eyes widened in horror. His nineteen-year companion had been replaced by… *her*. The very thing he’d only ever seen in certain seed sites.
*Just an illusion.*
*Haha. Waking up dizzy is normal.*
Calmly, he pulled up his sweatpants and splashed cold water on his face.
The icy shock cleared his head.
“Ugh… the NoFap forums were right. Memory loss, blurry vision, kidney deficiency… I’m doomed.”
“I’m trash. How could I drown in lust every day? Today I download Pure Heart. September—I won’t touch myself again… It’s fine. Just a dream…”
“…Why does my voice sound so cute?”
He stared at his small, bone-thin hands—now delicate and porcelain-pale—while sweat beaded on his forehead. *What are these two blobs on my chest?* He’d missed them earlier while “relieving pressure.”
*Haha. Must be craving thunder too hard.*
*Last night’s release wasn’t thorough enough, meow.*
*What’s wrong with me? Why’s my dream hitting me with the big thunder?*
He usually slept shirtless in summer, just boxers. The visual impact was too vivid for a dream.
He turned off the tap, squeezed his eyes shut, and pinched his arm hard.
A faint bruise bloomed on tender skin.
Pain…
Sharp pain…
Trembling like a glitching robot, he turned his head toward the mirror.
Reflected back was a naked beauty straight out of an ecchi manga.
Unadorned features held a sickly pallor—likely from years of nocturnal gaming and poor diet. Water droplets clung to vine-like lashes. Slightly parted cherry lips radiated temptation.
Inky black hair spilled over bare shoulders. Eyes like polished obsidian screamed disbelief.
*Who… is that?*
Hua Xin rubbed his eyes fiercely, then pinched his nose shut, trying to wake by suffocating himself in the “dream.”
Two and a half minutes later—
*Cough! Cough-cough-cough!*
The girl gasped, gulping air. She turned back to the mirror.
No surprise this time. The reflection hadn’t changed.
Hua Xin’s eye twitched. She stuck out her tongue, winked one eye, and flashed a peace sign beside her cheek.
“Ciallo～(∠・ω< )⌒☆”
A sweet, ethereal voice echoed in the soundproof bathroom, looping like a broken record.
Heart stop. Critical hit of moe.
Silence.
“Grapes with skin, grapes without skin… Eight hundred soldiers sprint north slope… 3.1415926…”
After this brain-fried nonsense, the girl in the mirror finally stopped reciting.
Silence.
She walked to the far stall to grab her hanging T-shirt.
The familiar height now felt miles away.
💢
On tiptoe, she barely reached it.
After pulling on the shirt, she finally dealt with the urgent matter that had woken her.
But as she stood up, she spotted the toilet paper roll to her left. She sat back down.
*Trumpets need wiping too.*
Silent, she kicked aside an empty water bottle and marched to the computer desk. Clutter covered its surface—even a half-eaten tub of Master Kong beef noodles.
His ID card lay pinned under the mousepad. Hua Xin took a shaky breath and slid it out.
“Hua Xin. Male.”
She looked down at her chest’s new curves, then at the long, slender legs beneath the desk.
*Haha…*
A dry chuckle escaped her.
She yanked down the sweatpants again.
No trace of OLO.
A single tear rolled down the girl’s cheek. A wail shattered the quiet bedroom:
“MY BULL! NOOOOOO!”
“I’LL NEVER TOUCH MYSELF AGAIN! DON’T RUN AWAY! WAAAAAH! 😭😭😭”
Hua Xin buried her face in her hands, shoulders shaking.
“Come back… I’ll never abuse you again… 😭😭😭”
