"Princess Hua, to what do you owe such success? Any secrets to keeping Xia Yan wrapped around your finger? 😉"

Hua Xin gave a faint smile. "Simple. Have you ever seen Shanghai at four in the morning...?"

With that, her true aura finally broke free—

*The demure wife!*

---

Dawn’s first light crept through the sky. Most still drowned in dreams, savoring the world’s quietest hour.

Inside the pitch-black room:

"My gold coins🤤... Dark Sovereign 😡... One Piece... a harem of thirty beauties 😍..."

"I’ve come to reclaim you all..."

Drool soaked Hua Xin’s pillow. Kicked-off blankets revealed her flat, toned stomach. Muffled nonsense spilled from her lips, brows knotted as if trapped in nightmare.

...

A battlefield littered with corpses and rubble. Dust and shattered stone veiled two figures.

"Dong Miao! We’re rich—"

"*Ghk!* 😨"

"Foolish, weak Hero... cease struggling. You cannot win."

"Surprised? I am the Dark Sovereign you sought to slay. 😈"

Behind her, a man yanked a dagger free from the gap in her armor. Blood sprayed across his chest.

"*Urgh... blergh!* 🩸"

Hua Xin staggered around, spitting crimson. Her eyes widened in disbelief at her traitorous ally.

"Dong Miao... what are you saying? 😨"

"Weren’t we comrades who braved death together? *Why?* 😭"

"The Dark Sovereign bewitched you, right? We’re brothers! You’re my most trusted mage!"

Her voice cracked. Pain blurred her vision. Life seeped away, blood pooling beneath her soaked clothes.

Even her Hero’s power couldn’t purge the dagger’s corrupting venom.

*So much pain...*

*Why does it hurt so much? 🥺*

*Thud.*

Dong Miao shoved her down, savoring his victory. He kicked her onto her back, grinning wickedly.

"Flower Hero—do you know what I sacrificed for this day?"

"Pretending to be your mage while hiding as the Dark Sovereign..."

His eyes gleamed with madness. He crouched, pinching her pale cheek.

"Five years! *Five years!* Do you know what I endured?! 😡"

He leaned in until their faces nearly touched.

"The ‘foe’ you killed? Merely my subordinate."

"The Great Treasure you crave? Already mine."

"*I* won. Hahahaha!"

Hua Xin’s gaze dimmed—but fury held her alive.

"Dong Miao... I trusted you..."

She strained against his grip, teeth bared. The dagger’s corruption tightened its hold.

"Enough."

He released her, sealing her wound.

"I won’t kill you yet. History’s first female Hero deserves... special treatment."

"These five years by your side? I memorized *everything*."

"Height: 170cm. Weight: 51kg. Cup size: C+. Prefers boxers. Natural blonde. 😋 Still a virgin. 🥵"

"*Huh?*"

"*HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT?!* 😡👊🏻"

Hua Xin lunged for Hero’s Blade—but her body betrayed her. Fists clenched uselessly.

"I’ll kill you..."

"I’ll *shark* you, Dong Miao! 😭"

Humiliation drowned her rage.

"Patience."

"Even beasts grow attached after five years."

Dong Miao caressed his own face, savoring the moment.

"I’ll take you to my hidden palace. Then? We’ll park under the maple trees—*all night*. Male↑female↓, male↓female↑, ASMR, captivity... I’ll *fill* you endlessly. 😈"

"My beautiful, dumb Hero."

"You’ll birth me a football team within a year. Ready to be my cream puff?"

"Children of Hero and Dark Sovereign blood? *Exquisite.* 🥵"

Hua Xin: 😨😰😱

*Where’s my One Piece? My imperial welcome? My harem of thirty?! 😭*

*Wait—this script’s wrong!!*

*Why am I a girl?!*

*JUNK! SAVE ME!!!*

"This mask... I’d almost forgotten my true face."

"This name? Discarded."

He peeled away his disguise, whispering: "My true name is—"

*CRASH!*

"*Who used American quick-draw?!*"

The dream shattered. Hua Xin jolted upright, wild-haired, blinking at her familiar dark room.

...

She stared at the wind-rattled window.

*...What rotten luck.*

Her hand drifted downward. A dull ache pulsed low in her belly.

Silently, she slid out of bed.

"*Eight lifetimes of bad luck*... to dream *that*..."

"*Wait.* In *my* dreams, *I’m* the god. How could the Hero lose to Xia—*"

Her steps froze.

A vein throbbed on her temple. She peeled off her gray wolf-print panties.

*Thank goodness it wasn’t like the first time...*

Dreams lied. Betrayal? Xia Yan’s smug face? All fake.

Only the bleeding was real.

She’d learned to track her cycle long ago. Pads waited under her pillow—right on schedule.

Washing her hands at the sink, she muttered:

"Dreams are opposites, right?"

"*Today*, *I* win. Not Xia Yan. 😋"

She glanced up at the mirror. The girl staring back felt... familiar.

Life hadn’t changed.

Yet somehow...

She’d grown used to being a girl. Even dreaming of being... 😨

*—Lies!*

Hua Xin snorted. Hands clasped like a pious nun, eyes shut tight:

"Three-dimensional world?"

"*Men and women can both climb off.*"

"I will *always* love Violet."

*(...and all my 2D wives. 😇)*