How long had it been since she last stepped outside?

Hua Xin cradled the slime plushie beneath her arms, pressing it gently against her lower abdomen as she pondered seriously.

Aside from Gaokao day two months ago—when she’d been forced out—the past nearly five years had seemingly all been spent within this tiny room.

*Going outside…*

Just the memory sent a shiver through her.

That Gaokao morning, overwhelmed by rare sunlight and dread of the outside world, *he* chose navigation over a taxi requiring conversation.

Flustered, *he* typed “No. 14 High School” instead of the actual venue: “No. 4 High School.” Head down, oblivious to street signs—

She’d nearly failed.

Thankfully, she scraped by with 600 points and randomly picked a major where she could slack off.

Majors Tieba veterans pushed—mechanical, civil engineering, CS? Hard pass.

Only one meta answer remained:

Business Administration 😋.

Still mulling her new identity, Hua Xin clicked open League of Legends with solemn focus, ready for a joyful ARAM match.

Groceries, water, takeout, clothes, bills—everything came online. Couriers left packages at the door. She cooked. Starvation? Impossible.

And her ID was issued *this* year… meaning… *ten more years!*

Her eyes lit up. She slammed the mouse—sticker reading “King of Nonsense”—onto the pad.

No worry at all!

Ten years before becoming undocumented, and she never left home anyway.

So what if she was undocumented? Hehe. Stay inside—problem solved.

She slumped back into the chair. Usually groaning under her weight, today it stayed eerily silent.

Crisis averted, meow~.

The mouse glided smoothly. A stray cursor movement caught her eye:

*“I Love Killing Supports” – Rank: Master.*

She checked her own:

*“Invincible Kitty Punch” – Rank: Diamond.*

Hua Xin’s lip twitched. Teeth gritted, she snatched her phone, tapped a chat window, and launched her “warm” greeting:

“Son actually hit Master? How many boosters did you hire?”

“No skill? Don’t flex. You’ll drop anyway.”

“Listen to Daddy: play fair. Or what’s the difference from cheating?”

“Cheating’s useless. Unless you…?”

A faint smirk. Final strike deployed:

“🤣👉🏻🤡”

“🖕🏻”

*Satisfying! Satisfying! Satisfying!*

She punched the air with tiny pink fists, riding the high of spiritual victory.

Ten seconds later—

Hua Xin collapsed into the chair, drained. A delicate sheen of sweat glistened on her porcelain face.

Wait…

Her body—nocturnal, disciplined, eating “perfect” meals—was weak, but *this* weak?

She recalled her earlier bed antics, her past… *generous attributes*… and fell silent.

Her “little brother” had truly run away. Irreversible. Years of mistreatment… though, honestly, not his fault.

*Sigh…*

Actually… being a girl wasn’t so bad?

Epiphany struck.

She loved joyful things! No cooldown now. Wind-up time slashed. She could float on cloud nine anytime.

Boy Hua Xin, girl Hua Xin—any Hua Xin who stayed home was a *good* Hua Xin!

And…

She opened her camera.

Porcelain skin. Flawless pink cheeks. Lashes curling like vines, teasing like a cat’s paw. Slender brows. Clear, sparkling eyes…

Verdict: A once-in-a-million-years beauty. Influencers with filters? Total dimension crush.

Still, sixty percent resemblance to her male self remained.

Her face had always leaned androgynous—only height betrayed her: 182 cm then, ~170 cm now?

Imagine light makeup, an alluring “'sexy'" outfit or cosplay, a blush-worthy dance…

*Phantom limb… stirred.*

Face flushing, she lowered the phone.

She’d crush every influencer. A carefree life? Not a dream.

But *her* posing online, tagged “'sexy'" or “your wife”? She quietly vetoed it.

Money wasn’t tight now. “Stumble” later if needed.

“All in all… being a girl isn’t so bad!” Hua Xin emerged from the shadow, her voice—ethereal, melodious—now laced with confidence.

Undocumented worry? Solved. Biggest issue? Settled.

“Since it can’t be changed…”

“Time for instant noodles! 🤤”

She plucked a bucket from the wall-stacked stash. “Lao Tan Sour Cabbage…”

“Perfect. You.”

Humming, her bare feet—pink-tinged, faint blue veins tracing the instep—padding to the kitchen to boil water.

*Buzz.*

*Hm?*

Back in her chair, phone lit up. Heart skipped—fear *and* hope.

Fear: real-life contact.

Hope: online chatter.

QQ penguin icon. Beside it, her six-character nickname:

“#1 Online Son.”

Profile pic: a pristine white Ragdoll cat.

: “Sour grapes routine from a Diamond brat.”

: “Go play ARAM, sweetie.”

*Rage.*

Pink flushed her cheeks. *Red-hot.*

WARNING! WARNING!

Fingers flew. Eyes blazing with shattered composure.

“Send your address! I’ll freaking kill you, you 🐶 thing!”

“No cowardice! If you’re a man, SHOW UP!”

Next message silenced her.

“Room 401, Bldg 3, Luoka Town, Huafeng St, Yongji Dist, Shanghai.”

“If you’re a man, come.”

*Bro…* Hua Xin twitched her lip. You *actually* sent it? I didn’t even mean to fight you…

She fired back a 🖕🏻 and powered off the phone.

One minute later—

A glint in her eyes. Slap on the thigh. Whispered realization:

“I’m a girl now.”

“I… don’t have to go.”