From the hospital to the station, my mom kept talking to me the whole way, one sentence after another.

“Xiaoxue, if something’s on your mind, you can tell Mom or Grandma. You can call or text us too. You young people like using phones, right?”

“Mom’s old... and useless. Ever since you were little, I never really talked to you much.”

“When you were in high school, your homeroom teacher kept telling me you were too introverted. Back then, I didn’t take it seriously. But now... sigh...”

“When you get back to school, talk more with your classmates. If anyone has trouble, help each other out. But don’t ever do something stupid again, okay?”

When we reached the station, I couldn’t hold back anymore. I turned around and gently hugged this mother.

“Mom, I’m fine now. I’m really fine.”

After letting go, I looked at Mom, then at Grandma beside her, who needed a cane just to walk. I showed them what I thought was a cute smile.

“These past two days, Xiaoxue’s thought about a lot. I’ve figured it out now.”

“R-Really?”

Mom looked deeply relieved. Then she asked, still a little uncertain, “You’re not lying to Mom, are you? That doctor told me before it’d be best to send you for counseling. But that counseling costs over a hundred yuan, and Mom...”

“Mm. I’ve figured it out. I’m really okay now.”

I took hold of Mom’s hand, already covered in calluses.

“I’m sorry. Xiaoxue was too impulsive. I’m really, really sorry. I promise I’ll never do something like that again.”

According to this body’s memories, “I” and this “Mom” didn’t actually share much affection.

On the contrary, before jumping into the river, whenever “I” thought of this “Mom,” all that rose up inside was resentment.

Resentment that she couldn’t stay by my side more often. Resentment that she couldn’t make more money. Resentment that she couldn’t give me a slightly better life like other people’s mothers could.

“My” physical conditions weren’t bad at all.

This body—seventeen-year-old Bi Xinxue—was extremely, extremely cute. She was the kind of beautiful girl who was just born with it. Even without makeup or skincare, her skin was fair and soft. Her figure also stood out among girls her age. No matter how she ate, she didn’t look fat. Her legs were long, her body curves graceful, and her chest was far above the standard for girls. Even wearing a proper bra, I could still clearly feel my chest bouncing a little the whole way here just now.

But “I” had been born into a very poor family.

Starting in middle school, whether in class or among the neighbors, the words “I” heard most were things like, “Xiaoxue is so cute, she just doesn’t know how to dress up,” or, “If she wore different clothes and put in some effort, she’d definitely be a great beauty.”

Over time, “I” felt more and more wronged living in this kind of environment. Little by little, that grievance turned into jealousy and despair.

But now that I was the one in control of this body, even with those memories, I still overcame all those negative emotions with ease.

After all... for someone like me, whose parents both died in a car accident in my previous life, who went through betrayal by friends, scheming relatives, and all kinds of beatings from society, and who finally died from overwork in a rented room... this really was nothing.

“It’s good that you’re okay. Good, good...”

Maybe she had noticed the ease and brightness on my face. At last, Mom smiled. Then she slowly took a wallet out of her worn-out bag.

“Like I told you before... this month’s living expenses. Mom’s giving you 1,200 yuan...”

With slightly trembling hands, she pulled out twelve bills from the old wallet and stuffed them into my hand.

“Use it carefully. If it’s not enough... tell Mom.”

I took the money. I put 900 into my schoolbag, then handed the remaining 300 back to her.

“No, no.”

Just as I expected, Mom refused to take it.

“I heard from your counselor. You often complained to your classmates that your living expenses were too little...”

“Mom.”

I kept the smile on my face.

“Take these 300 yuan and buy yourself a few clothes. Buy one for Grandma too.”

Just then, the bus to school arrived.

“That’s it then, Mom. I’m getting on.”

I forced the money into her hand, slung my little schoolbag onto my back, and jumped onto the bus once it stopped. I found a window seat and sat down. Then, through the glass, I waved at the mother standing there in a daze, still holding the 300 yuan.

“Bye, Mom! Bye, Grandma! Take care of yourselves!”

“The vehicle is starting. Please hold steady and remain seated. Next stop...”

Under my gaze, Mom and Grandma at the station slowly drifted farther and farther back. Before long, they disappeared behind the bus.

I pulled my eyes back. Using the reflection in the window glass, I looked at what I looked like now.

Just like in the memories, it was a very cute little girl with a small ponytail.

This was the life I would be taking over from now on. The life of the girl, Bi Xinxue.

Though she had left behind quite a mess before departing, it wasn’t so terrible that it drove people to despair.

After the river jump, according to Mom, it was a taxi driver on the bridge who called the police. And by sheer coincidence, there happened to be a police station near that river. The officers arrived very quickly. Not long after, they reached the scene and pulled the unconscious “me” out of the water.

Mom and Grandma didn’t know that “I” had borrowed tens of thousands in online loans and couldn’t pay them back. Since no one had died, the police only contacted “my” counselor. They learned that “I” was usually introverted, and that I occasionally complained to classmates about not having enough money. Then they hastily closed the case as “mild depression leading to suicidal tendencies.”

And as the one who had taken over this body, I had no intention of telling Mom about the online loans either.

Because based on this body’s memories, I knew very clearly that if Mom found out, then even if she couldn’t repay it, she’d very likely sell blood or even a kidney to help pay it off.

What’s more... these past few days of hospitalization had probably already drained all of Mom’s savings.

Bi Xinxue’s family was just too, too poor.

Just like that saying goes: “Just staying alive already takes everything we have.”

Since my job in the last year of my previous life was being a novelist, and I’d also read plenty of transmigration and rebirth novels myself, I personally didn’t mind the whole living on in someone else’s place thing. Sure, going from a man to a delicate little girl made me feel a bit... awkward. But it wasn’t unacceptable. After all, Bi Xinxue was a beautiful girl.

A beautiful girl’s life, no matter what, couldn’t possibly be that hard, right? I guess I’m kind of a selfish person.

“Next comes the debt problem.”

On the bus, I took out my brand-new phone and roughly checked the recent texts and the messages in those online loan apps.

“I” had borrowed money from five apps in total. All five had repayment periods of about a year. Adding it all up, for the first three months, I needed to repay around 220 yuan a day. At the very least, I had to pay 150. If it dropped below that, then on the due date, those collection calls would definitely reach Mom. But if I could survive these three months and finish paying off the first loan platform, things would get much easier. After that, around 100 yuan a day would be enough.

Luckily, “I” had still been fairly smart back then. I hadn’t touched anything even more terrifying, like nude loans, or borrowed more and more until the interest snowballed into a hundred thousand or five hundred thousand. Otherwise, things really would’ve become troublesome.

So if I wanted to earn at least 150 yuan a day during these three months, then that “rental girlfriend” app, Huali Mao, was worth considering. Once things stabilized, I could also return to my old trade from my previous life and write a few books in my spare time. Or I could try being a gaming companion, a streamer, or, if all else failed, hand out flyers or work part-time as a waitress. There were always more solutions than problems.

With that thought, I pulled my schoolbag into my arms, set my phone on top of it, then opened Huali Mao. I found the rental request from “Liang Zhiming” that I’d received earlier and tapped the “Accept Rental” button.

It’s just being someone’s girlfriend for three hours, right? If I don’t know how, I can learn!

Just like when I first graduated and entered society before! Whatever the boss wanted me to do, if I didn’t know how, I learned! Who’s scared of who!

I used to be a man. You think I don’t know how to deal with men? This is way better than baking under the sun at a construction site, getting cursed out by a boss to my face, or carrying plates in a restaurant while bowing and scraping to picky customers, okay?

“Ding ding ding...”

Less than half a minute after I tapped “Accept Rental,” my newly bought phone started ringing.

The ringtone was Tideming.

That was the ringtone “I” had set more than three months ago.

Since the call came through the Huali Mao app, the other party’s number was hidden. But at this point, even if I used my nearly D-cup chest to think, I could guess who was calling.

“Hello?”

I pressed answer and switched to what I believed was my gentlest voice.

“May I ask who this is?”

“Is this Xiaoxue? I’m... from Huali Mao... that, um... Liang Zhiming.”

A hesitant voice came from the other end.

“Y-You’re really sure you want to take my order?”

“Mm.”

I looked at the sunset gradually sinking outside the bus window.

“But I hope you can tell me a bit more about yourself in more detail. For example, what kind of anime you usually like, what games you like to play, what food you like, what your tastes are like, what kind of personality you prefer, what kind of girlfriend style or outfit you like. None of that was clearly written on your profile card. I personally think it’d be best if you told me all of it, so I can understand you better.”

What came out of my mouth was the voice of a standard youthful beautiful girl.

That was also one thing “I” had always been rather proud of. Just like my appearance, my natural voice was also very cute, very girlish.

“Ah... oh, okay. As for me... I wrote it, I’m just... just a hardcore otaku. I like harem anime more. I like Re:Zero - Starting Life in Another World. My favorite is Rem, and also Takanashi Rikka... Rik... Rikka...”

The young man on the other end sounded nervous.

“And for games, I’ve been playing CSOL and League of Legends lately. As for how my girlfriend should dress... if... if you could come dressed as a JK... JK would be best. I saw your photo. You’re really cute... if... if you wore a uniform, then you’d definitely... be even cuter...”

“Mm, how about this?”

Seeing that this “Liang Zhiming” was starting to stutter, I cut in on my own initiative.

“The time you requested starts at 6:00 p.m. It’s 4:30 now. I still need to go back to school first, which will take about half an hour. So let’s set a time for 5:30. You can use ten minutes or so to properly introduce yourself. Is that okay?”

“Oh, oh, okay, okay, okay. Then... where should we meet?”

“There’s a Sunflower Plaza on West Chang’an Avenue in the city center.”

I glanced at the time on my phone.

“Let’s meet there at 5:30.”