When I went to work out at the sports field, I ran into the martial arts club’s sanda captain again.

Today, he wore a very loose sanda uniform. He was drenched in sweat and jogging around the track at an unhurried pace. The field lights shone over his wheat-colored skin, and his flushed face was slick with sweat.

“Miss, you’ve really stuck with it.”

When he saw me, he looked genuinely surprised.

“I’ve seen girls like you before. They usually want to lose weight by running, but most of them don’t last.”

“I’m not trying to lose weight.”

Out of politeness, I answered him while jogging.

“Autumn’s here, and flu is going around. I run every day to strengthen my resistance.”

“Either way, sticking with it is a good thing.”

The tall, muscular boy gave me an admiring look.

“Really not interested in joining our club?”

“I’m honestly too busy lately.”

I sighed helplessly.

“Senior, that’s not how you recruit new members. I already told you—I’m not considering joining any clubs for now. Even if I did, I wouldn’t have time to attend the activities.”

Although I’d bought sports bras, underwear wasn’t something I could put on right away like the Rem cosplay outfit I’d bought before. So, I’d soaked and washed the clothes I’d just purchased.

That meant I was still wearing fairly tight regular underwear.

In other words, my chest was still bouncing with every step as I ran.

I really didn’t like talking to boys in this state.

Besides, chatting while running consumed a lot of energy and disrupted my breathing rhythm. It made me extremely uncomfortable.

“My bad, my bad. You’re just too eye-catching. Before I knew it, I…”

After noticing how clearly I was turning him down, the senior looked awkward.

“If you want to join a club after you have some free time, remember to come find me.”

As he spoke, he slowed down and gradually fell behind me.

What a strange guy…

I shook my head, adjusted my breathing, and continued running.

That Lu Tianxing really was… How should I put it in more popular terms?

He was “full of energy.”

He could do what most boys couldn’t: talk to girls without blushing or losing his composure. Whenever he ran into me, he could find almost any topic to discuss. Somehow, he always managed to strike up a conversation.

But to be fair, some of his topics might seem harmless to a relatively open-minded girl like me. If he said them to a more traditional girl, though, she might’ve thought he was being a creep.

Especially when he joked earlier that “Lu Xinxue sounds better.”

Still, I was quite grateful to him. If it weren’t for Lu Tianxing, I might never have learned that a mysterious incident had occurred at Shenbin River on the day I arrived in this world.

I suspected that the transmigration phenomenon affecting me was connected to that mysterious incident.

After all, in most science-fiction movies, a “white hole” represented spatial travel.

A black hole could devour all matter, including light. But according to the laws of the universe, it couldn’t only swallow things without releasing anything.

That was how the concept of a “white hole” came into scientists’ theories.

If a black hole was an entrance, then a white hole was an exit.

The problem was that humanity had never seen a white hole. Everything we knew about it existed only in theory. Even if I wanted to look up information, I had nowhere to start.

Besides, aside from my loan, I had another, more urgent problem: my origins.

Under these circumstances, even if I really had plenty of time, I’d prioritize investigating my past. I wouldn’t waste it on something as vague and scientifically unproven as a white hole.

“Huff… huff…”

Since I’d spent the evening watching a movie with the boss and hadn’t moved much, I ran one extra lap around the field.

By the time I returned to the starting point, I was drenched in sweat and gasping for breath.

To be fair, exercising every day was exhausting. But the sense of fullness and satisfaction afterward felt wonderful.

I could clearly feel myself improving. I could feel my body slowly returning to health.

Still covered in sweat, I sat on a small bench beside the field and began massaging my legs.

Thanks to the young lady at the lingerie shop, and to the electronic scale outside the pharmacy on my way back, I now had a rough idea of my physical measurements.

I was Ji Xinxue, seventeen years old, born on December 23, 2012. I was 164 centimeters tall and weighed 49 kilograms.

My shoe size was 32. My measurements were 89, 57, and 88 centimeters.

My bust was 89 centimeters, and my underbust was 73. The sixteen-centimeter difference put me close to a D cup.

In simple terms, my body was petite, with a noticeably large chest. I was more or less the standard beautiful girl drawn by artists on Pixiv.

Of course, my chest still couldn’t compare with the girls in erotic illustrations.

Using the current cup-size system, those girls would have to be at least an F cup. The average cup size among girls in the Skyflame Nation was only around a B.

The only thing that surprised me was that I’d somehow gained two pounds.

I guessed it was because I’d been exercising more these past few days, eating better, and sleeping better.

And that was despite being almost completely empty-stomached when I weighed myself at the pharmacy earlier…

“One, two, three, four…”

After massaging my thighs and calves until both feet no longer felt sore or painful, and until the sweat on my body had faded by about half, I began my regular abdominal and upper-body strength exercises.

After spending so many days with this body, I found myself liking it more and more.

She really was perfect.

Perhaps it was because I still thought like a man. Every night, when I showered or looked down while changing clothes, I was always overwhelmed by her beauty.

It felt like admiring a work of art crafted with extraordinary skill.

Although… her occasional displays of weakness did give me a headache.

“Fifty-eight, fifty-nine, sixty…”

More than ten minutes later, I finished all my exercises. A fresh layer of sweat had formed across my flat stomach.

All right. Time to get some rice balls.

I stretched lazily on the small bench.

I remembered that little rice-ball shop had plenty of flavors. I could try buying two different ones this time.

Come to think of it, hadn’t the customer service agent from the Mao Nanbei clothing store said the package would arrive today?

Why hadn’t I received any notification?

Had I entered the wrong number, or was the delivery running late?

Still sweating, I took out my phone and opened my QQ chat with the Mao Nanbei customer service account.

I hesitated, then closed the chat again.

Well, whatever. I’d wait another day.

After glancing at the time on my phone, I turned and walked toward the little rice-ball shop I remembered.

Just as I’d guessed, even though it was almost closing time, plenty of shops on the food street were still open.

“MiMi Sushi” was one of them. The shop owner was a young woman in her late twenties.

“I’d like two rice balls, one wrapped in seaweed and one with pork floss. No chili, please.”

“Thanks. I’ll scan with Alipay!”

“Mmph, mmph, mmph…”

I carried the small bag containing two large rice balls back to the dorm. The moment I entered, I sat down at my computer desk, opened the package, and started eating.

“Look at how hungry she is…”

Chen Xiaorui had already returned. She soon stood behind me and joked,

“Xiaoxue, can I have a bite?”

“No.”

I raised my arms protectively around my food.

“Go buy your own!”

“Cheapskate. I’m taking spicy strips with Yuqing!”

Chen Xiaorui turned around.

“Yuqing! Do friends get a discount on spicy strips?”

“Take them at cost. Twenty percent off. Scan the QR code.”

Jiang Yuqing removed her headphones.

“By the way, tomorrow’s the Double Ninth Festival. Are you two going back home?”

“Going back home?”

Chen Xiaorui had already reached the shelves and was choosing Qinzuishao snacks. She looked confused.

“Why go home for the Double Ninth Festival? Do people in your hometown celebrate it?”

“Yeah. I might have to ask our counselor for a day off. I’ll take the train home tomorrow morning and come back that evening.”

“That rushed? What are you going back for? I don’t remember there being any major activities on that holiday.”

“We observe it as a day for honoring the elderly. We have to go home to pay respects and sweep the ancestral graves.”

Jiang Yuqing looked puzzled.

“Don’t you celebrate it here?”

Chen Xiaorui shook her head vigorously.

“My family doesn’t really celebrate it. My mom said I could go home for a meal if I didn’t have class, but we have a full schedule tomorrow.”

“It’s a pretty important holiday where I’m from. Almost like a major festival. The children all have to go home.”

“I hate eating and attending gatherings with older relatives. They used to ask about my grades all the time. Now that I’m in college, they keep asking whether I have a boyfriend and whether they should introduce me to someone. It drives me crazy.”

“Haha, it’s the same in my family. I usually try to avoid gatherings with too many relatives. But I can’t skip this holiday. I have to go home.”

Hmm…

While the girls chatted in the dorm, I contentedly finished both rice balls. Then I closed my laptop and tossed the trash into the wastebasket.

All I needed to do now was wash today’s clothes, take a nice shower, write a little of my stockpiled novel chapters, and go to bed.

If Chen Xiaorui and the others kept chatting about dirty jokes until late, I could try practicing yoga in bed. Apparently, nighttime was the best time to work on one’s body curves.

Mm. Another wonderful day.

As I thought that, I took out my phone and opened the Hualimao app to handle the rental applications and bookings from the past few days.

Right then, Lu Yun’s review came through.

【Such a cute young lady. She’s soft and adorable, and she even has a faint fragrance, like a little fairy. Her voice is incredibly pleasant, too. Those two hours feel like the most memorable part of my life.】

【Overall Rating: ★★★★★】

【Appearance: ★★★★★】

【Manners and Conversation: ★★★★★】

【Professionalism: ★★★★★】

At the very end of his review, Lu Yun had added a special note:

【I think I’ve fallen in love.】

I couldn’t help letting out a soft laugh.

With the scent of rice balls still clinging to my fingers, I replied to the review:

【The boss was adorable too—a super cute little puppy! I love the rabbit you gave me!】

Not long after I submitted the reply, a message from Lu Yun popped up on QQ.

Doggo: What the heck is “super cute little puppy” supposed to mean?!

I quickly replied:

It means you’re super adorable.

Then I opened my browser and searched for “super fierce.” I downloaded a melon-skin cat meme and sent it to Lu Yun.

Ji Xiaoxue: Super Fierce.jpg

Lu Yun replied with a Lou Lou Cat image that said, “What do you mean by that? I don’t like it. Take it back.”

I was about to search for more memes to save for later when an image of Hana Shirasaki from *Wataten!: An Angel Flew Down to Me* suddenly appeared on my phone screen.

It indicated a missed call.

I remembered setting that image as Grandma’s contact picture.

“Hello?”

I pressed the answer button, stood up, and hurried toward the dorm’s small balcony.

“Xiaoxue.”

Under the night sky, Mom’s voice came through the phone.

“Your grandpa suddenly developed a high fever. The doctor says he doesn’t have much time left…”

“Your grandpa wants to speak with you privately. Ask your teacher for leave tomorrow morning.”