The sudden arrival of my period threw almost my entire daily routine into chaos.

Rem’s maid outfit was basically a one-piece minidress. Its skirt barely covered half my thighs. I still had to wear thigh-high stockings beneath it, so any larger movement would expose my legs.

The cramps in my lower abdomen and the heavy feeling beneath my skirt kept me tense throughout my shift. I watched every step and every movement, terrified of flashing anyone.

To make matters worse, today was Saturday. The café was packed with people coming for food and milk tea. Every seat was occupied, and all the maids—including me—were run off our feet. We didn’t even have time to catch our breath or drink some water.

“Miss Rem, come here! I want to order!”

“Can we take a picture with you?”

“Please bring another bowl of rice, and two more bowls!”

“How much is your cat food? What brand does this black cat like?”

Only then did I understand that having a period really wasn’t easy for girls.

The stomachache and discomfort were bad enough. On top of that, increased estrogen could cause chest tightness, breast tenderness, and weakness in the limbs. My normally well-fitting underwear suddenly became extremely uncomfortable, to the point that even breathing felt difficult.

The changes in my hormones also made my emotions swing wildly. If I hadn’t possessed a man’s soul and gone through so many things in my previous life, I might really have wanted to quit under that kind of pressure.

This feeling… was just so unfair.

Extremely unfair.

I didn’t even know what I was upset about, but in that state, I truly had no way to control my own body.

“Xiaoxue, you’re quite ladylike today.”

I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Maybe because my steps had become smaller, and my movements had grown even more “delicate” to avoid exposing myself, both the manager and the customers kept praising me for being cute and graceful.

“Oh, thanks.”

All I could do was endure the discomfort and accept their compliments.

—No matter what, life still had to go on, right?

“…”

At nine that evening, I was drenched in sweat when I went to the restroom, changed out of my uniform, and prepared to leave.

“Boss.”

After changing back into my teddy-bear hoodie, I found Lin Ruilong busy preparing the café’s regular monthly accounts.

“I probably won’t be able to take any shifts for the next three days. I’m feeling a little unwell.”

“Did you catch a cold?”

Lin Ruilong looked up with concern.

“Is it serious? I can contact a private doctor for you.”

“No need. I’ll be fine after resting for three days.”

I thought for a moment.

“I should be able to come in on Wednesday evening.”

“Wednesday? That works. Autumn’s arrived, so take better care of yourself.”

Lin Ruilong considered it for a moment.

“I was going to ask you to work tomorrow since Sundays are busier. But if you’re feeling unwell, forget it. Go back to school and get some proper rest.”

As he spoke, his eyes swept over my legs, which were now covered by sheer tights beneath my skirt.

“You’re too skinny. You’re almost as thin as Jiajia. Remember to eat more at school. Don’t become like those internet celebrities who are under fifty kilos at one-sixty.”

I felt a little embarrassed.

“I’m really not that skinny.”

“Anyway, I can’t understand girls who weigh less than fifty kilos, think they’re fat, and then go through hell trying to lose weight. I’ve told Li Jiajia that several times already. Being too thin really isn’t healthy.”

“Mm. I’ll make sure to eat properly.”

“Go home early.”

Lin Ruilong took out his phone. It looked like he was leaving me a good review. Then he hesitated.

“Should I drive you home?”

“In that fifty-million-yuan supercar?”

“If you don’t want that, I can take the electric scooter.”

“Forget it.”

I smiled.

“I still need to buy something on the way. The school’s just a short distance away, so I can walk back.”

“Alright, then. Jiajia… Li Jiajia!”

“Coming!”

At Lin Ruilong’s call, Li Jiajia came bounding up from the first floor in her high heels, clip-clopping all the way.

“What is it, Manager?”

“Take Xiaoxue home. She isn’t feeling well.”

“Okay!”

She ran over as cheerfully as a little rabbit and took my bag.

“Good work today, Xiaoxue!”

“It’s not that serious. I can walk by myself.”

“It’s fine. There aren’t many customers left anyway. Most orders are deliveries. I’ll go outside and get some fresh air with you.”

I had no choice. Under Li Jiajia’s enthusiastic insistence, I left the café with her.

On the crowded pedestrian street outside, Li Jiajia walked beside me in her maid outfit as if nothing were unusual.

“Xiaoxue, do you think the manager likes you?”

“What do you think?”

“Likes me?”

I smiled.

“I don’t think so. The manager treats me purely like a superior treats a subordinate. He doesn’t mean anything by it.”

“That does seem true. But I’m sure the manager likes Keke.”

“Huh?”

Now it was my turn to get curious.

“The manager likes Sister Lan Yueke? Really?”

“Really. Maybe they’ve been acting more restrained since you showed up, but the way they used to cling to each other was seriously…”

She suddenly clenched her fists.

“Ahhh! I want a handsome, rich boyfriend too!”

“Have they announced that they’re dating?”

“Not officially.”

When we reached the roadside, Li Jiajia returned my bag.

“Xiaoxue, you really don’t have a boyfriend?”

“Really.”

I said helplessly, “I’ve told you so many times. I’ve been single since birth. I haven’t even had a first love.”

“That’s amazing. In my mind, a girl as pretty and cute as you should have people chasing after her.”

“I rejected them all.”

I lied.

“They weren’t my type.”

“So was that guy from the second floor this afternoon your type?”

“Huh?”

“You know, Lu Yun. I heard it from the manager. You two have known each other for a long time.”

“How could it be a long time? We’ve known each other for less than a week.”

I waved at Li Jiajia.

“Alright, let’s stop talking. If I’m any later, I won’t make it back to the dorm. You should get back to the café too. Be careful, or the manager might dock your pay.”

“The manager isn’t that kind of person. Anyway, take care of yourself, little sister Xiaoxue. Bye-bye!”

“Bye-bye.”

I watched until Li Jiajia disappeared into the crowd farther down the pedestrian street. Only then did I silently sigh to myself.

Everyone was working so hard just to get through life…

I turned around and took out my phone. Then I searched for a general store near the school.

“Yujian General Store. What a nice name. I’ll go there.”

Following the directions on my phone’s map, I found the small department store a little over a hundred meters west of the school entrance.

“Boss, do you sell hand warmers?”

“Oh, we do. Walk straight in this direction. They’re at the very end.”

“Thanks.”

I found the hand warmers inside the store.

There were two kinds. One could be charged and heated, but it was more expensive. The other had to be filled with hot water, but it was very cheap.

I hesitated in the store for quite a while. In the end, I picked up the pink one from the ordinary blue-and-pink models.

“I’ll buy a better one online once my finances aren’t so tight this month.”

After that, I went to the household goods section and took a bag of brown sugar from the shelf.

At some point, brown sugar had become synonymous with “replenishing blood.” Combined with the belief that hot water could ease menstrual cramps, brown-sugar water had naturally become the go-to choice for girls during their periods.

The problem was that brown sugar couldn’t actually replenish blood, at least not in theory.

It was similar to the folk beliefs that walnuts could nourish the brain or pangolins could promote lactation. Walnuts supposedly worked because they resembled brains. Pangolins and turtles could dig holes, so eating them supposedly helped with breastfeeding. Brown sugar was red, so it supposedly replenished blood.

None of that had any scientific basis.

The only reason I bought the brown sugar was that I liked sweet things.

“Thank you. That’ll be thirty-two yuan.”

“I’ll scan with Alipay.”

“Payment received.”

After buying the things I needed to deal with my period, I followed the main road nearby back to school.

“Alright, alright. Stop making trouble. I’ll take care of you once we get back.”

On the small path leading to the dorm, I felt irritated by some little thing throwing a tantrum in my lower abdomen. Helplessly, I gave my stomach a gentle pinch through my clothes.

Seriously…

It was only an organ, yet it acted like a child.

I thought back to all the periods my previous body had gone through.

Maybe my half-month of exercise had helped. Compared with usual, this period had arrived fairly smoothly, and it wasn’t as painful as before.

Hopefully tomorrow and the day after would be just as manageable.

“Your lovely wives are home!”

I pushed open the dormitory door, set down my bag beside my computer, and immediately picked up my water card and cup.

“Did you miss me after a whole day apart?”

“We missed you to death.”

Jiang Yuqing was washing clothes on the balcony. She pouted.

“You’re always busy running around and never care about the girls in the dorm. Every time, it’s just me and Huijie selling things.”

“Ahaha, my bad, my bad.”

I quickly smiled apologetically.

“How about I handle all the selling tomorrow, the day after, and the day after that? I’ve finished dealing with those other matters.”

“Really?!”

Jiang Yuqing looked completely incredulous.

“Our esteemed Miss Bi actually has free time? Nobody’s placing orders anymore?”

“No, no. I want to rest for a few days.”

I put the brown sugar into my cup, carried the hand warmer to the sink, and washed it carefully. Then I took the cup outside, made myself a cup of hot brown-sugar water, and filled the hand warmer.

“You finally have time to help us.”

By the time I returned with the hand warmer and hot sugar water, Song Huijie complained from her bed.

“I thought you were getting paid for doing nothing.”

“I’m really sorry.”

Ignoring Song Huijie’s bluntness, I sat down at my desk and turned on the computer. I placed the hand warmer over my lower abdomen and took a small sip of the brown-sugar water.

So hot…

As I drank, I opened the browser on my desktop and found the SF Novel Network in my bookmarks. Then I logged into my account.

After a full day of waiting, my novel’s statistics had reached 192 views, 23 bookmarks, 5 likes, and 3 comments.

I’d upload the chapters I had stockpiled, write one more chapter, then take a shower and go to bed. Writing wasn’t exactly strenuous exercise, anyway.

Let’s see what those silly netizens had commented this time.

With that question in mind, I opened the novel’s comment section and found the two new comments—

“Looks like the author’s a bro. Hurry up and make a group chat so I can fence with him.”

“Sure. I love this kind of bitchy, fake-sweet gender-bender girl.”

“…”