As for Uncle Li, Feng Yijiu had a pretty good impression of him. And since she'd only managed to transfer schools with his help, this kind of social courtesy was unavoidable.

But if they wanted her to show up in formal wear, that was basically impossible.

“I’m wearing this. Take it or leave it.” Feng Yijiu looked at the cute little outfit Cen Man had prepared for her and instantly bristled. “Sister Manman, look at this. Does this seriously look like something I can wear outside?”

“Isn’t this just a perfectly normal outfit?” Cen Man said, looking at the little dress in her hands.

“No.” Feng Yijiu turned her head away. If she had the choice, she wouldn’t even want to wear a camisole.

“Alright then.” Cen Man didn’t push it further. Anyway, in her estimation, the day Feng Yijiu fully switched to women’s clothing wasn’t far off.

After all, if Feng Yijiu’s body could no longer adapt to men’s clothes...

Cen Man considered herself a professional in this field.

Naturally, Feng Yijiu had no idea that Cen Man’s betrayal had already been loaded into the chamber. Right now, she was still thinking about how to hide the camisole over her chest tonight.

After thinking it over, Feng Yijiu changed into a dark shirt, then threw on a trench coat over it. If someone got close and looked carefully, they might notice something off, but... there probably wouldn’t be anyone that rude, right?

Feng Yijiu studied herself for a while. In the end, her gaze still fell on her chest.

Flat and unremarkable, but... it didn’t quite qualify as a proper tabletop anymore.

As a biological girl, having a tiny bit of curve was normal, right? At the very least, she was still firmly in the low-fabric-consumption category.

Feng Yijiu let out a breath of relief, then quietly decided that this was her absolute limit.

She wasn’t even into that stuff herself, so why should she make things easier for other people?

Then again, the moment that thought crossed her mind, Feng Yijiu felt she was being a little too self-conscious. So she changed clothes and walked out of the room.

...

This dinner was on Feng Mingdong. And since it was a family gathering, he picked a private kitchen restaurant with a very nice atmosphere.

“Uncle Li’s family also has a... son. He studies at Boya too,” Feng Mingdong said softly after ordering. “You two can have a good chat later.”

“Does he know about my situation?” Feng Yijiu’s heart tightened. She was worried her secret might be exposed. And once something like that got out, it would spread fast.

“No.” Feng Mingdong smiled and shook his head. “I didn’t even tell Uncle Li. Even if he checked your file, all he’d see is that you’re a girl.”

Feng Yijiu quietly let out a breath. She knew perfectly well that her identity as a girl couldn’t stay hidden for all three years, but she still treasured her current pseudo-boy state. Or rather, she was avoiding reality, like an ostrich burying its head in the sand.

Not long after, a rhythmic knock sounded at the door. Three people walked into the room. Feng Yijiu, who had been calmly sipping tea, looked up and saw the familiar figure behind Uncle Li and an auntie.

The mouthful of tea in her mouth sprayed right out.

“Cough, cough, cough...” Feng Yijiu coughed awkwardly. Luckily, she hadn’t drunk much, so only a little tea splashed onto her top and the table.

On the other side, Li Hao’s reaction wasn’t much better. He almost yelped on the spot. But considering that one of his peak-beauty photos was still sitting in Feng Yijiu’s phone, he forcibly swallowed the words back down.

After the initial panic, Feng Yijiu completely relaxed. After all, the poor sucker here wasn’t her. And looking at Li Hao’s expression, like he was about to suffer internal injuries from holding it in, she felt a tiny, tiny bit of wicked satisfaction for some reason.

Ah, the ugliness of human nature. Feng Yijiu shook her head and sighed, but the corners of her mouth still couldn’t help curling upward.

After all, she was holding the joker in her hand.

At that thought, Feng Yijiu calmly wiped away the tea, then casually locked her phone and set it on the table. “Hello, Uncle Li. Hello, Auntie!”

“Good, good, good. Such a good child. Gou... Haohai, this is Uncle Feng.” Dong Shu was smiling brightly.

Looking at Li Hao, whose expression was also a little awkward right now, Feng Yijiu found it hilarious inside. She really hadn’t expected this blockhead to look this restrained and awkward. It was honestly kind of funny.

“Mom, didn’t we agree that outside...” Li Hao looked at Feng Yijiu’s blank face, though the stiffness in her features made it obvious she was holding back laughter. He had nowhere to vent, so he could only cast a resentful look at his mother.

“Oh right, I forgot.” Dong Shu chuckled. But the way she looked at Feng Yijiu made Feng Yijiu feel like something was a little off.

Still, this was their first time meeting, so maybe... probably... she was just overthinking it?

Feng Yijiu lowered her head. But soon enough, Dong Shu seemed to realize she’d been impolite and withdrew her gaze.

“You two... already know each other?” Li Xun said with a smile. “Come, Yijiu. This is my kid, Li Hao. You can introduce yourself.”

“Uncle, we already know each other,” Feng Yijiu said with a smile, while casually resting her right hand on her phone.

Li Hao smiled stiffly and nodded. “Hello, Uncle Feng.”

Then he looked at Feng Yijiu. “We’re deskmates at school.”

“Deskmates? That’s great!” Dong Shu slapped her thigh. “I was wondering why our Gougou suddenly started loving studying lately. So it was because Yijiu influenced him. That’s amazing. Auntie has to toast you later.”

At this point, Dong Shu had already filled in the whole story in her head.

It was a long story, beginning with a boy falling for a top student girl.

Feng Yijiu looked blank. Li Hao had only recently started liking studying? Was it because she spent class eating, drinking, playing around, and ruining his will to compete?

Or was it because she’d led him to open the door to... not Cassell, but crossdressing?

When she built this parallel world setting back then, it shouldn’t have collapsed this badly, right?

Feng Yijiu fell into self-doubt. But in Dong Shu’s eyes, that expression became the image of a polite, modest, quietly refined girl.

All one could say was that it was a beautiful misunderstanding.

Meanwhile, Li Hao’s peripheral vision never left Feng Yijiu’s phone. And after hearing that whole speech from his mother, who had clearly defected to the enemy side, Li Hao felt the endless combo damage of a loving mother’s critical hits.

A loving mother’s hand holds the sword; the wandering son gets chopped with it.

My grades improved because of my own hard work, okay? What does it have to do with this monstrous menace?

But right now, facing Feng Yijiu, who held the imperial sword of authority in her hand, Li Hao could only lower his head helplessly and try to dig out a three-bedroom apartment with his toes.

At this moment, Feng Mingdong was actually the most shocked one there. He had never imagined that after correcting one’s gender, even academic performance could improve as a positive side effect.

So my child really has the makings of a great emperor?

Feng Yijiu lowered her head helplessly, feeling like she’d already been left behind by the times.

At school, she was really just slacking off. If there was any trick to it, it was only because she’d learned all this before and had a solid grasp on it. Now that she was going through it again, she just picked it back up a tiny bit faster than everyone else...

How was she supposed to know she was apparently this amazing and this selfless?

And also, wasn’t the blockhead next to her just competing with himself like crazy, a pure cabbage-roll type? How had that become her achievement too?

For the first time, Feng Yijiu felt like her head was too small for all these oversized crowns.