Qingqing smiled, looking utterly smug.

At that moment, Feng Yijiu felt that sometimes, it was better not to get too close to people.

“All right, Qingqing’s just teasing you.” Zhou Wenyao looked helplessly at Qingqing’s antics. Then she thought for a moment, and her eyes suddenly lit up.

“Yijiu, let me tell you something. Every time Qingqing has P.E., she buys a bottle of water for a boy named Liu Zhenyu. Then she waits around, all doe-eyed, until he finishes playing before she’ll come back to class with me.”

“No, he’s just my neighbor.” Qingqing’s face had reddened slightly.

“Childhood sweethearts!” Feng Yijiu blinked.

“No. We’re just ordinary neighbors.”

“Oh, so it’s love that grew over time.” Feng Yijiu gave her a wicked grin.

Qingqing flew into a rage and started attacking Feng Yijiu’s ticklish spots.

“Big Sis likes fragrant girls like you, Yijiu!”

……

“I’m back.” Feng Yijiu returned home just before dinner.

However, Cen Man’s slightly strange look made her freeze for a moment. She instinctively scratched her head, then realized that she still hadn’t taken off the cat-ear hair clip on top of her head.

A faint blush crossed Feng Yijiu’s face, and she quickly removed the cat ears.

“Don’t take them off. They really look good on you.” Cen Man smiled.

Feng Yijiu rolled her eyes. Then she hurried into her room, tossed her schoolbag beside the bed, and threw herself onto the mattress like a human starfish.

She looked at the cat ears in her hand. After thinking for a moment, she casually stuffed them into a bedside drawer.

Was she really taking Li Hao too seriously?

Feng Yijiu pondered the question. Then she quickly shook her head and laughed at herself.

She was only helping a friend. That was all.

Wasn’t there a saying? Better to tear down ten temples than destroy one marriage.

If those two got together thanks to her matchmaking, maybe she’d receive an epic upgrade the next time she transmigrated.

Feng Yijiu let her thoughts run wild. Since it was almost time for dinner, she had no mood to read or play games.

Instead, she pulled out her phone. After hesitating for a moment, she began telling Li Hao what she’d found.

Maple: [Slaps you.gif]

Maple: I found out about Wenyao’s views on romance.

Maple: Deal with it yourself.jpg

Maple: Rubbing hands.gif

Buzz—

On the other side, Li Hao felt his phone vibrating in his pocket. He pulled it out and saw Feng Yijiu’s four messages, fired off like a barrage.

He froze for a moment, but soon replied.

Muzi: May fortune come your way, and may everything go smoothly. [Red packet]

Feng Yijiu opened it and received a whole one cent.

Maple: Wenyao said:.

Li Hao’s hand trembled as he stared at the single period in Feng Yijiu’s reply.

Even web novel authors at least gave you some buildup before cutting off a chapter, didn’t they?

Muzi: When you come back to school, I’ll cover your snacks for next week.

Maple: Disdain.jpg

Maple: Wenyao said she doesn’t want to date. She thinks high school romance is mostly pointless, so she’d rather wait until college.

Maple: Gently pats dog’s head.gif

Maple: Oh, right. Wenyao seems to have a lot of admirers. You could exchange some experience with them.

Li Hao stared at Feng Yijiu’s messages. For a moment, he felt his entire mindset collapsing.

No, wait…

Zhou Wenyao only meant that she wouldn’t date in high school. They could still be friends, right?

Wasn’t Feng Yijiu the best example?

Then, once they reached college, he could seize the initiative when the competition officially began.

Besides, his family background and appearance were both decent. That enchantress wasn’t competing with him, either.

His chances were actually pretty good.

So he should use this safe period to improve himself. At the very least, he had to become someone Zhou Wenyao admired, like Feng Yijiu.

Li Hao made up his mind soon enough.

Meanwhile, Feng Yijiu stared at the picture in front of her finger.

It showed an all-purpose Tom wearing a turtle-shell armor suit, a black tiger and red cape on his back, and a ram-horn mask on his head.

After a long silence, she decided not to send it.

Feng Yijiu quietly put away her phone.

Maple: How about considering someone else? Wenyao’s difficulty level is way too high for a hero fresh out of the starting village.

Muzi: No need. I’ll work hard.

Muzi: Thumbs-up.gif

Feng Yijiu looked at the emoji Li Hao had sent, then shrugged.

Forget it. She’d stop worrying about them.

Zhou Wenyao was a rational, wonderful girl who knew exactly what she wanted. If that blockhead Li Hao could really win her over—

No, wait. If he could really pursue her successfully, that would be a pretty good ending, too.

Li Hao sure was getting a bargain.

Feng Yijiu tossed down her phone. If she were still a man, she definitely wouldn’t let a girl like Zhou Wenyao go.

But…

Was she really still suited to finding a girlfriend?

A bitter smile appeared on Feng Yijiu’s face.

Before transmigrating, she had read plenty of yuri-flavored novels. Back in middle school, she’d even thought that girls in love with girls were the most delicate and beautiful existence in the world.

She had been an absolute holy warrior. A pilgrim.

Then, one day, on a mysterious website, she’d acted on impulse and watched high-definition footage of two girls getting deeply intimate.

She had to admit, the impact had been far too great.

It had completely changed her tastes.

Whenever she saw a scene that made her heart race, she couldn’t help remembering those images, which had nearly been burned into her DNA…

The man who loves dragons but knows only their paintings. The old saying really didn’t lie.

Thinking of this, Feng Yijiu let out a deep sigh.

Perhaps her best ending now was to fool around with a few close friends and remain single forever.

Feng Yijiu sighed again and walked over to the vanity that had only recently been moved into her bedroom.

Then she looked at the delicate face in the mirror.

Her hair had grown somewhat long. A few strands hung loose, revealing a hint of feminine softness.

Feng Yijiu gently brushed several locks aside and sighed quietly.

She truly felt that her self-deception couldn’t hide the truth for much longer.

Six months? A year?

When everyone learned that she was actually a girl, what would she do?

Would she keep dressing like a boy, as she did now?

Or would she change into the embarrassing clothes of a girl?

Feng Yijiu scratched her hair in distress.

She’d have to get a haircut tonight.

In the end, Feng Yijiu could only make a decision that wasn’t really a decision. She stood up and began helping Cen Man clear the dishes and tidy the table.

——— Mini Theater ———

“Wait, why are you wearing your high school uniform?”

“I’m just reminiscing about how things felt with a certain blockhead in the beginning.” Feng Yijiu struggled to pull on the uniform shirt.

When she lowered her head, she found that her short-sleeved shirt had been stretched up by the considerable fullness beneath it, exposing a section of her slender, fair waist.

The poor shirt was stretched so tightly that it looked more like a crop top.

“All right, all right. Put on something bigger.” Li Hao looked at the uniform, which was already under unbearable strain, and advised her kindly.

“Mind your own business.” Feng Yijiu exhaled, then tried to pull up the jacket zipper.

Clearly, though, her stomach wasn’t what was stopping the uniform from fitting.

……

“Ugh. The uniform’s quality is terrible. This zipper is so cheap.”

Li Hao looked at the zipper pull, stuck halfway up, and gently patted Feng Yijiu’s shoulder.

But his actions soon became less innocent.

At some point, his arms had wrapped around Feng Yijiu from behind. His lips also drifted closer to the back of her earlobe.

His breath brushed against the small, delicate lobe, making it tremble lightly.

Feng Yijiu’s earlobe quivered softly. Then it slowly turned red.

However, she quickly turned sideways and dodged Li Hao’s next move.

“Not today. I’m on my period.”

Li Hao stared at the grinning little enchantress before him. His mind couldn’t help drifting back to that one most special girl from his school days.

“Here, don’t be shy.” Seeing his lost, dejected look, Feng Yijiu generously waved her hand.

Then she slapped a pair of black cloth panties directly into Li Hao’s hands.

Her expression looked exactly like a certain “Please, enjoy this treat, young master” meme.

Li Hao watched the cat-girl hum a little tune as she slipped away. Then he looked down at the thin fabric in his hands.

For a moment, he didn’t know what to say.

But perhaps this was the girl he truly liked.