Though she hadn’t gotten much sleep last night, this body had at least been lying down for two days.

And after waking up, Mu Lishan didn’t feel weak at all. She was nearly as energetic as someone who hadn’t been sick.

Just as her conversation with Huo Tong in the early hours had suggested, this so-called coma was really a transitional period as their souls moved into new bodies.

Mu Lishan had no idea why they’d been reborn, and she certainly hadn’t chosen to live again in this body. But now that it had happened, what was the point of thinking about it too much?

She was someone who focused on the present. No matter how the past or future changed, her life had always run along the path Mu Hua had laid out for her.

From what she’d seen last night, her counterpart in this world had lived the same way.

Mu Lishan wore a calm expression as she sat thinking about her own affairs. Then the young nurse came in, carrying two bowls of porridge.

“Here’s the porridge you asked for, sweetie. I brought it over for you.”

The young nurse set the two bowls beside Mu Lishan’s bed. When Mu Lishan thanked her, she waved it off, then asked curiously:

“This bowl’s for Huo, right? You two are so close. Are you best friends?”

“Mm. I’ve known her for years. We’re close enough to share a pair of pants.” Mu Lishan nodded, then asked the nurse, “She woke up a day before me. Did she ask you about me?”

“She woke up a day before me. Did she ask you about me?”

Huo Tong had mentioned that she’d heard a lot of things from a young nurse. Mu Lishan figured this must be the woman she meant.

“Well, she did mention you, but she even got your name wrong. And she said you were a man.”

The young nurse laughed as she recalled it. She seemed baffled that Huo Tong had mistaken her dear sister for a dear brother.

Mu Lishan’s expression remained calm, and she neither confirmed nor denied it. The nurse assumed it was some little secret of hers and didn’t press the matter.

The nurse glanced at Huo Tong, who was bundled up in her blanket, then leaned in and asked in a conspiratorial whisper:

“By the way, Mu, do you know who that man Huo’s been avoiding is? Do you know what’s going on between them?”

The nurse’s inner gossip fiend had been burning bright ever since that day.

She kept imagining the possible love story between Huo Tong and the young man in a suit who’d thought Huo Tong was a man. There was no way she could let this gossip go.

“She’s avoiding a guy?”

Mu Lishan’s lashes fluttered in surprise. Her little mouth fell open, and even her usually unreadable expression turned strange.

“Yeah… But I guess you don’t know either.” The nurse nodded, looking a little disappointed. She sighed and added, “I asked Huo, but she wouldn’t tell me. And after I even helped her handle that guy!”

The nurse didn’t notice Mu Lishan’s expression. She raised a fist, indignant.

“I swear, I’m not up to anything! I wouldn’t steal her boyfriend. I just want to help her figure out her love life!”

“Their love life?” Mu Lishan couldn’t help laughing. She shook her head, then asked, “Can you tell me exactly what happened?”

Huo Tong had told Mu Lishan about her intersex condition the night before, but she hadn’t mentioned that a man had come looking for her. So the nurse’s story piqued Mu Lishan’s interest.

“Hmm… But you can’t tell Huo, okay?” The young nurse didn’t seem to mind sharing. In fact, she looked eager to. Women were always quick to jump into a juicy bit of gossip.

She waved Mu Lishan over, signaling for her to bring her head closer.

The ice doll looked at her in confusion. With a sigh, the nurse had to lean over herself.

In a voice quieter than a mosquito’s buzz, the nurse gave Mu Lishan a vivid, embellished account of how Yao Chen had come to visit Huo Tong that day and how Huo Tong had deliberately avoided him.

She lingered especially over Yao Chen’s rather heartfelt lines as he tried to get information out of Huo Tong, and the gentle, carefree smile he’d worn as he left.

In the nurse’s telling, the whole thing was brimming with emotion. Mu Lishan couldn’t help turning her head away and covering her mouth to hide a laugh.

But halfway through, Mu Lishan had figured it out: the man was probably an old friend of Huo Tong’s.

After that, Mu Lishan wasn’t especially surprised. She was only a little curious about when Huo Tong had made a friend who seemed almost like a businessman.

The nurse rambled on for about five minutes. When she’d shared enough and realized it was time to get back to work, she reminded Mu Lishan not to tell anyone, then left, thoroughly satisfied.

Afterward, Mu Lishan picked up a bowl and tried the porridge. It had cooled enough, so she decided to wake up the lazybones.

“Time to get up, sleepyhead.” Mu Lishan sat down beside Huo Tong’s bed, called to her, then gave her a couple of nudges.

“…” The lump under the blanket shifted slightly and let out a couple of sleepy murmurs, then went right back to playing dead.

Mu Lishan had expected as much. Just like back in their college dorm, once Huo Tong was asleep, words alone could hardly wake her.

So Mu Lishan swept a hand out and pulled the blanket off her. Huo Tong had never been a graceful sleeper, and when the sunlight hit her eyes, her brows furrowed. Sure enough, she opened them.

“…Have I ever told you that when you wake me up, you’re just like my mom?”

Huo Tong slowly pushed herself upright. Her hair was sticking up in every direction, and she looked half-asleep as she complained without any real malice.

She rubbed her eyes and looked at Mu Lishan beside her. She stayed dazed for a while, then smiled.

“So I really did turn into a girl. I slept for three days and still didn’t realize it was a dream.” Huo Tong sighed and leaned over to pinch the little face in front of her, but Mu Lishan slapped her wandering hand away.

“Keep your hands to yourself. Pinch your own face. It’s time to eat—I asked the nurse to bring porridge.” Mu Lishan was speechless. She thought Huo Tong’s behavior was a little weird, but let it go.

“My face isn’t as soft as yours. And when you change, don’t you have to let your best bro try it out first?” Huo Tong actually pinched her own cheek, then opened the little table on the bed and grumbled.

That was nonsense. Just looking at her flawless, dewy skin, Mu Lishan could tell it would feel just as soft, if not softer.

If she had to name the biggest difference between Huo Tong’s body and her own to the touch, it would probably be the two lumps of fat on their chests.

Thinking of that made Mu Lishan a little gloomy. Hers were too big; they even felt like a noticeable burden when she walked.

If only she had Huo Tong’s. Small and light—she looked like a kid.

“Your brows are all scrunched up. What are you thinking about? Hoping I’ll feed you now that I look like this?”

Huo Tong had no idea what strange thoughts were going through her mind. She watched Mu Lishan as she picked up her spoon and took a sip of porridge, teasing her.

“I don’t need that.” Mu Lishan answered flatly, then lowered her gaze and added softly, “I just don’t think I’m used to this body yet.”

“I get it.” Huo Tong nodded in sympathy. She looked up at the ceiling and sighed. “But we’re already like this. What’s the point of thinking about it so much? At least we’re still alive.”

Mu Lishan looked as if she agreed. Huo Tong set her spoon in the bowl, sat up a little straighter, and chose her words carefully.

“By the way, Lishan, I have something really important to ask you. What do you plan to do with your life from now on?”

“Live the same way I did before.” Mu Lishan was silent for a moment, then looked away. Sunlight fell across her unreadable face.

“…You mean take over the family business?” Huo Tong’s brows drew together as she looked at her.

“Mm.” Mu Lishan’s voice was a little low.

“What about painting?” Huo Tong furrowed her brows and asked softly.