A Morning of Revelations and Unwelcome Encounters

After Dongyi concluded her enlightening explanation, delivered with the casual air of someone who had seen it all, the chaos in the bedroom finally subsided.

Liuxia’s small face was flushed a deep crimson, as if ready to bleed. She finally understood what had happened to her, and a potent cocktail of shame and bewilderment engulfed the young woman.

“I’m sorry… Chunsheng, I misunderstood you…”

“I… I never thought it was that kind of thing…”

“And here I thought I’d even had girlfriends before…”

With that, she buried her head under the blanket, completely retreating into herself.

Seeing his Senior in such a state, Li Chunsheng sighed helplessly. Dongyi, on the other hand, seemed to have regained a measure of her composure and confidence after the tumultuous events.

She methodically directed Li Chunsheng to first gently carry the curled-up Liuxia to the clean leather sofa in the living room.

Then, with careful precision, she placed a thick stack of clean paper towels beneath her, to prevent any further contamination.

Under Dongyi’s guidance, Li Chunsheng swiftly packaged all the soiled bedding and piled it by the door, intending to call a laundry service for pick-up later.

By the time everything was done, the sky had fully brightened.

Following their unexpected collaboration, the subtle tension that had lingered between Li Chunsheng and Dongyi had significantly eased.

“Well… thank you, Miss Dongyi,” Li Chunsheng said, genuinely expressing his gratitude as he surveyed the living room and the young woman secretly watching them from the sofa.

“If it weren’t for you, we’d probably still be talking past each other, utterly clueless on how to proceed.”

Dongyi simply scoffed softly, offering no words, yet her typically icy features seemed to soften by a fraction.

“Oh, right,” Li Chunsheng scratched his head, a sheepish smile spreading across his face. “You must be hungry after all that work this morning, too, right? I know a breakfast spot nearby that’s exceptionally delicious. My treat, shall we go grab a bite?”

Turning to face the huddled Liuxia on the sofa, he spoke in a gentle voice, “Senior, since you’re on your period, you should rest well at home for now! We’ll be back soon with breakfast and… er, the nightgown you’re currently wearing… the material is… um, no, that’s not what I meant…”

It was only when Dongyi mentioned this that Li Chunsheng realized Liuxia was wearing a rather flimsy nightgown.

Although he had always viewed Liuxia as a mere girl up until now, Liuxia was a girl, after all!

Realizing this, Li Chunsheng’s face flushed with embarrassment once more.

He quickly changed the subject, asking Liuxia, “So… um, Liuxia, is there anything you’d like to eat?”

Liuxia’s delicate small face emerged from the blanket, shook her head, and then quickly retreated, her voice as faint as a mosquito’s buzz. “I… I have no appetite…”

“You don’t want to eat?”

“Mm-hm…”

Li Chunsheng looked helplessly at Dongyi, unsure how to proceed. Dongyi pondered for a moment before suggesting, “How about I take Liuxia to shower first? Her body is surely uncomfortable from being sticky. After a bath and changing into my clothes, her appetite might improve.”

“Alright.”

Li Chunsheng nodded, watching as Dongyi picked Liuxia up from the sofa and carried her towards Dongyi’s bedroom.

Left alone in the living room, Li Chunsheng gazed out at the now fully brightened sky, and the slivers of morning light, partially obscured by towering buildings and trees outside the window.

Suddenly, he felt that his otherwise mundane university life had become rather intriguing.

“Mm-hm,” Liuxia softly hummed in acknowledgment.

Dongyi had initially intended to refuse, but for some reason, the words on her lips turned into a simple, “Whatever.”

And so, the two left Liuxia to wait at home for a moment, and both stepped out of the apartment.

The crisp morning air was somewhat chilly, causing Dongyi, dressed only in thin loungewear, to frown. Li Chunsheng, walking ahead, noticed this and deliberately slowed his pace, taking off his jacket and draping it over her.

The jacket settled over her, and Dongyi was jolted by this sudden, gentle gesture.

“What the hell—!”

“Why are you suddenly being so disgusting? Such unsolicited kindness usually portends ill intent!”

“I’m just thanking you…”

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Li Chunsheng, in a tone tinged with a hint of embarrassment, put forth his request.

“Um… Miss Dongyi, after breakfast, would you mind… going to a nearby convenience store to help buy some… er, sanitary pads?”

“Huh?” Dongyi blurted out dismissively without thinking. “Are you kidding me? What kind of grown man sends another grown man to buy something like that?!”

However, as the words left her mouth, she froze.

‘A man…?’

She gently lowered her head, looking at her own body, which, despite being dressed in neutral loungewear, still could not fully conceal the graceful curves of her feminine physique.

Yes…

She was no longer a man.

A torrent of intense, complex emotions surged through Dongyi’s chest.

“It seems this free breakfast won’t be easy to enjoy after all,” she finally muttered, a self-deprecating remark to mask her turmoil.

She raised her head, her stunning, icy blue eyes flickering towards Li Chunsheng, a note of weariness in her voice. “You bastard, you could have just used your despicable Authority to command me, couldn’t you?”

‘Why go through all this trouble?’

Li Chunsheng looked at her dejected appearance, his gaze holding a touch of sincerity.

He thought for a moment, then spoke earnestly to the Enigmatic Beauty before him, “What I said in the park earlier, about wanting to be friends, at least half of that was sincere.”

“And I don’t want to use commands on a friend.”

Dongyi’s heart skipped a beat at his words.

As a principled Investigator, she had almost no one she could truly call a friend.

She instinctively turned her head away, avoiding Li Chunsheng’s sincere gaze, and mumbled softly, “…Silver-tongued devil.”

But this time, the usual sharpness was absent from her tone, replaced by a noticeable softness.

****

The two soon arrived at the breakfast stall Li Chunsheng had praised as exceptionally delicious.

It was a bustling roadside stall, brimming with the vibrant energy of street life, and at this hour, it was packed with patrons.

“Boss! Two bowls of savory tofu pudding, ten fried dough sticks, twenty pan-fried buns, and two baskets of siomai!” Li Chunsheng was clearly a regular, expertly navigating the crowd to find an empty spot before rattling off a lengthy order.

“Coming right up!” the boss called out, glancing up. When his gaze swept past Li Chunsheng and landed on Dongyi sitting opposite him, he couldn’t help but be momentarily stunned.

“Young man, eating this much this time? Can you and your girlfriend finish it all?”

“No problem, just bring it on!” Li Chunsheng, too lazy to deny it, casually replied.

“Alright, looks like you two need to replenish your bodies then~” The boss flashed a knowing, suggestive grin that men universally understood.

A veritable mountain of breakfast food, enough to feed an ordinary family for an entire day, was quickly served and piled high on their table.

As two Bronze-tier elite humans, their appetites naturally far exceeded ordinary people’s, requiring a great deal of food.

Such a colossal meal naturally attracted the attention of many surrounding diners. However, even more gazes were drawn to Dongyi, who was a peerless beauty.

Her simple loungewear, far from obscuring her beauty, only accentuated her pure and captivating charm. It lent her the casual allure of a girl next door.

In that moment, gazes of varying implications, like relentless searchlights, converged upon her. There was amazement, curiosity, and greed.

These were gazes she had never experienced when she was a man, and they filled her with extreme discomfort. She felt like an animal gawked at by tourists, uncomfortable all over.

The Enigmatic Beauty couldn’t help but regret.

‘If I had known it would be like this, I shouldn’t have tried to save effort. I should have transformed into my male appearance before leaving the house.’

Just as she was sitting on tenterhooks under these stares, a sleek white sedan, clearly not inexpensive, suddenly pulled over to the side of the road with its turn signal flashing, right by the breakfast stall.

Click.

The sound of a car door opening rang out, and Dongyi’s gaze was drawn towards it.

Two women, who appeared to be mother and daughter, stepped out of the car—it was none other than her daughter, Liao Xinyi, and her wife, Bai Jie.

Bai Jie’s face bore an impeccable, gentle smile. She led her daughter, a picture of curiosity, directly to Li Chunsheng and Dongyi’s table, and with a soft tone, she smiled and asked:

“Excuse me, I apologize for disturbing you two.”

“The breakfast here looks quite good. I wonder if my daughter and I could join you for this meal?”

“Yes, Young Master Li, let’s eat breakfast together, shall we?” Liao Xinyi interjected.

The very air, in that precise moment, seemed to freeze solid.

Li Chunsheng’s mouth was slightly agape. He looked at Liao Xinyi, then at Dongyi, and swallowed his mouthful of food with a distinct gulp.

‘If I weren’t an actor in this scene, it would surely be utterly captivating to watch while eating, wouldn’t it?’ he thought, a ridiculous notion crossing his mind.

Dongyi, sitting opposite him, felt all the blood in her body seem to rush back to her heart the instant she recognized the newcomers. A chilling sensation shot from the base of her spine all the way to the back of her skull.

A bead of sweat, as large as a pea, slowly trickled down her smooth temple.

‘W-w-w-wait—? How are my wife and daughter here?’