“Yes, yes, yes, I opened it.”
The intense pain assaulted Haiford’s nerves, robbing him of the ability to even think for a short while.
“Are you conducting gender-reassignment experiments in there? And you succeeded not long ago, didn’t you?”
The middle-aged man’s voice remained utterly devoid of inflection, like that of an emotionless machine.
Haiford hesitated for a moment this time; after all, it represented his life’s work. Yet, before he could fully deliberate, a cutting sound echoed once more, and agonizing pain shot through the thigh of his other leg.
“Ah! It succeeded, it succeeded! Please, don’t cut! I’ll tell you everything!”
Haiford pleaded, tears streaming down his face.
“Very good. And the test subject? I mean, that person.”
The middle-aged man asked, a note of satisfaction in his voice.
“She escaped.”
Haiford confessed truthfully, sniffling.
“Escaped? Is that true? Don’t you dare lie to me!”
The middle-aged man confirmed with ill intent, the sound of metal scraping echoing nearby.
“It’s true, truly true! I swear! If you don’t believe me, you can go check the lab.”
A chill ran through Haiford. He quickly responded with a sincere tone.
“What a waste. You can’t even keep track of a test subject.”
The middle-aged man cursed under his breath.
“Yes, yes, yes… You’re right… I’m a waste.”
Haiford could only swallow his indignation and agree.
“One last question. Tell me the identity of that test subject.”
The middle-aged man pressed.
“I don’t know.”
Haiford replied cautiously.
Swish!
Another strange cutting sound, but this time it was alarmingly close.
Haiford felt a sudden chill in his left ear, then noticed something soft fall onto his shoulder, followed by the tingling sensation of blood welling up.
Before Haiford could comprehend what had happened, excruciating pain shot from his ear nerves directly into his brain, nearly causing him to pass out on the spot.
“Ah!”
Haiford let out a hysterical scream. Only then did he realize that what had just fallen onto his shoulder was his own left ear.
“I warned you just now. One piece of nonsense, and you lose a piece of flesh.”
The middle-aged man’s voice remained utterly devoid of emotion, as if he had just performed some trivial task.
“I… I’m telling the truth… Ugh… I truly don’t know that test subject’s… the test subject’s identity. I only heard her say her name was Qi… Qirong.”
Haiford wailed his explanation, his body convulsing like a person seized by epilepsy from the pain. A thin stream of unknown liquid trickled from his crotch onto the floor, and a foul stench quickly permeated the air.
“Then what about her home address? How could you not know your own test subject? How did you even find her?”
The middle-aged man pressed.
Haiford felt a cold touch on his face. He stammered, explaining, “This person was abducted by the Stolen Fragrance Organization at my behest. The initial target wasn’t actually her…”
“These ‘Stolen Fragrance’ people are truly useless. They claim they never fail, yet you, you pig, are equally astonishing for not even being able to tell male from female.”
The middle-aged man sneered.
“You don’t understand, sir. That boy truly looks exactly like Chen Xuanzhu. Otherwise, how could he have fooled us?”
“Captain, what should we do now?”
Another young man’s voice suddenly echoed in the room.
Haiford jumped in fright, for he hadn’t sensed the other person’s presence at all, as if a ghost had suddenly appeared.
“They went to Donghui City. It seems only the Chen family knows who that test subject is.”
Captain Kong replied.
“What about this fat pig?”
The young man inquired.
“I’ll give you all the lab data and the experts! Please, don’t kill me!”
At the brink of death, Haiford blurted out.
“Your generosity touches me deeply, CEO Hai!”
Captain Kong’s tone softened slightly.
Haiford breathed a sigh of relief, thinking to himself that no one could resist the allure of profit. But just then, he felt a cold sensation on his neck. The familiar stinging intensified, and the warm liquid made his skin itch.
Haiford tried to reach for his neck, but with his limbs restrained, he couldn’t move. He deflated like a punctured balloon.
“Unfortunately, I’m not interested.”
Captain Kong’s final words drifted to him.
‘Why is this happening?’
Haiford’s mind was filled with utter confusion. He had assumed they were after his gender-reassignment experiments, but it was clear now that wasn’t the case. These people seemed only interested in killing.
‘What exactly do they want?’
Haiford thought, unwilling to accept his fate as a bewildered ghost, even as he lost consciousness.
****
Chen Xuanqiu decided to apply for an online messaging account. She then added all the numbers she’d previously noted down as friends. To her surprise, no sooner had her requests been accepted than messages of greeting started pouring in.
Chen Xuanqiu was flattered, secretly wondering when her charm had grown so potent. In her previous life, the ordinary ‘he’ had been the kind of person who could turn social media into a single-player game.
Guided by the principle of reciprocity, Chen Xuanqiu patiently replied to everyone. However, she soon realized that every single person was only seeking information about her ‘cheap younger sister.’ Clearly, their intentions lay elsewhere.
Unwilling and afraid to cause trouble for her ‘cheap younger sister,’ Chen Xuanqiu quickly went offline.
Lying in bed, Chen Xuanqiu began to ponder her current predicament. She resolved never to go to a hospital casually again. This time, she was lucky to only get a brain CT; next time, she might not be so fortunate.
‘If they discover I’m a girl, they’ll undoubtedly suspect my identity. And since I don’t have the original owner’s memories, that would be disastrous.’
Chen Xuanqiu vaguely sensed the gravity of the situation, so she secretly warned herself that even if she genuinely saw something in the future, she would absolutely never speak of it.
As night deepened, Chen Xuanqiu finally succumbed to weariness and drifted into a hazy sleep.
She didn’t know how long she had slept, but Chen Xuanqiu suddenly awoke. She felt that strange hot current reappear within her body.
Chen Xuanqiu would never forget the sight she had witnessed that night at the hospital. Her eyes snapped open, all traces of sleep vanished.
The hot current meandered through Chen Xuanqiu’s body like a headless fly.
Chen Xuanqiu didn’t dare to breathe deeply, afraid of disturbing the phenomenon. Fortunately, after a moment, the hot current abruptly vanished.
‘What exactly are you?’
Chen Xuanqiu thought, drenched in cold sweat. From that moment on, sleep utterly eluded her.
The next morning, Chen Xuanqiu rose, her spirits low. Having slept poorly, she sported a pair of dark circles under her eyes.
Chen Xuanqiu subconsciously reached for her binding cloth, but her hand paused mid-air. Even after only a day of binding, a sense of dread had already taken root in her heart.
Tightly wrapping breasts that were C-cup or larger felt like constantly enduring a crushing weight on her chest. Both physical and mental pressure were immense. Even walking a few steps left her breathless, making her truly wonder if she might suddenly drop dead one day if she continued this way.
‘But what can I do if I don’t bind them?’
After a long hesitation, Chen Xuanqiu let out a self-deprecating laugh, then picked up the binding cloth and wrapped herself.
After washing up, Chen Xuanqiu stumbled downstairs, only to find Mother Chen, Grandpa Chen, and Grandma Chen all at home. Her other two family members had gone to work and school.
“My good ‘grandson,’ come quickly and sit.”
Grandma Chen quickly called out.
Chen Xuanqiu found it difficult to refuse, so she hesitantly walked over and sat down beside them.
“Sit closer. Haven’t seen Grandma in so long, don’t you miss me?”
Grandma Chen warmly urged.
Chen Xuanqiu had no choice but to move a little closer.
“Qiu, why do you look so tired? Did you not sleep well last night?”
Melissa quickly noticed her son’s unusual state and asked worriedly.
“N-nothing, I’m fine.”
Chen Xuanqiu forced herself to perk up slightly.
“Grandpa and Grandma know you’re sick. It’s alright, just rest well at home. Nothing is more important than your health. It won’t be too late to go back to school once you’re better.”
Grandma Chen comforted her kindly, then instinctively reached out to touch her ‘grandson’s’ back.
Perhaps due to her lack of sleep last night, Chen Xuanqiu’s thoughts were sluggish. She only reacted when she felt a warm palm touch her back.
‘Oh no!’
Chen Xuanqiu instantly snapped awake. Because of the hot weather, she was dressed thinly, offering absolutely no concealment for the binding cloth underneath.
“Hmm? What are you wearing underneath? In this hot weather?”
Grandma Chen stroked her back twice, puzzled.