The setting sun slowly dipped below the horizon, painting the clouds with fiery crimson hues, as if ablaze.
“I’m back!”
Returning to his apartment near the school, Lin Xuan kicked off his shoes and walked through the living room. His gaze immediately fell upon a charming pink bunny note placed on the table. He approached, unfolded the paper, and found a row of elegant, pleasing handwriting.
“Dearest Brother, I’m so sorry ( ๑ŏ ﹏ ŏ๑ ). Something urgent came up at home, so Ling’er can’t stay overnight with you. All the meals are already prepared and in the fridge, but since I thought you might prefer to cook yourself, I also bought some fresh ingredients and put them in the crisper… Anyway, as compensation, next time, whatever ‘play’ you want to try, Ling’er is totally game for it (=^▽^=)!”
Lin Xuan’s eyebrows twitched twice. He sighed, refolded the note, and tucked it into his pocket. Afterward, he headed to the kitchen to prepare dinner.
Regardless, his sister’s absence tonight brought him a sense of relief. Ever since he declared his intention not to inherit the family business, his sister had inexplicably become somewhat strange. While she had always been clingy, she had never been *this* clingy before.
After dinner, Lin Xuan took a fragrant hot shower before heading to bed. He had a basketball class today and was exhausted, so he had no plans to stream tonight. He rolled twice on the bed, hugging his pillow.
He reached out, pulling a small pink spherical object from his pajama pocket and began to toy with it. The ball felt smooth and warm, like jade, in his hand, emitting a gentle glow under the lamp.
The more Lin Xuan looked at it, the more he cherished it, even feeling an urge to swallow it whole.
Ding-dong!
His phone, resting by his pillow, suddenly rang, startling him awake.
‘Who sent me a message? It shouldn’t be the flower shop’s property management, right?’
He grumbled, picked up his phone, and opened QQ. The chat window for “Xiao Chen” immediately popped up, starting with a crying emoji.
– You okay?
Lin Xuan asked, puzzled. A ‘suffocating’ emoji quickly followed from the other side.
– Today is truly my unlucky day! Ling Xian-chan hasn’t started streaming yet! I’m going to die!
– …
Even through the screen, Lin Xuan could almost hear Shi Chen’s wails. ‘I’m sorry I didn’t stream tonight,’ he thought, typing out a reply.
– So? It’s just no stream, why’s that an unlucky day?
– (Sobbing) The gift I wanted to give Ling Xian-chan is gone too!
– ? Gift?
– Yes, it’s a pink crystal ball, round, about the size of a longan. Have you seen it?
‘So it was that,’ Lin Xuan thought. He had initially intended to tell Shi Chen that he had taken it. However, he instinctively glanced at the pink sphere in his hand, and a mischievous impulse made him change his mind.
– No.
– Alas, I’m having such a hard time (crying). Without Ling Xian-chan to heal my exhausted body and mind, I feel completely out of sorts. I’ll just go to sleep for tonight. Goodnight 💤
– Goodnight.
After sending the message, Lin Xuan looked at the small sphere in his hand again. ‘I’ll just tease him for a bit, then give it back tomorrow morning as a surprise.’ He mused. ‘Though, it wouldn’t be a problem if I kept this sphere, would it? After all, Shi Chen seemed to intend to give it to “Ling Xian” anyway. Though, I can’t imagine how he planned to send it. By express delivery? Probably not.’
“Aww~ I’m tired from PE class today, I should go to bed early too!”
Yawning widely, Lin Xuan was too lazy to type or read novels. Before sleeping, he counted his Pantheon Legends cards, turned off the light, and got into bed. Of course, the pink sphere was still clutched in his hand. This thing was truly hard to let go of once he started playing with it! It felt so warm and comfortable in his hand!
Before long, he drifted into dreamland, his even breathing signaling a deep, sweet sleep.
“Mmm~ Candy, I want candy~”
Barely fifteen minutes into his sleep, Lin Xuan instinctively threw the ball in his hand into his mouth.
*Crunch, crunch, crunch…* (Chew, chew)
*Gulp* (Swallow)
The night was always long yet fleeting. With a blink of an eye, the sun was already high in the sky. As it was the weekend, Lin Xuan hadn’t set an alarm and slept comfortably until nine.
On the large bed, a fair-skinned, delicate girl lay curled up, hugging a pillow. Her cherry lips nibbled at her thumb, and she mumbled something drowsily. A pair of beautiful legs peeked out from under loose shorts, and a fluffy white tail occasionally swept twice behind her. Her adorable, vibrant appearance would surely make anyone lose their composure!
“Aww~ That was a wonderful sleep~”
Yawning widely, the girl sat up, her ears on her head twitching. She rubbed her eyes with slender hands as she climbed out of bed and headed to the bathroom.
“A full night’s sleep truly makes a difference; I feel so much lighter… Hmm?”
Walking down the corridor, Lin Xuan’s spirit suddenly jolted as his peripheral vision caught sight of the full-length mirror by the bathroom door.
“Why is there a beautiful fox girl in the mirror? Damn, she’s so cute!”
“Wait, my voice…”
The girl covered her mouth. Accustomed to using a disguised voice, she hadn’t paid much attention until now, only realizing she was speaking in her normal voice.
She cautiously moved her right hand, and the girl in the mirror mirrored her, twisting her body and waving her right hand. The two large, long ears on her head twitched, and the fluffy white tail behind her swept in a graceful arc, exuding an indescribable liveliness.
Her phoenix-like eyebrows curved like the moon, her beautiful eyes held a tender gaze, her nose was elegantly sculpted, her cheeks faintly flushed, and her cherry lips, which exhaled a fragrance like orchids, adorned a stunning oval face. Her skin, as pristine as frost or snow, seemed as if it could break with a touch, and her slender figure was like a goddess emerging from water. However, the girl’s expression was a little unnatural at this moment, as she reached into her pants in an aesthetically pleasing pose.
“Indeed… How could this happen?!”
“Damn it, why did I transform again?! And into a girl?!”
The girl before him, purely from her appearance, was almost identical to Ling Xian, who was popular across the entire internet—perhaps even more beautiful. But the problem was, Lin Xuan wasn’t wearing makeup or a wig at the moment. Aside from accidentally putting on the wrong fox girl streaming pajamas after his shower last night, he hadn’t done anything else.
“Wait, where’s that ball from yesterday?”
After calming down for a while, Lin Xuan suddenly remembered the ball he was holding before he went to sleep last night. He searched around but couldn’t find it.
‘Could that thing be responsible?’
She hesitated for a moment, cleared her throat twice, and after perfecting her disguised voice, opened her phone and dialed Shi Chen’s number.
– Hello? Xiao Chen! What was that thing you told me yesterday you wanted to give to Ling Xian?
– ? A pink crystal ball, didn’t I tell you last night?
– No, I mean, where did that crystal ball come from?
– Oh, that. I met a blind fortune-telling Daoist on the street two days ago. I thought it was quite interesting, and I was bored at the time, so I had my fortune told. After that, the Daoist casually threw this ball to me. He said that if you give it to the person you admire, your wishes will come true… Why are you asking about this?
– No reason, I just suddenly wanted to know, in case I ever saw it, I could recognize it. I’ll hang up now!
‘Fortune-telling, Daoist… It seems it’s most likely that thing.’ After thinking carefully, he realized that besides that ball, he hadn’t encountered anything strange these past two days.
Considering his previous transformations…
‘Could it be that I *ate* that thing?!’
‘Hahahahaha, no… right?’
In any case, it seemed the only clue had now vanished.
Feeling dispirited, Lin Xuan opened his streaming channel, preparing to sing a song to lift his mood.
“Hello everyone, good morning! Ling Xian will sing a song for you today!”
“Ohhhh!! Ling Xian, Ling Xian, she’s live!!”
“My faith has returned!!!”
“Eh? Why does Ling Xian seem even prettier now!”
“Now that you mention it, she really does! I’m in love!”
At first, many people in the comments were discussing Ling Xian’s changes, but they quickly fell silent under the girl’s singing. Lin Xuan had originally captivated a large fanbase as a music streamer through his excellent disguised voice and musical talent. Now that he had transformed into a girl, he no longer needed to deliberately focus on controlling his disguised voice, allowing his vocal control to reach an unprecedented level. Coupled with the inherent spiritual charm of a fox girl, the comments section of the entire livestream instantly disappeared. Everyone watching Ling Xian’s stream at that moment stared blankly at their phone screens.
“Xiao Lin! Xiao Lin, are you there?”
The electronic doorbell rang, and Shi Chen’s voice came through, startling Lin Xuan. He quickly dismissed his fans and ended the stream. He looked left and right, found a bucket hat to hide his hair and ears, and instantly pulled on the men’s casual home clothes he usually wore.
– What’s up, Xiao Chen?
– Hurry and watch Ling Xian-chan’s stream! Her singing is mind-blowing! Eh? It’s gone?
– Uh, maybe she had something urgent to attend to… So why are you here at this hour?
– Oh, right. I have a basketball game today, and I wanted to ask if you’d like to come watch.
– Uh, this…
– If Xiao Lin doesn’t come, no one will attract the attention of the opposing basketball players.
– Speak like a normal person!
– Alright, there aren’t many spectators, so I wanted you to fill the seats. Of course, if you’re willing, you could also bat your eyelashes at the opposing team’s captain. Also, Mo Yuan is there!
– Take back that ‘bat your eyelashes’ comment, and we can still be brothers!