The Unexpected Counseling Class

While waiting for class to begin, Huang Xiu observed the three overachievers who had arrived even earlier than her.

It was a chance to scope out the competition ahead of time.

Though the final exam for this course wouldn’t count toward her main credits, the course itself was worth a hefty fifty credits.

That was the equivalent of five soldier-level dragon fiends!

When there were no cute dragon fiends to fish from, every single credit was precious to Huang Xiu.

But as she watched, something felt off.

First, there was the boy. He kept his head down, silent, the picture of a social recluse.

Yet every movement he made carried an indescribable elegance.

That kind of grace wasn’t something you could pick up overnight; it had to be cultivated from childhood.

Huang Xiu could tell at a glance that his family background was anything but ordinary. He was either the son of a wealthy family or a special heritage kid.

But for some reason, this elegance felt jarring, as if it didn’t quite belong on him.

Then there were the two girls, both young and vibrant beauties.

One, who seemed to share Huang Xiu’s status, wore the same short-sleeved shirt and shorts uniform as her, though she had a white bucket hat with a cat pattern on her head.

The other wore a plaid skirt uniform, her long hair flowing freely.

Huang Xiu was certain she had never seen them before.

Yet their actions and expressions inexplicably gave her a sense of déjà vu.

Perhaps feeling self-conscious under Huang Xiu’s barely concealed stare, the girl in the plaid skirt turned away and took a sip of water from a bottle on the table.

As she lifted her arm, something pale blue flickered on her inner upper arm.

“What was that?”

In that fleeting glance, Huang Xiu hadn’t seen clearly, but she was sure it wasn’t a pendant or anything like that.

“Class is about to start, and there are only three of us. Isn’t anyone else in a hurry?”

Even if this was just an elective not counted toward main credits, it was still worth fifty credits for an excellent grade. That should be enough to warrant some attention, shouldn’t it?

Huang Xiu waited for more students to enter the meeting room.

But strangely, until the bell rang, not a single other student pushed through the door.

“Don’t tell me it’s just the four of us for this class?!”

At that thought, Huang Xiu’s gaze toward the other three in the room turned uneasy.

These three had managed to stand out from the crowd, making them formidable competitors for her scholarship.

*Click!*

The meeting room door opened, and a pretty teacher in jeans and a crop top walked in.

She closed the door behind her, locking it with a click.

“Sorry to keep you waiting,” she said with a gentle smile.

Then she quickly walked past the four, took a seat at the short end of the rectangular conference table, and gestured with her hand.

“Come a bit closer, everyone. With just four of us in the class, if we sit any further apart, it’ll feel really empty.”

The four exchanged glances, then split into pairs and sat on either side of her.

Huang Xiu found herself next to the girl in the plaid skirt.

“I apologize for taking up your Wednesday evening rest time, but the school considered your special circumstances, and this supplementary course was unavoidable,” the teacher said with a smile.

“Special circumstances? Isn’t this an intensive course?” A sense of foreboding crept into Huang Xiu’s heart.

She turned to look at her three classmates.

The boy and the girl in the bucket hat seemed to have expected the class; neither looked surprised.

Only the girl in the plaid skirt showed a flash of confusion and panic.

Clearly, like Huang Xiu, she was in the dark.

“Well, since Huang Xiu is interested, I’ll give a brief explanation. This class is an emergency special intensive course.”

Intensive course?

“Yes, but Huang Xiu, don’t worry. Although this course is set up for the four of you, it actually concerns only one of you.”

As the teacher said this, her gaze swept across the four and finally settled on the girl in the plaid skirt.

“That student is you.”

The teacher’s voice remained gentle, but Huang Xiu noticed the girl’s face turn pale, and she couldn’t help trembling.

The girl forced herself to hold steady and asked, quivering, “Teacher, what do you mean?”

“It means you’ve been expelled.”

In the teacher’s soft voice, a heavy truth was announced.

Huang Xiu’s mind buzzed. She had been wondering if this class was some kind of “assessment” or “reward.”

She never expected it to be an “elimination.”

Worse still, the one being eliminated was that girl in the plaid skirt.

“Teacher, can I know why?”

The girl’s eyes were red, but she held back her tears and simply asked.

The teacher’s expression didn’t change. She only repeated, “Because you made a mistake you shouldn’t have. That’s why you’re being expelled.”

“What mistake?”

The teacher didn’t answer. Instead, she picked up a stack of documents from the table and placed them in front of the girl.

“Take a look for yourself.”

The girl picked up the documents with trembling hands. Huang Xiu leaned in to look too.

The documents were in Chinese, but they were mixed with many English letters.

Huang Xiu couldn’t understand them, but she saw on one form something that read, “Reason for Expulsion: Violation of…”

A chill ran down Huang Xiu’s spine. She didn’t know what this “expulsion” meant, nor what mistake the girl had made, but she had a bad feeling.

She looked at the boy and the bucket hat girl beside her. Neither spoke, but their expressions were equally grim.

This class was probably not that simple.

At that moment, Huang Xiu really wanted to elbow the girl next to her and ask a question.

But they were sitting too close together; any whisper wouldn’t escape the others’ ears.

“Let me introduce myself. I’m Nan Menxiu, the psychology teacher and the instructor for this psychological counseling class.”

Huang Xiu: “??????” Psychology teacher! What the heck?!

She couldn’t help blurting out, “Isn’t this an intensive course? Besides, I don’t think I need any extra psychology classes.”

Even as a normal college student who, if put online, would only be rated as clear and foolish, she didn’t need any psychological counseling.

The girl in the plaid skirt nodded vigorously in agreement.

“Of course it’s not an intensive course,” Nan Menxiu said somewhat helplessly.

“The classes you have during the day are already enough for you to digest. Why would we arrange this kind of class for you?”

“And,” she looked at Huang Xiu, narrowing her eyes and smiling like she was soothing a startled cat, speaking softly, “Huang Xiu, don’t rush. Whether you need psychology class or not is an assessment made by the school for you. You can listen first.”

Nan Menxiu blinked. “Besides, this class is worth fifty credits! Listen and you get fifty credits. Isn’t that a great deal?”

In the end, swayed by the fifty credits, Huang Xiu, who could be coaxed but not forced, reluctantly calmed down.

She would just see what this psychology class was all about.

“All of you who have been chosen have a common issue that we want to help you overcome.”

Nan Menxiu’s lips parted.

“Some of you may already know: the problem of physiological gender error.”

Even though she had vaguely guessed it, hearing the answer confirmed was still too much for Huang Xiu.

Having her hidden secret exposed in front of strangers, a strong sense of shame and an inexplicable inferiority washed over her.

She almost instinctively wanted to stand up and flee the classroom.

But before she could rise, her gaze swept over the other three in the room.

Another thought suddenly popped into her mind: Were they her kind?

Were there others who had… been through the same thing?

How did they face it?

What was their mindset now?

These questions itched at Huang Xiu’s heart like cat claws, forcing her to suppress the urge to run.

Huang Xiu put on a cold face to express her displeasure.

This time, when her gaze swept over the other three classmates again, all the discrepancies found their answers.

The reason the delicate boy’s elegance felt wrong was because his manners were more like a young lady’s than a gentleman’s.

And the actions and expressions of the two girls?

Wasn’t it because, like her after her transformation, they still had a strong masculine style?

That’s why they seemed so familiar!

What Huang Xiu saw weren’t two girls, but two men trapped in women’s bodies!

“Damn!” Huang Xiu muttered under her breath.

Her look toward the three of them softened gradually, no longer the gaze of a competitor.

“Do you want us to unify our body and mind into one gender?” she asked Nan Menxiu.

“That’s our goal,” Nan Menxiu nodded generously. “But don’t worry, we won’t force you to correct anything. You are whoever you think you are.”

She looked at the other three with sincerity in her eyes. “We provide you with a platform to communicate with each other and find your own reasons for unifying body and mind.”

“But I think this is just a waste of time,” Huang Xiu said coldly. “To share everything about yourself with strangers? I can’t do that.”

Though her reaction might be a bit intense, she had already decided to give up the fifty credits and just skip the next class.

What were fifty credits anyway?

With any opportunity, she could earn them easily.

“Communicate?”

The bucket hat girl pressed the brim of her hat down with both hands, a hint of confusion in her voice.

Clearly, though she knew the purpose of the class, she didn’t know the specific teaching method.

“Yes, you can share whatever you want in this meeting room. You’re kindred spirits, and also friends.”

Nan Menxiu pressed her hands down. “Don’t worry, nothing will leave this room.”

“We often say that sharing happiness doubles it, and sharing sorrow halves it. If you have doubts, you can start by sharing something happy.”

Seeing no one willing to break the silence, Nan Menxiu tilted her head and smiled. “How about I start sharing?”

The others neither agreed nor disagreed, just remained silent.

Even the most naive person, after experiencing something as major as transformation, would tend to be guarded and withdrawn.

“I’m pregnant recently.” Nan Menxiu touched her belly, her face full of happiness.

“Congratulations,” Huang Xiu said softly.

“I was still a boy in my first year of high school!” Nan Menxiu dropped a bombshell.

Even the boy who had been looking down raised his head, staring at her in surprise.

Huang Xiu swallowed hard, her voice strained. “You mean… you transformed, then found a husband, and now you’re having a child…”

“Otherwise, why do you think I’m the teacher for this class? Because I’m one of you!” Nan Menxiu said with a laugh.

Accepting the reality of transformation, finding a husband, having a child. Huang Xiu felt that even if she had ten years, she couldn’t do that.

What an incredibly strong mindset!

After a long pause, she finally managed to say, “Teacher… your mentality is really good.”

“Eh, not really,” Nan Menxiu shook her head.

“I remember being even more resistant than you back then. I even dated a girlfriend, but it didn’t work out in the end.”

“Of course, that’s all in the past.”

At this moment, she spoke freely about her past, without any pretense of being a teacher. She was more like a senior chatting with them.

Nan Menxiu grinned mischievously. “By the way, do any of you want to see a picture of me when I was a boy, and a picture of my current husband?”

Hearing this, the four of them straightened up, their eyes instantly filled with gossipy desire.

“We want to,” Huang Xiu nodded seriously.

“Plus one!” the plaid skirt girl raised her hand. The other two also nodded to express their desire.

“Then introduce yourselves first.”

Nan Menxiu took out her phone, scrolled for a bit, then placed it screen-down on the conference table.

“Self-introductions are fine. After you finish, I’ll show you.”

Who would go first? The four looked at each other. Finally, the somewhat effeminate boy stood up.

“I’ll go first. My name is Li Yurou… from Class 8.”

Although he only said his name, everyone could read a lot into it.

*This person is probably a female turned male…* Huang Xiu guessed inwardly.

Going clockwise, it was the bucket hat girl’s turn.

She pressed down her hat and stood up. “My name is Jiang Qing. Um, I’m from Class 4.”

“My name is Chen Molian… Class 2.” The girl in the plaid skirt on Huang Xiu’s right stood up.

This time, taking advantage of her standing up, Huang Xiu specifically observed her right inner upper arm.

Under the sleeve of her short-sleeved shirt, on the soft inner arm near the armpit, there was a faint patch of blue rhomboid objects.

The fluorescent light hit them, casting a blue glow.

*It looks a bit like scales… or fish scales?*

Huang Xiu rubbed her chin, stood up, and said, “My name is Huang Xiu, from Class 1.”

As soon as she sat down, Nan Menxiu smiled and said, “I know you! The strongest freshman in ten years, the only S-rank. Even us lazy teachers have heard of your reputation.”

“Is that so…” Huang Xiu shyly twirled her hair.

Hearing Nan Menxiu’s words, Li Yurou and Jiang Qing, who hadn’t known Huang Xiu, immediately understood her identity.

They looked at her in surprise.

Li Yurou even spoke up, “So… you’re the one who defeated my cousin.”

“Who’s your cousin?” Huang Xiu thought for a moment but couldn’t recall defeating anyone with the surname Ji.

“Never mind.” Li Yurou waved his hand, not intending to elaborate.

“Since we’ve all introduced ourselves, let me show you a picture of me when I was still a boy.” Nan Menxiu cut in to change the subject.

She picked up her phone and unlocked it.

Immediately, four little heads huddled together.

At that moment, Huang Xiu believed that even if there was a hundred-yuan bill on the floor, no one would take their eyes off the phone to glance at it.

On the screen was a picture of a delicate boy in a school uniform, holding a basketball, poised to shoot.

“Wow, is that really you before, teacher?” Chen Molian was surprised.

Nan Menxiu smiled. “Yeah, seen enough? Now let me show you a picture of my husband.”

With that, she swiped lightly, and the next photo pushed the previous one aside.

It was an engagement photo.

Nan Menxiu, in a white wedding dress, leaned against Xu Gaoxuan, who was in a suit and stood tall.

Both were beaming, their eyes full of love for each other.

Huang Xiu was dumbfounded. Nan Menxiu’s husband was actually Teacher Xu Gaoxuan, who had intervened in the illusory realm that day!

Was the world really this small?

But thinking it over, she found no problem. Both were outstanding students who had stayed on as teachers; the chance of them interacting was quite high.

“Ah, you know my husband! He’s great!”

Seeing the happy smile on Nan Menxiu’s face that she couldn’t suppress even if she tried, just from talking about Xu Gaoxuan, Huang Xiu felt like she had been force-fed a huge mouthful of dog food.

For a moment, she even thought this class wasn’t for discussion, but for Nan Menxiu to show off her love life!

“Would you like me to tell you how I met your Teacher Xu, and how I changed my mindset?” Nan Menxiu asked, beaming.