During the waiting period before class, Huang Xiu also observed the three overachievers who had arrived even earlier than her.
She considered it an early reconnaissance of her competitors.
Although the final assessment for this course did not count towards her regular course credits, the course itself offered a substantial fifty credits.
That was the equivalent of five Soldier-rank Dragon Abominations!
When there were no adorable Dragon Abominations to fish for, every single credit was exceptionally precious to Huang Xiu.
As she observed them, Huang Xiu noticed something amiss.
First, there was the male student. Despite keeping his head down, remaining silent, and appearing utterly socially anxious, every one of his movements possessed an indescribable elegance.
Such an air of refinement was rarely cultivated without early, rigorous training.
Huang Xiu immediately concluded that this student’s family background was undoubtedly extraordinary—he was either a scion of wealth or a second-generation Awakened individual.
Yet, for some reason, this elegance struck Huang Xiu as incongruous, as if it didn’t quite belong to him.
Next were the two female students, both vibrant and beautiful young women.
One, seemingly mirroring Huang Xiu’s own current identity, wore a short-sleeved, short-trousered school uniform, just like her.
However, she sported a white bucket hat adorned with cat patterns.
The other wore a plaid skirt uniform, her long hair flowing gracefully.
Huang Xiu was certain she had never seen them before.
But inexplicably, their actions, movements, and expressions gave her a strange sense of déjà vu.
Perhaps feeling Huang Xiu’s unconcealed gaze, the Plaid Skirt Girl shyly turned her face away, picking up a bottle of mineral water from the table and taking a sip.
As she raised her arm, a faint blue object shimmered indistinctly on the inner side of her bicep.
‘What was that?’
In that fleeting glance, Huang Xiu hadn’t seen it clearly, but she was certain it wasn’t a pendant or anything of that sort.
“It’s almost time for class, and there are only three people. Are the others really not in a hurry at all?”
Even for an elective course that didn’t count towards core credits, the fifty points available for achieving excellence shouldn’t be treated so lightly.
Huang Xiu waited for more students to enter the conference room.
But strangely, not a single other student pushed open the door, even after the class bell rang.
‘Could it be that only the four of us are in this class?!’
At this thought, Huang Xiu’s gaze at the other three in the room became tinged with suspicion.
These three, having stood out from so many, would surely become formidable contenders for her scholarship.
Click!
The conference room door opened, and a beautiful female teacher, clad in jeans and a crop top, walked in.
The teacher closed the conference room door, locking it with a sharp click.
“Thank you for waiting, everyone,” the teacher said with a gentle smile.
She then quickly walked past the four students and took a seat at the short end of the rectangular conference table, gesturing with a raised hand.
“Why don’t you all come a little closer? With only four of us, sitting so far apart makes the room feel quite empty.”
The four exchanged glances, then, dividing into pairs, sat to her left and right. The Plaid Skirt Girl sat beside Huang Xiu.
“I apologize for encroaching on your Wednesday evening leisure time,” the female teacher said with a smile, “but the school administration, considering your unique circumstances, found this elective course unavoidable.”
“‘Unique circumstances’? Isn’t this an intensive training course?” A sudden, unsettling premonition stirred within Huang Xiu.
She turned to look at her three classmates.
The male student and the Fisherman Hat Girl seemed to have anticipated the course, showing no surprise whatsoever.
Only the Plaid Skirt Girl’s face flickered with a trace of confusion and bewilderment.
Clearly, she was as unaware as Huang Xiu herself.
“Alright, since Huang Xiu is interested, I’ll briefly explain. This class is a specially opened emergency intensive training course.”
‘Intensive training course?’
“Yes, but Huang Xiu, please don’t rush to conclusions. While this course is indeed arranged for the four of you, in reality, it only concerns one student.”
As the teacher spoke, her gaze swept over the four, finally resting on the Plaid Skirt Girl.
“That student is you.”
The teacher’s voice remained gentle, yet Huang Xiu noticed the Plaid Skirt Girl’s face instantly drain of color, her body trembling uncontrollably.
The girl bravely held herself together, her voice shaking as she asked, “Teacher, what do you mean by that?”
“It means you’ve been expelled.”
In the teacher’s soft voice, a heavy truth was announced.
Huang Xiu’s mind buzzed. She had just been wondering if this class was some form of ‘assessment’ or ‘reward.’
She never would have imagined it was an ‘elimination.’
Even worse, the one being eliminated was the Plaid Skirt Girl.
“Teacher, may I know why?”
The girl’s eyes were red-rimmed, but she was strong, not crying, merely questioning the teacher.
The teacher’s expression remained unchanged, merely repeating, “Because you made a mistake you shouldn’t have, you’ve been expelled.”
“What mistake?”
The teacher didn’t answer. Instead, she took a stack of documents from the table and placed them before the girl.
“See for yourself.”
The girl tremblingly picked up the documents, and Huang Xiu leaned closer.
The documents were in Chinese but interspersed with many English letters. Huang Xiu couldn’t understand them all, but she saw a table stating, “Reason for Expulsion: Violation of…”
Huang Xiu suddenly felt a chill. She didn’t know what this ‘expulsion’ referred to, nor what mistake the girl had committed, but she had a bad feeling.
She looked at the male student and the Fisherman Hat Girl beside her. Neither spoke, but their expressions were very solemn.
This class, it seemed, was far from simple.
At this moment, Huang Xiu even wanted to nudge the girl beside her and ask a question.
However, the five of them were seated too close; any whispered conversation would escape no one’s ears.
“Let me introduce myself. My name is Nanmen Xiu. I’m a psychology teacher, and also the instructor for this psychological counseling course.”
Huang Xiu: “??????” ‘What in the world is a psychology teacher?!’
She couldn’t help but interject, “Isn’t this an intensive training course? And I don’t think I need extra psychology classes.”
Even a normal university student like herself, who might only be labeled as ‘purely foolish’ online, surely didn’t require psychological counseling.
The Plaid Skirt Girl nodded furiously in agreement.
“Of course, this isn’t an intensive training course,” Nanmen Xiu said with a hint of helplessness.
“The classes you’ve had during the day are already enough for you to digest; why would we arrange a course like this for you?”
“Also,”
She looked at Huang Xiu, smiling with narrowed eyes, gently soothing her like an agitated cat. “Huang Xiu, don’t be so quick to judge. Whether you need a psychology class is an assessment the school has made for you. You can at least listen first.”
Nanmen Xiu blinked. “Moreover, this class is worth fifty credits! Just listening can earn you fifty credits. Isn’t that a worthwhile deal?”
Ultimately, swayed by the fifty credits, Huang Xiu, who preferred gentle persuasion over forceful demands, was reluctantly placated.
She was determined to see what this psychology class was truly about.
“All of you who have been chosen share a common… aspect that the school hopes to help you overcome.”
Nanmen Xiu’s lips parted.
“Some of you should already know: the issue of physiological gender mismatch.”
Even though she had vaguely suspected it in her heart, hearing this answer become reality was still too soon for Huang Xiu.
The secret she had hidden was now exposed before strangers; a strong sense of shame and an inexplicable feeling of inferiority surged within her.
She almost instinctively wanted to get up and flee the classroom.
But before she could rise, her gaze swept over the other three in the classroom.
Another thought suddenly emerged: ‘Are they my kind? Do others also… experience something like that? How do they cope? What is their current mindset?’
These questions, like cat claws scratching at her heart, made Huang Xiu itch with curiosity, forcing her to suppress the urge to flee.
Huang Xiu’s face was cold, signaling her displeasure.
This time, as her gaze once again swept over her three classmates, all those incongruities suddenly made sense.
The elegant demeanor of the delicate-looking male student felt disjointed because his mannerisms, rather than being those of a gentleman, were more akin to a young lady’s.
And the actions and expressions of the two female students…
They, too, still carried a strong masculine style, just like her own after her transformation. That was why she felt a sense of déjà vu!
Huang Xiu realized she wasn’t seeing two female students, but two men in the world, both trapped in female bodies, just like her!
“Damn it!” Huang Xiu cursed under her breath.
Her gaze towards the three was no longer that of a rival, but gradually softened.
“Are you trying to make us truly one gender, both physically and mentally?” she asked Nanmen Xiu.
“That is our goal,” Nanmen Xiu nodded openly. “But rest assured, we won’t force you to correct anything. You are who you believe yourselves to be.”
She looked at the other three, her gaze sincere. “We are simply providing a platform for you to communicate with each other, to find your own reasons for unifying your body and mind.”
“But I think this is just a useless endeavor,” Huang Xiu said, refusing to engage. ‘Communicate? Pour out my heart and soul to them? Impossible!’
Although her reaction might seem a bit intense, she had already decided to forgo these fifty credits and simply skip the next class.
Fifty credits? She could easily earn that with just a Touchpoint.
“Communicate?”
The Fisherman Hat Girl pressed down on the brim of her hat with both hands, her tone slightly puzzled.
Clearly, while she understood the course’s intention, she was unaware of its specific teaching methods.
“Yes, in this conference room, you can share anything you wish to share. You are peers and friends.”
Nanmen Xiu pressed her hands downwards. “You don’t need to worry; nothing shared within this room will ever spread outside.”
“We often say that shared joy doubles, and shared sorrow halves. If you have any reservations, you can start by sharing happy things.”
Seeing no one volunteer to be the first, Nanmen Xiu tilted her head and smiled. “How about I start sharing?”
The others remained noncommittal, simply silent.
Even the most innocent person, after experiencing something as significant as a transformation, would tend towards caution and introversion.
“I’m pregnant recently.”
Nanmen Xiu touched her belly, her face radiating happiness.
“Congratulations,” Huang Xiu said softly.
“I was a boy in my first year of high school!” Nanmen Xiu dropped a bombshell.
Even the male student, who had been looking down, raised his head, staring at her in surprise.
Huang Xiu swallowed, her voice a little strained. “You mean, you transformed, then found a husband, and now you have a child…”
“Otherwise, why do you think I’m the one teaching this course? Because I’m one of you too!” Nanmen Xiu said with a laugh.
Accepting the reality of transformation, finding a husband, having a child. These were things Huang Xiu believed she couldn’t achieve even with a decade or more of effort.
‘What an incredibly strong mindset!’
After a long pause, she could only manage to say, “Teacher… your mindset is truly admirable.”
“Oh, no, not at all,” Nanmen Xiu said, shaking her head.
“I remember I was even more resistant than you all back then. I even had a girlfriend, but it didn’t work out in the end.”
“Of course, all that’s in the past.”
At this moment, she spoke of her past without any reserve, not at all like a teacher, but more like a Senior Female Student chatting with them.
Nanmen Xiu grinned mischievously. “Speaking of which, does anyone want to see photos of me when I was a boy, and photos of my husband now?”
Upon hearing this, the four students jolted, their eyes instantly filled with the desire for gossip.
“I want to,” Huang Xiu said, nodding earnestly.
“Me too!” the Plaid Skirt Girl raised her hand, and the other two also nodded, expressing their interest.
“Then introduce yourselves first.”
Nanmen Xiu took out her phone, scrolled through it, then placed it face down on the conference table.
“An introduction is fine, right? I’ll show you after you introduce yourselves.”
‘Who goes first?’ The four looked at each other, and finally, the somewhat effeminate male student stood up.
“I’ll go first. My name is Li Yurou… a student from Class Eight.”
Even though he only stated his name, everyone gleaned a great deal from it. ‘This person is probably a girl who transformed into a boy…’ Huang Xiu speculated.
Following the clockwise order, it was the Fisherman Hat Girl’s turn.
She pressed down on her hat, stood up, and said, “My name is Jiang Qing. Hmm, I’m a student from Class Four.”
“My name is Chen Molian… Class Two,” said the girl in the plaid skirt, who was to Huang Xiu’s right, as she stood up.
This time, taking advantage of her standing up, Huang Xiu deliberately observed the inner side of her right bicep.
Beneath the cuff of her short sleeve, on the tender inner arm near the armpit, a small, blue, diamond-shaped object was faintly visible.
The incandescent light shone upon it, immediately casting a blue halo.
‘It’s somewhat like scales… or perhaps fish scales?’
Huang Xiu rubbed her chin, then stood up. “My name is Huang Xiu, a student from Class One.”
As soon as she sat down, Nanmen Xiu smiled and said, “I know you! The strongest freshman in a decade, the sole S-rank! Your reputation precedes you, even among us ‘slacker’ teachers.”
“Is that so…?” Huang Xiu shyly twirled a strand of her hair.
Hearing Nanmen Xiu’s words, Li Yurou and Jiang Qing, who hadn’t known Huang Xiu before, instantly understood her identity.
They looked at Huang Xiu with some surprise.
Li Yurou even spoke up, “So… you’re the one who defeated my cousin.”
“Your cousin? Who is that?” Huang Xiu thought for a moment, unable to recall ever defeating someone named Ji.
“It’s nothing,” Li Yurou waved his hand, not intending to elaborate.
“Since the introductions are done, let me show you photos of me from when I was a boy,” Nanmen Xiu interjected, smoothly taking over the conversation.
She picked up her phone and opened it.
Immediately, four little heads gathered around.
Huang Xiu was convinced that even if a hundred-yuan bill lay on the floor, no one would spare it a second glance.
The phone screen displayed a handsome young man in a school uniform, holding a basketball and in the midst of a shooting pose.
“Wow, is this what you looked like before, Teacher?” Chen Molian asked, surprised.
Nanmen Xiu smiled. “Yes, you’ve seen it, right? Now, let me show you photos of my husband.”
With a gentle swipe, the next photo pushed the previous one to the left.
It was an engagement photo.
Nanmen Xiu, dressed in a pristine white wedding gown, leaned against Xu Gaoxuan, who was wearing a suit and had a tall, upright figure.
Both were beaming, their gazes at each other filled with love.
Huang Xiu was utterly stunned. Nanmen Xiu’s husband was actually Teacher Xu Gaoxuan, who had intervened in that illusory realm just the other day!
‘Is this world really that small?’
However, upon closer thought, she found it made perfect sense. Both of them were outstanding students who had remained at the school, making the possibility of their interaction quite high.
“Ah, you know my husband! He’s wonderful!”
Watching Nanmen Xiu’s face, her happiness so profound it was hard to contain as she spoke of Xu Gaoxuan, Huang Xiu felt an inexplicable mouthful of ‘dog food.’
For a moment, she even felt that this class wasn’t for them to discuss and communicate, but for Nanmen Xiu to flaunt her affection!
“Do you want me to tell you how I met your Teacher Xu, and how I changed my mindset?”
Nanmen Xiu’s smile was radiant.