The Revealed Secret

The school Ye Xingmian and her companion attended was a key municipal high school, where students often came from wealthy or influential families.

Upon reaching the school gates, Lin Ziyan hurried off with money to buy breakfast, leaving Ye Xingmian alone. As she watched the bustling school entrance, a sudden nervousness washed over her. Or perhaps… a twinge of guilt?

Her shoulders ached from the weight of two schoolbags. She rubbed them, then pulled the hood of her clothing tighter, ensuring no one could even glimpse her profile. With her head bowed, she silently entered the school gates.

Her somewhat peculiar attire naturally drew considerable attention. She could feel many eyes discreetly watching her, their gazes filled with scrutiny and curiosity. Being thin-skinned, her cheeks flushed, prompting her to silently quicken her pace.

She climbed the stairs, arriving at her classroom door, breathless with exhaustion. Glancing around, she noticed the area was largely deserted. Only then did she step inside, deftly avoiding the gazes of a few girls chatting in the front row, and made her way to her seat in the back corner by the trash can. After setting down her own bag, she quietly placed Lin Ziyan’s bag on a seat in the first row.

Once everything was done, a wave of relief washed over her. She settled into her seat and let out a long breath.

‘Excellent,’ she thought. ‘It seems I didn’t draw anyone’s attention on the way.’

A faint, unconscious smile curved her lips, a subtle symbol of the burden she had cast off. As she pulled out the homework she needed to finish from her desk, she mused.

‘If things continue like this, perhaps staying hidden won’t be so difficult after all…’

Gaining admission to this key high school had been an arduous task for her. Despite her diligent efforts, her grades consistently hovered at the bottom.

Yet, even with these struggles, she harbored a small dream.

To attend university in the city where her mother worked, and to be reunited with her mother…

This had been her unwavering goal ever since she started high school.

Rubbing her aching shoulders, she silently encouraged herself.

‘You can do it, Ye Xingmian!’

****

Time ticked by, second by second.

Ye Xingmian devoted herself to catching up on her homework. The classroom gradually filled with more students, their cheerful chatter merging into an indistinct hum of background noise. The girl continued to race against the clock, determined to finish before class began.

Gradually, however, she sensed a strange shift in the atmosphere.

The noisy chatter diminished, then softened, until it finally faded into complete silence, leaving only faint whispers. Perplexed, she lifted her head, eager to discover what had happened.

‘Had a teacher arrived?’ she wondered. ‘But at this hour… that shouldn’t be the case…’

However, the scene she witnessed sent a chill through her heart.

Everyone was staring at her.

Men and women alike, their expressions a mix of pity, sympathy, and schadenfreude. She even spotted her own younger sister, a black-haired girl, sharing cake with her deskmate. In her sister’s dark eyes, there was an indescribable glint—perhaps a blend of pity and malicious glee?

A chilling coldness crept over Ye Xingmian.

She quickly lowered her head, hoping to escape, and pretended to calmly continue her homework. But reality offered no such reprieve.

Footsteps approached from her right. Her heart pounded, her mind a tangled mess, and though she clutched her pen, she couldn’t write a single stroke. A cool, unfamiliar scent wafted past her nose, and the footsteps halted beside her. She froze.

“Come out with me for a moment,” a cold voice commanded.

****

The girl walking ahead was Qin Haiyue. She was tall and well-developed, with an impressive bust, easily a head taller than the slender Ye Xingmian.

Outside the classroom, the air was cold.

This time, Qin Haiyue was alone.

Yet Ye Xingmian was incredibly nervous, almost to the point of disgraceful tears. The reason was simple: the golden-haired, blue-eyed girl who had called her out, looking almost foreign, was the school’s notorious bully.

Many passing students cast glances of schadenfreude her way, their eyes seemingly saying, “Look, it’s that unlucky wretch again; she’s doomed!”

And the outcome would most likely unfold exactly as they imagined.

Qin Haiyue led Ye Xingmian to the rooftop stairwell, a place devoid of surveillance cameras.

It was an unfrequented spot, where a thick layer of dust carpeted the ground.

Naturally, Qin Haiyue cornered the girl at the stairwell’s bend.

“Why didn’t you come last night?”

The girl’s petite body trembled like a fawn. Her head was bowed low, hidden beneath her hood, preventing Qin Haiyue from seeing her expression.

“I… I’m sorry… I wasn’t feeling well yesterday, so I took the day off…”

The girl’s voice was delicate and fragile, like a rain-beaten petal, imbued with a sense of brokenness. Qin Haiyue frowned, a fleeting flicker of confusion crossing her usually sharp and indifferent eyes.

‘Ye Xingmian’s voice is different from before,’ she thought.

“Why are you always wearing that hat? Take it off!”

The girl’s body stiffened.

‘Take off the hat? No… I can’t… If I do… she’ll definitely know…’

Her mind raced, desperately searching for a solution.

‘Right… the money…’

Qin Haiyue had come looking for her precisely for money. So, if she just gave the money, Qin Haiyue would surely leave her alone.

Realizing this, the girl hastily unzipped her jacket and pulled out her fifty yuan lunch money from an inner pocket.

“H-here… the money… it’s for you…”

Her voice was like that of a startled fawn, trembling with a mix of pleading and appeasement.

The girl never once looked up, keeping her head bowed throughout, afraid to meet Qin Haiyue’s gaze.

This naturally made Qin Haiyue feel that something was amiss.

Qin Haiyue’s azure eyes narrowed dangerously. Her gaze fixated on the girl’s hands—small, fair, and slender, with neatly trimmed nails that flushed a delicate cherry pink with her trembling movements. These were not the hands a boy should possess.

“I told you to take off your hat.”

She repeated, her arms crossed over her chest, a hint of menace now lacing her tone.

“Huh? But… the money…”

Qin Haiyue made no move to take the crumpled banknote she held, simply staring at the girl’s hood. This confused Ye Xingmian. Wasn’t Qin Haiyue here for money? Why was she so fixated on her hat?

“Didn’t you understand me?”

This time, the voice rose several octaves, the threat growing more potent. Ye Xingmian bit her lower lip, realizing she might not be able to escape this predicament.

Resigned, as if giving up all hope, she slowly, deliberately removed her hat.

Qin Haiyue’s gaze followed her every movement. As the hood fell, it revealed a cascade of smooth, shoulder-length hair, and the girl’s humble, delicate, fair face, tinged pink by the biting cold air. Qin Haiyue’s breath hitched almost imperceptibly.

Her expression, too, became subtly nuanced.

“You’re Ye Xingmian?”

The girl briefly lifted her gaze, her beautiful, cherry-pink eyes seemingly conveying immense grievance and terror. She didn’t linger, merely fleetingly meeting Qin Haiyue’s sharp, aggressive gaze before lowering her head once more.

She parted her lips, about to speak.

“Don’t even think about lying, or I’ll beat you to a pulp.”

The girl’s body jolted, and then, hesitantly, she nodded.

“You’ve become a girl?”

Qin Haiyue’s expression brightened with amusement.

At this, the girl reacted violently, shaking her head vigorously and denying it repeatedly. “N-no! Don’t talk nonsense.”

“Didn’t I tell you? Don’t lie in front of me.”

Her tone suddenly turned cold, as if her previous amusement had been an illusion. Ye Xingmian froze, instinctively looking up at the person before her, only to find Qin Haiyue drawing closer.

“W-what are you doing… Don’t come any closer! I’ve already given you the money, don’t bully me anymore…”

Qin Haiyue remained unfazed, continuing her unhurried approach, forcing the girl to retreat step by step. This continued until the girl’s back hit the wall, leaving her nowhere left to go.

Qin Haiyue naturally leaned in, raising an eyebrow. She placed one hand on the girl’s shoulder, pinning her in place and preventing any resistance.

‘Am I… am I going to be beaten?’ she wondered. ‘But I already gave her the money…’

Tensely, she closed her eyes, bracing herself for the impending pain.

Yet, she waited for a long time, and nothing came.

Perplexed, she was about to lift her head to see what Qin Haiyue was doing when a strange sensation suddenly registered in her lower body.

“Ugh!”

It was like an electric shock. Her whole body jolted, and she instinctively wanted to fall backward. However, Qin Haiyue’s arm held her firm. She stared incredulously at the golden-haired girl before her, who was now sporting an exceptionally pleased smile.

Qin Haiyue had just touched the girl’s groin. Despite the thick layers of clothing, just as she’d suspected, it was utterly empty.

Nothing—at—all.

Fascinating. Truly fascinating. She had never imagined a scenario she’d only seen in comics or novels could unfold in real life. A hypothesis formed in her mind.

‘Could it be… pseudohermaphroditism?’

‘Well, whatever.’

At this moment, the way she looked at the girl was akin to discovering a new continent. Or perhaps… a very amusing toy?

Like a victor, she lightly raised her other hand and waved it before the girl.

“Now then… do you have anything else to say, Ye Xingmian?”

Ye Xingmian’s face instantly turned ashen.

She opened her mouth, but for a long moment, she couldn’t utter a single word.

“Hmm… if I’m not mistaken, you’re staying with your foster parents, and your mother works alone in another city to earn your living expenses and tuition, is that right?”

Qin Haiyue extended a cool hand and gently placed it on the girl’s warm cheek.

“You wouldn’t want your hardworking mother, far away, to find out you’ve become a girl, would you?”

The girl’s eyes widened abruptly.

“N-no… please… don’t tell anyone…”

Seeing the girl’s reaction was exactly as she’d anticipated, Qin Haiyue’s smile broadened, triumphant.

“Of course, as long as you do as I ask, I won’t tell anyone~”

“Wh-what do you want?”

The girl’s voice was small, filled with fear and unease.

“It’s simple. From now on, you just need to live like a girl.”

“We’ll start with… using the girls’ restroom~”