As the medicine began to take effect, Chen Xuanqiu’s throat was the first to ache. The pain then spread, encompassing his entire chest cavity and abdomen. It felt akin to a severe inflammation radiating outwards after a harsh cold, leaving his internal organs ablaze with a searing heat.
For the initial hour, Chen Xuanqiu managed to bear the agony. However, as time relentlessly marched on, he found the pain intensifying, relentlessly spreading throughout his entire body. Each individual inch of his flesh felt as though a keen blade were ceaselessly sliding back and forth within him.
‘Wuwuwu…’
Determined not to let his vulnerable side be witnessed, Chen Xuanqiu clenched his jaw with all his might. He felt utterly exposed, like a mere slab of meat upon a butcher’s block. The super estrogen coursing through him was nothing less than the butcher’s cleaver, poised to reduce him to a pulped, unrecognizable mess.
‘Hold on! You must hold on!’ Wei Shoutai quickly tried to comfort him. ‘According to our experimental results, if you can just endure for twenty-four hours, that will signify success.’
‘Ah!’
Chen Xuanqiu desperately clamped a hand over his mouth. Forget twenty-four hours; at this moment, even twenty-four seconds felt like an eternity to him.
‘Quickly, fetch a piece of gauze and put it in his mouth.’
Dr. Wei swiftly instructed his grandson, his concern evident that Chen Xuanqiu might inadvertently bite his own tongue.
Wei Shoutai fumbled frantically, producing a fresh piece of gauze. He then moved to insert it into Chen Xuanqiu’s mouth, urging, ‘Open your mouth, please! This will prevent you from biting yourself.’
Recognizing the necessity, Chen Xuanqiu agonizingly parted his lips. He then took the gauze firmly between his teeth.
‘You must hold on,’ he reminded himself. ‘Your parents are still waiting for you.’
Chen Xuanqiu’s face was ashen, pale as parchment. His body, wracked with pain, arched like a shrimp, yet he continued to remind himself, again and again, deep within his heart.
After another agonizing moment, Chen Xuanqiu felt the pain surge with even greater ferocity. It finally shattered the last vestiges of his endurance. All concern for dignity vanished as he began to sob, tears and snot streaming down his face, leaving his once delicate features a complete mess.
A look of deep commiseration crossed Wei Shoutai’s face. He quickly grabbed a towel and began to gently wipe Chen Xuanqiu clean.
Amidst the excruciating pain, Chen Xuanqiu felt like a tiny skiff tossed amidst a raging tempest. His heart was consumed by an overwhelming sense of helplessness. How desperately he wished his parents were by his side, for even if they couldn’t offer practical aid, their mere presence would have provided immense psychological solace.
After an indeterminate stretch of time, Chen Xuanqiu finally succumbed to the overwhelming pain. He fell into shock, his consciousness slowly fading into a hazy oblivion.
‘Hold on! You absolutely must hold on!’
‘Your family is still waiting for you!’
Faintly, Chen Xuanqiu could perceive only the ceaseless, encouraging voices of Dr. Wei and his grandson.
‘Persist for what?’ he thought. ‘Just let me die; this is simply too tormenting.’
Chen Xuanqiu, however, was ready to simply give up. After this harrowing ordeal, he felt that death might, in fact, offer him a merciful release.
Chen Xuanqiu promptly lost consciousness. Perhaps a day had passed, or perhaps an entire year, when he suddenly found himself enveloped in a dream. Within this dream, he was transported back to his original world, to the innocent age of six or seven. As an only child, he vividly recalled making a solemn vow to his parents, promising to ensure they lived a life of comfort and happiness in the future.
‘That’s right,’ he realized. ‘I am the only child in my family. If I were to die, who would my parents rely on? I must return to them.’
At this thought, Chen Xuanqiu’s mind cleared with a sudden jolt, and his consciousness gradually began to return. He groggily forced open his heavy eyelids. There, by the bedside, Wei Shoutai was dozing, while Dr. Wei, as always, remained meticulously busy before his array of instruments.
Chen Xuanqiu noticed that his body was no longer wracked with the same soul-piercing agony as before. A long, shuddering sigh of relief escaped his lips.
‘You’re awake! This is truly wonderful!’
Wei Shoutai, keenly attuned to the slightest movement, instantly snapped open his eyes, exclaiming with delight.
‘Grandpa, he’s awake!’
Fearing his grandfather might have missed the subtle signs, Wei Shoutai turned back. He excitedly reported the news to Dr. Wei.
‘It’s good that he’s awake!’
Even Dr. Wei, a man not prone to overt displays of emotion, allowed a rare, faint smile to grace his lips.
‘How long has it been?’
Chen Xuanqiu strained to open his mouth, his voice a rasping whisper as he asked.
‘It’s already been twenty-four hours,’ Wei Shoutai announced. ‘Congratulations, you’ve succeeded!’
Wei Shoutai, beaming with joy, gently clasped Chen Xuanqiu’s right hand.
‘I… I succeeded?’
Chen Xuanqiu was overcome with tears of joy. He felt that his previous torment had not been endured in vain; indeed, Heaven had finally smiled upon him.
‘Don’t cry,’ Wei Shoutai chided gently. ‘I just finished wiping your face.’
He then tenderly used the towel to wipe Chen Xuanqiu once more, embodying the profound compassion of a true healer.
‘Thank you! Thank you both!’
Chen Xuanqiu struggled to express his gratitude. He knew, beyond a doubt, that his very life had been bestowed upon him by the grandfather and grandson before him; they were, unequivocally, his saviors.
‘No, it is we who should be thanking you,’ Dr. Wei interjected sincerely. ‘Were it not for your participation, we would not know when we could acquire these vital clinical data. This information will prove absolutely crucial for the subsequent research into super estrogen.’
Dr. Wei offered his thanks with profound sincerity.
Unsure how to adequately respond, Chen Xuanqiu could only offer an embarrassed smile.
Wei Shoutai retrieved a bowl and, with a spoon, carefully fed Chen Xuanqiu a few mouthfuls of water. Only then did he return to his work.
‘How do you feel now?’
Wei Shoutai held a small notebook, simultaneously posing questions and meticulously jotting down notes.
‘Currently, I feel some pain in my chest and abdomen,’ Chen Xuanqiu replied truthfully. ‘But it is significantly lighter than before.’
‘And aside from your chest and abdomen?’
‘Everything else is tolerable,’ he answered. ‘Though my entire body feels devoid of strength, and my mouth is parched.’
‘Are you experiencing dizziness?’
‘Still a little.’
‘…’
After posing more than a dozen questions in succession, Wei Shoutai finally ceased his inquiries. He then earnestly instructed, ‘Remember this: from this moment forward, if you feel any discomfort anywhere at all, inform us immediately.’
‘Mhm!’
Chen Xuanqiu obediently nodded. Although he understood that the grandfather and grandson’s attentiveness was likely due to the ongoing experiment, a sliver of warmth nevertheless bloomed within his heart.
Over the next two or three days, Chen Xuanqiu’s body steadily recovered. He soon found himself able to get out of bed and walk. Eagerly, he began to move around the laboratory, keen to stretch his seemingly ‘rusty’ joints.
Soon, Chen Xuanqiu’s gaze settled upon the few white mice that had successfully survived. Perhaps it was a peculiar sense of shared plight that drew his attention to them. After all, he reasoned, the future transformations he would undergo could very well be foreshadowed by these tiny creatures.
‘This white mouse, the very first one we experimented on, has now survived for almost a month,’ Dr. Wei began to explain, a rare occurrence. ‘It has essentially transformed from male to female.’
He subtly, yet clearly, revealed the timeframe for the gender transition.
‘One month?’
Chen Xuanqiu mused silently. It appeared his time as a male in this life would indeed be less than a month. While a certain melancholy settled upon him, he found he harbored no regrets. As he had always told himself, compared to the sheer prospect of survival, the question of gender was truly inconsequential.
‘If you successfully complete this gender transition, you will become the very first such individual in this world,’ Dr. Wei added.
‘The first?’ Chen Xuanqiu asked, surprised. ‘Has no one attempted similar experiments before? I’ve heard that the world has suffered from a severe gender imbalance for centuries.’
‘Of course there have been, countless attempts in fact,’ Dr. Wei replied, a touch of weariness in his voice. ‘But sadly, none have succeeded. Have you ever heard the saying that the end of science is theology? As the common saying goes, fate is predetermined by Heaven. Whether you are born male or female is ultimately decided by the heavens. Since science has not yet reached its absolute limit, it naturally cannot defy divine will.’
‘Does that not mean, then, that you have pioneered a new path this time?’ Chen Xuanqiu asked, astonishment coloring his tone.
‘Indeed,’ Dr. Wei sighed, a hint of resignation in his voice. ‘Alas, my identity is one that cannot bear the light of day, so I am destined to enjoy this breakthrough in solitude.’
Beside them, Wei Shoutai’s expression visibly dimmed upon hearing this. He couldn’t bring himself to meet Chen Xuanqiu’s gaze.
‘An identity that cannot bear the light of day?’ Chen Xuanqiu wondered.
A surge of intense curiosity instantly gripped Chen Xuanqiu. Yet, it was clear the other party had no desire to elaborate, so he refrained from pressing the matter.
‘It’s probably for this very reason that the grandfather and grandson are secluded here, conducting their research in this basement,’ Chen Xuanqiu mused. ‘Otherwise, with their capabilities, why wouldn’t they openly participate in national scientific endeavors? I just wonder what transgression they might have committed.’
‘It’s alright,’ Chen Xuanqiu offered, stumbling over his words, trying to console them. ‘When the medication is eventually developed, you will both be unsung heroes. People will know of your contributions someday.’
Dr. Wei smiled wryly, a touch of helplessness in his gaze. ‘My child, your thoughts are truly too naive. This medication is still a long, long way from reaching production standards. Its side effects are so severe that even among white mice, the survival rate is only fifty percent. What consequences would it have if used on humans? Which person would dare to try it so lightly?’
‘But you succeeded with me, didn’t you?’ Chen Xuanqiu countered, trying to encourage him. ‘That indicates a very high success rate!’
Dr. Wei chuckled, a teasing glint in his eyes. ‘Ah, but a man with your unique physique? The world would be hard-pressed to find another.’
Chen Xuanqiu’s face immediately flushed with heat. He understood precisely what the doctor implied: that he was not much of a man.
****
That afternoon, CEO Hai, having learned of the experiment’s success, rushed over in a flurry.
‘If we can’t catch Chen Xuanzhu, using you as a substitute isn’t so bad,’ CEO Hai remarked, his tone laced with ill intent, upon seeing Chen Xuanqiu.
Once again, a sense of crisis washed over Chen Xuanqiu. He immediately began to scheme for an escape. Although he knew he was about to become a girl, he was, at heart, a perfectly normal man, and he had no desire to be treated as a plaything by this disgusting fat man.