The First Day’s Predicament

By the time Ye Xingmian returned, class was already in full swing. Feeling disoriented, she knocked on the door, and almost every pair of eyes in the classroom swiveled to face her. The teacher frowned, glaring at her.

“Come in!”

Only then did she silently walk back to her seat. Faint whispers drifted to her ears.

“How strange, he didn’t get beaten up this time?”

“Who knows, maybe they saw he was dressed warmly and couldn’t be bothered to expend the effort.”

“Pfft!”

The young girl’s body suddenly froze. No one could see, but in her cherry-pink eyes, hidden by her hat, sparkling tears had already begun to well. She gently closed her eyes, wiping away the tears with her sleeve as they traced paths down her cheeks. She made no other move, simply returning to her seat in silence.

The brief disturbance caused by the young girl’s return quickly subsided, like ripples from a gentle breeze vanishing on stagnant water. The teacher continued writing and drawing on the blackboard. She stared at the half-finished homework on her desk, but not a single word registered in her ears.

‘What should I do?’

The young girl felt a bewilderment she had never known before. On the very first day, her transformation into a girl had been discovered, and by none other than Qin Haiyue. She could barely imagine how she would get through the days ahead.

‘Could she truly keep her secret and live peacefully?’

****

She spent the entire lesson lost in a whirlwind of thoughts. After much contemplation, she could only come up with one solution that wasn’t really a solution: barely maintaining the status quo. The moment the dismissal bell rang, she wanted to go to the restroom.

She couldn’t hold it in for the whole morning, and going to the girls’ restroom was absolutely out of the question. Her identity was still that of a boy; it would be social suicide!

Therefore, the only way was to sneak off and go secretly when Qin Haiyue wasn’t paying attention.

‘She couldn’t possibly guard the restroom door all day, could she?’

Having made up her mind, she intended to stand up and leave the classroom.

“Ye Xingmian!”

A gentle voice suddenly came from behind her, calling her name.

‘Uh… that voice is…’

‘The class monitor?’

She wanted to turn around and confirm, but then she realized her current predicament. She could only lower her head like an ostrich, avoiding the other person’s gaze.

“Class monitor… is something the matter…?”

The young girl spoke in a soft, faint voice, so quiet that one wouldn’t hear it without listening carefully, as if she were deliberately trying to conceal her voice. This struck Liu Yinuo, the class monitor, as rather odd.

“Where’s your homework? Although you took leave last night, Ziyan should have told you about the homework, right?”

“Ah…”

Although she couldn’t see the young girl’s expression, by observing her sudden tremor, Liu Yinuo’s suspicion was confirmed.

“What, you didn’t write it again?”

Ye Xingmian frantically rummaged through her desk.

“I… I wrote it…”

Keeping her head down, she turned around and cautiously handed over the homework she had hastily half-finished that morning. ‘Please don’t look…’

she silently prayed in her heart. Checking homework wasn’t the class monitor’s responsibility; she was only supposed to deliver the students’ assignments to the homeroom teacher’s office. But seeing the young girl’s demeanor, perhaps to confirm her suspicions, she casually opened the exercise book.

“Not finished?”

Her tone instantly turned cold. Closing the exercise book, Liu Yinuo spoke in an accusatory voice.

“Mm…”

The young girl’s head sank even lower. She remained in the posture she had taken when turning around, radiating an aura of timidity.

“Tsk, come with me to the office. You’re the only one who hasn’t submitted it yet.”

The young girl didn’t move.

“Cla… Class monitor… can I not go just yet?”

Pleading softly, Ye Xingmian unconsciously lifted her head, cautiously gazing at Liu Yinuo’s back.

“No, the homeroom teacher personally…”

Turning her head, Liu Yinuo began to recite her pre-prepared lines, but she froze the moment she saw the other’s face.

—It was a face utterly devoid of masculine features, soft, delicate and pitiful like a small animal, as if on the verge of tears at any moment. Her cherry-pink eyes, like shattered crystal flowers stained with color, were veiled by a thin mist of tears. She looked utterly piteous.

‘Strange…’

She muttered inwardly. Though Liu Yinuo didn’t want to admit it, she seemed to have felt a flicker of sympathy, even pity, for this annoying, underperforming student?

‘No, it was more like a flutter in her heart.’

An unnatural throb, a strange sensation, had secretly begun to bloom within her. Though she didn’t realize it.

After a brief moment of distraction, she continued, “Ahem, the homeroom teacher personally said you must go to the office after the first class.”

Suppressing the unnaturalness on her face, she resumed her expressionless demeanor and spoke coldly.

“Alright…”

Ye Xingmian felt a pang of dejection. She had always been hesitant to refuse others, let alone a request from the homeroom teacher. She could only obediently stand up and follow the class monitor to the office.

Winter was truly cold, and the corridor outside offered only a desolate view. She kept her head down, like a prisoner being led to execution, following behind the class monitor.

Soon, they arrived at the office. Liu Yinuo opened the door, and inside the office, the heating was on, a warm breeze sweeping over them.

“Yinuo? Is something the matter?”

Their homeroom teacher was a young woman, appearing to be around twenty-five years old, wearing square-framed glasses. A gentle smile graced her face, a smile Ye Xingmian had never seen her wear before. Sure enough, the moment she saw the young girl enter, the homeroom teacher’s expression turned cold.

Ye Xingmian stood awkwardly by the door.

“Close the door!” the homeroom teacher commanded.

Ye Xingmian silently closed the door.

“Teacher, this is his homework.”

“Mm, alright, you may go back.”

After Liu Yinuo left, the homeroom teacher shifted her gaze to the young girl. She casually flipped through it, then tossed it aside, and asked, “Why didn’t you do your homework?”

“I… I wrote it…”

For some reason, Ye Xingmian felt a profound sense of injustice, and tears welled in her eyes.

“Not finished means not written!”

The young girl’s body trembled violently, leaving her speechless.

“Tell me, you’re already in your final year of high school. You don’t even do your homework, what do you intend to do? Didn’t Lin Ziyan tell you last night?”

“No…” She spoke the truth, but the other person clearly didn’t believe her.

“If she didn’t tell you, how would you know to write this part today?”

“…”

“Even if she truly didn’t tell you, couldn’t you have finished it in all that time this morning? Don’t tell me you didn’t even have that much time!”

“I… I…”

“‘I, I’ what?”

“…”

Hugging her arms, the young girl adopted a posture that conveyed a lack of security. She bit her lower lip, her eyes hidden beneath her hat.

“Take off your hat! Aren’t you hot?”

Perhaps finding her an eyesore, the homeroom teacher casually made a demand that was somewhat harsh for her.

“No… I… I’m cold…”

“Cold?” The homeroom teacher sneered, abruptly picked up the young girl’s exercise book, and hurled it at her with its hard spine. *Bang—* The pages scattered, fluttering like blooming white waves. The young girl swayed slightly; the after-effects of her skipped breakfast and late night began to manifest. She felt a little dizzy.

“I need to teach you a lesson!” she said coldly, pointing to the door. “Get out!”

“Mm…”

Swaying, she bent down to pick up her exercise book. She turned clumsily, about to leave—

“Go stand by the door!” the homeroom teacher added.

Ye Xingmian’s body stiffened.

“Yes…”

So she opened the door, stepped out, and closed it. Holding her exercise book in both hands, she lowered her head and stood by the office door, where people constantly passed by. Soon, the class bell rang, and the homeroom teacher emerged from inside, holding teaching materials.

“You’ll stand here all morning; you’re not allowed to go anywhere else! Figure out how to make up the missed lessons yourself, understand?!”