A Bro’s Bewilderment and a Sister’s Secret

“It seems you truly are the Ling Jiu I know. Uh, I’m sorry.”

“Never mind,” I replied. “I thought my psychological resilience was low enough, but I never expected someone to be even lower than me.”

On the school rooftop, Fatty and I drank cola, savoring the egg pancakes I’d casually bought from a street vendor.

The instant Fatty tried to grope me, I instinctively slapped him. Even now, the handprint on his face hadn’t faded. It was simply too embarrassing. Fearing that rumors would suddenly sprout between us, we scurried away to my secret hideout, and our plans for barbecue were naturally ruined.

Fatty let out a sigh of relief. “That’s great. When I found out you’d turned into a beautiful girl, I was agonizing over whether I could actually like you. Now, I’ve finally put that notion to rest.”

I offered him a benign smile. “Why is that?”

“Knowing that the ‘you’ inside is Ling Jiu, that shut-in, even if your current form is a beautiful girl, I can only accept it physiologically. Psychologically, it’s a no-go.”

I wholeheartedly agreed. “Exactly. It’s like your girlfriend and your mom swapping souls, and you have to choose which one to… you know… to swap them back. It’s a philosophical dilemma.”

“Damn it! I discovered my best bro turned into a beautiful girl and actually hoped for some exciting development, but I never expected this. The thought of a disgusting shut-in beneath that beautiful skin makes me sick to my stomach.”

My smile didn’t reach my eyes. “I’ll kill you, you know.”

A shared sense of disappointment suddenly left us without words, and we could only stare silently at the azure sky.

On the nearby sports field, many people always gathered to play ball. They freely shed the sweat of youth, forging friendships through each brilliant play. Their vibrant, hopeful demeanor embodied the pure and beautiful essence of youth.

Unfortunately, such youth didn’t belong to Fatty and me. We were both failures; this world had never truly belonged to us.

As shut-ins, we might have all hoped for life to unfold like a manga. Yet, reality is cold. Even if a manga-like development truly exists, the crucial question remains—are you worthy?

Those who yearn for an extraordinary life are always ordinary people. Ordinary people are passively force-fed countless success stories, listening to ‘successful individuals’ claim their achievements are replicable, all while inevitably becoming ‘leeks’ to be harvested over and over. In the end, they can only seek solace by retreating into virtual fantasy.

I find no happiness or joy in that ‘beauty,’ for I am all too aware of my own degeneration, all too aware that the wonders I perceive are mere illusions.

My transformation into a girl was certainly a surreal development, yet after a brief burst of excitement, I completely lost all motivation. What difference does it make? Can I better secure my right to survive? Can I claim the right to control my own life? Can I become a winner in life? The answers remain unknown.

I am neither gentle nor kind, not a pushover, not diligent, lack dreams, and have no urge to change the world. I am merely an incurable piece of rotten wood.

I have no childhood friend, no girlfriend, and no one willing to pursue me. How could a setup like this ever turn around?

By external forces? Yes, I have a cheat: the System. But my System neither gives me money nor skills to show off. Even the fact that I would become a hero protecting humanity can’t be known to others. Such a manga-like development is simply terrible.

Pangzi was depressed because his dream of an extraordinary life had shattered, and he’d been slapped by me. My depression, however, stemmed from losing the chance to freeload a barbecue meal.

Fatty should have kept up his act of feigning madness. He had already confessed his thoughts: upon discovering something was amiss, he saw himself as the protagonist, the only one who knew the truth, wanting to save his vanished bro and, incidentally, capture the “female villain” disguised as his bro.

If I were the female villain and the protagonist revealed everything at the very start, how could the story even continue?

Fatty finished his cola, shook the bottle, and asked, “What do you plan to do?”

“What else can I do? Adapt to my new life, I suppose.”

“You have such a good attitude.”

“Otherwise, what could I do?”

“Indeed. I’m still completely bewildered. I know you’re lying when you say you don’t know why you turned into a beautiful girl. You know you’re lying, and you know I know you’re lying, and I know you know I know you’re lying, but you still choose to lie.”

“No nesting dolls!”

Fatty let out a sigh of relief. “But I’m too lazy to ask. The truth isn’t important. The most important thing is that we’re still brothers. That’s enough.”

“Oh?”

Fatty lowered his head and pleaded, “Could you let me see your… thingy?”

My mouth twitched. “Are you ever going to stop?”

“Lord Ling Jiu, I beg you! This humble one has never seen a girl’s ‘thingy’ in this life. Please satisfy my curiosity!”

“Disgusting. Haven’t you watched adult films?”

He looked up, his face earnest. “It’s not the same. I’m already tired of those. Only reality can bring me excitement again.”

“Aren’t you a man? Letting me see won’t make you lose a piece of flesh.”

“Disgusting is disgusting. Don’t bother me; go find someone else.”

He knelt on the ground, practically kowtowing. “No one else but you will agree!”

Fatty pulled out his phone, ready to transfer money. “Then, if I give you money, will you let me see?”

“You think you can buy me with money? Get lost!”

“Ah Jiu, you’re my best bro. How about letting me see? What if you just let me see your back?”

My back?

This strange request made me frown. This guy’s fetish shouldn’t be that weird, should it?

I carefully observed Fatty. Though his expression was lewd, his eyes were incredibly clear—not truly harboring any lust. Something’s off…

I tentatively asked, “Why do you want to see my back?”

He scratched his head. “Your back should be very beautiful. I just want to see it.”

I immediately became alert. As a fellow member of the ‘big-breasted party,’ Fatty not wanting to see my sensitive parts but instead my back was definitely not normal.

I smiled. “I understand. You want to see it, right?”

“You agreed?”

“Mm. But can you wait for me a moment?”

“Hehe, of course.”

“Good, close your eyes.”

Seeing Fatty close his eyes expectantly, I left the rooftop, turning to lock the door behind me. As I walked down the stairs, I began to think.

Fatty was indeed the refined and amiable Sun Xiaochuan I knew; I could confirm that. But there was one difference: he could detect the incongruity in me, and I could similarly detect the incongruity in him.

Since Fatty joked that morning, I’d had a strange feeling. Was today’s Fatty perhaps too smart?

Don’t forget, anyone who could become my friend was definitely a weirdo. Therefore, when Fatty honestly said he wanted to see my back, my sense of incongruity peaked.

What was so special about my back?

On my back, there was only a cross-shaped burn mark. My Stigmata.