The Return of Lin Yan

“Call Lin Yan out. It’s his turn to appear.”

I barely had time to process Chen Si Yi’s words before an indescribable feeling surged from within me. My head spun, as if my soul had left my body. In the blink of an eye, my feet were planted on solid ground, and my line of sight had risen considerably.

Was this…?

To confirm my suspicion, I turned around in shock and met Serena’s gaze.

Serena, who had been hugging me moments ago, was now standing at a distance, arms crossed, nodding seriously.

“Mm, it’s been a while since I’ve seen Lin Yan like this. Gotta say, he’s still quite handsome.”

Like this? Quite handsome?

Hearing her words, I instinctively lowered my head to look at my limbs.

My arms were no longer fair and smooth; the fingers on both hands were rough compared to when I was a little girl. The short legs clad in white stockings were gone, replaced by loose sweatpants over my now straight legs.

“This… this is…”

I lifted a leg and twisted my shoulder. Even with mental preparation, I couldn’t help but be shocked. I had turned back into Lin Yan, still wearing the pajamas from that night.

“Oh, don’t be so nervous.” Seeing my stunned expression, Serena pursed her lips and snickered. “I just turned you back into a man. Hurry up and check if anything’s wrong. Make sure everything still works.”

“How am I supposed to check now?” I raised my hand and gave Serena a sharp knock on the head. She winced, covering her head as she stumbled back.

“Wha… what? Lin Yan, why did you hit me?” Serena widened her eyes and complained. “Are you unhappy that I turned you back into a guy? Biting the hand that feeds you—you damn lolicon!”

“Lolicon my ass.” I rolled my wrist, feeling speechless. “It was you who turned me into a girl in the first place. This is just making up for it. No, it’s not even making up for it…”

Suddenly regaining my male body, a mix of joy and other inexplicable feelings swirled in my heart. I intended to have a more ‘amicable’ chat with Serena, but a call from outside instantly dispelled that thought.

“Serena, are you done yet? Is Lin Yan out?”

Ah, still caught up in the excitement of reclaiming my body, I wiped the cold sweat from my forehead and suddenly realized—this was not the time to settle scores with Serena. The situation outside was the real fire that needed putting out.

Calming down, I took a deep breath and slowly turned around, like a warrior heading to his death, moving step by step toward the door.

Though many questions remained unanswered—like what exactly Serena had done to me, or how she could so easily switch me between Lin Ruoxi and Lin Yan—one thing was certain: I needed to enter the battlefield between Xiao Yu and Si Yi and stop their conflict from escalating.

And if my ears weren’t playing tricks on me, had Xiao Yu just… confessed to me?

I had to admit, that was what troubled me most. I could only hope my response would minimize the hurt I caused her.

With resolve, I stepped out of the room. The flickering fluorescent light in the hallway dazed my vision.

Though this body had been mine for over a decade, disuse had left it rusty. The feeling of unfamiliarity and awkwardness was even stronger than before. My gait was stiff, and I imagined my expression was as awkward as Xiao Yu’s not far away.

“Lin Yan? Why are you here?” To prevent me from eavesdropping, Xiao Yu had thoroughly checked the room earlier. So seeing me walk out of it with a smile, her expression was nothing short of shocked.

First it turned pale, then, as if remembering something, her fair cheeks reddened visibly, like a ripe apple, tempting one to reach out and pluck it.

“Lin Yan, you did this on purpose, didn’t you? You conspired with Si Yi to trick me into saying that!”

“No, I just happened to overhear it.” I scratched my cheek sheepishly, suffering in silence. After all, I couldn’t exactly say I was Lin Ruoxi, the obedient little girl you were just hugging.

“Ahhh~ I shouldn’t have come!”

Covering her face, Xiao Yu openly expressed her regret, even her earlobes flushed a deep crimson.

But I could understand. Confessing boldly to the person you care about through a wall without knowing they were listening? Even I, a grown man, would want to crawl into a hole.

“Ahem…”

Just as Xiao Yu and I were staring at each other, Chen Si Yi’s cough rang out.

“Ahem, ahem. You two, can you stop treating me like air?”

Chen Si Yi’s dissatisfied mutter echoed in the hallway. Startled, Su Xiao Yu turned her face to the wall, while I froze for a moment before forcing a sheepish laugh.

“Haha~ Of course not, how could we treat you like air?” I explained with a smile. “It’s just that I haven’t seen Sister Xiao Yu in a while, so we were catching up.”

Back in my usual body, Chen Si Yi’s head only reached my lips. She seemed especially small now, compared to last night when she was hugging me. Out of concern for my sister and seeing her adorable, pouting face, I reached out to pat her head, but as soon as my fingers touched her hair, she slapped my hand away without mercy.

“What are you doing? Did I say you could touch my head?”

Huh? What’s going on? Not even I can touch her head now?

Chen Si Yi stared at me resentfully, the chill in her eyes making me shiver.

Wait, wait… Why was her tone so unusually indignant? Just yesterday, she was incredibly gentle with me, even feeding me with an ‘ah~’.

“Um… didn’t you call me out?” I replied weakly, not daring to meet her gaze.

How did Chen Si Yi’s demeanor suddenly revert to when we were in a cold war?