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Translator's note: Skipping dinner, and you'll lose weight very fast. TRUST ME.
Editor's note: And don't be that idiot who started skipping meals, passed out, and got admitted because you’re hungry. Take it slowly.
I was still eating the last few bites of my dinner, completely absorbed in the news broadcast, when I finally noticed Dongli Yiren coming downstairs into the living room.
“Huh? You finished choosing?” I snapped out of my TV trance and tried to hide the fact that I’d been staring at the screen like a zombie. I quickly threw out a question to cover it up.
“Mm. The room at the very end of the hallway,” she said with a small nod. Then she walked past the coffee table and sat on the sofa opposite me.
“The lighting’s pretty bad back there, and it’s a bit of a walk,” I commented casually.
But honestly, her choosing the innermost guest room didn’t surprise me at all.
The room at the end meant fewer people walking past, which meant fewer chances of anyone overhearing… whatever noises she might make.
Not that I could say that out loud.
I didn’t know her that well, and it wasn’t like I could just blurt out, “Hey, I know you’re probably going to get curious about your new body, so you want privacy, right?”
She had just turned into a girl, after all. Teenagers naturally explored their own bodies, and changing into the opposite sex… well, curiosity was inevitable. Whether or not she wanted to accept this new reality, understanding her own anatomy was important for daily life.
“I… I like dark places,” she murmured softly.
“Well, suit yourself,” I glanced at her, then tossed my empty takeout container into the trash can. I decided to ask the obvious, “But seriously, it’s pretty late. Aren’t you gonna eat something?”
“Eat something…” She placed a hand over her stomach on reflex, then looked up at the clock on the wall.
“H-Huh? It’s already this late?”
“What did you think? If you don’t want to go out, you should order delivery. The academy cafeteria’s far from here. Street food works too, but delivery fees aren’t cheap.”
“I… I… um… I don’t usually eat dinner…” After a few seconds of hesitation, she squeezed out the kind of answer I could barely believe.
Her reaction earlier had been exactly the kind of reaction someone had when they hit mealtime. But something, who knew what, made her change her mind.
Was she too excited about her new four-piece starter set? Didn’t seem like it.
Was she out of money? But she already transferred everything earlier… so probably not.
“Really? Skipping dinner isn’t healthy, you know,” I said, giving her at least a token warning. Then I stood up. Whatever her reason was, if she insisted, there wasn’t much I could do.
It wasn’t like I was going to force-feed her.
I wasn’t that bored.
Compared to Quan Xiuzhu, she wasn’t nearly as fun, and on top of that, she kept giving off a kind of subtle distance—as if she still held on to a “men and women should keep proper distance” mindset.
Well… once she eventually fell, things might improve.
Rather than overthinking her, I might as well wonder what my next roommate would be like. Since Dongli Yiren had already shown up, the others probably wouldn’t be far behind.
Though honestly, at this time of night, new arrivals were either girls who came willingly… or freshmen who got abducted here.
I kind of wondered if the entire villa would end up being filled with former boys.
It wasn’t like the academy hadn’t considered the issue. Bodies might all be female now, but minds weren’t automatically aligned to match. If something went wrong, nobody would be happy.
On the other hand, if they put a bunch of genderbent guys together… maybe they’d actually get along. Who knew—maybe they’d even comfort each other.
Peaceful, harmonious, zero drama.
A perfect scenario.
Well… ideally, anyway.
Because it was Dongli Yiren’s first day here, I did something unprecedented—I didn’t take a full shower. I simply wiped down my body and washed and conditioned my hair a bit.
I should leave the bathroom to Dongli Yiren for a whole night tonight.
After all, taking a shower meant openly stripping down and facing one’s new body head-on.
Surely Dongli Yiren wouldn’t refuse such an “opportunity for self-reflection,” right?
Or well… that was what I told her.
Under my not-so-subtle encouragement, she reluctantly stepped into the bathroom. Unfortunately, she hadn’t brought a change of clothes with her.
Not that this was my problem.
I wasn’t trying to watch her shower.
Absolutely not.
I was just curious how long she would take to bathe with her new body.
Pure scientific curiosity.
Nothing weird about it.
I only hoped she wouldn’t make any strange noises inside.
Once I pushed Dongli Yiren into the bathroom, I backed away. I was a proper, decent human being—I wouldn’t peek.
…Which was why I simply stood around the corner, listening.
This was a technical skill in itself, okay?The sound of splashing water echoed through the hallway. I could practically imagine her struggling with her damp hair, trying and failing to make it behave.
Long hair never listened.
Even I still found it annoying to manage—there was no way a complete novice like Dongli Yiren had any better luck.
After eavesdropping for a while, I realized there really wasn’t anything interesting going on.
No suspicious noises.
No chaos.
Just the most ordinary shower in the world.
So I went back to my room. Better to sleep early. Tomorrow waited for me—another day of hard work at the bakery, earning my well-deserved fortune.
Much later, after I had left, a short, sharp moan came from the bathroom.
But the sound was quickly swallowed by the running water.
And considering how fast it cut off, Dongli Yiren had definitely slapped a hand over her mouth just in time.
What exactly did she do there… no one would ever know.
The night passed uneventfully.
Just in case, I had locked my door and windows. Not that I thought Dongli Yiren had the courage—or the equipment—to try anything. But still. One could never be too cautious.
When I woke up in the morning, I discovered she was already up as well.
This biological clock…
Truly worthy of someone who could get into one of the Big Threes.
Her hair, however, was a disaster. Dry, frizzy, wild—exactly what I expected from someone who probably rolled over her own hair in her sleep.
“Dongli Yiren, you’re up early. Going somewhere?” I greeted her out of habit, nothing more.
“Huh? N-No… I just woke up. I can’t fall back asleep once I’m awake…”
She seemed surprised I was up this early, too. After all, classes hadn’t even started yet.
“I see. Well, if you have nothing to do, you can wander around the academy. There are plenty of places worth exploring.”
After my morning wash and makeup, I got ready to head out. If I went early to the bakery, I might even score some free breakfast.
But speaking of breakfast—
Where was Dongli Yiren planning to eat?
She skipped dinner yesterday.
Was she aiming to cultivate immortality through fasting?
“Mm… Huh? Wait, are you going out?” she asked.
“Yup. Part-time job.” I shrugged with a smile. “Big girls need to learn to support themselves, you know?”
Judging from her background, she looked like the type who’d live comfortably even without working.
Lucky her.
“P-Part-time job? W-Where? Where do you work?” Her eyes widened as if I had just declared I was moving to another country.
“At a bakery nearby. Anyway, I’m heading out first. If you’re not going out, keep an eye on the house.”
I closed the door behind me, leaving a visibly conflicted Dongli Yiren standing there.
She hesitated for several seconds, glanced at the front door… and finally opened it and hurried after me.