Ch. 53 - Pretty Girl with a Rough Edge

"Here’s your dorm key. Hold onto it. It’s for a free academy dorm—probably a sweet three-story villa, if all goes well," I said, handing the keycard to Quan Xiuzhu.

She took it, staring blankly at the info printed on it, lost in thought.

"What’s up?" I asked.

"Nothing… just… I don’t know where this place is," she mumbled.

"Use your phone’s GPS," I said matter-of-factly.

"This thing has GPS?" she asked, surprised.

"Why not? Just navigate around and get on a bus. Academy buses are free," I explained with a grin. She was still adjusting to all this, clearly.

I wasn’t exactly settled in either, but I was trying to make it work.

"Thanks for telling me…" she said.

"No biggie. Just helping out a friend," I replied, watching as she started to walk off with the keycard. "Hey, hold up! Where’re you going?"

"I’ve got a place now, so I won’t bug you anymore. It’s getting late…" she said.

"You’re just leaving like that?" I asked, caught off guard.

It wasn’t a huge deal—she’d leaned on me for help, and maybe she didn’t want to be a burden anymore. But no way was I letting her slip away that easily. She still had my witch’s cloak, complete with my badge pinned to it. She wasn’t walking off with my stuff!

"Uh? Oh, sorry, here’s your… clothes," she said, starting to shrug off the cloak.

"Nah, keep it. Looks good on you. It’s part of the Witch School uniform, you know," I said.

"Uniform? Then I really should give it back," she insisted.

"But you’ve already worn it. I mean, I’ve worn it too, so it’s secondhand, but would you mind grabbing me a new one? Just the cloak," I said, playing it casual.

"You’re right… I did wear it. Sorry, I’ll get you a new one to swap," she said, her tone apologetic, like she’d just realized something.

She was a guy-turned-witch, and in this world, there was still that old-school vibe about guys and girls not sharing stuff like clothes. To her, my request probably screamed that I was a clean freak about it.

It also hit her hard, like a wake-up call, that she used to be a guy. And the fact that she’d accepted all this so quickly? That was messing with her head.

It shouldn’t be this easy!

She’d fought so hard against that senior, resisting when the truth came out, struggling even when it was pointless.

I watched her quietly, soaking in her shift. Her quick slide into acceptance wasn’t as satisfying as I’d hoped. Time to nudge her a bit, remind her who she was—keep her from falling too fast. I needed that sense of victory.

Plus, yeah, I have a tiny bit of a clean streak when it came to this fallen former dude, Quan Xiuzhu.

If I hadn’t known, I wouldn’t have cared. I’d have seen every senior as a cute girl, no questions asked. But knowing Quan Xiuzhu was once a guy? That’s just the truth, and I wasn’t about to pretend it wasn’t.

Still, I’d be her friend. Her body was female now—can’t deny that. A pretty girl with a rough, dude-like core? Honestly, that’s a plus in my eyes.

At least, that’s my vibe. Friendship’s cool, but from the gender-swap stories I read in my past life, I knew there was a tiny chance it could get messy.

Small chance, sure, but not impossible.

So, I kept a bit of distance, just to be safe.

"Since you’re on board, let’s grab your uniform!" I said. "That senior who dragged you here was totally flaky. You’ve got so much left to do—uniform, awakening your talent, linking your student ID. They didn’t tell you squat. What’re you gonna do when classes start?"

"There’s all that?" Quan Xiuzhu asked, looking stunned.

"Yup," I nodded, catching her surprise.

Her response showed she’d already accepted being at the Witch School. She didn’t seem too fussed about the next steps either.

Was she just the type to go with the flow?

And we were about to pick up her uniform—basically girls’ clothes—and she didn’t even blink? Maybe she was just going along because she owed me a new cloak.

Didn’t matter either way. I was just here for the kicks.

At least, that’s the part I was playing.

I checked the time. It was still early, but I wasn’t sure if the seniors would be around this late.

If the registration desk was staffed, the others probably were too, right?

What a chore.

Following my memory, I led Quan Xiuzhu through the rest of her enrollment. It felt like I was doing the seniors’ grunt work myself.

No wonder those lazy seniors bailed on newbies so fast. The tasks weren’t much, but dragging someone through them? Such a drag.

I had a new witch’s cloak and badge now, since mine was still with her. She picked the starter Fireball talent, so no changes there.

Quan Xiuzhu was still in her ragged clothes, wrapped in my old cloak, wearing a huge witch hat, and gripping a staff taller than her.

She actually looked like a witch now!

When she realized the “uniform” was the witch’s four-piece set, not some girly dress, she let out a sigh of relief. Guess she had been stressing about the whole clothing thing.

Not my circus, not my monkeys. It’s always zero times or a million with this stuff. I wasn’t worried.

She’d be in a dress sooner or later.

Quan Xiuzhu still seemed uneasy, but the fact that the uniform wasn’t straight-up women’s clothing let her breathe easier. Her face was half-hidden under the massive brim of her witch hat, hands clutching the oversized staff she’d picked like it was her lifeline.

Truth was, the badge pinned to her cloak was what she should’ve leaned on. That thing held spells—her best defense as a newbie.

"So… what’s next?" she asked.

"Uh, talent awakening and student ID binding, I think? Sorry, I’m a freshman too, so I’m not totally clear on the process. Let’s wrap those up today, though. You look wiped," I said.

"Yeah… who wouldn’t be exhausted after all this?" she replied.

"Fair point."

Comments