Volume 1 / Chapter 6: Back to School After National Day

"Riiiing—!!" The alarm clock blared noisily, as expected.

Well, how else was it supposed to drag someone out of a sweet dream?

Given the choice, no one really wants to wake up early for school or work. But for the sake of survival, most people still get up and go about their routines like clockwork.

"Whack!" Still half-asleep and cranky, Mo Xueyao slammed her hand down on the alarm clock.

This cheap,bargain-bin clock, bought from a street stall, yet surprisingly sturdy—had been faithfully waking her up for five years now.

Her reaction was practically muscle memory. The moment it rang, her palm flew.

And just like that, the shrill ringing came to an abrupt end.

"Ugh..." Reason told her it was time to get up.

Just yesterday,she'd been so nervous yet somewhat looking forward to officially starting school.

But this morning, last night's anticipation had vanished without a trace.

“Xue’er! Time to get up!”Mo Xueyao heard her mother's shout from outside the door. She didn't react at all,just rolled over and went back to sleep.

Until—

Whoosh! Her mother barged into the room like a whirlwind and yanked the blanket off her without mercy.

“Get up! The alarm already rang—didn’t you hear it?”

As usual, her mother was all fire and urgency, wielding a spatula like a general’s baton.

"Did you call me?"Mo Xueyao opened her eyes blearily.

"I yelled ‘Xue’er’! Didn’t you hear?" Xueyao paused, dazed for a second.

Then it clicked—yeah, there was a “Xue” in her name.

But no one had ever called her that before. It sounded way too… feminine.

She was used to being called "Xueyao," which was comfortably gender-neutral.

No wonder she didn’t react. 

“Come on! It’s eight o’clock already!”

“Eight o’clock!?” Her eyes flew wide open as she scrambled to check the alarm clock.

One of the hands was pointing to the 8.

But that was the minute hand! The hour hand was still calmly resting on the 5.

It was only 5:40 in the morning. That was when she’d set the alarm, just in case.

She liked being early—it gave her a buffer in case anything went wrong on the way. Plus, she could take her time biking to school and maybe enjoy the scenery.

Though honestly, the novelty of “scenery” wore off real fast.

Now that she was awake, she decided to seize the momentum. In just a pair of boxer shorts, she leapt out of bed and dashed toward the bathroom.

Clang! Clatter! Bang!

A symphony of chaos followed.

“Wash up properly!” her mother’s voice rang from the kitchen, alongside the tempting aroma of breakfast “Brush your teeth for three minutes! Wash your face for five!”

“That’s way too long!” Mo Xueyao grumbled, cutting the brushing time to ninety seconds and the face-washing to three minutes.

After freshening up, her face looked noticeably brighter and cleaner. By the time she sat at the table, breakfast was already served. Plain rice porridge and pickled vegetables again,though today there was a salted duck egg and some stir-fried dried rice noodles.

"Hey, breakfast's kind of fancy today, huh?" she remarked, though her early-morning stomach had little appetite. She finished a bowl of porridge and some noodles. then dashed back to her room like she'd completed a chore. With yesterday's experience, putting on the girls' uniform felt less burdensome today.

But as she shouldered her backpack and reached for the door handle to leave, she hesitated again.

Her hand twisted the knob back and forth several times before finally pushing the door open.

"I'm off!"Mo Xueyao yelled while pulling on her shoes.

"Be careful on the road!" her mother called back loudly, though her tone still sounded a bit distracted.

After becoming a girl, her mother had only treated her specially for the first month or so. Once that passed, things quickly returned to normal. Old habits die hard, after all. Honestly , this felt more natural and normal to Mo Xueyao anyway.

She hopped onto her bicycle and set out, embracing a brand-new day.

Taking another step forward into life—as a girl.

===

On the very first day,she encountered a significant problem. Wearing a skirt meant straddling the bike seat was practically an invitation for accidental exposure...

Even Mo Xueyao,who had once been a boy, was extremely conscious of this. She certainly didn't have that kind of peculiar interest!

She tried tucking the skirt under her butt—nope, then the front would flap open.

She tried letting the skirt hang over the seat—bad idea. If she rode fast or the wind picked up, the thing would flutter like a flag.

It might lift in the front,or the back, or sometimes the whole thing would billow upwards. Skirts...were completely unsuitable for bike riding!

Eventually, she found a compromise ; Sitting forward and tucking the skirt firmly under her bottom and sitting a bit further forward on the seat. Basically, leaning her torso forward, trying to angle the skirt opening downwards to minimize the risk of exposure.

It wasn't exactly comfortable sitting like that. Perhaps Mo Xueyao just needed more time to adjust to life as a girl.

Just one more thing she had to adapt to in this new life.

"Ugh, being a girl is full of tiny traps..." she muttered, biking awkwardly all the way to school.

When she finally dismounted, it was like a weight lifted off her shoulders.

"Yo,pretty early, huh?" The security guard at the gate greeted her familiarly.

"Ah...yeah," Mo Xueyao, who didn't know him, felt awkward. "Um, where's the bicycle shed?"

"Right under the teaching building,"the guard uncle answered warmly. "Sleep a bit longer next time. Coming this early isn't good for you."

"Ahem...thanks." Mo Xueyao awkwardly accepted the well-meaning advice and pushed her bike into the underground garage. She parked it against the wall.

The garage was mostly empty, with only a few other bikes. It confirmed Mo Xueyao was indeed very early.

When she reached the door of Class 2 grade 10 , it was still locked.

“It’s 6:30... there should be someone who opens the doors, right?” Mo Xueyao muttered to herself.

That's how it had been in middle school. Usually,an early arranger had the key. If no one showed up, you could always get the key from the security office.

Mo Xueyao wasn't yet familiar with Yukong High's routines, so she decided to wait. Maybe someone would show up soon?

Just as the thought crossed her mind, she heard the jingle of keys. A female voice, vaguely familiar, came from behind her: "Morning."

"Ah...morning." Mo Xueyao turned and saw the coolly composed face, recognizing her. "Class... Class President?"

"Mn.I'm Li Wanyan." Seeming to sense Mo Xueyao had forgotten her name, Li Wanyan stated it calmly. She unlocked the classroom strode inside, and immediately began opening all the windows, replacing the stuffy air trapped overnight with the fresh morning breeze

Xueyao nervously fidgeted with the hem of her skirt, her anxiety rising with the thought of more students arriving soon. Skirts were such a hassle. Cute on others. Annoying on her.

And the Constantly worry about accidental exposure...

It practically forced her to act more ladylike, to avoid big movements. To prevent any mishaps, Mo Xueyao could only keep reminding herself internally. Outwardly,it meant she kept tugging at her skirt hem.

“Did you bring the notes I lent you?” Li Wanyan asked casually as soon as she sat down.

Feeling a bit pressured, Xueyao quickly nodded and pulled out the notebook from her bag, placing it on her desk.

"Um,about that day... thank you."

“No big deal. The teacher asked me to go.”

“Still, um… the notes too…” Xueyao added with an awkward smile, unsure how to converse with this seemingly unapproachable class president.

“Well, classmates should help each other.” Li Wanyan replied with textbook formality, leaving Xueyao unsure how to respond.

 "Oh, Teacher Ye assigned you a seat. Fourth row, third seat from the window, in the fourth large group."

"Thanks..." Left with no choice, Mo Xueyao awkwardly retreated to her assigned seat. She unloaded her backpack full of textbooks, stacking them neatly one by one into the desk drawer.

The classroom was intensely quiet. As if no one else was there besides Mo Xueyao. Even though the class president sat right there in the large group by the door.

Like Mo Xueyao, Li Wanyan took out her textbooks and homework, arranging them neatly. Then she pulled out a novel and began to read.

Mo Xueyao peeked at it. The cover was plain white, simple and unadorned. The title font was the most common,ordinary print.

It read:"One Person's World". Judging by the title,it seemed like a collection of lyrical essays?

The book wasn't thick, but Li Wanyan read it meticulously, occasionally pausing to copy a passage into a notebook beside her.

She really was thorough in everything she did. No wonder she was the class president. Mo Xueyao sighed inwardly. This period of quiet,before any other students arrived, felt especially long.

I should have brought a novel too,she thought. Finally, another student entered the classroom. The heavy silence was broken. Mo Xueyao looked up at them and attempted a smile

It was a boy of average build. When he saw Mo Xueyao, his eyes flickered away momentarily. Then, with a hint of confusion, he cast another discreet glance at her and silently took a seat in the very back of Group 4.

Mo Xueyao had thought about greeting him, but remembering she was a girl now - casual chats with boys probably weren't so simple anymore , so she swallowed the words.

After his arrival , others gradually trickled in. Soon there were over ten students in the classroom.

“Whoa, we got a hottie in here!”

A chubby boy, easily pushing 75 kg, barreled into the classroom with a dramatic shout that shattered the atmosphere.

His eyes? Squarely on Mo Xueyao.

...And just like that, she suddenly didn’t feel like talking to anyone anymore.