Chapter 10: Defense Broken

Chapter 10: Defense Broken

The little town was unusually lively at noon.

Street vendors had claimed half the sidewalks without anyone bothering to stop them. Groups of students fresh out of school were laughing and chasing each other down the road. An old man in a rickety tricycle cheerfully wove through traffic, drawing angry honks from sleek cars every other minute.

But all that noise had nothing to do with Chen Shiyu.

Her whole world right now was one big ball of embarrassment. Her face was burning red, and every step she took she could feel the eyes of strangers falling on her. The weight of their gazes made her want to curl up and vanish into the cracks in the pavement.

Calm down, calm down! What’s so wrong with childhood friends holding hands!?

She tried to convince herself, but the moment she noticed those stares again, panic rose up. It felt like every passing glance could pierce right through her disguise—past the mask of a sweet girl, past the body of a fox spirit, straight into the truth: that inside, she was still a man.

And what kind of self-respecting man lets another guy drag him by the hand down the street!? Ugh! Just thinking about it made her skin crawl, goosebumps prickling all over.

Face twisted in resistance, Chen Shiyu half-heartedly tried to shake free of Shen Yan’s grip, but… she didn’t dare break character.

Back in the past, whenever they went out together, it was never Shen Yan who took the initiative. It was always her—the original Chen Shiyu—who would cling tightly to his arm, pressing close, chest brushing against him. Sure, it was embarrassing, but in a way, that embarrassment only made the act more thrilling.

But her? She wasn’t about to do something that shameless!

Between the two options, being dragged around by the hand was at least less humiliating.

“Wanna grab a chicken cutlet?” Shen Yan suddenly turned around, pointing toward a fried chicken shop down the street.

The moment he looked back, Chen Shiyu’s lips automatically curled into a timid smile. Her voice came out soft and playful, tinged with shyness.

“I just ate, you know. I’m stuffed~”

Which wasn’t entirely a lie. Even if she did want another bite, there was no way a delicate girl’s stomach could handle more. She was already fit to burst.

“Then how about bubble tea?” Shen Yan tugged her along toward a nearby milk tea shop, mumbling, “What do you want? Cheese foam? Taro pearls?”

“Anything’s fine~”

At the counter, Shen Yan leaned in to study the menu, while Chen Shiyu’s smile quickly melted away. She shot a sulky glare at the back of his head.

“One cheese foam, and one coconut jelly milk tea. Three-tenths sugar, no ice,” Shen Yan ordered.

He let go of her hand for the first time, pulling out his phone to pay. But before he could, Chen Shiyu darted in.

“My treat! You already bought me lunch.”

It wasn’t much, but she didn’t want to freeload off him every single time. Even if childhood friends usually let Shen Yan foot the bill, her conscience couldn’t take it.

Shen Yan froze for a second, caught off guard. By then, Chen Shiyu had already swiped her phone and paid, wincing as her heart bled.

Seriously, the prices in this town were insane!

Two cups of milk tea from some no-name shop, and it cost thirty yuan!? That was more expensive than the fast food they’d just eaten!

She didn’t have long to sulk before their drinks were ready. Chen Shiyu took a sip of her cheese foam, only for the sweet, heavy cream to coat her throat and make it dry.

Too rich. Way too rich. If it were up to her, she’d stick to something lighter.

Shen Yan reached out and casually reclaimed her hand.

And well… what can she say? Boundaries are fragile things.

At first, having her hand held had made her want to crawl out of her skin—gross, humiliating, unbearable. But now… now it was just embarrassing. Embarrassing, sure, but not the end of the world.

She told herself to think of Shen Yan like those flamboyant, overly touchy classmates she’d known in her past life—always joking around, always hanging off each other. Just… harmless, dumb guy stuff.

Still, this whole “shopping date” thing was so boring~

Chen Shiyu sucked on her straw, wandering the streets with him. She took in the little town she only half-remembered from old memories, but nothing really stood out. It was just another place caught between countryside and city, nothing more.

If she hadn’t already eaten, maybe the street food stalls would have tempted her. But now, no matter how good it smelled, she couldn’t take another bite.

So she followed Shen Yan aimlessly. And slowly… bit by bit… she stopped noticing the embarrassment of being dragged along.

Or maybe she just got used to it.

For the first time, her gaze fell on Shen Yan himself. Truly fell on him—seriously studying the boy who was pulling her along.

Shen Yan was tall—easily around one-eighty, one of the tallest in their class. His build was on the lean side, though his shoulders were broad. The oversized school uniform only made him look thinner.

But his strength was nothing to scoff at. His grip on her left hand was firm, to the point that struggling would only hurt.

Her eyes drifted downward, taking in the bare skin where his short sleeves ended. His arm was lightly tanned, muscles defined in clean lines, veins faintly visible along his forearm. His hands were large, fingers long and elegant, knuckles distinct—hands so well-shaped they looked like they belonged to a pianist.

Staring at that hand, feeling its warmth, the texture of his skin against hers… Chen Shiyu’s heart betrayed her, thumping a little faster.

“You should eat more,” she blurted out, desperate to say something before her thoughts ran away with her. “You’re way too skinny.”

“Can’t help it. I just don’t gain weight. Didn’t you see me polish off three bowls of rice earlier?” Shen Yan said, puffing up his chest a little. “Back in elementary, I was a total chubby kid, remember? Then in middle school I suddenly slimmed down. These days, I could eat meat every meal and still not gain a pound.”

He turned back with a teasing grin. “If you keep eating like you did at lunch, though, you’ll end up a little dumpling before long.”

“Wha—!? I only ate a little bit more than usual!”

Chen Shiyu shot him a mock glare, puffing her cheeks as she looked straight into his face.

Honestly, Shen Yan wasn’t exactly drop-dead handsome. His features were neat, sure, but he wasn’t on the level of those so-called school idols or TV celebrities. At best, he was “decently cute”—the kind of guy where every class had two or three.

But his face was clear, not a single blemish in sight, and he always kept himself tidy. More than that, there was this bright, unpolished energy about him—youthful, sunny, the kind of warmth that only high school boys had.

And before she knew it, Chen Shiyu’s own cheeks were burning red. The blush spread like wildfire, creeping up to the tips of her ears.

The shock hit her like a bucket of ice water. Her expression darkened as she suddenly yanked her hand free from Shen Yan’s grip.

“Huh? What? I was just joking!”

Shen Yan blinked, completely lost. What on earth had made this fox spirit so mad? She looked furious—furious enough to drop the sweet little-sister act altogether, her face stiff with barely controlled emotion.

“It’s… nothing.”

Chen Shiyu shook her head quickly, forcing her face back into a practiced smile. But inside, her chest was twisting painfully.

Disgusting! She’d actually gotten shy over a boy!

Before, when her face heated up, it had been because of embarrassment or humiliation. But just now? Just now, she’d felt it—real, fluttery, girlish shyness. Like a deer crashing around inside her chest, her heart pounding because she was actually drawn to him.

She had known, of course. She’d known that the memories of the girl who once owned this body might influence her, that someday she might feel drawn to Shen Yan. She had even expected it.

But facing it for real was another matter. It was unacceptable. It was like losing control, like that girl’s ghost was still living inside her, quietly seizing control of her emotions, twisting them until they weren’t her own.

It was the worst feeling in the world.

She was still a man. And one day, she would be a man again!

“Let’s go back. There’s a mountain of homework today.”

Dropping her gaze, Chen Shiyu strode off toward the high school, refusing to look his way again.

Behind her, Shen Yan frowned slightly, staring at her slim back.

—What had gotten into her? Why had she freaked out so badly?

He didn’t understand. But if she’d broken down this much, didn’t that mean… whatever he was doing was working?