Chapter 21: A Second Growth Spurt?

Chapter 21: A Second Growth Spurt?

“What happened to you? You look like a drowned chicken.”

“Hurry and dry yourself off. Go shower with hot water first—then we’ll eat.”

“Why the long face? You don’t look happy at all.”

Her mother, busy over the stove, turned her head at the sound of the door opening. She saw her drenched daughter step inside, Shen Yan at her side like an escort.

As soon as she entered, Chen Shiyu peeled off her soaked shoes and socks, grabbed a towel with a lifeless expression, and rubbed at her hair. She didn’t respond to her mother’s concern, just limped toward the bathroom upstairs.

“Xiao Shen?”

Noticing her daughter’s odd state, Chen Shiyu's mother turned to Shen Yan.

“She got hurt fooling around—must’ve twisted her foot,” he admitted, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. “I’ll head home now?”

But Chen Shiyu's mother frowned. “She’s been like this for a while, hasn’t she…?”

She’d already sensed something wrong with her daughter, but chalked it up to moodiness or teenage troubles.

Shen Yan hesitated, then forced a smile. “Uh, maybe she hasn’t been the same ever since that hiking accident?”

“…That too.”

Chen Shiyu's mother's face softened with guilt. If she hadn’t dragged her daughter hiking, she never would’ve slipped and fallen off that cliffside.

They were lucky it had only been a sprain and some scrapes. But to have brushed so close to death… some changes in temperament weren’t unusual.

“Good thing she’s all right,” Chen Shiyu Mother sighed in relief, lifting the lid off a pot. “Want to stay for dinner? Auntie made tomato beef brisket today.”

All right? Really?

Shen Yan’s expression twisted—he wanted to say more, but bit it back.

“Come on, you’re already here. Eat before you go.”

. . . .

Upstairs, in the bathroom—

Shiyu had already washed her hair, now bundled under a shower cap. Her long pale neck gleamed under the steam as she scrubbed soap suds onto her body with a bath sponge, eyes squeezed shut.

Even now, she still finds it hard to look directly at this girl’s body in the mirror. Strictly speaking, this body wasn’t hers—it was stolen. Every glance felt like a trespass, every touch carried guilt.

So she usually kept her bathing mechanical, quick, avoiding certain places as much as possible.

But this time, almost without realizing it, she paused.

Her sponge had stopped at her chest. She pressed down lightly.

—A dull ache. Tight, swollen.

Frowning, she set the sponge aside and laid her bare hands over the soft mounds. Pressed again.

“Hss—”

It wasn’t just soreness. Beneath the skin, she could feel a little hard nub.

And then—like a flashback not her own—memories surged up, resentment-laced, from the body’s teenage years.

She’s developing again?!

Shiyu froze, sucking in a sharp breath. The girl had already gone through puberty once, back in her early teens. But it had been half-baked at best—no underarm hair, and her chest… well, it never grew past a pitiful A-cup.

Maybe that was even why Shen Yan never saw his childhood friend as a real woman. She was nearly grown, but flat as a board, still girlish.

But now? Sixteen, seventeen years old—and she was suddenly growing again? And worse—while she was the one inside this body?!

Her face went pale.

One of the few comforts she’d had was that this body came as a “runway model’s frame”—flat, small, easy to ignore most of the time. Sure, she still had to wear a bra, but she never really felt the weight of it.

If this turned into a D… or even an E cup… what was she supposed to do?!

Hands still covering her chest, she sighed bitterly, palms easily cupping the tiny mounds. Her frustration almost made it sound like she was just complaining they were too small.

But hadn’t she been fine just during the May Day holidays? Nothing unusual then.

Frantically, Shiyu searched her mental library of novels and TV shows for answers. Could it be… all that close contact with people these past days? Had she absorbed too much yang energy?

So that’s why, throughout history, all those fox spirit legends always described them as… curvy, voluptuous seductresses?

After her shower, with no plans to go out again that night, Chen Shiyu slipped into a light silk pajama set—short sleeves and shorts—and padded downstairs.

“Mom! What’s for dinner?”

“By the way, where did we put the umbrellas? I couldn’t find one this morning when I went out.”

Her voice was soft and sugary, almost like she was deliberately acting spoiled.

“There should be plenty of umbrellas at home. After dinner, check the storage room,” her mother called back.

Only when she reached the bottom of the stairs did Shiyu notice Shen Yan was still there, holding a small bowl of beef brisket and chatting happily with her mother.

When Shen Yan glanced her way, his eyes flicked—just once—down to the pale line of thigh revealed by her shorts. He looked away immediately, but not before catching a glimpse that left him unsettled.

Had her legs… gotten a bit meatier? Before, they’d been all bone, stick-thin and awkward. But now, somehow, they looked softer, fuller, with a touch of real allure.

The memory of carrying her earlier—the delicate weight, the faint warmth still imprinted in his palms—suddenly resurfaced.

“You’re having dinner here tonight?” Shiyu asked, slipping into the chair beside him. She picked up her chopsticks and awkwardly grabbed a couple of morning glory stems.

“Just a few bites of brisket before I go. It’s not like you like eating it.”

Not like I like it? Who told you that?!

I could live three days without vegetables—but not a single meal without meat, thank you very much!

But with her mother present, suddenly changing eating habits would look too suspicious.

“Shishi, here, this bowl is for you.” Her mother ladled out a generous serving of brisket and set it by her hand. “Finish it, all right? Look how skinny you are.”

She was always trying to sneak extra meat into her daughter’s meals, worried she wasn’t eating enough.

It baffled her—Shiyu’s cheeks were still adorably round, but the rest of her body, especially her chest, refused to fill out.

“Mmhm!”

Shiyu nodded sweetly, though her eyes darted, just for a second, toward her mother’s bustline.

Looks like there aren’t any ‘endowed genes’ in this family after all. Phew. That’s one less thing to worry about.

“Xiao Shen, how are things at school lately?”

Her mother always liked to chat over meals, smiling warmly as she asked.

“Pretty good, I guess?” Shen Yan replied.

“And Shishi? How’s she been doing at school?”

He hesitated, then said, “Same as always, really. Daydreaming in class, zoning out, gossiping with classmates… she never stops talking.”

“I do not!”

“Right. And who was it yesterday that got beaned by the teacher’s chalk?”

“That was Chen Jing! She started talking to me first!”

Her mother shot Shiyu a sharp look. “You’ve always been chatty in class. Still haven’t changed after all these years. You’re in your second year of high school now—do you really have that much to say?”

Shiyu wrinkled her nose in annoyance and shot Shen Yan a death glare.

“And where were you two after school last night? Why so late getting home?”

She turned that warning glare full-force on him.

If you tell her we went to an internet café, I swear…

“We went to the net—”

Shen Yan caught himself, froze, then met Shiyu’s eyes. Her look had softened, pleading, but underneath it he could see the smug satisfaction.

“…Net?” her mother prompted.

“We went to a movie. One starring Faye Wong,” he blurted.

Her mother looked puzzled for a moment, vaguely remembering the actress, then her smile returned. “That’s fine then. If you’re the one taking her, I can relax. It’s good for her to go out sometimes.”

Shen Yan scratched his head helplessly. Both families had already quietly assumed these two childhood friends were a couple. But in reality… not quite.

“I should get going now, dinner’s waiting at home.”

“Take some brisket with you. Shishi doesn’t even like meat that much anyway.”

Not like meat?! Didn’t you just see me finishing this bowl already?!

Finally, she couldn’t hold back. “Mom, I want another bowl.”

“…What?” Her mother blinked in surprise.

“Your food just tastes really good today!”