Chapter 4: The Bedroom

Chapter 4: The Bedroom

The morning drizzle had already stopped.

Chen Shiyu’s house was just across a four-lane cement road from Shen Yan’s. Trucks passed by often, leaving potholes everywhere. A few minutes was all it took for her to cross and return home.

On the dining table sat two dishes and a soup. A small rice bowl was placed in front of her. Chen Shiyu picked at her food one bite at a time, movements so dainty and slow that anyone watching would get anxious.

In truth, she was very anxious.

After spending months as a fox, this hot meal made her want to just splash it with soup and wolf it down in seconds. More importantly, she didn’t want to stay under her mother’s watchful gaze too long—what if she slipped and got found out? The faster she finished, the faster she could escape.

But… that wasn’t “in character.”

“Does your foot still hurt? Want to go back to the hospital this afternoon?” her mother asked gently from across the table.

“It doesn’t hurt if I don’t put weight on it. The doctor said it was fine.”

Shiyu lowered her head immediately afterward, focusing on her food, not daring to start a conversation.

As the real Chen Shiyu, she should’ve been chattering nonstop at the table. But she had no clue what kind of topics mother and daughter usually shared. Better to keep her mouth shut than say something wrong.

Her mother, however, noticed. “You’ve been awfully quiet these past two days.”

“Eh… there’s just not much to talk about?”

“So grown up now. You’ve got things on your mind, but you won’t tell your own mother.”

“That’s not it…”

Shiyu awkwardly rubbed the bridge of her nose. But halfway through, she remembered. Quickly, she twisted a strand of hair around her finger instead, twirling it like a prop in some cutesy drama.

Her mother narrowed her eyes, a playful smile tugging at her lips. “Don’t tell me you’ve got someone you like?”

“As if!” Chen Shiyu shot back instantly.

“What, did you and Shen Yan fight?”

—So mom already knew. 

In fact, judging from her tone, she probably already had Shen Yan pegged as her future son-in-law.

“Moooom~”

With no choice, Chen Shiyu pinched her throat, forcing a higher pitch as she whined and pouted, plastering on a shy, embarrassed look.

Then she shoveled down the rest of her rice, practically ran to clear the dishes, and bolted upstairs.

“I’m doing homework!”

Her home’s layout was the same as Shen Yan’s—three floors. Kitchen, dining, and living room downstairs. Bathroom and master bedroom on the second. Two smaller bedrooms on the third.

Safe in her own room, door locked, Chen Shiyu finally let her guard drop. Her face crumpled, and she flopped onto the bed like a corpse.

“Ughhh, I’m so done with this!”

She rubbed at her cheeks until the fake smile ached, then snarled into the pillows.

“When the hell is this gonna end?!”

Gone was the sweet, lively girl everyone else saw. Instead, she was a ball of negativity, eyes flat and lifeless, staring up at the pastel pink wallpaper with dead-fish resignation.

And then she remembered the massive pile of holiday homework for May Day.

“Ahhh! I don’t wanna do it!”

Good thing Chen Shiyu’s grades had only ever been average. If she were a top student, her cover would’ve been blown immediately the moment school started.

After venting her frustration like a sulky gamer on cooldown, she finally sat up, dead inside, and let out a long sigh.

The room had no computer, no tablet, no game console. For a hardcore gamer, it was pure torture.

What it did have was an army of plushies. On the bed, on the carpet, on the desk. The old Chen Shiyu had been every bit the archetypal soft, sweet girl—pink, frilly, and heart-melting.

Dragging herself to the wardrobe, she looked into the full-length mirror.

On the outside: a cute, adorable schoolgirl.

On the inside: dead eyes, gloomy aura, posture like a zombie.

From downstairs, her mother’s voice pierced through the house:

“Shishi! Don’t forget your bath tonight! You’re starting to smell, you know!”

Shiyu froze. Her cheeks went crimson.

How could she forget? That first bath, stumbling around with her eyes squeezed shut, barely splashing herself clean in shame and panic…

“Kill me now…” she muttered, covering her face.

The next two days, she kept making excuses to skip bathing. Luckily, the weather wasn’t too hot yet, and without much exercise, she didn’t sweat either.

Of course, as a virgin boy deep inside, she was curious just how beautiful a girl’s body really was. But every time the thought even brushed past, an unstoppable wave of shame would slam into her.

Her gaze slipped downward against her will.

Through the thin white T-shirt, she could make out a faint curve on her chest.

Not large… but just right.

Her eyes slid lower, toward that forbidden triangular zone at her stomach. One quick glance was enough to send her heart into panic. She tore her gaze away, fumbling to rub at her nose.

“Too sinful!”

As a fellow virgin, Chen Shiyu could completely understand how Shen Yan had managed to resist his childhood friend’s temptations all these years.

In short? He was a coward.

—Or maybe, just maybe, they were too close. Because they were growing up together, he’s treating her like a little sister—making a move would feel impossible.

At that thought, Shiyu’s eyes flicked toward the window.

Across the street, past the roadside trees, on the third floor of the house opposite… stood Shen Yan.

Her heart lurched, skipping a beat.

Was he… watching her? Or had he just happened to wander to his window at the exact wrong moment? The distance made it impossible to tell. But the icy chill of being peeped at prickled down her back all the same.

“Did he… notice something?”

Her guilty conscience spiked. She panicked, frozen between options. If she rushed to yank the curtains shut, it would look far too suspicious. So instead, she forced the driest, most awkward smile in Shen Yan’s direction, not even sure he could see it from that far.

Then she fled the window entirely, retreating to the desk in the corner where she couldn’t be seen.

The desk was a mess of homework and textbooks, but she had no heart for studying. Chin in hand, brow furrowed, she stared blankly—until her eyes caught on something on her shoulder.

A strand of red hair.

She’d ignored it before. But now, in her mind’s eye, she saw herself as a fox—bright crimson fur, snow-white at the tip of her tail.

“…But I’m human now, aren’t I?”

“It’s just a loose thread, right?”

Even as she muttered reassurance, her pulse raced.

“No, it’s fine. If Shen Yan really suspected, he would’ve called the cops on me already…”

She drew in several deep breaths, then ran both hands roughly through her hair, frustration bubbling over. With a sharp motion, she stood.

“That’s it! I’ll just take a bath!”

Her nerves were already a wreck. She couldn’t focus on anything else.

Digging through her wardrobe, she pulled out a set of short sleeves and shorts. After a moment’s hesitation, she opened the drawer and retrieved a set of pink cartoon-print underwear and plain white cotton panties. The pieces of fabric were so small she couldn’t help doubting whether they could even count as clothes.

When she’d first ended up in this body, the original owner had naturally been wearing underwear. Two days later, she’d just about managed to get used to the alien sensation of the extra fabric hugging her skin.

“…Bathing, huh…”

Clutching the clothes to her chest, she descended the stairs and entered the bathroom on the second floor.

The mere thought of that slender, delicate body undressing—her body now—was enough to send a fiery shame burning through her. Her earlier panic and anxiety were swept clean away. Her face flushed red to the point of glowing, steam practically hissing from her head.

“I-it’s not like I want this! It’s your mom who keeps nagging me to take a bath!”

“…Besides, thanks to your memories, I’ve already seen everything anyway…”

“…So… just touching a little shouldn’t be a big deal… right?”