Chapter 6: On the Bus

Chapter 6: On the Bus

Both Chen Shiyu and Shen Yan were day students.

Standing under the shabby little bus stop sign, Chen Shiyu tilted her head back, studying the few sparse bus routes listed there, trying her best to match the station names to the fragments of memory in her head.

They didn’t wait long before a blue bus rumbled to a stop in front of them.

“Shishi!”

“Coming!”

Following Shen Yan aboard, Chen Shiyu scanned her code—two yuan—then lifted her gaze for a quick sweep of the bus. Nearly every seat was already taken. Only a couple of empty spots remained at the back, but they’d mean sitting shoulder to shoulder with strangers.

Without hesitation, she made her choice.

Chen Shiyu moved to the window, gripping the horizontal bar and letting her eyes wander outside.

The town buildings were all low and weathered, their facades faded yellow with age. But the streets were surprisingly tidy—no piles of trash in sight. Though ringed almost completely by mountains, the town wasn’t backward or cut off. Most urban conveniences were present. The only thing lacking was ride-hailing apps; most folks still preferred the cheap, ever-present three-wheeled taxis that lined the roadside.

“Shishi, come sit here.”

Hearing Shen Yan’s call, Chen Shiyu turned her head. He’d grabbed a free seat and was patting his thigh with exaggerated enthusiasm, beckoning her over.

Her lips twitched.

‘I’d rather sit with a stranger in the back than do that!’

The moment of disdain that flickered across her pretty face only made Shen Yan more mischievous. Grinning, he patted his leg harder.

“Come on, what are you shy about? You planning to stand the whole half hour?”

Act! Keep acting, fox spirit!

Sure, he didn’t have a solid plan for dealing with this impostor who’d taken over his childhood friend’s body. But if he could make her squirm a little? That much he could do.

Chen Shiyu glanced nervously at the other passengers. If she were still a guy, sitting on a classmate’s lap in public wouldn’t have been such a big deal. But now she was a girl...

And refusing would only make her look guilty.

Suppressing a sigh, she forced a bright, teasing smile onto her lips—the kind that would fit this role—and stepped forward. Carefully, she perched on the edge of Shen Yan’s knee, back ramrod straight to keep a proper distance, hands gripping the seat in front to steady herself.

“Don’t complain I’m heavy.”

“As if I would.”

Shen Yan could feel the tension running through her body. Her cheeks flushed with an embarrassed pink, giving away her discomfort.

Chen Shiyu ducked her head. The faint whispers of other passengers reached her ears—murmurs, speculation. Her fingers clenched tightly at her pants, toes curling hard inside her shoes.

For a shut-in like her, this kind of public attention was nothing short of a social death sentence.

Are these two childhood friends really this close? Not even caring about appearances?

Her brain scrambled, failing to pull up any clear memories to confirm. The only thing she could do was pretend not to care, eyes dropping to her phone as if she were scrolling.

“Hey, didn’t a new J-drama come out recently?”

“Huh? What?”

Chen Shiyu froze, blinking blankly.

“Weren’t you the one obsessed with J-dramas? It dropped yesterday—the one starring your favorite actor.”

J-dramas... huh?

Chen Shiyu had never even bothered with Japanese movies, let alone dramas. At most, she’d seen some commentary videos. She was completely lost.

Digging desperately through the girl’s memories, she cobbled together a clumsy response:

“Oh... that one. Haven’t watched it yet. I was catching up on homework yesterday.”

To be fair, a person’s memory was a messy thing. Even your own recollections couldn’t be instantly summoned at will—otherwise nobody would ever forget ancient poems or English vocabulary.

“I’m kinda tired. Let’s not talk for now.”

Chen Shiyu yawned, leaning forward to rest her head against the seatback ahead, eyes fluttering shut.

She really was exhausted. Night after night of poor sleep…

Honestly, the only good rest she’d had lately was that one night at Shen Yan’s house.

Seeing her drift into silence, Shen Yan said no more. Chen Shiyu sat quietly with eyes closed, the two childhood friends pressed close together in a way that should’ve been natural.

But behind their closeness, both carried secrets, each hiding their own thoughts in silence.

How do I expose this thing’s true face?

It was Shen Yan’s first time encountering something supernatural—a fox spirit, no less. He had no clue where to even begin. Even calling the police seemed impossible. What would he say? And worse, what if this fox had the kind of powers novels and dramas always hinted at? If he pushed too hard and it lashed out, wouldn’t his family be the first to suffer?

How do I get back into a man’s body?

On the other side, Chen Shiyu—now stuck playing the role of a fox spirit in a high school girl’s body—was equally lost. To this day, she still hadn’t figured out why she had become “Chen Shiyu” at all.

The bus jolted to a stop. What had been a roomy cabin moments ago was suddenly crammed with new passengers.

Chen Shiyu swayed with the motion, upper body rocking lightly. It jarred her out of the drowsiness that had been pulling her down. She yawned, blinking awake—strangely, those few minutes of resting with her eyes closed had refreshed her even more than last night’s so-called “sleep.”

“Shiyu?”

“Shiyu! Why are you sitting on his lap~?”

The voice snapped her eyes open. It took her a second too long to realize—someone she knew had just called her out.

She turned her head.

A short-haired girl with bright eyes had just stepped onto the bus, smiling knowingly as she grabbed a dangling strap.

Whoa—look at that school badge— and—holy crap, she’s stacked!

The girl’s gaze was sharp, curious, full of gossip that burned like fire. Her eyes darted between Chen Shiyu and Shen Yan, amusement curling her lips.

Faced with such a pretty girl, Chen Shiyu’s old instincts—her male instincts—kicked in full force. She practically bounced to her feet.

“My foot hurts! I couldn’t stand properly!”

Her excuse tumbled out, hands shooting up to grab the overhead strap. She tried to steady herself against the sway of the bus, while her mind scrambled. A few seconds of hard thinking, and she finally matched the girl’s face with the fragments of memory she carried.

Chen Jing. A classmate who usually sat behind her. They were on good terms—often going to and from school together, chatting gossip, sneaking off for cheap snacks after class.

“Your foot hurts?”

“Yeah, I tripped back during May Day. Still sore.”

She clung to the excuse, desperate to salvage some dignity in front of this beauty.

“You fell? Are you okay?” Chen Jing’s eyes flicked downward in concern, scanning her shoes.

“It’s fine. I already saw a doctor...”

“Hey! Shen Yan, how could you sit there all comfortable while your girlfriend has to stand?”

“Huh? Girlfriend?”

Shen Yan looked up, stunned. Chen Jing was glaring at him like he was the villain of the story. He could only give an awkward laugh, standing to yield the spot. “Alright, alright—sit. You two sit together.”

Chen Shiyu didn’t bother pretending. Her legs were short, clinging to the strap was tiring. She dropped into Shen Yan’s vacated seat with relief.

But Chen Jing wasn’t about to let her off easy.

“Move in. What, is your butt that big?”

“What—no, there’s only room for one—”

“Come on, squeeze a little. There’s always space if you make it.”

“Why’s your face so red today? Acting all weird.”

Shen Yan noticed too. Chen Shiyu’s face was flushed bright, her movements stiff, as if she had no idea what to do with her hands and feet. Just a few days ago her act had been flawless. Now it was crumbling fast—red cheeks, shy eyes, fidgeting posture. Even someone like Chen Jing, who had only just boarded, picked up on the strangeness right away.

This fox is more comfortable around men than women, huh? Figures...

Shen Yan silently cursed in his heart.