Chapter 9

When I returned to school from Ruo Xiaoxuan’s house, it was already past six in the evening.

Carrying my somewhat tired body, I made my way back to the dorm.

Upon opening the door, I found only the eldest, Shuo Yan, inside. Our fourth roommate, Su Guo, was probably at the library.

At that moment, Shuo Yan was sitting on a chair wearing an oversized white shirt, her fair legs swinging back and forth.

On the desk sat a laptop, and Shuo Yan’s left hand was furiously pounding the keyboard while her right hand quickly moved the mouse. Her hand speed, the result of 19 years of being single, was no joke.

“Damn it, these trash teammates, just hurry up and shoot already!”

A few seconds later, with the explosion of the central nexus, Shuo Yan frustratedly and angrily took off her headphones.

“Boss, did you lose rank again? I told you to wait until I got back to play together.”

“Sigh, this game is dead to me. I’ll find some time to uninstall it.”

Shuo Yan sighed, closed the game client, shut her laptop, and said to me, “You’re finally back. I was bored to death being alone in the dorm. Fourth brother went to the library this afternoon, leaving me here all by myself.”

“With your adorable voice, there should be tons of people asking you to team up in games. How could you be bored?”

After all, girls are still relatively rare in “League of Legends“, and with Shuo Yan’s current cute little loli appearance and her sweet voice, I bet many LSPs would come flocking.

“Forget it. My previous game friends grossed me out. The way they talk is unbearable. Damn, I’m not some man-candy,” she said with a tone of disdain.

Both Shuo Yan and I are veteran players from the S3 era, and over the years, we’ve naturally made a lot of friends in the game. Shuo Yan, with her bold, masculine personality, was especially popular and often dragged into games by friends.

Now that she had turned into a loli, I imagine her inbox must be filled with messages trying to flirt with her.

Pfft. I hadn’t seen it myself, but just imagining it made me want to laugh.

“Boss, didn’t you say you wanted to be a streamer before? I think now’s the perfect time. Your stream would be an instant hit!” I gave her a thumbs-up.

I wasn’t joking. Shuo Yan’s skill level was decent — on par with Qian Zexing, both being Master rank players in the first region. But the most crucial thing was that her current appearance would be enough to make a bunch of Ah Wei faint. The hospitals wouldn’t have enough blood bags to cope!

Also, Shuo Yan had a knack for entertaining.

In any social situation, Shuo Yan could always lead the conversation, make it engaging, and smoothly transition between topics, making everyone feel comfortable and thoroughly enjoy the interaction.

Simply put, Boss’s emotional intelligence was off the charts. Not streaming would be a waste of talent.

“What are you talking about, second brother? I tried streaming before, but it didn’t gain any traction. Forget it, I’m not good enough,” Shuo Yan said with a bitter smile, shaking her head.

“You never know until you try again! Come on, cute little Yan Yan~” I hinted with a look.

Shuo Yan caught on, glanced down at her own body, and suddenly blushed, her voice tinged with embarrassment.

“Wh-what are you saying, you idiot? How could I show myself looking like this… especially on such a big streaming platform? That would be a public execution…”

Uh-oh, Boss looks kind of cute like this — just like a shy and tsundere loli straight out of an anime. The kind that is 70% shy and 30% tsundere.

Nope, Yu Li, you’ve got to calm down. Thinking about your best bro like this is wrong.

I quickly tried to hypnotize myself, imagining Shuo Yan as her original self. But when I opened my eyes again and saw her fair thighs and adorable little face, the image of the old Shuo Yan in my mind seemed to fade further and further away.

I discreetly looked away and, trying to sound calm, said, “Boss, I’ve got something to do tonight. I’ll change clothes and head out. If you get bored, just call fourth brother back.”

“You’ve got plans tonight? Oh, must be a date with that beautiful girl from this morning, right?”

She sighed, her eyes filled with the melancholy of an adult. “Even you, second brother, are finding someone, huh? Oh well, it’s just me and fourth brother left in the single’s club.”

“Boss, you’re overthinking it. After observing this morning, you should know that since we gender-swapped, our social dynamics have changed. Le Ya just sees me as a pure friend.”

“True, true. She’s not some kind of lolicon after all. She probably just sees you as a little sister now.” Shuo Yan’s mood brightened instantly. “Anyway, be safe on your way out. Don’t get lured away by a creepy guy offering candy.”

“Hmph! I’d knock out any pervert who tries. Besides, they wouldn’t fool me.”

Suddenly, my phone buzzed in my pocket. I opened the message.

[Xiao Li, the movie starts at 8. Have you eaten dinner yet? Little Kitten peeking out.jpg]

It was a message from Le Ya. She really seemed to like using cute cat emojis in her chats, and my phone was now full of them.

This was one of the few times she had proactively messaged me, aside from the conversation in the cafeteria earlier today.

No matter how close we might be in this world’s current reality, I didn’t have the memories to match it.

My mind was still stuck on the version of me she had rejected — the me who felt small and insignificant.

Now that we’re friends, maybe this is my first real chance to get to know her for who she truly is, instead of the dream-like version of her I used to fantasize about.

After thinking it through, I typed out a reply.

[Not yet, what about you?]

A few seconds later, the phone buzzed again.

[Great! Let’s go out and eat together. There’s a new BBQ place that just opened near the school. Let’s try it out and then head to the movie. Hehe.]

[Okay, I’m in the dorm now. When should we leave?]

[I’ll wait for you downstairs at your dorm~ Oh, and don’t forget to wear the outfit I gave you last time. Kitty making a heart.jpg]

The clothes she gave me last time!? I had a bad feeling this wouldn’t be something “normal” — at least, not something a regular guy like me would feel comfortable in.

I opened my closet and started searching for the clothes, Le Ya had gifted me.

Knowing myself, if someone gave me something, I’d definitely store it properly, at the very least not just toss it somewhere. Especially if it was a gift from Le Ya.

Sure enough, in the middle section of the closet, there was a gift box tied with an elegant ribbon.

I untied the silk ribbon and gently opened it, revealing a neatly folded white dress.

Damn, I had braced myself, but seeing the little dress still made me feel a bit embarrassed.