Chapter 25: PE Class

Chapter 25: PE Class

PE class was a rare luxury—especially when it turned into free activity.

Normally, school life was a relentless grind: one class after another, from morning reading all the way until dismissal. Hardly even a moment of breathing room.

But even during “free activity,” nearly half the students rushed back to the classroom to cram practice problems.

Shiyu honestly had no idea why they were so obsessed with competing.

What was the point? She was going to switch bodies one day anyway! Trade up for some tall, handsome college guy! Change tracks entirely!

In the far corner of the field—

Shiyu sat on the edge of a flower bed with her legs spread wide apart, lounging like some roughneck dude.

Whenever she was alone, she made a conscious effort to resist the creeping influence of the “girl memories” in her head. The last thing she wanted was to lose her twenty-odd years of male life to the roleplay of some sweet schoolgirl persona.

Leaning forward, elbows propped on her knees, a lollipop between her lips—right now, her masculinity was off the charts!

—At least until someone looked her way. Then she’d immediately switch back to a sweet, girly smile.

Between “manly swagger” and “getting beaten to death for being exposed,” the choice was obvious.

“Shiyu! Where’d you get the lollipop?”

Chen Jing jogged over, all smiles.

“From Shen Yan’s mom this morning,” Shiyu replied, fishing a few more out of her pocket and shoving them all into Chen Jing’s hands. “Here, hand these out to everyone.”

“Okay~ Want to hit the shop and buy some snacks?”

“I’ll go check. We’ll just grab whatever.”

As they strolled toward the campus shop, Shiyu’s eyes wandered toward the basketball courts.

There, Shen Yan had just grabbed a ball from the equipment room. He and a dozen other boys were busy splitting into teams for a game.

Shiyu actually knew how to play basketball.

Back in her past life, at 178 cm tall, she’d played plenty through middle and high school, even a bit in college—at least until PC games stole her attention and turned her into a homebody.

But now? She was only 160 cm…

Digging in her pockets, Shiyu muttered under her breath, “Earphones… did I leave them in the desk drawer?”

“Huh? Abs? Did you say you saw abs? Is there a hottie? Where?!” Chen Jing perked up immediately, craning her neck and bouncing on her toes as she followed Shiyu’s gaze toward the courts. “Where, where!? I don’t see him!”

Shiyu sighed inwardly. Truly, the sins of her predecessor were great. To think such a pretty girl had been corrupted into this…

“I said earphones.”

“…Oh?” Chen Jing flushed red, then tried to cover her slip with the most awkward topic shift ever. “W-Want some ice cream? The three-color cup?”

“…”

What a pathetic deflection.

Shiyu still felt too self-conscious around pretty girls to tease her for it. Instead, she just nodded. “Sure. My treat.”

After all, when walking with a beautiful girl, she couldn’t help but want to show off a little. Ice cream wasn’t that expensive anyway.

The shop was tucked beneath the boys’ dorms, a small convenience store supposedly run by the PE teacher’s family. Prices were always about fifty cents higher than outside.

Since class was still in session, most of the customers inside were familiar classmates. But Shiyu also spotted a girl she didn’t recognize—almost certainly cutting class.

Her nose twitched. A faint feline musk clung to the girl.

Cat owner?

“Well, since you’re paying! I want Häagen-Dazs!”

The moment they walked in, Chen Jing made a beeline for the ice cream freezer.

Shiyu froze in horror, rushing forward.

“I don’t have that kind of money!!”

“Just kidding~” Chen Jing finally settled on a three-flavor ice cream cup after much deliberation.

Shiyu bought herself a Green Tongue popsicle. She hadn’t seen this brand in ages—it was her childhood favorite.

“Cone.”

A pale hand slipped into the freezer.

The class-skipping girl grabbed a cone and then stared directly at Shiyu.

And honestly—she was pretty. But with that deadpan expression, she seemed distant, almost cold. On top of that, she couldn’t be more than 150 cm tall… short enough that even Shiyu could look down on her.

Shiyu froze under her gaze. The two locked eyes until Shiyu, unable to withstand the silent pressure, finally averted her eyes.

“…Am I paying for that?”

God, staring down a pretty girl was way too stressful~

“Thanks!”

The girl clutched her cone and hurried off.

“Who was that?” Shiyu muttered, completely lost.

“No idea. A transfer student maybe?” Chen Jing guessed, wooden spoon still in her mouth as she dug into her cup. “If a girl that cute had been around before, I’d definitely remember. Unless she’s new.”

“…So I just got hustled for ice cream?”

Shiyu frowned but didn’t dwell on it too much.

The two of them wandered back toward the basketball courts, where the crowd was thickest. Boys were on the court playing, girls ringed the flowerbeds nearby, chatting and gossiping in clusters.

Shiyu found herself a spot to sit, unwrapped her Green Tongue, and slipped it into her mouth—sucking idly, occasionally pulling it out for a lazy lick.

“Whoa, Shi Lei’s got abs!” someone squealed.

“Oh~” Shiyu responded flatly.

Shi Lei was the classic brawn-over-brains type: always showing off, often missing from class, and basically the resident “sports kid.”

Still, Shiyu didn’t mind him—she was introverted by nature, and it was fun to tease meatheads now and then.

“Shiyu?”

“Hm?”

“These past few days…” Chen Jing hesitated, before blurting it out, “Have you… not been yourself? You just feel… off.”

“Mm… maybe?”

Shiyu lowered her head, giving her popsicle a thoughtful lick. Casually, she cut ties with Shen Yan while tossing in an excuse: “Shen Yan said he doesn’t like me. Said he doesn’t think we’re dating. Kind of messed with my mood.”

“What? You’re not? But I saw you two goofing around today—you seemed so close.”

“Well, we’ve been childhood friends forever. Hard to make a move when you’re that familiar.”

“Pfft, better to keep the goodies in the family than let an outsider get them!”

“…Uh.” Shiyu scrambled for words, then forced a smile. “Anyway… just gonna let things happen naturally. Better to focus on exams for now, right? Long-distance college relationships suck.”

“True enough.”

When Shiyu looked back up, the game on the court had suddenly turned intense. Boys were going all out—steals, rebounds, flashy dunks. Every one of them seemed desperate to put on a show for the crowd of watching girls.

She spotted Shen Yan snag a rebound, dash down the court solo, and slam in a perfect dunk.

Her posture straightened instinctively, her eyes locked on him, practically sparkling.

It was like the raw energy of youth itself was washing over her.

And Shiyu—the “old-timer college grad” trapped in a girl’s body—felt utterly overwhelmed. Envious. Bitter.

—So the so-called weak nerd could actually look cool on the court, huh?

If only it were her—

Shiyu let out a sigh, full of resentment. Of all the bodies she could’ve possessed, why this one? Weak, frail, only good for acting cute.

She took a sulky bite of her Green Tongue. That’s when Chen Jing leaned close, grin playful, eyes mischievous.

“…What?”

“You look like you’re sucking on something indecent~ So naughty!”

“…Huh?”

The words took a moment to click. When they did, Shiyu’s face went crimson. She brandished her half-melted popsicle and jabbed it toward Chen Jing’s mouth in embarrassment and fury.

“You pervert! Say that again, I’ll stuff it down your throat!”

“You’re the one who taught me this stuff!”

But Chen Jing was already darting away with a laugh, nimble as a rabbit, bouncing over to join the other girls.

Shiyu shot her a glare, slumped back down, and gnawed at her popsicle in defeat.

A quiet sigh slipped out.

“…Can’t I meet a single pure, sweet girl for once? Why is it always me getting teased?”

After all—she used to be the guy, damn it!

If you want to see more chapter of this story and don't mind spending $5 monthly to see till the latest chapter, please go to my Patreon:

Latest Chapter in Patreon: Chapter 45: Unease

Link to the latest chapter: https://www.patreon.com/posts/139085719?collection=1683767

https://www.patreon.com/collection/1683767?view=expanded