Chapter 26: After School

Chapter 26: After School

“How was that? Pretty good, right?”

As the final bell neared, Shen Yan grabbed a bottle of water and walked over to Chen Shiyu.

The girl instantly dropped the lazy-old-man posture she’d been slouching in earlier, straightening her back with elegant poise.

“Average.”

“That dunk just now wasn’t cool?”

“It was okay.”

Shen Yan shot her a glare, resting one hand on his hip as he tilted the bottle back and downed half of it in big gulps.

Chen Shiyu glanced up at the sky. It was gray and heavy, but apart from a few scattered drizzles during the day, the rain hadn’t really come down. Somehow, that unsettled her even more.

She hesitated, then asked, “Where are we going after school?”

“Home. This weather looks ready to pour any minute.”

“But it’s not raining now…”

She really wanted to hit up the net café!

If she could, she wanted to drag Shen Yan along to play some Dota!

The excuse of “sharing hobbies” worked fine, but wouldn’t suddenly turning into a gaming addict make her look bad?

Her fingers fidgeted with the hem of her pants as she debated with herself, until she couldn’t hold it back anymore—

“Want to duo queue?”

“…”

Shen Yan didn’t answer. Instead, his face grew oddly serious as he turned his head toward the basketball court.

“What’s wrong?”

Seeing his expression, Chen Shiyu panicked. Had she messed up? Was her invitation too forward? Hurriedly, she tried to patch it up. “I just thought… you seem to mostly play games anyway…”

“But you’re way too noob.”

“….”

Now it was Chen Shiyu’s turn to fall silent.

Excuse me?! She was a cute, pretty girl now! You’re really complaining about skill level when you’ve got a moe girl offering to game with you?!

“I’m trying to rank up to A right now. Next time we can play casual, or maybe Valorant instead?”

Shen Yan almost never queued ranked. Playing at home was dangerous—there was always something popping up.

Family telling him to run errands, take out the trash, eat dinner… the neighbor girl dragging him shopping, scolding him for wasting his life on games, insisting he study with her instead…

This was a competitive game! You couldn’t just hit pause, damn it!

Chen Shiyu lowered her head gloomily and went back to fiddling with her phone.

In her past life, she also hated bringing along newbie girls—it ruined her climb. But now that she was the one being looked down on, her feelings were… complicated.

“Come on, let’s grab our bags.”

Shen Yan cared about her more than before. These days they were practically glued together—he was constantly worried that if he let his guard down, this foxy vixen would run off using his childhood friend's body to seduce some guy.

Even though it was P.E. period, plenty of classmates were still in the room.

Chen Shiyu went to her seat and dug through the thick stack of worksheets and exercise books on her desk until she pulled out today’s homework, shoving it into her mostly empty bag.

Unless necessary, she kept her textbooks in the desk drawer—her bag usually only carried homework and some stationery.

“There’s so much homework today…”

She’d already finished a chunk of it while slacking off in class, but she still figured she’d be writing until at least ten tonight.

Just as she zipped her bag, the dismissal bell rang.

Watching her classmates bolt for the door like a tidal wave, Chen Shiyu frowned, picked up her phone, and glanced at the health app’s period tracker.

Tomorrow…

This body always got its period mid-month, and lasted an entire week, which was longer than she’d expected.

She had the girl’s memories, but this was still her first time personally experiencing it.

Just the thought made her shiver.

“Shiyu.”

At once, Chen Shiyu pasted on her usual bright, bubbly smile. “Coming, coming~”

Seeing her bounding over to him like an eager puppy, Shen Yan couldn’t help imagining a wagging tail behind her.

Well… foxes were technically canines, right?

“Why the long face?” Shen Yan teased as he slung his bag over his shoulder and strode out of the classroom first. “Come on, tell me. Maybe it’ll cheer me up.”

“Ehh~”

Trailing after him, Chen Shiyu’s smile stiffened at the corners.

Although she knew that periods were just a normal biological phenomenon for all women, nothing to be ashamed of, it was still different for her. After all, she used to be a man. Something like this—private, uniquely female—made her feel awkward. Talking about it was out of the question.

Chen Shiyu casually tossed out an excuse. “Just… not feeling well.”

Maybe it was just her imagination, but ever since she started worrying about her period, she’d felt a faint heaviness in her lower abdomen. A dull, sinking discomfort.

Like a warning bell, telling her it was about to come.

Her hand brushed against the side pocket of her schoolbag. That was where girls were supposed to keep a few pads for emergencies. But she hadn’t gotten into the habit yet.

…It should be fine, right?

“By the way, Shiyu—there’s this new game coming out in a few days!”

On the concrete road leading out of school, Shen Yan suddenly turned back to her, his eyes lighting up.

In the past, he’d forced himself to talk about whatever dramas or shows the girl liked—even if he couldn’t care less. But now, finally, he could talk about something he actually enjoyed.

“A game?” Chen Shiyu tilted her head, pretending to think. “Oh~ that one, Stellar Blade?”

He froze. She even knew that? Had she done research in advance?

Shen Yan grinned and nodded. “Yeah, it’s coming to PC. I even pre-ordered.”

“I saw the trailer. You’re such a perv!”

It wasn’t exactly R-18, but let’s just say it wasn’t far off either.

Shen Yan’s face flushed. He scratched his head awkwardly.

He should’ve brought up a normal game instead. He’d assumed she didn’t know much about single-player titles.

“But the heroine really is gorgeous~ That body! That ass!”

When it came to talking about games—or cute girls—Chen Shiyu was in her element. Her clear, lively eyes sparkled as she leaned in. “I heard there are mods, too. Who knows what kind of outfits people will make!”

“Uh…”

Shen Yan couldn’t bring himself to joke about that kind of thing in front of his childhood friend.

Even if he knew she was a fox spirit.

Even if he suspected that, deep down, she was way less innocent than she looked.

“Let me borrow it when you’re done!”

“…How do you even know all this?” Shen Yan quickly changed the subject, narrowing his eyes.

Chen Shiyu was ready. She whipped out her phone and tapped open a game-news app. “See? I downloaded this! Everyone’s been talking about that game lately.”

Trying to cover herself, she added lightly, “Since you’re into games, I figured I should learn a bit, too.”

In truth, she’d known about it years ago—back when she was still a guy.

Shen Yan didn’t know what to say. He just gave a halfhearted nod. “Mm. I’ll let you play when I’m done.”

“Oh! And there’s a new domestic game coming out this summer too! Did you buy that one?”

“Pre-ordered that as well.”

“You’re loaded, huh~”

“I’ve been saving up my allowance for a long time.”

The more they talked, the more the words flowed. When it came to games, neither of them could shut up. And for once, Shen Yan was genuinely having fun—whatever niche topic he brought up, Chen Shiyu always seemed to keep up.

Not many guys could do that, let alone girls.

As they walked home, they laughed and talked, Chen Shiyu forgetting all about her earlier discomfort.

“Hey, want me to come over after dinner to do homework?”

Standing at his doorstep, she turned back and asked.

Of course, what she was really eyeing was Shen Yan’s computer.

“I’m fine with whatever. Up to you.”

Shen Yan was in high spirits. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d enjoyed a conversation with his childhood friend this much. 

Now, if only she weren’t a fox spirit.

Sure enough, fox spirit really knew how to play to a man’s heart.

“Then it’s settled—see you later!”

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