She didn’t have to wait long. The door to balcony 213 swung open, and Peng Xiaoxiao stepped out, looking utterly bewildered—and startled by the crowd gathered outside. “Holy crap, what the hell are you guys doing?!”

That set off murmurs among the onlookers.

“She’s Shu Yuxin? Doesn’t look that stunning to me…”

“Not stunning? Hah! Kid, you’re clearly a virgin with zero experience. Trust me—this girl, with just a little makeup, would be absolutely drop-dead gorgeous…”

“Give it a rest. Wait, is this really the so-called ‘Ice Queen’?”

“No way. Shu Yuxin’s way prettier than her. This must be her roommate.”

“Huh, seems like all the girls in this dorm are pretty decent-looking…”

Soon enough, the crowd shifted to debating how hard it’d be to “score” any of these girls.

Ignoring those who didn’t recognize Shu Yuxin, the guy standing right in the center—who definitely knew his target—frowned slightly when he realized this wasn’t her. “Hey, beautiful! Can you—”

“You’re looking for Shu Yuxin, right?” Peng Xiaoxiao cut him off, already annoyed. She just wanted to get back to her game. “She’s not in the dorm.”

The guy blinked, clearly skeptical. “Come on, gorgeous, do me a favor—just get Shu Yuxin to come out and talk to me for a sec…”

“I already told you—she’s not here! She specifically said she’s spending tonight in a hotel room!” Peng Xiaoxiao snapped, raising her voice.

The whispers in the crowd swelled instantly.

The guitar guy’s expression darkened. “That’s impossible... Shu Yuxin doesn’t even have a boyfriend! How could she be out checking into a hotel... You—”

“Seriously, dude? Are you that dense?” Peng Xiaoxiao scoffed, finally piecing together what this whole spectacle was about. A memory flashed in her head—the handsome guy who’d visited Shu Yuxin in their dorm once (our very own Jiang Zixuan)—and she naturally assumed he was Shu Yuxin’s boyfriend. So, of course, in her mind, Shu Yuxin must be out with him tonight. She completely overlooked how Shu Yuxin could possibly know someone was looking for her in the first place. Arms crossed, Peng tilted her head toward the dorm room. “Fine! Don’t believe me? Come on up and look for yourself! I’ll even hold the door open for you!”

The guitar slipped from the guy’s arms, clattering to the floor. The late summer night air grew steadily colder—just like his heart, which moments ago had been burning with anticipation.

Seeing he wasn’t responding, Peng Xiaoxiao rolled her eyes and turned back inside. The show was over. The spectators slowly dispersed. The scrawny friend beside the heartbroken guy patted his shoulder sympathetically, trying to look wise beyond his years.

Meanwhile, Shu Yuxin herself was blending right into the dispersing crowd. She’d pulled up her uniform collar to partially hide her face and simply walked right past the two crestfallen would-be suitors. No one noticed that the supposed female lead of this romantic drama had been standing among them all along. A perfect rom-com opening—snuffed out before it even began.

As the lyrics go:  
“I should’ve been under the car, not in it.”
Shu Yuxin thought that line fit the situation perfectly.

Back in the dorm, she closed the door behind her and replayed the guy’s crushed expression in her head. Finally, she burst into laughter.

Peng Xiaoxiao nearly jumped out of her skin. She’d just put her headphones on—not playing any music, just using them as earplugs—and for a second thought her computer had glitched.

It took her a few confused seconds to realize the laughter wasn’t coming through the headphones, but from the girl leaning against the door. “Shu Yuxin? Weren’t you supposed to be out tonight?”

“Hahaha—wait, when did I ever say I wouldn’t come back? Hahaha! I was down there the whole time, watching the drama unfold! Hahaha! His face—oh my god, I’m dying!” Shu Yuxin laughed so hard tears streamed down her cheeks.

She found the whole thing utterly hilarious. Just a month ago, she’d been a guy—and now, out of nowhere, some dude had orchestrated a grand romantic gesture… for her.

Peng Xiaoxiao twitched the corner of her mouth. “Wow… you’ve got a seriously twisted sense of humor…”

So much for “Ice Queen.” Screw that.

Once she finally calmed down, Shu Yuxin wiped her eyes, took a few deep breaths, and headed toward her bed. “Gonna take a shower. This outfit’s killing me.”

“Yeah, no kidding. I’m surprised you lasted this long in it,” Peng Xiaoxiao muttered, slipping her headphones back on.

Shu Yuxin hadn’t brought many clothes when she arrived at school. She’d never cared much about fashion—her mom had scolded her plenty about her lack of style, but Shu couldn’t be bothered to change. If she could wash and dry her clothes daily, two outfits would easily get her through an entire semester. That’d been her routine since high school, and college was no different.

After digging through her closet and pulling out the same clothes she’d worn on enrollment day, Shu Yuxin went out to the balcony to collect yesterday’s washed underwear. Outside, the guitar guy had already left, but a few lingering onlookers remained. Spotting Shu Yuxin on the balcony, someone immediately hollered, “Hey! Isn’t that Shu Yuxin?!”

Instantly, all eyes turned to her.

There she stood—left hand holding a white bra, right hand clutching a pair of white panties—posing like a lingerie salesperson. She spent about two seconds wondering if she should say something, but drew a blank.

So she just turned and walked straight back inside.

The chatter outside exploded again.

Most were saying things like:  
“Wait, didn’t her roommate just say she was out at a hotel? So she *is* in the dorm? She must’ve just used her roommate to brush that guy off! Still, gotta admit—she really does look pretty cold and aloof.”

A few others simply thought:  
“Damn, she’s seriously hot.”

Shu Yuxin, however, had no idea what they were saying—and frankly, didn’t care. Even if they knew she was in the dorm now, that dude probably wouldn’t dare come back. No one, not even the thickest-skinned guy, would risk showing up again after that kind of humiliation.

So while rumors and gossip started quietly spreading, our “goddess” Shu took a relaxing shower, then sat bare-legged at her desk, fired up her computer, stared at the anime girl on her desktop wallpaper for a full minute… then shut it off and climbed into bed.

Her bed curtains created a cozy, private world—offering her a comforting sense of safety. Lying down, Shu Yuxin instinctively reached up to take off her glasses.

Then she froze.

Her old body had been nearsighted—400 degrees in each eye. Without glasses, the world turned into a blurry mess, and wearing them had become second nature over the years. But this new body? Perfect 20/20 vision. No glasses needed. Still, old habits die hard.

With a quiet sigh, she closed her eyes.

Author’s Note:

Honestly, I really should be stockpiling more chapters before signing any contract—but since someone just tossed me 10 monthly votes, I guess I’ll squeeze out another chapter.  

You guys are making this really hard for me.  
Writing definitely isn’t as fun as slacking off...