When she opened her eyes again, it was still dark outside the dormitory.

Shu Yuxin had been woken by noise.

In her drowsy state, she thought she heard Peng Xiaoxiao angrily shouting, “Why did you bring him in here?! Do you think this is your own home?!”

“It’s none of your business! Who gave you the right to interfere?” came another girl’s voice. If Shu Yuxin remembered correctly, that was Cheng Xiaonan.

Rubbing her eyes, Shu Yuxin first checked her phone, then pulled aside her bed curtain and poked her head out.

It was 11:30 p.m.—right at the dorm’s curfew time. Su Ya had somehow returned already and was now sitting at her desk, holding a thick book. She was biting her lip and watching the scene unfolding in the middle of the room, her expression timid.

Standing in the center of the dorm, besides Peng Xiaoxiao and Cheng Xiaonan, was a man.

He was quite handsome and neatly dressed. He stood quietly behind Cheng Xiaonan, watching as the two girls argued without saying a word.

Shu Yuxin frowned slightly.

This was a girls’ dormitory, after all.

Peng Xiaoxiao’s face was flushed red with fury. “None of my business?! The person in Bed No. 1 is automatically the dorm leader—don’t you forget! And this is a girls’ dorm! What exactly are you trying to do bringing a man in here?!”

Cheng Xiaonan, stunned into silence for a moment, couldn’t find a decent comeback. Glaring furiously at Peng Xiaoxiao, she grabbed the man by the arm and dragged him toward her own bed. “You’re the one with a problem…” she muttered under her breath.

“You’re the one with the damn problem!” Peng Xiaoxiao shot back. Seeing Cheng Xiaonan ignore her, she stormed out of the room. “I’m going to get the dorm supervisor!”

Cheng Xiaonan didn’t care. She climbed up onto her bed and waved to the man below. “Come on up.”

The man looked embarrassed. He glanced first at Su Ya, who sat curled up like a frightened rabbit in her chair, then over at Shu Yuxin, who was still peering out from her bed.

Their eyes met for a second. The man lifted his hand and gave a shy wave. “Hi…”

“What are you waiting for? Get up here!” Cheng Xiaonan called impatiently from above, her voice sharp with irritation.

The man nodded, quickly looked away from Shu Yuxin, and climbed up onto Cheng Xiaonan’s bed. The pink bed curtain was pulled shut, cutting off Shu Yuxin’s view.

Shu Yuxin stared at the curtain for a while, then pulled her head back inside with a puzzled expression.

This girl really had some nerve—bringing a guy straight into the dorm like this. Was she broke and couldn’t afford a hotel room, or what? Didn’t she worry he might sneak into someone else’s bed in the middle of the night?

Peng Xiaoxiao returned quickly—only to find the dorm supervisor wasn’t there.

Back inside, she glared at Cheng Xiaonan’s curtained bed and muttered something under her breath. She’d clearly lost interest in using her computer. After packing up her stuff, she climbed the ladder. Since Peng Xiaoxiao and Shu Yuxin shared the same ladder, once she reached the top, she glanced toward her own bed, then immediately crawled into Shu Yuxin’s.

Before Shu Yuxin could react, Peng Xiaoxiao flopped onto her, startling her. Recognizing Peng Xiaoxiao, she finally relaxed. “What are you doing?”

Feeling Peng Xiaoxiao’s soft body pressed against her and smelling the faint scent of her shower gel, Shu Yuxin felt strangely nervous—this was probably the first time in her life she’d been so close to another girl.

Peng Xiaoxiao chuckled softly, rolled off Shu Yuxin, and lay beside her. In a low voice, she whispered, “Yuxin, can we sleep together tonight?”

“W-why?” Shu Yuxin stammered.

“I’m a little scared,” Peng Xiaoxiao’s face twisted with disgust. “That bitch Cheng Xiaonan—I’m worried about what that guy she brought might try to do to us in the middle of the night.”

Shu Yuxin scooted a bit farther away. “Fine by me.” It’ll just be a little crowded.

“Thanks,” Peng Xiaoxiao smiled.

After a moment’s thought, Shu Yuxin suddenly sat up, crawled to the foot of the bed, and tied the opening of her bed curtain shut with a thin string. She secured the other end to the bed railing. Only then did she lie back down beside Peng Xiaoxiao. “Don’t worry—if anyone tries to climb into my bed tonight, I’ll notice.”

Peng Xiaoxiao grinned—but just as she was about to say something, her head bumped against something hard. Blinking in confusion, she instinctively reached under the pillow and pulled out the object.

Fortunately, it wasn’t what she’d feared, but a small black canister.

“What’s this… pepper spray?” Peng Xiaoxiao asked, surprised.

“Yeah,” Shu Yuxin nodded. “A friend bought it for me. If that guy tries anything, we’ll spray him till he’s dead.”

Peng Xiaoxiao studied her face for a second, then suddenly laughed, tossed the spray aside, and threw herself into Shu Yuxin’s arms.

Holding the warm, fragrant girl in her arms, Shu Yuxin thought this must be the peak of her entire life.

Unfortunately…

“Yuxin.”

“Hmm?”

“Your chest is so comfy to rest on.”

“…Oh.”

Shu Yuxin wasn’t sure exactly when she finally fell asleep that night. All she remembered was staying wide awake long after Peng Xiaoxiao had drifted off—excited about something she couldn’t quite explain. Several times, she almost tried doing something… inappropriate… but held back, afraid of waking Peng Xiaoxiao.

She felt pathetic. She was a girl now—what was there to be afraid of? Back when she was a guy, she’d never hesitated to strip down in front of her buddies.

The night passed quickly.

When Shu Yuxin woke again, daylight filled the room. Her phone read 11 a.m. Peng Xiaoxiao had already gotten up; the bed was empty except for her.

Yawning and stretching, Shu Yuxin squinted and rolled over, intending to sleep some more. Weekends were always like this for her—unless she slept until she physically couldn’t, she didn’t get up.

But today was different. As she rolled over, she suddenly felt a strange coolness between her legs.

Pausing in confusion, Shu Yuxin bolted upright and yanked off the thin blanket covering her.

The sight beneath was shocking.

Dark red liquid had already soaked into a patch of her bedsheets. Some had even stained the blanket, and her inner thighs were smeared with blood.

Her first panicked thought—she’d been violated.

But before despair could fully sink in, something felt off. The air carried no strange odor, and she felt no physical discomfort.

After a moment of baffled silence, she pulled back her curtain and stuck her head out. Only Peng Xiaoxiao was in the room now. Su Ya, Cheng Xiaonan, and the man were all gone. Peng Xiaoxiao sat in her usual bold posture—legs propped up on the desk, game controller in hand—her expression carefree, showing no sign anything unusual had happened last night.

“Peng Xiaoxiao,” Shu Yuxin couldn’t help but ask, “did anything happen last night?”

Peng Xiaoxiao turned her head, grinned, and replied cheerfully, “Nah! Slept really well~!”

Shu Yuxin nodded slowly, then withdrew back behind her curtain, her expression complicated.

She finally understood what had happened.

Damn it—she’d just gotten her period.