It had been a month since she became a girl.  

A month wasn’t exactly long, but it certainly wasn’t short either. At the very least, Shu Yuxin had more or less gotten used to her new body by now.  

As for menstruation—well, she’d thought about it before. Several times, in fact, she’d seriously considered buying a few packs of sanitary pads just in case… only to completely forget about it moments later.  

After all, a month ago she didn’t even know what a sanitary pad looked like. It wasn’t fair to expect her to think of every possible detail.  

Truth be told, she still didn’t really know what sanitary pads looked like.  

Well, the immediate priority now was to somehow get her hands on a pack of pads. Going out to buy them herself was clearly out of the question—she looked like she was about to give birth any second now, and anyone who saw her in this state would probably be terrified. Thankfully, there was a fellow shut-in in her dorm room… and now was the perfect time to put that roommate bond to the test.  

Yuxin poked her head out again: “Xiao Xiao! Do you have any sanitary pads?”  

“Huh? What?” Peng Xiaoxiao paused her game and pulled off her headphones.  

“Sanitary pads! I need them urgently!”  

“…You got your period?” Xiaoxiao blinked in surprise.  

Yuxin forced a weak smile. “Yeah… kinda sudden.”  

“Hang on, I’ll get you some.” Xiaoxiao stood up, opened her wardrobe, rummaged around for a bit, then pulled out an unopened pack of pads. She walked over and handed it to Yuxin. “Here, use this. No need to return it.”  

“Thanks!” Yuxin grabbed the pack and quickly ducked back behind her curtain.  

She’d never heard of this brand before—but then again, she’d never heard of any sanitary pad brands. Still, she’d recently seen some pictures online of what pads were supposed to look like. Even though there were no instructions on the packaging, our heroine was confident she could figure it out just fine.  

She pulled out a pad, took off her blood-stained underwear, then enthusiastically stuck the pad onto that mysterious, much-romanticized part of the female anatomy. She even pressed it down gently with her hand for good measure.  

“…Why does this feel like a diaper?” Staring down at herself, Yuxin felt something was off.  

But she didn’t dwell on it. After fiddling with the pad, she turned her attention to her bed. The bloodied sheets and light blanket needed washing, the mattress required cleaning, and then there were yesterday’s freshly changed underwear…  

What an unexpectedly busy morning. This weekend definitely wasn’t turning out as relaxing as she’d hoped.  

An hour later, after finishing all the cleanup and freshening herself up, she hung the sheets and blanket out to dry on the balcony. Just as she was about to sit down and finally relax, her stomach let out a perfectly timed grumble of protest.  

“It’s already almost one…” She called out toward Xiaoxiao, “Wanna go grab lunch?”  

“Nope, ordered delivery.” Xiaoxiao took a swig of her soda, eyes glued to her computer screen.  

Tch.  

If it weren’t for this mess, Yuxin probably would’ve been gaming and waiting for takeout too. But she really should stock up on pads soon. Might as well take this rare opportunity to leave campus and pick up a few other essentials.  

After two seconds of thought, she pulled out her phone and dialed Jiang Zixuan.  

He answered almost instantly. “Hey? What’s up?”  

“Can’t I call you unless something’s up?”  

“Haha, of course not—you can call me whenever you like.”  

Yuxin rolled her eyes. “You free? Come with me to Walmart.”  

Zixuan sounded pleasantly surprised. “Oh? Weren’t you saying you weren’t leaving campus this weekend?”  

“…I changed my mind. Got a problem with that?”  

“Nope, nope,” he chuckled. “Alright then, I’ll meet you at the main gate of Nanhu College.”  

Before Yuxin could ask why Nanhu’s gate specifically, he’d already hung up. She stared at her phone for a moment, then tucked it away, grabbed her wallet, and headed out.  

Well, it was his loss for taking the longer route anyway.  

It normally took about fifteen minutes to walk from the west dorm area to Nanhu College’s main gate, but Yuxin strolled leisurely, stretching the trip to over twenty minutes. When she finally arrived, Zixuan was already waiting. He waved as soon as he spotted her.  

“You walked fast?” Yuxin asked, surprised.  

If he’d come from Minghai University, his route would’ve definitely been longer than hers—she’d even taken her sweet time on purpose, assuming he’d need extra travel time.  

Zixuan just gave her a mysterious smile, saying nothing.  

“You know your smile looks really creepy, right?” Yuxin raised an eyebrow.  

His grin immediately dropped. “Alright, alright, I’ll stop.” He shrugged. “So… what’s on the agenda, my little princess?”  

“What did you just call me?!” Her voice instantly turned dangerous.  

“…Just kidding,” he quickly added.  

Their lunch was a long-awaited all-you-can-eat barbecue—always packed on weekends. The tiny restaurant was so crowded that the owner had to clear out a table just for them.  

By the time Zixuan returned with two overflowing plates of assorted meats, Yuxin had already piled three huge plates of chicken breast and five bottles of Vitasoy Lemon Tea onto their already-full table. She sat there, staring intently at the half-cooked chicken breast on the grill like a well-behaved elementary schooler.  

Amused, Zixuan took the seat across from her. “You’re seriously only eating chicken breast? Won’t you at least try something else?”  

“Nope. Not tasty,” Yuxin shook her head, patiently flipping each piece of chicken breast one by one.  

“How would you know if you haven’t even tried?” Zixuan began laying his own meats onto the grill.  

Without looking up, Yuxin replied absentmindedly, “They just look unappetizing. Don’t wanna try.”  

Zixuan fell silent.  

At the counter, the restaurant’s owner and his wife were quietly chatting.  

“Hey dear, isn’t that the young couple from last time?”  

“Yeah—especially that girl who only eats chicken breast. I remember her clearly.”  

“Sigh… picky eating's a real problem. Look how skinny she is…”  

“Heh, old man, you just don’t get it. Nowadays, young folks prefer this kind of figure—the skinnier, the prettier.”  

…  

Back at their table, the quiet lull lasted until Yuxin finished her second massive plate of chicken breast. Then she finally broke the silence.  

“Zixuan.”  

“Hmm?”  

“After this… will you come with me to buy some sanitary pads?”  

Zixuan, who’d just picked up a grilled chicken wing with his chopsticks, nearly dropped it back onto the grill. “What?!”  

“Sanitary pads,” Yuxin said, suddenly bashful. “I… I’d feel really awkward going alone…”  

Zixuan tugged at the corner of his mouth. “Dude, you’re literally a girl now—what’s there to be embarrassed about?”  

“I just am! You already came out with me—can’t you just go with me for this too?!” she hissed in a low voice, then immediately softened her tone, looking up at him with pleading, puppy-dog eyes. “Besides… I don’t know anything about these things. You’ve had girlfriends before—you must know more than I do, right? And we’re still good friends, aren’t we?”  

Seeing that expression, Zixuan couldn’t help but swallow hard—and dropped his chicken wing back onto the grill again.  

“Fine, fine! I’ll go with you!” he groaned. “Just… please stop looking at me like that. I’m… I’m losing control here.”