August 26 — Weather unknown.
The advisor replied—she’s going to discuss my case with the school leadership. And naturally, I’ve been excused from the ten-day military training at the start of term! 🥰 (Yay!)

I’m almost fully recovered today—no headache, no stuffy nose, no itchy throat… just a slightly sore lower back.  
With nothing better to do, I surfed the web and listened to music.  

——————  

August 27 — Sunny, because I saw sunlight when I went to the bathroom to retrieve my freshly washed bedsheets.  

My “#1 internet son” still hasn’t replied to my message. He probably got scared when he saw me attacking him. I was actually really touched by what he said that day—so today I only scolded him twice instead of the usual amount. (*Tsundere mode activated.*)  

My waist is slightly, slightly sore. My legs are slightly, slightly weak.  
With nothing better to do, I surfed the web and listened to music.  

——————  

August 28 — Weather unknown.
After an epic grind, I finally hit Diamond I in Summoner’s Rift! As a reward, I ordered a whole fried chicken from Golden Arches. So fragrant! So delicious! 😋  
…But I actually felt kinda guilty (sniffle)… Someone like me doesn’t deserve such tasty chicken. I shouldn’t have spent so much money. 🥺  

Now I’ll have to survive on instant noodles for the rest of the month… (sigh)  

My waist is a little sore. My legs are a little weak.  
With nothing better to do, I surfed the web and listened to music.  

——————  

August 29 — Probably raining, since I heard rain outside.  

Nothing good happened today. I hate rainy days—even if I’m not getting wet…  
Because they always bring back bad memories.  

My waist is mildly sore. My legs are mildly weak.  
With nothing better to do, I surfed the web and listened to music.  

——————  

August 30 — Either sunny or cloudy, since it rained yesterday but not today. (Hmph!)  

While browsing a music app 🎶, I stumbled upon posts showing gorgeous scenery from all over the world—both domestic and international. So, so beautiful… (longing)  

Turquoise oceans, sunrise over mountains, cliffs overlooking the sea…  

But honestly… I’ve never seen the ocean. Never climbed a mountain. 🙂  

The captions all say, “Just go—do it while you can!”  
But I have no money… and zero courage to leave the house.  

My waist is sore. My legs are weak.  
With nothing better to do, I surfed the web and listened to music.  

August 31 — Weather unknown.
I woke up super late—already 1 PM. So I just went back to sleep, planning to stay up until midnight. That way, I could skip one meal! (Proud achievement unlocked.)  

My waist is kinda sore. My legs are kinda weak.  
With nothing better to do, I surfed the web and listened to music.  

August 32 — Weather… forget it.
Today I fell in love with a new game called Ming Chao! It’s fun—I played all day straight. By the time I thought about sleeping, it was already 11 PM. (So sleepy, meow…) 💤  

The monsters are so hard to beat…  

My waist is sore. My legs are weak.  
With nothing better to do, I surfed the web and listened to music.  

September 1... 2.
Oh. August doesn’t have a 32nd.  

My “internet son” finally replied today—still asking if I’m a guy. Says if I am, he’ll “verify” me in real life.  

Too bad for him—I’m not anymore! (smug) 😉  
Otherwise, I’d really have to go punch him.  

Moon sore. Moon weak.  
With nothing better to do, I played Ming Chao and listened to music.  

September 3. 
Got bad news today.  

The advisor told me the school absolutely won’t change its rules just for me. I must attend classes and take exams—or else I’ll have to seriously consider taking a leave of absence… or even withdrawing. 😨😨  

But I know that even if I took a year off, I wouldn’t get better. And because of that promise… I can’t drop out. (sigh)  

The advisor’s actually really kind—she said she’ll keep trying to advocate for me. (teary-eyed)  

Sore. Weak.  
With nothing better to do, I played Ming Chao and listened to music.  

——————  

September 4.
This afternoon, the advisor sent me the class monitor’s WeChat and informed me of the final decision. (melancholy)  

I must attend two classes per week, and score at least 70 on the final exam. If I fail, I’ll either have to withdraw next year… or join regular classes like everyone else.  

Tears just spilled out uncontrollably 😭. The panic made me skip a whole bowl of rice today.  

Then it hit me—  
What about my voice and appearance?!😨😨😨  

Sure, the voice I hear in my own ears isn’t exactly what others hear…  
But I have to admit—  
my current voice is soft, sweet, cute, and absolutely adorable. (confident)  

…  
WHAT THE HECK AM I BEING CONFIDENT ABOUT?! 👊🏻😭👊🏻  

Then I remembered—  
There’s a classic otaku skill: voice mimicry (false voice)! 🤔  

Back when I still had Niu Niu, I dabbled in it once—trying to pose as a girl online to trick guys out of money… but I sucked at it and gave up.  

But now… there’s no turning back. (Battle mode: ACTIVATED!) 😡  

You. Go.

With nothing better to do, I played Ming Chao and listened to music.  

——————  

A few days later…

“Aaaaah—ah↗ ah↘ ah→ ah↖ ah↓ ah↑ ah←…”  

A noticeably androgynous voice echoed through the room.  

Hua Xin: “Cough! Cough cough cough cough—oww! 🥺”  
“Ptooey! … glug glug glug glug … Haaah… 😇”  

After spitting out the saliva, she chugged the entire bottle of Bing Lu mineral water to soothe her throat.  

“This false voice is SO hard to learn… 😖”  

Slumped over her desk in exhaustion, tears threatened to spill again. 🥺  

Glancing at the date and time in the bottom-right corner of her screen, she seriously considered escaping into the 2D world forever. (self-destruct mode)  

September 11 — Wednesday, 6:00 AM.

That talk with the advisor? It was the school’s final word.  
And the verdict was…  
exactly the same as before.

She’d contacted every single professor on my behalf—truly responsible, truly tried her best to help.  
Even when I threatened to jump off a building, she never snapped or got annoyed… 🥺  

I was so moved, I didn’t even “surf the web” that night.  

But it still doesn’t change the fact:  
I have to go to class.

“Sigh…” Hua Xin softly exhaled, picked up her phone, opened WeChat, hesitated for a moment… then tapped into a chat with a black cat profile picture.  

Hua Xin: “。”  

The reply came instantly.  

Yun Zi (Class Monitor Xia Yan): “👌🏻.”  

Wait…  
He’s awake at this hour?! 🤔  

Seeing the near-instant response, she couldn’t help but twitch her lips.  

She’d added this class monitor a week ago via the advisor. Aside from initial pleasantries, their only interactions were these:  

9/9 
Hua Xin: “Monitor, requesting leave.”  
Xia Yan: “Okay, noted.”  

9/10  
Hua Xin: “Leave.”  
Xia Yan: “Got it.”  

9/11
Hua Xin: “。”  
Xia Yan: “👌🏻.”  

…This feels *weirdly* intimate.  

Hua Xin quietly closed her phone.  

She hadn’t forgotten—  
All her official records still list her as male.

Everything she’s doing now is to avoid exposure, graduate smoothly, and then live out her days as a shut-in forever…  

If anyone found out…  
😨😨😨  

She snapped upright, eyes locked back onto the false-voice tutorial on her screen.  

NO ONE.
MUST. 
EVER.  
KNOW THAT HER NIU NIU IS GONE!!!!

But the most androgynous “young boy” voice she can produce is already her limit—nowhere near the deep, manly roar she used to have.  

Wait a second…  

Hua Xin hit the spacebar, pausing the tutorial video.  

Why did I originally learn false voice again?

…Online dating?

She glanced down—at the gentle curves of her chest, her long bare legs stretched out on the floor, her delicate feet resting on the cool tiles…  
And in the monitor’s reflection—her own stunning, ethereal face, half-hidden in the dim light.  

A BIG, BOLD PLAN began forming in her mind.  

Slowly, silently…  
she opened QQ…  
and stared at the pinned chat labeled “#1 Internet Son.” 

Who knows what she’s plotting…?