“Gurgle~”  
“Slurp~~”

This was probably the simplest dinner Lin Beixing had ever eaten in her life.  
A pack of instant noodles, a sausage, and—bonus—she’d found a whole box of cola in a corner of Lu Yu’s room.  

Her bright eyes crinkled happily.  
For the first time, she realized that eating “junk food” could actually feel this amazing.  
If she could eat this kind of “junk food” every day, she’d gladly accept gaining weight or even shrinking a bit.  

After all, “happiness” was something especially precious to Lin Beixing—it couldn’t be bought with money, yet it was exactly what she needed right now.

“Glug glug… Ahhh~”  
She drained the last sip from the aluminum can and leaned back, completely full.  

After quickly tidying the table, Lin Beixing slumped into her chair and gave it a lazy spin.  
Under the dim bulb, a fragile spiderweb hanging from the ceiling swayed gently in the breeze.  

It was a feeling of freedom she’d never experienced before.  

Ever since swapping bodies with Lu Yu at noon, her heart had been swinging back and forth between panic and unease.  
But ever since coming back to Lu Yu’s place, that restless anxiety had gradually settled.  
Maybe it was this body instinctively relaxing once it got “home,” or maybe Lin Beixing was simply enjoying the sweet taste of living alone…  

Right now, she actually felt… content.  
And weirdly enough, the idea of staying in Lu Yu’s body forever… didn’t sound all that bad.

“Meow~~”  

While she was lost in thought, the little black cat slipped out from under the desk.  
It had already finished its meal—or at least, as much as it could manage from the heaping bowl of cat food. Frankly, it had barely eaten one-tenth of it.  

The kitten, surprisingly spry, leaped onto the desk and landed right on Lin Beixing’s stomach with its soft paws.  

“Whoa! You’re heavy!”  

Caught off guard, Lin Beixing yelped—but this was her first time being affectionately approached by a furry little creature, and secretly, she was absolutely thrilled.  

Its fur was wonderfully soft, and despite its aloof expression and slightly disdainful little face, cats were still irresistible to most girls.  

“Aww, you’re so cute! Your belly’s all plump—what’s your name, little one?”  

As she rubbed the cat’s belly—a notoriously sensitive spot for felines—the kitten let out an indignant “MEOOOW!” and thrashed in her arms, then smacked her squarely in the face with its paw.  

“Ow! You hit hard, you little furball!”  

Lin Beixing clutched her cheek and playfully wrestled with the kitten in the computer chair for a bit.  

Outside, night had completely fallen.  

The old street’s flickering lights cast eerie shadows on the graffiti-covered low walls, while stars twinkled quietly in the vast, peaceful sky.  

Lu Yu’s window faced the street. Below, a row of late-night snack stalls sat quiet—too early yet for the dinner rush.  

Lin Beixing leaned against the windowsill, gazing out at the night. The evening breeze offered no coolness—just sweltering heat that lifted her short bangs.  

This male body really couldn’t handle the heat. Even a slight rise in temperature made her irritable.  

With a “snap,” she shut the window and stretched lazily, turning to switch on the air conditioner.  

But then—after scanning the entire room—she realized a critical problem:  

Lu Yu’s house… had no air conditioner!  

All she spotted in the corner behind the curtains was an old-fashioned floor fan.  

She turned it on. Hot air blasted her face along with the strong wind.  
The loose fan blades rattled with a grating “clack-clack” sound that only added to the summer night’s restlessness.  

“Aaaargh! How can someone live without an air conditioner?!”  

She slammed the fan off in frustration and ruffled her hair in despair.  

Her eyes swept the room again.  

There was some truth to the saying, “A calm mind brings natural coolness.”  
Besides taking a shower, the best way to beat the heat was to quiet one’s thoughts.  

And for Lin Beixing, who knew nothing about video games, the easiest way to distract herself…  
was to do homework.  

Truth be told, she hadn’t planned to do Lu Yu’s assignments tonight.  
After all, according to his reputation, “doing homework” wasn’t even in his vocabulary.  
Just filling in A-B-C-D on exams was already a miracle—none of his teachers expected him to hand in any actual assignments.  

But now…  

Bored, hot, and utterly restless, Lin Beixing finally decided to tackle the homework.  
Besides, she’d personally promised the math teacher that *she* would turn in the test paper. If they hadn’t switched back by tomorrow, she’d have to face the teacher’s office again—in Lu Yu’s body.  

As a lifelong honor student, the very thought of being “called to the office for punishment” filled her with instinctive dread.  

“Well… I guess I’ll just do the homework first…”  

Muttering to herself, she pulled out Lu Yu’s backpack and got to work.  

…………  

“Seriously… that’s it?”  

Lu Yu stared at the tiny portion of dinner on the plate in front of him, stunned into blurting it out.  

Realizing that such words sounded crude coming from the mouth of a refined young lady, he quickly backpedaled.  

“I mean… is this all for dinner?”  

“Miss, tonight’s meal has been precisely portioned according to nutritional guidelines and tailored to your dietary needs. It’s both balanced and filling for your constitution.”  

The butler placed one final item on the tray: a steaming cup of tea.  
“This is brown sugar ginger tea, specially prepared per Master Gao’s request. It’s quite hot—please let it cool before drinking, Miss.”  

Lu Yu sat in the study, dumbfounded by the food before him.  

He’d heard Lin Beixing rarely ate at the dining table due to her intense study schedule—she usually took meals alone here in her study.  

But that wasn’t the issue.  

The real problem?  

This so-called “dinner” was smaller than his own fist!  

He bet his cat at home ate more than this in a single meal!  

Forget about “nutritional balance”—how could a wealthy household not even feed its own daughter properly?!  

Sure, nutrition and taste mattered—but only *after* you’d had enough to eat!  
What was the point of “balanced nutrition” if you were still starving?  

A thousand complaints surged in Lu Yu’s mind.  

But he swallowed every last one.  

“I understand. You may leave. I need to study now.”  

He gave a gentle nod—though he didn’t look at the butler, his eyes remained fixed hungrily on the food.  

The moment the door clicked shut behind the butler—  

*Clack.*  

Lu Yu grabbed the tiny bowl of rice and the delicate side dishes and devoured everything in under sixty seconds.  

He’d been starving—absolutely ravenous.  

Now he finally understood why, at lunch, eating just a small bowl in Lin Beixing’s body had felt “enough.”  

Because she’d gotten used to it.  

Just half a day of impersonating Lin Beixing had already exhausted him.  
Being a “pretty girl” was no easy feat.  

He couldn’t fathom how this seemingly delicate girl had endured such pressure at home for over a decade—  
yet still managed to smile warmly and gently at everyone at school.  

Lu Yu found himself genuinely… impressed by her.