Chapter Nine: Men and Women Are Different

A day of parting
A gray-blue sky
Carrying my old dreams
A hand waving goodbye
No matter how gentle
It can’t hold the pain in my heart

A deep, resonant song drifted from Ji Yehao’s speakers. Su Yuan froze for a moment, then slowly immersed herself in the mood of the lyrics. She nudged Ji Yehao. “Hey, what song is this? It sounds pretty good.”

“The great thinker has finally awakened?” Ji Yehao said. “This song is called Autumn of Farewell. There are several versions online. What’s playing now is Gao Hang’s male version—I like this one better.”

“There’s a female version too? How is it?” Su Yuan asked curiously.

Ji Yehao frowned slightly. “The emotional expression is about the same, but the male version feels more resolute, while the female version seems to have a bit more melancholy.”

“I see…”

Since she hadn’t heard it, Su Yuan didn’t really know what to say.

She glanced at his phone screen. “By the way, you were watching the stock market just now. Which stock are you interested in?”

Ji Yehao replied, “Huaxin Technology. I’ve been watching it for months. Based on my analysis, it’s probably already under the control of major players. There should be a rally coming up.”

“So it’s suitable to buy in?”

Ji Yehao nodded. “Stocks controlled by major players follow certain patterns. Because they control large amounts of capital, they can basically manipulate prices. Retail investors usually end up cutting losses when competing with them. But if you have insider information and sell before they suppress the price, there’s still good money to be made. I’ve heard there will be major positive news soon.”

Su Yuan leaned over and smiled. “But the price on the screen keeps falling.”

“That’s just a smokescreen released by the major players. They spread negative factors to push the price down and take the opportunity to accumulate shares. Look—this stock has been falling for several days in a row. That’s not normal.”

Su Yuan snorted. “Those major players are really profiteers.”

Ji Yehao laughed. “That’s how the capital market works. Big fish eat small fish, small fish eat shrimp, and in the end, the ones who pay the bill are almost always the retail investors.”

Su Yuan let out an “uh,” and after thinking about it carefully, felt that he did have a point.

“Go to sleep. Classes start tomorrow.”

“Yeah, it’s pretty late.”

Su Yuan lay on the bed, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep. The air conditioner hummed as it blew. Dazed, a wave of weakness washed over her, and her consciousness gradually drifted away from her body. She felt as if her flesh were being firmly pressed into the bed—her own weight pinning her body against the mattress.

Just like the night before, her body once again sank into a deep, intense heat.

Su Yuan had a dream—long and unbroken.

Vaguely, it seemed like someone was calling her. It was Ji Yehao and Gao Jun, calling her to go to class. She wanted to follow them, but in horror discovered she couldn’t control her body at all. Eyes open, she could only watch them take their textbooks and leave the dormitory…

Sleep paralysis? She was terrified.

Everything around her became eerily quiet, gloomy and frightening. Then the space around her inexplicably split open with shocking cracks, and the world collapsed…

“Ah!!”

She screamed and woke up, finding that she could move again. The thin blanket was soaked with sweat, and the clothes clung uncomfortably to her damp skin. She didn’t know whether that scream had been in her dream or in reality, but seeing that Ji Yehao and Gao Jun had no reaction, it must have been in the dream.

She calmed herself and looked around. She realized she was lying on her side under a thin blanket. Outside, the sky was overcast—it was hard to tell the time. Her stomach growled. When she checked the time, it was already 5:30 in the afternoon.

Had she slept through the entire day?

“Hey, why didn’t you wake me up this morning?” Su Yuan shouted to Ji Yehao and Gao Jun, who were busy below.

“Awake?” Gao Jun said. “Why didn’t we call you? You were sleeping too deeply. We called you several times, but you didn’t wake up, so we just went ourselves.”

So that was it? Su Yuan gave an awkward smile. On the very first day of school, she’d actually skipped class.

What a pity.

Thinking back, she did vaguely remember hearing them call her. In that case, she couldn’t blame them. Feeling guilty, Su Yuan didn’t dwell on the matter. She climbed out of bed, grabbed some clean clothes, and headed into the bathroom to take a shower.

The gentle spray of water hitting her body instantly washed away the discomfort left by sweat. As she rubbed herself down, pinching her smooth, delicate skin, she felt that after just one sleep, her body seemed even more feminine.

Had estrogen started to take effect? She was startled.

Su Yuan felt it shouldn’t be happening that fast. Maybe she really had been modified by aliens.

The difference between men and women wasn’t just physiological—it was psychological as well. Yet Su Yuan found that aside from the drastic physical changes, her mindset seemed mostly the same as before. There wasn’t much change—for now. She didn’t know whether, over time, subtle changes would occur.

Did psychology determine physiology, or did physiology determine psychology? Su Yuan studied biology, so she naturally knew that physiology was the foundation. Humans are made of matter; what people call the “mind” is merely the result of material reactions—countless brain cells working together under specific conditions.

Male and female thought patterns tend to differ, perhaps because they are composed of different stimulus factors. If the body changed from male to female, then lacking certain “factors,” it would be impossible to maintain purely male thought patterns. Thus, even if she insisted that her thinking was still male, it would inevitably carry an element of self-deception.

This left Su Yuan deeply anxious, unsure of where she should go from here, and unable to guarantee whether she would eventually be assimilated.

In philosophy, however, these questions could never truly be resolved.

Naturally, physiological differences influence thinking patterns, causing them to shift in a certain direction. But when it came to sexual orientation, the “mind” also had a significant say. How homosexuality arises, for example—mental factors likely played a large role.

After showering, a few crystal-clear droplets clung to her body. Ji Yehao glanced over at Su Yuan as she wiped her face and froze for a moment. “Su Yuan, at first glance, you really look a bit like a girl…”

Hearing this, Su Yuan, who was putting her toiletries back into the cabinet, stiffened completely. “Don’t joke around!”

Ji Yehao also felt that this wasn’t the kind of joke one should make lightly. “I was just saying it casually—don’t take it to heart.”

How could she not? Her heart filled with anxiety. She felt that one day, her secret might be exposed. Especially Ji Yehao—his eyes were sharp.

Over there, Gao Jun lifted his hands from the keyboard, turned around, and teased with a grin. “Our Su Su just has a smaller frame and lighter weight. He’ll fill out and get sturdier later.”

“That’s more like it!” Su Yuan said happily, shooting him an approving look.

“Of course!” Gao Jun nodded smugly, then suddenly widened his eyes as if discovering a new continent. “But a cute boy like Su Yuan—if someone wanted to give him away, I’d be very happy to accept.”

“You never say anything decent. I even thought you were a good person,” Su Yuan replied lightly.

“Don’t ever call me a ‘good person’ again—it’s bad luck!” Gao Jun protested loudly.

“Hehe, you’re a good person…” Su Yuan knew he was particularly sensitive about that, so she deliberately kept calling him that.

Gao Jun shook his head, sighing about his poor choice of friends.

“Hey, are you hungry?”

“I’ve been hungry for ages!” Su Yuan shot him a look.

“Then what are you waiting for? Yehao, let’s go eat!”

Ji Yehao answered with a calm “Mm,” tidied up his desk unhurriedly, and followed behind Su Yuan and Gao Jun toward the cafeteria.