Chapter 39 Chapter 39: Lan Qiuzhu
After sending Gao Jun away, Su Yuan sat quietly, reflecting on what had just happened. Deep down she disliked using people as shields the way Xiao Yiyan did, yet in reality she had done the same.
There was a difference, though. One relied on a familiar friend for help, the other grabbed a stranger without warning and pushed them forward. The pressure each bore was completely different.
Still, no matter how she consoled herself, she had acted like Xiao Yiyan, and that left her uneasy.
She glanced at Ji Yehao, who seemed unaffected.
…
“Su Yuan, how has life in the boys’ dorm been these days.” In Instructor Qin’s office, Su Yuan was helping grade assignments for younger students when the question caught her off guard.
She had come at Qin’s request, thinking it was only to mark papers. Now she realized there was another purpose.
She set down her pen. “It’s fine.”
“Perhaps you should move out,” Qin said with concern. A girl living in a boys’ dorm could face problems. Even with restraint, daily life would be awkward.
Su Yuan pressed her lips together.
“If you’re willing, I can help find a bed in the girls’ dorm,” Qin continued.
Though Qin knew Su Yuan’s mind was not fully female, with many male habits, living among girls was still safer than staying with boys.
“Let me think about it for a few days.”
“Of course. The choice is yours. But remember, your body is changing quickly. The medicine is taking effect. If you stay in the boys’ dorm, you may be discovered. One week from now is the Mid‑Autumn and National Day holiday. Before then you must decide. After the holiday you must move.”
Su Yuan hesitated, then nodded.
…
Binhe Polytechnic’s library was a modern twelve‑story building, its white design graceful against the greenery, like a lady surrounded by trees. Nearby lay a vast artificial lake. Together they formed a yin‑yang balance, adding cultural charm to the campus.
The library was sleek and modern, but on the lake’s island stood a traditional two‑story octagonal pavilion, with red pillars and yellow drapes, glowing in the sun.
One afternoon, Su Yuan climbed the steps to the library, books in hand.
It had been over two weeks since her transformation. She had no choice but to adapt. Humans, unlike animals, constantly reshape their environment, yet also struggle with their own flaws.
Some say animals know contentment but not rest, while humans know rest but not contentment. Others say humans know shame but not contentment, animals contentment but not shame. Either way, it spoke of human weakness.
Su Yuan, however, was resilient. She had endured drastic change quietly. What else could defeat her.
No one knew her secret, and she would not tell. Protecting it, she kept her routine unchanged.
If anything, she studied harder. Becoming deputy minister of external relations had given her drive. She often visited the library.
Others thought she had grown more elegant. She herself felt little change, but somehow her aura seemed refined.
Knowledge brings grace.
Peng Jie’s public confession last Saturday still lingered, annoying her. The world was full of idle gossip. Her rumor with Xiao Yiyan had barely faded before Peng Jie’s pursuit stirred again.
Fortunately few had witnessed it. Peng Jie chasing girls was no news. The real news would be if he stopped. No one noticed that this time his target was “a boy.”
Perhaps because of Su Yuan’s firm rejection, Peng Jie had not returned. He was likely plotting new tricks.
Still, the incident left Su Yuan uneasy. Yehao and Gao Jun might think she was straying from her path.
And Qin’s advice about moving out added to her worries. Renting off‑campus or moving to the girls’ dorm—she had not decided. She tried to distract herself with books.
On the tenth floor reading room, she found a seat by the window, opened Human Physiology, and immersed herself.
Time passed. Suddenly a fragrance drifted across. A girl in a white shirt sat opposite.
“May I sit here.”
Her voice was pleasant.
Su Yuan looked up. The room had many empty seats, but the girl chose hers. She smiled faintly, welcoming her.
Lan Qiuzhu was in a foul mood. The anime club she led had just finished recruitment, signing only a little over a hundred new members out of thousands of freshmen.
For most clubs, that was a good result. But Lan Qiuzhu was dissatisfied. Few of the recruits were promising girls.
Only twenty were female, and fewer than ten had real potential. The rest were boys.
The anime club had about two hundred members, with forty core performers split evenly between genders. As the new president, a third‑year, she wanted to make her mark.
She knew most applicants joined for the girls, not for anime. She would weed them out, even if half were cut.
Her real headache was finding new core members. The freshmen seemed weaker than past years.
A club could not rely on a few alone. She was troubled.
She came to the library to think and to scout. Binhe Polytechnic had rich resources. She just had to find them.
Studious girls rarely joined anime clubs. But where did they gather.
The library.
Lan Qiuzhu’s eyes gleamed. Like a talent scout, she searched for her next star. Whoever she chose, boy or girl, would not escape her grasp.
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