“Wait, why are we testing the new function on Liuliu? If it’s about women’s clothing, shouldn’t you be asking me or Xiao Lei?”

She had a point — I hadn’t actually told them what the new feature was about when I called yesterday. After showing off the Notebook’s outfit-shifting trick, it was perfectly natural for Rinka to be confused.

I explained. “No, no, you’ve got the wrong idea. What I need Old Yan for is another new feature.”

“Another one?”

“Of course. And don’t freak out when I say this — I can now give someone who’s written down with a pencil the power to transform themselves.”

Rinka’s eyes brightened immediately. “So you mean they can freely switch between male and female at will? That’s super convenient!”

She understood instantly — and then her expression soured a bit. “Actually, doesn’t that make people like me who’ve already been permanently fixed a little… cheated?”

She said it that way, but I could tell she had zero intention of ever changing back.

“It’s not as simple as it sounds,” I said, trying to sound serious. “This function comes with some limits.”

After all, she was right — if the ‘pencil mode’ turned into a permanent free-trial version where everyone could flip themselves at will, nobody would ever volunteer as my monthly quota again. So, the Heavenly Principles threw in some constraints.

“First rule: there’s a cap on how many people I can give self-transform rights to. The number equals however many quota transformations I’ve already completed.”

Rinka propped her chin on her palm, thinking aloud. “So right now you’ve got three slots, and once you finish this month’s blessing, you’ll have four?”

I nodded. “Exactly. Though if one month passes without a new ‘quota’… that’d just mean I’m going to be cursed be unfortunate.”

“That’s only the first condition,” I went on. “The second is that the empowerment requires a ritual.”

“A ritual?” Xiao Lei echoed.

“Yep, a ritual,” I repeated, parroting her tone.

Rinka snorted, half-amused. “Receiving divine power only after performing a sacred ceremony? Yeah, that actually tracks.”

I could already feel my face heating as I remembered what my Master told me what that ‘ritual’ entailed.

“…The ritual’s a bit awkward. I’ll explain when we get to it.”

“Third rule,” I continued, “each empowerment comes with a limited number of uses. If you change back and forth whenever you feel like it, you’ll run out fast. Each ritual grants seven transformations — when they’re gone, you’ll need another ritual to recharge. So, yeah… use them wisely.”

Xiao Lei scratched her hair in frustration. “Quit teasing us already, Commander! What kind of ritual is it?”

“It’s… hard to say,” I muttered. “Better to show than to tell. Let’s just start.”

I laid the Bishoujo Notebook flat on the coffee table, picked up the pencil, and pointed at the buttons on Old Yan’s shirt.

“First, we need to turn him into a girl. Old Yan, undo a few buttons — otherwise they’ll pop off again.”

“Fair enough,” He said, casually loosening his collar.

Xiao Lei, who’d never seen Xiao Yao before, asked curiously, “When Old Yan turns into a girl, is her chest… big?”

Rinka answered. “Liuliu’s figure is top-tier. Model proportions. Balanced, graceful — like one of her own paintings.”

“So she is another busty one! Why are they all like this!” Xiao Lei complained, probably thinking of that nude painting upstairs.

Rinka joined in the teasing. “Can’t compare to Kai-chan, of course, but she still beats the two of us by a long shot.”

To be fair, those two already set the lower limit — unless someone was concave, it’d be hard to do worse.

…Not that I’d ever say that out loud.

A familiar shimmer swept through the air — and just like that, Yan Yao’s white blouse strained against two full, round shapes, the fabric dipping into a shadowed valley that had some sort of gravitational pull. Yeah… breasts always look better on other people.

“Hey! Kai-chan, stop staring at her chest! That’s rude!”

Rinka reached over to cover my eyes, but when I glanced sideways, I caught Xiao Lei staring even harder. Funny how Rinka didn’t seem to care when she did it.

Xiao Lei whispered in awe, “So big… her chest, why is it that big?”

There wasn’t any lust in her tone — just pure envy, so strong it twisted her mouth.

“This feeling… it’s been a while,” Xiao Yao murmured. The long-haired girl, cool and expressionless, looked herself over like an art critic inspecting a canvas. She hadn’t used this form since that cosplay event over a month ago, so the body still felt a little foreign.

“I’ll go change,” she said simply.

Judging from Rinka’s frantic attempt to block my eyes, she’d probably guessed what was happening. Without another word, she picked up the clothes Rinka brought and disappeared into the bedroom.

Watching her leave, Rinka turned back to me. “So… now it’s time for the ritual, right? What exactly do we have to do?”

I looked away, feeling heat crawl up my neck.

“It’s… simple,” I said carefully. “I just need to leave a divine stigma somewhere on her body. Using… my lips.”

Rinka froze for two and a half seconds.

“Wait, WHAT? You’re going to kiss Liuliu!?” she shrieked.

“Yeah. Think of it like stamping a seal — if I press for ten seconds, the stigma appears and the ceremony’s done.”

Xiao Lei frowned. “And this ‘stigma’... where exactly are you planning to, uh, stamp it?”

“Technically anywhere works, but it’s better to pick somewhere covered by clothing. The stigma’s apparently pretty obvious — if someone mistakes it for a tattoo, that’d be awkward. Anyway,” I added quickly, glancing at Rinka, “since today is just a test, I’ll, uh, do it on the back of her hand.”

Rinka finally exhaled, relieved.

Having the guy who once liked her kiss the guy she currently liked — yeah, that would’ve been way too much for her to handle.
(Though somewhere out there, a certain pink-haired ninja would definitely have something to say about it.)

Suddenly, Xiao Lei sprang to her feet, blushing to the ears as she lifted her shirt, showing off a smooth, pale waist.

“I’m in pencil mode too! So before Old Yan — come on, Commander, kis…stamp me! I don’t even mind if you do it on the lips!”

Ah, classic Xiao Lei — her true motives written all over her face.

“No way. The whole reason I’m testing this on Old Yan is to make sure that guy Zhao Zhao doesn’t abuse the permission for something stupid.”

“Idiot Commander! ‘That guy’ is also me! What could I possibly do?”

“That’s exactly the problem,” I sighed. “I still can’t tell if you two count as one person or not. What if you stroll into a girls’ bathhouse and suddenly turn back—”

“Stop!”

She cut me off, glaring. “Why would I even do that! Don’t you trust me at all?”

“Not trusting you? No, no — I know you too well.”

I motioned for her to sit down, and once she did, I went on. “If it were Zhao Zhao, I wouldn’t even be surprised. You get what I mean?”
“…Yeah.” She couldn’t argue with that.

“So if you’re both still one and the same person, then that risk still exists. It’s for your own good.”

When she fell silent, I reached over and tugged gently at her ear.

“Be patient a few more days,” I said softly. “Once my cast’s off, the bookmark’s yours.”

Rinka spread her hands with a half-smile. “Kind of a shame, really. Without Xiao Lei, that big lug’s only personality left is his perviness.”

“Please,” I snorted, “he’s been nothing but a perv long before three months ago.”

Xiao Yao came out of the bedroom then, now dressed in the clothes Rinka had bought. A navy-blue jacket hung open over a khaki dress — simple, urban, and it suited her perfectly.

“Wow, gorgeous!”

Rinka instantly pounced, wrapping her arms around Xiao Yao’s waist and rubbing her cheek affectionately against her. “Even though I picked the outfit, it looks way too good on you!”

Xiao Yao didn’t reply, just pressed her lips together — but I caught the faint blush creeping across the iron-faced girl’s cheeks.

Well, well… looks like when Old Yan becomes Xiao Yao, she’s not quite as good at hiding her emotions.