“Ah, they’re coming out! They’re coming out!”

As soon as Rinka opened the door, I heard a burst of cheerful voices.

“Well! Commander has still finally become a full-fledged crossdresser!” said Haitang.

I was wondering why Rinka came alone to pick me up—turns out they were all waiting at the door. This kind of lineup felt way too much like a "welcome home" party for someone just released from prison.

Behind Haitang stood several familiar faces: Lei Meow Meow, Tian Xi, and Bei Qiaojue.

Actually, there were fewer people than I expected. Fei was probably busy with her studies, Tangerine was still in middle school which was slightly far away, and as for Cangyu… she had social anxiety, so she was probably hiding in the student council office with Yang Qi—though props to Haitang for even getting her to come to school at all.

“Hmph!”

Meow Meow let out a random tsundere snort and stood off to the side, arms crossed. Sis Xi gave me a helpless smile but didn’t approach. It was Qiaojue who came up first, slinging one arm over my shoulder and reaching out with her other hand to lift my chin in her usual teasing manner.

“Little bro—no, little missy—you look way too good in that uniform. You were born to be a high school girl.”

“There’s no such man like that!”

“And your big boobs are super ero.”

“Don’t say ero!”

She circled around me a couple of times, then skillfully pinched my waist, making me tremble and giggle from the ticklishness.

Her verdict: “Hmm, your waist is nice and slim, but you’re lacking muscle. That’s no good—you’ll put on weight easily. If you think all fat will magically go to your chest, you’re being way too naive.”

That actually startled me.

Given how quickly my real body had ballooned up not long ago, I probably have the type of physique that gains weight easily—and my clone must inherit that too, right?

“Th-Then what should I do?”

Qiaojue flexed her arm, proudly showing off her toned biceps. “Watch your diet or start doing yoga with me.”

Exercise? Not happening. Looks like I’ll have to rely on dietary control.

Even Xiao Lei sighed beside me, “Being a girl isn’t easy, huh…”

At first I thought she was worried about gaining weight too, but then I remembered her freak metabolism. She was totally showing off!

This bottomless pit of a girl never gains a pound! Her belly doesn’t even bulge while eating—what, does she have a black hole in her stomach? Is she the Kinoshita¹ of competitive eaters?

Sis Xi spoke up, “It’s getting late. Xiao Kai, you haven’t had lunch yet, right? Let’s head to the cafeteria first.”

“We better hurry,” Haitang added. “Just so you know, the girls’ school lunches are on a whole other level compared to the boys’. Give it a few days and you won’t want to go back!”

That sounds bad… I just resolved to start dieting, and now temptation is coming right for me?

As I followed Haitang and the others, I glanced back and finally got a good look at the two-story wooden house that had supposedly been built in just one day.

A modest wooden structure, its windows framed with flower beds, nestled beautifully against a grassy slope—it had a dreamy, fairytale vibe.

But just a few more steps, and trouble descended. Because… we were fully surrounded by eyes!

“This isn’t good, Rinka. Why are so many girls staring at us?”

Well, Rinka had built a cute two-story house in just one day. For the uninformed students, it was natural to be curious. That’s why so many girls had come out to see what was going on.

Since Rinka had placed “Do Not Approach” signs around the building, they’d been watching from a distance all this time. Once we stepped out, they immediately swarmed in and formed a massive crowd.

Girl A: “She’s gorgeous! And she’s stacked too! How come I’ve never seen her before?”
Girl B: “Oh wow, that idol junior is here too!”
Girl C: “The flat-chested one is kinda cute too. I wanna bully her~”
Girl D: “Which flat-chested one? There are three.”
Girl E: “Hey! You dare call the student council president flat-chested? You’re dead. She’s super petty.”

Even though I knew they meant no harm, I still felt incredibly anxious being surrounded like this.

“You’re quite the popular one, huh?” Meow Meow commented with a sideways glance.

She clapped her hands and stepped forward to address the onlookers, pointing to me and Xiao Lei.

“These two are exchange students from another school. They’ll be staying here for a month as part of a student exchange program. If you all crowd them like this, you’ll scare them off—and it’s not a good look for Biyang! Move along now. You’ll have plenty of chances to interact later.”

Clearly, this was a coordinated cover story they’d agreed on in advance. Though I didn't expect Meow Meow to be the one to step in and defuse the situation.

One girl asked, “Exchange students… is that new building their dorm?”

“Yup. Their original place was too far, so they’ll be boarding here for the time being,” said Haitang, stepping forward as student council president with a smile. “By the way, who was it that called me flat-chested and petty? Let’s have a little friendly chat~”

Two girls instantly turned and bolted. Well, that was one way to break up a crowd.

Unfortunately, the rest weren’t so easily deterred. They came in closer, their excited chatter practically overlapping like a multi-act opera.

“I want to take a selfie with the exchange student!”
What am I, a panda at the zoo!?

“Is the exchange student a third-year senior?”
No, I’m just a second-year. Do good looks really make people think you’re more mature?

“Can I hug you? Whoa, so soft!”
She hugged me before asking!

“She’s really tall but still super cute~”
Xiao Lei got swarmed too, trapped by a few older, mature-looking senpais, her face twisted into a QAQ expression.

“She’s pretty AND stacked? Those breasts have to be fake! Let me squeeze them to check!”
Ow. Ow ow ow! This senpai’s just straight-up jealous, isn’t she!?

The crowd became uncontrollable. More than a few girls were getting handsy. Rinka and the others had already withdrawn from the mob, leaving me and Xiao Lei to our fate.

Is being smothered by a bunch of cute girls supposed to be a blessing?

Hell no!

I was manhandled like a ragdoll—how is this bliss!?

What happened to the “refined ladies” of a noble girls’ academy!?

This is how the upper crust behaves!?

Tweet—!

A sharp whistle cut through the chaos. Someone yelled, “It’s the security squad! Run, girls!”

The crowd scattered instantly.

One of them even tried to make off with Xiao Lei, but thankfully Haitang reacted fast and grabbed her by the leg to keep her from being kidnapped.

I looked toward the source of the whistle—turns out it was Sis Qiuluo. She probably noticed something weird during her patrol and came over to check it out.

I straightened my rumpled clothes and thanked her, “You really saved me. I thought I was a goner.”

She blinked in surprise when she saw me clearly. “Wait… it’s you, kid?”

“It’s kind of hard to explain, but I’ll be an exchange student here for about a month. Please take care of me. Girls are scary.”

“...Alright. I won’t ask.”

She snuck a glance at Rinka, barely noticeable, and suddenly switched to a gentler tone, patting my shoulder in a way that felt very out of character.

“This school’s full of carnivorous girls. Someone as pretty as you is bound to be targeted. Be careful or you’ll get eaten alive.”

What the hell is that supposed to mean!? Are all these girls’ orientations messed up!? Then again… her orientation is messed up too!

Rinka rested her chin in her hand, musing, “True, Kai-chan is a little too pretty—it might be dangerous. She’ll need proper protection… Miss Security Officer, you know her, right? Then I’ll leave her under your guard. I’ll inform the security department.”

Hearing this, Qiuluo stood at attention with a salute and shouted, “Understood, milady! I guarantee success!”

Honestly, it was pretty obvious what Qiuluo wanted—getting close to someone with Rinka’s elite “Huangfu” family background to boost her career.

And of course Rinka could see through that. But she still gave her the opportunity—while also slapping me with a shiny new pair of handcuffs. A win-win for them, I guess.