Who would've thought? After more than half a month, I got slapped into the air by Lei Meow Meow again. What are you, Bright Noa reborn¹?

If I hadn’t just gotten a mouthful of sand, I really wanted to shout, "Even my dad never hit me!"

Gotta say though, that slap was something else. Lei Meow Meow’s delicate little hand brushed past my cheek with a graceful twist, adding a lateral spin to my body mid-flight. I didn’t just fly—I spiraled, like a bullet fresh out of the chamber.

Even as a girl, she’s still got that much power? No attribute nerfs from the gender switch?

I clawed my way up from the beach, spitting out sand, only to see Tangerine roar, “GAO!”—her wild side unleashed—as she tackled Lei Meow Meow to the ground.

Tangerine's teeth snapped together with a threatening click, her two sharp canines looking downright savage. She went in for a chomp, but Lei Meow Meow, now flat on her back, managed to hold her off by the head. The bite stalled mid-air.

"Ow! Whose mutt is this? QNMD!²"

“Big bro! That’s a cat!”

Still full of sand, I couldn’t talk. Tian Xi tried to jump in and pull Tangerine off but nearly got a bite for her trouble—Tangerine in Berserker Mode is no joke.

Zhao Zhao? Totally useless. He just stood there.

Now, if you looked at it through a male gaze, it’d seem like a steamy beach catfight—three girls in swimsuits tangled up on the sand.
Zhao Zhao couldn’t even stand straight anymore. He crouched to the side, drooling like a creep...

Tch. Daring to fantasize about my precious Tangerine? You perv! Eat my “Flying Sandstorm!”

I kicked a flurry of sand right at his face.

“My eyes! MY EYES!”

“You really fooled me… So you’re really a guy, huh? No wonder you’ve never worn girls’ clothes,”
said Uncle Lei Luo with a smirk, handing me an open bottle of water.
“Here, rinse your mouth.”

“Thanks, Uncle.” I took the bottle, swished the water around to clean out the sand.

Beside him, Sis Yuanyue was eyeing me up and down like a zoo-goer spotting a panda. Her curiosity practically radiated.

“So that long-haired boy over there’s not your boyfriend either?” She meant Rinka.

I nodded, water still in my mouth.

“So little Lingmeng is still single, huh? My girl already touched your thing, might as well marry her, right?”

I spat the water-sand mix onto the ground, sputtering, “Marriage? Just like that?”

“What, you think my girl’s not good enough for you? She’s a future idol, you know!”

“Sis Yuanyue... idols lose fans when they get married, especially the young ones with short shelf lives. Marriage is basically graduation for idols.”

“Then little Lingmeng you should become an idol too! Pair up with my girl, and you’ll sell out every show!”

“Eh, I’m too pretty. Lei Meow Meow would just be the backdrop.”

Huh. Didn’t know I could be so vain.

Lei Meow Meow, still pinned under Tangerine, was not having it. She shouted, “Like hell I’d marry a big-a̲s̲s̲ perv like you!”

“Onii-chan’s not a perv! I’ll rip you apart!”

And just like that, Tangerine activated her Noble Phantasm: Radiant Sunlight Nap Palace of Debauchery, tugging at Lei Meow Meow’s yellow swimsuit like a maniac.

Lei Meow Meow may not be huge, but she’s got something going on. The scene got way too spicy, and I didn’t know where to look—good thing I shut my eyes before it crossed the R18 line.

“Xiao Xi! Get this girl off me! Wah!”

“She bites!”

Wait—was Lei Meow Meow’s voice actually cracked with tears?

The same Lei Meow Meow who once smashed through a concrete wall with a punch... was now pinned down and bullied into tears by a catgirl while her parents watched.

Karma really is a thing.

“Ptooey,” I spat the last of the sand and pulled Tangerine off her, patting her back to calm her down.

“Everyone, this is my sweet and adorable little sister, Tangerine.”

Lei Meow Meow stood up and straightened her swimsuit strap, grumbling, “Sweet my a̲s̲s̲! She’s fully a beast!”

Ignoring her slander, Tangerine gently rubbed my slapped cheek with concern in her voice. “Onii-chan, are you okay? Does it hurt?”

I was about to grimace dramatically, but... it didn't hurt as much as I thought.

“Weird, it actually doesn’t hurt. Do I have thick skin or something?”

Lei Meow Meow smirked, hands on hips. “Of course it doesn’t hurt. I hit you with the back of my hand.”

Ah, the back of the hand.

In martial arts tales, heroes always claim “I used the back of my blade!” so nobody dies. Guess Lei Meow Meow's slap works the same way.

Still, I flew. Does she think I’m some cartoon character who resets injuries between scenes?

“There’s a reason I used a female identity… remember that time in the alley on Mifeng Street? Even though you broke my glasses, I never said I was a girl. You guys just assumed and left.”

Bringing up that alley incident again, knowing she was in the wrong, Lei Meow Meow just looked away and huffed.

Tian Xi approached, looking conflicted. We’d had... physical encounters, so it was understandable that she would feel awkward.

“So Lingmeng isn’t your real name. What is?”

“Chang Kai. As in Chang Kaishen.”

Lei Meow Meow sneered, “No wonder they call you ‘Commander.’”

Tian Xi pressed on, “Then what about that ID you showed at the bar? Faking IDs is a crime, you know.”

“Ahem,” coughed Uncle Lei Luo—cop by profession, conveniently deaf for the moment.

“That ID is real,” I said. I tested it at a net café, it worked.

“Sis Xi, I swear I wasn’t trying to take advantage of you…”

“I know, I’m partly to blame. I was the one hugging you all the time.”
Tian Xi waved it off like it was nothing, though the red creeping up her face said otherwise.
“Besides, I used to be a dude too. What’s a little shoulder touch between bros?”

“Hold up!!” came a sudden outburst.

It was Rinka, who’d been silent this whole time, catching a key detail.

“This young miss, did you just say... you used to be a guy?”

“...Ugh!” Tian Qian clapped a hand over her mouth, realizing her slip.

I quickly slung an arm around Rinka and explained the usual: Lei Meow Meow dragged me into an alley, things escalated, I made a wish to the Divine Emissary, it backfired into a “blessing,” and now they’re all beautiful girls.

It’s a solid story. No one can track down this “Emissary”, so it’s airtight.

“So you’re saying the Divine Emissary can permanently turn someone into a girl?”

“Depends on the deity. That moonstone reacted when I gave it to you, so clearly, the gods are fond of you.”

I am actually quite fond of Rinka—in his angelic disguise, anyway.

Rinka’s eyes lit up like a fanatic. If we ever really started a Church of Bishoujo, she’d be the first convert. Ranked 11th in our grade, she was way smarter than the not-so-bright emissary who caused this in the first place.

“Kai, I’m counting on you! Please find that Divine Emissary!”

“Chill. And don’t go interrogating them too much. If you got turned into a girl, would you want people knowing you used to be a guy?”

“True, I get it now.”

I gave Tian Xi an OK sign to show she was safe. She didn’t seem mad.

Lei Meow Meow, though… she was giving me the same look I usually gave Zhao Zhao. In her eyes, I was basically a certified perv.

“Don’t be mad, sweetheart,” said Uncle Lei Luo. “He may’ve tricked us with his gender, but he’s a good kid.”

Maybe it was the whole family reconciliation thing, but his iron-blooded look had softened up lately.

“If he hadn’t called me that night, we’d still be separated.”

“Then how about this,”
suggested Sis Yuanyue, bouncing a volleyball casually,
“since this is a beach volleyball court, let’s settle it with a match. Four on four. Best of three. Subs allowed, but only one appearance per player.”

“If we lose, you get my daughter for a day. Do whatever you want with her. If we win, you spend your summer break helping Meow Meow once at her promo events. Deal?”

Do… whatever I want? What is this woman planning?

“Wait a sec, Mom! No matter who wins, I lose!”

“Objection!”

To my surprise, Zhao Zhao also protested.

Apparently, he wasn’t cool with Sis Yuanyue’s idea. He raised his arms in a big X and shouted, “Commander here has no combat power. He doesn’t count. This is three versus four—we’re guaranteed to lose!”

Huh?