“Wait! You idiot!”

With a blinding flash of white light and pikapika starbursting effect, the 1.93m gorilla was gone. In his place was a girl with shoulder-length hair, scrunching her neck and turning sideways, blushing furiously while covering her chest. Her bare upper body, milky and porcelain-like, shimmered faintly like pearls under the light.

And why did this happen? Because Zhao Zhao was only wearing a pair of men’s boxer-style swim trunks. Believe it or not—I only realized it after I’d written the name down.

I was about to get all flustered, but then I remembered: Xiao Lei is Zhao Zhao. What am I even embarrassed for? If anything, she should be the one blushing.

And so she screamed.

“Ahhh! What kind of shame-play is this?! Idiot Commander, erase my name already!”

The soundproofing in this capsule was as good as its waterproofing—not a squeak from the outside could be heard. Which meant, conversely, no one could hear her screaming either. Add to that the door which couldn’t be opened from the inside…

This was a sealed room. A locked room mystery, Conan!

“Hehehe… go ahead and scream~ Scream till your throat gives out—no one’s coming to save you…"

I made grabbing motions in the air with both hands and even licked my lips for effect, like some lecherous creep about to pounce on an innocent girl.

Seeing me like this, Xiao Lei initially shrank back, wary. But then, hesitating, she scooted over toward me, cheeks ablaze like two clouds set aflame.

“I-I’m not ready yet, but if Commander insists on feeling me up… gulugulu…”

Gulugulu? What even is that sound?

“Ready my a̲s̲s̲! You’ve got barely anything on your chest to grab anyway—I was messing with you! Put this on!”

I took off the rash guard and draped it over her. Then I turned away, peering nervously out the capsule window as the water surface drew closer.

As soon as we touched the water, a buoyant force lifted the capsule. After a wobble, it began to sink slowly under its own weight.

Ahead of us, the capsule with Tangerine and Rinka had already submerged.

My guess? The capsule was shaped like a narrow teardrop so the weight concentrated at the bottom would help it sink—otherwise, the natural buoyancy would’ve kept it afloat… or maybe the ferris wheel just forced it down mechanically.

Dragged by the water current, our capsule tilted slightly as the waterline crept up past the window. As someone who can’t swim, I was equal parts intrigued and terrified—surrounded by water like this was a whole new level of anxiety.

“Let’s hope the glass doesn’t crack from the pressure.”

“Don’t say scary stuff like that!”

Xiao Lei kicked me on my back—not hard, but she had some fine sand stuck to her foot, which scraped uncomfortably.

“I’m dressed now. You can turn around.”

The pale blue sun-shirt matched the ocean-blue view behind her. Zhao Zhao and Xiao Lei had very different waist sizes, so the swim trunks looked more like oversized beach shorts on her.

She tugged the shirt down, trying to cover the trunks. Her pale legs pressed tightly together, rubbing a little nervously—adorably shy, and… honestly, a bit sensual. I quickly turned my head so I wouldn’t over-stimulate my little Chang Kai.

She understood my reaction and gave a self-deprecating smile, blushing.
“A beautiful girl, going commando, no bra either—and yet, I’m just not feeling it at all.”

“I, on the other hand, am super excited. Want me to snap a few pics to commemorate this?”

“No way!”
She shot back immediately, but then her eyes spun a little and she said,
“Well, maybe just a few. Consider it a reward for me in Zhao Zhao mode.”

I pulled my phone out of the waterproof pouch, and she added, “Make sure I look cute, okay?”

This circular pool of water was over ten meters deep. In addition to the dazzling light show, there were divers in elaborate costumes swimming around with oxygen tanks—doing underwater performances among coral and seaweed decor. Our slowly descending capsule looked like a mini-submarine diving into Atlantis.

Click! I pressed the shutter just as a mermaid-costumed woman swam into frame behind Xiao Lei, flashing a peace sign. Her sparkling tail scales shimmered under the underwater lights in a riot of color—absolutely stunning.

Xiao Lei waved excitedly at her, and the mermaid blew her a kiss before twirling away toward another capsule.

Our own capsule was now under the ferris wheel, starting its slow ascent.

“She looked like a real mermaid. The shell hairpiece, that shell bracelet on her wrist—so pretty.”

“Shell bracelet? I didn’t even notice… Guess that’s the difference between how guys and girls see things.”

“Yep, if I were still Zhao Zhao, I’d probably have been staring at her boobs the whole time.”

“No way,” I shook my head. “If you were still that mountain gorilla, your creepy vibes would’ve made her avoid our capsule altogether.”

“Ahahaha, so true!” Xiao Lei laughed brightly, totally unbothered by the jab.

“So… your goal this month is to turn Rinka into a real girl, isn’t it, Commander?”

“What can I say, my divine emissary sees right through me!”

“Duh. I pieced it together from your whole situation—don’t treat me like an idiot!”

“By the way, how much longer are your remedial classes? Going all the way until school starts? It’s tough pulling this off solo.”

“Can’t live without your trusty helper, huh? It ends mid-August, but there’ll only be two weeks of summer left by then.”

Today was August 3rd. So, just over a week to go.

At the mention of remedial classes, Xiao Lei immediately frowned like she’d just bitten a bitter gourd.

“I’m telling you, having classes in summer is basically a punishment game. No way can anyone focus on studying in that hellhole…”

While she grumbled, the water had already risen past our heads.

“We’re going up now. You don’t have a fear of heights, do you?”

“If I had to say… I do feel a little scared. Not height-wise—just worried something might go wrong.”

“Commander, you're really such a worrywart. If you’re scared, you can hold me tight. No—please hold me tight~”

Now that the tension had eased, she wasn’t so stiff anymore. Shame was the last thing on her mind. She scooted over to my left, wrapped both arms around mine—and my elbow ended up pressing into her chest.

…Uh. Not soft. At all. I could feel ribs through that thin layer of flesh.

What is this, a grater? Should I blush to show some respect?

With her clinging to me, I suddenly remembered what Master Halliluya said back in Volume 1, Page 33: Had Zhao Zhao ever truly considered the choice between those two identities?

“Xiao Lei, I mean… if you had to choose between being Zhao Zhao or Zhao Lei—only one—what would you pick?”

“Zhao Zhao, of course.” No hesitation. Then she grinned wide, flashing perfect teeth. “What, Commander, worried I’ve got a split personality?”

“Something like that.”

“It’s fine. I’m totally normal.”

“So I’m the only one overthinking this…”

“I have thought about it too. But I’ve made peace with it.”

Even as she said that, she didn’t let go of my arm. She rested her head on my shoulder, her red-dyed hair tips tickling my neck. I could even smell something… peaches?

Wait—is Zhao Zhao’s shampoo peach-scented?

“My chest may be flat, but I don’t dislike this form. My feelings for you are real. The fluttering heartbeats of a girl in love—they’re addictive. Just being near you, smelling your scent, gives me this overwhelming sense of happiness. You wouldn’t get that, would you?”
“Who would get that?!”

And what’s this about sniffing me? That sounds downright pervy!

“But I haven’t totally lost myself. I’m Zhao Zhao first, then the lovestruck girl Zhao Lei… There’s no need to pick one or the other right now, is there? Male or female—that’s all just a pen stroke from you. Ah!”

She narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “Wait a sec… Are you planning to use me just to hit your quota?!”

“No way. You’re not exactly ‘unfortunate.’”

"Come on, I'm super unfortunate, okay? In all my seventeen years of life, my only female friend has been Haitang. And you, Commander—you’re ridiculously good-looking but still a total guy, like you come with some kind of anti-girl force field. Plus, we ended up in an all-boys high school. What chance did I ever have?"

“Take a second and use that genius brain—aren’t you the one who caused all this?”

Our capsule had risen high enough to see the reflection panels under the dome ceiling, even higher than the faux mountain at the start of the lazy river. I spotted the wooden rafts down in the palm tree-shrouded water path—our next stop after this ferris wheel descent.

“We’re almost at the top!” Her breathing quickened, her excitement clear.

“Even if we’re at the top, we’re still indoors—”

Right as we reached the peak, Xiao Lei suddenly stood up, face flushed. She swept aside my bangs with one hand, tucked her own hair behind her ear with the other, leaned in…

And kissed my forehead.

Soft and warm. Definitely softer than her chest.

Caught totally off guard, I stammered, “Y-you… What’s with the sneak attack? Trying to seduce me?”

“Ahaha, you’re blushing! You look even prettier when you blush!” She sat back down across from me, beaming. “There’s a legend—if a couple kisses at the top of a ferris wheel, they’ll be happy forever. Since I was the only one kissing you… I’ll just wish you happiness instead.”

Just as I opened my mouth to reply, she pinched it shut.

“Kai, I really like you. So much that just being around you makes me feel happy. But this feeling will disappear once I turn back into Zhao Zhao. So you don’t need to say anything. Just this moment is enough for me.”

…

My heart’s pounding so hard…

Did I really just get seduced?