“Whoa! Kai, you seriously don't know that? You don’t have many friends at school, huh?”

It was me that asked the initial question, but Rinka shot back with such sass it knocked the wind out of me.

To be fair, I don’t exactly have a bad rep—I can strike up a conversation with anyone. But actual friends? Not many. I tend to keep a safe emotional distance from people. It’s just how I deal with things.

“So what, your identity is public intel or something?”

“It’s not like I go shouting it from the rooftops, but I never tried to hide it either. Plus, I’m kinda well-known at school, so I figured plenty of people knew… But don’t freak out when I say this, okay? Our school’s principal, Huangfu Yuehua—she’s my grandmother.”

“WHAT?!”

I held my face in utter disbelief, my whole body twisting like that painting The Scream.

My dramatic reaction made the raft wobble violently. If not for the seatbelt, I might’ve actually jumped off.

What Rinka just said was just absolutely ridiculous.

Who is Huangfu Yuehua?

The principal and also board chairwoman of Biyang Girls Academy. She may look like your average kindly white-haired granny, but beneath that gentle appearance lies a heart of pure evil.

She’s the mastermind who used fake advertising to trick me into enrolling into an all-boys school. The root of all evil. The one who dragged countless adolescent boys into a twisted, hormonal nightmare...

Rumor has it, she’s an old witch who bathes in the blood of maidens to stay young. People say the Biyang Girls Academy she established is actually a ranch for harvesting girls—for that very reason.

Maybe she could read the horror on my face, because Rinka sighed helplessly. “Yeah, I know a lot of you have a bone to pick with her. I also get blamed for stuff at school all the time. But honestly… Granny’s not that bad.”

“‘Not that bad’? She’s definitely only nice to girls. I remember she’s a hardcore man-hater, right? Just look at the difference in school facilities. Our boys' school is falling apart, while over at the girls’ side, every single classroom has air conditioning!”

The classrooms at Haitang’s side not only have ACs, they also have massive flat-screen TVs. Meanwhile, our boys’ school? Only three spots have air conditioning: the teacher’s lounge, the cafeteria, and Rinka’s secret base.

“The boys' school only opened because of public pressure, right? The media wouldn’t shut up about how girls-only schools were outdated and discriminatory…”

“As a member of the boys’ school yourself, in complete honesty, do you think that old hag even sees us as human?”

“Well, uh… the budget’s kinda tight, you know.”

Yeah, all the budget probably went into building someone’s secret base.

Oh, my poor comrade Zhao Zhao—forced into summer remedial classes. No AC, no water. That big guy practically mummified from dehydration.

Rinka tried defending the old witch again, voice getting smaller and smaller. I just covered my ears like, “Nope, not listening.”

“So, this thing you have for wearing girls’ clothes—is that your grandma’s influence too?”

Thinking about Rinka’s situation, that conclusion came pretty naturally.

A guy, raised in a household where women rule the roost. Probably got humiliated from an early age—forced to play with dolls, dress-up, grow his hair out, wear his mean sisters’ old skirts… cleaning the house in frilly outfits, slowly warping his very soul…

“No, no, she never forced me to crossdress. But… she only ever doted on me when I wore skirts. Over time, I just stopped liking boys’ clothes.”

A grandma who doesn’t love you unless you’re in a skirt… well, no wonder Rinka turned out this way.

He scooped up a massive palm leaf from the water, trying to bend the wet leaf into a loop.

“But honestly, growing up in that kind of home is probably what made me want to become a woman. No matter what we were doing, women always looked so dazzling… so radiant…”

He eventually folded the palm leaf into a crown and gleefully plopped it on my head. Water trickled down my neck from the leaf tips, sending a shiver down my spine.

With a grin, he said, “Ha! Green hat!¹”

“Hey! Cut it out! It’s not like I even have a girlfriend to cheat on me!”

“Kai, do you want a girlfriend?”

Something flickered in his eyes. I quickly cut him off.

“Oi! Don’t even start with the whole ‘If I become a girl, I could be your girlfriend’ thing!”

“Kai, I know it might sound gross coming from someone like this… but I really like Liuliu. I still do. But I also like you.”

“Is this another persona?”

“Maybe… I’m not even sure myself.”

Rinka looked like he was reminiscing. Eyes shut, he stayed silent for a bit before continuing.

“That night in the bathroom, when I heard what you said… something clicked inside me. Like a part of my heart just… opened up. Kai, do you still have any of those magic stones?”

“If you’re talking about the moonstones, I’ve got some left.”

Actually, I have a whole cookie tin full. I wasn’t planning on turning them into bracelets or anything, so they’ve just been sitting there.

Rinka leaned over the middle bar of the raft, staring me straight in the eye. His eyes weren’t black, but a deep chestnut, with a flicker of green in the depths.

“About that promise we made—where I’d drop the act and spend a day hanging out with you… I want to try again. But this time, as a girl.”

“As a girl? So that means—”

“Yep. A date!” He leaned even closer, neck stretching like crazy because the seatbelt wouldn’t let him stand.

The greenish glint in his eyes grew more intense, almost desperate.
“Kai! Please—go on a date with me, as the woman I’m trying to be. If by then, you still think I’m not living true to myself, still see me as nothing more than an actor in a mask—I’ll let it go… I’ll give up on becoming a woman, and I’ll never trouble you again.”

That scared me, for a second I thought he was gonna say he’d off himself.

The serious tone in his voice sobered me up fast.

“Sure. You pick the day. I’ll make time for you.”

Rinka looked stunned—probably didn’t expect me to agree so easily.

“Kai… I don’t even know how to thank you…”

Well then, how about letting me squeeze your chest?

I wanted to joke like that, but I chickened out. What if he took it seriously? Besides, Rinka’s chest isn’t really any better than Xiao Lei’s. Might as well go rub my own knees.

“Ahem. I think being dazzling has nothing to do with gender. A shining soul will always be noticed, and no matter how flashy the body, it’ll all fade with time.”

I was trying to be deep, but Rinka just stared at me with this… shocked expression.

Wait—shocked?

He shouted, “Kai! Behind you! Look behind you!!”

It was only then I noticed his gaze wasn’t on me. The light from behind us was way too bright for this gloomy forest ride…

I turned around.

The water park’s xenon lights were bouncing off the ceiling reflectors, lighting up the path ahead. What lay before us… wasn’t more forest or waterway.

It was a cliff. A waterfall. A drop. No U-shaped water track in sight.

Maybe I just turned my head wrong…

Nope, still a cliff.

I looked back at Rinka's face—it was straight out of a Junji Ito horror manga.

I turned again—the cliff was right there. The water had picked up speed. The raft was racing forward. No time to undo the safety belts. Even if I could, I wouldn’t make it to either side…

That’s why the staff really warned us not to unbuckle the belt.

Turns out Tangerine wasn’t scared of that rickety bridge earlier. This was the real terror: the drop!

Now that I think about it, for a normal rafting ride, a full-body seatbelt is a bit overkill.

Even though I knew this waterfall cliff was just part of the ride, I still got scared—like that slow climb at the start of a rollercoaster, when it’s too late to back out and your palms start sweating.

Meanwhile, Rinka looked weirdly thrilled by the danger. Terrified but buzzing with adrenaline.

The raft hit the edge. I shut my eyes, clenched the handrails, and braced for impact.

The raft tilted and plunged. Spray from the falls smacked my face. That heart-dropping freefall feeling hit hard. My chest clenched, blood rushed to my head, my ears buzzed—

WHAM!

We landed in the water. A huge splash erupted around us.

The fall lasted just a moment, but it felt like forever. My mind went blank. I swear my soul turned into a little glowing white wisp, floating up toward the heavens… toward a baby angel with a halo and a bare butt…

“Kai, are you okay? You look super pale!”

Rinka shook me awake, and my soul whooshed right back into my mouth.