Xue Ji slept soundly last night, dreaming of the time she defeated the Demon King. That woman was strange—filled with an abnormal malice toward the isekai world, yet not purely evil, since she held no hostility toward Xue Ji, an outsider. Right before her death, she even hit Xue Ji with a massive curveball, turning her into a woman. It was downright baffling.
Coincidentally, the Demon King appeared in Xue Ji’s dream, so without hesitation, she threw hands. Though the Demon King seemed to have something to say, Xue Ji’s fist shut her up before she could utter a word, followed by a thorough beatdown. The Demon King vanished with a resentful look, only for Ling Xiaoxiao to appear in the dream—except this version was far more violent than reality. The moment she saw Xue Ji, she tried to stuff her into a sack.
Thus, the latter half of the dream became an all-out brawl between Xue Ji and Ling Xiaoxiao. While Xue Ji was teasing the real Ling Xiaoxiao, her dream self was locked in combat with her. To avoid being chained up by Dream Xiaoxiao, Xue Ji resorted to biting and wild flailing before finally escaping.
By 7 AM, Xue Ji woke up feeling refreshed. A pleasant scent lingered in the air—likely from the poor bird she had tormented all night. Judging by the state of the blankets, Ling Xiaoxiao had visited but left unusually early.
Thanks to the dream, Xue Ji was in high spirits today. Even though it was just a dream, recalling the Demon King’s aggrieved face and Ling Xiaoxiao’s furious expression made her chuckle uncontrollably. At breakfast, her appetite was so good she even grabbed an extra bun.
Since becoming a girl, Xue Ji’s appetite had shrunk considerably. Watching her devour food with cheeks puffed out like a hamster was amusing, but her voracious eating didn’t last long. She quickly got full, staring awkwardly at the half-eaten bun in her hand before glancing pleadingly at her mom.
As a child, she’d often been scolded for biting off more than she could chew, leaving her with lingering trauma. Now, she could only look at her mother with puppy-dog eyes, begging for mercy.
Of course, Mom couldn’t bring herself to scold Xue Ji at this age, regardless of gender. She just smiled and let it slide. Seeing Xue Ji’s hamster-like eating was already the highlight of the meal.
“Now that your body’s changed, you need to be more mindful, understand?” Mom said with a laugh.
“Got it.”
“Oh, go wake Ling Xiaoxiao for breakfast. It’s rare to see her sleep in this late.”
Xue Ji had assumed Ling Xiaoxiao was already up. Finding it odd, she knocked lightly on the door—no response. Another knock—still nothing. Tiptoeing inside, she approached the bed.
And what she saw shocked her.
Ling Xiaoxiao looked like a vampire who’d just crawled out of a coffin—puffy eyelids, dark circles, disheveled hair, a faint bite mark on her cheek, and wrinkled clothes.
Did she… overdo her ‘self-rewarding’?
That made sense. An ancient relic like her had probably never seen modern suggestive short videos before. Losing control was understandable. Who knew the usually prim-and-proper Ling Xiaoxiao had such… needs? No wonder she always looked at Xue Ji weirdly—she must’ve been on guard against her roommate. Totally normal.
Still, no matter how much she’d rewarded herself, breakfast was non-negotiable. Letting Mom call you more than three times was a one-way ticket to disaster. So Xue Ji gently shook her awake.
“Wake up, time for breakfast.”
“……”
“Ling Xiaoxiao, the sun’s roasting your butt!”
“……”
“Hey, fossil, you wouldn’t want my parents finding out you over-rewarded yourself in their house, would you?” Xue Ji teased in a sing-song voice near her ear.
“Reward? What reward?” Ling Xiaoxiao blearily opened her eyes, utterly confused.
“You don’t know? Never mind then.” Xue Ji suddenly realized the implications of explaining this to her.
But Ling Xiaoxiao, already irritable from last night, pressed, “Stop playing dumb. Spit it out.”
Instead of answering, Xue Ji turned to leave—only for a strong hand to yank her back. She froze, meeting Ling Xiaoxiao’s murderous glare. Though clueless about the cause, Xue Ji’s survival instincts screamed at her not to joke around now.
“Explain. What ‘reward’? Did I do something shameful?” Ling Xiaoxiao’s urgent tone made it sound like she genuinely feared she had.
Unable to resist, Xue Ji gestured for her to lean in, then whispered an explanation about stress relief—along with a lecture on the dangers of excessive rewards, like balding, stupidity, and creeping people out. She even earnestly advised Ling Xiaoxiao to pace herself.
Completely oblivious to Ling Xiaoxiao’s darkening expression and throbbing forehead vein, Xue Ji rambled on—until Ling Xiaoxiao suddenly yanked her onto the bed, pinning her down, their foreheads touching.
The abrupt shift startled Xue Ji. Staring up at the furious woman, she wisely chose not to resist.
“Having fun, Snowflake?” Ling Xiaoxiao growled.
From the doorway, the scene looked highly suggestive—one girl on top of the other, their faces nearly merged.
“I lost sleep last night because of you, you little gremlin. And now you have the nerve to spout nonsense at me? Want me to punish you right here?” Ling Xiaoxiao pressed down harder, as if trying to fuse Xue Ji into the mattress.
“I’m sorr—mmph!”*
Before Xue Ji could finish, darkness enveloped her vision—her face buried in softness. A face wash attack! She flailed weakly at first.
“Ling Xiaoxiao, this is my house—mmph!”
Pulled back into the embrace, Xue Ji’s resistance crumbled. The sweet fragrance flooding her nose sent her heart rate skyrocketing. Soon, she stopped struggling entirely—only her kicking feet betrayed any semblance of protest.
Meanwhile, at the door, Mom had come to check on them—only to freeze at the sight of Xue Ji pinned beneath Ling Xiaoxiao. Even as a seasoned adult, the scene was too much. She ducked out of sight, covering her mouth, pretending she saw nothing.
Yet, torn between concern for her child and fear of Ling Xiaoxiao going too far, she peeked back in.
By the time Mom returned to the living room, her mind was blank. Dad, seeing her storm off only to return calmly, raised an eyebrow.
“Stop staring. Eat up—we’re late for work.”
“But… you’re off today?”
Silence descended upon the living room.