Chapter 1: The Sweetheart Marshmallow’s Secret

Under a sky ablaze with stars and moonlight, N University’s teaching building lay utterly deserted.

Su Mian tiptoed through the desolate corridor. As the night wind assailed him, a shiver involuntarily ran down his slight frame.

‘Late at night, Xiao Moyuan has snuck into the teaching building,’ Su Mian mused. ‘Could he possibly be meeting a girl in secret, engaging in some indecent affair?’

Recent rumors spoke of ‘strange’ sounds often emanating from the teaching building at midnight. The more Su Mian pondered it, the more the possibility solidified, stirring a surge of mischievous excitement within him.

Xiao Moyuan was the indisputable campus heartthrob of N University, and, crucially, Su Mian’s formidable love rival. He had always maintained an impeccable reputation, offering no scandalous weaknesses to exploit.

Yet, if Su Mian could expose him tonight, perhaps his childhood sweetheart, Shen Zhixia, would finally see reason and recognize Su Mian’s true worth.

If he could just secure a sweet romance with her, his body’s ‘anomaly’ might finally cease, slowly allowing him to revert to his true male form.

Barely fifteen minutes later, Su Mian finally discerned Xiao Moyuan’s form in a classroom nestled around the corner.

Beside him, a second, distinctly slender shadow lingered.

The classroom plunged into profound darkness, preventing Su Mian from clearly identifying the other person. Yet, an unsettling sense of familiarity gnawed at him.

‘Aha, just as I suspected,’ Su Mian thought, a smug satisfaction creeping in. ‘He’s here in the dead of night, secretly meeting another girl.’

A bitter tang laced Su Mian’s tone, though he remained oblivious to it himself.

Drawing his phone from his pocket, he resolved to capture an intimate scene between Xiao Moyuan and the girl at the opportune moment, then dispatch it to Shen Zhixia, unmasking Xiao Moyuan as the philandering scoundrel he truly was.

Time ticked by, each second stretching into an eternity. After an extended period of hushed conversation, the two figures in the classroom finally stirred.

Su Mian watched as Xiao Moyuan began to pull at the girl before him, tearing at her top with the savage ferocity of a starving wolf.

‘My god, he truly is a beast!’

Su Mian’s internal monologue erupted in expletives, his phone already set to burst mode, poised for photographic evidence.

Precisely at that moment, the clouds parted, allowing a torrent of moonlight to flood the entire classroom.

‘Clang!’ The sharp sound of a phone hitting the floor pierced the silence.

Su Mian stood as if struck by lightning, utterly paralyzed.

Shen Zhixia!

The girl Xiao Moyuan was secretly meeting was, unbelievably, Shen Zhixia.

He was the clown all along!

The sudden commotion from Su Mian’s position naturally drew the immediate attention of both Shen Zhixia and Xiao Moyuan within the classroom.

“A-Mian, help me!”

A tearful, trembling cry reached him, and only then did Su Mian’s mind register the alarming shift in the situation.

He watched as Shen Zhixia, her face awash with tears, her top’s neckline grotesquely torn to reveal a bare, snow-white shoulder, stumbled towards him.

“It was all Xiao Moyuan!” she sobbed. “He invited me here late at night to admire the moon, but then he suddenly went mad, pouncing on me like a beast…”

“Wuwuwu, A-Mian,” she wailed, “I should have listened to you. Xiao Moyuan truly isn’t a good person after all.”

Shen Zhixia pressed herself fully behind Su Mian. Feeling her small, trembling hands, Su Mian slowly began to regain his composure.

What he failed to notice, however, were Shen Zhixia’s jet-black nails, still glinting in the shadows and not yet fully retracted, and the two sharp fangs subtly protruding from her mouth.

To see his beloved woman so brazenly bullied was an affront no ‘man’ could possibly tolerate.

“Xiao Moyuan, you absolute scoundrel!”

Despite the fear etched onto his face, Su Mian charged forward, wildly swinging his fists with reckless abandon.

He remained utterly oblivious to the subtle abnormalities of both Xiao Moyuan and Shen Zhixia, who still lurked behind him.

Xiao Moyuan effortlessly caught Su Mian’s flailing fist with a single hand, then, with a swift counter-move, pinned him firmly beneath him.

“You bastard, let go of me!” Su Mian struggled, but Xiao Moyuan’s strength proved astoundingly formidable. No matter how much he strained, he found himself utterly unable to budge.

The two were now in unnervingly close proximity, Su Mian practically flattened against a classroom desk by Xiao Moyuan’s weight.

This utterly humiliating position made Su Mian’s entire face burn crimson.

Most alarmingly, his body, upon catching Xiao Moyuan’s scent, inexplicably weakened, turning pliant and boneless as if he had been drugged.

“Heh heh, let you go?” Xiao Moyuan sneered, a cold, mocking sound. In truth, he was wrestling with his own profound irritation.

His body’s curse had yet to be suppressed, and he had been on the verge of obtaining Shen Zhixia’s demonic blood. Yet, this little fool before him had utterly ruined everything.

“Xiaxia, hurry and leave! I’ll cover your retreat here.” Su Mian knew he was no match for Xiao Moyuan, and, more importantly, he desperately wished to spare his beloved from witnessing his humiliating defeat.

He quickly shouted to Shen Zhixia, who still stood by the doorway.

“Stop shouting,” Xiao Moyuan interjected. “She’s long gone.”

At his words, Su Mian lifted his head, his gaze sweeping towards the doorway. There was no trace of Shen Zhixia’s shadow to be found.

“Furthermore,” Xiao Moyuan continued, his face alight with mocking amusement as he regarded Su Mian, “this ‘covering the retreat’ you speak of—are you planning to use your own body to do so?”

It was then that Su Mian finally noticed Xiao Moyuan’s alarming transformation. His face was now covered in strange, intricate black patterns, and his skin beneath them pulsed with bulging, prominent veins.

The sheer horror of his appearance nearly brought Su Mian to tears.

“You… what’s wrong with you?” Su Mian stammered, his courage already meager, his voice now trembling uncontrollably.

“What’s this?” Xiao Moyuan taunted, a cruel smile playing on his lips.

“Just moments ago, you were playing the hero, and now you’re suddenly afraid?” He reached out, pinching Su Mian’s chin, and with an almost negligent gesture, swept away the glasses and bangs that had obscured his features, revealing Su Mian’s strikingly beautiful face.

It had to be conceded: this ‘little fox demon’ possessed truly exceptional beauty, an enchantress born to captivate.

“Xiao Moyuan, what do you want?” Su Mian asked, forcing the words past his trembling lips. His heart pounded with sheer terror under Xiao Moyuan’s predatory, almost man-eating gaze.

“Didn’t you declare you’d use your body to cover her retreat?” Xiao Moyuan drawled, his voice a silken threat. “Then you should be fully prepared to sacrifice yourself.”

“You, you’re joking, right?” Su Mian stammered, his voice laced with desperation. “We’re both guys! At worst, just beat me to death…”

“Both guys?” Xiao Moyuan scoffed, a glint of amusement in his eyes. “Do you truly believe I’m unaware that ‘Sweetheart Marshmallow’ online is you?”

Su Mian’s eyes widened in disbelief. Xiao Moyuan actually knew about that?

‘My god,’ Su Mian thought, a wave of panic washing over him. ‘When did he ever find out about me using a female account to online date him?’

There was no way he would ever admit to this, even if it cost him his life.

Pretending to be a girl to romance his love rival—such a brazenly shameless and utterly mortifying act. If it were ever exposed, he would rather die.

“I… I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Su Mian insisted, feigning absolute ignorance.

“Online, you called me ‘husband’ at every turn, constantly seducing me with leg photos and ‘cool’ pictures,” Xiao Moyuan reminded him, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “Have you forgotten all that now?”

‘Ahhh!’ Su Mian inwardly screamed, feeling his social life utterly crumble around him in that very moment.

Why, oh why, had he ever conceived the idea of impersonating a girl just to flirt with his love rival?

To conjure such a rotten scheme, had his brain been completely waterlogged at the time?

“You’ve mistaken me for someone else,” Su Mian maintained, still feigning ignorance. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Without uttering another word, Xiao Moyuan abruptly hoisted Su Mian onto his shoulder and began striding towards the exit.

Su Mian struggled wildly against his grip. “Xiao Moyuan, I’m warning you, this is kidnapping! Let go of me right now!”

“Help me!”

“Enough!” Xiao Moyuan snapped, retracting his hand with a sharp motion. His voice was cold, decisive. “Unless you wish to put on a public ‘little movie’ for the other students in this teaching building, I suggest you shut your mouth now.”

At his words, Su Mian clamped his mouth shut instantly, fear seizing him.

Upon arriving back at his residence, Xiao Moyuan unceremoniously tossed Su Mian onto the bed.

Su Mian immediately began to plead. “Brother, Brother Xiao, I was truly wrong! I’m genuinely not the ‘Sweetheart Marshmallow’ you online dated.”

“?” Xiao Moyuan merely smiled. “Did I ever explicitly state that ‘Sweetheart Marshmallow’ was online dating me?”

‘……’

‘Oh, he was utterly doomed!’ Su Mian internally shrieked. He had been so incredibly foolish as to expose himself.

Despite his desperate attempt to play dumb, Su Mian still refused to admit it. “Brother Xiao, I was just guessing! That truly wasn’t me!”

Xiao Moyuan wasted no further words. He reached into the wardrobe, pulled out a cool, exquisitely beautiful slip dress, and tossed it onto the bed. His tone was almost a command. “Change into this!”

Su Mian’s gaze fixed on the familiar dress, and his face instantly flushed a deep crimson.

Was this not the very ‘original scent’ dress he had sent to Xiao Moyuan all that time ago?

“What are you doing?”

Xiao Moyuan merely smiled. “Doesn’t Mianmian love this dress the most? Are you shy now? Does ‘husband’ need to help you put it on?”

Su Mian was on the verge of tears. “Brother, we’re both men! Don’t do this!”

Xiao Moyuan’s curse had already reached its critical breaking point.

“Mianmian, if you hadn’t come tonight, I might have indulged in this game with you for a little longer.”

“But you were so incredibly disobedient, forcing yourself into my path and letting that demoness escape.”

Xiao Moyuan’s voice abruptly ceased. Su Mian’s face filled with confusion, and before he could even ponder who this ‘demoness’ was, Xiao Moyuan casually ripped open his shirt collar.

The binding bandages around his chest fell loose onto the bed.

His proud, snow-white bosom was now completely exposed.

“Little fox, your gender differentiation is rather remarkable.”

“In your current state, what part of you still resembles a boy?”

Su Mian had no time to wonder why the other man called him ‘little fox.’ Instinctively, he fumbled for the dress on the bed and held it to shield himself.

Xiao Moyuan’s voice remained teasing. “What’s there to hide? Didn’t ‘Sweetheart Marshmallow’ already send me everything to see?”

“You felt no shame when you were flirting with me online, but now you do?”

Completely exposed, Su Mian lowered his head, utterly silent.

If he had a choice, he would rather die than ever again use a female account to trick Xiao Moyuan into an online romance.

“Since Mianmian, you wish so badly to be a girl, then I shall fulfill your desire.”

As Xiao Moyuan’s words fell, before Su Mian could even react, he directly captured Su Mian’s lips in a kiss.

It was a deep, consuming kiss. Su Mian initially resisted, but it was futile. Within moments, he felt dizzy and disoriented, his body deflating like a punctured balloon, collapsing involuntarily into Xiao Moyuan’s embrace.

He didn’t even realize that he was now actively responding to the other man.

Xiao Moyuan’s expression also shifted. The curse within him was actually beginning to recede.

It was precisely as he had initially speculated: he didn’t need to drink the blood of other demons. Simple intimate contact with Su Mian was enough to suppress the curse within him.

On Su Mian’s side, he was becoming increasingly muddled. His gender differentiation was already nearing its conclusion, with only the final step remaining.

With the curse now suppressed, Xiao Moyuan intended to let Su Mian off this time.

Yet, the moment he released his grip, the soft, delicate body in his arms actively pressed closer.

Observing Su Mian, whose eyes were now glowing with affection and whose consciousness was utterly dominated by his true nature, Xiao Moyuan smiled once more.

“I had intended to spare you tonight, little fox, but it seems you won’t let me.”

What kind of person would let a duck delivered right to their mouth simply fly away?

The night passed. As morning sunlight streamed in, Su Mian groggily opened her eyes.

“Awake, Mianmian?”

The deep, familiar voice startled Su Mian wide awake.

“Xiao Moyuan!”

Su Mian cried out, only to realize that without any effort, her voice had become a girl’s.

A dreadful premonition surged within her.

Seeing her panicked expression, Xiao Moyuan smiled. “Congratulations. You are now a complete girl.”

Su Mian: “……”

“Damn you!”