Chapter 2: The Proposal and the Plan

On the day he matriculated into university, Su Mian eagerly rushed towards his childhood friend.

“Shen Zhixia, we both got into N University. You promised me, so now we can be together, can’t we?”

Beneath the locust tree at the entrance of N University, the girl gazed at the slender boy before her. He had fair skin, wore black-rimmed glasses, and his bangs nearly obscured his eyes. She gently shook her head.

“No.”

In her estimation, Su Mian was simply not the type she favored.

“But you promised me,” Su Mian’s voice faltered.

He carried a secret ailment; his family had informed him that his gender would only stabilize after he turned eighteen.

The path to this stability lay in finding someone he genuinely loved and embarking on a romantic relationship.

For years, he had lived as a male, a role he had long since grown accustomed to. Now, having reached the required age, only a romance stood between him and his true self.

To achieve this, he had studied with an almost desperate fervor, successfully gaining admission to N City’s premier university alongside his childhood friend.

Yet, he was still rejected?

“I did say that if I hadn’t fallen for anyone else, I would consider trying to be with you,” Shen Zhixia said, her expression tinged with apology. “However, I now have someone I like.”

“Su Mian, you are my dearest friend. I truly don’t wish for this matter to diminish the bond we’ve shared for so many years.”

Su Mian clenched his fist. “But I… I genuinely like you.”

“We’re adults now, can’t you approach this with a bit more rationality?” Shen Zhixia sighed. “My being with you isn’t simply a consequence of your feelings for me.”

Her words were undeniably logical, yet Su Mian remained unwilling to yield. “Then who is this person you like?”

“Xiao Moyuan.”

As she uttered the name, a youthful, blossoming smile graced Shen Zhixia’s features.

Xiao Moyuan. He was N University’s top scholar, having achieved perfect scores in the sciences and serving as the freshman representative.

Tall and remarkably handsome, his aura was refined and transcendent. On the very first day of school, he arrived in a luxury car—a truly flawless scion of the heavens.

Su Mian knew he couldn’t possibly measure up, yet he refused to give in to despair. “Do I truly have no chance whatsoever?”

Shen Zhixia’s gaze swept over his bangs, which obscured half his face, and his loose, rather unfashionable clothes. She offered a tactful suggestion:

“A Mian, if Xiao Moyuan were to find a girlfriend… then I would consider giving us a try.”

***

Days turned into a week, yet there was still no news of Xiao Moyuan entering a relationship.

Su Mian, in turn, found himself utterly listless.

So many girls pursued him, yet he hadn’t taken a liking to a single one. Could it be that his standards were simply too exorbitant?

Or perhaps, was he truly so indifferent to romance?

“Mianzi, you spend all your time inquiring about Xiao Moyuan’s dating status. Have you perhaps fallen for our resident campus heartthrob?”

In the dorm room that evening, a boy with a buzz cut, currently lifting dumbbells, playfully jabbed. This was Lu Yang, their dorm’s self-proclaimed “boss.”

“Boss Lu, what in the world are you spouting?” Su Mian nearly leaped from his chair. “How could I possibly be interested in a man?”

“Relax, your Brother Lu is quite open-minded; I don’t discriminate against anyone’s sexual orientation.” Lu Yang set down his dumbbells and gulped down half a bottle of water.

Across the room, a quiet boy engrossed in a book adjusted his glasses. “I don’t discriminate either,” he stated, “but I cannot tolerate a potential backstabber lurking within our dorm.”

This was Qin Xuan, the third eldest of their dorm.

Su Mian felt like crying, yet no tears would come. “I truly don’t have that problem! I’m asking about Xiao Moyuan because…”

He then provided a rough outline of the agreement he had made with Shen Zhixia.

Lu Yang’s interest immediately piqued. He clapped Su Mian on the shoulder. “Well, well, Mianzi, I never would’ve guessed that Campus Belle Shen was your childhood friend!”

Beneath his palm, Su Mian’s shoulder felt astonishingly frail and soft to the touch.

As a sports student, Lu Yang could discern instantly that Su Mian possessed remarkably little muscle, with a body fat percentage akin to that of an average girl.

As he moved, an extremely faint, sweet yet not cloying fragrance drifted into his nostrils. Lu Yang paused, bewildered.

‘I haven’t seen Su Mian shower today,’ he mused. ‘What brand of shower gel could possibly have such lasting power?’

Su Mian, feeling uncomfortable, pushed his hand away. “Boss Lu, you really don’t know your own strength.”

Due to his unique physical condition, he had always harbored a strong aversion to physical contact.

“Is it truly so strange that Shen Zhixia is my childhood friend?”

Lu Yang retracted his hand, idly rubbing his fingertips together.

“It’s not that Brother Lu means to discourage you,” he remarked, “but with your appearance, resembling a complete shut-in, you genuinely don’t seem like a suitable match for Campus Belle Shen.”

“But truthfully, you really ought to start exercising.”

“With such a frail physique, how will you ever be able to protect Campus Belle Shen in the future?”

Qin Xuan, still absorbed in his book, now chimed in, “On this particular point, I actually find myself agreeing with Lu Yang.”

Su Mian’s entire face drooped. Was he truly that inadequate?

As for his physique, it wasn’t for lack of trying to exercise!

It was simply that before his gender had fully differentiated and stabilized, no amount of exercise could alter his figure or physique. It was, in truth, a peculiar predicament.

“However,” Lu Yang continued, “as your dorm mate, I am naturally on your side and looking out for your best interests.”

Su Mian’s eyes immediately brightened. “Boss Lu, do you have a way to bring Shen Zhixia and me together?”

Lu Yang was left speechless. “Do you truly believe I’m the Matchmaker God, capable of such feats?”

“My point is, we can devise a strategy that involves Xiao Moyuan.”

Su Mian’s curiosity was piqued. “So, do you have a way to make Xiao Moyuan start dating someone?”

Lu Yang waved his hand dismissively. “I’ve already told you, I’m not the Matchmaker God.”

Su Mian remained silent.

“Then why did you speak with such fervor?”

Lu Yang rubbed his nose, a hint of embarrassment coloring his tone. “That’s precisely why I said we should *think* of a way!”

More than ten minutes later, Su Mian looked at Lu Yang and inquired, “Boss Lu, have you managed to think of a solution?”

Lu Yang shook his head. “Not a thing!”

As he spoke, he turned his gaze towards Qin Xuan, who was still reading. “Xuan, you wear glasses; you always seem to have plenty of ideas. Do you have a solution?”

“Exactly,” Su Mian added. “Third Brother, you clearly possess vast knowledge and a brilliant mind. Why don’t you offer me some advice?”

Su Mian was genuinely desperate; he yearned to fully transform into a man.

In doing so, his physique would become taller and his features more sharply defined.

He wasn’t nearsighted; he wore glasses and maintained long bangs solely to conceal his excessively beautiful face.

Qin Xuan, who had remained silent until now, abruptly closed his book. A sharp glint flashed in his eyes behind the lenses. “Shen Zhixia said that as long as Xiao Moyuan has a partner, she’ll give it a try with you?”

Su Mian nodded emphatically. “Precisely!”

Qin Xuan adjusted the frames on the bridge of his nose. “Then tell me,” he asked, “does an online relationship count as a ‘partner’?”

His words struck like a clap of thunder. Su Mian’s head snapped up, his muddled thoughts suddenly cleaved open, allowing a beam of light to penetrate.

“I understand!”

Qin Xuan smiled enigmatically. “You understood it just like that?”

Lu Yang, utterly bewildered, interjected, “What are you two even talking about? I haven’t understood a single thing! What’s this about online romance? Are you suggesting we find Xiao Moyuan an online girlfriend?”

That very evening, Su Mian climbed back into his upper bunk and meticulously created a brand-new account. He spent a considerable time selecting an avatar, ultimately settling on a soft, adorable anime girl with pink hair.

His ID: Sweetheart Marshmallow.

If no opportunity presented itself, he would simply create one. Since he couldn’t compete in reality, he would “approach” Xiao Moyuan in the virtual world.

Once Xiao Moyuan confirmed a relationship with his online persona, he would brutally sever ties, thus clearing the path to be with Shen Zhixia.

After all, deceiving someone’s affections in an online relationship wasn’t against the law.

Gazing at the cute, pink interface on the screen, Su Mian’s lips curved into a triumphant smirk—he was nothing short of a genius!