Chapter 57: A Brother’s Uneasy Realization

The atmosphere sank into awkwardness.

Both of them waited for the other to speak first.

Su Xuan snuck a glance at his older brother.

Back in Xilin Garden, the lighting and chaos had left him little chance to quietly observe this brother he hadn’t seen in so long.

A tall, straight nose.

Eyes as sharp and commanding as a falcon’s.

Those black pupils were like bottomless abysses, impossible to read.

His sculpted, three-dimensional profile only heightened his masculine aura.

By modern beauty standards, Su Chen was the epitome of a ruggedly handsome man—completely unlike those delicate, “pretty-boy” idols.

Years of battle and training had forged in Su Chen a unique temperament.

Just looking at him brought a sense of calm and reliability, as if you could entrust yourself to him without hesitation.

While Su Xuan was secretly studying Su Chen, Su Chen was also quietly sizing up his younger brother.

After years apart, Su Xuan had grown taller, though still half a head shorter than him.

The once slightly angular face had softened.

His hair had grown so long it even surpassed that of some girls.

His skin was pale—not the sickly pallor of blood loss or lack of sunlight.

It was a healthy, jade-like whiteness, glowing with an enticing luster.

His facial features still bore traces of the boy from before, but subtle changes now made him look even more like a girl.

He wore a dark T-shirt, which couldn’t quite hide his striking figure.

Su Chen could even faintly discern a pair of cute little “white rabbits,” tender and hidden beneath the fabric.

A pair of smooth, flawless white legs were openly revealed, without the slightest blemish.

Suddenly, their gazes met, colliding midair.

Su Xuan’s neck stiffened instantly.

Su Chen awkwardly pulled his gaze back as well.

Both now had a better sense of each other.

“Eh… Xiao Xuan… you’ve changed a lot.”

[TL Note: “Xiao (小)” is a common affectionate prefix in Chinese nicknames, showing closeness or familiarity. It doesn’t literally mean “little.”]

Su Chen finally broke the silence.

Even with his strong nerves, he found himself a little out of breath in this situation.

The pressure was so intense he resorted to filler words he rarely used, just to ease the awkwardness.

Su Chen almost never said things like “Eh…” or “Uh…” because such words made a person sound indecisive.

In the military, being concise and crisp was the mark of an excellent soldier.

Of course, some old veterans had a habit of dragging out their words.

But when facing his own younger brother, Su Chen found he didn’t quite know how to speak.

It wasn’t because Su Xuan was overly beautiful.

To be honest, on the front lines he’d seen plenty of beautiful women.

Not once had any made his mouth go dry or his words falter.

After all, Su Chen had his own definition of beauty.

But when that overly beautiful person happened to be his own younger brother…

That was a real problem.

It was his first time facing such a situation, so naturally he felt nervous and awkward.

As for Su Xuan, his predicament was even more uncomfortable.

His past life’s experience was of no use here.

It only made him seem more mature and allowed him to plan his life earlier.

But right now, he was a genuine seventeen-year-old boy.

No pretending at wisdom beyond his years.

After all, in his previous life he had only lived seventeen years too.

Now Su Xuan felt flustered.

He didn’t know whether he should reveal his secret.

Though it wasn’t much of a secret anymore.

Even if he said his Phantom Soul was Yin-attribute, he wouldn’t be dragged off for experiments.

It wasn’t like there weren’t news reports about such things.

Cases of pseudo-hermaphroditism often resolved themselves after Phantom Soul awakening, even without hospital treatment.

Just as Su Xuan was debating how to speak, Su Chen’s voice reached him.

There was a slight tremor in it, but overall it was calm, giving nothing away about his emotions.

Su Xuan forced a strained smile.

“Is that so… haha…”

Su Chen’s voice grew steadier as he continued.

“Mm. I didn’t expect that boy to turn out like this. It’s quite surprising.”

Su Xuan lowered his head, speaking in a voice as soft as a mosquito.

“There was no helping it…”

Suddenly, Su Chen seemed to make up his mind.

He lifted his right hand, hovering it for a moment, then grasped Su Xuan’s delicate left hand resting on his pants.

Su Xuan was so startled he nearly jumped out of his skin.

He instinctively tried to pull his hand back, but Su Chen’s grip didn’t budge.

Su Xuan forced himself to calm down and raised his head to look at the man with his eyes slightly closed.

Su Chen closed his eyes, feeling the flow of energons within Su Xuan, sensing the fluctuations of his Soul Essence.

After a moment, Su Chen released his hand and sighed.

“So it’s true…”

His earlier suspicions had been confirmed.

His younger brother—no, younger sister—indeed had a Yin-attribute Phantom Soul.

Meanwhile, Su Xuan’s heart thudded anxiously.

‘True? True about what ⊙_⊙?’

But he didn’t show it.

He just smiled faintly, as if unconcerned, or perhaps waiting for Su Chen’s next words.

Sure enough, Su Chen immediately continued.

“Xiao Xuan, do you know that your Phantom Soul is actually Yin-attribute?”

He made his voice as gentle and slow as possible.

Su Xuan gave a small nod.

Softly, he replied, “Mm…”

Su Chen quietly breathed a small sigh of relief.

It seemed his younger brother wasn’t overly sensitive about it.

Truthfully, at the moment he asked the question, Su Chen had been nervous.

For someone who had lived as a boy for over a decade, this wasn’t exactly good news.

It could even be considered a kind of humiliation.

Tearing open his scar like this made Su Chen feel uncertain.

But fortunately, he could roughly judge that despite his younger brother’s dramatic changes in body and mind, the pride in his heart remained.

He wouldn’t delude himself or deny reality.

Su Chen continued.

“So, all your changes are actually due to the Soul Essence’s effect on your body.

It’s a normal transformation.

Your true gender… is actually that of a girl.”

“A girl… huh?”

It was the first time someone else had confirmed it out loud.

But Su Xuan already knew.

He also knew he still had a chance to remain a man.

Though it would be difficult.

“Brother… actually, I have two Phantom Souls inside me.

The other one is Yang-attribute.”

Su Xuan silently thought to himself.

That was his real secret—having two Phantom Souls.

A “boy” possessing a Yin-attribute Phantom Soul was rare, but not unheard of.

But possessing two Phantom Souls?

That was something unseen through the ages.

Not even the books recorded such a thing.