FXDL V3C4

I love this author so much. I can’t imagine any better swaps than what she went with here, seamlessly making sure there are both comedic ones and serious ones that are essential plot points.

Translated by: TaffyGirl13

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Chapter 4: The secret garden inside the male dorms, the realm of demons in the female dorms

“There seems to be some confusion at the moment. It appears that due to some reason, our souls have switched into different bodies that are not ours. However, the current situation is not yet clear; there’s a possibility that it could worsen, or perhaps we just got struck by illusory magic to make us believe our souls and bodies swapped.”

｢Flora｣ had a smile on her face as she kindly and politely clarified their circumstances while also trying to suggest an acceptable method to resolve it. It was a remarkable instance of leadership.

“As a result, before a specialist arrives, we should try clearing out some questions. Firstly, please introduce yourselves so that we know who is in which body. Is that alright with everyone?”

They all exchanged looks with each other, their expressions ugly. However, they still agreed to the suggestion.

“In that case, allow me to start.” ｢Flora｣ spoke up first. “I am Shiran Vantis.”

“So you’re the one using my body at the moment. Not bad, then.” ｢Brad｣ chuckled. “I’m the cat spirit, Flora.”

“Oh…” ｢Zhu Yue｣ unhappily muttered while looking at ｢Brad｣ before sighing, “I’m Brad…”

“I’m Zhu Yue,” ｢Leon｣ said, worry written all over his face.

“Leon Sagveiss.” Shiran’s face, which always carried a warm smile, was currently replaced by a stern sombreness.

“I’m Dan Juan.” ｢Momiji｣ shot a disgusted glance down at her well-developed chest. “This is really…a nightmare.”

“I’m Emerald,” ｢Rocort｣ said.

“Ooooh! I’m Rocort!” ｢Dan Juan｣ excitedly waved at ｢Rocort｣. “I look so funny! Haha!”

“I’m Momiji.” ｢Emerald｣ had his arms crossed in front of him as he leaned against the wall, emitting a flirtatious charm. His eyes wandered over to ｢Taeharu｣ standing next to him in a daze, and he smirked. “Looks like Zi Ye is the one inside Taeharu’s adorable body.”

｢Taeharu｣ blankly turned her head. “Is something the matter?”

“Momiji! I’m Taeharu! I’m here!” ｢Fu Xing｣ charged at ｢Emerald｣, wrapping himself around the other’s waist and snuggling closely.

Momiji-as-Emerald gently patted the other’s head. “Now that we look like this, I can’t hug you anymore.”

“Momiji is Momiji, even if her external appearance has changed!” Taeharu persistently clung onto Momiji.

“While your friendship is very touching, can you not use my body to do something like that?” Emerald-as-Rocort felt awkward seeing his own body hugging another male so intimately, and his scalp immediately started to tingle.

“There’s nothing wrong with it.”

Every person present had reported their names in succession. Finally, only person remained.

“I-I’m He Fu Xing…” The pale figure shrank backwards with a lowered head. “Sorry, it’s my fault…”

Silence filled the entire hall.

“It’s you again!” Brad roared out furiously. “Can’t you just be content with sitting on the side and watching?!”

Fu Xing’s eyes widened as guilt and remorse filled them. “I’m really-really very sorry—”

“You—ugh…” Brad shot an angry glare at Fu Xing. Although the mess in front of him made him extremely unhappy, he could not ever truly be angry at Fu Xing. He only felt bitter.

Leon furrowed his brows at the badge in front of his chest that represented the upper officials of Aquarius. This new identity was too conspicuous and quite disadvantageous to his investigation of White Triangle.

He let out a helpless sigh. After all, it was initially him that had given permission for Fu Xing to come and observe. He was aware that he did not have any right to complain at the moment.

“I’m really so sorry!” Panicked, Fu Xing repeatedly bowed in apology.

“Don’t blame Fu Xing! It’s my fault! It’s all my fault! Oh God…” Rocort beside him began to blindly follow as well, crying out tearfully like a pirated local film.

“Rocort…” Fu Xing stared at Rocort. While he felt grateful for the other’s comradery, he also found it odd.

Rocort, what kind of movies were you watching over summer break…?

Seeing the depressed Fu Xing, the others could not bear to scold him either, despite their extreme discontent.

Aside from Samukawa.

“I just knew it was you! From the start, I was opposed to idlers coming in, But Sanbi thought it was fine. His way of thinking is much too lenient—”

The door opened. Everyone turned their heads towards the sound, only to se He Fu Qing cutting through the ward to enter with a pinion in hand.

“Sis?” What did she come here for?

“I received the top-secret urgent message from Professor Samukawa.”

“Top-secret?”

“Nothing about what happened here must leave this room!” Samukawa loudly declared.

He Fu Qing’s gaze swept across everyone inside the hall, then shifted to the surroundings to scan the hall.

“The repercussions of a high-energy spell.” She paused for a moment. “An irregular spell…”

“Irregular spell.” Samukawa coldly snorted, “Chaotic energy.”

He Fu Qing turned her head to look at Fu Xing. She did not know that at the moment, Taeharu’s soul was inside Fu Xing’s body.

Fu Xing watched and listened to everything through Zi Ye’s body, feeling completely lost.

Huh? What’s chaotic energy? Why does Sis know that it was my fault?

“I understand.” He Fu Qing sighed. “Since my brother can’t wipe his own ass, I’ll clean it up for him.”

“It-it’s not me,” Taeharu hurriedly cleared her name. “I’m Taeharu. The real Fu Xing is him.”

She pointed a finger at Zi Ye.

Fu Qing walked over to him. “You’re Fu Xing?”

Fu Xing nodded.

“What did you do, Fu Xing?”

“I don’t know.”

“I figured as much…” Fu Qing walked over to the other students, inquiring about their conditions while recording notes in her notebook. At the same time, she circled around the entire special ability application classroom, searching for the faintest of traces. It was like she was an investigator at a CSI crime scene.

Finally, she picked up the partially-eaten bean paste bun that was now slightly burned on the outside.

“Whose is this?”

“Mine! I’m Rocort!”

Fu Qing nodded. “I know.” She raised the bean paste bun up and carefully scrunitised it.

Fu Xing’s gaze also anxiously focused on the bean paste bun.

Then he discovered that there was actually a thin layer of light orange light mixed with purple surrounding the outside of the bean paste bun.

“Ah?!” Fu Xing rubbed his eyes. When he peered at it again, the light had disappeared.

My eyes seem to have turned weird. Is something wrong?

“Because that’s my body…” Zi Ye blankly muttered from inside Taeharu’s body.

Fu Xing’s eyes turned towards him. However, the other had lowered his head, quietly playing with the tassels tied around his wrists.

“This has the residual energy from a special ability spell.” Fu Qing looked at Fu Xing. “Could you explain what you did?”

“Rocort was eating a bean paste bun and said the filling tasted the best, so he wanted the proportion of inside to outside switched. Then I remembered that we had recently been taught how to cast original spells, so I figured why not try it with this…” Fu Xing lowered his head as he replied in trepidation, not daring to let his eyes meet Fu Qing’s face.

“We’re still learning the theory and haven’t started the application yet. You’re not supposed to test it out on your own!” Samukawa furiously reprimanded, his young face twisting in anger.

“Sorry…”

“What damn use is apologising now?! What if things cannot be restored? What will happen to the school ceremony? What if I need to maintain this laughable appearance forever? What if your comrades can never return to their own bodies?!” Samukawa roared out.

“Sorry, I’m really so sorry! I didn’t think that much…”

“You always think too little, you never consider things thoroughly enough! You’ve always been like that!”

“It shouldn’t be that bad,” Zhu Yue-as-Leon forcefully suppressed her own anxious emotions and kindly helped speak up for Fu Xing. “Professor, calm down a bit.”

“Shut up, this isn’t your place to speak, you two-faced hypocrite!”

“Ah! Sorry—” Zhu Yue looked down, her eyes on the verge of tears. But with Leon’s face, it looked beyond bizarre.

“Don’t cry, I beg you, please don’t cry…” Leon was clearly somewhat at a loss. He did not want to see that kind of expression on his face, yet did not know how to comfort her to prevent it.  He simply stood off to the side, awkwardly staring at himself.

“What are you being so vicious for?!” Brad was indignant as he watched his crush being yelled at. His courage only grew now that Samukawa’s usually threatening appearance had transformed into that of a child. “Do you think you have the right to talk? As a professor, as the main trainer for the northern campus, you were unable to suppress a mere mid-level spell that had gone berserk. Plus, you even got hit by it as well. If the school wants to settle accounts, the responsibility will fall onto you!”

“What did you say?!”

“That’s right, Professor Samukawa.” Momiji chuckled and chimed in, “For a grand tengu to be reduced to this kind of appearance, I think you would be better suited to become a mascot rather than the main trainer for the northern campus!”

“You little—”

“Alright, settle down. This isn’t the time to be arguing,” Shiran spoke up to control the scene. “Right now, we should be thinking of how to deal with this.”

“Do you want me to report to the higher-ups first?” Fu Qing asked.

“There’s no need. Reporting it won’t be any more use than not reporting it. When it comes traditions like the school ceremony, it would not be cancelled unless the representatives died or a major natural disaster occurred. Besides, the school representatives were selected by bone divination. Perhaps this kind of occurrence was also decided by Heaven’s Will…”

Shiran was silent for a few seconds. “Moreover, letting others know our condition will only affect morale. Hence, I believe that what our current action should be is to find a way to break the spell while continuing the pre-competition training.”

Fu Qing nodded. “Indeed.”

“Since when were you in charge of this place?!” The little Samukawa displayed unbridled arrogance.

“This is the most appropriate solution. If the school knew that such an unfathomable incident had occurred during the practice that the main trainer was monitoring…” Shiran intentionally paused for a moment with a sympathetic smile. “I’m sure that it would be extremely unfavourable for Professor too.”

Samukawa was speechless.

“Furthermore, while Professor was able to keep his own body, it might be extremely unsuitable for you to appear in your current state.”

Samukawa frowned and let out a low string of curses.

“We must pretend to be those whom we currently possess. We cannot expose any cracks. In this period of time, everyone must work and rest as usual. To properly act as a different role is not a simple task; we must work together closely.”

“Um, I have a question…” Brad raised his hand. “My current body is a girl’s. That’s very…”

Although Fu Xing was in low spirits, he couldn’t help but find Brad’s bright red face amusing.

Oh Brad, now your relationship with Zhu Yue is significantly “closer” than before.

“Aside from Rocort, Emerald, Leon, and Fu Xing, everyone’s genders have changed.” Shiran empathetically said, “I know this is very difficult. However, for the sake of the entire group, as well yourselves, I ask that all of you please try your best to adapt.”

For a moment, the entire room was quiet as the crowd silently deliberated this. While their next task was challenging and embarrassing, they could not think of a better solution.

“That’s all we can do.”

“Very well then. Everyone, please tell your possessor what your usual habits are and what things to take note of in order to not expose themselves.” Shiran smiled. “Let’s adjourn for the day. Hopefully there won’t be any strange rumours spread by tomorrow, at least.”

The crowd exchanged looks with one another and simultaneously heaved a sigh, accepting the reality and preparing to face their subsequent lifestyles.

Zhu Yue walked up to Brad, feeling a bit out of place from seeing her own body standing in front of her.

“I’ve troubled you, Brad.”

“Not at all.” Brad stared at Zhu Yue-as-Leon with a myriad of complex emotions in his heart.

“Thank you for speaking up for me just now.”

“It’s nothing.” Brad scratched his face in embarrassment.

Zhu Yue smiled. “I will have to ask for you to take good care of my body now…”

The forcefulness behind this sentence was quite shocking, and Brad was immediately flustered.

“I will be very careful! I definitely won’t mess around—ahem, I mean, I’ve never had any improper thoughts about this body before…er…nor proper thoughts…no, that’s not—”

Brad felt as though he was on the verge of a breakdown. His brain was filled with distracting thoughts and extreme embarrassment. He clutched his head with his hands, trying to suppress the wild thoughts down back into his subconsciousness.

Zhu Yue’s body! I have to take care of Zhu Yue’s body—Zhu Yue’s body ahhhhhh!

“Calm down, Brad.” When Fu Xing saw ｢Zhu Yue｣’s eyes widen hysterically, he couldn’t help but give Brad a light push and quietly reminded, “You’ll make ｢Zhu Yue｣ look bizarre like this.”

Brad returned his senses and let out a light cough. “Sorry, this spell is very powerful. It’s impacting my judgment and my normal line of thinking.”

Fu Xing shot Brad a glare.

“It’s fine…” Zhu Yue smiled awkwardly, then looked at ｢Shiran｣. “Um, classmate Leon, I’m very sorry, but may I ask…”

“You can do whatever you like.”

“Is there anything I need to take note of?”

“Go ask Fu Xing,” Leon coldly stated. Then he glanced at Fu Xing’s new body before leaving without turning his head back.

“Cold bastard.” Brad watched Leon’s retreating back and said in a half-sneering, half-admiring tone, “Even in a time like this, he can maintain that kind of temperament.”

Leon looked the same as usual, cool and apathetic. However, Fu Xing could tell that Leon was angry. Becoming Shiran meant his actions would be very limited. He could not sneak out of campus as before to investigate Lia’s matter.

Flora-as-Brad was clearly eager and excited, her hands freely touching all over her body while laughing strangely. It seemed like only Flora felt as comfortable as a fish in water.

Like a cat that has caught a fish.

Upon leaving the training room, the crowd continued to gather information from their bodies’ original owners along the way.

Shiran walked up to Flora and said, “I will use [your body] carefully. I may end up doing something offensive during daily washing, so please forgive me in advance.”

“There’s nothing much to see anyways.” As Flora walked, she studied her palms, quietly appraising the distinct joints and the fingers full of strength.

“Then what about courses?”

“I have a timetable on my desk, you can go if you want.”

“I don’t think skipping class would be very good.”

“Not skipping isn’t necessarily good either.” Ah, this wrist, its bone…so amazing!

“Are there any details I should watch out for when interacting with peers or friends?”

“No. There’s no need to specially imitate me. I have very few friends.”

“But if your classmates discover that you’re different from usual—”

“It doesn’t matter. Nothing would happen even if they did find something unusual.” Flora smiled thinly, “Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that they wouldn’t dare to do anything.”

Shiran raised a brow without commenting. After a while though, he still curiously asked, “You seem to know many things about others.”

“Mhm.”

“Is this…due to personal interest?”

“I’m not a pervert.” Flora shot Shiran a glare. “It’s in order to do things more conveniently. For example, some information can make others obediently listen to commands and carry out tasks. Some items can make others help you retrieve things.”

“Is that so.” Shiran nodded, “You have the natural gift for being a leader.”

“Haha, what, are you offering an Aquarius spot to me?”

Shiran smiled. “Tyranny will always die.”

“It will only self-destruct if its power is insufficient.”

Once they arrived at the square in front of the dorms, Flora tossed a key at Shiran.

“The spare key is in the porcelain bowl next to the door. When you go in, please bring me the plastic crate labelled 06; it’s on the metal shelf against the wall. Also my laptop, a tripod, and the lens inside the dry box labelled 04. Thanks.”

“Alright.”

“In addition, don’t temper with my belongings. Don’t open the closet door, and don’t open the files or links on my computer.”

“I will not secretly look at other person’s private business,” Shiran solemnly clarified himself.

“Oh, I don’t mind you looking.” Flora unexpectedly smirked. “I’m just afraid of scaring you.”

 

Dan Juan, Shiran, Zi Ye, and Brad stood before the entrance to the female dorms. The four took a deep breath like explorers about to enter a mysterious and dangerous land. Then they cautiously and seriously took their first step into the building.

As it was a bit late, there were not many people along the way. The first floor was the communal area, where there were several upperclassmen hugging pillows and casually chatting happily. Occasionally, girls wearing sleepwear or shorts would walk out from the baths with their hair wrapped up.

It was very ordinary, very normal.

“It’s not as terrible as I imagined.” Dan Juan sighed in relief. “I thought I’d see a bunch of hysterical women streaking around naked and crazily gnawing on raw meat.”

“Oh, Dan Juan…what is in that head of yours?” Shiran chuckled.

Shiran and Brad headed to the second floor of the dorm, while Dan Juan dragged Zi Ye towards the fourth floor.

“Good thing Flora and Zhu Yue are roommates. At least this way, we can drop the act while in the dorm room.” Shiran smiled thinly at Brad while leading the way. Brad had been in a daze ever since entering Zhu Yue’s room, like a mortal that had suddenly entered paradise.

“Mm…” Brad stood in Zhu Yue’s bed area with wide eyes as he surveyed the sea-blue decorations and items.

A faint fragrance of soap floated in the air. It was exactly the same as the Zhu Yue’s scent. There were books arranged on the bookshelf, as well as multiple glass handicrafts and a few cloth dolls.

His gaze slowly shifted over to the side where freshly laundered clothes neatly folded on the short dresser next to the bed. That small lake-blue cloth is—

Brad sharply sucked in a breath and turned his face away.

“I heard that they were originally not roommates, but requested to be together this semester.” Shiran leisurely surveyed the arrangement of the room as he said, “It’s surprising that the two can become friends despite having seemingly no interactions.”

Flora’s bed area had many objects. Aside from the wooden dressers that had been supplied with the dorm, there were two DIY metal racks that she had installed herself. They were neatly filled with plastic boxes, each with a numbered label on them.

Shiran walked over to the rack and took the items that Flora had requested. It wasn’t a lot, but was quite heavy.

“Brad, could you help me move these things downstairs?”

“Sure!” He had to leave this space for a while, or else his heart wouldn’t be able to take the burden.

Since the temperature dropped at night, Shiran wanted to grab a jacket before heading out. He walked over to the closet and pulled open the walnut wood door.

“Ohhh.” Shiran let out a strange exhale.

“What’s the matter?”

As Brad looked towards him, Shiran immediately closed the door.

“Nothing.” To his surprise, he had discovered the girl’s secret.

There were not any clothes inside the closet. Instead, there were countless rolls of film, negative [images], and developed photos.

There were various sized pictures stuck on the back of the closet door. All of them were of the most popular male students in the school.

Shiran had felt very honoured to discover that his own photos were also amongst them, and his lips curved upwards into a smile.

What good taste.

Then his eyes had wandered to the side of the closet. The inner wall also had a photo: a single hand-sized closeup of the face that took up the entire space — a photo of Brad.

 

Not long after entering the dorms, Dan Juan heard a knock on the window. However, when he found that it was Momiji that had bypassed the detection spells and was now waving at him from outside, Dan Juan opened the French window for Momiji to nimbly jump in.

“If I was seen, there might end up being rumours spread,” Momiji chuckled.

Since Momiji and Emerald had returned to the dorms first, Dan Juan had arranged for them to meet in the female dorms.

“It’s not like the one whose name being slandered would be me.” Dan Juan swept a look across Momiji’s room, an expression of disgust showing on his face. “Did a thief break into here?”

The desk, floor, and dressers were all randomly covered with a mess of objects, clothes, shoes, accessories, and even different sized bags with unknown uses.

“It’s so messy. Why not clean up?”

“How is it messy? Everything was arranged in a specific order. This area is for bags used to go outside. this area is for things used during class and bags with heavy items, this area is for high-heels, this area is for normal shoes, this area is for accessories…Then that area is for debutant style clothes, the right side is for school style, the dresser is for uniforms, and—”

“Enough.” Dan Juan held his forehead as it began to faintly throb in pain. “I get it.”

“I’m usually with Taeharu.” Momiji glanced over at the spaced-out Taeharu. “Seeing as Zi Ye is normally in that state, you shouldn’t need to spend much effort to deal with him. Just bring him around with you.”

“What a pain…”

“Also, Tonya and Yayoi sometimes come find me to chat.”

“Chat about what?”

“Makeup, beauty treatments, dating, etc…it’s nothing super profound. You can just randomly respond.”

Dan Juan walked over to the dressing table, his brows arched up high. “What’s inside these bottles? Are you doing chemistry experiments here?”

“Oh, if you hadn’t brought those up, I would’ve forgotten about them.” Momiji picked up the various beauty products one after another. “This bottle is skin toner, you pat a bit onto your face after washing. Then rub on this bottle of essence and lotion. You can add a layer of facial cream when your skin is dry too. Then apply this whitening gel cream, and finally, add a thin layer of this night cleansing gel. That’s it.”

“’That’s it’?”

“Yep. You don’t need to wash your face after applying this night cleansing gel; it’s super convenient. And don’t forget to put on sunscreen and foundation primer before going out. I don’t usually apply makeup; just smearing on a bit of blush and rouge is good enough.”

Dan Juan felt all the strength leave his body. “Do I have to do these superficial things?”

“Up to you.” Momiji smugly crossed her arms in front of her. “Such a complicated task seems too difficult for you. I don’t count on you doing it well anyways.”

These words aroused Dan Juan’s competitive spirit.

“Take your words back.” Dan Juan took a seat and looked down to study the words written on the bottles.

Momiji shrugged, knowing that her strategy had prevailed.

“That’s basically it. If you have anymore questions, you can call me.” Momiji turned to walk towards the window.

“Are those the only things I need to watch out for?” Dan Juan suddenly commented, “You seem to have forgotten about an important matter.”

“What?”

Dan Juan smirked through the mirror. “How do I deal with your fiancé?”

Momiji smiled back, not concerned at all. “Shiroizumi is not my fiancé.” She let out a light sigh. “Besides, he won’t come looking for me.”

“What if he does?”

“Heh…” Momiji grinned bitterly. “You can respond however you want.”

“I’m very curious, what exactly happened between you two?”

“You can ask him yourself.” Momiji beamed brightly in response, then leapt out the window without a backwards glance, vanishing into the night.

 

On the other side, in the male dorms.

After a simple discussion, Leon and Shiran each went their own ways. Emerald, Momiji, and Rocort moved together. Fu Xing led Zhu Yue and Taeharu into the male dorms.

“My dorm room is on the third floor…” Fu Xing passed his backpack over to Taeharu. “This is my bag. The key is in the very front pocket.”

“Ok.”

Along the way, they passed by several first-year students. Most of them purposely stayed away, while some directly shot loathing glares at him.

“Variant…”

Fu Xing knew they were talking about Zi Ye, but he couldn’t help but be affected by it.

On the second level of the staircase, he bumped into his classmate, the peasant spirit, Mo Ling.

“Heh, good evening.”

“Good evening, Mo Ling,” Fu Xing unconsciously replied.

Mo Ling gave him an odd look.

“Ahem, hello. I’m Zi Ye…Senior He mentioned you,” Fu Xing awkwardly asserted, then used his hand to jab at Taeharu next to him. “Right?”

“That’s completely right!”

“Why mention me?”

“Because—” Taeharu tilted her head in thought for a moment. “Because you’re both chickens.”

“Oi!” Mo Ling’s expression darkened. “That’s not the least bit funny, Fu Xing.”

Zhu Yue hurriedly tried to smooth things over. “He didn’t mean anything by it. Fu Xing’s just a bit tired because he’s been accompanying our training.”

Then, she smiled as she usually did. “You aren’t offended, are you?”

If this were usual, Zhu Yue’s smile would give the other person a gentle feeling like the spring breeze. However, as she was currently using Leon’s face, this same smile had an entirely opposite effect. It was like a mafia pointing a gun behind their back, smiling while asking the victim how they wanted to die.

Mo Ling’s eyebrows shot up to form a shocked and panic-stricken expression.

“Ahem, I got it, Leon…” He laughed dryly, then turned to leave as though fleeing for his life.

“Zhu Yue, you can’t smile at others.”

“Oh, sorry. I forgot that classmate Leon rarely smiles.”

“No, well, that’s right too.” Fu Xing scratched his head and awkwardly said, “More importantly, your smile just now was terrifying.”

Upon entering the dorm room, Fu Xing explained every single thing to take note of. “This is the bathroom. Leon’s bed area is the back one—Oh right, Zhu Yue, don’t forget that Leon is a darkblood. He can’t be directly under sunlight; it’s best if you stay inside during the daytime.”

“Mhm, got it.”

“Leon has very few belongings. The closet is full of weapons though, so try not to touch it. Taeharu, do you understand?”

“Yep, yep!”

“Since we’re all classmates, I’m sure you both have a general idea of our usual interactions and itineraries. Taeharu’s fine, though Zhu Yue, it’s best if you talk as little as possible with others. Leon didn’t choose any courses aside from the joint compulsory ones. You’ll have plenty of free time. Oh, he sometimes goes to the training grounds to practice swordplay with Rachel.”

Upon hearing “Rachel”, Zhu Yue’s face fell. She was really inept at interacting with Rachel.

“Don’t worry, Leon is always moving about alone anyways. It’s normal even if he disappears for one or two days.”

Zhu Yue nodded, seemingly feeling more at ease.

“Then, that’s basically it.” Fu Xing exhaled, then bent over to bow deeply at the other two. “I’ve caused you guys trouble, and I’m really, really sorry. I will try my best to find a way to break the spell!”

Zhu Yue and Taeharu exchanged a look, then walked over to Fu Xing and each grabbed a different hand.

“It’s fine, we don’t mind.” Zhu Yue patted Fu Xing’s shoulder. “You helped us plenty in the past.”

“I have?” Fu Xing found such a statement unbelievable. “I feel like I’m always screwing things up…”

“You have?” Zhu Yue asked back.

Fu Xing scratched his head. “Anyways, I can’t really help you guys with anything…”

Zhu Yue smiled. “You just need to stay by our sides and be yourself. That’s enough.”

“That’s right, that’s right. As long as Fu Xing is here, there are plenty of fun things to do.” Taeharu was still as carefree as always. “I’ve always wanted to become a male!”

Fu Xing did not know how to respond. He only smiled in embarrassment and scratched his head some more. However, his fingertips got tangled in the messy hair.

“I’ll help you comb your hair.” Zhu Yue walked over to Fu Xing’s desk and picked up a comb. Then the two of them sat by the bed, one in front of the other. Zhu Yue sat behind Fu Xing, carefully untangling all the knots before smoothly combing the hair.

Taeharu sprawled on the bed, her head propped up in her hands. As she watched Zhu Yue’s practiced movements, she couldn’t help but chuckle.

“It looks so funny. ‘Leon’ is actually combing someone else’s hair! Hahaha.”

Fu Xing thought of Lia. Maybe Leon has combed Lia’s hair like this before.

“Zhu Yue, you’re so kind.” Taeharu swung her feet like a child as she watched Zhu Yue.

“Thank you.”

“You’re very similar to Momiji-jiějie from before. Very intimate, gentle and wise like a mother.”

Fu Xing and Zhu Yue were both taken aback by this.

“Momiji?”

“Yep.”

“Eh, then why is she now—” So different? That wild and bold attitude doesn’t match up with gentle and wise at all.

“Eh, people will always change…” Taeharu’s gaze became somewhat regretful. “Whether they’re willing or not.”

“Oh.”

“Anyways, I like the current Momiji more.” Taeharu sat up to emphasise defensively, “The past Momiji treated others too nicely and never knew how to think for herself.”

The hand combing hair suddenly paused, though Zhu Yue immediately continued the motions again. Fu Xing had originally wanted to ask, “Then what reason led to her change?”, but felt that this would be encroaching on privacy, so he remained silent.

Taeharu was quite for a few seconds before she suddenly looked up at Zhu Yue. “Zhu Yue, are you repressing yourself too?”

“Me?” Zhu Yue furrowed her brows, her eyes locked unmovingly on the snow-white hair. “How could that be…”

“Will Zhu Yue one day explode like Momiji, and then become a completely different person? Haha.”

Zhu Yue smiled. “I’ve already become a completely different person.”

“That’s true too.” Taeharu patted her stomach. “Fu Xing, did you not eat dinner? I’m a bit hungry.”

“In that case, we can go down to the basement together to buy some things to eat from the peddlers there.”

“Ok!”

The three of them happily interacted with each other, temporarily tossing the matter of switching souls and bodies in the back of their heads.

 

Momiji-as-Emerald together with Emerald-as-Rocort led Rocort-as-Dan Juan back to their dorm room.

“Dan Juan and I are roommates. I’ll have to ask you to watch over Rocort for the next few days.” Emerald pointed at Rocort, who was currently scanning the items on Dan Juan’s shelf out of curiosity.

“This place is really shocking.”

The common area had two short shelves filled with heavy books. The sofa and coffee table had been pushed to the side, while the shared, long table had tall piles of folders stacked on it. As for the walls that had originally been covered in ornate, indigo-blue designs, they were now covered with A4 paper filled with formulas, runes, and diagrams.

“Dan Juan said that this helps his memory.”

“It’s very ugly.”

“Dan Juan said that knowledge is the best decoration.”

Momiji turned her head to look at Dan Juan’s bed area. The situation was pretty much the same as the one in the living room.

“Don’t touch my merchandise, but you can use anything else as you please. The main thing to watch out for is the common area. The bathroom needs constant ventilation, and the floor cannot get too wet. If there are dregs in the drainhole, clean it out. It’s best if you don’t leave any kind of trace in the bathtub.

“As for the living room, that’s basically all Dan Juan’s territory. If you see anything ‘scholarly’, just don’t touch it. Also, it’s best if you don’t eat in the bedroom. Don’t leave behind any food smell. Though you can ignore this as long as you don’t leave any crumbs.”

“These are Dan Juan’s rules?”

“Yes.”

“How do you manage to live together with that guy?”

“Eh, actually, living together with him isn’t bad. He’s just a bit annoying, a bit fussy, and a bit opinionated. But you have to admit, he really does know a lot.” Emerald grinned. “That guy’s economics and investment knowledge are undoubtedly quite useful tricks.”

Understanding dawned on Momiji. Ah, a shark, as expected.

 

“Third-years have less classes. Because I hold both the position of vice president and a school representative, the teachers do not have very strict requirements against my absence in other courses. It is fine even if you are unwilling to attend.” Before leaving the training room, Shiran had given Leon this simple information.

“Then what about Aquarius’s side?”

“If there is a meeting, they will send out a notification. There isn’t too much to do for the time being. Moreover, since I was selected as a school representative, my work at the moment is being done by the secretary.”

Leon nodded.

After his short discussion with Shiran, Leon returned to the dorms. When he arrived back at his own room, Fu Xing had not yet returned.

Thus, he went ahead and grabbed some necessary items before heading towards Shiran’s room without a backwards glance.

The top floor of the male dorms, the rooms for the Aquarius officers.

As Aquarius’s vice president, Shiran naturally could enjoy some special privileges and preferential treatment. One of these was having a single dorm room.

This made things significantly easier for Leon. He did not have to waste effort on trying to deal with an unfamiliar roommate, just as he wished. He liked moving about alone. Honestly speaking, Shalom’s community lifestyle was not a good match for his character.

He lay in the vacant room, quietly reading his philosophy book.

Now that there were not his usual disturbances and the noise from the endless chatter, he could finally appreciate a good book in peace and quiet…

However, for some reason, he actually felt—

Unused to it.

 

There were two others facing empty rooms alone.

Rocort slept alone because of odd numbers. Thus, after Emerald went to Rocort’s room, he passed through the vacant bed area to enter Rocort’s bed area that was near the window.

As he lay there in the bed, he was immediately enveloped by silence.

It was no wonder that Rocort always loved looking for them to chat and would be reluctant to return to his room and rest. Because staying here really was too lonesome.

On another side, Fu Xing had returned to Zi Ye’s bedroom and found that there was no one there.

Zi Ye’s roommate was a fire elf. However, ever since the start of school, this roommate had never once appeared.

Apparently, upon learning that their roommate was a variant, the fire elf had used various connections to run off and live together with their cousin, an Aquarius official. This room had thus become an extremely large storage area used to hold several objects that weren’t used day-to-day.

Fu Xing walked towards the bathroom to freshen up and go to bed. At the sink, the mirror reflected his pale and gloomy face.

Variant… Fu Xing sighed.

Since becoming a special animate being, he had happily gone through each day. The feeling was like being Alice in Wonderland, living in a mystical land filled with wonders and magic.

However, he was now realising that even the world of special animate beings had a cruel side.

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TL/N: I drew this so that I could keep the body swaps straight while translating, and I figured I might as well post it in case anyone else gets confused. All of these go clockwise.

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