Chapter 1: They said I looked too much like a girl

“Speak. What reason did you have to get into a fight again today?”

Inside the Chinese department office, a woman dressed in a dark blue long skirt sat angrily behind her desk.

Her long black hair was neatly tied back, with a few stray strands falling over her forehead.

Round glasses framed her oval face, and her black eyes burned with frustration as she stared at the troublesome student before her.

“They said I looked too much like a girl…”

The boy muttered stubbornly, a fresh bandage still stuck to his face.

Standing before the woman was a boy in a black-and-white school uniform.

His hair was tied into a small low ponytail at the back, and his delicate features made him look especially refined.

His long eyelashes framed clear black-blue eyes, and his face carried a hint of fierceness.

If he didn’t speak or lose his temper, from the side he could almost pass for a girl.

“Can’t you just take that as a compliment, that they think you look pretty?”

The harsh words held no deterrent effect on the delinquent boy. Coming to the Chinese department to check in seemed to have become a daily routine for him.

By rough count, this month alone he had gotten into fights four times because people said he looked like a girl.

Three times because people said he was born of a mother who didn’t raise him and would pick through trash after graduation.

Twice because people said he wore women’s clothing in private.

And there were plenty who deliberately looked for trouble…

As the Head Teacher of this student, she was truly worried sick about him.

“If you want to be called pretty, say you’re handsome. No one says you look like a girl outright.”

The Head Teacher raised her eyes and glared sharply, causing the boy to immediately shut up, obedient and silent.

“Besides… you weren’t always a boy. Isn’t that right, Xia Yu?”

The Head Teacher looked coldly at him and exposed his secret right in front of him, leaving Xia Yu speechless.

Xia Yu’s constitution was special—he was a hybrid of the Blood Clan and Human Clan.

The Full Moon was when the Blood Clan’s magic was at its peak.

Due to his bloodline, there was only one day each month when he transformed into a girl, but only a few people knew this.

The Head Teacher glanced at the scrape on Xia Yu’s hand, pressed her lips, and felt a pang of reluctance even to continue lecturing him.

Since entering school in the first year, she had never seen Xia Yu’s parents, and he paid his own tuition every semester.

He had once mentioned that he had never seen his mother since childhood, and when it came to his father, Xia Yu was calm but unhappy, saying simply:

“Dead.”

The Head Teacher sighed. Xia Yu wasn’t the type to pick fights on his own initiative.

The school required all students to dye their hair black uniformly; Xia Yu had even dyed his naturally silver hair black.

The Head Teacher sighed again, her words worn thin from repeated warnings.

“Fighting will result in demerits. If you’re punished too many times, more than three, you’ll be transferred to the Juvenile Detention Center for re-education.”

The Juvenile Detention Center was a place for re-education, similar to a correctional facility, detaining unruly minors.

Xia Yu’s expression immediately darkened.

He looked at the serious and earnest expression behind the Head Teacher’s round glasses and choked up nervously.

“Okay, I won’t do it again. Goodbye, Teacher Qiu.”

Xia Yu bent over and bowed deeply, burying his head low.

“Cut it out. Every time I hear that, you end up doing it again.”

Teacher Qiu looked at Xia Yu’s fake act with disdain.

Then suddenly, her mood brightened.

She spotted a tall, handsome boy standing at the door.

He raised his right hand, about to knock.

Their eyes met, and the boy’s mouth curled into a slight smile as he politely asked,

“Excuse me, are you Teacher Qiu?”

His tone was refined and gentle, clearly that of an obedient and well-mannered student.

“Yes, that’s me.”

Teacher Qiu’s voice was so pleased it was noticeably higher than usual.

Xia Yu looked up, seeing the joy in her eyes—it was the first time he had ever seen that light there.

“Hello, I’m the transfer student who messaged you yesterday to report. Are there any documents I’m missing that you need me to check?”

“All right, bring them over and I’ll take a look.”

Teacher Qiu smiled warmly and invited him in.

Then her expression suddenly turned serious as she looked back at Xia Yu.

“You can go back to class now. No more incidents.”

The arrival of the stranger had helped Xia Yu out of his predicament.

With a simple sentence, he was dismissed.

Ahead, a top student taller than him by half a head approached.

His neat black sparse bangs shaded dark eyes, clean white shirt paired with black trousers.

He walked straight ahead.

As they passed each other, Xia Yu felt a sudden chill brush past him—but just as quickly, it vanished.

Their eyes met, and they exchanged smiles.

Except for humans, all other races carried Suppression Devices.

When the boy brushed past Xia Yu, a strange aura leaked out—like a provocation.

The feeling irritated Xia Yu.

Damn brat…

Since he’s a transfer student here to complete enrollment, that makes things easier.

Once I find out which class you’re in, I’ll make sure you get what you deserve.

Walking down the corridor back to his classroom, Xia Yu’s face still wore a wicked grin.

People by the walls trembled and stood frozen in place, too afraid to make a sound.

Xia Yu was notorious throughout the school for his ferocity in fights outside campus.

Although he looked weak and frail, even with the Suppression Device, he could fend off opponents.

Seeing the uneasy looks on either side, Xia Yu quickly composed his expression.

He recalled Teacher Qiu’s warning—getting caught again would mean punishment.

Hands shoved into his pockets, Xia Yu adjusted his expression and leisurely walked back to class, already plotting in his mind.

He had plenty of ways to deal with “well-behaved” students.

Back in the Class 2-7 classroom, Xia Yu had barely sat down by the window in the last row when a boy with chestnut short hair and a round face turned around and cheerfully said,

“Congratulations, Brother Yu, on your fastest and shortest return yet!”

If it hadn’t been for this matter, he wouldn’t have been so fired up at the “well-behaved” students.

But… thinking back on that chill, Xia Yu found it strangely familiar.

He had felt that aura somewhere before…

When he was a child, Xia Yu’s health was poor, and he spent most of his time in sanatoriums.

Repeated fevers had blurred many memories.

But one embarrassing and painful memory was buried deep in his mind, one he never wanted to recall.

When he first transformed into a girl, he thought his life would change completely.

During his hospitalization, there had been a boy who treated Xia Yu especially well—to the point where Xia Yu had felt a small flicker of affection.

But Xia Yu couldn’t recall the boy’s face at all.

All he remembered was that before they parted, Xia Yu had given him something.

Shaking his head, Xia Yu could not place where that aura had been felt before. Irritated, he leaned forward on his desk.

“If you really can’t stand it, just cut it. Otherwise, people will always gossip.”

“Who’s gossiping? I’ll beat up whoever says that!”

Xia Yu looked up, annoyed, at the worried expression of the chestnut-haired boy. His irritation faded somewhat.

The boy in front was Mu Yiqiu, his good friend.

There were many schools nearby, and the bustling city district was close by.

On the way from home to school, Xia Yu inevitably encountered some bad students.

Some couldn’t hold their tongues, and there were even rumors that Xia Yu secretly dressed as a girl…

Stopping people’s mouths was useless—the more he fought, the more rumors spread.

More and more people were wary of him.

Most students already knew about the school bully at Ninth Middle School with the little braid.

Xia Yu’s Suppression Device was a hair tie, which conveniently restrained his hair growth.

Over the years, Xia Yu had visited many Clinics—both Chinese Medicine and Western Medicine—but none could prevent his monthly transformations.

He had barely found a medicine to shorten the transformation duration—a drug used by Beastmen to maintain human form.

The transformation period shortened from a week to one day, but under the drug’s side effects, Xia Yu’s mental state was especially weak during changes, forcing him to take leave from class every month with the Head Teacher’s permission.

As the bell rang, not long after, Teacher Qiu appeared at the classroom door.

Xia Yu propped his right hand under his cheek, staring listlessly ahead, yawning. Being sleepy in class was a constant.

But unlike before, even before Teacher Qiu entered, some girls in class had started a sparse buzz, frequently repeating the word “handsome.”

Curious, Xia Yu half-opened one eye to survey the commotion ahead.

The next moment, his right hand lost its support, and he looked at the front with disgust.

Teacher Qiu walked up to the podium with a boy in a white shirt, whose demeanor was gentle and refined.

She warmly introduced,

“Let’s do a quick self-introduction. This is our new classmate.”

“Hello, my name is Mo Yidong.”