Staring at the startling streak of red on her blue triangle panties, Tang Lingyi instinctively thought she was suffering from rectal bleeding—but she quickly realized the situation might not be as simple as she'd first assumed.
After all, she was now a girl. And if she calculated carefully, it had been roughly twenty days since her transformation.
Which meant…
Could this possibly be her first period?!
Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined that a twenty-something-year-old guy like herself would one day get her period. But this also proved the transformation serum was genuine—it had truly turned her into a real girl.
Maybe it really was true: you get what you pay for?
Tang Lingyi stared up at the ceiling, trying to find a wry bit of humor in her misery.
"Haha… waaahhh…"
Looking at the blood on her underwear, Tang Lingyi suddenly couldn't control herself any longer. Tears burst forth uncontrollably.
She sat on the toilet, covering her face with both hands, crying silently.
Maybe it was the emotional toll of PMS, or perhaps she'd simply reached her breaking point. She was utterly exhausted from everything she'd endured over the past weeks.
She even began to fear she'd be trapped here forever, forced to live as Tian Suzhou's stand-in.
She refused to accept this life!
"Sister Yang… Brother Long… why aren't you coming to rescue me?! I've already gotten my period waiting for you!"
If her organization still hadn't sent anyone, did that mean they'd already forgotten about her?
Her thoughts spun wildly out of control, growing darker and more painful by the second. She kept wiping her tears with the back of her hand, but they just kept flowing—faster and faster.
The more she failed to stop the tears, the angrier she got. The angrier she got, the more she cried. It became a vicious cycle.
After about fifteen minutes, Tang Lingyi finally calmed down. She blew her nose, then took a roll of toilet paper to clean the blood from herself. She remembered that girls usually used a special product for this situation:
Sanitary pads.
She searched the bathroom thoroughly but found none. Even if she had, she doubted she'd know how to use one anyway. So she folded a thick wad of toilet paper and tucked it into her fresh pair of underwear, then washed the soiled clothes.
The girl in the mirror had a red nose and flushed cheeks. Her big, watery eyes looked dull and weary.
Still, after that long cry, Tang Lingyi actually felt a little better—she'd finally released some of the pent-up frustration from the past twenty days.
Her spirit might feel lighter, but her body was still suffering. Her stomach ached, and her legs felt weak. She missed being a guy.
"Damn it! I'm getting out of here and changing back immediately!" the girl in the mirror gritted her teeth.
Twenty days as a girl was more than enough for her!
***
The next day…
Tang Lingyi woke up early. The cramping in her abdomen had lessened slightly but still throbbed faintly. Rubbing her small belly, she went to the bathroom, flushed the bloody tissue down the toilet, and inserted a fresh wad of toilet paper.
After brushing her teeth and washing her face, she put on a red-and-white striped short-sleeved shirt and loose blue women's trousers. She also grabbed a tube of lipstick from Tian Suzhou's room and slipped it into her pocket—today's bargaining chip for swapping lunches with Peng Yuan.
She went downstairs for breakfast. Before long, a car horn sounded outside the window, and Wu Feng walked in.
"Miss Tian, Mr. Qin is busy today. Come with me."
Tang Lingyi said nothing and quietly followed Wu Feng out to the car, which took her to Qianlan University.
Senior-year students didn't have many classes. According to the schedule posted outside the classroom, even though it was Thursday, they only had two sessions: 10 a.m. to noon, and 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Yet Qin Xiu insisted she attend classes all day, so she had to arrive at the nearly empty classroom at 8 a.m., killing time by reading books she'd brought along.
She hadn't found any textbooks in Tian Suzhou's house, so she'd stuffed a few romance novels into her bag as a makeshift substitute.
After reading for a while, Tang Lingyi suddenly frowned.
She felt the warm flow return, so she put her book away and headed out of the classroom.
The hallway was deserted, but Tang Lingyi knew Wu Feng must be hiding somewhere nearby, watching her.
She made her way to the fourth-floor restroom, replaced the soaked toilet paper in her underwear with a fresh stack, and sat on the toilet, sighing again at just how inconvenient being a girl really was.
After freshening up, she returned to class. By now it was almost time for lessons to start, and more students had trickled in—including Peng Yuan.
Spotting him, Tang Lingyi's eyes lit up. She walked over and sat beside him. "Morning."
Peng Yuan, absorbed in his phone, gave a small nod. "Morning."
"Did you bring your handheld console?"
"Yeah, go ahead and use it. I'll just play on my phone." Peng Yuan pulled the device from his bag and handed it to her.
Tang Lingyi beamed with delight, then slipped the lipstick from her pocket into Peng Yuan's. "Here, this is for you—in exchange for today's lunch."
"Okay, sure." Peng Yuan, ever the straightforward and easygoing guy, didn't even check what she'd given him before stuffing it carelessly into his pocket.
Compared to her previous prison-like confinement, Tang Lingyi found life at Qianlan University surprisingly bearable. Her teachers, probably aware she wasn't exactly a model student, left her alone.
Aside from the strange stares she got whenever she used the restroom—like she was some exotic zoo animal—her daily routine here wasn't all that different from her time at Jiangcheng University.
Classmates were baffled to see "Tian Suzhou," who had once acted as if she were too good for anyone beneath her, now chatting and gaming so casually with Peng Yuan—a virtual stranger to her.
Back then, Tian Suzhou only had eyes for handsome, wealthy playboys. Ordinary guys like Peng Yuan—average-looking and from a modest background—had been treated like trash. Once, when Peng Yuan accidentally bumped into her, she'd hurled insults at him.
Was she acting this way because of stress? Had something snapped in her? Was she now into "regular" guys like him?
New rumors began circulating among the students.
Qin Xiu had no time to monitor Tang Lingyi today. Besides being CEO of the Qin Group, he also served as a board director for three other companies. His days were packed with business obligations that demanded constant travel.
His ultimate goal was to absorb both Tianye and Tianyao corporations, turning the Tian and Li families into his puppets—making them pay for their children's illicit affair.
But swallowing two major conglomerates wouldn't happen overnight. Qin Xiu had to keep a close, watchful eye on their internal dynamics—a task that left him utterly drained.
Right now, he was attending a board meeting at Tianyao Group, where he proposed a major management reshuffle: replacing underperforming executives and bringing in fresh, "high-caliber" talent from outside.
On the surface, his proposal sounded like an effort to revitalize Tianyao with new blood. But anyone with half a brain could see he was really trying to insert his own people into key positions, gradually sidelining Li Tianyao and his son Li Jiaming until he could seize full control.
Li Tianyao was furious—but powerless. Although board decisions were technically made by vote, no one dared oppose Qin Xiu.
After all, Qin Xiu was Tianyao's primary investor. If he withdrew funding over a disagreement, the company would immediately plunge back into crisis. Better to offend anyone else than him. To keep Tianyao afloat, Li Tianyao swallowed his pride and led the board in unanimously approving Qin Xiu's plan.
Seeing the proposal pass without resistance, Qin Xiu's smile widened.
Once officially announced, this management shift would give him the perfect, legitimate excuse to place his loyalists inside Tianyao.
What's more, this bold move was his way of sending a clear message: he wasn't even bothering to hide his intentions anymore—because he could afford not to.
Whether in financial muscle or social influence, Tianyao stood no chance against him.
After the meeting, Qin Xiu left Tianyao headquarters with his trusted aide, Lu Qicheng.
Just as he stepped outside, he ran straight into Li Jiaming. Never one to miss an opportunity to taunt, Qin Xiu immediately called out, "If it isn't Master Li! So early today—got evening plans?"
Li Jiaming forced a smile. "How could I possibly…"
"Nonsense! Of course you do. If you're feeling lonely…" Qin Xiu's lips curled into a smirk as he leaned in close and whispered into Li Jiaming's ear, "You can always go visit that trashy woman Tian Suzhou again. She's at my Bayview Manor—available anytime. Though the price might just be the entire Tianyao Group."
Li Jiaming's face instantly turned ashen.
Qin Xiu threw his head back and laughed triumphantly before striding away with his head held high.
Li Jiaming watched his arrogant figure disappear into the distance, teeth clenched, fists tight.
Qin Xiu… since you've decided not to let my father and me live…
Don't blame me for being ruthless.