Checking the Body

What exactly was wrong, he had no idea. Maybe it was just psychological.

Standing in front of the urinal, he reached down with practiced ease. At that moment, a strange sensation shot straight to his brain. With a jolt, Su Yuan's mind went blank.

Outside, silvery moonlight filtered through the clouds like a thin veil and fell over him. His head swelled with pain, and his soul seemed about to break free from his body. When he reached down just now, he had failed to find his familiar little companion. What kind of joke was this? The little companion that had been with him for so many years couldn't possibly slip away even if he had his eyes closed!

And so—

His mind was extraordinarily clear, as though a bolt from the blue had struck his heart. Cold sweat burst out instantly. Su Yuan froze where he stood.

"I couldn't find it. It's actually gone!" His familiar little companion had vanished. The sensations coming simultaneously from between his legs and his fingers told him that something absolutely impossible had appeared on his body!

That was right. It was an unfamiliar sensation he had never experienced before.

It was a slit—a slit that left Su Yuan both shocked and utterly bewildered. Beneath the lush hair, something resembling the magnificent, awe-inspiring Mariana Trench had unbelievably replaced his familiar equipment.

Stunned! Lost! A long silence. Only when a gust of chilly wind blew in through the window and poured down his collar did he shudder, breaking out in a cold sweat.

Su Yuan had no idea how he had dealt with his biological needs afterward. The soft splattering sound spraying from that slit kept echoing beside his ears. Even after climbing into his familiar bed, he could still hear that tentative yet lingering entangling sound in his dreams.

Hot!

A scorching heat even more unbearable than summer's blazing temperatures. In his dream, Su Yuan felt as though he were being roasted over a fire. His skin and internal organs were all cooked through. A sharp blade stabbed fiercely toward his abdomen, piercing him with heart-wrenching pain.

Early in the morning, half-conscious, he heard Gao Jun and Ji Yehao calling for him. It seemed they were going to register for the new term. Su Yuan mumbled in his sleep, telling them his student ID was on the desk below and asking them to register for him. The latter seemed to agree.

When he woke again, it was already 9:15.

He was the only one left in the room.

Su Yuan sat up in bed and rubbed his head, which still felt painfully swollen as if he had drunk several bottles of beer. He found himself soaked in sweat, with the hair at his temples even stuck tightly to his cheeks. Suddenly recalling something, he threw off the thin blanket and raced into the bathroom.

In the bathroom, the young man trembled as he reached down and pulled off his underwear. The next moment, cruel reality shattered his fragile hopes.

Gone. His little companion was gone!

Between his legs, a shy little slit had replaced the little companion.

All strength drained from his body. Su Yuan's legs gave out, and he collapsed onto the floor, his mind blank. What had happened last night? He tried desperately to recall everything from yesterday, but no matter how hard he thought, he could not find an answer. "There's no reason for this. How could something like this happen out of nowhere?"

A supernatural phenomenon?

A paranormal incident?

He could not understand such a bizarre development. This was reality, not a novel! Even if it were something from a novel, there should have been incredibly obvious signs beforehand! Where were the clues? Where were the important clues? How could such a crucial setup be missing at a time like this?

After a long while, the chill seeping into his buttocks from the floor made him stand up and pull his underwear back on.

Su Yuan's ability to accept things was not weak. He had merely suffered too great a blow before, but now that he had been given time to adjust, he could bear it a little better. Looking at the large mirror hanging in the bathroom, he wondered whether it was an illusion, but his reflection seemed less angular than before. Overall, though, he was still the same Su Yuan.

It was just that his already somewhat delicate, almost feminine looks now left no room for argument.

She suddenly felt like crying without tears. Had aliens abducted her halfway through the night and experimented on her?

There was simply no other way to explain the changes to her body.

—Aliens visiting Earth from the depths of the universe had discovered human civilization and conducted long-term popular-science observations of humanity. In the end, they became curious about how humanity's two-gender civilization differed from the reproductive behavior of other animals, and thus attempted to verify whether the human spirit was the driving force that made human behavior different from that of animals.

Damn it, the reason they had such curiosity was because these aliens visiting Earth were like the Namekians—they reproduced asexually!

To gain a deeper understanding of humanity's great subject of "gender," she, this little lab rat, had been luckily selected. Her gender had been altered through technological means so the aliens could conduct long-term, rigorous scientific observation.

—The above was purely Su Yuan's personal fantasy.

Very quickly, Su Yuan thought of another extremely serious question. Had she undergone a complete transformation, or had only her appearance changed? If it was the latter, having her little companion taken away without receiving a corresponding replacement was beyond merely pitiful, wasn't it? Someone like Su Yuan, who had a somewhat obsessive pursuit of perfection, needed to at least be complete!

The more she thought about it, the more terrified she became. If those "aliens" had really just lazily castrated her little companion without "repairing" her, then she, this "experimental specimen," would be far too... tragic.

Just think about it: those "aliens" were researching humanity's two genders while being clueless about it. What did that mean? It meant they did not particularly understand human males and females. Put simply, they were amateurs! Amateurs!! That made the problem extremely serious.

Icy water rained down from the showerhead, washing away the sweat on her body. Su Yuan changed into a clean, somewhat gender-neutral outfit, withdrew several hundred-yuan notes from an ATM, and headed straight for Second Hospital beside the school.

At the registration window of Second Hospital.

"Registration!"

A delicate-looking young man called out to a staff member in her early twenties behind the counter.

"Which department?" the staff member asked in an unchanged tone.

"Physical examination!" Su Yuan said through gritted teeth.

Seeing this, the staff member smiled faintly. She did not understand this young man—no... young woman? Uh, was this person a young man or a young woman? She was startled to find that she could not quite tell the other person's gender.

These days, it was hardly unusual for men to look feminine and women to look masculine. It was even given a pretty name: androgynous beauty.

"Name..."

"Su Yuan."

"Gender..." The staff member waited for the answer.

"...Female."

After hesitating for a moment, Su Yuan's face darkened. Following an intense inner struggle, as though all her strength had been exhausted, she answered weakly, almost in a whisper.

The staff member finally had her answer. "Would you like a full physical examination, or a specific examination concerning female health?"

"Is there a difference?" Su Yuan asked in surprise.

"A full physical examination is a standard checkup, including routine tests and some special tests. As for examinations concerning female health..." At this point, she smiled meaningfully. This staff member in her early twenties was actually an intern nurse assigned to rotate at the registration window. She seemed quite fond of Su Yuan and explained carefully.

"Then I'll choose the latter," Su Yuan said in a muffled voice.

The young nurse smiled and readily answered the young woman's questions.

Holding her medical card, Su Yuan ultimately did not undergo the full set of female health examinations. The young nurse advised her that the full set was rather expensive and that she should first ask a doctor in the department, then get targeted tests. Su Yuan thought that made sense. She was a student, after all. If she got the full set, her meal money would be gone!

When she arrived outside the "Gynecology" consultation room, Su Yuan's face burned hot. If she had gotten it wrong, it would be more than merely embarrassing! Before coming, however, she had specifically looked up pictures of female genitalia on her phone. They matched what she had now exactly, so there should not be any mistake.

She hesitated at the door for a long time before finally gritting her teeth and pushing it open.

The consultation room was simply arranged. There was a desk, a computer, and a small bed—nothing special. Once the door was shut, only Su Yuan and a female doctor around fifty remained inside.

Fortunately, it was a female doctor. Su Yuan had heard that many gynecologists these days were male. If that had been the case, she would definitely have turned around and chosen another consultation room.

The female doctor was experienced. One look at Su Yuan's behavior told her that the little girl was simply shy. In a calm tone, she said, "Don't be nervous, young lady. There's no one else here. You can tell me directly what the problem is."

Seeing that Su Yuan had a pretty face and the makings of a beauty, but a flat chest with no curves, the doctor smiled knowingly, seeming to understand the girl's hard-to-say ailment. Gently, she said, "Do you feel that there's something wrong with your body, but don't know how to say it?"

Su Yuan nodded repeatedly.

"I'm surnamed Li. You can call me Doctor Li."

"Let's begin. Take off your clothes, then lie down on that bed." Taking the medical card and swiping it over the computer, Doctor Li looked up at Su Yuan.

It was hot in summer, and she only had one layer of clothing on. Hearing that she needed to take off her clothes, Su Yuan froze. Doctor Li was both amused and exasperated. "What are you shy about, young lady? It's not like I'm going to eat you. Hurry up and take off your pants."

Su Yuan gave an awkward smile and told herself that this was only a physical examination! She awkwardly began taking off her pants, then cautiously climbed onto the bed and lay down.

Doctor Li was an experienced woman. Carrying a stethoscope, she came to the bedside. Seeing that Su Yuan had taken off her pants but was still properly wearing a pair of men's underwear, she shook her head and personally pulled them down for her.

As cool air touched her lower body, Su Yuan immediately knew they were getting serious.

"Raise your legs and spread them." Doctor Li was like a culprit luring Su Yuan into depravity. Under the guidance of her hands, Su Yuan's legs gradually spread apart, exposing those intact organs at her core to the air.

Under Doctor Li's gaze, those intact organs looked as delicate as a flower about to bloom, stirring pity. She looked at Su Yuan, who had tightly shut her eyes, in surprise. "This girl... she's a good child."

In this materialistic age, it was rare to see someone like her who still retained such youthful innocence.

The doctor's gaze toward Su Yuan could not help but soften.