Fine, My Hormones Are Out of Whack, Okay?

The final bell rang like heavenly music.

It awakened every soul worn out from class.

Chen De had packed up long ago and turned to leave.

Just then, a claw grabbed his arm.

He did not even need to think to know who it was.

"Let go."

Chen De did not turn around.

"Dezi, something's really off with you these past few days."

Jiang Ping shook his head. From the looks of it, he would not let go today unless Chen De gave him an explanation.

Chen De turned around, expressionless.

"What's off?"

"You want me to count from the beginning?"

Jiang Ping held up one finger.

"First, you've gotten two centimeters shorter in three days."

A second finger.

"Second, your voice is getting higher and higher."

A third finger.

"Third, your pants nearly fell off today."

A fourth finger.

"Fourth, your face is so pale it looks like it was painted with white latex."

A fifth finger.

"Fifth—you only ate half a bowl at lunch today. You used to eat at least two bowls."

Chen De stared at those five fingers. What shocked him was not that Jiang Ping had noticed so many things, but that this guy even remembered how much he ate.

"Jiang Ping."

"Yeah."

"Do you have a crush on me?"

"Fuck you—"

Jiang Ping was so annoyed he nearly laughed. His fingers curled into a fist.

"I'm worried about you! Don't change the subject!"

Chen De took half a step back, his arm aching from being pulled.

"Let go, and I'll tell you."

"You tell me first, then I'll let go."

"How am I supposed to talk if you won't let go?"

"You can talk just by opening your mouth."

"I need to say it face-to-face to be sincere."

"We are face-to-face right now."

Chen De fell silent for two seconds.

Well, damn. That shut me down perfectly.

He took a deep breath, his mind racing.

Current list of excuses: puberty, dieting, posture, unpredictable vocal cord development.

Remaining usable quota: roughly zero.

Jiang Ping had a flaw: he could be distracted ten times, but the eleventh time, he would snap right back like a spring.

Today was clearly the spring's limit.

"Fine, I'll tell you the truth."

Chen De's tone suddenly turned serious.

Jiang Ping froze for a moment, and his grip loosened slightly.

"Recently... I've been taking some medicine."

Jiang Ping's expression changed instantly.

"What medicine?"

"Don't panic—"

"What medicine?!"

"Medicine to regulate my endocrine system. It was prescribed by a doctor."

Chen De's face did not change.

"I had a physical examination before, and they found some endocrine problems. My hormone levels were abnormal. The doctor said it was an occasional puberty issue, nothing serious, but I needed to take medicine for a while to regulate it."

Jiang Ping stared at him, his expression gradually shifting from shock to skepticism.

"So you got shorter, paler, and thinner—"

"They're all side effects of the medication."

Chen De nodded.

"During hormonal fluctuations, bone density can change slightly, weight can drop, skin pigmentation can lighten, and the vocal cords can be affected too."

He spouted nonsense so smoothly that even Qubi perked up his ears inside the backpack.

Jiang Ping's mouth opened and closed.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"Tell you what? 'Bro, my hormones are messed up'? How embarrassing would that be?"

"What's embarrassing about that..."

"If it's not embarrassing, then go get your hormones messed up and try it."

Jiang Ping shut up.

After about five seconds of silence, he let go.

"Then... is it serious?"

"Not serious. I'll recover once I finish the medicine."

"How long?"

"One or two months."

"You're still going to keep changing for one or two months?"

"Probably not. It's about to stabilize."

As Chen De said that, he silently glanced at his backpack.

Qubi, if you dare say anything right now, I'll stuff you into a sewer.

Qubi wisely kept completely silent.

Jiang Ping's expression finally eased, though he still looked worried.

"Then don't force yourself. If you really feel unwell, tell me."

"Okay."

"And—"

"And what?"

Jiang Ping hesitated, but still said it.

"If you need money for medical treatment or anything, ask me."

Chen De paused.

He turned and glanced at Jiang Ping.

"I have money."

"Where did you get money?"

"A part-time job."

"You're a junior in high school. What kind of part-time job can you even do?"

"The night shift."

"What night shift?"

"Legal work."

Jiang Ping's brows furrowed so tightly they could crush a fly.

"You go work night shifts, then come to class during the day. No wonder you've had dark circles under your eyes lately—"

"I don't have dark circles. You saw wrong."

"Your face got paler, so your dark circles are even more obvious!"

Chen De was speechless.

Was this the price of getting paler? Even dark circles couldn't be hidden anymore?

"Jiang Ping."

"Yeah."

"Can you stop noticing everything?"

"You're my brother. If I'm not watching out for you, who am I supposed to watch out for?"

Chen De opened his mouth, only to realize he could not refute that.

The two of them walked out of the school building, one after the other.

Students streamed through the school gates, pouring out like floodwater released from a dam.

Chen De deliberately quickened his pace, trying to shake Jiang Ping off.

But Jiang Ping had long legs and caught up easily.

"Where are you going after school?"

"Home."

"I'll walk you back."

"My place is only fifteen minutes from here. No need."

"Then I'll walk with you for fifteen minutes."

"...Your home is in the opposite direction."

"It's only a twenty-minute detour."

Chen De stopped walking.

"Jiang Ping, do you think I'm about to die?"

"I didn't say that—"

"But that's how you're acting."

Jiang Ping scratched the back of his head, a rare embarrassed look appearing on his face.

"I just... think you've been acting strange lately. I want to keep a closer eye on you."

Chen De stared at him for three seconds.

Then he looked away.

"Do whatever you want."

The two walked in silence for a while.

The setting sun stretched their shadows long, and Jiang Ping's shadow was clearly a good deal taller than Chen De's.

That height difference had not existed at all three days ago.

Chen De knew it perfectly well, but his face gave nothing away.

When they reached the entrance to the residential complex, Jiang Ping finally stopped.

"We're here."

"Yeah."

"I'm heading back, then."

"Go on."

Jiang Ping turned around, took two steps, then looked back.

"Dezi."

"What now?"

"If you're hiding something from me, I'll find out sooner or later."

Chen De's back stiffened for an instant.

Then, without turning around, he waved a hand.

"Got it, Mom."

"You're the mom—"

Jiang Ping cursed and turned to leave.

Chen De listened as the footsteps behind him gradually faded away, standing still at the entrance to his building.

Qubi poked his head out through the gap in the backpack.

"He doesn't seem to totally believe you."

"Whether he believes me isn't important. What matters is that he has no way to disprove it."

"What if he looks up the symptoms of endocrine disorders?"

Chen De paused.

"...I'm betting he won't."

"Based on what?"

"He's a humanities student. He doesn't like looking things up."

Qubi's ears twitched, showing its doubt.

Chen De couldn't be bothered to explain further and pulled out his keys to unlock the door.

The moment the door opened, Jiang Ping followed him inside.

Chen De spun around sharply.

"Didn't you leave?"

"I came back."

Jiang Ping craned his neck to look inside.

"Dezi, how come I never noticed your place was this clean before?"

Chen De clenched his fists.

"You mean my place wasn't this clean before?"

"Uh..."

Jiang Ping felt a little awkward.

He couldn't exactly say that Chen De had really used to live in a place that looked like a doghouse.

Not the dirty kind.

The kind where there wasn't a single new item anywhere in the entire home.

But now—

There was a new lamp on the table, several brand-new plates in the kitchen, and a dark blue blanket spread across the sofa.

Even the curtains had been replaced.

How did this look like the room of a second-year high school boy whose monthly allowance was only a few hundred yuan?

"That night-shift part-time job of yours... what exactly do you do?"

Jiang Ping's tone suddenly turned wary.

"It's legal."

"You've said that. Specifically?"

"Power leveling."

Chen De answered casually.

"Game power leveling. Paid by the job."

Jiang Ping's expression shifted from wary to disdainful.

"You can make that much money playing games?"

"I'm good at it."

"When did you get good at games? Weren't you still Bronze in Farmer last semester?"

"I switched games."

"What game?"

"One you've never heard of."

Jiang Ping opened his mouth, but ultimately didn't press further.

Not because he believed him.

It was because Chen De's expressionless face clearly said, "Ask one more question and I'll shut the door."

"Have you seen enough?"

Chen De's tone was as calm as if he were sending off a guest.

"If you have, go home first."

He "politely" pushed Jiang Ping out the door.

Then he slammed the front door shut with a bang.

Chen De leaned against the door and let out a long breath.

Qubi jumped out of the backpack and landed on the shoe cabinet.

"Your web of lies is getting more and more elaborate."

"I was forced into it."

"Hormonal imbalance, medication side effects, game power leveling—you've already told at least six lies."

"Seven. You forgot posture studies."

Qubi's emerald-green eyes blinked.

"Have you ever considered that if you tell too many lies, you'll eventually get caught?"

Chen De kicked off his shoes and walked into the room.

"I'll deal with it when that happens."

"And how will you deal with it then?"

"I'll make up a new one then."

"Do you still have enough excuses in reserve?"

Chen De fell silent for two seconds.

"If I run out, I'll make them up on the spot."

He tossed his backpack onto the bed, pulled out the chair, and sat down.

His phone vibrated again.

Chen De looked down.

A group message.

Xing Lan: Is anyone going to South Qingcheng's Lesser Calamity tonight??

Liu Liu: Do it yourself.

Xing Lan: But I'm scared to go alone QAQ

Yue Jianbai: I have something to do tonight, so I can't help you.

Xing Lan: What about Sister Su? Is Sister Su there?

Chen De stared at the screen.

His finger hovered above it.

He didn't reply.

Qubi leaned over and took a look.

"You're not going?"

"I was tired enough during the day."

"There are two Lesser Calamities in South Qingcheng. The combined bounty is eighty thousand."

Chen De's finger stopped.

"What time?"

"Around ten tonight."

Chen De checked the time.

Five-thirty in the afternoon.

There were still four and a half hours left.

He put down his phone, leaned back in his chair, and closed his eyes for a moment.

"I'll sleep first."

"You're going?"

"Eighty thousand yuan came knocking. It'd be rude not to go."

Qubi's tail swayed.

"What about Xing Lan?"

"What about her?"

"She's going to South Qingcheng too. There's a good chance you'll run into each other."

Chen De opened his eyes.

He was silent for three seconds.

"If we run into each other, we run into each other."

"You're not afraid?"

Chen De turned over and buried his face in the pillow.

He muffled out a single word.

"Endure."