The Gender Dividend Was Officially Confirmed

The moment the dismissal bell rang, Chen De knew she was doomed.

Because she clearly saw at least five girls in the front row turn around at the same time.

She knew that look all too well.

It was exactly the same look they had when she fought Calamities.

Even more terrifying, somehow.

At least Lesser Calamities could be cut down with a blade.

This group couldn't.

"Hey, Su Xi!"

The first to rush over was Lin Xiaomian, the short-haired girl sitting in the front row.

Back when Chen De had still been Chen De, this girl had been the class's infamous social nuke.

She could talk to anyone, get familiar with anyone, and once she started talking, she had no brakes.

"Su Xi, where are you from?"

"Somewhere else."

Chen De's answer was precise, concise, and watertight.

It also contained approximately zero information.

Lin Xiaomian was completely unaffected.

"Which province is Somewhere Else? I've never heard of that place."

"Not a province. I mean it literally."

"Literally—like, somewhere really far away?"

"Yeah."

"Then why did you choose this school?"

"Randomly."

"Randomly? You chose a school like you were pulling a blind box?"

"More or less."

Lin Xiaomian's face was full of confusion, but that confusion did nothing to slow down her output.

The second wave of attacks arrived.

Another girl with a ponytail squeezed over, her eyes sparkling.

"Su Xi, Su Xi, your hair color is so special! Where did you get it dyed?"

"I was born with it."

"No way, you were born with grayish-white hair?!"

"Possible."

"Then do you have a salon you'd recommend? I want to dye mine that color too."

"I told you, I was born with it."

"That's even more amazing! Is your mom's hair that color too?"

Chen De's temple twitched.

You're asking about my mom?

If my mom saw me like this, I'd probably call the police first.

"Genetics."

She decided to end the topic with one word.

It didn't work.

The third wave came.

This time, two girls came together, flanking her from both sides.

Chen De felt less like she was chatting in a classroom and more like she was being subjected to a joint interrogation.

"Su Xi, you're so tiny! You seem so cute!"

"How tall are you?"

Her height again.

Why did everyone have to ask about her height?

Couldn't she just quietly be a one-meter-fifty-three person?

Though this one-meter-fifty-three person really wasn't very quiet.

"Normal height."

"Normal height isn't this short, is it?"

"I'm not short."

"You're shorter than me, and I'm only one meter fifty-eight."

"Then you're not tall either."

The girl across from her froze for a moment.

Someone beside her snorted with laughter.

Chen De realized her mouth had moved too fast again.

When fighting Calamities, a quick mouth was an advantage.

When chatting, a quick mouth got you killed.

"No, what I meant was—"

"Su Xi, do you not like people calling you short?"

"Who likes being called short?!"

"But you really are short."

Under the desk, Chen De silently clenched her fist.

An incredibly tiny voice came from inside her backpack.

"Hold it in."

Of course I know I need to hold it in.

The problem is, my rationality and my fist aren't on the same channel.

Lin Xiaomian leaned in again.

This time, her question escalated directly to nuke-level.

"Su Xi, do you have a boyfriend?"

The entire situation changed in an instant.

The eyes of all the girls around them lit up in unison.

That gleam made Chen De's hair stand on end.

"No."

"Really? How could someone this cute not have one?"

"I really don't."

"Then do you have a type you like?"

"I've never thought about it."

"You've never thought about it at all? Not even a little?"

Chen De realized she had walked into a dead end.

If she said yes, they would ask what type.

If she said no, they would ask why not.

Every answer was a trap.

This was far harder than constructing a spell formation.

At least spell formations had standard answers.

"Why are you asking me this?"

"Just chatting."

"Can't you talk about something else?"

"This is something else."

Chen De felt like she was about to suffocate.

Not because she was nervous.

There were just too many people around her. It felt like there wasn't enough air.

At one meter fifty-three, she was surrounded by a circle of people.

All she could see were everyone else's chins.

The suffocating feeling was maxed out.

Back when she had been Chen De, she had never been surrounded by girls like this.

Back then, Jiang Ping would just walk over and say, "Dezi, cafeteria?"

Then they would go eat together.

So simple.

So convenient.

Now people were asking whether she had a boyfriend.

The style of her life had changed way too completely.

"Su Xi, your skin is so nice! What skincare products do you use?"

Another new question came crashing down on her.

"None."

"No way! You're so pale, there's no way you use nothing!"

"I really don't. I was born like this."

"Everything about you is natural?"

Yeah, transforming came with a beauty filter.

That was something she could only say in her head.

Just as Chen De thought she was about to drown socially.

Her savior arrived.

Jiang Ping stood from his seat and sauntered over.

"Enough, enough. Su Xi just transferred here. Give her some time to adjust."

With both hands in his pockets, he casually swept his gaze around the group.

"A bunch of people surrounding one person—someone who didn't know better would think this was school bullying."

As expected of my best bro.

A true brother forever.

Chen De silently gave Jiang Ping a like in her heart.

And a thumbs-up too.

If not for her identity restrictions, she wanted to say, "Pingzi, you're my brother for life."

Unfortunately, she was Su Xi now.

Su Xi and Jiang Ping had only met today.

If someone you had known for less than two hours called you "brother for life," that wouldn't just break the social-anxiety persona—it would be a mental health emergency.

Lin Xiaomian pouted.

"We weren't bullying her. We were just chatting."

"Seven or eight people surrounding one person is pretty intimidating, even if you're just chatting."

After saying that, Jiang Ping glanced at Chen De again.

"You okay?"

Chen De looked at him.

She nearly blurted out, "You finally came to save me. Do you know I was about to suffocate?"

She forced herself to swallow it.

"I'm fine. Thanks."

Her expression was calm.

Her tone was calm.

Steady as an old dog.

Jiang Ping laughed.

"That expression really does make you look socially anxious."

"I am socially anxious."

"Sure."

As Jiang Ping turned away, he casually placed something on her desk.

"Bought it at the convenience store. Had an extra."

Chen De looked down.

A carton of strawberry milk.

She stared at the milk for two seconds.

Jiang Ping used to casually bring Chen De things too.

But when he gave things to Chen De—

He threw them at her.

And added, "Catch, butterfingers."

And now?

He gently set it on the table.

So polite.

No wonder he had two completely different faces when dealing with girls and his bros.

Chen De's feelings were a tangled mess.

Was this the gender advantage?

Too real.

Su Xi picked up the strawberry milk, poked in the straw, and took a sip.

Sweet.

Jiang Ping had always bought plain milk for Chen De before.

Now, he bought strawberry-flavored milk for Su Xi.

The evidence of blatant preferential treatment was irrefutable.

Chen De silently drank his milk when a thought suddenly surfaced in his mind.

A very dangerous thought.

A thought Chen De would never have had before.

But Su Xi could.

A mischievous smile appeared at the corner of her lips.

Qubi's voice came from inside the backpack.

"Your smile makes me very uneasy."

Chen De ignored it.

Su Xi turned her head and tilted her face slightly toward Jiang Ping.

Then she put on a somewhat shy expression.

Had she practiced that expression before?

No.

But there was no need to practice.

Being five foot and blue-eyed with a butterfly hair clip was a natural buff.

She looked adorable no matter how casually she tilted her head.

"Hey, Jiang Ping."

"?"

Jiang Ping had just poked the straw into his own carton of milk.

Su Xi blinked.

"Do you... like me?"

"Pfft—!"

The milk in Jiang Ping's mouth sprayed out.