Bai You crouched in the shell's shadow, her mind in a jumble.
She looked down again at the white dress she was wearing. The lake water had soaked the fabric until it was half transparent, and it clung to her skin.
But what unsettled her more right now was this utterly unfamiliar body.
Bai You took a deep breath, raised her right hand, and slowly reached for the top of her head.
The moment her fingertips touched her hair, she froze.
So soft.
That was her first thought. She used to wear her hair in a neat, medium-length cut. It had felt bristly to the touch, like a fine brush.
But the lock of hair now winding around her fingertips was unbelievably soft, like a handful of silk soaked in water, flowing smoothly through her fingers.
She grasped a lock and tugged gently downward.
She felt a slight pull on her scalp. It was unmistakably real.
She drew the lock in front of her eyes and studied it by the light reflected off the water in the cavern.
Her hair was pale blue-white.
It was a blue-white with a soft sheen, like moonlight falling on the sea.
Her hair glimmered faintly in the dim light.
Bai You stared at the lock for a long while, and an absurd thought came to her: this hair color seemed to bear some indescribable resemblance to Varesa's long, aqua-green hair.
Only Varesa's green was bright and vivid, like tender young leaves;
hers was a pale blue, its color only faintly visible in the light.
She let go, and the hair slipped through her fingers and fell lightly onto her shoulder.
Her long hair hung all the way to her waist. A few strands clung to her wet cheeks, tickling them faintly.
Bai You instinctively raised a hand to brush the hair from her face. But halfway there, she stopped and studied her hand instead.
It was a very small hand.
The palm was narrow, the fingers slender and long, with barely visible knuckles. The neatly trimmed nails had a healthy pink tint.
Her skin was very pale, and the veins on the back of her hand were faintly visible. She tried clenching her fist. Her fingertips sank softly into her palm, their grip as gentle as a ball of cotton.
Her hands hadn't been large before, but her knuckles had been distinct, and her fingers had borne thin calluses worn there by years of holding a pen.
Some harder calluses had also formed after she started working at the black factory.
But this hand was delicate, soft, and youthful. At a glance, it was the hand of a girl who had been carefully pampered since childhood.
Bai You's heart beat a little faster. She turned her hand over to look at her palm, then turned it back to look at the back, as if confirming something.
Then she raised both hands and cupped her face.
Her face was small.
Both hands could cover it completely. Her cheeks still had a little baby fat and felt soft and springy. Her skin was smooth and delicate, without the slightest roughness of stubble or the coarse pores caused by staying up late.
Her fingertips slid down her cheeks, past her chin-small and pointed-and down to her slender neck. Her collarbones stood out in clear outline, like two thin seashells.
She swallowed, and no Adam's apple moved.
Of course it didn't. Bai You gave a wry laugh inwardly.
She lowered her head, her gaze falling on her body.
The neckline of her white dress wasn't particularly low, but it didn't cover everything either.
Below her collarbones was a stretch of fair skin, and farther down... Bai You's face flushed bright red. She hurriedly looked away, the tips of her ears burning.
Though this wasn't the first time she had realized she'd become a girl, every time she confronted that fact, she still felt a strong sense of unreality and embarrassment.
It was like wearing an outfit that didn't belong to her at all, and one she couldn't take off for the time being.
She tried taking deep breaths to calm herself down.
This isn't the time to be embarrassed. First, I need to figure out what's going on.
Bai You braced herself against the inner wall of the shell and slowly stood up.
The moment she stood, she clearly felt the difference.
Her point of view was lower.
She used to be 178 centimeters tall, and she'd felt like she was looking down at everything.
But now, standing straight and looking up at the shell, she felt almost like a mayfly gazing up at the vast sky.
She estimated that this body was only a little over 150 centimeters tall, and no more than 160 at most.
Petite.
That was her first impression.
She looked down at her feet. The hem of her white dress just covered her knees, revealing her slender calves and thin ankles.
She wasn't wearing shoes. Her bare soles felt slightly cool against the smooth inner surface of the shell. Her toes were small and dainty, their rounded nails a faint pink.
Bai You tried taking two steps forward.
Her body felt light, as if she were walking on clouds. Every step carried an unreal lightness, completely unlike the grounded steadiness she had felt before.
Her center of gravity seemed to have changed too. She swayed slightly without meaning to as she walked, as though she had yet to adjust to the balance of this body.
She stopped and looked down at her legs. Beneath her skirt, her calves were slender and straight, her knees small and round.
She reached down and pinched a calf. The muscle was soft, without the slightest tightness.
This body... could probably just barely be considered that of a girl.
Bai You made an estimate in her head. Whether it was her height, her figure, or the condition of her skin, she looked like a girl who hadn't fully grown yet.
Petite, slender, and frail, as though a gust of wind could blow her over.