*Thump-thump-thump-thump!*
Footsteps echoed from downstairs—
heavy, urgent, pounding through the fragile stairwell like thunder.
She'd practically sprinted all the way up.
The rooftop's rusty iron door creaked open with a shrill *squeak*.
And the moment she saw the face standing opposite her—
a face so achingly familiar, the same one she checked and rechecked in the mirror every single day—
the horrifying truth crashed down on her:
Her body and the school's top male student had been swapped.
Lin Beixing was utterly devastated.
"Aaaaaahhhhh—!!!"
She covered her face and shrieked.
Lu Yu was completely dumbfounded.
For the first time in his life, he saw *himself*—covering his face, stomping his feet, and squealing in a shrill, girly voice—and thought: *Damn, that's seriously cringey!*
"No, no, no—don't scream!!"
Whether it was because of this delicate female body or just raw instinct, Lu Yu suddenly felt hyper-aware of everything around him—especially emotions.
Without thinking, he rushed forward and slapped a hand over "his own" mouth.
"Don't make *my* body scream like that!" he demanded fiercely.
Lin Beixing felt the cool touch of "her own" hand over her lips—
the fingers were rough in motion but undeniably soft in texture, thanks to the girl's delicate skin.
It was the first time a man had ever covered her mouth…
and that man was currently *using her own body*.
The sheer overload of implications made her head spin.
Unable to process it, she squeezed her eyes shut and let out another scream—this time muffled through Lu Yu's fingers:
"Aaaaahhhhhhh—!!!"
Even louder than before.
"Don't scream with *my* body!!!!"
"Aaaaahhhhh—!!!"
They took turns howling back and forth several times.
Thankfully, the rooftop was empty—if anyone else had been around, they'd probably think this was some bizarre ape-calling ritual.
But after all that screaming, the initial panic from the body swap finally eased up a little.
Lu Yu, by instinct, snapped back into composure.
Body-swapping wasn't exactly unheard of—
at least not in movies, TV shows, or novels.
Whether they could emotionally accept it was one thing,
but reality was staring them right in the face. Until they figured out a solution, denial wasn't an option.
Besides, Lu Yu had always adapted quickly.
"Do you know why this happened?" he asked calmly, looking directly at her.
It was the first time since the semester started that he'd voluntarily spoken to the school beauty—
and now he was doing it *from inside her body*.
He had to admit—Lin Beixing's voice really was beautiful.
Clear, melodic, pure—like it had been kissed by an angel.
"W-well… I… I don't know…"
Lin Beixing sank weakly onto the ground, sitting sideways.
Her eyes were red and glistening, her voice trembling with every breath, laced with tiny sniffles.
She looked heartbreakingly pitiful—but Lu Yu felt zero sympathy.
Honestly, he almost wanted to punch "his own face."
Seeing this weepy, soft-spoken version of *himself* was unbearable.
But of course, he couldn't actually hit her.
That *was* his own body—and inside it was a girl's soul.
He couldn't just start throwing fists.
Frustrated, Lu Yu grabbed at his hair—
only to feel long, silky strands slipping through his fingers instead of his usual short crop.
The hair was fine, smooth, and oddly pleasant to touch.
"Don't mess up my hair!" Lin Beixing muttered.
Even in utter chaos, she still cared about her appearance.
After all, she *was* the campus queen—Jiangshui No. 1 High's undisputed beauty standard. Looks mattered, even if the title itself meant nothing.
"You're worried about *hair* right now?!" Lu Yu snapped.
"Well, you were just complaining about my using your body to scream!" she shot back.
Lu Yu fell silent, defeated.
He carefully smoothed down the few strands he'd tousled.
Then he sat cross-legged on the ground, facing her.
Lin Beixing sat elegantly on her side, knees pressed together, both hands nervously clasped over her chest.
Lu Yu, meanwhile, sprawled with legs crossed wide open, palms resting on his knees.
One looked dainty and refined; the other, utterly careless.
They stared at each other for a few seconds—then blurted in perfect unison:
"Sit up straight!"
"Sit up straight!"
Both froze, taken aback by their unexpected harmony.
Lu Yu frowned.
"…Are you even wearing anything underneath?"
"You—!" Lin Beixing choked, flustered. "What did you just do?!"
"I didn't do anything! I just felt wind blowing up from below… it's weird."
*(Kinda nice, actually.)*
He wisely kept the last part to himself.
That cool, breezy feeling wasn't half bad in this sweltering heat.
"I'm wearing bike shorts! You've never worn a skirt before, so of course it feels cool!"
"Yeah, probably."
Lu Yu nodded and instinctively glanced downward—curious to finally see this infamous "worst invention of the 21st century" for himself.
But the moment his eyes dropped, a pair of balled-up fists slammed into his back.
"…Ow," Lu Yu winced, looking up. "That's *your* body. If you break it, don't blame me."
"You *dared* to look!"
"You said you had bike shorts on."
"Even bike shorts aren't for *looking*!"
"Then what's the point of wearing them if you're still scared of showing them?"
"Just—don't look! If you do, I'll hit you!"
Lin Beixing's eyes turned fierce, her raised fists trembling like she was genuinely about to strike.
Lu Yu decided to back down—for now.
After all, *she* had his body, while *he* was stuck in a fragile girl's form.
No contest—he'd lose for sure.
"But what if we still haven't switched back by bedtime tonight?" he pointed out.
"We don't even have a clue how this happened, let alone how to reverse it."
Lin Beixing's angry expression crumbled.
Her fists hung awkwardly in midair—neither striking nor lowering.
Seeing her conflicted face, Lu Yu smirked.
"In this heat… do you usually take a shower at night?"
Lin Beixing's cheeks flushed crimson, then pale, then crimson again.
She dropped her arms, looking utterly wronged.
"W-well… we'll… figure that out later…" She hesitated, then added, "Give me your phone number. We'll contact each other if anything comes up."
After a second's thought—this was the *first time* she'd ever asked a boy for his number—
she quickly backtracked, pride getting the better of her: "Actually, forget it. I'll just check myself."
She yanked Lu Yu's phone straight from his pocket.
Thanks to face recognition—and the fact that she currently *was* Lu Yu's face—
the phone unlocked instantly.
"…Why is your entire screen just *games*?" she muttered, scrolling through his home screen in disbelief.
Most were mobile games she'd never even heard of.
As someone who rarely played games, she only recognized them by their anime-style icons.
Lu Yu didn't mind—he had nothing to hide.
His phone had all the normal apps any guy might have.
But he wasn't about to be outdone.
He reached into the side pocket of his—well, *her*—pleated skirt and pulled out a pink smartphone.
The latest iPhone 14 Pro Max, top-tier model.
*Rich girl, huh?* Lu Yu thought. *Such a waste not to play games on this thing.*
"Hey—what are you doing?! Don't look at my phone!"
Lin Beixing froze for a split second, then lunged at him in a flash.
"Why can *you* look at mine but I can't look at yours?"
Lu Yu refused to yield. Easygoing as he usually was, he could be surprisingly stubborn when he wanted to be.
He *was* going to peek.
In truth, there wasn't much special on Lin Beixing's phone—just basic messaging apps and a bunch of girly favorites: fashion blogs, beauty tutorials, lifestyle forums…
As the saying goes: a girl's chat logs with her besties could fill a whole truck with juicy gossip—so scandalous it could revive a dying man just so he could crawl out of his coffin and delete them.
That was *exactly* what Lin Beixing feared.
"No looking at my messages!"
"Oh."
Lu Yu opened QQ anyway.
A user named "Xiao Lan," with a pink anime-girl avatar, had sent Lin Beixing over ten unread messages.
"You—LU YU!!!"
Panicked, Lin Beixing pounced.
But right now, *she* was in Lu Yu's body—
and though he wasn't muscular, he was still a healthy teenage boy with decent strength.
Her tackle sent "her delicate self" crashing straight to the ground.