Caius woke up with pain all over his body. It was the kind of pain he'd never experienced before. His eyelids felt glued together, and when he finally managed to open them, a strange ceiling came into view. It was painted with faint golden patterns and framed by a crystal chandelier.
For a moment, he thought there was something wrong with his eyes.
The curtains were thick and soft, a pale pink that looked unmistakenly expensive. The bed he lay on was enormous, the canopy above his head draped with sheer fabric edged in lace. Everything in sight was delicate, and luxurious.
The kind of room he had only ever seen on TV.
After thinking for a while, his mind came to the best conclusion: This must be a dream.^_^
Caius's eyelashes drooped again and he decided to sleep. His body hurt too much to bother thinking. Whether it was a dream or not, sleeping was the best option. So he closed his eyes, turned his face slightly into the pillow, and drifted off into wonder land.
🪷🪷🪷
Ring ring ring
A loud, shrill sound drilled straight into his aching head. Caius groaned and groped blindly along the bed until his fingers brushed something smooth and cool. He dragged the ringing phone closer without looking at the screen and swiped to answer.
"Hello…" He called out in a hoarse voice, rough with sleep: "Why are you calling me so late…? You won't believe what weird dream I had…"
There was a stunned silence on the other end.
Caius yawned, rubbed at one eye, and continued talking without realizing something was wrong: "You won't believe it. I woke us as some rich young master in a huge luxurious room, all pink and shiny. The bed could fit a whole volleyball team. And then-"
"Sister," A girl's voice came from the other end: "Have you finally gone insane? I knew your father was going to punish you but I didn't expect it to be to the extent that it would make you lose your mind." the girl sighed: "What am I gonna do, I don't want a fool for a friend."
The word "sister" made Caius's eyes snap open. Sleep clear from his head as if someone had poured cold water over him.
That voice wasn't his friend's. His friend was a guy, with a gentle voice. This voice in his ear that had a habit of swearing every other sentence. Since when did he have a girlfriend?
Caius lowered the phone and glanced at the caller ID. The name on the screen was unfamiliar: Mara.
It was definitely not his friend.
The phone in his hand had a thin frame and the screen was almost edge to edge. The casing was a pale rose gold that matched the room color. It was definitely not his old battered model.
"Caius? Caius!" The girl's voice came again: "Why are you so quiet all of a sudden? Have you become mute? Oh my God, it's worsening."
Caius pressed the phone back to his ear nervously: "...Who are you."
There was dead silence on the other end.
After a few seconds, the girl spoke again unbelievably: "You also have amnesia? I can't believe the Duke actually went this far!"
Caius was stunned: What Duke?
Mara sighed as if there was not much hope left: "Forget it. Don't say anything. Just rest, okay? You really went too far this time. If you still want to be let out of that room before the term ends, don't anger Lord Veyne again."
A Duke and Lord Veyne? Caius wasn't sure whether they were the same person.
"I've been taking notes for you, I'll send you the copy later. You know how I hate taking notes, you own me big this time, sister."
Caius stared blankly at the opposite wall, his fingers curled tightly around the phone. He had no idea who she was. He had no idea who she thought he was.
His throat felt tight and in the end, he only managed to squeeze out only one word: "Okay."
There was another brief silence. Then Mara sigh again, she'd lost count of how many times she sighs during this call.
"..."
"You really are sick." She muttered to herself: "Fine. Rest well, I won't disturb you anymore."
The line clicked off.
Caius lowered the phone slowly with trembling hands.
The room was exactly the same as before. The ridiculous pink was still everywhere, from the drapes to the carpet to the velvet armchair in the corner.
He couldn't convince himself any longer that this was a dream.
He forced himself to sit up, bracing on his elbows, and immediately hissed through his teeth. Pain shot through his back and shoulders, as if someone had whipped him or kicked him repeatedly.
So that girl on the phone hadn't been joking about punishment.
He swung his legs over the side of the bed and sat there for a few seconds, waiting for the dizziness to pass. Then he pushed himself to his feet.
His bare feet sank into thick carpet. The texture was too soft, too detailed to be a dream.
He walked toward the bathroom unsteadily. If this really was kidnapping, it was a very strange one. Who spent this much money just to abduct someone and let them keep a working smartphone?
The bathroom door slid open smoothly at his touch.
Inside, the tiles were spotless and white. A large mirror occupied most of the wall above a marble sink. Glass shelves held neat rows of skin care bottles and makeup palettes.
Caius froze and without thinking, he did the most important sanity check first. The girl from earlier called him "sister" and now he has countless skin care products and makeup palettes?
He yanked at the waistband of his pants and peeked down. After a second, he let out a long breath of relief.
His little brother was still present.
"Good," He muttered under his breath: "At least this isn't that kind of story."
The waistband snapped back into place, then he leaned forward and turned on the tap. He splashed the cold water onto his face repeatedly until he shivered from the chill.
The water was icy. The sensation was clear, there was no fuzziness, none of the odd blurring that dreams should have.
This was real, but Caius couldn't figure out how it happened.
He gripped the edge of the sink tightly and slowly raised his head to look into the mirror. A stranger looked back at him. The face in the glass was very beautiful.
Pale skin like porcelain, long eyelashes, a small mole under the corner of the left eye, lips naturally tinted a soft rose. The features were fine and delicate, balanced just right between masculine and feminine.
If Caius didn't know there was proof in his pants, he truly wouldn't have been able to tell at a glance whether the person in the mirror was male or female.
His hair was a soft, slightly wavy black, falling around his face in a style that obviously took time to maintain. Even now, with traces of sleep, it looked better than anything his past self had ever seen on his own head.
He lifted his hand and touched his cheek cautiously. The mirror Caius did the same.
"...No way!" he exclaimed.
The word "transmigration" came to mind. But he couldn't believe it.
Caius had read enough web novels and watched enough dramas to recognize the signs of transmigrations and reincarnations. Waking in pain, unfamiliar rich or poor surroundings, returning to the past and so on…
Before he could process that fully, the door to the bedroom banged open.
"Caius, are you awake…"
The urgent call cut off abruptly when the bathroom door was opened.