Bang bang bang!
Before the clock even struck seven, I was rudely awakened by a series of urgent knocks pounding on my front door.
“Open up!”
“Surnamed Si! Don’t be a coward! If you’ve got any guts, come open the door!”
BANG BANG BANG!!!
Each knock was louder and more frantic than the last, like they were trying to punch straight through the reinforced door.
Still dazed from a night of restless sleep haunted by the ghost infant, my head throbbed painfully at the sudden noise—like my brain was about to explode.
“Who is it…” I groaned, dragging myself out of bed, my head pounding.
I didn’t even notice how loose my T-shirt was—half-draped over my shoulder as I slipped on my slippers and shuffled to the door.
With a click, I opened it.
Standing there was Su Liumeng.
“Humph. I thought you were going to hide in here like a turtle for the rest of your life,” she sneered, ready to spit out her usual round of insults—
But then her eyes landed on me.
More precisely, on my loose T-shirt and the fair, soft skin peeking out from beneath.
Her brow furrowed slightly, and she muttered,
“When did his skin get so good?”
I stared at her calmly.
There was no anger left in me.
No grudge.
“What do you want?” I asked, voice flat.
Su Liumeng didn’t stay distracted for long.
Her face quickly returned to its usual frostbitten expression as she crossed her arms and declared, “I’m here to inform you—starting today, you have nothing to do with the Su family. Your household registration has already been removed.”
She smirked arrogantly.
“Count yourself lucky you ran off when you did. If you’d stayed even one more day, I would’ve personally kicked you out.”
The glee in her tone was unmistakable.
She was savoring this moment.
After all the years of rivalry, this was her long-awaited victory.
“I understand,” I said, still calm.
I looked into the eyes of the girl who had once been my “sister” in name.
“Anything else? If not, I’d like to go back to sleep.”
“You—” she faltered, clearly not expecting this kind of reaction.
She stared into my eyes, trying to dig out some trace of pain, resentment, or even humiliation.
But what she saw was nothing but a deep, clear calm—
like a still spring, unshaken by the world.
“…Fine,” I said, taking a small step forward, “If you’re done, I’ll be closing the door now.”
Just as the door began to shut—
Thud!
Her foot shot forward, blocking it with force.
Su Liumeng’s eyes flared with frustration.
She glared at me and snapped,
“I told you before—you’ll never beat me. What isn’t yours will never be yours.”
I paused for a second.
“…Yeah, I get it now. I won’t compare myself to you anymore.”
With that, I gently pushed her foot back and slowly closed the door.
Click.
The lock clicked into place.
And silence returned.
*****
Outside the door…
Su Liumeng stared at the tightly shut reinforced door in front of her, a storm of frustration roiling in her chest.
No matter how she tried, she just couldn’t vent the stuffy anger pressing down on her lungs.
How dare Si Xinyan.
How dare she—shut her out like that.
Su Liumeng had come here to gloat, to watch me squirm after being thrown out of the family.
But instead of sorrow, despair, or even rage, all she saw was calm.
That look on my face was completely different from what she imagined.
And because of that, the satisfaction she longed for—the thrill of trampling an old enemy—was nowhere to be found.
“Ah… I get it now.”
She suddenly seemed to realize something as she recalled my expression.
“Si Xinyan, you might be able to fool everyone else… but you can’t fool me.”
“We’ve fought for seven, eight years. I know you too well. You care about family more than anyone. All that indifference just now—was just pride. A mask.”
She let out a cold snort.
“Don’t think getting kicked out of the Su family means this is over.”
“You hogged my place for so many years. Until I crush you into the dirt, I won’t be satisfied!”
Su Liumeng gave one last glance at the door, eyes glinting with confidence—like she had seen right through me.
“I can’t wait… to see that look of regret on your face as you crawl through the mud. You think putting on a calm front can cover up the truth? You didn’t leave by choice. You were cast out.”
As the only daughter of the elite Su family, Su Liumeng wouldn’t allow any alternative narrative.
Si Xinyan must have been abandoned.
She must not be seen as someone who walked away on their own.
She clenched her fists tightly, thinking of how her parents still harbored soft feelings for me.
If only they’d issued an official statement—all this would’ve been over.
Still their weakness… still their “daughter.”
As she turned to leave, a thought suddenly flickered through her mind.
“…Did Si Xinyan get shorter?”
She frowned, then shook her head.
Probably just my imagination.
*****
Inside the apartment…
Silence.
I stared at my small, fair hands under the soft morning light—a trace of confusion flickering in my eyes.
Fifteen minutes later.
I was standing in front of the bathroom mirror, staring blankly, lips twitching.
The reflection showed my loose T-shirt, still pulled wide open.
Beneath the fabric, wasn’t muscle.
It was soft, pillowy fat.
Bright white skin, a fullness that had no business being on a man’s chest.
This…
This definitely wasn’t my former, well-toned pecs.
I squeezed my arm—no trace of the muscle I once had.
All I felt was softness—delicate, smooth.
Not at all like a boy’s.
A cold chill crept up my spine.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
My thoughts flew back to my conversation with the old Taoist yesterday.
No way…
A bizarre, absurd idea popped into my mind—abrupt and uninvited.
And before I could talk myself out of it, my hand moved like lightning—
Straight down.
My hand met nothing but air.
Empty.
I froze.
My mind blanked out.
A horrible realization crept up, and with it came the kind of pain that Su Liumeng had dreamed of seeing.
But not even she could’ve imagined it would appear…
like this.
My little brother… was gone.
“Xiao Yan… where are you?”
My fists clenched instinctively.
After a brief moment of dumbfounded silence, I had already guessed the source of this sudden change.
I wanted to lash out—interrogate that ghost fetus no matter the cost—but just as I opened my mouth, I remembered how temperamental that little ancestor was.
So I forced my mouth shut with a snap, teeth grinding with such force I could hear a sharp crack, like they nearly shattered.
Boom—!
Even on a clear day, the heavens could still produce thunder.
My mind went blank.
Reality refused to sink in.
I collapsed to the floor, limp and helpless.
The icy tiles seeped into my bones, but they weren’t enough to jolt me awake.
I grabbed at my hair in frustration—only then did I realize it had grown.
What once didn’t even reach my ears now brushed against my earlobes.
I thought back to my earlier run-in with Su Liumeng.
No wonder she’d looked at me so strangely.
A bitter smile crept across my face.
Thank goodness I wore a baggy T-shirt today.
At most, she might’ve seen a bit of skin below my collarbone—not enough to expose the… increasingly obvious swell below.
What should I do now?
My head throbbed.
I couldn’t think.
A moment later, I let out a bitter laugh.
What was I even worrying about?
I was already at the late stage of cancer.
If I could solve the ghost fetus issue, I’d just spend the rest of the year living as comfortably as possible.
If I couldn’t—then I’d die in agony.
What was there to hesitate about?
With that thought, I slowly stood up from the floor.
And that’s when I noticed something.
When I looked down… I could barely see my own feet.
Wait—
Did Su Liumeng… notice?
But honestly, I was probably overthinking it.
Su Liumeng hadn’t even considered that possibility.
Even if she had seen anything, she’d just assume it was due to my pecs getting more defined.
After all, no sane person would ever imagine their older brother was turning into a girl… right?
Well, not that I’m her older brother anymore.
Since being removed from the Su family registry, there’s no longer any connection between us.
Half an hour later, I had finally pulled myself together and was standing against the wall, measuring my height.
158 centimeters.
A little shorter than before.
Not too serious—at least I could blame it on not wearing height insoles.
I picked up a measuring tape and began to measure my bust.
And when I saw the final number, I couldn’t speak.
My fingertips, pale and bluish from how tightly I’d been clutching the tape, trembled.
There was no denying the numbers.
My worst fear had come true.
This was… a C-cup, maybe even a C+?
I wasn’t totally sure, but I knew this much: one hand wasn’t enough to hold it.
Even if I spread all five fingers apart, I could still see the curve spilling out from the edges.
I stared at the generous softness peeking through my fingers—the full shape and flawless contour—absolutely perfect.
At the center, a faint pink bloom spread outward, like a lotus floating on a still lake.
It was… hard to look away.
If I were a girl, I’d be flawless—probably the envy of thousands.
But I wasn’t.
I was supposed to be a boy.
A completely normal guy.
My sigh echoed through the bathroom, growing longer and longer.
The girl in the mirror looked both innocent and alluring.
Her eyes were soft, delicate—like a peach blossom in full bloom.
And with the ghost fetus inside me…
I didn’t even want to imagine what my “identity” was supposed to be now.
I didn’t know what label to put on myself anymore.
God knows how a guy like me ended up like this.
Well—maybe not God.
But the ghost definitely does.