Changes

"I have to take everything off just for a radiation test?"

"Yes." The female staff smiled and said, "This way, the test will be more comprehensive."

"B*llshit." Chen Yu was angry. He pulled tightly onto his shorts and said, "How much of an effect can a pair of shorts have? You're asking me to take everything off? I'd rather not get out of here at all."

"Then… alright. Sir, please calm down a little. Let's start with the test now…"

Chen Yu stood before a few instruments, and it was confirmed that the radiation on him didn't exceed the standard figure. So, Chen Yu left, albeit with a sulky look on his face. 

After he left, there was a commotion among the numerous ladies behind the glass-enclosed room as they began to excitedly talk about Chen Yu with each other.

"This handsome man is simply too stylish, isn't he?"

"Super manly!"

"Best of the best! A masterpiece…"

"Did you guys see him down there? He was almost too big to be wrapped."

"Goody-goody…"

"I'm drooling…"

At one of the workstations by the window, a bespectacled young man asked, puzzled, "Sister Wang, normal testing doesn't require one to strip off all clothing, right?"

The woman named Sister Wang replied in a slow, unhurried manner, "I just wanted to see how big he was."

The young man: "???" (speechless)

...

Chen Yu left the isolation room and returned to the changing room in Hall One. He took off the bath towel, ready to change back into his own clothes. 

As there were large mirrors in the changing room, he happened to catch a glance of his figure and was instantly stunned. 

Because what he saw in the mirror was his manly face, which wore a resolute, steadfast expression; his outstanding personality, which differentiated him from the crowd; and his masculine body, which bulged with well-defined muscles. 

He also seemed to have grown a little taller. 

But these things were all on the outside. 

On the inside, there seemed to have been a considerable change as well. 

"Eh?"

Chen Yu walked closer to the mirror and opened his eyes wide to carefully observe himself. "Am I this handsome? How come I didn't notice before?"

"Seems like this has something to do with the radiation after all…"

As a bisexual man, Chen Yu didn't care too much about his image. After looking in the mirror for a while, he put on his clothes, reclaimed his phone, and left Hall One. 

And at this time, after subjecting the items to a round of cleaning, the staff returned the cigarettes and cash Chen Yu had found on the corpse.

...

By the time he walked out of "Portal" Square, it was close to 7 in the morning. 

It was already daybreak. 

Chen Yu stopped in his tracks to quietly take in a few minutes of the cool morning air. Then, he took out the pack of Lesser Pandas (Filter Cigarettes), lit a cigarette, and stuffed it into his mouth. 

While smoking, he walked towards No. 2 Middle School.

It happened to be the time school started, so the streets were full of students and parents sending their children to school. 

Along the way, Chen Yu was quite the eye-catcher, making many people turn around to take a second look at him. 

He attracted the attention of many lady comrades. 

As a result, he found himself in an "overwhelmingly flattered" state, which seemingly caused him to walk with a smooth gait. 

Ten minutes later.

He arrived at the entrance to No. 2 Middle School. Looking at the school's field and several buildings, Chen Yu couldn't help but sigh. 

This school had become so "dramatically" irrelevant to him…

He squatted by the school gate and lost track of how much time had gone by before his sister—Chen Siwen—appeared. 

"Yu!"

The moment she caught sight of Chen Yu, Chen Siwen, who was carrying a bag, happily ran over to him and said, "How long have you been waiting here? I was just about to give you a cal… erm? You…"

"What's wrong with me?"

"You…" Chen Siwen frowned and circled around Chen Yu. She looked him up and down before saying, "You seem to have changed?"

Chen Yu rubbed his chin, feeling smug, and asked, "I've become handsome, you mean?"

"No. How should I put it…" Chen Siwen deliberated for a moment, trying to find the right words to describe him. "I should say… became more manly."

"Is it the smell of sweat? Or body ordor?"

Chen Siwen: "…" (speechless)

"It's probably because of the hormones," Chen Yu answered thoughtfully. 

He remembered that in the Foreign Realm, he'd gained a lot of strange "attributes"…

"You've also grown taller, right?" Chen Siwen stood on her tiptoes to compare her height to Chen Yu's. "What on earth have you been eating over the past two days in school?" she asked. 

"I just ate that Qi-boosting Elixir. Nothing else."

"The Qi-boosting Elixir is actually that effective?" Chen Siwen's eyes sparkled as she asked, "Or could it be that you have the talent to absorb elixirs better than ordinary people?"

"Maybe it's the latter." Chen Yu was about to give his family a precautionary heads-up so they were mentally prepared. "My strength is rapidly increasing now. That Qi-boosting Elixir really helped a great deal."

"That's great." Chen Siwen happily clasped her hands together. Then, she opened her bag and took out another Qi-boosting Elixir, which she handed to Chen Yu. "Here, eat it," she said. 

"I'll eat it when I get back to the dormitory."

"Eat it now."

"Don't worry. I won't sell it." Chen Yu put away the Qi-boosting Elixir, patted his chest, and said, "The effect of the elixir is so good that I can't have enough of it. It's impossible for me to want to sell it. I'll eat it in the peace of my dormitory when I get back."

"If you find that you can't get enough of it, I, your sister, will find a way to get more of it for you."

"No, no, don't! I've heard that it isn't good to eat too much of this stuff. I might develop some resistance to it. Four is enough." That said, Chen Yu pretended to take out his phone to look at the time and said, "Sister, you're going to be late for work. Hurry along now. I'm going back to school this very instant."

"Alright, you run along." Chen Siwen nodded. 

"You go first."

"No, you go first. I'll watch you go into the school before I leave."

"Don't. I'll watch you go before I enter school…"

"You go."

"You go…"

"You go first."

"It's better if you go…"

"What the h*ll is wrong with you? Are you going in or not?!" Chen Siwen flew into a rage, her pretty brows furrowing into a frown as she questioned, "Is there something you're hiding from me?"

"What is there to hide from you?! I'm being courteous and polite, and still, you get angry." Perspiration was forming on Chen Yu's forehead as he turned around to walk towards the school. Finally, he said, "Fine, I'll go, alright?"

After taking a few steps, he looked back and saw that Chen Siwen was still standing in the same place. The look on her face boded ill. 

Chen Yu: "…" (speechless)

[Mental damage inflicted: Mental state +1]

Left without any choice, Chen Yu could only continue to walk towards the school, pass through the gate, and enter the school building. It was only then that he saw Chen Siwen leave. 

"Phew…"

He let out a sigh of relief, about ready to do the same and leave the school. 

But he suddenly felt a tap on his shoulder from behind. 

"Who is it?"

He subconsciously turned his head and found that it was the Class Two monitress of the Senior Three cohort. 

"Is it really you?" Carrying her backpack, the monitress frowned and said, "Haven't you been expelled? What are you doing back in school?"

"What has it got to do with you?"

"How does it not have anything to do with me? I'm from the Student Council. People from outside the school are not allowed to enter the school premises casually."

"OK! I'll leave now."

"You think No. 2 Middle School is some place where you can come and go as you please?"

"…" Chen Yu asked, "D*mn it, are you sick in the head?"

The monitress' expression changed. "Why are you cursing?!"

"What the hell do you want?"

"… I just wanted to ask, have you been using cosmetics lately? What brands have you been using? How did your skin become so good…"

Chen Yu: "… I'm using the radiation brand. You can give it a try."

"Forget it if you don't want to share." The monitress took a step back in dissatisfaction and said, "Not devoting your efforts to your strength, and yet here you are, getting all fancy. No wonder you were expelled."

Chen Yu: "…" (speechless)

"If you can't even make it into college, what's the use of getting all dressed up and looking so handsome? You're only worthy of hanging out with the lowest level of society." 

Hearing this, Chen Yu couldn't help but laugh. He took out a cigarette and lit it. Then, he stuffed it into his mouth, took a deep breath, and let out a puff of smoke in the monitress's face. 

"You… what are you doing?"

"You're right. I know I can't get into college, and I don't want to make it in either." That said, Chen Yu turned around to leave. "I'll just try to enter a key university for fun."

"Key university?" The monitress curled her lips in disgust and said, "Key university, indeed! Are you even worthy of saying those two words?"

...