bullyxtreme Chapter 1 : Awakening
Chapter 1 : Awakening
AwakeningIn a daze, Chen Zixuan was woken up by the sound of a door opening and closing.
Then came a series of soft footsteps—someone had entered the room.
The sound was light; obviously, the person was deliberately keeping quiet. But to her now-enhanced hearing, it still sounded loud.
The slight slapping of slippers against the floor was just like someone pounding a drum right in her dream's ear.
She didn't know how long she had slept; her head was still foggy, and her eyelids felt as if they'd been glued shut, refusing to open no matter how she tried.
Instinctively, she pulled the quilt up, covering her head with the soft blanket, hoping to distance herself from the room's clamor. At the same time, a faint fragrance gently enveloped Chen Zixuan.
It wasn't the artificial scent of detergent or perfume, but a unique feminine fragrance.
This quilt, it smells so nice...
She took a deep breath, letting out a muffled whimper.
Wait... this doesn't seem like my bed...
Could it be, just like last time, I'm dreaming again?
Half asleep and half awake, Chen Zixuan recalled the scene before she lost consciousness.
The last image she saw was Gu Yanxi's panicked face.
... So, is it that Gu Yanxi saved me this time?
The aftereffects of excessive Bleeding, accompanied by a strong dizziness, made Chen Zixuan slowly open her eyes.
What greeted her was a pure white ceiling, and the dazzling light made her squint.
The second time Chen Zixuan opened her eyes, she immediately saw a pink quilt with star-shaped patterns printed on it.
She had never bought this kind of quilt.
Mystery solved, this must be Gu Yanxi's bed.
As if eager to confirm Chen Zixuan's guess, Gu Yanxi's slightly surprised voice soon sounded at the bedside.
"You're awake?"
Was the surgery a success?
Ever since she heard this phrase from Aesther not long ago, Chen Zixuan had developed a kind of psychological shadow over it.
She abruptly struggled to sit up in bed, and a warm liquid immediately streamed out uncontrollably, while an organ in her lower abdomen sent stabbing pain once more.
All the discomforts surged together, her vision darkened again, and she almost fainted a second time. After a few painful deep breaths, she gradually came to.
Seeing her like this, Gu Yanxi hurried closer, gently helping Chen Zixuan lie back down while soothing her softly:
"This might be your first period. You lost quite a bit of blood, so it's best to lie down and rest for now."
After speaking, Gu Yanxi sat at the edge of the bed, picked up a small bowl from the bedside table, and gently blew over it.
From the steam rising and the dark liquid swaying in the bowl, this was most likely freshly prepared brown sugar water from the kitchen.
Online, people always said drinking brown sugar water could replenish blood. Chen Zixuan never thought she'd have a chance to verify it firsthand.
"What time... is it now...?"
Her gaze slowly swept around the room. It was pitch-black outside the window, the light in the room was on, and she couldn't tell how long she'd been unconscious. Chen Zixuan barely managed to open her dry lips and ask in a hoarse voice.
"It's 8:30 pm. You've slept for about... seven hours, I think."
Gu Yanxi put down the bowl, pondered for a moment, and replied uncertainly.
"... Mmm."
Relieved, Chen Zixuan shrank the lower half of her face back under the quilt and couldn't help but take another deep breath.
Thankfully, she hadn't slept for days on end.
"Are you still uncomfortable anywhere?"
Gu Yanxi asked again.
After a pause, Chen Zixuan shook her head slightly.
Compared to this afternoon, her body felt much better now.
The spot on her forehead that hit something still hurt a little, but there was no Bleeding and not even a scar: basically, nothing serious.
As for the Bleeding area, although it still felt sticky, it didn't seem to have stained the bed—probably because Gu Yanxi had already placed a sanitary pad for her.
Realizing this, her pretty face flushed.
Even if both of them were girls now, doing something like putting a pad in place for each other would make anyone feel awkward.
Gu Yanxi didn't mind, nor did she press further. She remained calm as if chatting casually:
"That's good. Your constitution is too weak; the Bleeding was very unusual."
"It's too late today. Just rest here tonight; I'll take you to the hospital tomorrow for a proper check-up."
"I... I'm not going to the hospital."
At these words, Chen Zixuan's breath hitched. She shook her head hastily.
According to what Aesther said before, and judging by the amount of Bleeding, her body shouldn't be human anymore.
Nowadays, you needed an ID card to register at any hospital. Don't even mention identification—she wasn't even human anymore. Going to a hospital for an exam would be suicide!
Chen Zixuan's words made Gu Yanxi's movements pause as well.
She glanced at the silver-haired girl in bed—her sapphire eyes filled with confusion, as if she knew nothing of the road ahead—exactly like that person.
Her mind made up.
"That's fine too."
After a moment of silence, Gu Yanxi suddenly sighed softly, opened her phone, and pulled up the last message Chen Zixuan had sent her.
She stuck the phone right in front of the silver-haired girl and stared at her, lips curling into a bitter, helpless smile. "Can you tell me what really happened now?"
Her eyes sharpened instantly, scraping across the silver-haired girl's face like a blade as she spat out three cold words.
"Chen Zixuan!"
Though startled inside, Chen Zixuan managed to keep a calm appearance on the surface, even hanging her head a little, pretending to be dejected: "You've made a mistake. I don't know who that is."
"Do you think I'm stupid? If you're not Chen Zixuan, why would you come out of his house?"
Gu Yanxi put down her phone and asked through gritted teeth.
Everyday common sense told her that changing from male to female overnight was impossible.
But female intuition was screaming that this frail, pitiful, silver-haired girl was 100% Chen Zixuan!
Seeing Gu Yanxi pressing so hard, Chen Zixuan started to panic.
But to avoid dragging Gu Yanxi into this, she absolutely couldn't expose her identity. No matter how unwilling, she could only keep lying:
"Okay... I confess. I'm actually his distant cousin. I mainly came to check on my future sister-in-law."
"Oh, and then? Where did he go?"
Gu Yanxi snorted softly, crossing her arms as she watched the silver-haired girl put on a show.
With her blood-deprived mind in chaos, Chen Zixuan could no longer keep up the act, so she could only change her story again:
"Alright, this time I'm really telling the truth. He's a jerk, and I'm his new girlfr—"
Before she could finish, Chen Zixuan forced herself to stop.
Across from her, Gu Yanxi had already picked up the small bowl from the table, looking at her threateningly, as if to say, "If you dare keep talking, I'll splash this sugar water right on your face."
"Okay, I'll tell everything."
Under the double threat of being a guest and facing absolute force, Chen Zixuan finally chose to give in.
She'd hidden it long enough. This time, she'd say it all.
"It was early morning one week ago. After the night shift, I was coming home and got a package from someone at the front door..."
The story was short, much of it unnecessary to detail too deeply—a rough outline would do.
In less than ten minutes, Gu Yanxi thoroughly understood the whole sequence of events.
Maybe she'd half guessed already, because after hearing everything, Gu Yanxi wasn't that surprised.
Instead, she was faintly moved.
Gu Yanxi's heart was put at ease—it wasn't that Chen Zixuan had been avoiding her all this time, but that he had always stayed by her side in a different way.
No wonder in-game, Cecilia had been so familiar, pulling her along so naturally the first time they met, not giving her a chance to refuse.
Now that she knew Cecilia was Chen Zixuan, all her prior worries vanished.
Reaching out, she gently stroked the girl's soft silver hair, asking in a soft voice,
"So, in a year, our world will be invaded by a deity from another realm—is that it?"
"I'm not sure, either."
Chen Zixuan pursed her dry lips and shook her head slowly.
"Honestly, all this is just one-sided from that woman called Aesther. I can't tell if it's real or not. But for now, she seems trustworthy."
Even knowing all this, there wasn't much Gu Yanxi could do. With her simple mind, she really couldn't comprehend such conspiracy theories.
So, she decided to stop thinking about it altogether. Picking up the warm sugar water, she stirred it gently with a porcelain spoon, scooped a spoonful, blew on it, and steadied her hand before carefully bringing it to the silver-haired girl's pale lips.
"Don't think about it then. Just focus on getting some rest."
Sipping the sugar water, Chen Zixuan's pallor seemed to ease, though she couldn't tell if it was the effect of the water or psychological.
"Where's Lin Wei?"
Suddenly, realizing someone was missing, Chen Zixuan asked cautiously.
Considering today's events, she was a bit worried that Gu Yanxi might be jealous.
"It's so late—she's already gone home."
Gu Yanxi didn't care.
While focused on feeding Chen Zixuan, she replied casually:
"There was blood all over your bedsheets and floor—it soaked through to the mattress. You can't stay there tonight, so sleep here."
"By the way, Lin Wei and I cleaned up together. She washed the sheets, I mopped the floor, and the supplies you asked her to bring are right here—I've opened the pack and used one already."
Following Gu Yanxi's gaze, Chen Zixuan saw a large black plastic bag stuffed in the corner of the room—just from the look, Lin Wei had carried out the task perfectly.
"Oh, right."
As if remembering something, Gu Yanxi's cheeks reddened. She spoke in a low voice:
"I didn't give you a full bath, just wiped you down with a hot towel... The underwear you're wearing is mine, but don't overthink it—they're new, I've never used them..."
..........