“Damn it! How am I supposed to fight these people for food with these short little legs?!”
Xia Xi clutched the bowl that was clearly prepared by Xia Yue for him—the one with the Hatsune Miku pattern—and tiptoed to peek at the long line ahead. All he felt was boundless misery.
Originally, his class had been the first to be dismissed. Logically, they should have arrived at the cafeteria first and enjoyed a hot, fresh meal. But fate had other plans, forcing him to remain in the form of a little loli.
Although Xia Xi had tried his best to trot along quickly, he was still left far behind by a crowd of people. Even students from later classes had overtaken him!
“Um… if you don’t mind, you can stand in front of me.”
The person ahead of Xia Xi was a boy wearing the same school uniform, with a clean, short haircut.
Well… calling that haircut “bald” wouldn’t be entirely wrong either. That kind of buzz cut—just one or two millimeters long—Xia Xi had only ever seen on prisoners on TV before.
Back when he was actually in high school, the rules weren’t this strange. He still found these regulations baffling. Did the school really think that people always say “long hair, short wits,” and therefore believed that growing hair out would affect academic performance?
Still, long hair was a pain to maintain. If it weren’t for Luo Xinyu helping him comb it every day, he would have rather shown up to school with a bird’s nest on his head than bother with it.
“No thanks, I appreciate the offer.”
Of course, Xia Xi wouldn’t actually cut in line. He was a well-mannered, good kid. He just hoped that by the time he reached the front, there would still be something left that didn’t completely ruin his appetite.
“Alright, alright.”
The boy who had offered his spot scratched the back of his head shyly, a little awkward from being turned down.
“Next!”
The cafeteria auntie was pretty fast at serving food, mostly because her hand didn’t shake. Every time she added food to a student’s plate, she skipped that notorious trembling motion entirely.
“Auntie, I’ll have a serving of spicy and sour shredded potatoes, one of scrambled eggs with tomatoes, and some stir-fried shredded pork with garlic sprouts.”
The cafeteria usually offered several combinations—like two veggies, three veggies, one meat with one veggie, or one meat with two veggies. You could even order all meat dishes if you wanted, as long as you were willing to pay for it.
But after glancing at the price board, Xia Xi realized that everything except the “one meat with two veggies” combo was a rip-off.
Two veggies cost four yuan, three veggies cost seven, one meat and one veggie cost eight, and one meat with two veggies cost nine. That meant if you ordered the one-meat-two-veggie combo, the meat dish effectively cost four yuan. But if you ordered one meat and one veggie, the meat dish was six yuan—not a good deal at all.
Not that Xia Xi couldn’t afford it, but let’s not forget—Xia Yue was the one managing the household finances now! Who knows if that girl would skimp on his allowance?
“Here you go, young man. Let me know if you need more rice.”
Young man?
Xia Xi blinked.
In his current form, he clearly looked like an adorable little loli—nothing even remotely close to “young man.”
But when he saw the auntie hand the Hatsune Miku bowl—now filled with food—to the boy behind him, he was completely dumbfounded.
Turns out the auntie had mistaken who was ordering, thinking it was the guy behind him.
“Auntie, I’m right here! That was my order!”
Realizing what happened, Xia Xi quickly spoke up and snatched the bowl back, clutching it protectively.
The cafeteria auntie, suddenly called out, looked around but didn’t see anyone talking to her. Being a bit older, her mind immediately jumped to ghost stories.
The serving window at Xia Xi’s school was quite high, and this particular auntie happened to be on the shorter side, with the counter covering most of her face.
Two short people, separated by a tall counter—that was exactly why the auntie had overlooked Xia Xi.
Simple reason: she literally couldn’t see him!!!
They were in high school, after all. She never expected anyone to be this short.
This auntie had worked diligently at the cafeteria for years and thought she’d seen it all. But today, she encountered someone beyond her imagination.
“Is it really that shocking…”
Xia Xi carried his tray, ignored the chattering cafeteria lady behind him, and found a random spot to sit down.
Today had been absolutely miserable for him.
Not only did his short legs cost him the race for food, but his height also got him silently mocked by the cafeteria auntie.
She probably didn’t mean to ridicule him, but in Xia Xi’s heart, the damage was done.
That look of “concern”—the kind adults give kids they worry won’t grow taller—carried an undertone of “mockery.” And when the auntie took his tray back to add an extra spoonful of meat, it left him with a mix of gratitude and frustration.
Damn it!
Next time, he’d definitely transform into a long-legged onee-san! No more little loli!
Wait…
Why did he have to become a girl at all? He was a perfectly manly man!
Oh no—this had to be the system’s behavioral modification kicking in. Instead of considering his original male form, his mind immediately jumped to becoming female.
When he thought of long-legged onee-sans, Liu Jiaying was the first to come to mind.
Her killer figure fully embodied the term onee-san. Even though her edge had dulled a bit due to family issues lately, it didn’t diminish her aura at all.
That was the kind of confident swagger only a long-legged big-breasted beauty could pull off!!!
“Excuse me, can I sit here?”
Just as Xia Xi was shoveling food into his mouth and letting his mind wander, a pleasant female voice sounded beside him.
It was another girl in uniform, with her hair tied up in a high ponytail—looking pretty spirited.
“No.”
“Okay, I’ll just sit down then—wait, no?”
The girl nodded, about to place her tray on the table and sit down, only to realize that what he said didn’t match what she’d expected.
Well, well—as expected of the little loli she’d set her sights on. She could actually turn down a beauty like her!
“Yeah, no. I prefer eating alone.”
If Xia Xi knew what she was thinking, he would’ve ruthlessly retorted: You call yourself a beauty? You’re nowhere near as pretty as my sister Xia Yue!
“Um… maybe think it over?”
The girl puffed out her chest, almost as if showing something off.
Xia Xi glanced at her, bit his lip, and finally squeezed out a single icy word through his teeth.
“Scram!!!”
