Chapter 41: Your Pain in My Heart

Six o'clock in the afternoon.

"Have you arrived?"

"I'm at the campus, almost at the West Gate."

Lu Xing arrived at the West Gate of Ocean University in the starry-ceiling luxury sedan. From afar, he spotted someone who looked exactly like himself—or rather, Xiao Yu—sitting on a bus stop bench, carrying a backpack and holding a smartphone.

The car pulled up smoothly beside the bus stop.

"Beauty, get in the car!"

After rolling down the window, Lu Xing greeted her.

People nearby turned to look. They saw his exquisite, finely-chiseled face, and then looked to the other side... Which beauty was he talking to?

Although she was the one called a beauty, Xiao Yu—currently inhabiting Lu Xing's body—stood up expressionlessly. As she walked, she unslung the backpack and casually tossed it through the car window to him: "Your books."

With that, she got in from the other side.

Lu Xing chuckled and asked, "Haven't you gone back to your dorm yet? Afternoon classes end at four."

Xiao Yu suddenly realized and stopped in her tracks: "Wait, I asked you to come so you could help me move my things. Why did you get in the car? Get out!"

The driver in the front seat couldn't help glancing back slightly.

His boss, right after finishing work, was being summoned by a male college student to help move things? And the boss even called him... a beauty?

"Although I'm not hungry right now, I figure I probably will be."

Lu Xing said with a smile.

To his surprise, Xiao Yu understood his logic and couldn't help laughing as well: "Who told you to have such a huge appetite? Fine then, let's eat first and then move your things. Have someone pick a restaurant."

"Alright." Lu Xing sent a message to Assistant Zhang.

"What did you just call me?" Xiao Yu turned to ask him.

"Beauty, what's wrong?"

"Don't you think it's weird?"

"It is weird, but what do you suggest I call you?"

Lu Xing retorted with a question.

Xiao Yu thought about it. If he used names, neither of their names felt appropriate. If Lu Xing shouted "Lu Xing, get in the car," it might cause cognitive confusion; if he called her by her actual name, it wouldn't match the face.

If he called out "Handsome, get in the car," it would be both awkward and incorrect, as Xiao Yu certainly didn't view herself as a handsome man.

Calling her a beauty was naturally wrong as well, but Xiao Yu could empathize with Lu Xing's perspective: from each other's viewpoints, although the other person was using their own body, their subconscious automatically replaced it with the other's original appearance.

"This is such a mess! Let's just drop honorifics and talk directly."

Xiao Yu sighed as she got in from the other side of the car.

Just as she was getting in, she accidentally bumped her head against the roof of the car and let out an "Ouch."

"Hiss!"

Lu Xing clutched his own forehead simultaneously and hastily reached out to steady her, helping her sit down.

Holding her head, Xiao Yu asked him strangely, "You feel pain when I hit my head?"

"The ache is on your body, the pain is in my heart!" Lu Xing said helplessly, then added, "Watching yourself get hit right before your own eyes, wouldn't it hurt? To be precise, I'm hurting both physically and mentally!"

Xiao Yu felt the physical pain, while Lu Xing suffered from phantom limb pain.

"Stop talking! It's all your fault for being so tall; I haven't gotten used to your height yet!"

Xiao Yu couldn't help laughing. Everything was such a chaotic mess that even she was struggling to make sense of the current situation!

Meanwhile, from the perspective of the driver in the front seat...

Those words from the president were far too cheesy! It sounded just like he was flirting with someone.

What on earth was wrong with their president? Hanging out with this college student made her act as if she were in a romantic relationship...

Could they actually be dating?

Yet why did this male student named Lu Xing complain that the president was too tall?

...

During dinner, Lu Xing and she chatted about the three people who had come to pitch investment proposals today.

"Which project do you think is good?"

Xiao Yu asked casually, betraying no emotion.

"That AI project is purely an outsider trying to jump on the bandwagon. Anyone with half a brain wouldn't invest in it."

Lu Xing offered his analysis: "As for the livestream e-commerce, although the boss talks a big game and seems unreliable, he actually has real ability. He has his own unique insights into live streaming. Investing in him is a coin toss—fifty-fifty odds of making a profit or a loss."

"And the third one?"

Xiao Yu smiled faintly.

"I'm quite optimistic about that third one's game. It has both solid gameplay and monetization mechanics, but an investment of ten million is a bit steep, and after its subsequent launch, there's a high probability they'll need additional promotional funding."

"The money during that exact phase is precisely what I want to make."

Xiao Yu chuckled softly: "I don't have a deep understanding of gaming, but I don't need a deep understanding either. If a game can be successfully launched and evaluation suggests it's worth increasing promotional spending, that in itself means profit. I won't participate in the subsequent endgame; I'll choose to exit right at that point and see which gaming company is willing to take over."

Lu Xing thought for a moment and shook his head: "I don't know much about game publishing, so I won't offer an opinion."

"So you choose to invest in the game?" Xiao Yu asked.

"Right. If I absolutely have to choose one among these three, I'd choose to invest in the gaming project."

Lu Xing made his choice and waited for the system prompt confirming task completion.

Noticing the system remained silent, Lu Xing pressed her further: "What about you, President Xiao? Based on your judgment, which one would you choose?"

Xiao Yu covered her mouth with a light laugh and said with a hint of playfulness: "My choice is the exact opposite of yours!"

"You're choosing to invest in the first one?" Lu Xing was extremely surprised.

"Yes, and I will definitely invest in it. Do you know why?"

"Only a ghost could guess that!"

Lu Xing suspected she was simply trying to go against him on purpose!

Xiao Yu laughed for a moment before explaining: "My reason for investing in him is very simple. The facial recognition algorithm used behind this AI application is the doctoral dissertation written by a friend of mine."

"...... Damn it!"

Lu Xing was stunned by this hidden connection.

Xiao Yu smiled and said, "My friend wanted to use this game to collect some data, so he introduced the boss of that company to me to seek investment, asking me to throw in a bit of money just to get the application made and released."

"So you're just investing five million?"

"Why would it take that much? At most, a million can settle it. It's not a lot of money; consider it me returning a favor to my friend."

"So that's how it is."

Lu Xing nodded: "Good thing I didn't chase him away. I thought he was just a total sucker, but it turns out everything is driven by human connections and favors!" He then added, "You didn't tell me in advance. What would I have done if I had messed it up?"

Xiao Yu smiled without answering.

The system finally chimed to inform him that the task was completed with an "excellent" rating, rewarding him with three hundred experience points.

...

After dinner, they returned to campus, and it was already seven o'clock.

Lu Xing and Xiao Yu walked along the path, with Xiao Yu carrying his backpack.

Why was she carrying the backpack?

Because she was using Lu Xing's strong, sturdy body, and since she figured they would switch back soon, she didn't want to tire out her own original body.

"I'm back!"

Upon returning to his dorm room, Lu Xing called out. Xiao Yu, standing beside him, immediately looked over and reached out to tug at his clothes.

Lu Xing finally snapped back to reality and hurriedly signaled her with his eyes to speak.

"I'm moving out."

Xiao Yu offered a polite smile to Lu Xing's roommates as a way of saying goodbye.

"Brother Six is really moving out?"

"No way! Room 315 isn't complete without Brother Six!"

All three roommates in the room expressed their regret. Qi Wenyu cast an amazed look at Lu Xing a few times before turning to Xiao Yu and asking, "Brother Six, is this senior sister your... girlfriend?"

Quite a few people from neighboring dorms were already watching from the hallway. Female students rarely ventured into the male dormitories, let alone a beauty like Xiao Yu.

Little did they know that inside the shell of this great beauty was none other than Lu Xing himself!

"Stop talking, she's not!"

Lu Xing waved his hands repeatedly, feeling thoroughly uncomfortable!

Being stared at by familiar classmates with the look one reserves for a beautiful woman felt practically the same as being stalked by a gay predator, sending a chilly shudder straight down his spine.

Seeing him in such distress, Xiao Yu bit her lip to hold back her laughter. This guy was finally getting a taste of what it felt like for her to live in a men's dormitory—it probably felt exactly like this!