Something felt… off.
Where, exactly, had things started going wrong?
Standing at the front door with the wind howling around her, Exusiai couldn't help but start reflecting.
Even though she had a key, she still knocked twice—purely out of courtesy.
"Lin Yuan? What's wrong?"
Inside was a long, long silence. Only after quite a while did Lin Yuan's voice finally come through.
"Prove you're Exusiai first."
Exusiai froze in place, slowly forming a question mark in her head.
How am I supposed to prove I'm… me?
"Uh… yesterday I burned an apple pie?"
She tried that tentative answer. Lin Yuan went quiet again for a long time, but eventually—and very reluctantly—opened the door.
The moment it cracked open, Exusiai saw how pale his face was. Afraid he'd slam it shut again, she hurried inside.
Lin Yuan, meanwhile, backed away two or three steps in a row, forcing his gaze aside.
His palms were sweating. His heartbeat was accelerating—not from excitement, but pure panic.
How could he not panic?
He'd imagined what Exusiai's "cross-dressing" might look like. In his head, it'd probably just be something normal—like a regular dress.
He thought he could handle it. He'd be uncomfortable, he'd feel instinctively awkward, sure—but he didn't think he'd actually get triggered.
Who the hell could've predicted she'd come in like this?!
It was… sexy. From the standpoint of male instinct, that was obvious.
But the damage output was way too high.
First of all, Lin Yuan's "fear of women" was, fundamentally, more like a "bad-woman detection radar."
It was an instinct built purely from accumulated experience—so extreme that even Lin Yuan's own willpower couldn't override it.
And generally speaking, the most common feature of a "bad woman" was sexual tension.
Which meant: women dressed normally—in dresses, hoodies, simple outfits—were still tolerable for him.
But if the clothing was more revealing…
Lin Yuan's fear-of-women would explode.
Back in his previous life, it wasn't so bad—people dressed more conservatively.
But this was Terra.
And for whatever cursed reason, people here dressed way more openly.
It was hard not to instinctively associate it with "honey trap" setups and other extreme scenarios.
So Lin Yuan's radar had basically never stopped pinging since he arrived.
And Exusiai's outfit today was about to overload the thing.
It kept screaming at him:
Run! If you don't run now, she's going to do something to you!
Even knowing it was "just his bro" didn't help.
And the second problem was just as fatal:
Seeing his bro dressed like that… made it nearly impossible for his brain to process.
Especially when just yesterday he'd been suspecting his bro might be… you know.
That tension and cognitive dissonance hit even harder.
"Lin Yuan, are you okay?"
Exusiai asked worriedly. Being back in women's clothes, her deliberately neutral voice loosened without her noticing.
And in Lin Yuan's ears, that made everything even more hellish.
"I'm fine. Really."
He stared at the wall as he said it.
Still worried, Exusiai frowned, stepped closer, and stood right in front of him.
And Lin Yuan's vision flashed across the curve of her figure.
His heart started pounding again.
He wasn't afraid his heart would jump out—he just felt like he couldn't get enough air.
His vision started to blur.
So dizzy…
That was the last thought that flickered through his mind. He reflexively turned, intending to head for the kitchen—
But Exusiai grabbed him.
"Lin Yuan…"
He didn't hear what came after.
He only felt the icy touch of Exusiai's hand.
And… its softness.
He'd never noticed before—Exusiai's hand was that soft.
And small.
Like a woman's hand.
A woman's hand…
Lin Yuan's face went even paler. His body reacted before his mind could.
Countless repetitions of muscle memory left behind by the past made his body start trembling first.
Then his brain began automatically replaying scene after scene.
It felt like he was back in school again—surrounded by noisy voices, shouting, laughing, shoving him around, demanding things from him.
Then the sounds of being yelled at and beaten at home—
Even phantom heat-pain lingered, stinging hot.
Those voices still circled him to this day.
A destructive urge surged up instinctively—
But he remembered who was holding him, and fought that impulse with everything he had.
His vision blurred further. The world around him seemed to lose its "realness," flattening into points, lines, and planes—simple geometric shapes.
Then it lost color.
Lost form.
Lost outline.
"Exu… let go."
At last, Lin Yuan forced the words out through clenched teeth.
Exusiai startled and released him—only for Lin Yuan to collapse straight backward.
He fainted.
…
About twenty minutes later, Lin Yuan weakly opened his eyes—and immediately saw Exusiai.
She'd already changed back into her usual clothes, watching him with a face full of worry.
He pushed himself upright, looked at her, and blurted out instinctively:
"Sorry. I said you could dress how you want, but… looks like I misjudged myself."
"It turned into this mess. Maybe I really can't handle that level of stimulation."
Exusiai's face visibly panicked.
"No—don't talk yet. Do you want to sleep a bit more? You almost scared me to death."
"It's fine. Just lack of oxygen. Not a big deal."
Lin Yuan waved a hand, voice soft, movements careful.
"Just… Exu, if you're going to cross-dress again, could you maybe wear a simple dress next time?"
He looked at her, sounding helpless.
"If it gets more intense than that… I don't think I can take it."
"But I only have clothes like this."
Exusiai sighed.
For women on Terra, this was already considered pretty normal clothing.
"Maybe we should stop, Lin Yuan. I'm suddenly a little worried about you."
After a long pause, she said quietly.
Lin Yuan went silent.
"But… wouldn't that just make more trouble for you?"
"That's not a reason to force yourself."
Exusiai sounded resigned. In her experience, Lin Yuan wasn't very good at refusing people.
No—more like he couldn't do it at all.
Even if it meant pushing himself, he wouldn't refuse someone's request.
Looking at how conflicted he was right now, Exusiai knew he was spiraling into self-inflicted guilt again.
She needed a way to break that loop first.
Then she thought of something.
And, as if it were casual, she said:
"How about this, Lin Yuan."
"Tomorrow… come out with me. Let's go shopping and buy a couple outfits?"
-------
My : pat*eon*com/RuneA
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