Back home, Alex pushed open the door.
The living room lights were on, warm yellow glow, cozy as hell.
Lilian was sitting on the sofa wearing a loose silk robe, neckline slightly open, showing off her delicate collarbones.
She had a white face mask on, holding a small mirror, looking at herself carefully.
Hearing the door open—
She whipped her head up.
"You're back?!"
Her voice full of surprise, eyes lighting up.
But because she moved too fast, the face mask almost slid right off.
"Oh no—"
She quickly caught it with both hands, one holding the mask, the other pressed to her forehead, terrified it would fall.
She looked panicked and adorable at the same time.
Alex couldn't help but laugh.
"Delivered it. Client was really happy."
Lilian held the mask in place, eyes curved into crescents.
"I knew you could do it!"
Alex looked at her.
That gentle smile. Those caring eyes.
That delicate body and those soft curves.
The life-or-death crisis at the mall suddenly hit him.
Rex's twisted face.
Those black suits surrounding him.
He was so close, so damn close to not making it back.
So close to never seeing her again.
His chest tightened.
Without a word, Alex lunged forward.
"Hey?! Alex—"
He threw himself onto her, buried his face into her soft, full chest.
Those two soft mounds wrapped around his face.
Warm. Soft. With a faint sweet scent.
Alex hugged her waist tight, like he was holding the whole world.
Desperately breathing in her scent.
The fresh smell of body wash, the fragrance of skincare products, and that indescribable scent that only women had.
Made him feel safe.
Made him feel alive.
Lilian raised her eyebrows.
Her body went stiff for a second, face instantly turning red.
She kept one hand on her face mask while the other gently stroked his head.
"What's wrong? What happened?"
Her voice was soft, so gentle.
Alex didn't answer, just held her tighter.
Lilian sighed, ran her fingers through his hair, gently stroking.
"Okay, okay. You're home safe now, Auntie's here!"
They stayed like that quietly for a moment.
Suddenly—
Lilian's nose twitched.
She smelled something.
Her brows furrowed.
"Wait."
She pushed Alex back, looked down at him.
Then saw the dried blood under his nose.
"You had a nosebleed?!"
Lilian's voice shot up.
She grabbed Alex's face, checking him from every angle.
"What happened? Are you hurt? Or—"
She leaned in and sniffed.
The scent of women on him.
Not her scent.
Other women's.
And... multiple different ones.
Lilian's expression changed instantly.
Eyebrows shot up, eyes narrowed dangerously.
"Alex."
Her voice was soft but carried a dangerous edge.
"Where... did you go today?"
Alex laughed awkwardly.
"Well... there was a little accident..."
"What kind of accident?"
Lilian's finger poked his chest.
"Speak."
"So... after I delivered the stuff... ran into some trouble..."
...
Five minutes later.
Alex didn't say the dangerous part, he didn't want Lilian to worry.
But he told everything else!
Like...
"THE WOMEN'S LOCKER ROOM?!"
Lilian grabbed a couch pillow and smacked him with it.
Alex dodged the pillow. "Okay okay! I'm sorry!"
"Sorry isn't enough!" Another pillow swing. "From now on—no more deliveries! You hear me?! Never again!"
"But Auntie—"
"No buts!" Lilian pointed at him, I won't let you do things like that again!"
Alex opened his mouth, saw her expression, and closed it again.
"...Okay. No more deliveries."
Lilian finally calmed down a bit, dropping the pillow. She rubbed her temples.
"Go shower. Now. Wash off all those... smells."
"Yes ma'am."
Alex scurried upstairs.
Lilian collapsed back onto the sofa, face still red.
"Women's locker room..." she muttered. "Of all places..."
"What if some bad women... steal him from me? with their dirty body! Nonono! I won't allow it!"
Monday morning.
Alex shouldered his backpack and headed out the door.
Inside? Chips, candy, playing cards, a few drinks.
Not a single textbook.
He turned back to see Lilian smiling gently at the doorway.
She stepped up on her toes and kissed his cheek softly.
Alex grinned and kissed her forehead in return.
"I love you, Lilian!"
He called out as he jogged away.
Lilian covered her mouth, laughing softly.
"I love you too!"
...
Storm high.
Alex hummed a tune as he strolled through the school hallway.
His mind was full of Lilian—her beauty, every smile, every little expression.
That personality. That body.
He had only one thought about it all:
"How can man be gay?"
He was gonna make her his. Give her all the happiness in the world. Steady, reliable happiness!
That was his mission as a transmigrator!
In the school corridor, students' expressions when they saw him were all over the place.
Some envious. Some impressed. Some disdainful. Some jealous.
But he only cared about the positive ones! Smiled right back at them.
Then he reached the class assignment board.
The list organized hundreds of students by potential into ten classes total. Class 1 had the strongest potential and got the most resources. Class 10 was the opposite.
Alex confidently scanned Class 1's roster.
Then realized... he wasn't there?!
Class 2—not there either?!
All the way down to Class 10!
He found his name at the very bottom!
Right next to it was a note:
"Unprecedented F-rank contract beast. Potential: 'Astounding'"
The quotation marks around "astounding" were dripping with sarcasm.
Alex stared at it.
Then stared some more.
His eye twitched.
Class 10.
Dead last.
With a sarcastic comment to boot.
"Are you kidding me..."
He muttered under his breath.
Students passing by started whispering.
"Hey, isn't that the slime guy?"
"Yeah, the one who got Class 10. F-rank trash."
"I heard he triggered an X-rank portal but the beast ran away. Hilarious."
"Shh, he can hear you—"
"So what? What's he gonna do? Slime us to death?"
Laughter echoed down the hall.
Alex took a deep breath.
Exhaled slowly.
Then smiled.
That confident, cocky smile.
"Class 10, huh?"
He cracked his knuckles.
"Perfect."
"I love the feeling from weak to strong."
Walking into the classroom, a familiar figure stood at the podium—Mr. Lee!
He spotted Alex and frowned.
"Late on a Monday? Where are your manners? How did your parents raise you?"
Alex rolled his eyes.
He had zero good feelings toward this teacher. In his memories, this guy was super biased against him.
Maybe because he was too good-looking? Either way, he never stopped targeting Alex.
And now on the first day of class assignments, already trying to put him in his place? He was only one minute late!
Alex spoke up. "At least I'm not like you—busting my ass every day for that pathetic salary, constantly worried about getting fired, sucking up to those big families."
The whole room went silent.
The previously noisy students' eyes went wide.
Someone gasped.
Another kid dropped his pen.
Mr. Lee's face turned red, then white, then red again.
"What... what did you just say?"
His voice was shaking.
Alex shrugged, walked to an empty seat in the back.
"You heard me."
He dropped his backpack and sat down, completely relaxed.
Mr. Lee's hands clenched into fists. His whole body was trembling.
"You—! Get out! Get out of my classroom right now!"
"Nah, I'm good here."
Alex leaned back in his chair, arms crossed.
"I mean, this is Class 10, right? The reject class? Figured you'd be used to dealing with 'problem students' by now."
A few students snickered.
Mr. Lee's face was practically purple now.
"You think this is funny?! I'll have you expelled! You hear me?! EXPELLED!"