# Chapter 22: The Dorm Manager
Fortunately, the pain suddenly disappeared in the evening.
Having stayed awake in pain all night, Lin Nan practically passed out as soon as the pain subsided, sleeping until the next morning when he woke up feeling refreshed.
This mysterious abdominal pain left him feeling deeply concerned. It was now certain that using magic was indeed accelerating his feminine physical changes, but no one knew whether strange changes were happening inside his body as well.
It probably wasn't a period, after all - he'd never heard of periods only lasting one day.
"I'm never using magic again."
No one else in the dorm was awake yet as Lin Nan went to the balcony, muttering to himself: "The stomach pain might be a side effect of using magic. If I'm going to be in pain and unable to sleep for a day and night every time I use magic, I'd rather not use it at all."
Whatever the problem was, he could just blame it all on Lilith.
He looked worriedly at the sky from the balcony. It was just six o'clock, barely dawn, but his stomach was already protesting with hunger.
"Wonder if the cafeteria is open this early."
After washing up, he changed into his usual casual clothes and stood in front of the mirror, scanning himself up and down. Though there were no obvious changes visible to the naked eye, when he stood before the mirror, he could clearly tell his body shape had become noticeably more feminine.
Looks like he'd have to get used to being called "feminine" from now on.
Putting on his flat shoes and using a comb to somewhat tame his bird's nest hair, Lin Nan noticed his bangs had somehow grown past his eyebrows, and the hair on both sides nearly covered his ears. If he remembered correctly, he had specifically checked his hair growth just last week.
Had his hair growth speed increased too?
Though the question crossed his mind, he didn't dwell on it too much. He swept his bangs to the left and headed out.
Normally, the dorm building wouldn't get busy until around eight in the morning. Right now, the corridor was as quiet as a haunted house, with no sound or sight of anyone.
Fortunately, the summer sun rose quickly. After dawdling in the dorm for a while, it was already bright when he went out.
Arriving at the first floor, he found the dorm manager uncle brushing his teeth and washing up by the flower bed outside the door. Seeing Lin Nan, the uncle asked in surprise: "Up so early?"
"I was sick yesterday and went to bed early, now I'm really hungry," Lin Nan explained with a shy smile.
Perhaps because of his likeable appearance, ever since the dorm manager uncle first greeted him, the two had somehow become quite familiar with each other.
"The cafeteria isn't open this early." After rinsing and spitting out the toothpaste foam, the uncle straightened up and invited him: "Want to eat something at my place?"
"That wouldn't be right, would it?" Lin Nan hesitated.
"The cafeteria won't open for another hour." The uncle pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and offered one to Lin Nan.
Lin Nan refused without hesitation - he'd never had any fondness for cigarettes.
"It's good that you don't smoke. These days all college students smoke, not acting like proper students at all." The uncle walked into the dorm entrance, smiling as he patted Lin Nan's shoulder. "I just have salted duck eggs and rice porridge, if you don't mind."
"Not at all, not at all."
The uncle's room was in a small space next to the main entrance, about the same size as a dorm room. It had a wooden bed, simple table and chairs, and a basic stove in the back where porridge was cooking.
This was Lin Nan's first time here. He looked around curiously before accepting the uncle's warm invitation to sit down on a stool.
The uncle first checked the pot, and seeing the porridge wasn't ready yet, turned around and pulled up a chair to sit opposite Lin Nan.
Lin Nan suddenly felt like he was being interrogated.
"Ah." The uncle let out a long sigh, shaking his head. "Look at you, so young, how could you do something like this?"
"Huh?" Lin Nan was confused.
"A perfectly good girl, how could you spend the night in the boys' dorm? Aren't you ashamed?"
"???" Lin Nan was even more confused, staring blankly at the uncle, unable to say a word for a long time.
So you didn't invite me in for breakfast because you knew me?
Seeing Lin Nan's silence, the uncle shook his head again: "I didn't want to scold you outside because I was worried about embarrassing you. Name, class, student ID - there's paper and pen over there, write it all down clearly.
"Look at you, not even scared when you see me. Must be a repeat offender, right? A young lady like you, coming to sleep in the boys' dorm every day, how heartbroken would your parents be if they knew?
"Such a pretty face, deliberately dressed up like a boy..."
The uncle's rapid-fire accusations left Lin Nan stunned. He hurriedly interrupted, explaining urgently: "I'm a guy!"
"Nonsense! I'm over sixty years old, I've eaten more salt than you've eaten rice, crossed more bridges than you've walked roads. You think I can't tell men from women?"
"I really am a guy, Lin Nan from room 432. We've met several times before, even greeted each other." Lin Nan didn't know whether to laugh or cry - he'd never imagined he'd be stopped by the dorm manager uncle and mistaken for a girl.
Though his appearance and physique were a bit feminine now, he was still clearly a man, right?
He pulled out his student ID and handed it to the uncle: "Look, isn't this me?"
"Huh, does look quite similar. Your brother?"
"....." After a moment of speechlessness, Lin Nan pointed at his own face and asked seriously, "Look carefully again? This is clearly a man's face, and isn't my voice masculine too?"
The uncle actually listened and carefully examined Lin Nan's face, then stroked his chin and said: "I don't judge by faces. These days so many girls look androgynous - if I went by faces, wouldn't I have to let them all in?"
"Then what do you look at?"
"The way you girls walk, talk, express yourselves - I can tell with just one look!" the dorm manager uncle said proudly. "I've been a dorm manager for so long, I've never made a mistake! You're not fooling me!"
So it wasn't about looking feminine, but entirely about his mannerisms?
Lin Nan's face was full of helplessness as he reached out to get his student ID back, but the uncle tucked it into his pocket: "Using someone else's student ID - confiscated."
"I really haven't!" He didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but could only raise his voice assertively, trying to overpower the uncle: "If you don't believe me, call my roommates down. I really am a guy - what's wrong with being a bit feminine? Do you want me to take off my pants to prove it?"
The uncle still looked at Lin Nan with extremely suspicious eyes, frowning - perhaps this was the first time he'd encountered such a difficult student.
But he couldn't actually have Lin Nan take off his pants - if the school leadership found out, they'd accuse him of using his position to harass a female student.
"Fine, I'll call my classmates to bring my ID card down to show you, how's that?" Lin Nan rubbed his temples in resignation. "Aren't you taking your job a bit too seriously?"
Finally, the dorm manager uncle's suspicious gaze began to fade after Lin Nan's persistent explanations, though he still seemed unwilling to accept this reality.
"How about this - check the security cameras? I've been going in and out with my roommates for classes every day last week. If I were really a girl, I couldn't be staying in the boys' dorm every day, right?"
"That makes sense."