Chapter 146: The Crossdressing Boss [Extra 7]

[14 chapters remaining]

Shu Mingyuan delivered a performance dripping with tears and emotion, painting himself as a noble, self-sacrificing man who would endure anything for his child and family. Margaret, by contrast, was cast as the ruthless villain determined to tear a household apart.

"You... stop talking nonsense! I am not going to get rid of the baby!" Margaret said, her face flushed with anger.

"Really? You're actually going to keep it?" Shu Mingyuan beamed with overwhelming joy.

Margaret bit her alluring red lips. "I... I don't know."

"My dear, don't worry. I won't let anyone bully you."

Shu Mingyuan's sense of responsibility soared to the heavens. Having lived through two lifetimes, it was ridiculously easy for him to sweet-talk such an innocent girl who knew nothing of the ways between men and women.

For the very first time, Margaret did not object to being called "my dear."

Yet she remained deeply anxious; the shock of this entire ordeal was clearly still too much for her to process.

In this psychological battle, Shu Mingyuan had completely seized the initiative. Having subdued this little tigress, he let out a sudden breath of relief.

"My dear, what is your name?"

Shu Mingyuan asked with a twitching corner of his mouth. After calling an innocent maiden "my dear" more than a dozen times without even knowing her name—well, given the sheer thickness of young Mingyuan's skin, he felt not a shred of shame.

"Margaret," she sighed, lying limply on the bed, her mind still consumed by thoughts of the child.

"Margaret... that name sounds a bit familiar," Shu Mingyuan muttered to himself. He looked closely at the exquisite-faced girl once more, then thought of the green snake from the previous night. A picture suddenly flashed through his mind: an island located in the Calm Belt, Amazon Lily, a nation exclusively populated by women.

The figure of the girl before him gradually merged with the image of Margaret in his memories, and he finally confirmed that the two were one and the same.

"Um... do you know me?" Margaret asked.

"My dear is as peerlessly beautiful as a fairy, and I have admired you for a long time. To tell you the truth, I encountered a shipwreck precisely because I crossed the Calm Belt to come to Amazon Lily and propose to you. It must be the will of heaven—even when faced with a shipwreck and mortal danger, fate still brought us together. My dear, I grow more fond of you by the day."

Shu Mingyuan lied without blushing or missing a beat, charming Margaret until her face turned as red as a pair of glowing clouds.

"Is that true...?" Margaret murmured, her voice as soft as a mosquito's hum.

Shu Mingyuan put on a solemn expression. "Of course it's true."

"Is there anything else you'd like to tell me, my dear?"

Margaret thought for a moment, suddenly remembering the two hundred million Berries required for Shu Mingyuan's treatment. She brought up the matter of the medical fee.

"Two hundred million Berries?! Is she trying to rob a bank? She must be a quack doctor! My dear, let's ignore her," Shu Mingyuan said righteously.

"But Dr. Gloriosa managed to pull you back from the gates of hell in a single night and completely cured you."

"Ahem... even so, it shouldn't cost two hundred million Berries!"

"Dr. Gloriosa said every single medicinal herb used on your body was worth a king's ransom."

"My dear, we're broke," Shu Mingyuan said with a wronged expression.

Margaret glanced at him and asked, "Isn't that golden ship yours?"

Knowing what she was referring to, Shu Mingyuan agreed readily, "Fine. Once I get my ship back, I'll pay her the fee."

Two hundred million Berries had bought him back from the dead. He was well aware of his condition at the time—it had been a near-certain death sentence. Yet this Dr. Gloriosa had not only kept him alive but facilitated a rapid recovery. Such medical prowess was far from that of a quack; she was a miracle worker.

Just for saving his life, a personal expression of gratitude was in order. Though he was naturally cold and detached, he would never be stingy toward his saviors. Money was secondary; whatever lay within his power, he would do his utmost to fulfill.

"Darling, do you expect me to go out looking like this? I'll go wash up, and later we can go see this Dr. Gloriosa you mentioned."

"I'll get you some clothes."

Shu Mingyuan glanced down at the briefs clinging to his crotch, his mouth twitching in silence.

Oh well. He was already wearing briefs; did he really need to care about other garments?

Once the bath was finished, Shu Mingyuan scrubbed away all the scabbing, peeling off layer after layer of dead skin. He knew this was the result of his body's cellular collapse and severe tissue damage. The new skin that grew in its place, however, was as smooth and lustrous as mutton-fat jade, enough to make any woman green with envy.

Shu Mingyuan stood in front of the mirror, dumbfounded by his reflection. It was undeniably him, yet his skin was fairer, and even the contours of his face had undergone subtle refinements, transforming his already decent looks into something breathtakingly handsome.

This was unmistakably a woman's body!

Even Margaret was struck dumb by the transformation, her eyes widening in disbelief. Shu Mingyuan attributed all these changes entirely to the medicinal bath prepared by Dr. Gloriosa.

At Shu Mingyuan's firm insistence, Margaret produced a relatively conservative set of clothes—though it was still a dress that barely reached above the knees. After fluffing up his short hair, save for his utterly flat chest, he looked for all the world like a genuine young maiden.

With tousled, ear-length short hair, sparkling large eyes, and flawless skin, he was the spitting image of an anime-style moe girl!

"Could this be the legendary crossdressing master? A trap?" Shu Mingyuan thought, the corners of his mouth twitching.

"If I keep looking, I'm going to fall in love with myself. How come I never knew I had this kind of talent?"

Composing his mind, Shu Mingyuan temporarily accepted his identity as an adorable crossdresser.

From Margaret's words, he already understood that he had inexplicably arrived at Amazon Lily, the island of the Kuja. Here, men were viewed as enemies, which explained why Margaret had initially been so repulsed by him.

Every woman on Amazon Lily mastered Haki and served as a formidable warrior possessing terrifying combat prowess. Since he was currently unable to use any ninjutsu or physical martial arts, the moment his true identity as a man was exposed, he would have zero capability to resist and would likely be executed on the spot.

His current guise as a crossdressing cute girl provided him with absolute safety. Even if someone were to lift his skirt and discover his distinct anatomical differences, someone here would first need to recognize what a male appendage actually looked like.

So, this identity wasn't half bad. The only downside was that he had successfully fooled an innocent young girl; it seemed he would simply have to compensate her properly in the future.

"It's only temporary anyway," Shu Mingyuan mentally hypnotized himself.

"Um... when we get to the village later, try not to shout," Margaret stammered nervously.

Shu Mingyuan chuckled inwardly. He guessed that Margaret must have rescued him in strict secrecy, and his true identity had likely not been exposed yet. If the people of Kuja Island discovered that Margaret was harboring a man, she herself might become implicated and face severe punishment.

"Understood, sister," Shu Mingyuan replied with a sweet smile.

The two of them walked together toward the medical clinic, only to find the place packed to capacity. Many people had suffered severe injuries, and an elderly doctor was treating them with all her might.

Their eyes met, and they instantly guessed the truth.

Something must have happened on Kuja Island.