Exchange center (Patreon)

Sarah stood in front of the body exchange center, arms crossed, tapping her foot lightly against the concrete. Nervousness was gradually turning into irritation. Jake had insisted she come here, but hadn't really explained why. She couldn’t stand all this modern body-swapping nonsense—the very idea of it disgusted her. He knew that, yet still told her they’d meet here! It felt like she was about to explode.

"I’ll give him a piece of my mind when I see him!" she thought, clenching her fists.

The door opened. At first, she didn’t realize the person coming out was looking straight at her. It was a pregnant Asian woman in a tight dress, smiling sweetly as if she recognized Sarah from somewhere.

“What is she staring at?” Sarah muttered irritably, frowning. But the woman’s smile only grew wider.

— "Nǐ hǎo! Nǐ hǎo ma?" (Hello! How are you?)

Sarah froze, frowning even harder. Was this some kind of joke? She took a slight step to the side to let the strange woman pass, but the Asian woman immediately stepped towards her and spoke again.

— "Nǐ zài gàn ma?" (What are you doing?) — she asked cheerfully, awkwardly shifting her weight from one foot to the other, struggling to keep her balance. Her belly was so pronounced it seemed like she was on the verge of losing her center of gravity. She carefully adjusted the cardigan slipping off her shoulder and awkwardly stepped closer to Sarah.

— "What?" — Sarah frowned, looking at the awkward figure in front of her. The woman kept talking in the same cheerful tone, but her movements were those of someone clearly unused to being so heavy. Her walk was clumsy, as if she didn’t quite understand how to place her feet properly. She swayed slightly as she walked, as if afraid her belly would tip her over.

Suddenly, the woman giggled joyfully, raised her hand, and attempted to pat her rounded belly, as if she was doing it for the first time in her life.

— "Duì, duì! Shì wǒ, Jake! Shuài ma?" (Yes, yes! It’s me, Jake! Cool, right?) — she giggled again, though the laugh seemed forced, as if she hadn’t fully grasped her situation.

— "Jake?" — Sarah froze. — "Is this a joke? You actually did this?!" — her voice trembled with indignation, but the woman—Jake—just nodded enthusiastically, still smiling foolishly.

— "Tài hǎo wán le! Jiù shì xūnpǐn ma!" (This is so fun! Just a surprise!) — Jake spread his arms wide, swaying awkwardly again and almost losing his balance from the weight of the belly.

— "I don’t understand a word you’re saying!" — Sarah took a nervous step back, staring at this bizarre spectacle. Jake, now in the body of a pregnant woman, looked absurdly comical, but it was too real to be a joke.

Jake, oblivious to her reaction, kept babbling, his face glowing with excitement:

— "Shuài ba! Zhǐ zhǐ shì yī tiān zhǐshì yī zhǎng, nǐ chàbùduō! Tài rú le ba?" (Look, I’m awesome! It’s just for a day, you’ll see! Isn’t it great?) — he tried to step forward, but almost tripped over nothing, having to grab the nearest wall to keep from falling.

Sarah watched silently as he struggled to keep his balance, his hands awkwardly resting on the belly that clearly hindered his movements. Her patience was wearing thin. She grabbed the papers from Jake’s hands with force, flipping through them quickly, trying to understand what had actually happened.

She glanced at Jake, who continued to clumsily shift from foot to foot, still trying to stay upright. Her irritation was at its peak.

— "Do you even realize what you’ve done?" — she rasped, her fingers trembling as she leafed through the last pages of the document. Jake just smirked, still thinking this was all some silly joke.

— "Shūfú le! Jìdé ma? Zhǐ shì yī tiān!" (It’s all good! Remember? It’s just for a day!) — he tried to reassure her, still grinning.

Sarah suddenly stopped on one of the pages. Her eyes widened in shock. She looked up at Jake, who was still standing there, stupid grin on his face.

— "Oh my God... Jake!" — her voice quivered, and her eyes filled with anger. — "Did you even read these documents?!" — Sarah nearly screamed, her voice shaking with shock and fury. She waved the papers in Jake’s face, who stood before her in the body of the pregnant woman, still smirking.

— "Shì shì! Tài rú le ba?" (Yeah, yeah! Awesome, right?) — he answered with a smile, completely oblivious to her words. He raised a single finger, indicating it was only for a day, and Sarah understood this to her growing disbelief. She knew her boyfriend too well.

Unable to hold back, she almost slapped her hand against her forehead. Her fingers still clenched the documents, while Jake, in the body of this strange pregnant woman, awkwardly shifted from foot to foot, struggling to maintain balance. Seeing his goofy grin, she was nearly ready to scream.

— "Zhēn de, zhǐ shì yī tiān, tài hǎo wán le! Nǐ bú yào dānxīn!" (Really, it’s just for a day, everything’s great! Don’t worry!) — Jake continued, genuinely unaware of why Sarah was so upset.

Sarah rolled her eyes and sharply pointed at the papers:

— "Don’t you get it?! This isn’t for a day! It’s…" — She began flipping through the page again, her fingers trembling. — "It’s at least a month! And… and you..." — her voice grew shrill with rage as she reached the most shocking part. — "YOU’RE GOING TO HAVE TO GIVE BIRTH!!!"

Jake squinted slightly, as if trying to read her expression, then shook his head with a light chuckle:

— "Shénme? Néng zǒu yào tiān, tài hǎo wán la! Zhǐ shì xūnpǐn, wǒ shuō le gēn nàgè nǚhái, tā gěi wǒ fù le qián." (What? It’s just for a day, this is fun! Just a surprise, I talked to that girl, she even paid me!)

Sarah couldn’t believe her ears. His Chinese babble only infuriated her more. She could pick up on his tone, as if he genuinely thought this was some kind of prank. But how could he be such a fool and not read the terms?!

Sarah rolled her eyes, feeling herself boiling inside. He wasn’t listening to her at all! She gritted her teeth and, gathering her strength, shouted:

— "Are you out of your mind?!" — she yelled, practically jumping up in anger. — "Did you even read the documents? In a week, you have to fly to China to give birth! Do you get that? CHINA and GIVE BIRTH!"

Jake nodded cheerfully, still hearing none of it, thinking she was just playing along with the “joke.”

— "Nǐ hǎo xué, tā rén lái de zhǐ shì fèn ma? Zhǐ shì xūnpǐn!" (You’re so serious, like it’s something important! It’s just a surprise!) — he gestured reassuringly, but nearly fell again, clutching his belly.

Sarah stared at him, mouth agape, no longer sure what to say.

This Jake, standing in front of her in the body of a pregnant Asian woman, had no idea what he had gotten himself into. Her Jake was too naïve to spot the trap. Her Jake, who always took things at face value, without thinking.

— "You’re going to have to give birth in China, Jake! Do you understand that?!" — her voice cracked, but then she paused. — "Are… are you even understanding me?"

— "Tài hǎo wán la!" (It’s fun!) — he repeated, still smiling and pleased.

Sarah sighed heavily, staring at Jake, who continued to smile foolishly, unaware of the nightmare he’d gotten himself into. There was no point in explaining anything anymore—he wouldn’t understand. All she could do now was wait for reality to hit him, and for him to realize this wasn’t a joke. "Well, he’s got himself to blame," she thought. "Now let him deal with it."

Part 2

Jake sat glued to the TV, trying to make out even a single word, while Sarah was running around like mad with her phone, occasionally casting reproachful glances his way.

— "No, do you get it? He’s in the body of a pregnant woman! Yes, Chinese! No, he doesn’t understand a word of English… Of course not! We’re talking through a translator! He says it’s just a joke and that by tomorrow everything will be back to normal!" Sarah snapped irritably to whoever was on the other end of the line.

Jake only smirked. He still believed this was some strange but amusing adventure and was certain everything would reset by morning. After all, wasn’t it funny to end up in a woman’s body—especially a pregnant one? Out of boredom, he placed a hand on his chest again and gave it an interested squeeze, then cast a playful glance at Sarah, hinting for her to join in the fun.

But Sarah only shot him a murderous look and continued her conversation:

— "Yes, he understands absolutely nothing. This is a disaster!"

Jake chuckled, hearing her muttering. He thought she was taking it way too seriously. So what if they’d swapped bodies for a day or two?

Without taking her eyes off the phone, Sarah turned toward him and typed into the translator, "Do you want to go to China?" After a second, a robotic voice announced in Chinese:

— "Nǐ. Yào. Zhōngguó." (You. Go. China).

Jake couldn’t hold back a laugh. He nearly spilled his Coke, smacked his protruding belly, and with a pleased look said:

— "Hā! Zhēnshi gè xiàohuà, Shā lā! Nǐ shuō zhōngguó?" (Ha! What a joke, Sarah! China, you say?)

Sarah threw him a despairing look, sighed, and went back to typing on her phone. Her frustration only amused Jake more, and he lazily picked up the remote, flipping through channels, hoping to find something familiar. But every program was in English, each sound just white noise. He hardly understood a thing, which somehow only made him laugh more.

Suddenly, Jake froze. He felt a strange, faint movement inside his belly. Something was stirring. His first reaction was a mix of surprise and curiosity—like experiencing something completely new. He stared at his belly, then gingerly placed a hand on it, trying to feel the movement again. The baby kicked again, a bit stronger this time.

— "Wǒ de tiān a..." (Oh my god...) — he murmured in Chinese, barely holding back laughter. It seemed funny to him, even exciting in a way. When else would he feel something like this?

He turned to Sarah with a wide smile, his eyes gleaming like a child’s on Christmas morning, while his hand rested on his belly. It was like he wanted to say, "Look, isn’t this amazing? There’s a baby in there!" But she only stared at him, shocked by his calmness and complete lack of understanding.

— "Are you completely insane?" Sarah blurted, looking at him with genuine horror and irritation. — "How did I ever start dating you?"

Jake’s smile faded, and irritation flashed across his face. Clearly, he’d expected a different reaction.

Jake turned away from Sarah and back to the TV, hoping for some sign that this would all be over soon. He felt a slight tension in his belly but dismissed it at first. However, after a few minutes, he felt it again—this time a subtle wave rolling across his belly, strange but not painful.

— "Hǎo ba, zhè shì yīge xīnde tǐyàn..." (Well, this is a new experience...) — he muttered, frowning slightly in puzzlement.

Sarah noticed his confusion and tensed, suspecting the worst.

— "Did you feel something?" she asked, watching him with concern.

Jake didn’t understand her words, but from her expression, he picked up that she was worried. To show he was fine, he gave a casual wave of his hand, as if to say, "Don’t worry, it’s nothing."

But then the contractions came again, a bit stronger, and Jake tensed, feeling his belly muscles tightening involuntarily. He looked down at his stomach in bewilderment, patting it as if to calm it down.

— "What even is this...?" he muttered in Chinese, not sure if he was talking to himself or the baby inside him. The feeling was both thrilling and a little scary.

Sarah was watching him intently, her face flushed with concern.

— "A-are those practice contractions? Those… uh, what are they called… the ones that happen before labor?!" she asked, panic creeping into her voice.

Jake, understanding nothing of her words, gave a reassuring smile, but his face didn’t look as confident as before. He couldn’t tell what was happening, but these “contractions” were starting to worry him. He turned back to Sarah, pointing to his belly, trying to explain with gestures that he was feeling something unusual.

Sarah sighed and quickly grabbed her phone to translate. After a moment, a robotic voice spoke in Chinese:

— "These contractions can start before labor. This is a preparation. It could mean that labor is soon."

Jake’s eyes widened as he finally caught the seriousness of her words. He looked at Sarah in panic and murmured:

— "Ō...zhè zhǐshì zhǔnbèi ba? Bùshì shēng háizi ma?" (Oh... This is just practice, right? Not actual labor?)

Jake slumped back on the couch, letting out a sigh of relief as he took a sip of his drink and muttered to himself:

— "Hǎo ba, hǎo ba, zhǐshì zhǔnbèi..." (Alright, alright, just practice...)

Sarah laughed sharply and suddenly, her laugh tinged with tension and exhaustion. Even she hadn’t expected it; it sounded more like a mix of hysteria and despair. She looked at Jake, her gaze dripping with sarcasm and disbelief, almost unable to believe he could be so oblivious.

— "You… you’re serious?" she muttered, glancing from his relaxed face down to his belly. — "This doesn’t bother you at all?!"

Jake, still understanding nothing, shrugged again, as if to say, “Calm down.” He pointed a finger at the TV, where a scene from a comedy show was playing, and he laughed along with it as if nothing was wrong.

Sarah sighed in frustration and walked into the kitchen, leaning against the counter, trying to pull herself together. Her patience was wearing thin. She couldn’t understand how Jake, even in a pregnant woman’s body, managed to treat all of this like a joke.

"Fine," she thought, pouring herself a glass of water, "let him laugh for now."

Sarah paused, staring at the filled glass in her hand. She wanted to calm down, to pull herself together, but the feeling that she was dealing with a full-blown disaster alone gnawed at her. With a heavy sigh, she set the glass down and rummaged in the cupboard, pulling out a bottle of wine.

"Tomorrow, when he finally gets it..." she muttered to herself, considering how much of a shock it would be for Jake. She no longer had the energy to be angry; she just wanted this nightmare to end and for him to finally understand the gravity of it.

Sarah poured a full glass, hesitated for a moment, then downed it in one gulp. The bitter aftertaste lingered on her tongue, burning her throat, but it was nothing compared to the tension of the past few hours.

She placed the empty glass on the table, staring into its glass bottom as if searching for answers to her questions. Somewhere in the other room, Jake continued chuckling at the TV show, blissfully rubbing the belly that had suddenly become so entertaining and intriguing to him.

"Let him laugh for now," she thought, pouring herself a second glass. "We’ll see how much fun he’s having tomorrow."