Such peaceful days went by for several more days, and during this time, the child’s household registration and Lin Yiren’s identity issues were taken care of.
Chen Zhaoyue held the ID card and nodded with satisfaction, nudging the person beside her on the shoulder. “Very photogenic.”
Then she leaned over to Xing Yao and said, “You’re a three-year-old baby now.”
“Look, look.” Xing Yao reached out to grab Lin Yiren’s ID card. Her learning ability was quick—she’d probably catch up with a normal three-year-old before long.
Lin Yiren stared blankly at the photo. With the Chen family’s help, she had become one of the women diagnosed with intersex conditions. This ID card seemed to signal that she was severing ties with some parts of her past.
Her recent disappearance had also prompted some people from school who knew her to message, asking what happened. She replied that she had left Haishi, saying, “We’ll meet again if fate allows.” And only after taking a leave of absence this academic year could she finish university with her new identity.
But there were still some friends she didn’t want to lose contact with. Lin Yiren pulled her phone from the white vest she wore today and slid her finger across the screen. On her chat page, “Liu Mingjun” was asking how she was doing lately.
Liu Mingjun had come from the neighboring province to study here, was her former roommate, and her best friend at university. Liu Mingjun was about 1.8 meters tall, hailing from Jiangnan, passionate and forthright. With her influence, Lin Yiren had managed to experience the exuberance of university youth.
“Old Liu, Old Liu,” she hesitated over whether to reach out to this friend.
***
Just then, Chen Zhaoyue interrupted her thoughts. “Aunt Ye wants you to go home and pick out some things you’ll need to bring over.”
“Now?” Lin Yiren put her phone away at the words.
“Yes, and I’ll be taking Xing Yao to the home tutor later.” Recently, Chen Zhaoyue had specifically chosen a home tutor to help teach their child to talk, walk, recognize objects, and play some games to stimulate her interest.
Lin Yiren was just about to get up when she was held back. “Don’t wear this out, it’s getting hot outside.”
The weather had been getting warmer recently, but Lin Yiren still wore long sleeves and pants, with a vest over the top, wrapping herself up tightly.
Without any room for protest, she was dragged into Miss Chen’s boudoir.
These days, Lin Yiren had always kept her distance from this room. Today was the first time she entered, maybe even the first time in her life she had entered a girl of her own age’s boudoir, making her a little afraid to move.
Girls were still unfamiliar to her. She was curious about what the room would be like but felt that if she looked around too much, she’d seem like a pervert, so she only allowed herself a quick scan of the room.
The décor was mainly yellow. An extravagant bed was set slightly to the right of the center. There was a long table by the window for documents, and a small table for the computer. Next to the window, two carefully tended gardenia plants sat.
It really suited the Miss’s temperament—not a simple black and white monotone, nor a pink fantasy, but a warm yellow, grand and full of vitality.
As Lin Yiren thought this, suddenly a white, calf-length skirt and a T-shirt were handed to her.
Seeing the person in front of her suddenly panic, Chen Zhaoyue raised her porcelain-like finger and pointed at the skirt. “I don’t wear skirts.”
“It’s just a skirt, it won’t affect your ‘masculinity’.” There was a sly trace in Chen Zhaoyue’s smile. The skirt was just the start—she had decided back at the hospital to turn this person into a real girl.
“I…”
“Mama.” Xing Yao called from outside the door.
“I’ll go see what it is, you get changed and come out, okay?” Without giving her a chance, Chen Zhaoyue walked out.
Lin Yiren, holding the skirt, felt as if it was burning her hands. Did she really have to put it on—and right here at that?
No choice.
She glanced at the door, heard the mother and daughter talking outside, and gritted her teeth as she quickly took off her casual pants and put on the long skirt. The material was very nice—the soft fabric brushed silkily against her skin, and the friction was so slight the skirt swayed with every movement.
Her lower body felt empty, exposed directly to the air, giving her a sense of insecurity. Blushing, Lin Yiren hurriedly put on the T-shirt.
Hugging her discarded clothes to her chest, she thought of taking a good look at Miss Chen’s boudoir in retaliation.
The wardrobe had been left ajar. She couldn’t help glancing inside, only to spot the corner of a purple triangle-shaped garment. Lin Yiren’s face turned crimson, and she escaped the room at top speed.
***
Chen Zhaoyue was playing with her daughter, watching the cheerful little dumpling clamber over her, trying to find her own features in her child, when she noticed someone coming out of the room.
Turning around, she saw the young woman in a white skirt, awkwardly hugging her old clothes, sunlight shining on her face, her skin almost translucent.
A ripple stirred in her heart. She smiled at Lin Yiren, a little ill at ease, then turned back to her child.
At this moment, Lin Yiren had no attention to spare for these things. She was busy convincing herself, “It’s just a skirt, it’s no big deal,” and her face gradually calmed, regaining a touch of cool composure.
“I’m off,” she slung her backpack on her shoulders, waving goodbye to Chen Zhaoyue and Lin Xingyao.
Stepping outside, she raised her hand to block the sunlight shining on her.
It really was warmer now. This skirt and T-shirt were much cooler than what she’d worn before. Lin Yiren walked to the gate, ready to call a car with her phone, but saw a car already waiting at the entrance. The window rolled down and the driver said, “Miss Lin? The Miss asked me to take you over.”
So thoughtful. Lin Yiren nodded gratefully to the driver and got in.
She sat down, but it didn’t feel quite right, so she lifted herself up, smoothed her skirt over her thighs, and sat back down.
The seat material was very nice. Even through the skirt, Lin Yiren’s legs felt a cool sensation.
She asked the driver’s name. The man, about forty, with a kindly face, looked back and said, “Just call me Uncle Xu.”
The young woman nodded, suddenly remembering she needed to buy some things for Xing Yao, so she asked Uncle Xu to take her to a nearby mall first; she’d grab a cab home afterward.
“I’ll just wait for you near the mall, this car’s plenty comfy,” Uncle Xu joked.
“Thank you for the trouble.”
Uncle Xu started the car. The girl in the back sat quietly, with a touch of coolness to her expression, which reminded him of the Miss’s friend Luo Qing.
They arrived at the largest nearby shopping mall. Lin Yiren glanced up; the décor was grand, and people bustled to and fro.
She took the elevator up to the maternity and baby section, ready to shop, when suddenly a store caught her eye. Several mothers were taking their children inside.
She walked closer. Was it a training class?