“This is my niece—pretty, right?”
“Yeah, yeah, it’s winter break, so she’s staying with us for a while.”
“My son? He… is working his way through school, didn’t come back for New Year’s.”
“Hey! My niece is gorgeous, isn’t she?”
There was no way he could keep using the “this is my youngest daughter” excuse with the neighbors.
Bai Yao looked utterly resigned as his mother affectionately linked her arm through his, showing him off to the neighbors.
He’d lost count of how many times he’d rolled his eyes.
Seriously! Your son turned into a girl, okay?!
Why are you this happy?!
He’d never had anything worth bragging about to his mother his whole life.
Seeing her eyes narrow with joy, he could only suppress his irritation and embarrassment, forcing a polite smile at the familiar neighbors.
After all, being a girl now… he always carried a sense of guilt toward his family, even if this was something inevitable.
“Oh my—so pretty!”
“Look at that skin~”
Fine, say what you want! But don’t touch!
A nightmare from childhood descended on Bai Yao, now an adult college student.
Her cheeks were pinched painfully, and her overly delicate skin made her gasp from the sting.
But the aunties were overly enthusiastic, holding her hand and refusing to let go.
Luckily, she knew they meant no harm; they just wanted to mess with anything cute and adorable.
Qiu Ye had the same habit—always teasing her to make her angry, sometimes holding her tighter on purpose during hugs just to hear her whimper in pain or let out a cute yelp.
“Such soft little hands~”
“She could be a star, right?”
Bai Yao was suffering, but his mother was beaming with pride.
“Isn’t she?”
His mother had never held her child’s arm so affectionately before.
It was too intimate, making Bai Yao uncomfortable.
After leaving those enthusiastic aunties, Bai Yao finally breathed a sigh of relief, walking out of the urban village with a stiff expression.
Not far away was the county’s largest commercial square.
Bai Yao gradually got used to being linked arm-in-arm with his mother, relaxing as he looked around the square.
It was already evening, and there were plenty of elderly people dancing in the square.
“What do you want to eat later?” his mother asked.
“I’m fine with anything.”
“Then let’s buy clothes first.”
His mother muttered to herself, thinking about what kind of clothes would look good on her daughter.
Seriously though—
You’ve never taken your son to the mall to buy clothes before.
It was always some random clothing shop on the street, where a piece cost fifty or a hundred bucks.
So you really do prefer daughters, huh!
Following his mother into a women’s clothing store in the mall, Bai Yao’s heart started pounding at the sight of the price tags—hundreds of yuan.
She secretly tugged at her mother’s sleeve, leaning in to whisper, “Isn’t this a bit too expensive for just picking stuff out?”
“When did girls buy clothes like you used to? Wear the same two or three outfits all year round? What’s the point of complaining about the price?”
His mother was picking out clothes.
“Your room’s closet needs a bigger one. Otherwise, you won’t have space for all your clothes later.”
“How about this one? Like it?”
Seeing the pink hoodie, Bai Yao shook her head reluctantly.
She did like the variety of women’s clothing styles, but she still couldn’t stand pink!
“How about a skirt?”
His mother put down the hoodie and picked up a small skirt from the other side.
“What about this one?”
“Doesn’t it look too old?”
“Depends on who’s wearing it. What about these pants?”
She picked up a pair of yoga pants, making Bai Yao’s expression even more awkward.
Sure, Bai Yao had a leg fetish and didn’t mind wearing short skirts to show off her thighs, but yoga pants seemed a bit too form-fitting, didn’t they?
“These are trendy now, right? If you’re shy, just wear a long top over them?”
Bai Yao realized his mother might have misunderstood him.
He had accepted being a girl pretty quickly, but he wasn’t born one, okay!
Many girls couldn’t handle yoga pants or mini skirts either! He could only wear them at home, to please himself.
“Try them on, try them on. With a figure like that, why not wear them? Someone like me, who wants to wear them, can’t anymore.”
“Sigh… my legs aren’t healed yet, pants are inconvenient.”
Maybe because she had lived through the era of fitness leggings, his mother was way more open-minded than Bai Yao.
He quickly changed the subject.
“Besides, my figure is just average, right?”
“Average?”
“Thick thighs…”
Compared to when he was male, Bai Yao’s thighs were indeed thicker now, which bothered him.
And her butt was a bit bigger, the belly fat was more noticeable, and her bust barely reached average…
After becoming a girl, although she gained confidence in her looks, she still felt a bit insecure about her figure.
His mother shot her a look.
“Isn’t it perfect? You think being all skinny like a pole is good-looking?”
Having a rough idea of Bai Yao’s clothing preferences, his mother picked out a combo: a hoodie and jeans.
It wasn’t particularly stylish, but at least it was black on top and white on bottom—clean and simple.
By a guy’s shopping standards, it was a safe, mistake-proof outfit.
After changing in the fitting room, Bai Yao stood in front of the mirror, studying herself, hands shoved in the hoodie pockets.
“…Not bad?”
“Excuse me, how much is this?”
Bai Yao asked the sales assistant politely, but his face had returned to its usual cold expression.
“After the discount, four hundred fifty.”
Bai Yao’s pupils dilated.
She quickly pulled her mother aside: “Mom, it’s too expensive!”
“Try on this coat too.”
With the coat, it’d probably be close to a thousand!
A whole outfit costing a thousand bucks?
How much did his mom earn in a month?
“You’re complaining about me spending money?”
His mother handed Bai Yao the coat, frowning in thought.
“Should I increase your living expenses a bit? Otherwise, you won’t have enough to buy clothes.”
“You only gave me two months’ worth last semester…”
Before, he’d get nagged for half an hour just asking for allowance, and now his mom was offering to raise it voluntarily?
His mother frowned deeper.
“Girls are different. Buying clothes, makeup, sanitary napkins—everything costs money.”
Especially for a pretty girl like Bai Yao.
If her parents gave too little allowance, there were plenty of people willing to “support” her for them.
Only that wouldn’t be called an allowance—it’d be called a sugar daddy.
“Two thousand five hundred is already a lot…”
His mother was thinking when she looked down and noticed Bai Yao’s shoes, which had clearly been worn for at least four or five years.
Bai Yao had always had small feet due to a small frame, and after becoming a girl, the size was just right, but they looked shabby.
“The shoes are almost worn out. Aren’t you embarrassed to go out in those? Buy two pairs of shoes too. Throw these away—they’re hideous.”
“They’re more comfortable after wearing them for a while… What’s there to be embarrassed about?”
“With a face that pretty, wearing such old clothes and shoes—that’s what’s embarrassing.”
His mother ignored Bai Yao’s protests and called the sales assistant to help her try on shoes.
“So expensive…”
Bai Yao’s shoes were usually around a hundred yuan, but any pair in this store cost at least four or five hundred.
“Then ask your dad to reimburse you. Get more money from him.”
She had nothing to say to that.
She’d rather not ask her dad for money.
At least her mom would nag a bit, lecture, complain, and then give her the money, but asking her dad for money could drag on for half a month.