“Pay attention on the road. Your leg isn’t healed yet. If you need help, ask someone. Be sweet, call them handsome, be polite. With a face like yours, no one will refuse.”
“I told you not to make the luggage so heavy.”
Bai Yao followed her mother, holding the railing as she walked down the stairs.
She watched her mother drag the suitcase, huffing and puffing from the effort.
“Take everything you can. Otherwise, you’ll have to buy it at school and waste money.”
“You even stuffed a ton of milk in there.”
“And who’s going to buy milk for you there? Drink more milk for calcium now that you’ve got a fracture.”
Her mother had taken a special leave to send Bai Yao to the train station.
The small suitcase was packed to the brim.
Her mother had bought her several sets of women’s clothing and underwear, all sorts of odds and ends, some local specialty snacks from the county, and even sanitary napkins, which she personally recommended.
“If the flow is heavy, change it every few hours. If it’s light, change it at least every half day. And don’t be lazy, or you’ll end up with blood on your pants.”
“Mm-hmm, I know.”
From the very beginning, Bai Yao had been careful about when to change her sanitary napkins.
“And when it’s cold, drink some hot water. It helps.”
“Mm-hmm, I know.”
They walked out of the self-built house and into the alleyways of the urban village.
Her mother led the way, dragging the suitcase, while Bai Yao trudged slowly behind.
She kept her head down, afraid to meet the eyes of the neighbors and passersby.
In just one day, her mindset had shifted from proudly showing off her looks and basking in compliments to feeling like a criminal being paraded through the streets.
She felt as if all the neighbors already knew her situation—they knew she was a transgender woman, whispering about her behind her back, using her story as gossip, secretly mocking and sneering at her.
Bai Yao’s nerves were frayed.
With a blank expression, she followed her mother, sweeping her gaze sideways at the neighbors and strangers.
She almost forgot how to walk properly and tucked her hands deeper into her coat pockets, a nameless fear welling up inside her.
After leaving the urban village and reaching the wide main road outside, her mother bent her head over her phone to hail a ride-hailing car.
“Should I go with you to the station?”
“No need, right? You go ahead and work.”
“It’s better if I go with you. A girl needs to be more careful about safety.”
‘What’s there to be so careful about? Honestly, even in a small county, public safety isn’t that bad anymore.’
Bai Yao grumbled inwardly but didn’t say anything more.
“Have you told Xinyi?”
“I’ll tell her now.”
Bai Yao didn’t even dare to message Bai Xinyi.
She hesitated for a moment, then typed: I’m going back to school.
She didn’t know how Bai Xinyi would see her now.
Her childhood sweetheart, the little brother she grew up with, had now become a little sister.
A newly made friend—or rather, a newly reconnected friend—and she already couldn’t face her.
Bai Yao’s thoughts wandered as her phone quickly buzzed with a reply.
“School starts this early? Take care. Come find me to play when you’re back for summer break~”
Was Bai Xinyi not bothered? Or was it just polite words?
Still, she never expected that the cute, lively girl from childhood would turn out to be a yuri fan.
“Mom… do you know who Xinyi likes?”
“Xinyi? How would I know? You’re a girl now too—are you still into her? And you haven’t even had a boyfriend yet, let alone…”
“No, that’s not it.”
Even though Bai Yao watched some light yuri anime and even read yuri NSFW content, she could still tell the difference between reality and the two-dimensional world.
In real life, she had zero interest in girls.
The ride-hailing car arrived.
Her mother put the luggage in the trunk, then got into the car with Bai Yao.
She couldn’t help worrying.
Her rough but warm hands tightly gripped Bai Yao’s small hand as she whispered advice to her daughter:
“I’ll give you two thousand for living expenses. Don’t skimp on food or drink. Eat plenty of fruit, milk, and vegetables. Buy good sanitary napkins. I heard the cheap ones online are made with black-hearted cotton—it’s scary.”
“Mm-hmm.”
“Don’t argue with Xiao Ye. He looks like the type who might use his hands.”
“He really wouldn’t, right? He’s actually pretty emotionally stable.”
“Don’t be stupid and let men fool you. They’re all sweet talk at first. You don’t know—some women get beaten every day after marriage, even while pregnant, and they can’t leave. I have a friend whose husband was especially good to her before they got married. Now she’s in a lawsuit.”
Bai Yao pressed her lips together.
‘That’s terrifying. Don’t scare me like that.’
“Then I won’t date or get married?”
“That’s no good either. Who’ll take care of you later? I can’t look after you forever.”
Her mother rambled on and on.
Since Bai Yao was about to leave, she rarely had the patience to listen to her mother’s nagging, and she didn’t show any irritation.
An hour later, the ride-hailing car stopped in front of the train station’s ticket gate.
Bai Yao got out and took the suitcase her mother handed over.
“Is it heavy? Ask someone for help once you’re inside. Don’t be embarrassed.”
“It’s okay. How will you get back?”
“I’ll take the bus. It’s pretty fast.”
Her mother ruffled Bai Yao’s hair and let out a soft sigh.
“What a hardship.”
“Just keep your body healthy, your mood good, and your relationship stable. Be careful crossing the street. I’m not expecting you to study brilliantly or achieve great things—just take care of yourself.”
‘You never used to say that…’
Especially in high school, she’d get scolded if her grades slipped a bit.
Maybe it was because of this traffic accident.
Her mother seemed to have changed a lot compared to how she remembered.
Bai Yao nodded firmly.
“Mm. Anyway, if I can’t make it out there, I’ll come back and mooch off you.”
“It’s better for a girl to mooch off her parents than for a boy to have to buy a car and house or pay a bride price. It’s just one more mouth to feed.”
Her mother laughed, joking.
As long as her father wasn’t mentioned, Bai Yao got along just fine with her mother.
“Then I’ll go through the gate? Only half an hour left.”
“Yeah, go ahead.”
Bai Yao dragged her suitcase, but the first step nearly made her stumble as the luggage yanked her back.
She froze, then used both hands to haul the suitcase up.
‘What the hell did she pack in here? It’s so heavy.’
Even someone like Qiu Ye, a big guy from Dongbei, might not be able to lift this!
“I’m off. Bye!”
Before entering the ticket gate, Bai Yao turned back and raised her hand high to wave at her mother.
Her mother waved back, watching her daughter disappear into the crowd queuing for ticket inspection.
After a moment, through the glass, she saw her daughter appear in the waiting room.
“Gate 3, Gate 3…”
Bai Yao muttered softly, craning her neck to look around.
She had only taken the bullet train twice—once at the start of last semester and once now—so naturally, she wasn’t familiar with the station.
She finally found Gate 3, grabbed an empty seat, let out a long sigh of relief, rubbed her sore belly, took a thermos from the side of her suitcase, and sipped some warm water.
‘Ah~ I’ll get to see Qiu Ye soon~’
Even though, while at home, she hadn’t seemed to miss Qiu Ye much—gaming during the day, gaming at night, and pervy stuff before bed—she was perfectly satisfied.
But now that she was about to return to school and be with Qiu Ye again, Bai Yao was anxious to get back, shaking her leg impatiently.
“I’ll pick you up at the station. What time will you arrive?”
A message came from Qiu Ye.
“In two and a half hours!”