I can’t understand what my parents are thinking.
Their son turned into a daughter, yet they’re acting like nothing happened.
Neither the pessimistic scenario of them being devastated, collapsing, hysterical, or having some other extreme reaction, nor the optimistic scenario of them joyfully gaining a “little cotton-padded jacket,” proactively buying their daughter clothes, or teaching her feminine habits came to pass.
After more than ten days in the hospital, with only a few days left until the New Year, my mother brought good news.
The moment she entered the room, she saw Bai Yao walking carefully around the ward on a crutch, accompanied by Qiu Ye.
This was the rehabilitation exercise the doctor had ordered.
Qiu Ye was so nervous he was about to sweat, hovering protectively at her side, ready to catch her if she fell.
“Mom?”
Bai Yao turned her head toward her mother.
My mother looked at her daughter’s shoulder-length hair, the small swell on her chest that the fleece pajamas couldn’t quite hide, and that fair, pretty face—she had no idea whose genes that came from.
Then she looked at the overly enthusiastic male classmate beside her.
Her mood was inevitably complicated and heavy.
Although she had tried hard to pull strings everywhere and find better doctors, every doctor who examined Bai Yao’s condition advised her to give up on her “son” and accept her “daughter.”
“Your ID card came through.”
She took Bai Yao’s new ID card out of her bag.
Qiu Ye immediately stepped forward to take it, then jogged back to Bai Yao’s side, glanced at the ID card, and announced loudly:
“Sex: Female!?”
“Are you a little too happy about this?”
My mother couldn’t help saying, “Have some consideration—there’s a grieving old mother here whose ‘son’ has run away from home, and who still has hopes of having children and grandchildren.”
Bai Yao responded with a soft, expressionless “Mm.”
“Help me put it on the table.”
Holding her crutch, she followed Qiu Ye step by step, sat gently at the head of the bed, and only then looked up to observe her mother’s expression.
Though her expression wasn’t great, she didn’t seem all that unhappy either.
Bai Yao picked up the ID card and looked at the photo on it.
The girl in the ID photo still had a hint of sickly pallor in her skin, with her long hair neatly combed, demure and composed.
Even in the plainest of ID photos, she was beautiful enough to be called a stunner, her slightly pointed ears and fair forehead visible, her features delicate and elegant.
The photo was taken in the hospital room.
Bai Yao had only just discovered back then that you could now take ID photos yourself without having to go to the police station.
“So I really am a girl now…”
Both biologically and socially, she was a girl.
Bai Yao couldn’t say whether she was happy or sad.
Feeling a bit nostalgic, she simply tossed the ID card onto the table indifferently.
Ever since she was little, people said she looked girlish.
She got bullied for her looks and barely had any friends.
And now, as an adult, she really had become a pretty girl.
“Bai Yao?”
Bai Yao looked at Qiu Ye with a confused gaze.
She thought for a moment, then could only offer:
“It’s fine.”
My mother hesitated on the side, wanting to say something.
“There’s no helping it.”
“Don’t take it too hard.”
“Mom and Dad just want you to be okay.”
She had expected Bai Yao to have trouble accepting it, maybe even break down emotionally, but the Bai Yao in front of her accepted it frighteningly fast, so calmly that it was actually worrying.
My mother kept wondering how she herself was supposed to accept that she had suddenly turned into a girl.
When she saw Bai Yao getting ready to play on the computer as usual, my mother finally couldn’t hold back.
“Don’t you have any thoughts about this?”
“Either way, it is what it is.”
Bai Yao was too nonchalant, which made my mother worry that she might just be giving up on herself.
“Being a girl is actually pretty nice.”
My mother racked her brain for words.
“And you’re so pretty, so plenty of people are bound to like you.”
Bai Yao exchanged a guilty glance with Qiu Ye.
‘Why bring that up all of a sudden? Did Qiu Ye slip up on something?’
She looked down at the computer to hide her gaze and replied:
“Mm, but I’m not planning on getting a boyfriend again.”
“I didn’t say you had to get a boyfriend.”
“What’s the rush?”
“You’ll get used to it slowly.”
Bringing up that topic made my mother suddenly turn to look at Qiu Ye with a wary expression.
“Are you two really that close?”
“It’s almost New Year and you’re still not going home?”
“You’re not after my ‘son’s’ body, are you?”
“Xiao Ye, it’s almost the New Year—your family hasn’t called you back?”
Qiu Ye tensed up inside but kept a composed face.
“No, I wasn’t planning on going back this year anyway.”
“The school has a competition I’m participating in, so I’m staying to prepare for it, and I come by to see Bai Yao every now and then.”
He had rehearsed that speech several times in his head before finally getting it out.
“A competition?”
My mother blinked and muttered instinctively:
“Bai Yao, look at him.”
“It’s basketball.”
“I… I’m not even 5 feet 7 inches, how could I play basketball?”
Bai Yao made up a casual excuse.
“I see.”
My mother offered politely, “Well then, Xiao Ye, why don’t you just spend the New Year with us at the hospital?”
According to the doctor’s estimate, Bai Yao would need to stay in the hospital until after the New Year, though realistically there weren’t many days left anyway.
“Sure.”
Qiu Ye agreed without hesitation.
Agreed that readily?
My mother’s expression stiffened slightly—she had only been polite.
But during this time, with Qiu Ye around, Bai Yao did seem noticeably happier.
When it was just my mother and Bai Yao in the room, Bai Yao was visibly listless.
After all, mother and son—well, mother and daughter now—had no common topics to talk about.
Moreover, my mother had a habit of nagging Bai Yao about everything, from messy hair to messy blankets, from brushing her teeth too briefly to eating too little fruit—she could fuss over every little detail, leaving Bai Yao no room to argue, only to respond with a cold expression.
Actually, Bai Yao liked her mother quite a bit, as long as they didn’t live together or call every day.
Seeing each other every now and then, with a bit of distance, was probably the best way to get along.
“It’s almost the New Year.”
“Should I buy you two new outfits?”
“No need, right?”
Bai Yao muttered, “It’s a waste of money.”
She didn’t like wearing men’s clothes anymore, and there were less than two months of winter left.
A single trench coat could handle the winter in the south.
“A girl needs to buy some decent clothes.”
Bai Yao froze.
“Women’s clothes?”
“You don’t like women’s clothes?”
“You have to wear them eventually.”
“You can’t keep dressing like a man.”
My mother didn’t even have to push much before Bai Yao nodded without hesitation.
“That works.”
She was starting to wonder if her son had secretly wanted to be a girl all along—why else would he keep his hair that long?
Or maybe he just had a big heart and adapted quickly.
“Then I’ll go buy you some clothes.”
“The mall might be closing tomorrow.”
My mother came in a hurry and left in a hurry.
Qiu Ye hadn’t managed to get a word in edgewise the whole time.
Only once his “future mother-in-law” was gone did he hurry over to Bai Yao’s side.
“Auntie accepted it pretty fast?”
“She’s already buying you women’s clothes.”
“I thought she’d have a hard time with it.”
Bai Yao picked up the ID card again.
“Look, it came out pretty good.”
“Yeah, you can get a marriage certificate with me now.”
“That won’t work.”
“We’re not old enough yet, are we?”