Night fell, and the night sky outside the window flickered with brilliant fireworks every now and then.
The lively sound of explosions filled the air.
Bai Yao leaned against the headboard, a soft cushion underneath her, with her laptop on her lap, playing the newly released Slay the Spire 2.
Her mother had somehow gotten an induction cooker and was making dumplings nearby.
Qiu Ye was assisting, his dumpling-folding technique even more proficient than her mother’s.
“Let’s cook a batch first and share some with the doctors and nurses.”
“Okay.”
Qiu Ye came to the bedside and took disposable plastic bowls and chopsticks from the nightstand.
Seeing him approach, Bai Yao kept making exaggerated faces.
“Let’s drink! Let’s drink! It’s New Year’s Eve! Why not have a little?”
Qiu Ye shot Bai Yao a fierce glare.
Bai Yao timidly shrank her neck, pouted her lips in dissatisfaction, and deliberately put on a childlike, spoiled expression.
“Um… Auntie…”
Despite the glare, Qiu Ye still complied with Bai Yao’s hint.
He walked over, put the wrapped dumplings into the pot, scooped a bowl of cold water, and waited for the pot to boil again before adding it.
Steeling himself for a scolding, he hesitated and asked, “It’s New Year’s Eve today… how about we have a little to drink?”
Her mother paused for a moment, then turned her head to look at Qiu Ye.
Qiu Ye immediately tensed up, his face twitching.
To be honest, given his personality, even facing his own parents rarely made him this nervous.
“That works. Is Pupu still open tonight? How about buying some wine?”
“Wine?”
Bai Yao pursed her lips.
She only drank beer.
“What about beer?”
Qiu Ye knew Bai Yao only drank beer.
“A little wine is good for your health. Beer isn’t.”
To be fair, any alcohol, regardless of amount, isn’t good for you.
But no one could argue with her mother’s logic.
“Alright, wine. How about this one, eighty-eight yuan a bottle?”
Qiu Ye quickly picked out the wine, handed her his phone, and poured a bowl of cold water into the already boiling pot.
“Isn’t the Spring Festival Gala about to start? Anyway, our family always boils dumplings three times.”
“Buy two bottles.”
Her mother kept working, folding dumplings as she spoke.
Bai Yao grabbed the remote from the bedside and turned on the small TV in the hospital room.
Though no one really watched the Spring Festival Gala seriously, it made for a festive background sound for New Year’s Eve.
She looked up for a few minutes, then lost interest and went back to playing her game.
The screen was too small to see clearly even if she wanted to watch.
“I’ll go deliver dumplings to the doctors and nurses.”
Qiu Ye scooped out the cooked dumplings, put them in disposable bowls, and left the room.
As soon as he left, her mother turned around and looked at her daughter.
Her daughter was still dressed like she had been during the day—a wool sweater and a plaid skirt—sitting quietly and playing on her computer without a word.
Compared to when she was still a son, now this was more acceptable.
After all, a girl sitting quietly and playing on her computer was better than running around like crazy.
“Bai Yao.”
“Hmm?”
Bai Yao kept her eyes on the screen, not daring to let her mother see her expression.
“Does Xiao Ye like you?”
Bai Yao’s heart suddenly stopped, then her cheeks flushed hot, and she felt completely guilty.
She had never planned to find a boyfriend again—she wasn’t that kind of person, not someone who would go around dating.
She wanted to keep herself pure! She had even thought about her future—if Qiu Ye couldn’t satisfy her when he got older, she’d just buy more toys…
“He said he had a competition, but he spends every day at the hospital with you.”
“It’s not every day…”
Bai Yao was so flustered she couldn’t focus on the game, unconsciously biting her nails.
She still carried some habits from when she was male, instinctively feeling that dating was something shameful.
Moreover, discussing details like this with her parents was just too embarrassing.
Seeing her daughter’s reaction, her mother suddenly understood.
“Do you like him too?”
“…”
“You two haven’t been dating for a while, have you?”
“N-No.”
“Do you like boys? Was it like this before?”
“That’s really not the case!”
It was only after months of being transformed by the System, under the influence of various hormones, that Bai Yao gradually started liking men.
It wasn’t something she had originally felt.
When she got nervous, her face would go expressionless—a cold mask—even though her cheeks were already bright red.
Fortunately, Qiu Ye returned quickly, and her mother ended her “interrogation” of her daughter, resuming her dumpling-making.
Qiu Ye glanced at the flushed-faced Bai Yao without thinking much, then packed nine bowls of dumplings and left the room again.
“Xiao Ye is a good person, and pretty handsome too.”
Her mother watched him go.
“But he looks a bit fierce. He doesn’t hit you, does he?”
It had to be said, Qiu Ye really did look like the type who could be violent at home.
But in reality, he was very emotionally stable.
So far, the only time he had lost control was when Bai Yao was in the car accident.
“Mom… no, he doesn’t.”
Bai Yao said quietly.
“He even says I’m the one who hits him all the time.”
Her mother nodded thoughtfully.
“You didn’t already want to be a girl, did you?”
She always felt her daughter had accepted things too quickly, even faster than she herself, as a mother, had.
“How is that possible?”
It had been such a sudden transformation into a girl.
“Delivery!”
Just then, the delivery arrived—two bottles of wine and some cold appetizers.
The interruption again cut off her mother’s questioning.
Qiu Ye also returned to the room right after.
“That was fast? Open them now?”
“Let’s open them. The dumplings are almost done again.”
He took out a bottle of wine and a corkscrew, struggling to open the cork.
Bai Yao curiously leaned in to watch.
“Are you even capable?”
“What, you’re doubting me? You’ve seen me do it before!”
Qiu Ye, provoked, got even more motivated.
He almost wanted to look up a tutorial first, but ended up yanking the cork out by sheer force.
The wine was poured into glasses.
Bai Yao took a careful sip, the bitter taste making her a bit uncomfortable.
But Qiu Ye was elated, without any of Bai Yao’s nervousness.
Instead, he picked up his glass and went to toast his future mother-in-law.
“Auntie, Happy New Year.”
Her mother paused, then also picked up her glass.
“Mm, Happy New Year. Cheers.”
Qiu Ye raised his glass with both hands, gently tapping the rim of his glass against the lower edge of hers.
“May the new year bring success and instant wealth!”
With that, he downed the wine in one gulp.
Her mother had never seen someone drink so straightforwardly and happily.
She couldn’t help but advise, “Take it easy.”
Qiu Ye felt a surge of excitement in his heart—‘My mother-in-law cares about me!’