The first night back home, Bai Yao slept quite comfortably.
Before bed, she secretly squeezed her thighs together, then passed out from exhaustion.
When she woke up, it was already eight in the morning.
She stretched, lazily threw on a bathrobe, and hobbled out of the room on her crutch.
The house was very quiet.
Her mother had gone to work.
In the service industry, unless she took leave, she had to work even on New Year’s Eve—she only got off nine hours earlier than usual.
Her father had also left.
Around the New Year, he was often nowhere to be seen; he was probably visiting relatives in the countryside to pay New Year’s respects.
Only Bai Yao remained in the house.
Bai Yao was actually happy about that.
She took a carton of milk from the sideboard, grabbed the breakfast bread her mother had bought from the fridge, plopped down on the couch, and ate breakfast while playing on her phone.
Qiu Ye was still asleep.
That guy usually stayed up really late, and it was even worse during the holidays when no one was around to stop him and there were no classes.
She sent a “Good morning.”
After finishing breakfast, Bai Yao patted her belly and suddenly craved some cola.
But she didn’t want to go out…
Bai Yao leaned against the couch, hesitated for a long time, and finally struggled to her feet.
She changed out of her nightgown, slipped into the long dress her mother had bought her, and combed her hair.
Even if she was just going downstairs to buy a bottle of cola and take out the trash, she still cared about her appearance.
She didn’t have to dress up fancy, but at least she should look clean and tidy, right?
She brushed her hair until it was neat and smooth, then put on a hat to hold down her cowlick.
To avoid being recognized, she also deliberately wore a mask.
Leaning on her crutch, Bai Yao limped out of the house.
She had lived in this urban village for over a decade.
The streets and the neighbors all looked exactly the same as they did ten years ago, as if nothing had ever changed.
The only thing that had changed, probably, was that the cute little boy from back then had turned into a pervy girl who thought about lewd things all day.
Stepping out of the self-built apartment building, there was a small supermarket right across the street.
The store also doubled as a courier station, with packages piled up in the corner.
Bai Yao walked into the store and immediately spotted the familiar neighborhood guy behind the counter.
That neighbor guy had pretty average grades.
After graduating high school, he took over the cash register at this store.
When they were kids, Bai Yao used to follow him around everywhere.
She felt a little nervous.
She tugged at her mask to make sure it was on properly, then grabbed a bottle of sugar-free cola and walked up to the counter.
Without saying a word, she lowered her head to scan the code and pay.
The guy was playing a mobile game.
He noticed a customer and glanced up.
All he felt was a fragrant breeze, and he froze.
It was the first time he’d seen such a pretty girl.
Even though she was wearing a mask, just looking at her big, almond-shaped eyes, her full and cute lower eyelid bags, and her long, curled lashes, he could tell she was definitely good-looking.
Bai Yao stiffened with tension.
‘Did he recognize me?’
She deliberately pinched her voice and asked, “It’s three bucks, right?”
Since she hadn’t gone through puberty in middle school, she didn’t have much body hair, and her voice had always been like a child’s—neutral and androgynous.
She was terrified the guy would recognize her.
Now that she was a girl, in theory, her voice should be sweeter than before, right?
But she couldn’t tell herself.
“Oh, yeah, it’s three bucks…”
The neighbor guy suddenly got nervous too, his voice cracking.
“Th-Thirteen bucks?”
“Three. Three.”
Bai Yao keenly noticed his odd behavior and narrowed her eyes slightly.
“Did you break your leg?”
The guy asked casually, looking for a topic.
“You okay?”
“Got hit by a car. Just got out of the hospital.”
‘Huh… Did the neighbor guy just take a liking to me out of nowhere?’
Instead of feeling embarrassed, Bai Yao was actually in a good mood.
A mischievous thought crossed her mind.
She paid and didn’t rush to leave.
She looked at the flustered, nervous neighbor guy and asked curiously, “Hey, bro, do you have a girlfriend?”
“Me? No, not yet.”
“Ah, still doesn’t, huh.”
‘No wonder he gets so nervous when he sees a pretty girl.’
‘After all, that’s how all pent-up guys without girlfriends are. I’m still the same way now.’
But her question stirred something in the guy.
The biggest illusion in life flashed through his mind.
But then he looked at the girl outside the counter again and somehow felt she looked really familiar.
Especially the way she called him “bro.”
The tone was so familiar, even though the voice was different.
“You suddenly look really familiar. Do I know you?”
Bai Yao’s expression tightened, and she quickly dropped her playful attitude.
“No.”
She grabbed the cola and turned to walk out before he could really recognize her.
As a girl now, it seemed she was popular everywhere she went.
Bai Yao was in a good mood, her steps a little lighter.
Unfortunately, with her crutch, being too light on her feet made her likely to fall.
The sickly, crutch-using beauty appeared on the narrow streets of the urban village, quickly drawing the attention of neighbors and passersby.
She actually really liked this kind of attention, especially when her face was covered.
Her usual shyness and nervousness were hidden behind the mask, replaced by the pleasure of being admired.
Bai Yao slowly strolled around the urban village, treating it as rehabilitation.
She looked to see what had changed in the few months she’d been away, what new stores had opened.
Seeing the familiar neighbors show looks of amazement at her, she felt even more pleased.
She arrived at a roadside fried food stall not far from the small supermarket.
Bai Yao stared at the freshly fried spring rolls and oyster cakes, the aroma wafting over, and her cravings immediately kicked in.
This was the best part about the urban village—almost anything you wanted to eat or buy was available right downstairs.
“Auntie, one oyster cake and one spring roll, please.”
The auntie had been running this stall for over a decade and knew Bai Yao, but now she was even more enthusiastic than before.
“Little sis~ These are freshly fried, okay? Careful, they’re hot.”
The auntie took out a paper bag and packed the fried goods with a smile.
“Want a free shrimp ring too?”
“Ah? Thanks.”
‘I’ve been eating here for over ten years, and you’ve never given me anything for free before!’
‘Is the treatment really that different?!’
‘Sure enough, everyone is a sucker for good looks.’
Bai Yao took the bag with a smile, planning to wander around a bit more and buy all the snacks she’d been craving but couldn’t get at school.
Egg burgers—the taste she’d grown up with.
They were way richer than the ones outside that needed extra sauce.
She hadn’t had the skewers from this place in a long time either!
Back then, Bai Yao used to sneak a few bucks from home to buy pork and chicken skewers.
Chicken skewers were only seven or eight bucks back then, but now they’d gone up to ten.
After wandering around, Bai Yao got a bit tired.
She reluctantly headed home with a bag full of snacks.
But when she went up the stairs, it was tough—crutch in her left hand, snacks in her right.
“Little sis, did you just move in?”
A neighbor happened to come back and reached out to support her right arm.
Bai Yao turned her head and saw it was the auntie from next door.
She clearly hadn’t recognized her.
“Uh, yeah.”
Bai Yao answered uncertainly.
“Take it slow, take it slow.”
The auntie kindly helped Bai Yao up the stairs.
“You’re so pretty~ What happened to your leg?”
“Got in a car accident. Broken bone…”
“Oh~ I heard my neighbor’s son also broke his leg in a car accident. What a coincidence.”
“Yeah, what a coincidence.”
The auntie helped Bai Yao up to the second floor and watched as she unlocked the door of the neighboring house with her fingerprint.
She stood there, stunned.