Chapter 2: Confession

“Beep……”

“Hello? Xiao Yi?” A woman’s voice, full and forceful.

“Um…” The girl’s voice was cool, yet tinged with sweetness.

Huh? Ye Qiao’s brows furrowed as she looked at her phone with suspicion. The caller ID showed her son’s number, but the voice was clearly not Lin Yi’s.

Her son, though quiet and not like most boys his age, certainly didn’t sound like this—he’d never have such a feminine voice.

“Little girl, who are you? Did Lin Yi give you his phone for some reason?”

There was silence on the other end.

Lin Yi was holding the child in one arm and the phone in the other, at a loss. Even though she’d decided to tell her parents the truth, how was she supposed to make them believe that she was, in fact, their son?

“Uh, Auntie, are you a relative of the owner of this phone? I found this phone, but I’m out in the suburbs right now. Could you come and pick it up?”

After thinking it over, Lin Yi decided it was best to tell a little lie for now and explain everything once she saw her mother.

Her son’s phone lost in the suburbs!? Ye Qiao’s heart skipped a beat. She hurriedly asked for the location, and Lin Yi gave her whereabouts, feeling relieved that her mother didn’t ask any tricky questions like why a stranger would know her son’s phone password.

“Phew~” Lin Yi looked up at the sky and let out a long sigh. Her mother really did get flustered when she was worried, even though she was normally such a rigorous and serious teacher. Lin Yi couldn’t help but feel a warm glow inside.

Just after waking up, she’d gone through a gender change and had a child fall from the sky into her arms. Even with her usual calmness, she was panicked and uneasy, but hearing her mother’s voice through the phone eased her fears a little.

Only then did Lin Yi lower her head to properly examine the child in her arms. The baby’s round cheeks were tinged with red, looking soft and adorable, sleeping soundly in her embrace.

Where did this child come from? She’d only just woken up from a supernatural event—could this baby’s sudden appearance be related to that too?

As her thoughts swirled, she found a clean spot to sit down, half-hugging the child on her lap, gazing at the drifting white clouds, pondering what to do next.

***

In her confusion, she saw a familiar car slowly appear on the horizon.

Lin Yi grew excited, stood up, and waved a hand.

Ye Qiao was searching for the girl who had called her, when she saw a figure waving by the roadside. Hm? Was she holding something in her arms?

She slowed down and steered toward the figure. As she got closer, she saw a slender girl with a delicate face come into view.

So pretty, she couldn’t help but praise in her heart, but then her brows knitted—was the girl holding a child?

Ye Qiao had all sorts of thoughts as she stopped the car. She rolled down the window, just about to ask a question, when the bright-eyed girl hurriedly spoke: “Can I get in the car first?”

Ye Qiao looked into those clear eyes, staring at her like she was a lifeline, and felt a jolt. Why did that look seem so desperate?

She sized up the girl and the child in her arms, her pupils shrinking. Could it be that her son and this girl had some story together?

Ye Qiao unlocked the back door, and Lin Yi immediately climbed in with the child.

***

Looking up, their eyes met inside the car.

“Do you know Lin Yi?” Ye Qiao spoke first.

Lin Yi’s heart was in turmoil, but under Ye Qiao’s probing gaze, she steeled herself and called out, “Mom.”

Ye Qiao was shocked—so it really was like this! She braced herself on the seat and leaned in, causing Lin Yi to shrink back a little.

Lin Yi was already nervous when suddenly Ye Qiao grabbed her arm and looked at the child: “Is this… your child? Why haven’t you told me all this time?”

“No, Mom! What are you thinking? I am Lin Yi!” The girl felt on the verge of losing her mind.

Ye Qiao paused, then looked up, bewildered, as if she couldn’t understand what Lin Yi was saying.

Lin Yi hurriedly recounted what happened from seeing the meteor to finding the baby. As she finished, she watched Ye Qiao’s expression, only to see her mother raising her brows at her, as if the story about Lin Yi abandoning his wife and child was actually more believable!

“I really am Lin Yi.” Lin Yi gritted her teeth and said, “Mom, right now you’re a Chinese teacher at Haishi No.1 Middle School, Junior Division. You’re really strict in class, but you care about your students, always inviting them to our house and sometimes making me play with them.”

“Lin Yi told you all this, didn’t he?” Ye Qiao still looked suspicious.

“You also secretly bring back snacks you confiscate in class to eat while you watch dramas.”

“He even told you that!?”

“You once secretly played on a student’s game console and then deleted your own save so nobody would find out.”

“Hiss!” Ye Qiao’s heart lurched. How could she know all that—was it really her son?

***

Lin Yi saw her mother’s attitude waver, and after thinking for a moment, the corner of her lips curled up on one side—almost a bitter smile, yet her voice was full of laughter: “Your sense of taste is different from others, so food outside always feels like it’s missing something. That’s why you always make me and Dad your personal chefs.”

Ye Qiao paused, staring blankly at the girl in front of her. The things she’d just mentioned were known only to their family and her own parents, never shared with anyone else.

And… the way this girl smiled, the expression she had while saying these things—it was exactly like her son.