Life is like a box of chocolates; you never know what the next piece will taste like.
Take Ji Yuenian, for example.
She had imagined her life after the National Day holiday— a plain yet interesting campus life. She had thought about the beautiful college years at Wanzhou Yongxing University after the entrance exams. She had even contemplated the distant future: if she really couldn’t change back, would she possibly say yes to Jiang Chi, stay with him, and try out a relationship?
However, conjectures remain just conjectures, and the future is always an unknown full of uncertainty—just like the countless tragic futures she had observed through that double-sided silver coin.
As soon as she stepped off the high-speed train, she rushed home, wondering if she could make it for dinner. But there was no dinner at home; there was only a relentless interrogation from her father and brother!
From treating a green-haired little boy to a marshmallow and receiving the double-sided silver coin in return; from being humbled by Jiang Chi to discovering the coin’s miraculous uses and planning to prank him; from using the alias “Ji Qingchan” to slowly woo him, to becoming more and more addicted to the pursuit, even getting a bit lost in it; from having her identity exposed and being humiliated by Jiang Chi, to their current messy, inseparable, and ambiguous relationship.
Ji Yuenian blurted it all out. Her pale little hands tightly hugged her knees, her face flushed to the extreme, and the tips of her ears were so red they looked like they could drip blood. She wanted nothing more than to stuff her entire head into the gap between her knees.
After listening to Ji Yuenian’s magical experiences over the past year, the expressions on Ji Hong and Ji Haotong’s faces became incredibly vivid, a literal kaleidoscope of emotions.
The massive living room suddenly fell silent, the air seemingly freezing into ice.
“Um…”
After a long time, perhaps because their mutual silence struck a sensitive chord in her heart, Ji Yuenian timidly raised her eyes. Her Bambi-like gaze flickered with confusion, helplessness, and a hint of relief.
“Dad, Brother, can you please not tell Mom? I don’t want her to know.”
“Also, I don’t want to transfer schools. I don’t want to get a new ID card. At least… at least I want to finish my senior year of high school.”
As soon as these words came out, both Ji Hong and Ji Haotong were stunned. They glanced at each other, both seeing the helplessness in the depths of their eyes.
“Little brother, if you had told us sooner…” Ji Haotong coughed lightly, about to explain the situation, but he was interrupted by Ji Hong beside him. Ji Hong turned around and looked toward the kitchen, his magnetic voice carrying a bit of resignation as he spoke:
“Honey, come out.”
Hearing this, Ji Yuenian’s heart thundered. Her Bambi-like eyes flickered with panic and unease.
The kitchen door was slowly pushed open, and Huang Qingchuan walked out wearing an apron.
She looked at the terrified, exquisite young man… no, the tall, short-haired, mature beauty sitting in the chair with a complex gaze. Her thick, curled eyelashes hid her expression, and only her surprised and dazed voice could be heard in the air:
“……Yueyue?”
***
“Given Yuenian’s current situation, she needs to go to the hospital for a comprehensive physical examination. I’ll contact a director of a private hospital I know in a bit.”
“Honghong, I think we should prioritize caring about Yueyue’s state of mind first…”
“Mom, Dad, stop arguing. Listen to me. In my opinion, regarding my little brother’s situation, we should…”
The bickering was clearly audible even through the bedroom door. The three of them were arguing endlessly over their daughter’s (younger brother’s) situation.
Inside the bedroom, Ji Yuenian slumped in her favorite swivel chair, her thick, curved eyelashes trembling slightly. Listening to the argument outside, she let out a long sigh.
“Sigh~”
“What should I do?”
Ji Yuenian ran her fingers through her hair, giving her short hair a sharp tug. Her face was full of frustration and disappointment as she sighed deeply once more.
What should she do? What should she do? What should she do?
Her identity was exposed as soon as she returned from the National Day holiday.
Her dad, brother, and mom were arguing incessantly because of her problem.
What was she supposed to do?
And what about her future?
Staring at the photo on the desk of her and Jiang Chi cleaning the nursing home together, a rare look of confusion appeared in Ji Yuenian’s eyes.
Would she change her name?
Would she transfer schools?
Would she cut ties with “Ji Yuenian”?
Probably.
With her family’s influence, it would indeed be easy to get her a new ID card for something as major as a gender swap.
However, this also meant she would have to say goodbye to her old social circles, her relationships, and that group of underlings. In a serious scenario, she might even have to move to a different city.
Changing one’s name meant letting go, and letting go often represented betrayal… betraying her former self…
Betraying that person…
Ji Yuenian silently took out her phone, opened the album, and scrolled through her selfies from the past eighteen years. In the photos, she was sunny and cheerful without losing her cool, generous and bold without lacking leadership charm.
In the dark night, pale moonlight spilled through the window onto the person in the swivel chair. Drops of tears fell to the floor, gradually forming tiny splashes.
“Yueyue, I’ve discussed it with Honghong and Tongtong. In the future, you…” Right then, the bedroom door was pushed open from the outside. Huang Qingchuan, still in her apron, saw this scene as soon as she entered.
“Mom.”
Ji Yuenian quickly wiped away her tears and looked up, forcing a smile. “Is something wrong? I just got some sand in my eyes.”
Huang Qingchuan didn’t say anything. Instead, she walked over to the chair, reached out to pull her into a hug, and said softly, “Be good, Yueyue. Cry if you want to. I know you’re very sad right now.”
“I’m not sad, and I’m not going to cry. I’m the indomitable school boss who’s undefeated throughout the whole school. Why would I cry?”
Ji Yuenian sniffled, forcing herself to stay calm, then added, “Mom, tell me the result of your discussion. What’s the plan for me? When are you taking me to change my name and transfer schools?”
She tried her best to look composed.
Huang Qingchuan reached out and ruffled her second son’s… daughter’s hair, her tone gentle. “What kind of result could there be? It’s not like we’re going to send you to a lab to be sliced into samples.”
“Of course, if our Yueyue wants to contribute to scientific progress, that’s not impossible. But slicing is too wasteful. Given how much the Federal Academy of Sciences treasures unique specimens, at most they’d collect a few strands of hair and draw some blood.”
“After all, our Yueyue is very precious now. Even giant pandas aren’t this precious.”
She was intentionally trying to lighten the mood.
As expected, Ji Yuenian was amused and let out a laugh.
Then, she rubbed her nose. “I’m not a panda, and I don’t need people to treasure me.”
“Little Yueyue shouldn’t say that. Now my Yueyue is a beautiful girl. In my eyes, you’re more precious than a giant panda. I just don’t know which rotten man is going to snatch you away in the end.”
Huang Qingchuan continued to tease her son—no, her daughter.
However, hearing this, Ji Yuenian’s eyes dimmed, and her voice became dejected. She was clearly still brooding over the “gender swap.” “Mom, tell me the truth. What did you, Dad, and my brother decide? Do I need to change my name and surname, move to another city, and even have to get married later?”
“How is that possible?” Huang Qingchuan reached out both hands and smilingly pinched Ji Yuenian’s fair, tender cheeks.
“Yueyue, we’ve decided. From now on, you…”
She intentionally dragged out the end of the sentence. Ji Yuenian’s heart tightened, and she looked up only to see her mother watching her with a smile, a flash of mischief in her eyes.
Seeing her daughter’s nervous yet expectant expression, Huang Qingchuan really couldn’t help herself. She suppressed her laughter and finished the rest of the sentence.
“……can live however you want. Your life is your own!”
Well that was anticlimactic. Pretty in character tho