“No matter whether you choose to continue your studies or give up on school; no matter whether you decide to get married or go find another woman and live a lily-style relationship; no matter what kind of plans you have for your future, as long as you don’t violate discipline or the law, the choice is entirely yours.”
“Your father and I, and Tongtong as well, will always be your most reliable and strongest shield.”
Hearing this, Ji Yuenian froze for a moment, staring blankly at the mother in front of her.
Huang Qingchuan smiled and said, “What’s wrong, Yuanyuan? Could it be that in your heart, your father and I are those old-fashioned, feudal antiques? The kind who forcibly plan out your life? Or even pressure you into getting married?”
“Wait, getting married?”
“Yuanyuan is actually thinking about getting married instead of going to find another woman to be lovey-dovey with. Could it be that, deep down, you’ve already accepted men?”
Ji Yuenian snapped back to her senses, her cheeks instantly flushing red. She hurriedly shook her head in denial.
“No! No! Absolutely not! Mom, don’t talk nonsense.”
At this, Huang Qingchuan merely smiled without saying anything, but the look she gave her second son… no, daughter grew increasingly meaningful.
“Oh right, Yuanyuan.” Huang Qingchuan suddenly leaned closer, lowering her voice mysteriously. “Can you really turn into another person?”
“Yes.” Ji Yuenian nodded.
She took out the two-sided silver coin from her pocket and flipped it in front of her mother, turning it so the side representing “girl” faced up.
In an instant, her short hair grew longer as if by magic, becoming glossy and black. Her facial features softened, growing increasingly pure. Her entire face seemed to transform like a sleight of hand trick, shifting from mature to youthful, then to innocent and cute.
Huang Qingchuan stared, eyes wide open.
Although she already knew from Ji Yuenian’s earlier confession that Chanchan was Yuanyuan, and that Ji Yuenian could transform between genders, actually witnessing it with her own eyes still left her deeply shocked.
Chanchan was Yuanyuan. Yuanyuan was Chanchan. Chanchan was also that kid from the Jiang family’s girlfriend.
Which meant that Yuanyuan was also…
Hiss!
For a moment, Huang Qingchuan couldn’t help but think of how her close best friend used to constantly flaunt sweet photos of her son and his girlfriend in front of her, boasting about how her kid had found such a virtuous and sensible wife. Thinking back now, it suddenly felt a bit funny.
Rourou, you didn’t expect this, did you!
That virtuous and sensible wife your son found was raised by my own hands! (Hands on hips, tactical lean-back!!)
“Mom, are you okay?”
After finishing her transformation, Ji Yuenian appeared in her girl form. Standing at just over 160 centimeters tall, she looked up at her mother, only to see her completely lost in fantasy, even drool dripping from the corner of her mouth.
“I’m fine.”
Huang Qingchuan quickly snapped back to reality, wiped the drool from her lips, then pulled the petite, long-haired girl into her arms, eyes gleaming as she hugged and rubbed against her.
“Yuanyuan, you’re so cute right now. Let mom hug you!”
“I’ve wanted a daughter for so many years!”
“You look exactly like what I imagined. Small, short, and fragrant.” Huang Qingchuan kept rubbing her head against Ji Yuenian’s shoulder and neck, while continuously kissing the girl’s flushed cheeks. “Baby girl, hurry up and call me mommy!”
“Mom~~”
Ji Yuenian’s face was completely red from the kisses. The corners of her mouth twitched as she helplessly reached out to push her mother’s head away.
“Be good, call me mommy.”
“That’s way too cringey! I refuse!”
“Behave, little Yuanyuan. Right now you’re a soft, sweet-smelling girl. Calling mommy is only proper.”
Ji Yuenian froze, then looked at her mother with a strange expression.
“Mom, you’re really not surprised?”
“Surprised about what?”
“I turned into a girl! You’re really not surprised? I’m one of the only two heirs of the Ji family!”
Huang Qingchuan gently pinched Ji Yuenian’s tender cheek and said with a smile, “Of course I’m surprised. Thinking that the second son I raised for so many years is gone, your mommy here was not only surprised, but also very disappointed and sad.”
“But then I thought about Yuanyuan becoming a girl, my second son becoming a daughter, and me achieving the accomplishment of having both a son and a daughter. I immediately stopped feeling sad.”
“And besides, Yuanyuan, with your personality, you were never destined to stay content with the status quo. You were definitely going to go looking for excitement. Now that you’ve become a girl, you’ll have that kid from the Jiang family keeping you in check in the future, restraining your temperament. At least you’ll be more stable.”
“So now, I’m not sad at all. I’m actually excited!”
“My second son… pfft! My precious daughter snatched away my best friend’s son!”
“Heehee! I beat Rourou one more time!”
Ji Yuenian’s mouth twitched. “Mom, the way you put it makes you sound really creepy.”
“Hahahaha… creepy? No, no, how could that be? How could a mother as beautiful, gentle, understanding, generous, and virtuous as me be creepy? Haha…”
“Mom, where are Dad and my brother?”
Ji Yuenian suddenly noticed a blind spot. When her mother came in, logically her father and brother should have been outside. But the noise outside the bedroom had stopped. What were they doing?
“Either smoking, or eavesdropping. Or possibly doing both at the same time.” Huang Qingchuan glanced at the half-closed bedroom door, just in time to meet two pairs of dark eyes secretly peeking in.
After being discovered by Huang Qingchuan, the two pairs of dark eyes guiltily shifted away.
Huang Qingchuan released Ji Yuenian, walked to the bedroom door, and pulled it open directly. The moment the door opened, a father and son pair immediately tumbled forward, falling in front of her.
She snorted lightly, left the bedroom, and returned moments later with a delicate set of Lolita-style clothing in her hands.
She closed the door again, locking the father and son outside. Holding the Lolita outfit high, she waved it in front of the girl-form Ji Yuenian, the corners of her mouth curling into an excited smile.
“Yuanyuan, my precious baby girl, let mommy see how you look in women’s clothes!”
……
October 7th, the last day of the National Day holiday.
After returning home, they parted ways at the station. They had agreed to report their safety once home, but until now, there had been no message.
Inside the bedroom, under the bright white desk lamp, Jiang Chi leaned over the desk, pen in hand, writing today’s diary.
After a while, he set the pen down, walked to the bedside table, and picked up a photo frame.
In the photo, a teenage boy and girl stood in a peach blossom forest, smiling at each other, faces full of happiness and sweetness.
It was taken during the previous summer vacation, when he and Ji Yuenian, in her girl form, traveled to another province to see the peach blossoms.
A trace of memory flashed through the boy’s deep blue eyes. He spoke as if to himself, or perhaps murmured softly.
“Qingchan, I think I’ve started to like her.”
“Actually, Ji Yuenian is a pretty good person. Loyal, daring to take the lead, not fussy, and very forthright. Maybe that’s the charm of a TS girl.”
He paused, as if thinking of something else, then added with a bitter smile, “Except she’s very tsundere. Sometimes her mouth says no, but her body is honest.”
Shaking his head, Jiang Chi gazed once more at the innocent, adorable girl in the photo. His eyes were deep and indulgent, a faint curve lifting the corner of his lips.
“It’s me being obsessive again.”
“Actually, Ji Yuenian is you. In psychological terms, you are also a projection of one of Ji Yuenian’s psychological facets.”
“Maybe… I shouldn’t have split you apart.”
He pressed a hand to his chest. That place had once been empty, yet was filled by an angel-like girl. But later, after discovering the deception, that hazy, youthful love swung from one extreme to another.
Perhaps he had been sick ever since then.
Yearning without obtaining. Hatred without power.
Unable to accept reality, he forced himself into illness.
Unwilling to acknowledge the truth, he performed psychological self-severance.
Just as “Ji Qingchan” in his dreams had said, the knot in his heart was “Ji Qingchan.” Only when he could let go, untie it, and directly face that love tainted with deception from the very beginning would his illness improve.
Thinking of this, Jiang Chi put the photo frame back in its place and picked up another one.
In the photo, a short-haired, commanding woman stood atop a rock, surveying all the mountains below, embracing the heavens and earth. It was a picture he had taken of Ji Yuenian during a previous mountain climb.
The boy raised his hand and gently stroked the face of the short-haired woman in the photo, murmuring softly:
“Ji Yuenian, stop playing word games with me. This indecisive version of you… I really don’t like it.”
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