Zhan Nan City, the southernmost city on the continent of the Celestial Empire.
Inside a moving taxi, a middle-aged man was driving, his eyes involuntarily glancing at the beautiful young girl who had been staring out the window in the back seat.
He asked the woman sitting behind him in broken Mandarin, “Pretty lady, is this your daughter?”
The woman smiled politely and replied in dialect, “Yes, she’s my daughter! Does she look like me?”
Hearing this, the taxi driver instinctively switched to the local dialect, his tone full of praise: “Looks just like you! Both very beautiful!”
But then he quickly realized something and, a bit surprised, continued in the local dialect, “Oh, so you’re locals! I almost thought you were tourists… Where did you come back from?”
“Yang City.”
“Oh… Yang City, huh? Lots of young people are heading over there nowadays…”
“Yes, it’s developing well over there, and the pay is better.”
After confirming they were locals, the driver’s tone became much warmer, and he struck up a conversation: “Your girl is really beautiful! Still in college, right?”
Lin’s mother nodded.
Though she rarely expressed much emotion, hearing such compliments made her genuinely happy.
The smile on her face deepened—after all, her daughter being praised for her looks was, in a way, a compliment to herself as well.
“Yes, she’s still studying.”
As she spoke, Lin’s mother looked toward the girl beside her, her eyes shining.
The girl was dressed elegantly, wearing a white knitted sweater underneath a beige short down jacket with a fur collar.
Her lower half was clad in blue jeans that accentuated her long, slender legs.
She wore a beige knit cap on her head, her jet-black hair long past her ears, looking quite charming.
The clothes the girl wore were all carefully chosen by Lin’s mother herself, though she couldn’t help but lament…
Her daughter absolutely refused to wear skirts…
Such a shame…
Thinking this, Lin’s mother glanced once again at the large shopping bags beside her, which contained several new outfits she had bought for the girl…
If Lin Xinyuan heard her mother’s thoughts at this moment, she would probably scoff—because the outfit she was wearing now was already the absolute limit she could accept.
Skirts? Absolutely not!
If you asked why she had worn skirts before but now couldn’t accept them, she could only say it was a matter of mindset.
Before, she hadn’t truly become a girl yet; she was just using that broken thing to transform herself.
Back then, it was all just for fun.
But now, she had actually become a girl!
Not just in her mind, but physically she was a normal female…
Though Lin Xinyuan kept looking out the window without speaking, she had been listening to their conversation all along.
Hearing the taxi driver repeatedly praise her and even try to introduce his son to her, she couldn’t help but feel a bit embarrassed.
She sighed inwardly, wishing she could still wear her old clothes…
This girl’s outfit was still too conspicuous…
But all her old clothes had been thrown away by Lin’s mother, and her reasoning left no room for argument:
“Since you’ve already become a girl, then be a proper girl, starting with how you dress.”
Thinking this, Lin Xinyuan grew confused again, unsure of how to face the people she knew once she met them…
Although her mother promised she would help explain things…
The taxi slowly pulled over to the curb, and Lin Xinyuan finally felt relieved as she hurriedly got out.
During the entire ride, she hadn’t dared to utter a single word; the driver had been too enthusiastic…
With the driver’s help, the mother and daughter took down their suitcases and said their goodbyes.
Before leaving, the taxi driver once again earnestly recommended his son to the girl, but Lin’s mother declined on her behalf, and the driver could only get into the car unwillingly and drive off…
“Phew…”
Lin Xinyuan wiped away a non-existent sweat.
Seeing this, Lin’s mother couldn’t help but chuckle and shook her head as she handed over the shopping bags: “Here, take your clothes.”
“I didn’t buy them…” Lin Xinyuan muttered.
Lin’s mother frowned slightly: “Of course you have to wear them. How do you look dressed like that? This way is much better…”
“Mm.” Lin Xinyuan obediently took the bags; her earlier complaint had only been a subconscious resistance from the remnants of her male mindset.
“Let’s go home.”
“Okay…”
Home…
Is this really home now?
Lin Xinyuan’s expression was dazed as she pulled her suitcase and walked alongside her mother.
But after only a short while, she suddenly seemed to remember something, her expression turning uneasy and her pace slowing.
Lin’s mother had been paying close attention to her daughter.
Although their relationship had softened somewhat over the past two days, it was still only surface-level.
She knew that, in truth, Lin Xinyuan didn’t fully trust her mother and wouldn’t share many things.
The two walked side by side, and when Lin’s mother noticed the girl’s odd expression, her heart tightened, and she stopped walking.
“Hm? What’s wrong… Is something the matter?”
Hearing this, Lin Xinyuan snapped out of her thoughts.
Seeing her mother’s anxious expression, she hesitated but finally said slowly, “Dad… is he home? And about my situation…”
Whether the day before yesterday or yesterday in Yang City, she had completely forgotten to ask this and now suddenly felt worried.
At the mention of that person, Lin’s mother’s expression quickly darkened, her tone flat: “Don’t worry about him. He’s still in Yang City, doing just fine…”
“Oh…”
Sure enough, whenever her father was mentioned, her mother’s face instantly soured.
Seeing her mother unwilling to say more, the girl stopped pressing.
“If there’s anything else, we’ll talk about it when we get home.” After a moment, Lin’s mother’s expression relaxed as she said to Lin Xinyuan.
The girl silently nodded.
The Lin family’s house was in a well-located neighborhood in the county town, with convenient transportation.
The two returned home quickly.
Along the way, a few residents glanced curiously at the unfamiliar mother and daughter, as it wasn’t common for them to live in that apartment.
The first thing they did after returning was a thorough cleaning; the house had been empty for a long time, so dust was inevitable.
There was still plenty of time—it was only a little past two in the afternoon—enough for the two to tidy up the entire house.
Mother and daughter began to clean, sweeping and mopping the floors multiple times before finally stopping.
Afterward, Lin Xinyuan went back to her room to organize her suitcase and the new clothes.
Lin’s mother did the same.
Having quit her job, she had returned to Yang City with Lin Xinyuan the day before to settle everything and pack her belongings.
Her boss was a little displeased about her sudden resignation—normally she should have stayed until a new store manager was hired—but said nothing and let her go.
After all, they weren’t short of staff, and Lin’s mother had voluntarily given up her salary for the month…
Perhaps because they valued her abilities, the boss recommended she transfer to the Zhan Nan City branch.
Lin’s mother accepted the offer, though whether she would actually go was another matter…
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