“This…”
Chen Xuanqiu squirmed, her discomfort evident. She wasn’t one for dramatics, yet her apprehension wasn’t about her mother seeing her body. Instead, she dreaded her mother’s peculiar gaze, knowing that a gender transition was, in many eyes, far from glorious.
“What’s wrong?” Melissa teased softly, a faint smile playing on her lips. “You let me see you freely when you were a boy. Is it different now that you’re a girl?”
Chen Xuanqiu wrestled with herself for a moment. Understanding that trust was a reciprocal bond, she slowly grasped the hem of her T-shirt and peeled it off. Her pale abdomen, slender waist, and burgeoning chest were revealed, inch by agonizing inch, beneath her mother’s watchful gaze.
Melissa’s face lit up with joy. She was ecstatic that her eldest daughter possessed such a beautiful and captivating physique, until her eyes landed on a particularly jarring ligature mark.
“My God, what have you done? How could you brutalize your body like this?”
Melissa’s expression drastically changed. The ligature mark was truly horrifying, not only deeply indented into her chest but also bright red, with faint abrasions visible, clearly indicating inflammation.
Chen Xuanqiu lowered her head, her small face bowed. She didn’t know how to face her mother’s accusations.
“I’m so sorry, darling! Mama was just too emotional.”
Melissa quickly regained her composure, apologizing as she reached out to touch the ligature mark.
“Does it hurt?”
Melissa’s right hand trembled slightly, wanting to touch but hesitant.
“Mm!”
Chen Xuanqiu quickly flinched away.
“Oh, my poor child.”
Melissa tremblingly withdrew her hand, her eyes blurring once more. She felt like a complete failure as a mother.
“Darling, wait here. I’ll go get some medicine for you.”
Melissa gently wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, then rose and left the room.
****
Soon after, Melissa returned with anti-inflammatory medicine. She carefully applied it to her eldest daughter’s skin.
“Mama will apply this for you every day, on time,” Melissa said, putting away the medicine and offering comfort. “It should heal in no time.”
“Mm!”
Chen Xuanqiu silently pulled down the hem of her shirt. As a girl for the first time, she hadn’t yet crossed the threshold of her new gender identity, making her uncomfortable with prolonged exposure of her body.
“Your clothes are too tight,” Melissa observed, finding the situation unsuitable. “They’re not breathable. I’ll get you a nightgown instead.”
She made the decision on her own initiative.
Chen Xuanqiu instinctively moved to object, but quickly reconsidered. This wasn’t her first time wearing women’s clothing; why be so affected?
Melissa returned swiftly, holding a light blue, lace-trimmed nightgown made of sheer fabric. It appeared incredibly thin and breathable.
Chen Xuanqiu had undressed in front of her mother before, so she no longer felt self-conscious. She simply changed her clothes.
Melissa observed her instinctively. When she saw that her eldest daughter’s lower body was as flat as a normal woman’s, a huge weight finally lifted from her heart. Her greatest fear had been that the gender transition experiment was incomplete, turning her child into some kind of neither-male-nor-female monstrosity.
“By the way, Qiu! Whose underwear are you wearing?”
Melissa suddenly realized this, as the panties her eldest daughter wore were distinctly feminine.
“Dr. Wei and his grandson bought them for me when I was at the lab,” Chen Xuanqiu answered instinctively. However, a wave of sadness washed over her as she recalled the pair, her eyes growing dim with unshed tears.
“Ah, they were truly angels!” Melissa sighed with emotion. “It’s a pity we’ll never have the chance to repay their kindness.”
“Perhaps there’s no chance to repay their kindness, but there is a chance for revenge,” Chen Xuanqiu resolved silently. “Once I gain the ability, I will uncover exactly what happened in that underground laboratory.”
Without a chest binder, Chen Xuanqiu was confined to her bedroom all day. Both her lunch and dinner were brought to her by her mother.
Deep into the quiet night, after the hourly housekeeper and security personnel had departed, Melissa called Chen Xuanqiu to the living room.
Chen Xuanqiu, dressed in her nightgown, kept her head bowed low. She was filled with trepidation, fearing the peculiar gazes of her father and sister.
“My dear,” Melissa pressed anxiously, “Qiu has been binding her chest with fabric, which has injured her skin. This cannot happen again. You must think of a solution.”
“After much thought today, there’s only one way to resolve her current predicament.”
Chen Degao paused, then, under the family’s expectant gazes, declared, “We can only announce to the outside world that she has undergone gender reassignment surgery.”
“What? Gender reassignment surgery?”
Melissa confirmed, her voice laced with disbelief.
Chen Xuanqiu instantly lifted her head, her father’s words striking a profound psychological blow. From her perspective, gender reassignment surgery was indeed ignominious, making it incredibly difficult to accept.
“Yes, with this reason, she’ll not only be able to go out openly in the future but also live like a normal woman, without having to pretend every day,” Chen Degao explained.
“I think Father’s idea is quite good,” Chen Xuanzhu chimed in first, supporting the suggestion.
“But, my dear, you also know that most people hold prejudices against… transgender individuals,” Melissa voiced her deep concern. “I worry greatly about Qiu’s future life.”
“Mama, don’t worry too much,” Chen Xuanzhu comforted her. “Even if most people do hold prejudices against transgender individuals, not everyone knows her, right? She’s so beautiful; if she goes out and doesn’t say anything herself, who would even know who she is?”
“Melissa, don’t worry,” Chen Degao gently persuaded her, his voice soft. “This is just a temporary disguise, solely to facilitate her treatment. Otherwise, her identity would be exposed as soon as she underwent a CT scan at the hospital.”
“And what happens after she’s cured?” Melissa pressed further.
“Once she’s well, take her to Ceylon,” Chen Degao said with difficulty. “She can then live under Xuanzhu’s identity. They both have dual citizenship, after all, and outsiders won’t be able to tell them apart.”
“Ah? Would that truly work?” Melissa hesitated.
“I think it could work,” Chen Xuanzhu’s eyes brightened. “The two countries are thousands of miles apart; no one should be able to discover it.”
“But if we do that, our family would be split between two countries,” Melissa reflected, then added, “It would make meeting up very difficult.”
“Mama, transportation is so convenient now,” Chen Xuanzhu said with a helpless sigh. “We could travel back and forth in just a few days. We’d just need to be careful not to be discovered.”
“Qiu, what are your thoughts?”
Melissa hesitated for a moment, then turned to her eldest daughter.
‘While pretending to be a transgender individual might invite cold remarks and scrutiny, it would only be temporary,’ Chen Xuanqiu weighed the pros and cons. ‘It’s certainly better than hiding at home every day, or constantly living in fear while binding my chest.’
At this point, the family members remained silent, quietly awaiting her final decision.
Chen Xuanqiu quickly came to a realization. “Let’s proceed as Father suggested,” she said.
“Good! Very good!” Chen Degao declared, outlining his plan. “We’ll take her to the Fourth Hospital for admission as soon as possible. This way, we can not only treat her condition but also seize the opportunity to announce to the public that she has undergone gender reassignment surgery.”
‘Why are they always so intent on curing me? I’m not sick!’ Chen Xuanqiu groaned inwardly, feeling helpless.
“Father is brilliant!” Chen Xuanzhu clapped her hands in approval from the side. “Once she’s discharged, she can openly wear women’s clothes.”
Upon hearing this, Melissa also found the idea quite reliable, and so she finally relented.
‘It seems I have no choice but to go to this psychiatric hospital,’ Chen Xuanqiu thought with a self-deprecating chuckle. However, with her identity already exposed and a plausible reason established, she no longer feared the psychiatric hospital. She might as well consider it an experience of life.