“Is that so?”
The fair-skinned nurse glanced at the computer monitor, then frowned. “Little sister, are you in the wrong place? We called for Chen Xuanqiu.”
“Uh… I am Chen Xuanqiu,” she explained, her voice laced with apprehension.
“But the information here says male? Was there a mistake?” the fair-skinned nurse asked, puzzled.
“I… I’m transgender,” Chen Xuanqiu managed to stammer out, the words feeling heavy on her tongue.
“Ah?”
The two nurses exchanged shocked glances for a long moment, their expressions only slowly settling back into composure.
“Oh… ah… then please, remove your clothes and lie down,” the fair-skinned nurse said, unsure how to continue the conversation, quickly reverting to her professional duties.
Chen Xuanqiu knew there was no escaping it. With a hesitant hand, she struggled to pull off her T-shirt, followed by her pure white lace bra.
Her upper body was now bare, her perfectly sculpted chest exposed for the first time to women other than her mother.
The two junior nurses exchanged another glance, undisguised envy flickering in their eyes. They simply couldn’t comprehend how a transgender person could possess such a flawless, teardrop-shaped bust.
Chen Xuanqiu walked over cautiously and lay down. Her breasts naturally spread out like teardrops, showing no hint of artificial enhancement.
The expressions on the nurses’ faces grew increasingly peculiar, but they refrained from asking further questions, instead picking up the CT scanner to begin their work.
“This isn’t right, these are clearly real breasts! There are no implants, and the mammary glands are identical to those of a normal woman.”
After scanning for a long while, the fair-skinned nurse couldn’t hold back any longer.
“Exactly,” the other nurse added after a quick look. “Are you sure you’re a boy?”
“My… my breasts aren’t… aren’t implants. They… they grew out on their own… from taking female… female hormones.”
Chen Xuanqiu stammered through her explanation, following her father’s instructions. After saying the words, she felt as if her groin was ablaze, unable to meet the eyes of the two nurses before her.
“So that’s it, I knew it.”
“What kind of estrogen is so good? I want some too.”
The two nurses muttered to themselves.
Chen Xuanqiu felt as if time crawled by. The moment the CT scan was finally over, she scrambled up, hastily pulling on her clothes.
“You can wait outside for a few minutes; the results will be ready soon,” the fair-skinned nurse instructed.
Chen Xuanqiu felt as if she had been granted a great pardon, fleeing the CT room as if her life depended on it.
“How did it go? Did they ask you anything?” Chen Degao immediately questioned his eldest daughter.
“They asked about my chest, and I explained it just as you told me to,” Chen Xuanqiu replied, her face flushed and her heart pounding.
“That’s good, then. No problems, that’s good,” Chen Degao exhaled a long sigh of relief.
Having successfully bluffed their way through, the family of three finally relaxed, then proceeded to undergo several other examinations.
By early evening, all the results were in, and the trio returned to consult the elderly specialist.
“Based on these results, we can largely rule out the possibility of organic mental illness,” Dr. Ren analyzed, his words echoing those of Dr. Zhou from the Central Hospital.
“That leaves two possibilities. One is hallucinations caused by temporary mental and physical exhaustion—a condition ordinary people occasionally experience, which naturally recovers with rest.”
“The other possibility is functional mental illness, such as schizophrenia, which would require patient confirmation and treatment.”
“Then, Doctor, what should we do?” Chen Degao eagerly inquired.
“Let’s have her admitted for observation first. If she doesn’t relapse within half a month, it’s likely the first situation.”
“However, if symptoms recur after half a month, we’ll need to consider the second possibility. Her discharge date will then depend on her recovery progress.”
Upon hearing this, Chen Degao and his wife felt a measure of reassurance and prepared to follow the doctor’s advice.
Chen Xuanqiu, however, didn’t take it too seriously. She knew she wasn’t mentally ill, so it wasn’t a matter of half a month or even a month; she probably wouldn’t “recover” even if she stayed there for ten years.
Naturally, Chen Xuanqiu had no desire to stay for a decade. She reminded herself once more to remain calm in the future and absolutely not to let her parents or the doctors see any flaws in her facade.
“Doctor, can we come for admission tomorrow morning? We haven’t prepared anything yet,” Melissa asked, looking her eldest daughter up and down.
“Of course, that’s perfectly fine. For hospitalization, it’s only natural to have all your daily necessities ready,” Dr. Ren replied, quite understanding.
The family expressed their thanks repeatedly, then departed from the hospital.
“Darling, let’s not go back just yet. I want to take this opportunity to buy some clothes for our daughter,” Melissa said, quickly stopping her husband as he prepared to go to the car.
“Alright, I’ll wait for you in the car. Call me when you’re done shopping,” Chen Degao replied after a moment’s thought. After all, it felt awkward for him to accompany them while they bought clothes for their daughter.
Melissa acknowledged him, then headed out to the streets with Chen Xuanqiu.
Mentally, Chen Xuanqiu was still a man, and thus had no fondness for shopping. She had intended to buy just a couple of items, but unfortunately, her mother wouldn’t listen.
Melissa, as if to compensate for her past oversights, bought relentlessly, choosing only the most expensive and attractive items.
From T-shirts to chiffon blouses, from shorts to long pants, she even intended to buy dresses for her eldest daughter, who had only recently become a girl.
Inside a boutique women’s clothing store, Melissa spotted a white, knee-length pleated skirt and insisted her daughter try it on.
“Mom, please, can we not buy a skirt? I don’t want to wear one!” Chen Xuanqiu pleaded. She had worn a skirt before—her sister’s school uniform—and the feeling of insecurity was profound. She never wanted to experience it again.
“Honey, have you ever heard of a girl who doesn’t wear skirts?” Melissa replied dismissively, her tone lacking any sincerity.
It was clear she was determined. Her goal was to help her eldest daughter adapt to her new identity as quickly as possible, so she could return to a normal life after being discharged.
“Little sister, your mom is right. Wearing a short skirt like this in the summer is both cool and breathable. Men wish they could wear them!” the female shop assistant chimed in, eager to make a sale.
Unable to resist, Chen Xuanqiu reluctantly went to try on the skirt, looking back over her shoulder with every step.
Chen Xuanqiu gazed at herself in the full-length mirror, turning this way and that. Although she still felt a little unaccustomed to the breezy sensation below, she had to admit that the skirt truly looked beautiful on her.
Her straight, slender calves were fully revealed, striking a perfect balance—not overly revealing, yet maximizing the display of youthful femininity. And just as the shop assistant had said, it was cool and breathable.
When Chen Xuanqiu emerged from the changing room, her mother was utterly delighted and stubbornly bought the skirt.
One purchase led to another. Melissa proceeded to buy several more skirts for her daughter—long skirts, short skirts, pleated, layered, and slit; every style imaginable.
Chen Xuanqiu found herself unable to stop her, her only recourse being to select colors that were as least ‘girly’ as possible.
“While the skirts are lovely, pairing them with sneakers would be far too unfashionable. Let’s get a few more pairs of shoes.”
Melissa then moved on to selecting footwear, choosing only high heels or kitten heels, including both sandals and leather shoes.
“Mom, I’ve never worn high heels!” Chen Xuanqiu whispered, sensing the situation was heading in the wrong direction.
“It’s fine, you can learn. Every girl learns gradually; it’s not difficult at all,” Melissa dismissed, completely ignoring her daughter’s concern. She proceeded to buy several pairs of high heels in one go.
After buying outerwear, they moved on to underwear, a process that proved even more awkward. This time, her mother even personally entered the changing room to offer advice, reasoning that intimate apparel had to fit perfectly to avoid affecting breast development.
Once the underwear was purchased, Chen Xuanqiu thought she was finally free. To her dismay, her mother then suggested buying her stockings.
This was where Chen Xuanqiu drew the line. She adamantly refused to enter the store, determined to preserve the last shred of her male dignity.
Melissa’s patient persuasion yielded no results, and she eventually had to give up, returning to the hospital parking lot with her daughter, a hint of reluctance in her expression.
Chen Degao had grown impatient waiting. He promptly rushed his wife and daughter home, arriving well past ten o’clock at night.
Chen Xuanzhu was already drowsy. Upon hearing the news, she stretched languidly and offered comfort. “Xiaoqiu, just relax and accept the treatment. Don’t worry about being bored; I’ll try my best to visit you whenever I can.”
After speaking, she was overcome with sleepiness and headed upstairs to bed, yawning all the way, knowing she had school the next day.
After dinner, Chen Xuanqiu returned to her room to wash up. As soon as silence fell, her mind began to ponder her current predicament once more.
The issue of her identity was temporarily resolved; now, the focus shifted to how to deal with seeing ghosts.
Chen Xuanqiu knew the hospital absolutely couldn’t solve her problem, so she had to get out as quickly as possible. This meant she needed to remain calm, no matter what she saw, to avoid being labeled as mentally ill again.
‘Calm down, I must be calm. It’s just ghosts, right? What’s so great about them? Don’t they always wail and scream when the fire in me burns them?’
Chen Xuanqiu tried to hypnotize herself with these thoughts, but the moment she remembered the warm current within her, her fear intensified.
‘What exactly are you? Why are you hiding in my body?’ Chen Xuanqiu whispered, probing inwardly.
She tried to sense it carefully but found no trace of the warm current’s presence; she couldn’t tell where it was hidden.
She spent the night lost in such wild thoughts. The next morning, Chen Xuanqiu, in a daze, followed her parents to the Fourth Hospital for admission.
After completing the admission procedures, her parents led her to the inpatient department. Only upon stepping inside did she realize this was the true face of a mental hospital.
As they walked down the corridor, a cacophony of sounds constantly emanated from the surrounding rooms—crying, shouting, incessant murmuring, all accompanied by the loud crashes of objects or doors being slammed.
This, however, was not the most terrifying sight. What truly horrified Chen Xuanqiu was looking through the glass window of one room.
Inside, a man was hunched over, as if burdened by an unbearable weight, and perched on his shoulder was a female ghost, covered in blood and severely dismembered.
Chen Xuanqiu’s heart thumped erratically. She then glanced into another room, where a disheveled woman sat, her hair matted and wild, her face grimy, and her eyes vacant.
Her hands were positioned as if cradling something, and she hummed a children’s lullaby.
To a normal person, this was simply a disturbed patient. But in Chen Xuanqiu’s eyes, it was different: she clearly saw the woman holding a blood-soaked infant.
‘Have I come to a mental hospital or to hell?’
Chen Xuanqiu began to tremble slightly.