Chapter 90: Change
Li Mu had always been someone who trusted others easily.
That’s why he had been tricked by Yu Fan over and over again.
This time, he almost got seriously tricked.
He glanced at the shaman who was talking seriously about the underworld and the 18 layers of hell, and sighed to himself.
He had thought he’d met a real exorcist like Chen Yi, and then he could ask about his own situation.
After all, just because Chen Yi didn’t understand, didn’t mean no one else did.
The shaman led Li Mu to the foot of the mountain, where Aunt Cai and her husband were already waiting near the entrance.
"Has Xiao Mu caused you any trouble?" Aunt Cai hurriedly stepped forward to greet Li Mu and respectfully asked the shaman.
“No, this young one is very well-behaved and easy to teach,” the shaman smiled and waved at Li Mu, “If there’s any trouble next time, just come to me, I’ll give you a discount.”
“Next time for sure.” Aunt Cai reached out and pulled Li Mu to her side, smiling as she watched the shaman enter the mountain. Then, she suddenly realized that the hand she was holding had been pulled away at some point.
She looked down at her hand with a bit of disappointment, then forced a smile and helped Li Mu into the car.
“What did the shaman do just now?”
As soon as Li Mu got into the car, Uncle Lin asked from the driver's seat.
“She said she called a spirit and found out that the pregnant woman is having a boy.”
Though Li Mu wanted to tell himself that he knew little about ghosts and spirits, maybe the shaman really did call the family’s ancestor’s spirit, and maybe she could see the baby’s gender.
But the problem was, the pregnant woman’s stomach was flat. The baby probably wasn’t even formed yet. Even with the best technology, it would be impossible to tell the gender, right?
“I don’t know if the shaman has any special abilities,” Uncle Lin said, opening the window and lighting a cigarette, “But she’s been guarding graves for over 50 years, and nothing has ever happened. The villagers really respect her, though she’s not very easy to get along with.”
He took a drag on the cigarette and continued, “When I had a high fever as a child, it was the shaman who cured me...”
Not easy to get along with? She seemed pretty kind.
Li Mu was a bit surprised but interrupted him, “Could you not smoke?”
He had gotten used to the smell of smoke in the dorm, but Aunt Cai seemed to dislike it. To make his point stronger, he added, “Aunt Cai looks like she doesn’t like the smoke.”
Uncle Lin paused, gave a wry smile, and put the cigarette out in the car’s ashtray.
But the two in the car suddenly became very quiet.
Just as Li Mu was wondering if he had said something wrong, Aunt Cai forced a smile and said, “I don’t know why, but the more I look at you, the more you remind me of Lin Xi.”
“I feel the same way,” Uncle Lin sighed. “Lin Xi doesn’t let me smoke either. She says her mother doesn’t like the smell. I’ve almost quit smoking...”
“You two don’t look alike at all, and your personalities are different too,” Aunt Cai carefully placed her hand on Li Mu’s, gently holding his slightly cold hand. “She’s the same, her hands and feet are cold all year round. In winter, she always likes to put her hands inside my clothes.”
“I have gloves here, do you want them?” She looked up and smiled, asking.
“......”
Li Mu didn’t know how to respond to this situation.
So he could only watch as Aunt Cai took out a pair of pink gloves with a white cat head embroidered on them from the compartment in the car and gently put them on his hands.
They looked nice.
It was just a bit too girly.
Li Mu looked down at the gloves and instinctively wanted to take them off and put them away. But then he thought, he’s already girly enough. Adding pink gloves won’t make much of a difference.
It was a kind gesture from them.
He just hoped he could somehow make the couple feel better. It was something he could do, and he didn’t mind the trouble.
He smiled a little and said to Aunt Cai, "Thank you, I really like them."
"Your smile is really nice," Aunt Cai said, ruffling his hair.
Li Mu didn’t think his smile was anything special. It was probably just because he didn’t smile much, so whenever he did, it surprised people.
The car stopped at the entrance to Li Mu’s neighborhood. After saying goodbye to Uncle Lin and Aunt Cai, Li Mu took off the gloves.
It was only October, but wearing the gloves for too long might give him a rash.
Normally, Li Mu would never make it to the first morning class if he took the bus from his house, but tomorrow was the sports day, so it wouldn’t matter if he was a little late as long as he didn’t get caught.
The main thing was, he could ask Yu Fan for a ride.
After all, that guy had tricked him more than once, so making him help with something wasn’t a big deal.
Li Mu hadn’t been home for a while, so there was a little dust around, but it wasn’t too bad to the point where the house couldn’t be lived in.
Once home, he placed the small mirror, about the size of his palm, on the table, turned on the TV, and walked toward the bathroom, telling the mirror, "You stay there and watch TV, don’t come into the bathroom mirror."
"Okay!"
After getting a reply, Li Mu sighed in relief and went to the bathroom mirror.
He wiped the dust off the mirror with a towel, then leaned forward, placing his hands on the sink to look at himself in the mirror.
At school, he couldn’t look at himself so closely in the mirror, because his roommates would tease him.
He also couldn’t take his clothes off to check his body, he could only look down at himself quickly in the shower, but that wasn’t very clear.
"It’s only been a short time..."
Li Mu sighed and pressed his hand to his cheek, feeling the soft texture of his skin.
His skin was getting better, even better than those girls who didn’t care much about skincare.
His face shape and features were now soft enough that he almost looked like a girl. Otherwise, when he dressed as a girl, no one would completely mistake him for a man.
After all, many of those popular online "crossdressing" photos and videos rely on heavy makeup and beauty filters. If it was just light makeup, most people could still tell by the harsh male features.
Also...
He glanced toward the living room and could still hear the small mirror humming along with the TV opening song. This made him feel a little better about looking at himself in the mirror.
It seemed like he had developed too much...
Why was he, as a man, developing breasts?!
The pain was still there, and it was likely to continue growing.
As for his body... his limbs were slim and well-proportioned, with no visible muscles or fat, his stomach was flat, and his body looked so feminine.
It could probably be compared to those heavily photoshopped and beautified photos online.
Damn, this was so embarrassing.
His face was already blushing uncontrollably. He stared at the mirror for a long time, then, exhausted, leaned against the bathroom wall, and when his legs gave out, he slid down to sit on the floor.
A terrifying thought suddenly crossed his mind.
Could it be that, in the future, he would really... have to be with another man...?