Chapter 183: Shopping
The auntie from next door stepped into the elevator with a doubtful look on her face. She still couldn’t fully believe that the big boy she once knew had become a girl.
It wasn’t just the appearance, she could tell that Li Mu really accepted how she looked now. Whether it was her personality or the way she spoke, everything felt just like a regular 17- or 18-year-old girl.
Inside the elevator, she called Ren Tianyou.
“Mom, I’m at work right now.”
Ren Tianyou now worked as a driver for a local boss. He left early in the morning and came back late. The job didn’t pay as well as driving for a ride-hailing app before, but at least it was stable and came with benefits.
“Don’t you often see Xiao Mu? How did she end up like that?”
“You ran into her?”
There was a pause on the other end of the line. Then, with a helpless tone, he told his mom about the results of Li Mu’s medical check-up from before.
Ren Tianyou had originally planned to slowly prepare his mom for the strange situation of a boy turning into a girl, maybe through hints and small talk. But before he could even begin, the two of them just happened to meet head-on.
“Are you serious?” Her voice rose with surprise.
“It’s true,” Ren Tianyou said with a sigh. “It started about one or two months ago. Didn’t Li Mu start growing a chest back then?”
The auntie was stunned. For someone her age, this kind of thing was really hard to believe. It felt more like something out of a fantasy.
…………………………………………………
Back upstairs, Li Mu turned to Yu Fan and said with a sigh, “We managed to explain it to the auntie, but what about my grandpa? He’s even more old-fashioned.”
“Then… maybe just dress a bit more like a guy when you go see him?”
“I guess that’s the only way.”
“Aren’t we going?”
“Let’s wait until the auntie’s gone. I don’t want her to see Xiao Jing.”
Even though Xiao Jing’s makeup made her look a little different from when she was alive, anyone who knew her well would still recognize her at a glance.
Back when Li Mu first told Ren Tianyou the truth, he didn’t quite believe it. But asking someone to believe that a dead person had come back to life, that was even harder to accept, so he didn’t argue much.
Most older people tend to be a little superstitious, though…
Li Mu put on her coat and canvas shoes, standing in the hallway, casually chatting with Yu Fan.
“What do you think about going to college in the north? I’ve never seen snow before.”
“Now you suddenly want to go to the same college as me?”
“Well, it’s better to have at least one person you know, right?”
She turned her head to the side and mumbled. After a while, she looked back at Yu Fan and asked, “Where do your parents want you to go?”
“They don’t care about my school stuff.”
After he didn’t do well in the high school entrance exam and ended up at a vocational school, Yu Fan’s father had basically given up on him.
If he hadn’t still been too young at the time, and if his dad hadn’t worried he might go down the wrong path too early, Yu Fan might not have even gone to that school.
About ten minutes later, Li Mu, Yu Fan, and Xiao Jing, two people and one ghost, finally took the elevator downstairs.
The auntie was nowhere in sight.
As they passed the small store the auntie owned, Li Mu peeked in and saw her sitting behind the counter, deep in thought.
Who knows what she was thinking about.
Li Mu figured that among all the adults she knew, probably only Lin Xi’s parents would fully accept her change in gender. They might even be super happy to see her.
Yu Fan’s electric scooter was a bit small. It was fine for two people, but clearly not big enough for three.
So, the three of them had no choice but to take the bus to the county’s night market street.
When it came to shopping, Xiao Jing was definitely the happiest one.
As soon as they arrived at the night market, her ghostly spirit got super excited. After staying inside Li Mu’s body for four or five days, she had been feeling really bored.
She ran around happily, full of energy, while Li Mu and Yu Fan walked side by side, slowly and calmly. Every now and then, they looked around to check on Xiao Jing so she wouldn’t get lost.
“Don’t let her run off too far. And stop staring at me all the time,” Li Mu said, noticing that Yu Fan kept glancing at her.
“Okay,” Yu Fan reluctantly looked away.
By now, Li Mu already had some experience buying girls’ clothes. The first time she bought them, she and Yu Fan had tricked each other into it. Ever since then, she’d sometimes imagine what Yu Fan would look like wearing women’s clothes.
But lately, those thoughts had mostly faded away.
The night market street was crowded. Li Mu and Yu Fan kept a bit of distance between them as they looked around the nearby shops.
Just as they were about to enter one of the clothing stores, Li Mu noticed Xiao Jing had already rushed into another women’s clothing store further down the street.
That shop looked familiar. It happened to be the very first store where Li Mu had ever bought women’s clothes.
“How about we just buy from that shop? The shop assistant already knows us anyway.”
That made sense. Even though Li Mu now looked completely like a girl, her clothes were still more like a guy’s. If they went into another store, she might get stared at again like she was some girl dressing up as a guy.
She and Yu Fan followed Xiao Jing into the shop. Right away, they saw the same saleswoman who had helped them before, smiling as she came to greet them.
But when the girl saw who it was, her smile paused for a moment.
It was clear she still remembered the two guys who had once come in to buy women’s clothes for each other.
But when she looked closely at Li Mu, she seemed a little confused, Li Mu’s face looked both familiar and different at the same time.
“Can I help you with something?” she asked.
“A white sweater,” Yu Fan replied for Li Mu, “and a pair of slim-fit pants.”
“This way,” the saleswoman said.
Even though Xiao Jing looked young, the store still sent a staff member to follow her around, probably worried she might mess up the clothes like some wild kid.
Li Mu, guided by the saleswoman, walked to a rack and started picking clothes.
A white turtleneck sweater and a pair of light blue skinny jeans. Not too expensive, together under 300 yuan.
“Want to try them on?” the saleswoman asked.
“Sure,” Li Mu said.
She took the clothes into the fitting room. A little while later, she came out, her cheeks slightly red.
“Miss, your body is amazing, this outfit suits you perfectly!” the saleswoman said brightly as she came over to flatter her. “Our sweater has a snug fit, so it really shows off your waistline.”
It didn’t just show off her waist, her chest also looked extra full in the sweater…
Li Mu stood in front of the mirror, frowning a little, feeling awkward. In the end, she turned to look at Yu Fan with a questioning expression.
Yu Fan looked Li Mu up and down with a pervy stare, nodding with obvious approval as he said, "So big… I mean so pretty!"
Not just her chest, her hips too, looking like ripe peaches, stood out nicely in the tight pants. It wasn’t just big, it had a great shape.
“???”
Li Mu froze, staring at him in confusion.
What are you talking about? Are you trying to tease me in front of all these people?
“The clothes… maybe they’re a bit too tight?” Yu Fan quickly changed his words.
“They’re perfect,” the saleswoman said. “Tighter clothes like these are supposed to fit closely. If they were smaller, they’d be uncomfortable.”
Li Mu’s face was full of embarrassment. She couldn’t help feeling ashamed to have her body shown off like that in front of others.
Even though the store was full of girls, and Yu Fan was her best friend, her face still turned a little red.