Chapter 287: Old Man, Are You Losing It?
With the system’s powerful adjustments, the family quickly accepted the fact that their son had become a daughter.
Why, you ask? Well, ask the system. It arranged everything.
Some unexpected things even came out of it. Lin Yibai’s room was pretty simple. Maybe because of emotional reasons, her mom, Lin Shuyan, kept hinting.
“Xiao Bai, your old bedsheets and covers seem kind of worn out. Do you want to change them?”
Lin Yibai shrugged. “Whatever.”
Lin Shuyan quickly followed up, “Then what kind do you like? Maybe something more colorful? Or something white and clean-looking?”
“?” Lin Yibai scratched her head and awkwardly replied, “Whatever, anything’s fine.”
Then her mom asked again, “Let’s throw away all your old boys’ clothes, okay?”
Lin Yibai hesitated, then said quietly, “The clothes are still in good shape, there’s no need to throw them away... Um, oh well! Just throw them out!”
It was time to say goodbye to the past. Since this was a new beginning, she decided to remove all the things that showed traces of her life as a boy.
They filled several large sacks.
From today on...
She would live in this world officially as a girl.
Her mom might not be someone who really understands fashion, but she definitely cared about her child deeply. She went out and bought several sets of girls’ clothes. To young people, the style might seem a bit old-fashioned.
But Lin Yibai happily wore them and kept saying, “Mom’s clothes are the warmest. Unlike the ones I buy myself, I always freeze when I go outside.”
Her mom smiled, “As long as you like them.”
Whether son or daughter, she was still part of her mother’s flesh and blood.
Besides, Lin Yibai was cute and sweet. In a neighborhood with hundreds of families, Lin Shuyan hadn’t seen any girl prettier than Lin Yibai.
Just looking at her made people feel happy. That helped her mom accept everything even more.
Her mom then pulled out another outfit, held it up against Lin Yibai, and said, “Dress nicely tomorrow, we’re going to visit your second uncle’s house. It’ll also count as an early New Year’s greeting.”
Lin Yibai raised an eyebrow. “Can I not go?”
Her mom’s eyes widened as she answered seriously, “No way. If you don’t go, your second uncle might say we’re being disrespectful.”
Lin Yibai: “……”
She didn’t really like her second uncle’s family. Honestly, they were just too much.
Her second uncle worked at a government office, and, well, you know the type, always thinking he’s better than everyone else?
During the holidays, he loved bossing people around like he was in charge.
Lin Yibai quietly complained, “I don’t need to ask him for anything! I’ll definitely build my future in Fucheng. Second Uncle has worked at a small-town office for so many years and still hasn’t even moved up to a real management position. Hoping for him to help is worse than me studying to become a civil servant myself.”
Her mom quickly stopped her, “Don’t say things like that.”
Lin Yibai sighed and said helplessly, “How am I wrong? So many relatives have asked him for help, made so many calls, and every time he just says, ‘Oh, okay, I’ll ask around.’ But has he ever actually helped anyone?”
Her mom: “……”
Lin Yibai continued, “Remember Third Cousin? Two years ago, he barely missed the score to get into No. 1 Middle School. The family begged everyone, but where was Second Uncle then? And yet during the New Year, he keeps bragging about how he knows this teacher and that principal. What a joke.”
If he really could help people, who wouldn’t respect him?
The problem is he’s useless at everything but loves taking credit.
If he could just stop acting so bossy and act like a normal relative, it wouldn’t be that bad.
Her mom quickly told her, “Shh! It’s fine to say those things at home, but don’t talk like that outside.”
Lin Yibai replied, “Got it. I know where to draw the line.”
During the New Year, dealing with relatives and social customs is always the most troublesome thing, but you still can’t skip it.
After all, Lin Yibai was already at the age to be working in society. Also, at the age where people say you could "get married"?
The next day, the whole family got in the car to visit Second Uncle’s house for a family gathering.
On the way there, her Mom kept reminding Lin Yibai not to say anything inappropriate. Of course, Lin Yibai understood what she was worried about.
Young people may not care much about socializing. But the older generation values face and social customs.
That kind of thinking has been part of their lives for decades, you can’t just change it because you want to. It’s not like those people online who say they’re “cutting off toxic family” every other day.
Soon, they arrived at Second Uncle’s house.
Lin Yibai was surprised to see that Third Uncle, Fourth Aunt, and others were all there too. Looks like they had already planned to come to Second Uncle’s together.
Surprisingly, no one seemed shocked at all about Lin Yibai’s change from a boy to a girl.
Thanks to the system’s powerful world-correction ability, it spread from her parents to the whole extended family. Now everyone accepted that Lin Yibai was a girl. Some even thought, “It feels right, Yibai was meant to be a girl!”
“You’re getting prettier and prettier, Yibai!”
“Xiao Bai, you look so good!”
“Wow, so cute and likable! If I were a guy, I’d definitely try my best to win you over. I’d fall for you, no doubt!”
“Truly beautiful…”
One by one, her relatives spoke up. Who knows how much of it was just polite talk, but all the compliments about how pretty she looked definitely sounded genuine.
In the kitchen, food was being cooked. The men were smoking and drinking tea. The women were chatting and eating snacks.
Now, it really felt like the New Year.
Lin Yibai mostly just wanted to hang out with her younger cousins. Watching the kids play simple games on glass boards was still better than sitting with adults who had nothing in common with her.
But before she even got comfortable in her seat, she was called over by Second Uncle and the others.
She couldn’t help but sit up straight and ask politely, “Dad, Second Uncle, Third Uncle, Fourth Aunt… you called me, was there something you wanted to talk about?”
Dad said, “Just to chat.”
Second Uncle added, “Let’s talk about your future.”
Third Uncle said, “It’s something good.”
Fourth Aunt smiled, “Xiao Bai, you’re getting more and more beautiful!”
Lin Yibai didn’t quite understand. She asked carefully, “Um, what good thing?”
Are they giving me a big red envelope for New Year? If that’s the case, I wouldn’t say no!
But her daydream ended quickly.
Second Uncle said in a serious voice, “If I remember right, you should be graduating after the New Year, right? Do you have any plans? You’re not that young anymore.”
Lin Yibai: “???”
Second Uncle continued, “Our town office has an opening for a contract worker. Are you interested? You could earn 2,000 yuan a month!”
What was he even thinking?
Lin Yibai was about to graduate from university. She was a fresh graduate, full of potential. Instead of encouraging her to take the civil service exam or giving her advice on how to study for it, he wanted her to waste her fresh graduate status on a job that paid below the local minimum wage.
Even working as a waitress pays more than that! Do you think she's a fool?
But then, Second Uncle said something even more shocking:
“There’s this guy, Xiao Xu, in our office. He’s a nice person, just 30 this year. I’m sure he’ll become a deputy manager before 40. If you’re free during the New Year, I’ll arrange for you two to meet.”
He’s ‘just’ 30? After the New Year, he’ll be 31!
Lin Yibai slapped her hand on the table and said bluntly, “Second Uncle, are you losing your mind?”
If it wasn’t for her parents being there, she already slammed the door and left.