Chapter 12: That Prelude
“Not bad. Your appearance barely passes.”
Touching her chin, Mu Le looked Xiao Yuze up and down for a while, then finally nodded.
A white stand-collar shirt with light brown casual pants made him look even taller and straighter.
Together with his handsome face and gentle temperament, he was probably very attractive to women.
Finally being let go, the young man quietly let out a sigh of relief.
He pulled at his collar, which felt a bit uncomfortable, and shook his head helplessly.
“Don’t you think this plan is a bit stupid? Your dad is very smart. There’s no way he’ll believe we are really a couple.”
“Hmph.” Mu Le snorted softly, with a look that said you’re still too inexperienced. “Of course I know my dad probably won’t believe it. But as long as I insist and act like I’ll only marry you, and show him my determination, that’s enough.”
Xiao Yuze: “…”
He stayed silent for a while, not sure whether to laugh or cry at her unusual way of thinking.
“But this has many problems. We can’t keep this up forever. And… what if your dad really believes we are a couple?”
After thinking for a bit, he raised the most important question.
Helping Mu Le avoid blind dates was fine. But if Mu Cheng treated their “fake” relationship as “real,” things would get complicated.
They couldn’t keep pretending forever, and it wouldn’t solve the real problem.
So Mu Le’s sudden “idea,” clearly inspired by reading too many novels, probably only works in romance dramas or stories.
“……” Mu Le was quiet for a moment, then sighed, which was a bit unusual for her. “Let’s deal with this problem first. When I calm down, I’ll tell my dad the truth.”
“…Tell him the truth?”
“Yeah. I never planned to find a girlfriend anyway. And now I don’t even know if I should find a girlfriend or a boyfriend. In that case, I might as well stay single.”
Mu Le shrugged as if she didn’t care, but Xiao Yuze still noticed the sadness on her face.
“There’s no way your dad would agree to that.”
“That’s why I need time to calm down and think about what I should do next in this situation.”
Mu Le’s thoughts were actually simple, but also helpless.
Just two days ago, she was still a man. Now she had suddenly become a woman, and then all these messy things happened. So what should she do in the future?
Find a girlfriend? Not even mentioning whether she could still feel that kind of attraction to women, just the fact that she had become a woman already made her give up on that idea.
The world is actually very realistic. While most people are straight, there aren’t that many same-sex couples.
Those large numbers of gay characters you see in novels are mostly just imagination.
And in a country with strong traditional views, people like that don’t have an easy life.
It’s also a complicated situation, and clearly not something a beginner like her should step into lightly.
So when it comes to finding a girlfriend, Mu Le didn’t really think about it much.
She had always been a quiet and reserved person. Even when she was a man, she rarely thought about it. After becoming a woman, it was even more so.
Then… let’s talk about the other option, finding a boyfriend?
From a physical point of view, it actually makes sense. The balance of male and female has been a basic rule since ancient times.
But…
Even after becoming a woman, Mu Le didn’t think she had completely changed inside.
So, as someone who used to be a man, how could she accept being with another man without any hesitation?
Because of this, whether it’s finding a girlfriend or a boyfriend, both choices are very troubling for Mu Le.
In that case, staying single is better. After all, she had thought about that before.
That’s roughly how Mu Le thinks. It may sound a bit overly emotional, but it’s the reality she has to face.
But love is something hard to control.
Sometimes, when you think it’s impossible for you to have it, you may suddenly realize that love is actually simple.
Nothing is absolute. Maybe one day, there will be someone who truly makes Mu Le’s heart move.
It could be a woman, or it could also be a man.
True love is a strong feeling of “it must be you,” or a quiet kind of care without words.
Life is long, and most people will meet the right person at some point.
Mu Le doesn’t know when she will meet that person. It could be soon, or she might stay alone forever.
But right now, she needs time, to calm down and to slowly get used to this big change.
So making her go on blind dates now is clearly impossible.
“Alright, alright. We’ll talk about the future later. Your face is all wrinkled up like a bun.”
Seeing her low mood, Xiao Yuze frowned slightly and reached out to pinch her cheek.
“Aren’t I still here with you?”
“Mmm… don’t pinch me.” Mu Le slapped his hand away and puffed her cheeks in annoyance. “You’ll find a girlfriend in the future too. People say brothers are like clothes, and girlfriends are like hands and feet. When that time comes… hmph.”
Xiao Yuze: “…”
Didn’t you say that the wrong way around?
“When that time comes, I’ll definitely kick you out, so I don’t have to watch you showing off your relationship every day.”
Xiao Yuze touched his nose, speechless. Seeing how serious she looked, he didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
I’m trying to comfort you here, you know?
“It feels like our topic has gone off track. The most important thing now is to deal with my dad. If he really forces me to go on blind dates, that would be… really bad.”
After organizing her thoughts, Mu Le finally realized their conversation had drifted.
Xiao Yuze looked at the ceiling, speechless. So you do realize the topic went off track?
“Alright.” In the end, facing her determined expression, Xiao Yuze could only agree to her very unreliable plan. “So what do we do next?”
“……”
But when he asked that, Mu Le suddenly went quiet. After a few seconds…
“Why are you looking at me? How would I know? I’ve never been in a relationship before.”
Xiao Yuze: “……”
Can I regret agreeing to this now?
“Ahem… how about we read some novels? Maybe there’s a similar situation in them?” Noticing the dark lines forming on his forehead, Mu Le turned her face away and spoke softly.
“Novels?”
“Yeah, like ‘The Overbearing CEO Falls in Love with Me: The Sweet Little Thief Cat’…”
“…Did you write that?”
Mu Le: “……”