Chapter 78

During dinner, Su Yuan's cousin finally returned.

At the dining table, the whole family ate together. Her uncle and aunt were very热情 to her, often serving her dishes. Su Yuan had a sense of illusion, as if she had just returned from the hospital after enduring hardships, and the warmth of her relatives was a deep concern for a patient.

However, in a certain sense, she didn't think it was wrong. After all, according to her mother, she was a patient with "female pseudo-hermaphroditism." Now that she had been reborn, she naturally deserved the treatment of a patient.

She looked ahead, wondering if her cousin would also show her such warmth. Su Yuan found herself actually looking forward to it. Would her cousin, who had never been very close to her, now care for her?

Sometimes, the things you can't get are the ones worth looking forward to; the things that are too easily obtained lack the feeling.

However, she was ultimately disappointed. From beginning to end, her cousin's chopsticks were constantly moving on the table, picking up a lot of dishes, but not a single one landed in her bowl.

The greater the hope, the greater the disappointment. As the meal progressed, Su Yuan found it increasingly tasteless. She shouldn't have had such expectations; she was too naive. Especially when she saw the hint of strangeness and disgust in her cousin's eyes, she suddenly lost her appetite.

Something seemed to be blocking her chest, a feeling she couldn't identify swirling in her chest, reaching her throat, but being forcibly suppressed...

"I'm done eating." Her cousin was the first to leave the table.

Not long after, Su Yuan, having eaten only half a bowl of rice, also left the table. "I'm done too, Grandpa, Grandma, Uncle, Aunt, you all enjoy your meal..."

Throughout the process, Su Yuan showed no signs of being off. Grandpa and Grandma only thought her appetite had decreased and sighed softly.

Walking into the courtyard, the sky was dotted with stars, like a huge plate holding bright objects. Her cousin squatted on a stone, smoking. Seeing Su Yuan come out, he didn't say anything, just took a deep puff, the tip of the cigarette suddenly glowing brightly.

In silence, Su Yuan frowned at his intense smoking and couldn't help but say, "Cousin, stop smoking!"

Her cousin turned and looked at her deeply, then took another deep puff.

Snap! If they were close, Su Yuan would have snatched the cigarette and thrown it away like she would with Grandpa, but this person clearly wasn't, and she couldn't bring herself to do it. She kicked a small stone with her toe.

After another puff, her cousin threw the cigarette away and said to her, "I'm done now..."

"..."

That night, her uncle and aunt returned to their own home, while Su Yuan and her cousin each had their own room at Grandpa's house.

The night was hazy, and time flowed quietly like water. Su Yuan tossed and turned in bed, sitting up suddenly after a long time. She was insomnia, actually insomnia.

Grandpa's bed was naturally not as soft as the one at home, but in the past, she could fall asleep quickly and never had trouble with new beds.

In the dark, the night was quiet, and people's thoughts were often calmer and more rational than during the day. After being rational and calm, one would sadly realize how close they were to the truth! For those who were used to being ostriches, this meant fear and unease!

Su Yuan didn't know if it was the events of the day or her menstrual period that made her thoughts sluggish and anxious. The events at the dining table kept replaying in her mind. From her cousin's strange behavior, it extended to many other things, spreading endlessly...

She wanted to tell herself not to care about everyone's opinions, to wave them off and let them blow away. The stage of life faces many audiences, and it's impossible for all of them to like her.

But this carefree attitude was easy to say, but her mood couldn't help but decline. Her chest felt blocked, and she clearly felt a need to release something, but couldn't find an outlet.

It's not that she was overly concerned about her appearance, but pretending to be carefree could turn into genuine carelessness.

Perhaps, her thoughts had become overly sentimental at some point, or her way of thinking was influenced by her emotions. Su Yuan found that this soft and weak body was slowly changing her, eroding her... The events of the day were just a trigger, a button that touched her emotions.

Women, after all, are prone to melancholy and sentimentality!

She deeply realized that a woman's body could also change her attitude towards the world.

Feeling her way in the dark, she put on slippers and rummaged through her backpack, taking out a pack of something and walked out of the room. The second-floor rooms didn't have bathrooms, which made Su Yuan sigh that the house was built too early without considering everything.

Next door was her cousin's room. Su Yuan glanced at it casually and pressed the light switch at the stairs. At this moment, she was surprised to find that her heart was so hard, completely unaffected by the events of the day. Indeed, the earlier emotions were not the root cause but just a trigger for all negative emotions.

Thinking about this, she suddenly felt enlightened and somewhat "pleased" that a person's emotions must have an outlet and should not be bottled up. Just like her transformation, it seemed to have no effect on her mindset, and for a month, she had been laughing and talking, not crying or complaining. But in reality, it had buried the seeds of trouble.

This time, she told Su Caiwei all her secrets when she came home. Although the sudden release caused a sudden change in her mindset and made her feel lost about the vastly different future ahead, in the long run, it had great benefits.

"Without breaking, there can be no establishment; after breaking, there can be establishment." These eight words are a profound truth. The ugly caterpillar inside the cocoon must leave the safe and warm nest to become a butterfly. Although it leaves a comfortable environment, it gains new life.

Su Yuan didn't know if she was a caterpillar before, but now this fresh body could be considered a butterfly.

The sound of flushing came from the bathroom. Su Yuan methodically threw the used items into the wastebasket. The bright red color was glaring under the light, making her swallow hard. She then took out a new one from the package and put it on.

After finishing, she pushed the door to leave...

"Uh..." She almost bumped into someone. Looking closely, it was her cousin!

Her cousin's name was Su Muhua, a very nice name with a faintly elegant literary flavor. In the late Qing dynasty, Han Bangqing once said in "The Story of the Flowers of Shanghai": "Those literati and elegant scholars cultivated by feudal old culture, ignoring national affairs, spent their days drinking and writing sensual poems." He seemed to have a low opinion of literati, but Su Yuan thought he was right. Su Muhua's name was just nice to hear.

In her memory, her cousin was a very pampered person, untouchable, and the undisputed emperor in his family.

Su Muhua was somewhat surprised to see Su Yuan coming out of the bathroom. Looking down, he saw the pack in her hand, and his expression changed slightly.

Su Yuan was also surprised to see her cousin coming to the bathroom at this time. Seeing him staring at the pack in her hand, her cheeks turned red as if on fire.

She was already very awkward as a girl facing her family, and now with the pack in her hand, she felt even more embarrassed.

"Cough, cough!" Su Muhua coughed lightly, stepped aside, and let her pass.

Su Yuan hummed, suddenly raised her head, puffed out her chest, and walked away as if nothing had happened. She was wearing a thin nightgown, and her 1.67-meter-tall figure was gradually becoming curvaceous. In the dim light, even her back had a hint of beauty.

Su Muhua watched his "cousin" walk away, and the thought that "the cousin seemed cuter after becoming a girl" involuntarily arose in his mind, and a faint smile appeared on his lips.

Shaking his head, he turned and walked into the bathroom to relieve himself. Glancing at the wastebasket, he saw the bright red item and his expression stiffened.