The backseat of the tricycle was rather cramped. The floor was made of iron, with three small black stools spaced loosely apart. When Qin Xue first came out and saw her uncle get on such a vehicle, she was momentarily stunned.
She had wondered where they could sit. But when she got closer and saw the iron plate pulled down at the back of the tricycle and the stools placed on top, it finally clicked.
This space—normally used for carrying goods—was actually where they were meant to sit.
Still, Qin Xue didn’t hesitate. She climbed in and sat down.
At the same time, she pulled her Su Yun over and placed her gently onto the stool in front of her.
Su Yun moved like a wooden doll, following Qin Xue’s guidance without resistance.
Even after sitting down, she was still distracted, still wondering why Qin Xue had called that man “uncle.”
“Sister Xiaoyun~”
A sweet voice pulled her out of her thoughts.
“Hmm?” Su Yun blinked and looked up to see Qin Xue smiling at her beneath the evening sky.
“What are you thinking about? You seem a little out of it.”
“Ah… it’s nothing.”
Su Yun lowered her head in embarrassment, looking every bit the shy little girl.
Just then, Uncle walked to the back of the tricycle and locked the iron panel back in place, the clanging sound of metal against metal echoing in the dark.
“Hold on tight, girls.”
After giving the two girls a quick reminder, he returned to the driver’s seat, and the engine rumbled to life with a series of loud growls.
Knowing they were about to depart, Su Yun quickly grabbed the iron handle behind her, and Qin Xue copied her movements.
Su Yun was used to riding these tricycles. Whenever she visited relatives back in the countryside, this was the go-to ride. At most, it could carry seven people in the back.
She remembered the first time she sat right on the iron plate, facing away from the direction of travel. It had felt thrilling, almost like she was flying.
Looking back, it was a bit ridiculous. Apparently, it was illegal for tricycles to carry passengers in the back like this.
But in the countryside, few people could afford cars—or more accurately, cars weren’t nearly as practical as tricycles. Most families only had tricycles, and for convenience, everyone sat in the back anyway.
No one cared. There weren’t even traffic lights here. It was nothing like Summer End City.
…
At night, on their way to the open-air food stalls, Su Yun closed her eyes, letting the wind brush across her face as she quietly enjoyed the ride.
Qin Xue seemed to be experiencing this quirky vehicle for the first time, and she didn’t say a word for a while.
Tricycles were nothing like cars. Riding one meant enduring constant bumps—your butt would bounce every second as if someone had turned on a massage chair on full blast.
“Mm…”
As Su Yun savored the breeze with her eyes closed, she occasionally heard soft feminine whimpers beside her.
“…?”
She opened her eyes—and nearly choked on her own breath at the sight before her.
Qin Xue had one hand clutching her chest and the other gripping the metal bar behind her. Her expression looked… awkward.
“Sister Xue, are you okay?”
Su Yun leaned over, still holding one of the side bars, and asked with concern.
“X-Xiaoyun… I-I’m fine…” Qin Xue’s voice trembled just as the tricycle hit another bump, making her gasp slightly in the middle of her sentence.
Her voice… was unexpectedly alluring.
After she finished speaking, Qin Xue turned her face away, as if trying to hide from Su Yun’s gaze.
“…”
Even in the dark, Su Yun could clearly make out the outline of her flushed face under the faint glow of the streetlamps.
And the part she was holding onto in front… it bounced in rhythm with every bump the tricycle made…
Su Yun stared, eyes wide, her cheeks slowly flushing red.
“I’m sorry, Sister Xue… I guess this kind of ride really doesn’t suit you…”
In the end, Su Yun couldn’t bear to watch her suffer. She scooted over and sat directly in front of Qin Xue.
“Sister Xiaoyun?”
Qin Xue was surprised to see her move over and immediately hugged her chest tighter, afraid the girl might see something embarrassing.
“Just hold on to me. I’ll take care of the rest.” Su Yun’s tone was calm.
Facing Qin Xue, she reached both hands behind the girl and grabbed onto the metal bars.
“Hold on… Oh, okay. Thank you, Sister Xiaoyun.” It took Qin Xue a moment to respond.
She released the bar and instead wrapped her arms around Su Yun’s slender waist, resting her softness against her.
That way, it wouldn’t be as noticeable.
Now it was Qin Xue’s turn to feel embarrassed.
So Sister Xiaoyun had noticed after all…
“You don’t have to thank me.”
“…”
And just like that, they sat there, face to face, tightly embraced.
Well, it was mostly Qin Xue hugging Su Yun—Su Yun’s hands were still holding the bars behind her.
For a brief moment, Su Yun felt like she was the one doing a kabe-don—like she had Qin Xue trapped between her arms.
With that soft pressure against her chest, Su Yun felt her head start to overheat.
She hadn’t really thought much about it—just saw that Qin Xue wasn’t feeling well and rushed to help.
After all, if she didn’t act, she’d miss her chance.
And now here they were, wrapped in each other’s arms, and the bumping… it didn’t feel any different than before.
Only now it wasn’t happening in the air… it was happening in her arms.
But the good thing was—at least no one else could see them.
Not that anyone else was around anyway.
Soon, Su Yun’s head began to spin. She was starting to regret this a little.
Sister Xue…
…
The tricycle finally came to a stop after twenty minutes, pulling up in front of a noisy little restaurant.
This place was one of the few lively spots in the town at night.
“We’re here. Time to get off—oof…” Uncle stepped off the tricycle with a smile, but the second he turned around, his face froze.
He quietly pulled the iron plate down.
“Xiaoyun, we’re here… You… Your parents are waiting inside. Stop clinging to each other like that. I’m old, and even I feel awkward just looking at you two.”
His smile only deepened, though he didn’t forget to urge them off the vehicle.
“Huh? N-No, we’re coming!”
Su Yun quickly let go of the bars and tried to get up, only to realize Qin Xue was still holding her tightly. She couldn’t move at all.
She was already flustered by Uncle’s weird comments, and now she was even more panicked.
Could it be that Sister Xue had fallen asleep on me?
Well… maybe that was better. At least she wouldn’t hear Uncle's nonsense.
“Sister Xue? Sister Xue? Sister Xue…”
Su Yun gently shook the girl clinging to her. After a few seconds, Qin Xue slowly opened her eyes.
“Mm… Sister Xiaoyun, we’re here?”
Her long lashes fluttered as she blinked sleepily.
Their faces were barely ten centimeters apart, and Qin Xue’s warm breath swept across Su Yun’s face.
Her sleepy expression was dangerously alluring. Su Yun instinctively clenched her fists… which felt suspiciously tight.
“We’re here. Let’s get off.”
“Okay.”
Qin Xue propped herself up using Su Yun’s shoulder, trying to stand, but halfway up, her strength gave out and she collapsed forward, her softness landing right on Su Yun’s face.
“…”
From an outsider’s point of view, the scene looked… incredibly intimate.
And that’s exactly what it looked like to Uncle.
“Alright, Xiaoyun, you two come in quickly. I’m heading in first.” He couldn’t watch anymore and walked off.
Meanwhile, Su Yun was falling into despair.
She could tell—Uncle had clearly misunderstood their relationship.
Just like her mom did… thinking that Qin Xue was her girlfriend.
…Wait a second.
Could this have been her mom’s doing all along?
Realization dawned on Su Yun, and her heart plummeted.
“My head feels a bit dizzy… I can’t stand straight. Sister Xiaoyun, help me…”
“Huh? O-Okay.”
Su Yun gently took the dazed Qin Xue by the hand and helped her down from the tricycle.
Then, hand-in-hand, they stepped into the lively open-air restaurant together.
“Xiaoyun’s here! Look at her. Beautiful, isn’t she?” As soon as they walked through the door, Uncle shouted warmly, drawing everyone’s attention their way.
“Xiaoyun’s here! Isn’t she gorgeous?” Uncle called out loudly as soon as they stepped inside, drawing everyone’s attention.
The restaurant was run by someone from the Wang family, and since they had reserved the whole place for the evening, everyone inside was a relative of Su Yun’s.
Originally, the gathering was supposed to be a quiet dinner to thank the chief for his help (though it was unspoken, everyone understood). But Wang Haiyan had been going around the village nonstop talking about Su Yun, and somehow the event grew larger.
Now, this dinner felt more like a celebration of Su Yun finding a wife.
In fact, it really was being treated like that.
There were still many older folks in the village who disapproved of two women being together. But none of them were here tonight. Everyone who came was open-minded about it, especially since Su Yun had once been a boy.
Of course, Wang Haiyan had also reminded the relatives not to bring up anything about Su Yun’s gender transition. That was the past.
“Come, come, sit over here,” Uncle said warmly, guiding the girls to a table filled with women. Wang Haiyan was seated right next to it.
“Thank you, Uncle,” Qin Xue said politely as she bowed slightly.
“No need, no need,” he chuckled, then made his way to the men’s table where they were drinking.
Amid the lively chatter, Su Yun held Qin Xue’s hand as they took their seats.
She could feel countless stares burning into her. Never before had so many relatives paid this much attention to her.
“You’re Xiaoyun, right? So pretty.” A woman Su Yun didn’t recognize leaned over and spoke to her warmly.
“Um…” Su Yun blinked and nodded, not really sure how to respond.
“Pfft.” Sitting beside her, Qin Xue nearly burst into laughter.
“You…”
Su Yun could only sigh helplessly.
“Sweetie, call her Auntie,” Wang Haiyan quickly reminded.
“Hello, Auntie.”
“Good, good!” The aunt was all smiles as her eyes drifted back and forth between Su Yun and Qin Xue.
Eventually, her gaze stopped somewhere… and didn’t move again.
“Xiaoyun, your girlfriend. is it real?”
“?”
Su Yun followed her gaze and instantly realized what she was asking.
Wait a second—can she ask that kind of question out loud?
“Auntie, don’t look at me. Sister Xiaoyun knows the answer better than anyone,” Qin Xue chimed in sweetly, even adopting a little-girl tone as she turned to Su Yun with mischief in her eyes.
“Ah?” Su Yun was momentarily dazed.
She didn’t even care about being called a girlfriend anymore. It was as if she’d already accepted it. What she was really wondering now was—is it true?
To be honest, Sister Xue’s figure was incredible. Even strangers would probably wonder if it was fake.
But Su Yun had seen it. She knew it was real, completely natural.
And her older sister was about the same. Must be genetic.
Even though her proportions were generous, they were perfectly balanced. She didn’t look bloated or exaggerated. It wasn’t the kind of figure that only men admired—other women would envy it too.
“It’s true.” Su Yun finally gave a slightly embarrassed reply.
“Whaaat? That’s amazing! My daughter complains about this all the time. Hey, sweetheart, do you have any tips? She’s driving me crazy.”
The Auntie stood up excitedly, eager for answers.
Even though it was a delicate topic, her tone was so casual and matter-of-fact. There was nothing vulgar about it.
And since the whole table was women, everyone leaned in toward Qin Xue, clearly curious. It seemed most of them had daughters of their own.
“Uh…” Qin Xue was momentarily stumped.
“Pfft.”
Now it was Su Yun’s turn to laugh.
“That’s what you get for teasing me earlier, hmph~”
Let’s see how you handle this question, you big pig.
Su Yun sat back with amusement.
“Auntie, I’m sorry. I didn’t really do anything. My mom and sister are both like this, so… it’s probably just genetics.”
“Ohh, so it’s hereditary, huh?” The whole table broke into a buzz of chatter—mostly admiration and envy over Qin Xue’s good genes.
Because aside from her figure, Qin Xue was also just plain beautiful. Even women in their forties and fifties were staring at her with appreciation.
“Pfft.” Qin Xue had just finished explaining when she heard the soft sound of Su Yun giggling beside her.
“…Not quite. Auntie, there might be one more way.”
She suddenly spoke up again, unable to resist.
“Oh? What is it?” The Aunt turned back to her.
“Well, another method might be… having someone massage it regularly. There’s some chance that could help.”
“Sister Xiaoyun does it for me all the time. Every night before bed.”
“…”
Qin Xue delivered her words calmly, and the table instantly fell silent.
It took several long seconds before the Aunt finally spoke again.
“I think I’ve seen something like that in a video before, but isn’t that fake?”
“I don’t know, maybe there’s some truth to it. Sister Xiaoyun’s the one who told me.”
Still perfectly composed, Qin Xue placed the spotlight squarely on Su Yun.
The burning gazes slowly turned from her to Su Yun.
“?” Su Yun now had a giant invisible question mark floating above her head.
Even her mom looked at her with a curious, slightly surprised expression.
That look seemed to say, So my child is actually this good at seducing girls now? Grown up, huh?
No, wait—Sister Xue, what are you doing?! I’ve never done that to you!
…Well. Maybe once or twice…
“Xiaoyun, does it actually work—”
“Xiaoyun, did you see any results? My daughter mentioned it too. If it really works, maybe I’ll tell her to try it.”
The older woman’s tone was still matter-of-fact as she asked the kind of question only aunties could get away with.
Su Yun felt like her brain was about to explode.
She glared at Qin Xue in frustration, then took in the entire situation.
While the women’s table was focused on this peculiar topic, the men at the next table were already getting drunk, yelling out numbers she couldn’t even understand as they played drinking games.
“…It works.”
In the end, Su Yun blushed furiously and muttered her answer.
The table erupted in cheers.
It was as if they had found the holy grail of parenting solutions and were now planning to share it with their daughters.
Some of them even took pictures of Qin Xue to show their kids.
After all, she was very convincing.
Su Yun sat there like she was on pins and needles. She didn’t even want to speak anymore. If they kept going, they might start asking even more private questions.
And her mom—always running her mouth! They weren’t even a couple!
How was she supposed to explain this to Qin Xue later?
But wait… Qin Xue hadn’t denied it either. Did that mean she agreed to be her girlfriend?
Su Yun felt a tiny bit happy—just for a second.
Then she remembered the time they visited Zhang Deyi.
Back then, she’d disguised herself as a boy and introduced Qin Xue as her girlfriend. Qin Xue hadn’t objected even then.
Maybe Qin Xue was just easygoing like that? Maybe she really did think of Su Yun as just a little sister…
So frustrating!
…
Midway through the banquet, Uncle called the two girls over to take a photo together—hand in hand, standing in front of everyone.
It was sudden and weird, but they still did it.
The rest of the evening was filled with laughter. Su Yun had no idea what all the photos were for, but after it ended, they returned to their seats and kept eating.
By eleven, most of the women had left. Between dinner and chatting, it had only been about an hour.
The men, on the other hand—aside from those who left to take their wives home—were still at the table, shouting and drinking.
“Sweetie, are you heading back? Should I have your uncle drive you?” Wang Haiyan asked, packing up quickly, her tone a little impatient.
And when she said “you,” she meant the two girls—not herself. She wanted to stay and see just how much Su Fulin spent tonight.
Looks like an argument was unavoidable.
“Mm… let’s go home.”
Su Yun glanced at Qin Xue, who didn’t object.
But at that moment, Qin Xue was still eyeing the men’s table.
She didn’t really want to leave yet. She had hoped to chat a bit with Xiaoyun’s dad, make a good impression.
But if she went over… she’d definitely have to drink.
“Sister Xue, what are you looking at?”
“Ah, nothing. Let’s go.” Qin Xue hesitated, then chose to follow Su Yun.
She had never had alcohol anyway. Better not.
“I’ll drive you home. I didn’t drink,” Uncle said, walking over just then. Grandpa beside him.
…
In the end, the four of them got in the car together.
Just like earlier, Su Yun let Qin Xue hold her in the backseat.
But that meant her back was facing Grandpa, which wasn’t very polite—but there was no helping it, and he didn’t seem to mind.
On the way, Grandpa kept telling her not to take any medicine.
Su Yun was confused at first, but then she quickly replied that she was healthy and didn’t need it.
He was worried that medication would shorten her lifespan.
If she had really transitioned, she would have needed it. But she hadn’t.
…
At 11:30 p.m., under a pitch-black sky, Su Yun finally returned home.
Before they left, Uncle and Grandpa had said a lot to them downstairs.
Grandpa even mentioned that one day they could adopt a child from an orphanage—and if he was still around, he’d help raise them.
This farewell felt like the last for a long time. It might be years before they saw each other again. Before they left, Uncle and Grandpa each transferred Su Yun 5,000 yuan on WeChat.
She was stunned by the amount.
Maybe to Qin Xue it was nothing, but to her, it was enough to live on for an entire year.
Grandpa was already so old, still working the fields every day… He probably needed two or three months to earn that much.
She was truly moved.
But she also understood the meaning behind it.
And just earlier, both Uncle and Grandpa had said, “You two should stay together. Gender doesn’t matter—just don’t fall for a man later.”
They were practically spelling it out.
Back at home, Su Yun sat on the edge of the bed, not knowing how to explain things to Qin Xue.
“Sister Xiaoyun~”
“Ugh… I…”
A sweet voice beside her made Su Yun jump.
Because of what the elders had said, the two of them were now in the same room… and it really did feel like they were a couple. The atmosphere was thick with tension and unspoken emotion.
“In Sister Xiaoyun’s house… it looks like everyone thinks we’re a couple~”
“Mm… I’m sorry… I’m really sorry…”
“What are you apologizing for? Silly.”
Unlike the flustered Su Yun, Qin Xue sounded cheerful and relaxed.
She watched Su Yun’s reddened face with a teasing smile.
“So cute~ I could just eat you up.”
Then, as if to take the teasing further, her voice softened even more.
“Tell me, Sister Xiaoyun… between the two of us… who do you think is the boyfriend, hmm?”
“!?”
“Ah?!”
The warm breath tickled Su Yun’s cheeks.
In that moment, she felt like her brain had completely shut down.
(End of Chapter)