Early the next morning, Lin Nan and his mother set off for the provincial capital.
The provincial capital wasn't far from their small county town. After an hour-long bus ride, they arrived at the South Bus Station of the provincial capital.
"I've already had a friend make an appointment for the medical examination at the hospital. It's the weekend now, so there might be a lot of people getting checkups." His mother's worried expression made Lin Nan feel heartbroken.
His mother looked very ordinary. She didn't use skincare products in daily life and never wore makeup. Combined with staying up late driving trucks every day, her skin looked full of wrinkles and age spots, like a middle-aged woman in her fifties.
Lin Nan noticed his mother looked very tired, her eyes still red. He wondered if she had cried all night.
In any case, he hadn't slept well last night either.
Although he already knew what the examination results would be, this trip to the provincial hospital still made him feel somewhat nervous. He could only sit uneasily beside his mother with his head lowered.
His mother glanced at him and comforted him: "It's okay, it's just a regular medical examination."
"Mm."
Lin Nan pressed his lips together, but couldn't help asking: "Do we really not need to go see Dad?"
"If he knew about your situation, he'd definitely kick you out. Don't suffer his anger." His mother was silent for a moment, then touched his head. "I'll explain things to him."
Lin Nan really enjoyed the sense of security when his head was patted. He nodded slightly, but the guilt toward his mother in his heart deepened.
He shouldn't have been greedy for the convenience of magic. Except for the first transformation magic that he had accidentally unlocked while cross-dressing, the other magic wasn't actually necessary to use. To put it bluntly, he was just too greedy for money but wanted it to come quickly and easily.
However, there was no such thing in this world. Even if there was, it required a price.
Now Lin Nan's price had come, and it was so great he could barely bear it.
He lowered his head dejectedly. Thinking about his past actions made his heart ache unbearably, but it was useless to say anything now. He would even have to continue using magic to painlessly and freely transform into a woman.
"We're here."
His mother led Lin Nan off the bus and came to the entrance of the Provincial Hospital, where a kind-faced uncle was already waiting.
Lin Nan hadn't expected there to be an outsider. He was stunned for a moment, then unhesitatingly lowered his head and hid behind his mother.
"This is your son? He's quite... handsome."
From his words, it seemed he didn't really understand Lin Nan's situation.
Only then did Lin Nan breathe a sigh of relief and carefully raised his head to look at this uncle.
When his mother was with the uncle, her brow was clearly much more relaxed, and there was some smile on her worried face.
"Yes, my son. He's rather shy." His mother looked back at Lin Nan hiding behind her and said with a smile, "He really looks like me when I was young."
Lin Nan had also seen photos of his mother when she was young. She could generally be considered a young beauty.
This uncle was very familiar with the provincial hospital. While chatting with his mother and making her laugh, he led the mother and son to get their examination.
Because the uncle had connections, they first met with a doctor for consultation before starting the examination.
The examination process wasn't much different from when Lin Nan had gone to the hospital for a checkup on his own last time. The main difference was that last time was a weekday, so there weren't many people getting examinations, while this time was Saturday, so the queuing took quite a long time.
However, the examination items were much simpler this time, directly targeting ultrasound and hormone panels to see what Lin Nan's internal structure and hormone levels were actually like.
Having had an examination before, Lin Nan was familiar with the process this time, but his mother's presence made him extraordinarily nervous.
"After the examination, we'll go out for lunch, and when we come back we'll directly consult with the doctor we just met," the uncle said to his mother.
"Thank you."
"Then I'll head back first."
The uncle's departure immediately made Lin Nan relax somewhat. After last night's events, he was now very sensitive and didn't really want to meet strangers.
But he had also been observing his mother's conversation with the uncle. The chat content wasn't anything unusual, but his mother was obviously particularly happy when she was with the uncle.
At a small restaurant outside the hospital, as soon as Lin Nan sat down he couldn't wait to gossip with his mother: "Mom, what's your relationship with that uncle?"
"Just friends." Although his mother said this, the corners of her mouth were slightly upturned when she mentioned that uncle.
Lin Nan roughly understood the situation. He didn't say anything, just nodded, then began eating his lunch.
Since returning home, Lin Nan's emotions had been tense most of the time, making him mentally exhausted. While eating, he unconsciously began to feel drowsy.
But his mother didn't notice this situation. While eating, she began chattering again: "When the examination results come out later, just answer whatever the doctor asks you. Don't be shy either. That doctor has been practicing medicine for over thirty years—what kind of illness hasn't he seen?"
The worry on her face deepened: "Although the family has no money now, but... why are you asleep?"
His mother looked at Lin Nan. He had been eating just moments ago, but now he was still holding his chopsticks, just leaning sideways against the chair back, breathing evenly—he had fallen asleep.
She knew Lin Nan had been under a lot of psychological pressure these past two days. After a moment of silence, she didn't say much, just propped her chin on one hand and gazed at Lin Nan's face that was too beautiful to belong to a boy.
As a mother, she had never looked at Lin Nan's appearance so seriously before. She knew almost nothing about her own child. Lin Nan's condition had been with him from childhood to now, but she had never noticed, and had never given Lin Nan any comprehensive physical examinations afterward.
She felt she had been a very failed mother.
In the past, she thought that working hard to earn money was being responsible for her child, but now that she had bought a house and could breathe a sigh of relief, looking back, she realized how much she owed Lin Nan over these years.
Combined with the impending divorce and Lin Nan's current condition, she felt even more heartbroken and guilty toward Lin Nan.
She didn't wake Lin Nan, just sat there waiting for an hour. When she saw Lin Nan had slept until he naturally woke up, only then did she speak: "Let's go get the examination report."
"Mm." Lin Nan rubbed his eyes, drowsy and yawning constantly, but still tried hard to perk up.
He wondered if that doctor would say something unacceptable.
Lin Nan had rarely seen doctors from childhood to adulthood, and even when he did, it was at community hospitals. Now facing a doctor at a major hospital for the first time, he was obviously quite intimidated.
He also wondered if the doctor would be able to tell that the problems in his body were actually formed later in life.
Without dissection.
Probably not.
…
Right?