Chapter 69: A piece of the puzzle in her life is missing

With Qin Nanfeng’s help and guidance, led by Xiong Wei, the boys from Dorm 308 at Telecom College wrote a post titled “This Lin Family Nouveau Riche at Telecom College Is Actually Living Such a Wild Life Behind the Scenes” and uploaded it to the forum.

This post mainly exposed Lin Minghua’s life and many of his dirty dealings, including, but not limited to, being a regular at certain underground bars…

Among them, Xiong Wei and the others deliberately mentioned the matter of Lin Xinyuan, saying that Lin Minghua had taken a liking to Lin Xinyuan, but after being rejected, he even tried to get violent.

It was only after her friends stepped in and beat him up that he colluded with Ai Shi and others to exact reckless revenge.

They also slipped in a biased explanation of Lin Xinyuan’s situation.

Basically, it said that Lin Xinyuan was actually a girl but had been raised as a boy since childhood due to pseudohermaphroditism.

The physical issue was only discovered a few months ago.

She had long since moved out and was preparing to undergo corrective surgery.

Xiong Wei knew the forum moderator personally, so he asked the moderator to help pin the post as a featured thread.

The previous post insulting Lin Xinyuan was taken down so quickly for the same reason.

Immediately, with all kinds of stirring and fanning of the flames, the post quickly drew the attention of many forum visitors.

“Oh shit, it’s him! I knew this bastard wasn’t a good guy! And that Ai Shi guy too!”

“Ai Shi? Like ‘Love to Eat Stones’?”

“That’s my roommate… never thought he was that kind of person…”

“At the scene, Ai Shi got caught on the spot, hahaha!”

“Awesome, definitely from the third floor, this is so juicy! It’s only been a short time!”

“Ai Shi, so it was him! No wonder my ex-girlfriend found my boyfriend out so quickly… I’m really impressed!”

“?”

“Someone upstairs, upstairs, tell your story.”

“Hahaha, really playing wild! The sisters double-teamed him.”

“Jealous, money really is nice.”

“Isn’t anyone concerned about Lin over here? So pitiful…”

“Right? I can’t imagine growing up as a male and then finding out your chromosomes are XX, that must be devastating…”

“I told you not to trust that post, it was obviously malicious. Now look at the flood of sockpuppets trying to post fake comments, but the tables have turned!”

“Interesting~”

“Haters speak up!”

“……”

Of course, besides these normal comments, there were quite a few ill-intentioned remarks.

Most of them attacked or questioned Lin Xinyuan, but either they were deleted or others who couldn’t stand the nonsense shot them down.

After all, students at Tianbei University were relatively open-minded.

Though curious about Lin Xinyuan’s situation, most remained rational.

Those who were misled were a small minority lacking discernment or simply couldn’t accept a girl in this role…

This post had a lot of juicy details, plus pictures as proof, making it very convincing, so it quickly blew up and became increasingly popular.

Although it was taken down shortly afterward, it still spread through word of mouth, becoming a common topic among many at Tianbei University after class…

In the rented apartment, only Lin Xinyuan and her mother remained, while Qin Nanfeng tactfully went out onto the balcony, closing the door to leave the space to the mother and daughter.

The two sat silently on the sofa, neither speaking at first.

“How did you end up like this…”

Lin Xinyuan’s mother looked at the delicate girl beside her in a daze, hesitating to speak.

Next to her, Lin Xinyuan lowered her gaze, staring at the now-cleared table, lips pressed together slightly.

Hearing her mother’s words, her body trembled, a bit unsettled.

After thinking for a moment, she slowly said, “I… I don’t know… suddenly… suddenly it just became like this…”

Her voice was soft and stammering, but enough for the woman beside her to hear clearly.

Lin Xinyuan didn’t mention the jade bracelet because there was no real need—after all, no matter what, it was hard to believe…

Her mother took a deep breath and asked, “Does anyone else know about this?”

Lin Xinyuan silently looked toward the balcony door, now closed tight.

“Only him…”

Her mother nodded, not surprised.

In fact, deep down, she was slowly beginning to accept the truth.

She didn’t understand how something so unscientific could happen and was shocked, but the matter had already occurred.

No amount of talking would change that, so it was better to look forward.

Still uneasy, her mother pressed, “Anyone else?”

“No, I don’t think so…”

Lin Xinyuan hesitantly summarized what others had said about her.

Hearing this eased her mother’s mind somewhat.

Using pseudohermaphroditism as the reason was… acceptable…

Though Lin Xinyuan would still be despised or hated by some, at least it was a reason that could be put on the table.

After all, society was becoming more open nowadays.

Unless you were still stuck in some rural backwater… this wouldn’t be a huge problem…

Thinking this, her mother nodded quietly, then lifted her head to look again at the girl who kept her head bowed.

After hesitating, she nervously spoke, “Xinyuan…”

At this, the girl’s trembling worsened.

This was definitely the first time this woman had called her so intimately…

But she felt no joy—only sorrow, discomfort, and anger.

“Don’t call me that…”

“I…” her mother hesitated, struggling to find words.

Lin Xinyuan’s gaze was desolate, her chest aching, her tongue dry. “To be honest, you shouldn’t have come…”

“Why…”

Why… why…

Hearing this, the last thread inside Lin Xinyuan snapped, and her emotions suddenly collapsed.

Memories flashed through her mind, and she lifted her head to look directly at her mother, whispering as if unable to stop herself.

“Why… tell me why?”

“Heh heh…”

“Why weren’t you there when I was bullied…”

“Why did you turn a blind eye when I was insulted…”

“Why when I was nearly beaten to death, you… you never cared…”

“……”

Lin Xinyuan’s voice grew more and more emotional, tears streaming down her face, her eyes filled with confusion and hatred.

“Do you know what people used to say about me? Hahaha… a bastard with no parents…”

She laughed through tears, but it was chilling.

“Since you gave birth to me, why never once did you ask about me…”

“In those years when the family had debts, and you had to work… I understand… Grandma and I managed, but… why…”

Plop—

Tears slid down her pale chin, falling onto the floor.

“Why never once did you look me in the eye… in your world, I never existed… answer me…”

At the end, the girl let out a weak, defeated growl, like a struggling white cat on the verge of death.

These words struck her mother like a thunderclap.

She stood there stunned, blankly staring at the tear-streaked, stubborn face before her.

Her mother shook her head, trying to explain, “No…”

But Lin Xinyuan didn’t stop, her voice hoarse now, staring at her own pale hands with hatred. “Now I’ve become this ghost of a person, it would have been better if I’d never come into this world…”

Bang!

Her mother’s heart felt as if it had been pierced sharply.

It pounded violently, and the world seemed to fall silent.

Her eyes darkened considerably.

She knew… her previous way of thinking had been wrong…

She was deeply sorry for her, the missing piece of her life’s puzzle…

Self-abandonment…

How familiar it all was…

Involuntarily, her mother recalled a scene from many years ago.

A delicate boy, almost like a girl, calling in a childish dialect, “Ni Ma!” (“Mom!”)

Her expression was cold, her eyes betraying a barely noticeable disdain: “Go play by yourself, I’m busy.”

The sadness on that boy’s face after hearing those words…

Memories of Lin Xinyuan’s various expressions before her played like a silent film.

Hopeful, sad, lonely… until… numb…