Chapter 44: The Bra, the ID, and the Orphanage Tale

Dragon Brother was set to start her new job today.

Since the interview location was very close to a department store, and Dragon Brother mentioned needing a bra, we headed to the women’s specialty counter after her interview. She explained that her chest always felt heavy, causing shoulder pain when she sat for too long, and she wanted a bra for support.

As for the interview itself, the interviewer was a young female university student, likely someone who had worked there for a while. The moment she saw Dragon Brother, her eyes lit up, and with a wave of her hand, she passed her directly.

Dragon Brother was quite pretty, after all, and her petite figure, coupled with the adorable yet alluring form-fitting short skirt she wore, must have made her quite appealing.

I felt a sense of relief. If an interview relied heavily on appearance, the job usually wasn’t too demanding—probably just serving drinks or operating machines. I’d worked a part-time job at an internet cafe before, and if it only involved learning the operating system without cleaning, it was actually quite relaxing.

The interview passed without incident, and afterward, we grabbed some KFC nearby before heading to the department store to buy a bra.

Upon reaching the counter, an awkward situation unfolded. Dragon Brother, without even a glance, picked up a black bra and made to head for the checkout. I sensed something was amiss and called her back.

Truth be told, I had no idea how to buy a bra either, but my intuition told me it couldn’t be that simple. Dragon Brother stood there, bra in hand. After a long moment of staring at each other, I took the bra from her.

I placed my hand on the bra, closed my eyes to feel it, then opened them and nodded. “This one will be too small for you.”

At that, the sales assistant couldn’t hold back. She clapped a hand over her mouth, stifling a giggle.

I pretended not to hear her.

Dragon Brother, after hearing my pronouncement, simply stared at me, uttering no sound.

Realizing I couldn’t rely on Dragon Brother for this task, I sighed after a moment of thought. I decided to take charge and began scrutinizing the bras on the counter myself.

Dragon Brother raised the bra in her hand, a helpless expression on her face. “Don’t bother picking. This one will do.”

She was probably eager to get home and play games, thinking a slightly smaller size wouldn’t matter. However, I believed buying a bra should be like buying shoes: it’s better to get the right size, or even slightly larger.

Yet, Dragon Brother didn’t know her cup size. While I was familiar with some terms related to women’s bust sizes—like A and D—my understanding was rudimentary: A for small, C for normal, D for quite large, and G for explosively huge.

The store had a steady stream of customers. In fact, men often visited such stores, usually accompanying their girlfriends, burdened with shopping bags, trailing behind them helplessly. The women, meanwhile, expertly selected bras, occasionally acting cute by holding a bra to their chest and asking if it looked good.

My situation seemed to be the inverse. Dragon Brother followed me, slightly impatient, as I picked out a bra at the counter. If I were to hold a bra to my chest right then and turn to ask Dragon Brother if it looked good, I’d probably be on the news the next day.

As I chose a bra, I vaguely noticed various gazes converging on me from around the store. Even the female sales assistant, who had snickered earlier, now followed me with a cheerful expression, likely finding the situation amusing.

At the time, I didn’t know the store offered direct measurements for bust size, and the sales assistant hadn’t told me. She just stood there, grinning foolishly behind me, enjoying the spectacle.

I had initially wanted to compare the bras against Dragon Brother’s chest, but her short skirt was tight, and her bust already looked quite prominent. Furthermore, measuring over her clothes wouldn’t yield any accurate results.

Left with no other options, I resorted to the most rudimentary method: I decided to touch each one.

Under the sales assistant’s amused gaze and the subtle, lingering stares of other shoppers, I sighed inwardly and began feeling each bra. As for whether the sizes were correct, it was purely by instinct.

The strategy was simple: close my eyes and feel it with my heart. I didn’t try many, and it only took a few minutes, but it felt like years.

I picked up a bra, felt it with my eyes closed for a moment, then opened them and showed Dragon Brother the bra in my hand. When I opened my eyes, I saw it was *lace*, but I was too tired to try another. So, I nodded and declared, “This one should work.”

Dragon Brother, standing idly by with an impatient expression, said nothing when she heard my words. She merely glanced at the bra in my hand, then looked up at me.

I tried my best to look at her without letting my gaze stray. The upper part of this bra was semi-transparent, with a fluffy black lace trim around the bottom—utterly provocative.

Despite this, Dragon Brother nodded, took the bra, and went to the front desk to pay.

This was when the climax arrived. The sales assistant who had been trailing behind me quickly walked to the counter. After scanning the tag with the barcode reader, she looked at me with a cheerful smile and said, “Little brother, we can measure it directly here. There’s no need to touch each one.”

My face froze for a moment, and I could only manage an awkward, cooperative smile.

Everyone in the store whispered as they looked at me. Yet, at that moment, my heart remained utterly calm. As Old Shen would say, in that instant, I wanted to unleash a ‘Hadouken’ and then follow up with a ‘Whirlwind Slash’ on that sales assistant.

Dragon Brother said nothing. She simply carried the bag with the bra and went straight home with me.

After the interview, because the internet cafe provided food and accommodation, Dragon Brother planned to stay there tonight. She went home to pack her luggage, which mostly involved retrieving the half-pack of Red Golden Dragon cigarettes from my place, putting them in a plastic bag, and leaving.

The internet cafe required personal information, such as an ID card. Dragon Brother used the excuse that it was at home to delay providing it, saying she would retrieve it later. Fortunately, I had already handled the ID card issue.

My mood at this moment was still quite complicated. Just recently, the ID card issue alone had racked my brains.

And there was one thing I hadn’t dared to tell Dragon Brother.

Dragon Brother’s ID card still reflected her former male identity. When she mentioned wanting to work part-time, I had prepared to go to the police station to update her information. I initially thought changing personal details would be simple.

However, once I arrived at the police station, I realized I didn’t even know how to explain it. I couldn’t very well hand over Dragon Brother’s ID and tell the front desk staff, ‘Excuse me, my friend turned into a woman overnight, and now she wants to change the gender on her ID. Could you please help with that?’

It was then that I realized that after Dragon Brother became a woman, she didn’t just lose a certain appendage or gain two heavy things on her chest. It meant that a person had vanished from this world forever, and in their place, a new person had appeared out of thin air, without any identification, household registration, or even nationality.

In the initial period after Dragon Brother transformed, because she lived at my house and was a homebody who rarely went out, I hadn’t even recognized this problem. It was only when she mentioned needing to interview for a job, and I remembered that employment required submitting identification, that the gravity of the situation suddenly struck me.

For several days, I spent my mornings visiting Old Master and my afternoons rushing around, trying every possible method. I racked my brains to get Dragon Brother a household registration certificate. My first attempt was to take Dragon Brother’s old ID to the police station and falsely claim she had undergone gender reassignment surgery, intending to process a gender change.

However, upon arrival, they demanded a hospital’s gender affirmation certificate, a notarized document, and various other complicated papers from judicial appraisal departments. I stood there dumbfounded for a moment, said I would go back to retrieve them, then slunk home in defeat.

Later, my second idea was to report Dragon Brother to the police station for not having legal identification, letting them handle it as they saw fit. I reasoned that no matter how they processed it—whether through a fine or some other means—they should be able to issue Dragon Brother an identity. But the risk was far too great; the National Security Bureau might come knocking.

This matter could be significant or minor; they might even suspect Dragon Brother was a foreign spy. There was actually a third option: have Dragon Brother steal something or get into a fight, leading to her being detained by the police.

Once she was in custody, if they discovered Dragon Brother had no ID and she played dumb, the police station would likely conduct a bone age test and might even provide her with a new identity for free. After her detention period ended, Dragon Brother could then enter society as a normal person.

Of course, I considered this method for a moment before completely discarding it. Afterward, I was practically speechless, utterly out of options. I had initially thought of calling Young Master Feng directly to handle it, but I just couldn’t bring myself to say it.

How could I explain? Would I tell Young Master Feng that Little Dragon was the former Bai Hailong, who had undergone a gender change overnight, and now her household registration was problematic, so could he please take care of it? The result was that I was speechless on the phone for a while, then I opened my mouth and asked Young Master Feng to lend me ten thousand yuan, saying I could repay it in a few months.

After all, money could solve anything; this line of thinking seemed flawless. Young Master Feng was quite straightforward; he transferred the money within five minutes. I initially felt a headache looking at the incoming funds, then pondered for a long time, and finally gritted my teeth, coming up with an ultimate solution.

I calculated Dragon Brother’s age: she was 20 this year, meaning she was born in ’99. Then, I called Young Master Feng again, asking him to help arrange an adoption certificate from an orphanage for a child born in ’99.

Young Master Feng seemed to be at a restaurant at the time, looking utterly bewildered, but I stressed the urgency. He thought for a moment and said he’d give me an answer that afternoon. It must be said that Dragon Brother’s luck was quite good.

At that time, Young Master Feng was at the Huixing Grand Hotel, where his father was entertaining guests and had brought him along. Later, after it was sorted, he told me he had inquired a bit and it turned out one of their subsidiary companies had a CEO who used to be an orphanage director.

Young Master Feng, with his sweet tongue, offered him a toast and respectfully addressed him as ‘Uncle’ a few times, asking for his help with the matter. The man was quite attentive and had everything settled by the end of the dinner party.

Finally, armed with the fax Young Master Feng sent me, I hailed a taxi straight to the police station. There, I proceeded to complete the adoption registration according to regulations.

Yes, the story begins.

****

Twenty years ago, a kind couple adopted a baby girl from an orphanage. The baby girl lived happily with the couple, but good times were fleeting.

Due to their busy careers, the couple had to go abroad for work. This kind couple also had a son. As their relatives were also busy with investments and business, they had no time to look after the boy.

In desperation, they hired a nanny to care for the two unfortunate children at home. The two children grew up carefree, but tragedy arrived as scheduled.

On a rainy night, the baby girl suffered from a persistent high fever. The nanny rushed her to the hospital, only to suddenly realize that her adoptive parents had been careless and legally ignorant, leaving behind a complete mess!

According to China’s Adoption Law, if a family already had a child, the adopted girl would be considered an ‘illegal birth.’ Furthermore, because they had left in a hurry, they hadn’t paid the fine at the family planning office, meaning the girl had no household registration whatsoever!

Suddenly, the nanny was flustered. With no household registration, the hospital refused to treat the baby girl. In utter despair, the nanny could only buy medicine from a pharmacy and give it to the baby girl, hoping she would recover.

Fortunately, she was a healthy baby girl, and before long, her cold finally healed, and she resumed her lively play. However, the nanny became consumed with worry.

This child had no household registration certificate, and the only other person left in the home was a baby boy, utterly incapable of looking after his younger sister. If she were to fall seriously ill again, the girl wouldn’t be able to receive hospital treatment.

If something truly happened, the nanny knew she couldn’t bear the responsibility. The nanny herself had no income, and she had her own children to raise. If something were to happen to the child, since the girl was under her care, she would be inextricably linked to the incident.

The couple would certainly hold her accountable. In utter helplessness, she abandoned both children. When the parents abroad heard the news, they were frantic.

They began to hire other nannies, but upon hearing about the family’s situation, all of them declined. As they genuinely couldn’t leave their responsibilities abroad, the parents, left with no choice, sent a substantial monthly living allowance to their son.

They instructed him to stay home, be a man, and take good care of his sister, to which the boy agreed. Subsequently, due to having no household registration, the girl couldn’t even enroll in school.

Every day, she had to painfully watch from her doorstep as her playmates, with their schoolbags, walked cheerfully with others toward school. In the blink of an eye, twenty years passed!

Just recently, China finally relaxed its one-child policy, and the girl was at last able to obtain an identity. She no longer had to hide in the shadows; like other children, she could receive normal medical treatment and walk proudly in the sunlight!

Let us all echo the Two-Child Policy, thank the nation, and thank the Party!

****

Sitting on the sofa, I recalled the elaborate story I had spun at the police station, and the dumbfounded expression of the front desk officer, silently covering my face.

That’s right.

Dragon Brother had successfully registered into my household.

By identity, she was now… my non-blood-related younger sister.