Chapter 30: The Secret of Boarding Life

Three days later, the admission letter from Nanli Affiliated High School arrived at their home, accompanied by an information sheet that needed to be returned.

Her adoptive father, Yue Renhui, held the admission letter, reading it over and over, a wide smile splitting his face. Her adoptive mother, Wu Bijuan, was discussing with Lin Duo while reading the information sheet.

“Look, look,” Wu Bijuan exclaimed. “The new school uniforms have so many styles! By the way, your size is S, right?”

Lin Duo’s development had been notably slow over the past six months. Though she felt a pang of reluctance, she still checked the ‘S’ size box.

Wu Bijuan then pointed to another section. “Duo Duo, look here: ‘Boarding or day student?’ How should we fill this out?”

“Day student, of course!” Lin Duo declared. “It’s so convenient; I can just take the 211 bus from our doorstep, and I’ll be at school in about twenty minutes!” As she spoke, Lin Duo reached for a pen to check the ‘day student’ option.

Unexpectedly, Wu Bijuan gently stopped her. “But look here,” she said. “Starting in high school, you’ll have evening study sessions that don’t end until 9:30 PM. While there might still be buses then, it’ll be quite late at night, and the area around the school seems rather desolate. What if you encounter danger on the way?”

Lin Duo’s smile froze. She had never considered this issue before.

Yue Renhui also put down the admission letter, his expression turning serious. “While we have this opportunity, there’s something else we need to discuss,” he began. “Your homeroom teacher, Teacher Su, called us twice. She said you’re excellent in every regard, except for one flaw: you’re not very willing to communicate with others and have few friends in class.”

“Daughter, you will eventually step out into society, and this kind of personality won’t serve you well there. Your mother and I have been navigating society for many years; we understand this perfectly.”

Lin Duo felt a surge of anxiety and began to employ her most effective tactic: pouting. “Dad, Mom, isn’t your daughter reluctant to leave you?” she whined. “Please, just let me be a day student~”

To her surprise, her usually infallible charming tactic failed her today. The Yue couple exchanged a few words, quickly reaching a consensus.

“Boarding fees are paid annually,” Yue Renhui explained. “So, we’ll sign you up for one academic year first, giving you a chance to experience true communal living. If you genuinely can’t get used to it or encounter any problems, then we can discuss it further.”

“Dad! Mom!” Lin Duo cried, stomping her foot in frustration. The dorm rooms were double occupancy, and she simply couldn’t guarantee that sharing a room day in and day out with another girl wouldn’t lead to complications.

This time, however, Yue Renhui was resolute. “No, you must listen to your parents this time!” he insisted. “Look, the dormitory sample photos show they’re quite clean, and they even have air conditioning. Boarding students can also go home freely on weekends. Everything seems fine, so why are you so unwilling to give it a try?”

“Besides, you’ll definitely live in a dorm when you go to university later, so what’s wrong with adapting to it now?”

How could Lin Duo possibly reveal the truth? Her heart pounded with anxiety, yet she was utterly helpless, forced to watch as her adoptive parents checked the ‘boarding’ option.

After the reply slip was mailed, the school quickly sent another letter, detailing boarding precautions and the academic calendar. The school year would commence on September 1st, but military training was scheduled to begin on August 16th, lasting approximately two weeks. Therefore, all new students were required to report on either the 13th or 14th of August.

It was only mid-July, leaving about a month until then. Lin Duo, bored with idleness, spent her days helping with her parents’ business. Although the prospect of boarding school deeply depressed her, she knew that regret was futile now that the decision was made. It was better to meticulously consider her options for coping.

One day, as Lin Duo stood wearing an apron, helping a customer select a watermelon, a familiar female voice echoed in her ear. “Duo Duo! Over here!”

Lin Duo turned at the sound, her gaze landing on a cute girl with light freckles, dressed in a pink dress, waving excitedly. It was Gu Xuexuan, whom she hadn’t seen in quite some time.

After finishing with her customer, Lin Duo quickly jogged over, her face alight with surprise, and took Gu Xuexuan’s small hand. “Xuan Xuan, how did you find me here?”

“Hehe, I’ve known you work on this street for a while, and since there are only two fruit stores here, how could I not find you?” Gu Xuexuan’s smile was utterly charming.

“Oh, Duo Duo, my scores actually passed the admission line for Mingzhi High School! I guess I performed a bit exceptionally this time, and my parents are thrilled. They’re taking me to the coastal city in the north for a vacation, so I came to say goodbye first!”

Mingzhi High School was a respectable district-level key school. Given Gu Xuexuan’s usual rankings, her admission was indeed cause for celebration.

Lin Duo’s thoughts drifted to something melancholic, and her nose tingled slightly. “Xuan Xuan, we’re going to different high schools,” she said. “We won’t be able to walk home together anymore…”

“It’s fine, really! Our homes are so close; we can visit each other anytime!” Gu Xuexuan never seemed to be pessimistic. “Oh, my parents aren’t home this afternoon. Why don’t you come over and hang out for a bit?”

Although Wu Bijuan was busy with customers, her ears had been attentive to their conversation. At this moment, she actively leaned in. “Duo Duo, you should go,” she encouraged. “Spend more time with your classmates and be a bit more lively.”

And so, Lin Duo found herself at Gu Xuexuan’s spacious home for the third time. The moment she slipped into her slippers and stepped into the living room, a pair of mischievous hands suddenly shot between her arm and ribs, accurately seizing the “little buns” on her chest, gently kneading them.

“Oh!” Lin Duo gasped softly. Perhaps due to the angle, the sensation from her chest was unusually intense, like a jolt of electricity coursing through her body. Still, her rationality prevailed, and she quickly broke free, stomping her foot in feigned exasperation. “Xuan Xuan! What are you doing?!”

“Just checking on your development!” Gu Xuexuan’s face showed no trace of remorse. “But it seems, Duo Duo, that you haven’t developed at all since last time!”

This was another sore spot for Lin Duo. Since last October, her chest had seemed to stagnate, remaining stubbornly flat, like “little buns.” Of course, there had been other bodily changes; her hips and thighs had become more rounded, and her facial features had softened. Yet, for Lin Duo, who yearned to truly become a girl, her “airport” chest remained a constant source of anxiety.

As if sensing Lin Duo’s mood, Gu Xuexuan leaned closer and whispered, “Hey, I know a secret recipe to quickly enlarge your breasts. Want to hear it?”

Lin Duo nodded repeatedly, like a chick pecking at grains.

Gu Xuexuan opened her notebook and found a specific page. “Here, look,” she said. “You just prepare peanuts, soybeans, papaya, tofu, and grapes in this order, and drink half a liter every day!”

“Remember Jin Mengting? My elementary school friend, you met her at her birthday party that day. That’s her; a year ago, she was an A-cup, but after following this recipe, she’s almost a C-cup now!”

“A C-cup…” Lin Duo mused. In her mind, that was a bust size only adults possessed.

“Speaking of which, Mengting also has a very handsome boyfriend who’s excellent academically and got into Nanli Affiliated High School,” Gu Xuexuan continued. “It’s a shame her own grades weren’t good enough; she could only get into a regular high school.” A hint of regret touched Gu Xuexuan’s expression as she mentioned this; she genuinely wished all her friends could achieve their dreams.

After that, Gu Xuexuan continued searching online for other relevant information for Lin Duo, such as massage techniques. Watching the girl in front of her, completely unguarded, Lin Duo’s mischievous thoughts began to stir. Her small hands stealthily reached out, using the exact same method to give her a chest grab.

“Ouch! You little pervert!” Gu Xuexuan yelped, leaping up, though her face was alight with laughter. “No, that’s not fair! I’m at a disadvantage; I’m going to get you back!”

“Hey, hey, you touched mine too, so why are *you* at a disadvantage?” Lin Duo retorted, unconvinced.

“Hmph, mine are bigger than yours, so of course I’m at a disadvantage! Take that!”

“Ouch…”

After a round of playful wrestling, both girls lay sprawled on the large bed, glistening with sweat. Their eyes met, and they shared a knowing smile.

Lin Duo hesitated for a moment before speaking. “Xuan Xuan,” she began, “my parents are insisting that I board at school. They say it’s to help me get used to communal living.”

“Then just board!” Gu Xuexuan exclaimed. “Isn’t it much more fun to be with friends at night than staying home?” Given Gu Xuexuan’s personality, she would have relished such dormitory life.

Seeing Lin Duo offer no reply, Gu Xuexuan seemed to understand. “Duo Duo, I know you’re a bit introverted and don’t talk much,” she said. “But that’s not necessarily a good thing, because you gain more by communicating with others.”

“Think about it: if I hadn’t taken the initiative to talk to you on the day of the transfer exam, we would have both lost a wonderful best friend, wouldn’t we?”

Lin Duo nodded, then shook her head. After all, her personality was only one aspect; her greatest worry lay elsewhere.

Gu Xuexuan had known Lin Duo for so long that she could tell something was troubling her. “Duo Duo, if you have any other concerns, why don’t you tell me?” she offered. “I can help you brainstorm some ideas.”

Lin Duo did not reply.

Some secrets, she knew, she would never tell anyone. Not her adoptive parents, not Gu Xuexuan, nor any new best friends she might make in the future. She would keep them to herself.

Once a secret was spoken aloud, it ceased to be a secret. It would spread like wildfire, from one person to ten, then to a hundred, and within days, the so-called secret would become common gossip.

In truth, Lin Duo had never once felt that her desire to become a girl was wrong. Society, however, did not share that view.

What would happen if, one day, Lin Duo’s true identity were exposed?

The boys in her class would be horrified to discover they had been attracted to a boy all along. Her adoptive parents would be furious, realizing that the child they had adopted was actually a boy, one who had taken pills for years to develop a girl’s chest. Gu Xuexuan would feel utterly devastated, realizing that her cherished best friend had been deceiving her all this time.

Therefore, Lin Duo would never divulge her secret. No matter who the other person was.

Seeing Lin Duo offer no reply, Gu Xuexuan wisely steered the conversation away. “Mmm,” she hummed. “Every girl has her secrets. Remember that saying? ‘A secret makes a woman woman.’ So it’s perfectly fine not to say anything!”

“Oh, by the way, I heard from a classmate that at your Class 2 post-middle school exam dinner, many boys confessed their feelings to you on the spot. Is that true?”

Lin Duo scratched her head, a little embarrassed. “Honestly, I really don’t know what they liked about me,” she admitted. “We barely even talked before.”

“You really are a bit of a sweet airhead!” Gu Xuexuan said, poking Lin Duo’s forehead with her finger in exasperation. “Look at you: you’re pretty and cute, so quiet and ladylike, and your grades are excellent. If I were a boy, I’d quietly fall for you too! Hmph, I bet you’ll have loads of admirers once you start high school. It’s just a matter of who you choose!”

“Dating in high school is considered puppy love, and teachers would criticize us for it.” Lin Duo gently shook her head, then asked curiously, “What about you, Xuan Xuan? Will you date in high school?”

Gu Xuexuan’s expression became troubled. “That depends on the situation, I guess. If there’s genuine mutual affection, then I wouldn’t mind what they call ‘puppy love.’ And for some reason, lately, I always feel like boys are a bit… well, never mind. Let’s not talk about it. Anyway, we’re high schoolers soon!”

Lin Duo softly agreed. Neither spoke again, simply lying parallel on the large bed, holding each other’s small hands, listening to the alarm clock on the desk tick away.

The long-awaited high school life was finally approaching, yet Lin Duo harbored many worries: Would her identity truly remain hidden once she moved into the girls’ dormitory? Nanli Affiliated High School was a municipal key school; could she maintain her top academic performance? And Wang Linshu would be attending the same school, surely continuing his pursuit. But since she didn’t feel that way about him, how could she gracefully maintain their friendship?