Shi Yuli didn't spend much time with Lin Jin, she had only come to make a brief visit and discuss some party plans with him.
After staying at Lin Jin's home for half an hour, she left early.
Lin Jin also took out the trash after Shi Yuli left and went to the market to buy some of the remaining morning produce. Then he leisurely made his way back home to cook lunch.
Lin Jin's home didn't have a refrigerator or anything like that, so they had to buy groceries every day. The food cooked each day wasn't excessive, and whatever was cooked at noon had to be finished by evening, or else it would go to waste. They generally didn't buy fish because Lin Jin always found it particularly troublesome to prepare. Plus, he didn't like steamed fish or similar dishes, he preferred braised fish but didn't know how to cook it.
Today, he bought half a cabbage and two pieces of meat. He was relatively well-off now, so his meals were considerably better than before.
Around noon, his dad returned home, looking exhausted.
"Dad, food’s almost ready" Lin Jin said, peeking his head out of the kitchen while wrapping a scarf around his neck. "We have cabbage and shredded pork today. What do you want to eat tomorrow? I'll buy it if I know how to cook it."
Usually, Lin Jin wouldn't be so nice to his dad, but his current task required him to get his dad accustomed to his current appearance. Therefore, the most convenient method was to win over his dad as soon as possible, at least making him feel a bit favorable towards his current looks so that he would be more accepting.
"There's nothing I want to eat" his dad usually had a stern and serious looking face, not prone to smiling, making him seem unapproachable.
But he really was unapproachable...
Before his dad got into gambling, he was a businessman. Even if he looked serious, he would always try to put on a smile to please customers. After he stopped doing business, coupled with gambling, drinking, and various frustrations in life, his personality had become increasingly enigmatic.
Otherwise, Lin Jin wouldn't be so cautious around his dad.
"Time to eat."
Lin Jin finished stir-frying the pork and put it on a plate on the dining table. Although he hadn't added much seasoning, causing the flavor to be somewhat bland, his dad had been eating his cooking for eight or nine years and had long since gotten used to it.
His dad didn't respond to Lin Jin, simply walking straight to the dining table and sat down. He picked up the chopsticks that were already laid out and began eating.
Today there were three dishes, fried eggs, stir-fried cabbage, and stir-fried shredded pork. These dishes weren't Lin Jin's specialties, but he cooked them frequently simply because they were easy to make. As for his specialty dishes... he had none.
Despite having cooked for eight or nine years, Lin Jin had no culinary talent. Even now, he would occasionally mix up salt and MSG.
"Too much salt." His dad took a bite of the fried egg and slightly furrowed his brows, but didn't say anything more and finished the egg.
"Is it?" Lin Jin picked up a piece of fried egg and cautiously licked it with his tongue. Immediately, the saltiness made him stick out his tongue.
It seemed he had been distracted while frying the eggs, and accidentally put in a little too much salt.
Thankfully, it wasn't the elementary mistake of confusing MSG for salt.
"Lin Jin." His dad took a few bites of rice to neutralize the salty taste in his mouth, then looked up at Lin Jin, who was sitting directly across from him. "You seem to have gotten shorter."
"No" Lin Jin immediately denied. "You're just seeing it wrong."
"You’ve been with me since you were a baby, how could I possibly get it wrong?" Lin Jin’s dad looked at him calmly.
The tone of his dad's voice was calm, but it still made Lin Jin feel a little uneasy.
"It must be your eyes playing tricks on you" Lin Jin explained, head lowered as he picked at his food, visibly uneasy. "How could I possibly get shorter? It's not like I'm getting old."
"I heard that taking medication can make you shorter" his dad said, making a statement that left Lin Jin puzzled.
Looking up in bewilderment, Lin Jin gave his dad a confused and innocent look, which made his dad furrow his brows.
What was his dad talking about? Taking medication can make you shorter?
Lin Jin thought about it, he hadn't taken any medication for three or four years. For common illnesses like colds or fevers, he would just tough it out. His health had always been weak since childhood, and coupled with various other ailments, he had visited numerous hospitals when he was young. As a result, he had developed a strong aversion to hospitals. Unless it was an extremely serious illness, he would adamantly refuse to seek medical treatment.
"I haven't taken any medication for about three or four years, I think?" Lin Jin recalled, nodding in agreement with himself. "The last time I took medication was during my ninth grade when I had a high fever, and you took me to the hospital."
His dad stopped eating and put both of his hands flat on the table, his gaze fixed on Lin Jin.
It seemed like he wasn't lying.
His dad's brows slightly furrowed as he noticed Lin Jin awkwardly turning his head away.
Normally, Lin Jin had many small tells when he was lying, things like touching his nose, tugging at his clothing, or shifting his feet. But now, his face remained bewildered, as if he hadn't understood a word his dad had said.
Either Lin Jin really hadn't taken any medication, or his ability to lie had improved significantly since going to college.
"So why have you gotten shorter?" His dad continued to gaze at Lin Jin as he asked, "Your height and even your hands seem to have gotten smaller."
"Really?" Lin Jin looked down at his own hands. Indeed, what used to be fairly average-sized hands now seemed quite small. It wasn't surprising that this had caught his dad's eye.
"Maybe I've gained weight, and my fingers got fatter, making them appear smaller?" Lin Jin mused, guessing aloud.
"We'll go to the hospital for an examination in a couple of days" his dad said, resuming his meal after finishing his sentence.
An examination? F*ck! Wouldn’t that be bad? God knows what the black cat has done to his body!
"In a few days, I have a middle school reunion" Lin Jin scratched his head, "It's organized by that homeroom teacher who often visited our house."
"Go get a haircut later. Your hair is too long and looks messy" his dad looked up and glanced at Lin Jin's hand scratching his hair. "Then we'll go for the physical examination tomorrow. I'll make an appointment for you."
"Alright..." Lin Jin's mouth twitched, "I'll go get a haircut after I finish eating."
Since he had to carry out his dad's request, he had no choice but to comply with whatever his dad said.
A physical examination shouldn't result in any significant issues, right? As long as the black cat didn't mess around with my body too much, I should be fairly healthy, right?
Lin Jin felt a little anxious inside.
He wasn't sure about the principles behind the bone modifications, but as for the feminization process, he guessed that the black cat had been administering some "drugs" like estrogen and anti-androgens or stuff like that, followed by slight alterations to make his facial features and other areas more feminine...
So, there shouldn't be any problems, right?
He glanced up and looked at his dad, who was solemnly using his chopsticks to eat each grain of rice one by one...
His dad seemed to be quite engaged in the activity.
Shi Yuli didn't spend much time with Lin Jin, she had only come to make a brief visit and discuss some party plans with him.
After staying at Lin Jin's home for half an hour, she left early.
Lin Jin also took out the trash after Shi Yuli left and went to the market to buy some of the remaining morning produce. Then he leisurely made his way back home to cook lunch.
Lin Jin's home didn't have a refrigerator or anything like that, so they had to buy groceries every day. The food cooked each day wasn't excessive, and whatever was cooked at noon had to be finished by evening, or else it would go to waste. They generally didn't buy fish because Lin Jin always found it particularly troublesome to prepare. Plus, he didn't like steamed fish or similar dishes, he preferred braised fish but didn't know how to cook it.
Today, he bought half a cabbage and two pieces of meat. He was relatively well-off now, so his meals were considerably better than before.
Around noon, his dad returned home, looking exhausted.
"Dad, food’s almost ready" Lin Jin said, peeking his head out of the kitchen while wrapping a scarf around his neck. "We have cabbage and shredded pork today. What do you want to eat tomorrow? I'll buy it if I know how to cook it."
Usually, Lin Jin wouldn't be so nice to his dad, but his current task required him to get his dad accustomed to his current appearance. Therefore, the most convenient method was to win over his dad as soon as possible, at least making him feel a bit favorable towards his current looks so that he would be more accepting.
"There's nothing I want to eat" his dad usually had a stern and serious looking face, not prone to smiling, making him seem unapproachable.
But he really was unapproachable...
Before his dad got into gambling, he was a businessman. Even if he looked serious, he would always try to put on a smile to please customers. After he stopped doing business, coupled with gambling, drinking, and various frustrations in life, his personality had become increasingly enigmatic.
Otherwise, Lin Jin wouldn't be so cautious around his dad.
"Time to eat."
Lin Jin finished stir-frying the pork and put it on a plate on the dining table. Although he hadn't added much seasoning, causing the flavor to be somewhat bland, his dad had been eating his cooking for eight or nine years and had long since gotten used to it.
His dad didn't respond to Lin Jin, simply walking straight to the dining table and sat down. He picked up the chopsticks that were already laid out and began eating.
Today there were three dishes, fried eggs, stir-fried cabbage, and stir-fried shredded pork. These dishes weren't Lin Jin's specialties, but he cooked them frequently simply because they were easy to make. As for his specialty dishes... he had none.
Despite having cooked for eight or nine years, Lin Jin had no culinary talent. Even now, he would occasionally mix up salt and MSG.
"Too much salt." His dad took a bite of the fried egg and slightly furrowed his brows, but didn't say anything more and finished the egg.
"Is it?" Lin Jin picked up a piece of fried egg and cautiously licked it with his tongue. Immediately, the saltiness made him stick out his tongue.
It seemed he had been distracted while frying the eggs, and accidentally put in a little too much salt.
Thankfully, it wasn't the elementary mistake of confusing MSG for salt.
"Lin Jin." His dad took a few bites of rice to neutralize the salty taste in his mouth, then looked up at Lin Jin, who was sitting directly across from him. "You seem to have gotten shorter."
"No" Lin Jin immediately denied. "You're just seeing it wrong."
"You’ve been with me since you were a baby, how could I possibly get it wrong?" Lin Jin’s dad looked at him calmly.
The tone of his dad's voice was calm, but it still made Lin Jin feel a little uneasy.
"It must be your eyes playing tricks on you" Lin Jin explained, head lowered as he picked at his food, visibly uneasy. "How could I possibly get shorter? It's not like I'm getting old."
"I heard that taking medication can make you shorter" his dad said, making a statement that left Lin Jin puzzled.
Looking up in bewilderment, Lin Jin gave his dad a confused and innocent look, which made his dad furrow his brows.
What was his dad talking about? Taking medication can make you shorter?
Lin Jin thought about it, he hadn't taken any medication for three or four years. For common illnesses like colds or fevers, he would just tough it out. His health had always been weak since childhood, and coupled with various other ailments, he had visited numerous hospitals when he was young. As a result, he had developed a strong aversion to hospitals. Unless it was an extremely serious illness, he would adamantly refuse to seek medical treatment.
"I haven't taken any medication for about three or four years, I think?" Lin Jin recalled, nodding in agreement with himself. "The last time I took medication was during my ninth grade when I had a high fever, and you took me to the hospital."
His dad stopped eating and put both of his hands flat on the table, his gaze fixed on Lin Jin.
It seemed like he wasn't lying.
His dad's brows slightly furrowed as he noticed Lin Jin awkwardly turning his head away.
Normally, Lin Jin had many small tells when he was lying, things like touching his nose, tugging at his clothing, or shifting his feet. But now, his face remained bewildered, as if he hadn't understood a word his dad had said.
Either Lin Jin really hadn't taken any medication, or his ability to lie had improved significantly since going to college.
"So why have you gotten shorter?" His dad continued to gaze at Lin Jin as he asked, "Your height and even your hands seem to have gotten smaller."
"Really?" Lin Jin looked down at his own hands. Indeed, what used to be fairly average-sized hands now seemed quite small. It wasn't surprising that this had caught his dad's eye.
"Maybe I've gained weight, and my fingers got fatter, making them appear smaller?" Lin Jin mused, guessing aloud.
"We'll go to the hospital for an examination in a couple of days" his dad said, resuming his meal after finishing his sentence.
An examination? F*ck! Wouldn’t that be bad? God knows what the black cat has done to his body!
"In a few days, I have a middle school reunion" Lin Jin scratched his head, "It's organized by that homeroom teacher who often visited our house."
"Go get a haircut later. Your hair is too long and looks messy" his dad looked up and glanced at Lin Jin's hand scratching his hair. "Then we'll go for the physical examination tomorrow. I'll make an appointment for you."
"Alright..." Lin Jin's mouth twitched, "I'll go get a haircut after I finish eating."
Since he had to carry out his dad's request, he had no choice but to comply with whatever his dad said.
A physical examination shouldn't result in any significant issues, right? As long as the black cat didn't mess around with my body too much, I should be fairly healthy, right?
Lin Jin felt a little anxious inside.
He wasn't sure about the principles behind the bone modifications, but as for the feminization process, he guessed that the black cat had been administering some "drugs" like estrogen and anti-androgens or stuff like that, followed by slight alterations to make his facial features and other areas more feminine...
So, there shouldn't be any problems, right?
He glanced up and looked at his dad, who was solemnly using his chopsticks to eat each grain of rice one by one...
His dad seemed to be quite engaged in the activity.
