Chapter 82: A Boy Who Looks Like a Girl

2022-05-20

We’d just reached the office door when a chorus of voices spilled out from inside. Without hesitation we pushed our way in. That’s when we saw Team Leader Shao and the others intently watching TV.

The news was chaotic—a crowd of reporters gathered near the gates of Liu Yinyan’s villa district, kept at bay by a line of security guards. It looked like things could spiral out of control at any moment.

“Liu Yinyan’s daughter, Liu Feier, disappeared today, is that right?”

“Do you think this could be the work of Liu Yinyan’s rivals?”

“Have the authorities started investigating yet?”

In Dongxing City, this was headline news. Even on an ordinary day, paparazzi would tail a business tycoon’s every move, and now with something this big, keeping it quiet was impossible. There’s just no way to silence everyone in the know.

When pressed by the press, the guards stuck to one line: “This is private property. We can’t just let anybody in.”

“Team Leader Shao,” Gu Chen called softly.

Team Leader Shao clicked off the TV and rubbed his teacup, saying, “This whole affair has thrown Dongxing City into a storm. Rumors are everywhere. Some blame an old rival of Liu Yinyan’s, others say some crazed admirer did it, or even that Liu Feier ran away with someone. The way they talk, you’d think they were all part of it themselves.”

He dropped into his chair and took a sip of tea. “These people jump at every rumor. Give it a little more time and who knows what story they’ll come up with then. I’m getting heavy pressure from above—orders to find Liu Feier as soon as possible. Even if we can’t catch the culprit, her safety must be guaranteed.”

Mary was tinkering with her laptop in the corner. She nodded, “Her father is one of the biggest players in Dongxing City. If anything really bad happens because of this, the Rongding Group’s stock will plummet. Who knows how many people would get swept up in the fallout? Honestly, things are already starting to head in that direction.”

I never understood stocks. I’d barely heard of them growing up, let alone learned how they worked. From what Mary said, a single person’s downfall could stir up a whole city.

I scratched my head and asked, “They’ve already matched Chen Lin’s DNA, right? He really used Liu Feier’s lipstick?”

Guan Zengbin replied, “That’s right. There were traces of saliva from two different people on the lipstick.”

Mary turned her laptop around so we could see. “Yeah, it’s this person. Chen Lin—take a look at the photo for yourselves.”

We all leaned in for a better look. The person in the picture was a strikingly beautiful woman: oval face, sharp features, perfect curves, and at least 1.75 meters tall. But something felt off. Gu Chen had said Chen Lin was a man—yet nothing about the photo looked like a man.

I blurted out, confused, “So is Chen Lin a man or a woman?”

Mary replied, “According to the files, he’s male. But just looking at him, you’d never know it.”

I looked at Guan Zengbin, then glanced back at the photo. I couldn’t help muttering, “Even as a guy, he looks better than you do.”

Guan Zengbin shot me a glare.

Mary continued, “From what I’ve gathered, Chen Lin started taking large amounts of estrogen from a young age but hasn’t completed surgery yet. He’s only twenty-eight this year, and went missing three years ago after escaping.”

“Everyone has their own path,” Guan Zengbin added. “Personally, I prefer to call them ladyboys. Get it, Wu Meng?”

Seeing Guan Zengbin glaring at me like he wanted to bite, I quickly changed the subject. “So, what did this ladyboy do to end up inside, and when did he get out?”

Mary began recounting Chen Lin’s story.

The records showed that Chen Lin was an orphan. As a child, a traveling circus took him in. But this so-called circus had few animals—just a handful of snakes, a monkey, and a five-legged cow.

The truth was, the circus didn’t make its money from the animals—it was the people who drew the crowds.

Most of the troupe were peculiar in some way.

There was a conjoined twin with two heads, four eyes, four legs, but just two arms. Others envied her—one of them had no limbs at all. There was a dwarf who’d lived past seventy, barely a meter tall and hunched over from dementia, tottering around like a giant old rat. Some performers could only live inside a jar, abandoned there as infants.

The circus played up people’s curiosity, traveling from city to city. Everywhere they went, they’d pitch their mourning tent and sell tickets. Chen Lin was found and adopted mid-tour.

The ringmaster had large tumors on each cheek, his face puffed out like a toad. Everyone called him Toad Ringmaster.

Toad Ringmaster was both kind and cruel.

But he always treated his performers well.

The circus didn’t keep freeloaders around. Their profits barely kept them afloat—after all, you couldn’t do this job forever. Stay too long in one place and people stopped caring, no matter how odd your act was. That meant moving constantly, which always cost money.

Still, Toad Ringmaster decided to take in this child, though he was just too normal. In this world, being normal was the most abnormal thing of all. To help Chen Lin fit in and avoid discrimination, Toad Ringmaster chose to turn him into not-quite a woman. That way, he’d be more ‘normal’ here.

So at just three years old, Chen Lin started large doses of estrogen, daily. The ringmaster also trained him in every stage talent possible to make him a real crowd favorite.

By fourteen, Chen Lin’s Adam’s apple was gone, his skin soft and smooth. In his teens, he took the stage—and wherever the circus went, his performances shook the city.

No question, little Chen Lin became the circus’s star attraction.

The circus hung a massive poster outside: “Finale Show.”

Chen Lin’s routine was to dance under the spotlight each night, his dazzling beauty always prompting gasps from the crowd.

Compared to the conjoined twins, dwarves, or the limbless, his act touched people most. It didn’t disturb—it captivated in a different way. It had nothing to do with prejudice. It’s just human nature, and it’s hard to fight.

Every night, crowds flocked in droves.

This went on until Chen Lin turned eighteen. On his eighteenth birthday, he killed everyone in the circus.

That night was his eighteenth birthday.

Eighteen candles on the cake, and Chen Lin stared at the flames, making a silent wish.

But really, the story begins months before his birthday. At the time, Chen Lin was performing as usual, but one show was different from all the others.

That night, a woman in her twenties sat front and center.

“Hold on!” Xiao Liu interrupted, “Are you saying Chen Lin liked women?”

Guan Zengbin sighed, “Who a person’s attracted to doesn’t hinge on their gender. You guys overreact, always tossing out old prejudices. Whether someone’s male or female, they might like men or women—it’s their right!”

Chastened, Xiao Liu fell quiet, letting Mary continue the story.

Chen Lin fell in love at first sight. The girl was chubby and looked beautiful in her own way.

His birthday was just a few months away. Chen Lin would watch her as she sat in the front row, cheeks flushed, but totally unaware that he was looking back.

Only people who’ve never loved believe it blooms slowly. But the truth is, love appears in a flash. In that instant, Chen Lin was smitten.

For the first time, he felt ashamed.