Qiuqiu heard Liui’s question and sighed helplessly in response.
"It was all sorted out, but during the employnt process, they needed an ID card, didn’t they? As soon as the school saw the gender field, they got angry. The principal said the reason for hiring over you was because they wanted a male teacher, but I turned out to be an impostor. So, they fired , saying they feared I’d corrupt the students with my ambiguous gender."
Qiuqiu had gone through such experiences many tis. It’s indeed tough for soone like him to find a job. Temporary jobs were okay, but upon graduation, when searching for formal employnt, employers required him to provide an ID for social security paynts. Seeing ’female’ on the ID while he was male himself, many reputable places didn’t want to hire him.
Good employers might just ask him not to co back, while the less understanding ones would look at him oddly. Sotis, even before he left, they’d start gossiping about whether he was ntally unwell or a freak. Qiuqiu heard such comnts frequently.
Though he had gotten used to it, encountering a job that checked all the boxes only to lose it for such reasons still left him frustrated, making him want to grab a drink with friends.
"Ambiguous gender?" Liui was puzzled.
Even Weiwei, who was sitting in front of the computer playing gas, turned her head and looked at Qiuqiu curiously.
"Though my heart is male, my body is female. Heaven made a mistake with my gender. Qian said this is called gender dysphoria, but I think it’s okay."
Qiuqiu had made great progress in recent years. Under Qian’s subtle guidance, he could now face his gender regrets calmly, even jokingly explain his true situation.
"Don’t be upset. What you miss out on wasn’t right for you anyway. The next job will be better—sa goes for relationships." Qian patted Qiuqiu. These two years have been tough for Qiuqiu. After missing out on his beloved Jingjing, he tried dating a girlfriend, but they broke up due to various reasons.
"Oh man, I’m sorry, I had no idea—" It was the first ti Liui heard about such a strange condition and didn’t know how to respond.
"It’s okay, I’m used to it. This is the path I have chosen and being different ans I’m prepared for such treatnt. I rember when I first t Qian, I almost wanted to commit suicide. It really wasn’t worth it."
Upon hearing the word suicide, Weiwei couldn’t hold back.
"Don’t you feel life is really tough?"
"Whoa, a cute little sister here. Has she co of age? Who is she?" Qiuqiu asked Qian upon seeing Weiwei.
"The sister I recently took in. She hasn’t co of age yet. Qiuqiu, can you chat with her? Just like how I used to chat with you." Qian felt that Qiuqiu was like a "helper" in mahjong, placed where needed.
"Sure, Qian, you go buy so skewers. Leave this to ." Qiuqiu understood Qian’s hint, realizing this young girl might be a patient with so psychological issues that Qian needed help with.
This life was saved by Qian, so he’d do whatever Qian asked him to. No problem.
"Do you find life painful because you’re different from everyone around you?" When only Weiwei and Qiuqiu were left in the room, Weiwei asked Qiuqiu.
"Initially yes, I was so extre that I thought about dying. I believed I could never be happy or find the person I wanted."
"Then why do you want to continue living... I’m different from everyone else. I want to live for those who care about , yet the more I want to live, the more painful it becos." Weiwei muttered.
"I thought the sa at first, but I was worse off than you. No one around cared about . Qian made realize that if one doesn’t fear death, they fear nothing. I go through heartbreaks almost regularly, and every day I endure judgntal looks from those who know my gender secret, yet I face it calmly. I haven’t done anything wrong, haven’t hurt anyone. Why should I die? I must live. Who knows, maybe I’ll et soone I like one day, and even if I don’t, I’ve enjoyed the scenery along the way..."
Qiuqiu and Weiwei quickly struck up a conversation, and this wasn’t his first ti helping Qian.
Qiuqiu embodies the brightest side of a man, possessing qualities n should have, like tenderness, consideration, reliability, and understanding, yet because of his female body, he lacks the aggressiveness and danger n usually possess.
So whenever Qian encounters patients with gender issues, like Jingjing or Weiwei, who fear n due to psychological traumas, she would ask Qiuqiu for help. The unique "magnetism" Qiuqiu carries seems to heal these innocent girls hurt by n.
Liui and Qian were outside buying skewers. Liui hesitated before speaking.
"Curious about Qiuqiu’s situation?" Qian could tell what was on her mind.
"Yeah...such a nice person, how does one end up in such a situation?"
"I don’t know either; perhaps Heaven enjoys playing jokes. Frankly, I hope more than anyone that Qiuqiu can find a suitable partner." Qian also worried about Qiuqiu’s personal issues over the years.
Since Jingjing, it seed Qiuqiu hadn’t loved anyone else. He helped cure many girls, yet all he ever received from them was being seen as a good person, which left Qian feeling helpless.
"Hmm, too bad sa-sex marriage isn’t allowed in the country, otherwise I’d marry him."
"...Stop joking."
"I’m not kidding. My boyfriend called yesterday to break up, so I’m not getting married. I think Qiuqiu is great. Living together wouldn’t be bad—Boss, add more chili on the at skewers!"
Qian held her forehead in exasperation, wondering if there was anyone normal around her.
If Qiuqiu had gender dysphoria, then Liui had marriage dysphoria; she talked about breaking up and marriage as if she were discussing skewered foods.
"Your boyfriend who called only ten tis over two years wants to break up suddenly?" Qian asked Liui.
"Oh, he asked about my registry location yesterday, and after I told him, he said he wanted to break up. So, let’s break up.—Boss, add two more chicken wings, sister-in-law, chicken wings with alcohol, the more you drink, the better it feels!"
Understanding Liui well, Qian knew her enthusiasm for food wasn’t masking breakup distress but was genuine.
This girl valued eating above all else, and her so-called boyfriend was less important than chicken wings in her mind.
"Sister-in-law, why do you think he broke up with ?" Liui asked Qian, seemingly unfazed by the breakup, just a bit puzzled about its suddenness.
Qian understood; after two years and ten phone calls, he chose this ti to break up, and there was only one reason!
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