A Young Woman's Heart

To be honest, she wasn't quite used to the toilets in the hospital. Although they were high-end products for this day and age, she still felt that squatting was more convenient.

However, big cities are big cities; even in the smallest details of life, you can find many 'high-end' things.

For example, the bathroom has a separate shower room, and there are shower faucets in the bathroom.

Mo Xueyao's family doesn't even have a showerhead; if they want to take a cold shower, they just use a hose.

After all, it's already quite good that their family can afford to buy a house. They only did the most basic renovations, and in many places they used the simplest and cheapest solutions.

My mother is not in the hospital.

Spending money every day without earning any seemed to make her feel uneasy, so after Mo Xueyao was able to use the toilet by herself recently, she found some temporary jobs, also known as hourly work.

Even if I earn very little, at least I can earn enough for food.

Moreover, in a big city like Shanghai, the wages for hourly workers are surprisingly high, so much so that Mo Xueyao's meals have become much better than usual recently.

At least we won't be eating plain rice and pickled vegetables all day anymore.

Being alone in a hospital ward can be quite boring.

But life is full of all sorts of helplessness, and we have no choice but to adapt.

Mo Xueyao could only endure this loneliness alone.

She remembers wanting to sleep in a little longer every morning when she was in school, but lately, even though she could sleep all day long, she can't fall asleep anymore.

Even while yawning, I didn't seem very sleepy.

"I'm hungry..." Mo Xueyao idly picked up the examination report on the bedside table and flipped through it. It was full of medical terms that she couldn't understand.

Time, which always felt like it wasn't enough, suddenly felt incredibly long during my recent hospital stay.

Sometimes she would even get so bored that she would count down the seconds along with the clock on the wall to pass the time.

"Click—" The doorknob was turned and then pushed open forcefully. Without guessing, I knew it was my mother coming back; she was always so decisive and efficient.

"Xiaoyao, are you hungry?"

"I'm hungry." Mo Xueyao nodded, looking expectantly at the takeout her mother had brought back and placed on the bedside table. "What did you bring today?"

"Sweet and sour pork, stir-fried bok choy, and a bowl of beef offal soup."

"So lavish!" Mo Xueyao felt her mouth starting to water.

"Okay, you eat first."

Why don't we eat together?

"I'm not hungry yet," Mother shook her head. "How are you feeling today?"

"Nothing's wrong, I'm just so bored." Mo Xueyao replied while quickly taking out the styrofoam box containing the food and rice. "Mom, if you pass by the night market on your way home tonight, could you buy me a few novels?"

“No need for novels anymore. You won’t be bored starting today.” The mother said, taking out a package from another plastic bag. “The books your father picked up from school have already arrived. You should start studying on your own so you don’t fall behind later.”

“Hmm… that’s fine too.” Mo Xueyao, unusually, did not object.

She was always among the top ten in her class at school.

If she were to become one of the worst students one day, she probably wouldn't be able to accept it.

"By the way, where's the beef offal soup?" Mo Xueyao asked, looking at the empty plastic bag.

"It's in here." The mother took a metal box out of the bag. "It's inconvenient to use a styrofoam box to hold soup."

The small bedside table was already filled with lunch.

Mo Xueyao picked up the tin box and took a sip of the beef offal soup, then couldn't help but smack her lips: "Delicious!"

"Then eat more."

"Mom, the food is so good today. If you don't eat with me, I'm going to finish it all!" Mo Xueyao licked her lips, picked up a box of rice and started eating.

When using chopsticks to pick up food, they inevitably come into contact with the styrofoam box, making a 'squeaking' friction sound.

It's a bit cringe-worthy to hear.

"Then you should finish eating."

"So what are you going to eat?"

"I'm not hungry. I was at someone's house just now, and they were very hospitable. They invited me to stay and have lunch with them."

"Oh, oh..." Mo Xueyao felt much more at ease and began to eat heartily, her cheeks bulging out like a hamster stuffing food into its mouth.

"Eat slowly, no one's going to take it from you. Can't you finish what's in your mouth before picking up more food?" the mother scolded impatiently. "Look at you, your mouth is leaking like it's spilling food all over the floor."

"I can't stop eating it (because it's so delicious)!" Mo Xueyao mumbled indistinctly.

"Don't talk while you're eating, just finish what's in your mouth first."

"Mmm... the sweet and sour pork is so delicious!" Mo Xueyao swallowed the food in her mouth and let out a long sigh. "The beef offal soup is also delicious! Everything in it is so tasty!"

"You should eat vegetables too, you can't be a picky eater."

"Uh... this green vegetable tastes a bit bitter."

"It's good if it's a little bitter."

"Fine, fine, I'll eat it, okay?" Mo Xueyao reluctantly picked up some greens and put them in her mouth, deciding to finish the vegetables she disliked the most first, and then enjoy the other delicacies.

This was probably the most she had eaten in a while.

I'm unusually hungry today.

After finishing her meal, she let out a satisfied burp, lay down comfortably, but then sat up again with some unease: "Mom, if I keep eating and lying down like this every day, will I get very fat?"

"You're worried about gaining weight?"

“…I don’t want to be called ‘fatty’ by others,” Mo Xueyao muttered softly. “Fat people are easily discriminated against.”

"Hmm...don't worry, I haven't gained much weight."

"So, you really have gained weight!?" Mo Xueyao's tone became somewhat flustered. She looked down at her arms, which did seem to have gained some weight.

It used to be a little thinner than this...

"Haha, you haven't gained weight, you've just gained some subcutaneous fat. Your weight won't increase much," Dr. Wang's voice rang out, and then the door was pushed open. "This means that a large amount of estrogen is starting to take effect, and your body is growing and developing like a normal girl."

"Like a normal girl... that means... she'll get... that period!" Mo Xueyao suddenly thought of the once-a-month occurrence.

This is knowledge taught in physiology class.

I was so glad I was a guy, otherwise having my period every month would be so annoying.

And some people take a whole week to get here.

I never imagined that I would have such a day...

"As she grows and develops, it will definitely come. She should have her first period around December," Dr. Wang replied while examining Mo Xueyao's body. "By the way, I'll probably be away from the hospital for a while after today. I'll be going on a business trip to other places. If you need anything, just contact the doctor in charge."

"Um... okay." Mo Xueyao nodded gently.

Dr. Wang then pressed his hand against her chest.

Mo Xueyao watched him perform the examination without changing her expression, her heart unmoved.

Does it hurt here?

Dr. Wang pressed around her nipple and asked.

"I don't feel anything." Mo Xueyao carefully felt it for a moment, then shook her head.

"Yes, as your body begins to develop, this area will hurt. Remember, when it hurts, don't keep pressing it. Also, remember to wear loose clothing at that time."

"...It's best if they don't develop," Mo Xueyao muttered softly. "Growing a pair of buns would be such a hassle."

"Haha, but what women want most is for their 'thing' to be bigger, just like men want theirs to be bigger."

"Ah...it doesn't matter, I just hope it's convenient." Mo Xueyao pinched the end of her hair. "It feels like my hair has been growing a lot faster lately..."

"Yes, this is also a sign that your body is developing rapidly. By the time you are discharged from the hospital, your hair may have grown long enough to cover your shoulders."

"It's too long," Mo Xueyao said, seemingly troubled. "That would be very inconvenient."

“Just tie it in a ponytail,” Dr. Wang laughed. “You’ll have to get used to it eventually. If you don’t know how to braid hair, just ask your mother.”

"..." Mo Xueyao imagined herself with her hair in a ponytail and felt a chill for some reason.

……

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P.S.: The scenes involving surgery are artistic embellishments; please do not take them too seriously. At the very least, most of them are based on fact.

The remaining details are artistic embellishments. For example, although no sound can be heard under general anesthesia, a faint sound can be heard in the road scene to create a hazy, beautiful feeling of a butterfly emerging from its chrysalis.

After all, this is a novel first and foremost. If the surgical procedure were to be reproduced in accordance with the actual situation, it would seem cold and devoid of sentiment.

Chapter Fifteen: Discharge from the Hospital

The sky over Shanghai was somewhat gloomy, with leaden-gray clouds obscuring Yao Ling, preventing even a sliver of light from penetrating.

Although it was morning, it was as dark as midnight.

Unfortunately, most of the city lights were not yet on at that time, giving one the illusion that time was reversed.

Mo Xueyao sat on the bed, propping a book up with one knee, and then wrote words on it in a crooked and messy way.

Without a teacher and relying entirely on self-study, her learning progress was somewhat slow. After all, she wasn't a genius student; she was just an ordinary person who worked hard.

She folded up some of the knowledge points she didn't understand, planning to ask the teacher about them when she got to school.

Fortunately, there weren't too many things she didn't understand, otherwise she would have hesitated for a long time just to ask a question.

Mo Xueyao focused on self-studying three science subjects and mathematics. These two subjects require logical thinking to understand, so they require more effort.

Chinese and English were not particularly difficult for her. Even if there were parts she didn't understand, it didn't matter. She could just memorize them for the time being.

It's okay to figure it out slowly later.

Sometimes when she gets tired of studying, she likes to pick up her Chinese or history textbook and read it through.