A Young Woman's Heart

Among them were some teenagers of similar age, all of whom came just to join in the fun.

After deciding who is "it" by playing rock-paper-scissors, the game of hide-and-seek begins.

"You can hide in the whole town, but not in your own home!" the ghost child shouted urgently. "Everyone must follow the rules!"

"Okay—"

The children responded cheerfully.

Mo Xueyao was also one of the ghosts.

Because there were many people playing hide-and-seek, there were three "ghosts" responsible for catching people, and the other one was Li Wanyan.

After the countdown ended, another child, who was playing the ghost, looked around with an empty can in his hand, seemingly wondering where to put it.

In this game of hide-and-seek, both sides have ways to win: one is to kick over the can that the 'ghost' has placed somewhere, and the other is for the 'ghost' to catch everyone.

We absolutely have to catch them; just seeing them is useless.

"How about putting it in that flower bed?" Mo Xueyao suggested. "It definitely won't be discovered there."

"No... that's against the rules," the little boy who was the ghost said seriously. "You can't put it in the flower bed or in other trash cans or boxes or anything like that."

"Then put it behind the mailbox; it shouldn't be easily discovered."

"Hmm, that place is nice."

And so, the game of hide-and-seek—or more accurately, the game of catching ghosts—began.

Putting aside your pride and playing around with the children is a lot of fun, making you feel like you've become many years younger.

"Ah, I saw one! Wanyan, hurry and chase after it, I can't run anymore!" Mo Xueyao was panting heavily, supporting herself on her knees. She thought chasing children would be a simple matter, but she didn't expect these little guys to have unlimited energy and not feel tired even after running for so long.

The ground was covered in snow, making it more difficult to run, and one might easily slip and fall.

"Hmm..." Li Wanyan was a little reserved and walked a few steps quickly, but of course she couldn't catch up with the children.

In the end, it was another child who was the ghost who caught one person.

The team quickly grew in size.

Those who are caught will become 'ghosts,' meaning they are responsible for helping others catch them.

“Not bad, at least we caught one, huff huff…” Mo Xueyao said, panting heavily, when she heard a metallic echo from afar.

"Bang—~"

"Hooray, I kicked it!" Hua Yinyin's voice followed.

She was accompanied by Mr. Xue, and the two of them worked together to find the aluminum can and kicked it over.

They failed before they even caught a few people.

Mo Xueyao suddenly felt somewhat frustrated.

"Damn it, I'm not going to be the ghost next time. Being the ghost is too hard!"

"Hmph, that's because little Yaoyao doesn't know how to play. I'm super good at hide-and-seek!"

An afternoon was spent playing hide-and-seek.

Even Mo Xueyao, who is afraid of the cold, didn't feel cold anymore because she had been running and was covered in sweat.

"I feel sticky all over, it's so uncomfortable," Mo Xueyao said uncomfortably.

"Then go take a bath," Mo Xueyao's mother said. "There are only public bathhouses here. I'll take you there. You can also take a bath there. The water is very clean. I just took a bath."

"Ah, a bath—if the water is clean, I'd love to take a bath too!" Mo Xueyao said expectantly.

……

Chapter 50 Lunar New Year's Eve

Right now, the people in the public bathroom are all young women.

There are quite a few people who are the same age as Mo Xueyao.

Some of them were relatives who came from China to celebrate their great-grandfather's birthday, while others were local residents.

You can tell just by looking at their appearance.

After all, it's rare for someone like Mo Xueyao to be able to skip generations and inherit traits like that; most people don't look much different from ordinary people of Asian descent.

As for the indigenous people, regardless of their appearance, most of them have pretty good physiques.

"Hua Yinyin, what's wrong?" Mo Xueyao asked, sitting in the bathtub.

The water in the pool was very clean, and it was constantly being changed. It wasn't a large pool; there were seven or eight pools, each only seating five or six people, making it much more refreshing.

"Hmm..." Hua Yinyin covered her nose and looked up at the sky, "Maybe I'm just feeling hot...?"

For Hua Yinyin, a guy with a woman's body but an old man's heart, entering such a sensual women's bathhouse is probably just like a man walking in openly.

Mo Xueyao understood her very well, because she also felt a little embarrassed.

But it shouldn't cause a nosebleed.

What terrible thing did this guy think of?

Before the blood from her nose stained the bathtub red, Mo Xueyao dragged Hua Yinyin out of the bathhouse.

Everyone was assigned a room for the night. Mo Xueyao was assigned a double room and slept with Li Wanyan.

As a result, Hua Yinyin insisted on joining in the fun, and the three of them ended up squeezing together.

The rooms here are similar to those in a hotel, only with a more cozy decor.

There were some Lenin-era handbooks on the table, and the furniture was all in a retro style, making one feel as if they had returned to the era of the Red Soviet Union.

This is probably what is meant by the unique romance of socialism.

Unfortunately, this country is no longer what it used to be.

Moreover, no official new president has yet been appointed; the position is currently being held by an acting president, and the future remains uncertain.

"I don't want to sleep in the middle! It's so hot!" Mo Xueyao grumbled, turning over to Li Wanyan's side. "Wanyan, you can sleep in the middle."

"Waaah, I want to sleep with Xiaoyaoyao in my arms~" Hua Yinyin said 'mournfully'.

"You can sleep while holding Wanyan."

"No, the class monitor is too thin, it'll hurt my hands."

“Wanyan, Yinyin says you have no breasts.” Mo Xueyao tried to provoke a fight.

"Alright, go to sleep," Li Wanyan said calmly, immediately silencing the two of them.

However, Hua Yinyin still couldn't resist reaching across her to touch Mo Xueyao.

"Lighting technician, turn off the lights!" Hua Yinyin shouted.

"Who's the lighting technician?"

"Little Yaoyao, isn't the switch with you?"

"Clap."

The lights went out, plunging the room into complete darkness, as if the whole world were asleep—actually, it was just that the room was well soundproofed.

Lunar New Year's Eve arrived as scheduled.

The morning light shone on Mo Xueyao's face, and the quiet valley town awoke from its slumber.

She stretched comfortably, got out of bed, and opened the window.

"Bang bang bang bang bang bang—crackle crackle crackle crackle!" The quiet atmosphere was suddenly broken as the sounds of fireworks and firecrackers, along with children shouting, came from outside.

"It's so lively outside," Mo Xueyao said, then closed the window again.

"After all, it's Chinese New Year today, everyone must be in high spirits." Li Wanyan smiled and got out of bed, while Hua Yinyin slept like a log, and even the loud firecrackers couldn't wake her up.

"Ha-Hulu-Lu-Ha-Hulu-Lu-" And she was snoring.

Mo Xueyao grinned mischievously and brought her face close to her ear, then suddenly shouted, "Get up!"

However, Hua Yinyin didn't react at all, turned over and continued sleeping.

"...I doubt she'd wake up even if the world ended." Mo Xueyao helplessly covered her forehead.

"Let her sleep, let's go have breakfast first."

There are many people in a large family. Great-grandfather had many descendants, giving Mo Xueyao many blood relatives.

Including their spouses, the entire family numbered fifty or sixty people. It might not sound like much, but it actually looked quite large.

The restaurant was packed with people, just like a lively restaurant in a hotel.

The thought that everyone here was her own relative made Mo Xueyao feel even more amazed.

The breakfast at the restaurant is similar to a buffet; you can simply take whatever food you want.

This is a breakfast with a distinctly Russian flavor, and some kids from other parts of town come over to freeload.

Some girls even came in with bare legs and wearing short skirts.

Wasn't it cold along the way?

Mo Xueyao felt cold just looking at it.

"What would you like to eat, Wanyan?" She walked around like a headless fly, carrying her plate, because there were so many choices that she didn't know which one to pick.

"Let's see," Li Wanyan replied unhurriedly, "It would be better to bring some things that we don't usually get to eat."

“Yes, we’re in Russia now, so of course we should eat Russian food!” Mo Xueyao nodded in agreement, so she automatically ruled out traditional Chinese foods like congee and fried noodles that were offered to people who weren’t used to them.

Russians seem to eat bread as their staple food, along with all sorts of biscuits, both hard and soft.

Then there are all sorts of random sauces.

Foie gras, pork sauce, beef sauce...

This isn't like those sauces from China that only have sauce and no other ingredients; this one is packed with the main ingredients.