A Young Woman's Heart

"I hope to go on a trip to the beach next year!" Hua Yinyin shouted with her arms outstretched. The colorful fireworks reflected on her face, making her little face change color as well.

"Thump—bang—! Swoosh—"

Someone fired a huge firework, which made a thunderous sound that drowned out the sounds of other fireworks. After it exploded, it rained down like raindrops.

"Then I hope my family will become richer and richer!" Mo Xueyao shouted.

"Where's the class monitor?!" Mr. Xue walked up to Li Wanyan and shouted into her ear.

Li Wanyan opened her mouth, then shook her head; no one could hear what she said.

"What? I can't hear you—"

"It's nothing," Li Wanyan said, pointing to Mr. Xue. "And you?"

"Me? I want to take a world trip without worrying about money!" Mr. Xue said with a big laugh, a wish that was much harder to fulfill than Hua Yinyin's.

Fireworks continued to bloom and fade in the sky, and the 36-shot fireworks display was quickly finished.

However, Mo Xueyao and the others brought over quite a few more, so they continued to light them and set them off.

"Hmm, these cylindrical ones look quite interesting." Mo Xueyao picked up a cylindrical firework. "Let's set this off! Let's launch it at an angle into the sky!"

As she spoke, she lit the firework herself. After a burst of vibration, the firework tube shot out at an angle, giving Mo Xueyao the illusion of driving a tank and firing a cannonball.

"What's so fun about that? I still prefer this." Hua Yinyin lit a sparkler, one of those firework that you hold in your hand and it sparked with a 'hissing' sound, looking especially beautiful in the dark night.

There were many fireworks, and Mo Xueyao had a great time playing with them, releasing all the negative emotions she had suppressed for half a year.

"That feels great!" she exclaimed excitedly, her breath instantly condensing into tiny white water droplets in the air, forming wisps of mist.

"A little wine would make it even more enjoyable," Hua Yinyin tempted.

"Minors are not allowed to drink alcohol." Li Wanyan tapped her on the head expressionlessly.

"Ugh—it's the New Year, a little drink won't hurt~!" Hua Yinyin muttered, holding her head, then pulled Mo Xueyao into a corner and secretly took out a bottle of wine from her chest.

It's obvious where she hid the wine.

"Would you like to try some of the vodka I just got from the table?"

"Forget it, even the class monitor said we're not allowed to drink anymore," Mo Xueyao shook her head.

"Tch, boring—" Hua Yinyin immediately lost interest.

“You can drink it all by yourself,” Mr. Xue said with a smile.

As Hua Yinyin put the wine back into her shirt, she said, "It's no fun drinking alone!"

The sound of the fireworks gradually subsided, indicating that they had almost finished.

More than half an hour had passed, and everyone felt a bit cold, so they came down from the water tower.

The group regrouped in the hall, but there were about half as many people left.

Some people went home to sleep, while others went to other places to wander around.

Of course, my great-grandfather's relatives are still alive.

At this moment, adults and children lined up one by one to offer New Year's greetings, and Mo Xueyao was no exception.

That is, Mr. Xue and Li Wanyan can watch from the sidelines.

"Quickly, kneel down before your great-grandfather," the second grandfather said to his grandson.

“No need to kneel.” Great-Grandpa waved his hand. Although he was a hundred years old, he still looked quite robust. His voice carried a kind of dignity unique to people of that era. “You should know that none of you need to kneel, because you are independent and complete people. You don’t need to lower your dignity to such a low level. Even with your parents, or with me, you are equal.”

“But, Dad…” Second Grandfather looked at Great Grandfather, “This is also a way to express respect.”

“There are many ways to express respect. There’s no need for this most superficial and meaningless way. We live in a modern society now. Do you want to go back to that feudal era? Under socialism, everyone should be equal. Cough cough!” Great-grandfather coughed twice, seemingly a little angry.

Therefore, no one dared to kneel anymore; they simply offered a New Year's greeting and said a few auspicious words.

The second grandfather would give each child a red envelope—regardless of whether he had given one before.

This is called New Year's money. The amount is not very large; it's usually just small amounts of five, ten, or twenty yuan pieced together.

But this also has an advantage: these small red envelopes are definitely for the children, and the adults won't use any excuses to ask for them.

It was finally Mo Xueyao's turn. She was still a little nervous when she saw this old man who was seven or eight times her age.

"Mo Xueyao, right?" When her great-grandfather saw her, his gaze became much kinder. She was also the only great-grandchild who was greeted first.

"Yes, yes..."

Looking closely at my great-grandfather, I noticed that his face was full of wrinkles and his eyes were cloudy, but he still spoke with a strong voice and did not sound weak.

Do you love this world?

"Passionate...? If I had to say... um... I don't know." Mo Xueyao scratched her head awkwardly. She had originally planned to say something auspicious and leave, but now that her great-grandfather had asked her, she felt embarrassed to be too perfunctory.

"Do you think this world is perfect?" Great-Grandpa wasn't angry; instead, he continued to ask.

"Of course it's not perfect."

"So, do you feel that this world is a beautiful place?"

"There are good things and bad things, I suppose," Mo Xueyao replied with a neutral answer that was correct no matter what.

“It is precisely because there are unpleasant things that we must strive to make everything beautiful, hehe… child.” Great-Grandpa smiled, his eyes widening slightly. “I can see the hesitation in your eyes, but don’t be afraid. The road of life is long. Keep moving forward. And don’t be afraid of the lack of light, because those who came before you will become the light to guide you.”

Mo Xueyao didn't feel lost at all, but after her great-grandfather's words, she felt completely bewildered.

What does it mean?

It's a bit inexplicable, but it also seems to make a lot of sense.

Is it because I'm getting old that I'm talking nonsense?

It doesn't look like it.

"I wish you can make your life happier and happier with your own hands." Great-grandfather offered his blessing, which made Mo Xueyao feel flattered.

"Ah, well... then I wish my great-grandfather a long and healthy life!" Mo Xueyao almost misspoke, nervously clutching the hem of her clothes, and stammered as she corrected herself.

"Okay." Great-grandfather smiled, clearly not taking her blessing to heart. "Human life is ultimately finite..."

"Dad, why are you saying these things all day?" The second grandfather finally couldn't help but interrupt the great-grandfather.

"Alright, that's enough." Great-Grandpa smiled and patted Mo Xueyao's shoulder heavily. "Don't let your identity and gender hold you back. You have a long road ahead."

The road ahead is still long...

My great-grandfather said this many times.

Mo Xueyao muttered to herself and walked to the side.

Great-grandfather, like a child, smiled smugly and muttered to himself in a voice only he could hear, "Heh... these guys really think I'm senile."

……

Chapter Fifty-Three: Vodka, ton ton ton

Every now and then, a brilliant firework bursts into bloom outside the window. Although it was already past one o'clock, there were still sporadic sounds of fireworks and firecrackers.

After taking a shower, Mo Xueyao and Li Wanyan went back to their room. Hua Yinyin also came over to join in the fun, insisting that they continue to sleep together. Even Mr. Xue came over as well.

"It's the New Year, so why not stay up all night? Let's stay up until dawn!" Seeing that everyone had arrived, Mo Xueyao simply moved a chair and sat down at the table. "We can only stay up all night during the New Year!"

"But what should we do if we stay up all night?" Hua Yinyin asked, resting her chin on her hand. "There's no TV to watch, no movies to watch, and we're already tired of playing games on the bus. We can chat while we sleep!"

"How about some games with rewards and punishments?" Mo Xueyao's gaze fell on the bottles of wine in the room.

The alcohol wasn't brought by them; it was already there when they checked in.

For Russians, alcohol is like water—an indispensable part of life.

"No drinking." Li Wanyan immediately sensed Mo Xueyao's thoughts and said seriously with a stern face.

"Then let's decide by voting! The minority should obey the majority!" Hua Yinyin stood on Mo Xueyao's side. "Right, little Yaoyao?"

“I object,” Li Wanyan said immediately.

"Um... I abstain." Mr. Xue raised his hands, making a gesture of surrender.

“We both agree, it seems we have to do as we say!” Hua Yinyin blinked and said excitedly, it seemed she really wanted to taste the wine.

"Wild beasts roam alone, while cattle and sheep travel in herds," Li Wanyan quoted a famous saying by Lu Xun.

"Hey, hey, what happened to the majority rule?" Hua Yinyin brought over four bottles of vodka. "Come on, what game should we play?"

"Let's play cards, the loser drinks," Mo Xueyao suggested, then looked at Mr. Xue, "Xiao Xue, what do you think?"

"I can do it."

So Hua Yinyin ran to get the small drinking cups and opened a bottle of vodka, placing it next to her.

Just smelling the strong aroma of alcohol made Li Wanyan frown.

She was far more sensitive to alcohol than the other three.

Because her father was an alcoholic from a young age, the house always reeked of alcohol.

In her mind, alcohol was definitely not a good thing. Even though reason told her that there was nothing wrong with alcohol itself, she still hated it from the bottom of her heart.

"If Wanyan doesn't want to drink, then don't play. Just watch from the sidelines," Mo Xueyao said casually. She meant no harm, but it made Wanyan feel as if her heart had been stabbed.

To her, this was a sarcastic remark directed at her for being unsociable and overly serious.

Mo Xueyao, who was searching through playing cards, returned to the table and suddenly sensed that something was off.

Because when she was talking to Li Wanyan just now, the latter didn't seem to respond at all.

Hua Yinyin and Mr. Xue both looked at her with awkward expressions.

"Huh? What's wrong?" Mo Xueyao scratched her head in confusion. "Why isn't anyone saying anything?"

"Ahem! Little Yaoyao, what you just did... um..." Hua Yinyin didn't know how to explain for a moment, and she didn't want to be too direct, lest she turn a small matter into a bigger conflict.

"Let's play together as a group of four," Mr. Xue smiled, subtly concealing his slight displeasure.

As if she had been rejected, Li Wanyan quietly took a deep breath, deliberately avoiding looking at Mo Xueyao.