A Young Woman's Heart

Mo Xueyao raised an eyebrow and didn't ask any further questions.

Parents need to give their children some privacy, and children should also give their parents some privacy!

……

Chapter Sixty-Three: Returning Home

The fifth day of the first lunar month in 2000.

That is, February 9th in the Gregorian calendar.

Most of the relatives and friends who came to celebrate Great-Grandpa's birthday had to return to their home countries, and Mo Xueyao and her friends were no exception.

Hua Yinyin was still there on the way back; I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing.

Although it was quite noisy, without her chatter and the quietness of Li Wanyan and Mr. Xue, Mo Xueyao would probably have found the journey too boring.

The heater was on in the carriage, and Hua Yinyin was carsick again. She was lying listlessly on Mo Xueyao's lap with her eyes closed, trying to rest.

Mr. Xue was reading a science fiction novel. Since Mo Xueyao also wanted to read it, he let him sit next to him. The two of them were reading the same book together, their heads almost touching.

Li Wanyan was using the new Chinese textbook for the next semester, which she had received during the winter break, to preview all the lessons. After all, the journey was long, and by the time she got home, school would be starting soon.

Those who excel in their studies always work hard quietly behind the scenes, without others knowing.

There may be many true geniuses in this world, but there are far more ordinary people who work hard.

Ordinary people, by working hard to follow in the footsteps of geniuses, become the 'geniuses' in the eyes of those who are not working hard enough or are working hard in the wrong direction.

The science fiction novel that Mo Xueyao and Mr. Xue were reading wasn't uncommon in terms of its subject matter—it told a story about the apocalypse.

Doomsday stories have existed since ancient times, but in ancient times they were myths or fantasy stories. In modern times, they have been cloaked in science fiction and become science fiction stories.

Most post-apocalyptic science fiction stories are not very rigorous, or rather, not rigorous enough.

After all, you can't expect every science fiction writer to be a professional scholar, and science fiction often involves many aspects, so it's normal for some omissions to occur.

This is a science fiction novel written by a Chinese author. The book has been published, but the author has not been credited.

I don't know if it's to maintain mystery, or if they're afraid of embarrassing themselves by writing poorly.

Anyway, Mo Xueyao thought it was pretty good.

The story takes place in 2022, when various natural disasters occur on Earth.

Flash floods, tsunamis sweeping across the land, and earthquakes everywhere.

Nuclear power plants have been damaged or destroyed by these natural disasters, resulting in many deaths and injuries.

Nuclear power plants around the world need to be shut down urgently, but shutting down a nuclear power plant is not something that can be done by simply pressing a button.

The completely destroyed nuclear power plant must also seal off the burning nuclear fuel; otherwise, such a large nuclear leak would pollute the entire world.

Those that were not completely destroyed should be kept running as much as possible, because human society has long been inseparable from electricity.

In such despair, following the typical formula of science fiction, the novel would depict many negative aspects of humanity, the ugliness of human nature, and ultimately, the inability to save anything, leading to the destruction of humanity in this selfish struggle.

But this novel doesn't describe it that way.

Those leaking nuclear power plants are like gateways to hell.

Even knowing that going there might mean death, countless people still choose to go against the tide.

Whether ordinary people or human elites, everyone is doing their best to do something.

Selfish people certainly exist, such as businessmen who profit from national disasters; cults that spread rumors; and scum of humanity who deliberately sow discord among people…

But what you see more of in this book is the shining side of humanity.

There were businessmen who donated large quantities of supplies; workers who spontaneously went to the disaster area to help build temporary shelters; and ordinary people who provided free food and lodging for the disaster victims...

Of course, there are also the doctors who risked their lives to treat those affected by nuclear radiation.

In areas with relatively stable geology and less susceptible to disasters, governments from various countries jointly established temporary shelters for surviving, unaffected humans.

Even in this remote area, people are constantly striving to do their part for those fighting on the edge of hell.

Human miracles have always been created by countless ordinary people.

There are no heroes who save the world, because everyone is their own hero.

Every single person is an ordinary hero.

The almost completely destroyed nuclear power plant was the most dangerous place, but the workers still carried shovels and dug pits under the nuclear dye. The heat and nuclear radiation could not stop them.

Perhaps, in summary, one cannot fully appreciate the profound and multifaceted portrayal in every word and sentence of the book.

But Mo Xueyao was genuinely moved by it, even having the illusion that it was something that had actually happened.

It's like watching a real-life record of what happened after a disaster.

But this is indeed a science fiction novel depicting the end of the world in 2022.

What moved her most were a few sentences in the book—

"Thousands upon thousands, countless people, knowing that their abilities are limited, still throw themselves into the disaster like pebbles trying to fill the ocean, because they know that something in this world has to be done. If everyone faces this disaster with the idea that it's pointless to do anything, then all of humanity will just wait to die."

"A single pebble may seem insignificant, but when thousands of pebbles come together, they can form a majestic mountain."

"It's not for myself, but for the future of humanity, for my own descendants, and for the descendants of others, so that they can all live happily on this earth."

"No one is unafraid of death, but that is precisely why courage is so precious."

"The epic of humankind is a hymn to courage."

The book finally turned to the last page, but even after the novel ended, the author never wrote about the final outcome. Did humanity succeed in saving itself in the face of the apocalypse?

But Mo Xueyao believed that it must have been a success.

She rubbed her moist eyes, feeling a little shy, afraid that others would find out that she had almost cried while reading a book.

But unexpectedly, a teardrop suddenly wets the page.

At first, she thought it was her own tears, but when she touched her eyes, she found that no tears were flowing out. Only then did she see Mr. Xue wiping the corners of his eyes with a napkin.

"Cough..."

"I was so engrossed in reading it that I was quite moved," Mr. Xue said with a self-deprecating smile. "I hope you don't find this amusing."

"No, no, if reading such a good book doesn't move you, then I can only say that person is a bit too heartless." Mo Xueyao shook her head vigorously. "Xiaoxue, do you think that if humanity really encountered such a disaster, would things really be as wonderful as described in the book?"

"Beautiful?" Mr. Xue closed the book and put it aside. "Reality isn't as bad as you think, is it?"

"That's not what I meant... The main point is that other post-apocalyptic novels don't write it like this."

"That's because they think too negatively about humanity. In fact, the brilliance of humanity far outweighs the negative aspects." Mr. Xue picked up a candy bean he bought from Russia and popped it into his mouth. "If such a disaster were to happen, humanity would definitely unite."

"What if...that disaster only happened in our country?"

“Other countries will certainly provide assistance as well. Perhaps other governments will not provide assistance, but the empathy between people will certainly be universal.”

“Hmm…” Mo Xueyao nodded.

The tape recorder had finished playing, and Li Wanyan reached out and pressed the button on the tape recorder to start playing it again from the beginning: "I don't know about other countries, but the people of our country will definitely not be indifferent in the face of important matters."

"After all, that is the soul of a nation!" Mr. Xue said with some pride. "Only a country with a long enough history can have such a strong sense of cohesion."

"Phew... Come to think of it, it seems like Xiaoxue has finished reading all the books she brought?"

"Yes, that was the last one." Mr. Xue nodded slightly.

"So, if such a disaster were to happen, Xiaoxue, would you go to the front lines?"

“Of course we will.” Mr. Xue nodded firmly. “Even if the gates of hell are opened and demons crawl out, we will do our best to close them.”

"What major does Xiaoxue want to study in the future?" Li Wanyan asked. "By the way, can I borrow that science fiction novel?"

“No problem, take a look.” Mr. Xue pushed the book over. “Me? I… I think I want to be a designer, or an engineer or something, anything related to machinery or construction.”

"Bridge designer? Or building designer?"

"Anything is fine, but what I'd most like to do is probably be a mechanical engineer." Even the refined Mr. Xue has quite a passion for large machinery.

"Where's Yaoyao?" Li Wanyan asked.

"Me..." Mo Xueyao bit her index finger, tilted her head and thought for a while, "I think... well, studying medicine should be able to save more people, so I want to study medicine."

“Studying medicine won’t save him…” Hua Yinyin, who was resting with her eyes closed, was also listening to everyone’s conversation. Although she was clearly weak and listless, she still had to chime in.

"Go away, not everyone can have the literary talent of Mr. Lu Xun! For ordinary people, studying medicine can save as many lives as possible."

"That seems to make sense. Never mind, ooh!" Hua Yinyin hugged Mo Xueyao's thigh and bit it, as if biting it would make her feel much better.

"Oh, I heard you talking about the future as soon as I came in. Not bad, not bad. It's always good to have dreams." The father pushed open the door and walked in, laughing heartily.

"Hey, Dad, can you knock before you come in?" Mo Xueyao glanced at him sideways. "Can't you respect other people's privacy? And what if you open the wrong door? You might get taken to the police station."

"Cough cough, next time for sure, next time for sure."

"People who say 'next time' will never remember it next time," Mo Xueyao rolled her eyes at him.

"Haha—I never expected Xiaoyao to want to be a doctor. Do you know how much it takes to study medicine? And just graduating from university probably isn't enough." Her father walked to her side and ruffled her hair. "But if you want to study, I'll definitely support you. I wonder if you want to study traditional Chinese medicine or Western medicine?"

"Western medicine... Traditional Chinese medicine, although it is said to be something left by our ancestors, always feels a bit unreliable, or rather, not very stable." Because of Mr. Lu Xun, Mo Xueyao also had some prejudice against traditional Chinese medicine. "Even if you study traditional Chinese medicine, it has to be the kind that combines Chinese and Western medicine, a more scientific kind of traditional Chinese medicine."

"Hmm... Western medicine is good too. Okay, I brought you some food. I just bought some boxed lunches from the restaurant. Here, one for each of you—"

……

Chapter Sixty-Four: Mornings When You Sleep In

The 13th day of the first lunar month corresponds to the 17th day of the second lunar month.

The eight-day journey has finally come to an end.

I returned to Beijing from the snowy land of Russia.