A Young Woman's Heart

"Okay, okay, I'll tie it on when we get to the traffic light."

In 1999, at the very end of the 20th century, there weren't many cars on the road. Even though the roads weren't wide, the speed at which people drove was by no means slow.

Mo Xueyao's godfather, Yu Liang, sped all the way to the entrance of Hangzhou First Hospital.

"If you're busy, then go ahead and do your work," the mother said to her godfather.

"It's okay, you go to work. It's the weekend, I don't work anyway."

"Hello."

"Shall I take you home?"

"No need, I'll take the bus. Please take care of my little Yao."

"Alright, don't be so polite with me." Yu Liang waved his hand, picked Mo Xueyao up from the car, and said jokingly, "Xiao Yao, you're too light, aren't you? You should eat more."

"And then, Godfather, you're so fat..." Mo Xueyao joked somewhat reluctantly. For some reason, her stomach pain had lessened a little.

Mo Xueyao felt like he had a biological father to his godfather, so much so that when he was a child, he even thought he had two fathers.

Sometimes he wonders if his biological father might be his godfather.

But in fact, he doesn't look like his godfather at all; instead, he inherited various features of the European race from his father and ancestors.

Although the resemblance has faded considerably over several generations, she still looks completely different from her godfather.

Yu Liang placed Mo Xueyao on the waiting plastic chair, then busied himself registering and taking him upstairs for an ultrasound examination.

During this process, Mo Xueyao's pain had lessened considerably, to the point that it was almost painless.

When the pain was intense, he wished he could be taken to the operating table immediately to relieve it, but once it subsided, he felt it wasn't a big deal and there was no need to see a doctor.

"Which one of you is Mo Xueyao's relative?" the nurse's voice rang out while we were waiting.

"Here I am, Xiaoyao. Wait a moment, your godfather will go get your test results."

"Hmm." Mo Xueyao, whose stomach pain had lessened, relaxed, yawned widely, and fell asleep leaning against the creaking plastic chair.

"Are you Mo Xueyao's father?"

“I am his godfather.”

"Oh...so you could call him a guardian, right?"

"Yes, that's the case right now. His parents are both unavailable for the time being."

“Hmm…this child’s condition is quite special.” A middle-aged doctor pushed up his glasses. Beside him sat three specialists and an elderly professor.

This doesn't look like a simple stomachache.

"There are very few cases of this disease in the entire country. Most of our information about this disease comes from abroad..."

……

Chapter Three Intersexuality

“This child should actually be a girl.” In the air-conditioned office, the cold air suddenly gave Yu Liang goosebumps.

He stared blankly at the doctor across from him as he said those words.

However, as a college student, who is still relatively rare in this era, he had received a good education and did not interrupt the doctor. Instead, he looked at the doctor attentively and patiently, letting him continue.

"Mo Xueyao actually suffers from female intersex, which means that her external organs appear to be male, but her internal organs are actually female. She has complete ovaries and a uterus and has normal reproductive function."

"Please continue." Yu Liang wiped the sweat from his forehead, subconsciously took out a pack of Liqun cigarettes from his shirt pocket, hesitated for a moment, and then put them back.

“Generally speaking, this should have been detected in childhood, but there isn’t a comprehensive early childhood health check system available yet, and since her external organs didn’t show any major abnormalities, it wasn’t discovered.” The doctor pointed to the printed ultrasound image and explained, “The current situation is that her male organs aren’t completely useless. Although they don’t have reproductive function, they still secrete male hormones and, to some extent, inhibit the development of the uterus and ovaries, thus causing delayed physical development.”

Another doctor explained, "This has disrupted her endocrine system, which in turn has affected her sensitive nerves, causing pain. It's best to have gender reassignment surgery as soon as possible. If it's delayed, it may lead to the uterus and ovaries not developing normally..."

"Is she really a girl?" Yu Liang, who didn't know much about this, couldn't help but ask.

"Yes, her chromosomes are XX, she is definitely a girl."

"So, how should the surgery be performed?"

"The procedure is actually not complicated. It's similar to sex reassignment surgery, but it's relatively easier. After the surgery, she will be a real girl, no different from any other girl."

The cicadas outside the window were chattering incessantly, which was quite annoying.

Yu Liang took a deep breath, touched his greasy forehead and broad face, and said, "So, can this hospital perform this kind of surgery?"

“We have the equipment to perform this surgery; we just need to temporarily bring in experts in this field from other hospitals.”

How much will the surgery cost approximately?

"Because this is a procedure that is not very common in China, we can reduce some of the medical fees, provided that we collect the patient's personal data during hospitalization," the doctor said, lowering his voice slightly. "However, the combined cost of the surgery, hospitalization, and other expenses will be at least 50,000 yuan."

Fifty thousand is not a small sum in this day and age.

Mo Xueyao's mother earned only 600 yuan a month as a nanny, and her father earned only 800 to 1,000 yuan.

Even Yu Liang, who is the section chief, only earns less than two thousand yuan a month.

In Hangzhou, a second-tier city, a 50-square-meter apartment can cost as little as 100,000 yuan.

And this is just the starting price.

If it gets any higher, it will be even more unbearable.

"Okay, thank you. I will inform Xiaoyao's parents."

"Please do it as soon as possible; the sooner this surgery is performed, the better."

"Okay." Yu Liang nodded, turned around and left the office where the air conditioning was set too low.

Nurses and patients came and went in the corridor. He frowned and walked alone until he reached the hospital lobby.

"How is it, Godfather?"

"Hmm, it's nothing. I just want you to watch your diet and not eat anything cold anymore, or your stomach will hurt again."

"Huh? Uh...did I really drink too much ice water? But it's so hot in the summer..." Mo Xueyao muttered to herself.

"Come to my house to cool off today. Haven't you been out and about in a long time?" Yu Liang said with a smile.

"Want some air conditioning? I want to go! By the way, Godfather, do you still have Science Fiction World magazines at home?" Mo Xueyao asked excitedly.

"Of course I bought them."

"Wow, I haven't watched it for half a year, I can watch it to my heart's content!" Mo Xueyao said excitedly, while Yu Liang smiled and patted his head.

He kept his intersex condition to himself and didn't tell Mo Xueyao.

The two then received only some painkillers and left the hospital.

"It's so hot!" Mo Xueyao jumped up as soon as she sat in the Santana, as if her bottom was about to be burned.

"Haha, the air conditioning will be fine soon. Just bear with it for a few more minutes!" Yu Liang chuckled, turning on the car's air conditioning before driving away.

Only the driver's side window was rolled down, and then he lit a cigarette and called Mo Xueyao's mother.

"Hello? Is this Ayu?"

"Ah Liang, how is Xiao Yao?"

"Uh, it's nothing," Yu Liang said casually. "I just got some painkillers, it's just that he ate too much cold stuff."

"This little rascal, he wouldn't listen to me even when I told him to drink more hot water. Let's see if he'll learn his lesson now!" Mo Xueyao's mother said, both amused and exasperated.

"Haha, alright, alright, I'm off today. I'll take Xiaoyao to my house to play. After get off work, you and Ali can come to our house for dinner."

"Okay, I should thank you properly."

"It's nothing, don't worry about it." The godfather laughed, hung up the phone, finished a whole cigarette in one go, and then closed the car window.

Yu Liang's home is located in what is now Hangzhou, in what is considered a relatively suburban area.

It's not too far, only about a ten-minute drive.

After all, Hangzhou itself isn't that big.

The car bumped along, and Mo Xueyao looked out through the tinted windows and smelled smoke again.

"Godfather, are you smoking again?"

"Ha... I'm used to it."

“My mom said it’s bad for your health,” Mo Xueyao said earnestly.

"It's alright, we've been smoking for so many years, how much more could it be?" Yu Liang laughed loudly.

"Cough cough!" Mo Xueyao pursed her lips and rolled down the car window.

He'd rather have a warm breeze than smell smoke.

Yu Liang flicked the ash off his cigarette and stubbed it out in the car ashtray.

Turning the switch on, the car radio started playing.

Classical music is playing right now; it sounds like Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata.

The car arrived at its destination quickly; driving on a road without traffic jams is just so smooth.

The only downside is that the road is a bit rough, making for a bumpy ride.

But once you get used to it, you actually find the swaying motion quite enjoyable.

"Godfather, how was the drive?"

"That's fine then," Yu Liang replied.

"When I grow up, I want to buy a car! Hmm—I want to buy a Santana!"

"Haha, when you grow up and learn to drive, I can lend you my car."

"Hey... forget it, it's still early. We don't even know if these cars will be retired by then."

“How can I retire so soon? I can drive for another ten years without any problem.” Yu Liang patted the car body.

"Would you still be driving back then?" Mo Xueyao asked, her eyelids drooping. Suddenly realizing that her words were a bit off, she quickly added, "You'd have been promoted by then, and you should be driving a better car!"