A Young Woman's Heart

A small space was reserved on the shelf, where a black and white television was placed.

This way everyone can see that, in order not to block the TV, I sat as sideways as possible in front of the table, leaving some empty space.

Mo Xueyao's spot was the best—directly facing the television.

However, the TV wasn't showing her favorite cartoon; instead, it was a news program spoken in the Hangzhou dialect.

Occasionally there would be some interesting news, but she wasn't very interested in most of it, so she just focused on eating and occasionally glanced at it.

On the contrary, my mother kept staring at the TV and only ate a few bites of rice and vegetables occasionally.

It feels like a big family gathering for dinner with so many people.

In particular, there was an elderly person who made the warm atmosphere even stronger.

"Aunt Jin, have some meat! This meat is very tender and easy to chew."

"Hehe, you can't eat too much." Grandma Jin smiled.

The dinner table seems to be a man's domain by nature. At least at the dinner table, my father talks more than usual. He casually started a conversation: "Aunt Jin, why don't you tell us about the past?"

"The past...?" Grandma Jin smiled. "The past isn't particularly pleasant."

“It’s alright. Even the unpleasant things can be told to these younger generations so they can appreciate the bitterness of the past and cherish the present!” The father, quite cultured, uttered a proverb.

“In 1969, I was locked up in a pigsty.” Grandma Jin pushed up her exquisite gold-plated glasses. “Because I was an intellectual, a ‘college student’.”

"Heh, haha, let's not talk about those kinds of memories." The father picked up his beer and took a big gulp. "It wouldn't be good if someone overheard us."

"Hehe..." Grandma Jin had been through it all, and she smiled knowingly. "My husband participated in the War of Resistance against Japan and died on the battlefield. Although he was not originally a soldier, this may have been the best fate for him."

What did Aunt Jin's husband do before?

"He was originally a third-rate writer who wasn't very famous. At first, he took me to hide and go into hiding. Later, he felt that if we continued to hide like this, we would eventually have nowhere to hide, so he decided to join the local guerrilla forces to protect the flame of the nation."

“I see…” The father nodded, changing the subject of this somewhat sad topic. “Speaking of which, Xiaoyao and her generation had the most comfortable life! They were born in a peaceful era, with no internal strife and the country’s economy and technology steadily growing.”

Mo Xueyao had no interest in joining in the adults' conversation. She picked up a piece of braised pork, instinctively wanting to stuff it into her mouth, but after a moment's hesitation, she took a small bite instead.

But her chopsticks slipped and the meat fell onto the table. When no one was looking, she quickly picked it up and put it in her bowl, then reached her hand onto her skirt.

"Ahem." Li Wanyan coughed lightly and handed her a napkin.

Mo Xueyao then realized that she shouldn't have used her skirt as a rag to wipe her hands anymore. Somewhat embarrassed, she took the napkin and wiped her hands, pretending that nothing had happened.

Although this habit has improved a lot recently, it has been formed over many years, and there is still a possibility of relapse without realizing it.

Habits are not so easy to change.

These are all traces of male masculinity belonging to Mo Xueyao.

Of course, they will eventually fade away completely over time.

But that might take three, five, or even longer.

After dinner, Zhuang Lianlian went to the grocery store to watch the shop while waiting to get off work.

Anyway, Grandma Jin knew that Chen Cheng would pick her up on his electric scooter every day after she got off work.

But she didn't feel there was anything wrong with it. On the contrary, she felt that having a reliable boyfriend to pick her up from get off work meant that she wouldn't have to worry about encountering perverts or gropers when walking at night.

Grandma Jin wasn't in a hurry to go back. She was chatting leisurely with Mo Xueyao's father, while Li Wanyan was helping Mo Xueyao's mother clear the dishes and clean the table.

Because the folding table gets oily from frequent use and is difficult to clean, and because it was a bit too small, the parents bought a larger one to use as a dining table. The other folding table was used by Mo Xueyao and Li Wanyan for doing their homework.

Although there was a desk in the small room, it was for a single person, and Li Wanyan didn't use it much. She seemed to prefer doing her homework with Mo Xueyao.

Mo Xueyao had basically finished all her homework at school, so at home she only needed to complete some copying assignments.

While her father was chatting with Grandma Jin, she pressed a few buttons under the TV and switched it to a channel playing cartoons. She listened to the sound while copying the text.

"Xiaoyao, this won't serve the purpose of copying."

"Don't worry, don't worry, I already memorized everything I needed to at school..." Mo Xueyao replied helplessly, feeling that Li Wanyan was like a strict teacher.

"Don't copy it wrong."

"Won't……"

Time slipped away in this peaceful daily routine. Before they knew it, Grandma Jin had returned to the grocery store, and Mother was taking a washbasin to her house to take a bath.

Ever since Grandma Jin said that she could take a shower at her house, Mo Xueyao's family has almost always taken a shower at her house before going home.

After all, compared to the broken water pipes at home, this shower head is more than ten times more comfortable!

Moreover, Grandma Jin's family uses a toilet, so she doesn't have to worry about accidentally dropping the soap into the squat toilet while washing herself with soap.

From childhood to adulthood, Mo Xueyao has lost seven or eight bars of soap due to such accidents.

What she remembers most vividly is that once a bar of soap fell into the squat toilet, but didn't fall in. Her mother picked it up, washed it, and continued to use it as if nothing had happened.

It was so disgusting that I can't forget it.

Of course, there was a reason for this. At that time, the family was very poor, and the father was always gambling.

The preserved vegetables we ate all went moldy towards the end. We bought rice and vegetables sparingly, because if we wasted even a little, we wouldn't be able to keep up.

In those times, people would haggle over even a penny or two, let alone soap that cost a dollar or two.

"Fortunately, life is getting better and better..." After finishing her homework, Mo Xueyao slumped into a chair, hugging Su Tang, thinking thankfully.

"Xiaoyao, are you going to take a shower today?" Li Wanyan asked.

"Huh? Didn't I just shower yesterday?"

"It's getting hot, so I need to take a shower every day," Li Wanyan said earnestly.

"Oh? That's too much trouble..." Mo Xueyao muttered softly, "I used to shower every three days in the spring..."

"Well, it's so convenient now, why don't you go wash them?" the father said. "Your mother should go too, and after she's done, wouldn't it be perfect to have her help you scrub the clothes?"

"But are there enough clothes inside to change into?"

"It's alright, I'll buy you some new clothes at the night market later—spring clothes and summer clothes." The mother put the washbasin aside. "If you're going, I'll prepare some clothes for you to change into."

"Ah, then... go ahead." Mo Xueyao glanced at Li Wanyan and nodded somewhat reluctantly.

The main issue is that washing it every day seems a bit troublesome.

After all, it's still quite a distance to walk there.

However, washing it every day does make it cleaner.

Are all girls this particular about being clean?

Mo Xueyao pondered in her heart, watching her mother prepare clothes for the two of them to change into, and then handing them two basins containing their respective clothes.

Actually, I didn't have many clothes; I just changed my inner clothes, which were nothing more than a tank top, briefs, and a shirt.

"It's getting hot, you need to buy some short socks, and they can't be black, or you'll die of heat. They have to be white or flesh-colored." The mother seemed to be saying this to Mo Xueyao, but it also seemed like she was talking to herself.

"Why not just not wear socks in the summer?"

"What about during the transition from spring to summer? It's still chilly in the mornings then, so you'll have to wear knee-high socks." Her mother rolled her eyes at Mo Xueyao. "Just listen to my arrangements. Would I ever harm you?"

"I didn't say that..." Mo Xueyao muttered aggrievedly, and followed her mother out.

Li Wanyan followed closely behind.

……

Chapter 115 Scaring Yourself

Surreal Phenomena Discovery Society.

It was the club that Wang Jiale joined.

She was the only one in the entire Class 2 of the first year of high school to join this club.

The club had very few members; including her, there were only five people.

Apart from her being a first-year high school student, the other four were all second-year high school seniors.

Yes, no men are members of this club.

Despite having a very prestigious name, the actual research on extraterrestrials is not extensive; the main focus is on studying supernatural and mystical things.

During club activities, the senior students would get together to play Ouija board games.

Wang Jiale was initially hesitant to participate, but she couldn't suppress her curiosity. After being pulled into the club by a senior student once, she felt as if she were driven by some mysterious force and joined the club.

Of course, although the atmosphere of this club was mysterious and eccentric, not a single supernatural phenomenon ever occurred.

Even the principle behind the supposed inability to control the spirit through the Ouija board was explained scientifically by a senior student.

It's simply because a group of people are holding pens and can't maintain their balance; there's no mysterious force controlling their hands.

If one of them is strong enough, he can control the pen to land anywhere.

She initially thought that her seniors all believed in these supernatural things, but after spending more time with them, she realized that she was the only one who did!

The other female students just treated it as a fun game, or perhaps a social phenomenon.

Even if there is any superstition involved, what they believe in is science.

Recently, the club's research focus has finally shifted from supernatural matters to the study of extraterrestrials.

Perhaps it's because these so-called eerie legends and stories can actually be explained by existing scientific theories upon closer examination.

But aliens are different. If we can really explain the existence of aliens, that would be 'interesting'!

Although Wang Jiale didn't find anything 'interesting' about it.

Just look at what those aliens in the movie look like, they're probably not much better than any ghosts or gods, right?

It was a quiet, late night.

The television in the living room was on, playing a late-night program, while the father was fast asleep on the sofa. The mother wasn't home today, and he had fallen asleep while watching TV.

"Dad, go back to bed." Wang Jiale, who got up to go to the bathroom, nudged his father, but the latter just yawned and didn't even open his eyes.

"Hmm...hmm..." He just mumbled in response, without any intention of getting up.