A Young Woman's Heart

Chapter Seventeen: Returning Home Alone

I wobbled as I straddled the bicycle and awkwardly stepped onto the pedals.

The pale yellow bicycle looks warm and pure, and the pretty and petite girl sitting on it makes it the most beautiful sight on this street.

The area where Yukong High School is located is relatively remote in this era, but it is very close to the home of Mo Xueyao's godfather, Yu Liang.

Mo Xueyao had no intention of going to her godfather's house. Although school ended early today, she still had to go to school tomorrow, and besides doing her homework, she also had to think about what to make for the blackboard bulletin board...

Is it themed around autumn?

Mo Xueyao's thoughts began to wander in all directions.

A golden maple leaf swayed and fell into her brand-new bicycle basket, then shattered into several pieces as the bicycle wobbled.

It's as crispy as potato chips.

At this point, Mo Xueyao felt a little hungry; she thought she wanted to eat potato chips.

There are actually a lot of snacks I want to eat, but unfortunately I don't have any money in my pocket.

After riding through several traffic lights, she could no longer see any other students wearing Yukong High School uniforms along the way, as if only her home was that far away.

She was already used to going home alone.

Because when I was in junior high school, there were no classmates from the same school near my home.

She was quite a distance from her junior high school education.

Otherwise, I wouldn't have bought a bicycle to go to and from school.

Mo Xueyao wasn't riding fast. After all, school ended early today, and she wasn't in a hurry, so she had plenty of time to leisurely enjoy the scenery around her.

Perhaps because school lets out early, there aren't many cars or people on the road right now. Most people are probably still at work, and there's still quite a while before they get off work.

Most of the people who come out at this time are people with free time, so they all look very relaxed.

"Hey, you got out of school early today!" The friendly old man greeted Mo Xueyao as she waited at the traffic light.

A Pekingese dog was following him, looking both fierce and stupid, which made Mo Xueyao subconsciously lean to the side.

"Haha, don't worry, it doesn't bite!"

Even if it doesn't bite, it should still be on a leash...

Mo Xueyao thought to herself, remaining wary of the Pekingese dog's approach.

She is a little afraid of dogs because she was once attacked by a large group of dogs when she was a child.

That was back in the countryside.

Although she was eventually rescued by others, it was still a deeply memorable childhood trauma.

Even if I don't turn pale with fright at the sight of a dog, I'll still subconsciously keep my distance from them.

"Ah Bai, come here!" The old man called his dog to come closer, because he had noticed that the pretty girl in front of him seemed a little afraid of dogs.

Mo Xueyao gave the old man a grateful smile, hoping the light would turn green soon.

"Does your school let out this early?" the old man continued, as if he couldn't feel comfortable unless his curiosity was satisfied.

"No, it's just that school lets out a little earlier today because it's Friday," Mo Xueyao explained helplessly to the old man.

"It's not Friday today," the old man said, counting on his fingers.

"Ah—right, right, it's not Friday today." Mo Xueyao realized, "Didn't we just have the National Day holiday? So we're having Friday's class."

"I see. It seems my granddaughter should be home from school soon."

"Your granddaughter is the same age as me?"

"Yes, you're in junior high too, right? She just started junior high!"

"I'm already in high school..." Mo Xueyao was almost speechless.

However, she had gotten used to the older men in this city; most of them liked to chat with others about everyday things, whether there was something to talk about or not.

What she cares about more is—

Does she look that naive?

Junior high school student?

They're clearly high school students, okay?

The green light came on, and Mo Xueyao said goodbye before continuing to pedal and ride her bicycle home.

When she got back to her apartment building, she was covered in a fine layer of sweat. Her pale yellow bicycle was parked downstairs.

When I opened the door, there was no one home, of course.

The house was empty, and the floor was a bit messy, obviously because the parents had left in a hurry and hadn't had time to tidy up the house properly.

So when Mo Xueyao got home from school, the first thing she did was take out a broom and sweep the floor, while also tidying up all sorts of messy boxes and slippers. Then she took a rag, lay down on the floor, and carefully mopped it before going back to her room to do her homework.

These things have become a habit. Sometimes, if the house isn't cleaned properly, I feel uncomfortable even when doing my homework.

A day of high school life felt quite fulfilling.

And it wasn't as difficult as Mo Xueyao had imagined.

—Although she is still not quite used to being a girl.

Although I was only in my first year of high school, it was already 6 p.m. when I finished my homework.

The sky gets dark exceptionally early in October.

By six o'clock, the sun had already completely set, leaving only a few orange-red sunset clouds still lingering in the sky above the city.

She stood up and walked to the living room, turning on the light and glancing at the calendar hanging on the wall.

She had just torn off the calendar page when she woke up that morning; it showed today's date.

"Hmm...wait...today is clearly Friday..." Mo Xueyao thought of her conversation with the old man earlier. It seemed that it wasn't her who remembered wrong, but the old man.

They were led astray.

"Is it because today was so busy? I lost track of time." She muttered to herself, and then heard the 'click' of the door opening.

The father was the first to return home.

His clothes were sticky all over, as if they had been soaked in sweat, dried, and then soaked again.

Her hair was a mess, like a bird's nest.

Where's your mom?

"He hasn't replied yet."

"Oh..." The father staggered as he used his left foot to help his right foot, and his right foot to help his left foot, to take off his shoes. He walked into the house with a strong smell of foot odor and sweat.

"Dad, you stink." Mo Xueyao fanned herself.

"Don't worry, I'm about to take a shower."

"Do you need hot water?" Mo Xueyao pointed to the kitchen. "I just boiled two kettles when I came back."

"No need, why use hot water in this weather? A cold shower will do."

"...Aren't you cold?" Mo Xueyao frowned. "Dad, you mustn't catch a cold."

"It's alright, the weather isn't cold." Dad said, then slipped into the bathroom and slammed the wooden door, the bottom of which was rotten from dampness, shut.

Before long, the sound of water being flushed through a hose could be heard from inside.

"Dad, what are we having for dinner?" Mo Xueyao called out from behind the door.

"Go cook some rice upstairs, I'll cook the dishes later!"

"It's already been cooked! Tell me what you want to do, I'll cut it up for you."

"Save your breath. With your knife skills, I can't even do it myself. You might cut your own hand in the process!"

"Am I that stupid?!" Mo Xueyao shouted indignantly, but at that moment, her favorite tokusatsu show was playing on TV, so since her father didn't want her to help, she was happy to relax.

After all, her knife skills and cooking abilities are really hard to describe.

After taking a shower, Dad came out wearing only a pair of shorts. He paused slightly when he saw Mo Xueyao, then went back into the master bedroom to put on a shirt and pajama bottoms before coming out.

"Dad, are you cold?" Mo Xueyao asked her father, glancing at him sideways during the commercial break.

"good."

"Then why are you covered up so tightly? Don't you usually go shirtless?"

"It's autumn, and it's still cold to go shirtless."

Mo Xueyao looked at the other person suspiciously. Usually in the autumn, even if her father would put on a shirt, he seemed too lazy to put on pants at home and would just walk around in a pair of boxer shorts.

Is he unusually reserved today?

At this moment, the commercials on TV ended, and the tokusatsu show started playing again. She stopped worrying about it and turned her attention back to the TV.

The kitchen soon filled with a rich aroma of food. Compared to his mother, his father's cooking was more flavorful, and of course, it was also more delicious.

My mother's cooking is rather bland; although it's nutritious, it doesn't really whet my appetite...

And once again, the sound of a key unlocking the door could be heard from outside.

The mother returned home looking exhausted.

"Mom, you're back!"

"Yes, you're back..." The mother said, putting a bag against the wall as she dragged her shoes. "I bought you a pair of shoes and two pairs of stockings on the way. I don't know if you'll like them."

"Long...long stockings?" Mo Xueyao stared in disbelief. "I...I don't need to wear...that kind of thing, do I?"

"What's wrong? Don't you like it?"

"...Uh...um..." Even though I was wearing a skirt, I still felt a bit of resistance in my heart.

Wearing stockings makes me feel like my resolve is being broken down little by little.