A Young Woman's Heart

Even Mo Xueyao herself didn't know what she was persisting in.

Although this may just be a pointless persistence.

"Don't you all have to wear skirts at your school? You can't wear pants, so of course you should wear stockings. Wearing stockings in this weather should keep you warm. I'll buy you fleece-lined leggings when winter comes."

Mo Xueyao lowered her head, her cheeks slightly flushed, her delicate hands unsure of what to do.

"Wear it tomorrow. Mom bought it with pretty good material—even though it was bought from a street stall, it will definitely be very comfortable to wear."

Mo Xueyao would rather it weren't so comfortable to wear...

Just as she was wondering how to continue the conversation, her father's voice rang out, saving her from the awkward situation.

"Come on, come on, dinner's ready! Tonight's dinner is vegetarian chicken and stir-fried water bamboo with pork! And I also made a loofah soup!"

As he spoke, the father brought out a large bowl of soup.

Mo Xueyao quickly stood up and went to the kitchen to help bring out the other dishes.

Although the house is small and the table is cluttered with many things, dinner is still a formal affair every day.

In my father's words—

No matter how life goes, there should always be some sense of ritual!

……

Chapter Eighteen: Uncomfortable Stockings

The morning of May 9, 1999.

The deep blue sky had not yet fully brightened, and a cool breeze blew into the bedroom, making Mo Xueyao shiver and hug the blanket even tighter.

That's right, it's a hug, not a wrap.

Because of his terrible sleeping posture, his back wasn't actually covered by the blanket, so no matter how he turned over, he would still be exposed to the cold air.

"Ring ring—!" The familiar alarm clock rang, and Mo Xueyao sat up in bed almost instinctively. Even though her eyes were not open, it was as if they were open. She turned off the alarm clock accurately, then climbed out of bed and groggily pushed open the door.

"Phew... It's so cold..." Mo Xueyao only opened her eyes a crack when she pushed open the door and staggered into the bathroom.

As always, the kitchen echoed with the clanging of kitchen utensils as my mother worked on them. She was cooking, washing vegetables, and washing dishes at the same time. Whenever she had a spare moment, she would quickly mop the floor. She was so busy that she wished she could divide herself into several people to do the work.

"Mom, has Dad gone out?"

"They left a long time ago."

"Oh..." Mo Xueyao didn't actually have anything important to say; she was just asking the question casually.

Even knowing that my father has to leave for work so early these days, I still can't help but ask him every morning.

Although today is Saturday, we have to attend classes for the next two weekends because we just finished the National Day holiday.

Moreover, today's classes are Monday's, which means school definitely won't end as early as yesterday.

The mother in the room hurriedly brought the dishes to the table, urging Mo Xueyao to eat quickly while she quickly mopped the floor.

"Mom, you eat first. I'll mop the floor when I get back this afternoon."

"Mopping once a day isn't enough! Don't worry about me, just eat and make sure you're not late for school."

"How could I possibly be late for school?" Mo Xueyao was absolutely confident in this regard.

After all, they all get up at 5:30 every day, giving them ample time to prevent any potential accidents.

She quickly ate her daily, monotonous breakfast and ran back to her bedroom.

After the first experience, wearing girls' school uniforms again didn't seem so resistant anymore.

It seems the same as wearing ordinary clothes, nothing special.

"Hmm...it seems...a little...cold..." Mo Xueyao touched her somewhat cold thighs and muttered to herself, but her gaze fell on the brand-new, unopened stockings beside her.

She felt a little hesitant.

"Even if I don't wear it now, I'll still have to wear it when it gets cold, right? Unless the winter school uniform is long pants..." Mo Xueyao's hands were nervously folded together, her thumbs gently touching the web between her thumb and index finger, as if she were doing something she was ashamed to talk about.

"Whoosh—whoosh—" An even stronger wind blew into the room, as if urging Mo Xueyao to make a choice.

She couldn't help but shrink her neck, thinking that she would be even colder later when she was riding her bike.

Finally, he carefully opened a pack of stockings and awkwardly put them on.

It's quite different from wearing regular socks, since they're much longer. It's more like wearing pants than socks.

After putting it on, it feels like it's clinging tightly to the skin, giving you a strange sense of security.

And you won't feel uncomfortable.

It's as if it has become one with the skin.

Although it can get a bit chilly when the wind blows, it warms up quickly.

People who have never worn stockings probably can't imagine this subtle feeling.

Mo Xueyao stood up shyly, but couldn't help glancing at herself in the full-length mirror on the wardrobe a few times.

A petite and graceful girl stood in the mirror, her hair tied in a simple and neat single ponytail, her bangs pushed to one side and held in place with a plain white hair clip.

Beneath the blue and white checkered mini-skirt were a pair of well-proportioned, beautiful legs, which looked even more alluring because of the black stockings she was wearing.

It perfectly captures both the innocence of a young girl and the allure of growing up.

This is the beauty that naturally emanates from female hormones.

Mo Xueyao couldn't help but move closer to the mirror, and for a moment she was completely mesmerized.

This kind of girl seems to be her type.

Back in junior high, I had a crush on a girl similar to me.

Besides, that girl wasn't nearly as pretty as Mo Xueyao in the mirror right now!

"Ahem!" She coughed softly, blushed, turned her head away, grabbed her schoolbag, and walked towards the door.

"You're wearing them? They look pretty good." The mother, who was mopping the floor, noticed Mo Xueyao's legs in black stockings, and her gaze gradually moved upwards, scrutinizing her.

For some reason, Mo Xueyao felt that her mother's gaze was scrutinizing her daughter-in-law...?

If she were a real boy and brought her girlfriend home, would her mother scrutinize her in the same way?

"Look...look at what?" Mo Xueyao mumbled, feeling a little uncomfortable being stared at, clearly embarrassed.

"Hmm, not bad, not bad, our Xue'er is becoming more and more feminine."

"Ugh—" Mo Xueyao made a gagging motion, indicating that she had goosebumps all over her body. "Stop it, you're disgusting. And can you please stop calling me Xue'er and call me Xiaoyao instead?"

"Xue'er sounds more like a girl!"

"Enough, enough, that's so cheesy!" Mo Xueyao stretched out her paw and viciously ruffled her mother's hair, making a mess of her not-so-smooth long hair. Then, like a child who had successfully pulled off a prank, she excitedly ran away.

"You brat! You dare touch your old mother's hair! Do you want to die?" the mother said, laughing and scolding as she held up a mop.

"Hehehe~!" Mo Xueyao happily stuck out her tongue, and deliberately patted her butt, laughing childishly and proudly, "You can't catch me, you can't catch me~"

"How old are you? So childish." The mother rolled her eyes. "Alright, hurry up and go to school! Be careful on the way."

"Okay!"

Mo Xueyao ran downstairs, skillfully tossed her schoolbag onto the bicycle basket, then hopped on her pale yellow bicycle, beginning yet another day in her countless repetitive routine.

Isn't this what life is like for ordinary people?

Day after day, year after year.

But even in these repetitive days, there are many differences in the details.

This is also why many people are able to persevere through the repetitive days.

If someone is good at finding unique joy in the repetitive days, then he will live a very happy life.

Mo Xueyao arrived at school early, and the security guard at the gate greeted her warmly once again.

"Morning!"

"Good morning!" Mo Xueyao replied cheerfully. The morning's playful antics had put her in a pleasant and refreshing mood. "Are we having tofu pudding today?"

"Yes, I eat sweet one day and salty the next, alternating between them," the security guard replied. "Do you prefer sweet or salty?"

"Uh... I guess... I still prefer sweet things...?" Mo Xueyao herself wasn't quite sure, because she usually ate breakfast at home and rarely ate breakfast outside.

That's why I'm not picky about food.

It's not like we should get into a fight over a sweet vs. savory debate.

"Sweet, that suits you perfectly, you're just like sweet tofu pudding!" The security guard said an embarrassing compliment, leaving Mo Xueyao speechless for a moment. She could only smile awkwardly and push her bicycle into the underground bike garage.

The class monitor arrived earlier than her today, because when she got to the classroom door, she found that the door was already open, and the class monitor was opening the windows one by one.

"Um... Class monitor... Did you just arrive too?"

"Okay." The class monitor nodded, opened all the windows, and then returned to his seat.

Right now, she's holding an English book and memorizing vocabulary, looking very serious.

Although studying depends a lot on talent, if you can work hard like the class monitor, you won't do too badly no matter what. Even if you're not very bright, you can still maintain an above-average level.

There's something very strange going on at school.

Students with good talent often study even harder, while students with less talent tend to give up on themselves.

Mo Xueyao used to be a student of average talent. Back then, she was immature and followed the others in giving up on herself.

But I finally woke up in junior high school and used all my spare time to catch up. After catching up, I started to consolidate or learn new things...

She achieved this level through her own hard work, and often students like her have more stable grades.

Having experienced setbacks, I understand even more the principle that if you don't move forward, you fall behind.

Among talented people, there are some whose talents are so great that they can get high scores even if they just listen to the lectures. When they become complacent, it is the beginning of their failure. Even if it is still not bad for others, it is a waste of their precious talents.

Many people get good scores on the college entrance exam and are admitted to good universities, mistakenly believing that they can let themselves go once they get to university. As a result, they find that they can't keep up with the pace of university life at all...