A Young Woman's Heart

"Haha, you've got a sweet tongue, huh? Want something delicious to eat?"

"Godfather has ice cream at home?" Mo Xueyao's eyes widened.

"I've been craving iced food all day, but not today."

“Okay…” Mo Xueyao slumped her arms, looking like she was about to melt in the sun. “Speaking of which, Godfather, when are you planning to buy a car? Didn’t you say last time that you had saved enough money?”

"Isn't he still looking? Even your godfather isn't worried, so why are you in such a hurry? Alright, let's go inside."

With that, the two pushed open the door and went inside.

My godfather's house is much more spacious than Mo Xueyao's house.

There are two floors in total. The first floor is the living room, which has a large U-shaped sofa, a large color TV, and a VCR that can be used to play the most popular videotapes at the time.

When you want to watch something, just lower the screen, and you have a complete home theater.

The house is about 200 square meters, which Mo Xueyao's parents have always envied.

Every time they work hard to save money, they always say, "One day we'll be able to live in a house as big as Yu Liang's."

"Oh, is that Xiaoyao?" Yu Liang's wife came out with a smile, serving him tea, water, and snacks. She kept asking him what he wanted to eat and what he wanted to do. Her warm and polite manner made Mo Xueyao feel a little uncomfortable.

Yu Liang's daughter is much younger than Mo Xueyao and is not at home at the moment; she has gone to her teacher's house for a piano lesson.

"The DVDs are over here, you know that. Put whatever you want to watch on your own. The magazine shelf is over there, take it yourself. What kind of snacks do you want? Your godfather will go buy them for you."

"No, no need, Godfather... cough cough..." Mo Xueyao quickly said, "There are enough snacks at home."

"Well, in short, don't be shy with your godfather."

“Of course,” Mo Xueyao said with a smile.

Although that's what he said, that's just his personality; he doesn't like to take advantage of others, even if they are his godfather.

As for "you're welcome," this can also be reflected in other aspects.

For example, they can find their own snacks, drink their own water, put on their own DVDs and watch movies on the VCR.

My godfather's house has central air conditioning, so it's cool everywhere. Every time he comes, he wants to stay there and never go home.

Because it was so comfortable.

Moreover, my godfather also has all sorts of game consoles.

This is far superior to the Little Tyrant game console in Mo Xueyao's home.

For example, this expensive 'PlayStation' game console can play all kinds of games with exquisite graphics.

Back in 1999, this was the life a boy longed for most.

This is where Mo Xueyao's motivation to study comes from.

He thought that when he grew up, he would buy as many game consoles, games, and movie discs as his godfather, and collect them directly instead of renting them.

I subscribe to several of my favorite magazines every month...

How wonderful that kind of life would be!

And so, a day slipped through my fingers.

……

Chapter Four: Notice

The nights in Hangzhou in 1999 were not as bustling as they would be twenty years later.

A few dim streetlights illuminated the street, guiding passersby toward the distance.

Although the city is not prosperous, it is still noisy.

The street was lined with night stalls, and the small lights brought by the stall owners made the originally dim street even brighter.

Those cheap colored lights flickered on the street, seemingly imitating the dazzling neon lights of big cities.

The aroma of barbecue wafted over from afar. Mo Xueyao's mother had just gotten off the bus and was looking around, seemingly trying to find her way.

She couldn't help but glance at the roadside barbecue stalls a few times, and chuckled to herself, "If Xiaoyao were here, she would definitely pester me to buy some, right?"

After walking through the bustling night market, we entered a well-maintained residential area.

The well-dressed security guard at the entrance raised his hand to stop her, saying, "Excuse me, ma'am, are you a resident of this community?"

"no……"

"Please come here to register." The security guard neither looked down on him nor showed any enthusiasm; he simply stated the matter in a businesslike manner.

Mo Xueyao's mother walked somewhat awkwardly to the security booth and wrote her name and the address of the person she was visiting on it in her not-so-beautiful handwriting.

"Please wait a moment, I'll call the owner and inform him." The conscientious security guard said, picking up the internal phone next to him and dialing Yu Liang's landline. "Hello, is this Mr. Yu? A lady is visiting you here. Oh, you know her, right? Okay, okay, sorry to bother you."

After confirming the details, the security guard smiled and gestured that Mo Xueyao's mother could proceed.

The latter breathed a sigh of relief, but felt a little uneasy walking into this high-end residential area with its strict security.

"Ding-dong-ding-dong-"

"Coming, coming!" It was Yu Liang's daughter, who was ten years younger than Mo Xueyao, who opened the door. "Hello, Auntie!"

"Oh, this child is so well-behaved." Mo Xueyao's mother said with a smile, then placed a bag of fresh but inexpensive fruit on Yu Liang's table. "I didn't bring much with me, so I bought some fruit on the way. I don't know if you like it."

"What kind of relationship do we have?" Yu Liang shook his head and said, then suddenly felt his wife glancing at him sideways, so he quickly added, "I'm your child's godfather, why are you being so polite?"

“Yes, there’s no need to be so polite,” Yu Liang’s wife said with a smile at this moment.

Yu Liang's wife is younger than Mo Xueyao's mother. In addition, one stays at home taking care of the children every day and takes good care of herself, while the other is always out and about and works hard for the family when she comes home. So they don't seem to be of the same generation.

They're both in their thirties, but one looks like he's only twenty, while the other looks like he's almost forty.

"Xiaoyao, playing games at your godfather's house again?"

"Ah, Mom, you're here." Mo Xueyao put down the game controller somewhat awkwardly, but looking at the game screen, she couldn't bear to stop.

“He’s just a kid, let him play. It’s good for him to have some fun sometimes. Xiaoyao is a good kid, he won’t let play distract him from his studies.” Yu Liang pulled Mo Xueyao’s mother aside. “I have something else to tell you.”

"What's wrong? What's going on? Why are you sneaking around like this? Aren't you afraid your wife will get suspicious?"

“Ahem, I’m not kidding… uh, it’s something very important, Yang Xiaoyu.” Yu Liang addressed Mo Xueyao’s mother by her full name with great seriousness. “Let’s go to the study to talk.”

"Oh..." Yang Xiaoyu was a little at a loss.

Yu Liang then turned to his wife, who was busy in the kitchen, and called out, "Wife—Ayu and I are going to the study to talk about something. Come find us in the study if you need anything."

"Okay, got it."

Upon entering the study, Yu Liang closed the door, poured tea for the two of them, and then sat down.

"What is it? Tell me quickly," Yang Xiaoyu urged anxiously.

"It's about Xiaoyao. He had a stomachache today, so he went to the hospital for a checkup."

"...Is it really that serious?" Yang Xiaoyu immediately became anxious. "Is it a serious illness? Could it be cancer? Or a tumor?"

"No, no..." Yu Liang shook his head, "It's not a serious illness."

"Phew." Yang Xiaoyu breathed a slight sigh of relief, but her heart was still pounding.

"That's right, Xiaoyao is actually a girl."

"Huh? Pfft, Yu Liang, you're still as humorous as you were when you were young. You're still joking with me now?" Yang Xiaoyu said with a smile, seemingly much more relaxed.

"...Listen to me, I'm serious. The doctor said that Xiaoyao has female intersex, which means she was originally a girl, but she has an extra one on the outside..."

"What do you mean?"

"It means that the stomach pain is caused by external organs inhibiting development during the body's growth, compressing nerves and causing a chain reaction, resulting in stomach pain. This time it may be stomach pain, next time it may be headache. If the pain is severe, it will affect his life in the future. And this must be done as soon as possible. After the surgery, Xiaoyao will be a real girl." Yu Liang finished speaking in one breath. "Ayu, this is really not a joke."

"..." Yang Xiaoyu took a deep breath and nodded. "Does the doctor mean... the earlier the surgery, the better?"

"Yes, a stomachache is better than a headache. It would be much more troublesome if it turned into a headache. Do you know that some people have their lives almost ruined because of headaches? People with headaches can't calm down to think or study properly."

"Then... how much did the doctor say it would cost?" Yang Xiaoyu nervously fidgeted with her fingers.

“Because it’s a special case and worth recording, most of the medical expenses will be waived,” Yu Liang said, holding up five fingers. “Around 50,000 yuan.”

"So expensive?" Yang Xiaoyu blurted out.

"After all, this is a surgery that is still rarely performed in China... so we have invited experts in this field, and I estimate that the experts' surgery fees have been waived for you. This only includes hospitalization and medical expenses."

Yang Xiaoyu lowered her voice: "This... let me think about it."

"It's nothing, just a small matter. If you don't have enough savings, just ask me for a loan," Yu Liang said with a smile. "I can easily come up with 50,000 yuan."

Yang Xiaoyu gave a wry smile. She knew that Yu Liang's family had considerable expenses. Although they were wealthy, they had many expenses and not much savings. They might be able to come up with 20,000 yuan, but even Yu Liang would have to borrow 50,000 yuan.

After all, he has only just reached the position of section chief. Although it is the rising period of his career, he still doesn't have much savings.

If he really had 50,000 yuan, he probably would have used it as a down payment for a car instead of waiting until now.

That's why I'm so conflicted, precisely because I don't have that much money.

Yang Xiaoyu knew Yu Liang quite well.

However, Yang Xiaoyu's family had no savings at all.

All things considered, even including all the savings in both of their bank accounts, they only have a maximum of ten thousand yuan.

The two of them earn only about 1500 yuan a month combined. They need money for daily necessities, food, housing, transportation, and Mo Xueyao's schooling. They also need to buy clothes and furniture occasionally.

Saving 800 yuan a month is already considered very frugal.

Last year, in order to help Xiaoyao get into a good school, we spent money on tutoring classes, which emptied our already meager savings.

Moreover, it's said that Mo Xueyao's father's job is not very stable because the company's performance isn't very good, and the management is already considering layoffs...

One thing after another came in quick succession.

Just like the saying goes—when it rains, it pours.

"Alright, it's nothing, don't worry. I have 30,000 yuan in my account, and with my wife's, we can easily make 70,000 or 80,000 yuan." Yu Liang comforted him with a smile. "And my money doesn't accrue interest, so you don't need to feel pressured."

"When will you be able to save up 30,000 yuan?" Yang Xiaoyu asked with a smile. "Something's not right."