A Young Woman's Heart

"Ah, it's alive!" Mo Xueyao's voice trembled slightly. She hugged the little tabby cat in her arms and eagerly pushed open the door to the master bedroom, where she saw her father lying on the bed, fast asleep.

Normally, she would never have woken him up like that, but today she was too excited and acted impulsively.

"Dad, Dad!!"

"Ha-hoo-hoo-ha-" The father was still snoring in his sleep, showing no sign of being woken up.

Mo Xueyao, however, refused to give up. She needed a definite answer from her father before she could feel at ease.

So she quickly walked to her father's bedside, carrying the cat, placed the little tabby cat on his chest, and then pushed him hard: "Dad—!!"

"Hmm...? Hmm! What is it?" The father opened his eyes with a yawn, looking exhausted.

A sudden pang of guilt rose in Mo Xueyao's heart, and she said somewhat embarrassedly, "Ah... this... the cat! What happened?"

She picked up the tabby cat again, her heart overflowing with affection, and she was stroking its back.

"I bought it."

"Huh? Are you really going to get a cat?"

"Yes, don't you like cats?"

"I like it... um... it's just... such a pleasant surprise." Mo Xueyao hugged the little tabby cat and gently rubbed her cheek against it. "Its fur is still a little wet? What happened..."

"I gave it a bath when I got back to prevent fleas, but I probably didn't clean it properly."

"That won't do, you'll catch a cold." Mo Xueyao, who cared even more about herself than her own health, hurriedly ran into the bathroom, calling out from afar, "Dad—which towel is his?"

"The one hanging on the door." The father, who had been woken up, couldn't fall back asleep for a while, so he simply got up, swaying as he walked out of the master bedroom.

"Isn't that for wiping feet?!" Mo Xueyao's voice became shrill due to her excitement.

"Wouldn't it be perfect to use the paw wipes to wipe the cat?"

"That won't do! It's too dirty!" Perhaps it was just her imagination, but at that moment, Mo Xueyao seemed to smell a faint odor of foot odor on the tabby cat.

She glanced at her face towel, which had several holes in it, and remembered that she had a new one in her closet. So she simply took the old one down and carefully dried the still damp parts of the kitten's body. Then she sprayed some floral water on it, which finally eliminated the faint foot odor.

"This cat is so well-behaved. She doesn't move around at all when I'm wiping her body." Mo Xueyao gently scratched the kitten's chin and rubbed its white paws.

"Of course, I bought it because it looked so well-behaved." The father strolled into the bathroom, about to take off his pants, but suddenly stopped, glanced at Mo Xueyao who was wiping the cat beside him, coughed and said, "Go out for a bit."

"what?"

"I'm in the bathroom."

"Then go ahead and do it," Mo Xueyao said indifferently.

"……inconvenient."

"It's not like I haven't seen it before, tsk, so pretentious." She rolled her eyes, gave her father a look of disdain, and then walked out of the bathroom with the tabby cat in her arms.

This kitten is very friendly to people, but it's not naughty; it just likes to stick close to others.

When Mo Xueyao was doing her homework, she placed it on her lap. The latter seemed to have the ability to rest wherever it lay down. Right now, it was squinting its eyes, tucking its little hands in, and lying peacefully on her lap.

It won't move at all.

It won't affect her studies—as for the fact that it's so cute that she always wants to touch it, that's something it can't control itself.

"How about we have stir-fried loofah with eggs for dinner?" Father asked, opening the refrigerator and looking at what other dishes were left in the house.

"Anything is fine. By the way, Dad, does this cat have a name?"

"It doesn't have a name, so you can call it whatever you want." The older generation doesn't seem to be very interested in naming animals; even if they do, it's just for convenience as a code name.

Most of the time, you call a dog "woof woof" and a cat "meow meow"...

The names they chose, like 'Little Black,' 'Little Flower,' and 'Little White,' all have a rustic feel to them.

As a high school student, Mo Xueyao considered herself a cultured person.

So she wanted to give the little tabby cat a name that sounded sophisticated, or at least not something too cliché.

"Hmm... what should I call it?" She stroked the kitten's soft fur while racking her brains. "What do its markings look like? Hmm! They look a bit like sesame candy."

Sesame candy is a specialty snack from the Jiangnan region. It is made by grinding roasted sesame seeds into powder, mixing it with sugar, and then wrapping it in a rectangular shape with a piece of paper. It is soft and sweet.

The patterns on the sesame candy are somewhat similar to the stripes on a tabby cat, also being a mix of gray and white.

"How about we call it Crispy Candy...?" Mo Xueyao gently scratched the kitten's chin, as if asking it, "Crispy Candy, Crispy Candy?"

"Meow~" the latter responded softly.

"Looks like you accept this name? Then I'll call you Crispy Candy from now on!"

"Meow!" Su Tang buried her head in Mo Xueyao's hand and rubbed it against it, as if to express her satisfaction.

Most of the time, life is mundane and repetitive.

But in fact, there are many changes within this repetition.

In this ordinary life, there are occasionally some unexpected little surprises.

For example, when Mo Xueyao returned home today, she found that there was a little tabby cat in her house.

This is the simplest and most genuine joy in life.

Having just gained a pet made Mo Xueyao feel that her previously somewhat monotonous life had become more colorful.

I wonder if my mother will be too happy when she comes back?

She's the kind of person who doesn't really like keeping pets at home.

Because I felt it would make my already messy home even messier.

Today, my mother came home earlier than usual.

After pushing open the door, she habitually pushed open Mo Xueyao's door and glanced inside.

"Huh, where did this cat come from?" Her mother frowned, making Mo Xueyao's heart tighten.

"I bought them for ten yuan each. They're little male cats, and supposedly they're very good at catching mice," the father's voice came through the sizzling sound of oil in the pan.

"Why buy it? We don't have many rats in our house, and wouldn't it be more convenient to buy rat poison?"

"Getting a pet can help soothe your mood."

"Dad, it's 'cultivate,' not 'refine'..." Mo Xueyao corrected.

"Having a pet is a lot of trouble." The mother seemed to be starting to get a headache.

"Oh, it's alright. By the way, I think we should open a shop. Don't you have some extra money? Let's pool it together and use it to open a shop."

"Opening a shop? You've got a plan?"

"Yes, I'm planning to open a fruit shop. I'll take some time to check out the shop when I have time."

"Was this cat bought for the fruit shop?"

"That's it."

"Hmm... alright then, you can have a cat, but you two have to keep the house clean first, do you hear me?"

“We heard you—” Mo Xueyao and her father answered in unison.

……

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Su Tang Who Likes to Snuggle Under the Blankets

The autumn nights are still a bit chilly, and the cold wind outside the window whistles into the room, but closing the window makes it feel too stuffy.

So Mo Xueyao had no choice but to leave the window open and let the autumn wind blow into the house.

She herself, however, wrapped herself up tightly in the blanket, only peeking out most of her small face to breathe in the fresh air.

It was late at night. Looking out the window by my bed, I saw a sky full of stars and the lights still on in a few homes in the neighborhood.

In 1999, not many people went to bed late at night, unless they had jobs that required working all night; most families turned off their lights before 10 p.m.

Even Mo Xueyao, a high school student, finished her homework by nine o'clock and then lay comfortably in bed.

I lay there for more than an hour.

It's normal to have trouble sleeping occasionally.

Sometimes it's because I'm too tired and can't fall asleep, while other times it's because my body is too excited, making it difficult to fall asleep.

At this moment, Mo Xueyao really wanted to hug Sutang again, or even... sleep with it.

But her mother would definitely not agree, so the little tabby cat was left in the living room while she closed the door to go to sleep.

This left her somewhat disappointed.

Even though I was holding it while doing my homework, I still felt like I hadn't held it enough.

This kitten is so obedient and doesn't make a fuss at all. It's just like a moving plush toy. You can never get enough of petting it!

At this moment, Mo Xueyao felt like she was being scratched by a cat, and finally couldn't resist quietly lifting a crack in the blankets and crawling out.

"Achoo!" The chilly air made her sneeze immediately, and her smooth, rounded, not so slender, but somewhat fleshy legs trembled slightly.

In fact, legs that are too thin are far less attractive than legs like these, and legs that are fleshy and plump feel much more comfortable to the touch.

Only elementary school students like skinny legs; real men should like slightly chubby thighs that can be used as knee pillows!

Mo Xueyao was wearing a pair of summer shorts from her elementary school days. They were originally outer pants that could cover most of her thighs, but now they could only be worn as shorts. Because the material was still soft, they were not bad for sleeping.

Although Mo Xueyao wasn't quite used to wearing a pair of briefs underneath and then a pair of barely-there boxer shorts on top...

But since it was her mother's request, she had to wear it even if she didn't want to.

She tiptoed quietly to the bedroom door, her big toes trembling slightly as they touched, her pink nails seemingly reflecting the moonlight streaming through the window.

"Squeak~" Mo Xueyao pushed the door open a crack and tiptoed around, checking if the lights in the living room were on, or if anyone was in the bathroom or kitchen.

After confirming that no lights were on and there was no other noise, she opened the door wider and carefully took a few steps outside.

I don't know where Su Tang is now.

After all, cats are creatures that always like to hide in corners.