A Young Woman's Heart

"Okay...it might hurt a little, and there might be a few drops of blood, don't be afraid."

"Ok!"

Mo Xueyao watched with great interest; it was the first time she had ever seen someone else get their ears pierced.

This is different from cutting your nails; getting your ears pierced will hurt.

Even if it's just a very thin silver needle, it still pierced right through the flesh.

Also, is it really okay to get your ears pierced in such a small shop?

Mo Xueyao was a little worried, but when she saw that the shopkeeper had at least disinfected the piercing tool and wiped her earlobes with alcohol swabs, she breathed a sigh of relief. At least it didn't look so unprofessional.

"Click." The ear piercing process was very fast; perhaps even Huang Yuxi herself didn't realize it before the ear piercing was done.

"Ugh!" However, Mo Xueyao had clearly underestimated Huang Yuxi's sensitivity, because in that instant, tears welled up in his eyes, and he covered his left ear, trying his best to endure the pain.

"What's wrong? Does it hurt a lot?" Mo Xueyao asked curiously.

"Hmm..." He nodded slightly.

"Do you want to wear a second one?" the shop owner asked.

Huang Yuxi hesitated for a moment, then slowly shook her head.

"Then two yuan and fifty cents will do." The shopkeeper pierced a small earring through his earlobe and returned the change to him. "Remember not to touch it. You can only wear earrings after a week, preferably half a month, that's safer."

"Hmm." Huang Yuxi didn't take the change, but pointed to an earring in the display case, which was priced at five yuan.

"Want this?" the shopkeeper asked.

"Yes!" Huang Yuxi nodded vigorously.

"This needle is pure silver, it will absolutely not damage your ear or cause infection," the shopkeeper explained. "And that little red dot at the tip is a genuine ruby."

The way he said that made it sound like he'd made a profit.

But Mo Xueyao always felt that she could definitely bargain.

"Can you make it cheaper?" Huang Yuxi held up the whiteboard.

"That won't do. The prices are clearly marked and are already at their lowest. If they go any lower, I'll lose money."

It seems that every business owner responds this way when faced with haggling...

"Oh..." Huang Yuxi nodded, and then took out two yuan and fifty cents from the fluffy little wallet and put it on the table.

That's perfect.

"Okay, welcome back next time!"

Huang Yuxi smiled and nodded, looking excitedly at the earring that looked quite exquisite in the box.

Although he had just gotten his ears pierced, he couldn't wait to put them on.

Do you like it?

"Ok!"

"Ah... I still can't understand." Mo Xueyao muttered, holding the back of her head, and followed Huang Yuxi out of the shop.

……

Chapter Thirty-Six: Resting in Your Arms

A night alone is always lonely.

Especially when there's nothing to do.

Tian Tingchan sat alone by the living room window, quietly watching the bustling traffic outside.

The streets are relatively quiet recently, as the area hasn't fully come alive yet.

But in the distance, it was quite prosperous.

Before the sun had set, the sky changed from pale blue to deep blue, and the clouds were like a swirling galaxy, or like the varying shades of color in an oil painting.

A transparent vase sat on the windowsill, its price tag still attached, indicating its cheapness.

A single, unidentified wildflower was placed in the vase; its petals were purple, giving it a bewitching beauty.

She rested her chin on her hand, her thoughts a jumble of emotions.

She suddenly felt a little lost, wondering why she had wanted to be a girl in the first place.

Think carefully about the reasons, what exactly are they?

It's definitely not that profound.

It's even somewhat superficial.

She just doesn't want to admit it.

Is it to escape from one's own life?

No… her life as a man was pretty good; she had decent grades and an ordinary family. As long as she didn’t become a woman, that strict man would never have kicked her out.

He was indeed stern, but he wouldn't get angry without a reason.

Perhaps it was because he was so disappointed that he broke her leg that day.

Looking back now, the anger and fear of that time are gone, leaving only a little melancholy.

She didn't know if the man regretted it, but she knew for sure that she sometimes regretted it too.

If her life had continued along the same path, she might not have become a celebrity, but at least she would have had a decent life and a normal, uneventful existence.

It might not be very happy, but at least it won't be this painful.

Therefore, she was clearly not trying to escape her life.

It all probably started simply because I liked it.

I love how beautiful dresses are and I hope I can wear one myself.

But this is something only girls can wear; it certainly wouldn't look good on a man.

So she wished she could become a woman.

Yes.

This is where it all began.

It sounds naive, but I persisted with it.

Want to be a woman?

No...maybe that's not what I think.

What she actually wanted to be was someone who looked gentle and feminine, like a girl, but not necessarily a woman.

She didn't have much of an obsession with that organ, nor did she feel the same disgust for it as other women of her kind.

Unfortunately, such things often contradict what it means to be a man.

Why do we always have to make choices in life?

—She thought to herself.

Why can't life be like the clouds in the sky, where we make no choices and just let things take their natural course?

Although upon closer examination it was absolutely impossible, she couldn't help but think about it.

She curled her legs up, placed them on the chair, hugged her knees with her hands, and buried her head deeply in her arms.

"Ding-dong, ding-dong." The doorbell rang.

She snapped out of her somewhat painful daze.

There was a small knife on the table, and a shallow cut on her finger was quietly oozing blood.

Tian Tingchan walked numbly to the door and opened it.

The person standing outside the door made her eyes 'clear' a little.

"Ah, Brother Chan, you were sick and took the day off today, so I bought some things to come see you."

"It's just a slight fever," Tian Tingchan replied, her voice somewhat indifferent.

"A fever is an illness too. How is it? Is it serious?"

“…Much better.” She said, subconsciously touching her neck, where she wasn’t wearing a collar, so she lowered her head a little.

Zhou Yong scratched his cheek awkwardly, unsure of what to say, because Brother Chan seemed reluctant to speak today.

So, quite tactfully, he stood at the door and didn't go in: "Brother Chan, I bought this on the way, I don't have much money... haha..."

"Hmm..." Tian Tingchan stared at the pineapple slices Zhou Yong handed her for a long time before finally reaching out to take them.

"Hey, did you cut your finger? Did you cut yourself while chopping vegetables?"

"Ah."

"Oh... be careful. Do you have any band-aids? Should I go buy some for you?"

"No need." Tian Tingchan was more indifferent than ever before.

Zhou Yong felt that he might have done something to upset her, or perhaps she was just not in the mood today.

Sure enough, her usual closeness was just a facade of kindness.

Zhou Yong breathed a sigh of relief, glad that he hadn't thought too much about it before.

"Ah... then get some rest, Brother Chan." Zhou Yong still tried his best to laugh as usual, but at this moment it sounded a bit stiff and awkward. "Then I'm going home."

Tian Tingchan watched him turn around quietly and take two steps...

Then, she called out softly, "Wait."

"what?"

"Let's...eat pineapple together." Tian Tingchan subconsciously licked the corner of her mouth.