A Young Woman's Heart

"I see..."

“But… I don’t feel like I’m at home.” Li Wanyan was unusually a little hesitant. “Well… here, it feels like home.”

"Haha!" The father immediately understood. "It's alright, it's alright, don't be embarrassed. If you like living here, then stay. It's not like you're missing out on another bowl of rice! If you feel it's too cramped to live with Xiaoyao... oh, right!"

"What are you talking about?" Mo Xueyao leaned against the wall and glanced at her father.

She was actually a little nervous just now.

If a girl sleeps in the same bed with me every day, will I still be able to sleep?

On the nights she slept with Hua Yinyin, she only fell asleep because she was too tired.

After all, this body still houses the soul of a boy who has lived as a boy for sixteen years...

"Isn't there a place in our fruit shop where people can sleep?"

"How would I know? I've never been there..."

“Today is a good day to go!” The father made the decision immediately. “How about we go to the fruit shop together today? There’s a small room in the back where you can sleep, but it’s a bit stuffy without windows—well, it’s not that there are no windows, but the window is quite high, so it’s more like a ventilation opening.”

"Are you getting the class monitor to watch the shop for you for free at night?" Mo Xueyao teased.

"Then why don't you sleep there and let the class monitor sleep in your bed?" the father retorted, clearly having guessed what she was thinking.

Just as Mo Xueyao was unable to refute, the class monitor stepped in to defuse the situation: "Okay, let's go take a look."

"But wouldn't that be no different from living in a dormitory?" Mo Xueyao asked curiously.

“But it’s not like everyone has their own room in the dormitory,” the class monitor replied.

Actually, she didn't know, otherwise she definitely wouldn't have said that.

After all, An Ruosu had her own room.

But the feeling of living on campus and off campus must be different.

Living off-campus might make one feel more free.

“Alright, then Li Wanyan, may I call you Wanyan?” The father stood up.

"Yes, Uncle."

"Let's set off after you've finished eating! I'll take you there in my tricycle."

"Okay! I want to ride in a tricycle!" Mo Xueyao immediately became excited.

……

Chapter Seventy-Two: The Small Room of the Fruit Shop

The morning sun shone through the gaps in the clouds onto the faces of passersby, and the father pedaled his tricycle slowly forward.

"Dad, isn't it too heavy?" Mo Xueyao asked with some concern.

"Come on, the two of you plus some luggage, it's not even half the weight of the cargo you hauled this morning!" the father laughed. "Don't worry about it!"

Li Wanyan smiled slightly, seemingly more relaxed than when they first met.

Taking advantage of the moment when Mo Xueyao's father turned a corner on his bicycle, she leaned forward slightly and whispered, "You and your father have a very good relationship."

“That’s always been how we are in our family. We say what we mean,” Mo Xueyao replied matter-of-factly. “Even Dad can’t just say whatever he wants, he’s not some ancient emperor…”

"That's wonderful." Li Wanyan didn't offer much comment, but simply said softly with a hint of envy.

The tricycle drove through one traffic light after another, and also through some streets without even a shop.

Just as Mo Xueyao felt that the surroundings had become somewhat deserted, the area in front of her became lively again.

This is the last relatively bustling street on the outskirts of the city. It is because of a well-known hospital located here that this place retains a small part of Hangzhou's prosperity—although Hangzhou itself wasn't particularly prosperous at that time.

My godfather lives very close to here, but it still takes about ten minutes by bike.

The shop that the father rented was located at the bottom of the long slope outside Zhejiang Cancer Hospital, at a three-way intersection.

Instead of opening the door immediately, the father parked the tricycle next to the shop and then led Mo Xueyao and Li Wanyan into the general store below.

"You're here." Aunt Jin, who was watching a small black and white TV, looked up and asked, beckoning her father to come to her side as if they were very familiar. "Xiao Mo, can you help me take a look? The picture on my TV is always blurry. What's wrong?"

"The signal is bad, isn't it? Where's your antenna?"

"I don't know how to install that."

"where?"

“Go to the end of the road here, there’s a small door, go in and it’s on the left shelf—if I remember correctly.”

"I'll go get it." The father walked towards the back very attentively, but forgot to introduce his daughter to Aunt Jin.

This made Mo Xueyao feel somewhat embarrassed.

Just as she was hesitating whether to speak, Li Wanyan greeted her first: "Hello, Grandma."

"I was just about to ask your names, haha!" Aunt Jin smiled kindly. "Are you Xiao Mo's daughter?"

“No, I’m her classmate.” Li Wanyan pointed at Mo Xueyao. “My name is Li Wanyan.”

"oh oh!"

"Hello, Grandma, my name is Mo Xueyao... I am his... daughter." Mo Xueyao pointed to her father, who had already gone into the small warehouse.

"Very good, very good. Both little girls are very well-behaved, cute, and pretty." Aunt Jin seemed very happy. She waved her hand and pointed to the snacks on the shelf, saying, "Take whatever snacks you want, it's free."

"I can't accept that," Li Wanyan shook her head.

“Yes, that’s right,” Mo Xueyao quickly chimed in.

"Don't be shy—" Seeing that the two girls were too embarrassed to take the snacks, Aunt Jin stood up and reached out to take a few bags of snacks from the shelf.

They are all relatively expensive for this era.

For example, Oreo cookies, or those soft and delicious Orion chocolate pies...

Even though the two refused, she still divided the snacks equally between them.

Li Wanyan glanced at Mo Xueyao tentatively, as if asking whether she should eat it.

After hesitating for a moment, Mo Xueyao felt that she shouldn't refuse someone's kindness, so she opened a pack of Orion pies and started eating.

This kind of snack is not easy to find at other times.

High-energy foods are still very popular these days.

"Thank you, Grandma," Li Wanyan said politely before opening a bag of snacks.

"Ah, thank you!" Mo Xueyao chewed her food and quickly made up for the thanks she had forgotten to say earlier.

"It's alright, it's alright, don't be so polite," Aunt Jin said with a smile. "You two have such different eating styles."

"Really?" Li Wanyan chimed in from Aunt Jin, to avoid an awkward situation where only she was talking.

"Well, neither of you eats very fast, but you are more careful when you eat." After saying Li Wanyan, Aunt Jin looked at Mo Xueyao, "Although she eats slowly, she takes a big bite, and then her mouth is covered in food."

"Cough cough!" Mo Xueyao quickly wiped her mouth.

“Yes, I also think Mo Xueyao is sometimes very tomboyish.” Li Wanyan nodded in agreement.

This made Mo Xueyao feel both embarrassed and proud, as if it proved that she was indeed a boy.

"Aunt Jin, here you go, let me help you put it in."

"Okay, you set it up," Aunt Jin said, stepping aside so her father could set up the television.

"You're too kind, giving the children snacks again."

"It's okay, it's just a few snacks, it won't bankrupt me."

"Haha..." The father laughed a little embarrassedly, "Oh right, I forgot to introduce you to him."

"It's okay, they've already introduced themselves."

“That’s good. Also, this child is the class monitor at her school. She has to move out because of some family issues. I was thinking of arranging for her to stay at the fruit shop. There’s a small room in the back, right? Staying there shouldn’t be a problem.”

"Sure, but perhaps it would be better if your daughter stayed here? Won't the little girl be scared sleeping here at night?" Aunt Jin offered a suggestion.

"It's alright, staying here is fine, and it's close to school." Li Wanyan smiled slightly. "Living here is also more comfortable."

"It's good that the little girl thinks it's okay."

"Yes, and sometimes if you need any help, it's very convenient to just call me."

"Okay, hehe~ I'll call you if I need anything, Grandma won't be shy about it."

"It's alright, you're welcome."

Mo Xueyao looked at Li Wanyan in surprise, never expecting her to be so eloquent, and seemingly adept at communicating with elders.

In her presence, Mo Xueyao was completely like a child...

"Alright, all done." The father, who had been busy for a while, looked up and said that the picture on the black and white TV was indeed much clearer.

"Yes, thank you."

"Oh, thank you, but that's too kind of you. I'll go open the door now."

"Go."

"Let's go, girls!" The father tossed his head casually and led Mo Xueyao and Li Wanyan to the entrance of the fruit shop.

Then I used the key to open the roller shutter door.

There are three roller shutter doors in total, each using a different key.

It's not that the storefront is particularly large, it's just that because there's a pillar in the middle, we had to separate the roller shutter doors.

Fruit shelves have already been set up inside, and some fruits that don't spoil easily have also been placed there.

"It seems like there's not much stuff," Mo Xueyao said as she looked around.

"The other fresh produce will be delivered tomorrow when we open. Right now, we only have some pomelos, oranges, and the like," the father said, pushing open the door to the small back room.

Inside was a somewhat old wire bed.