A Young Woman's Heart

My mother, unusually, came home earlier than me today, and is currently watching TV and eating sunflower seeds in the house.

"Mom, are you free today?"

"Do you want me to work myself to death before you're happy?" Her mother glanced at her sideways.

"Cough, I never said anything like that." Mo Xueyao shook off the water droplets that had drifted into her raincoat in the wind. "Mom, is there enough hot water? I want to take a shower!"

"There's no water today." Mother leaned back in her chair and yawned widely. "The water's been cut off."

"The water's out!? What are we going to do?"

"Go to the bathroom to wash."

"Huh!?"

And so, Mo Xueyao took her toiletries, a change of clothes, and a pink basin to hold them, and left the house.

Her mother had already gone to wash up, so she didn't plan to go with Mo Xueyao.

Although Mo Xueyao felt that she was more likely attracted by the soap opera playing on TV...

There's nothing wrong with going to the bathroom by yourself.

Mo Xueyao learned to take a bath by herself starting in the fifth grade of elementary school.

After all, her parents are very busy, and sometimes they don't even have time to spend with her at night.

But that's the problem.

I used to go to the men's bathhouse, but what about today?

As a girl, of course she should go to the women's bathroom!

It wasn't just shyness, but also a sense of rejection.

Perhaps it's because a certain organ in her body wasn't born that way, but was reshaped back to its original form later in life.

This made her feel like she was different from normal people.

There's a sense of...inferiority.

It's fine to shower with people you know, but what if you're surrounded by complete strangers...

Will other people find her strange and discover that she was actually a boy for a period of time and has the same way of thinking as a boy?

Although she knew she was basically overthinking things, the brain is a strange thing.

Even though I know it, I still can't help thinking about it, and I can't help worrying about it.

Because I had to hold the basin in both hands, I could only barely hold the umbrella between my neck and shoulder as I walked, which was much more tiring than walking normally.

We finally made it to the bathroom door after a long and difficult journey.

The curtain of rain made the colorful neon lights at the bathroom entrance appear hazy and blurry.

However, the words on the signboard are still clearly visible.

It flashed faster than the neon lights next to it, as if trying to attract others.

Public bathhouse.

This is an ordinary bathhouse near Mo Xueyao's home.

They sat down in a row of farmers' houses.

It occupies a considerable area, but the main bathroom building only has two floors: the first floor is the men's bathroom, and the second floor is the women's bathroom.

Various kinds of garbage were piled up in the corner of the yard, and it seemed that the daily cleaning was just sweeping the garbage from the door to the side.

Apart from a flagstone path leading directly from the courtyard gate to the bathroom entrance, the surrounding area was muddy due to the rain; those were all unpaved dirt surfaces.

Chinese people always manage to plant something on any vacant lot, and the bathroom courtyard was no exception. Several small but exquisite plots of land were scattered about in an orderly fashion, and with the help of the flashing neon lights, one could barely make out what appeared to be vegetables.

"Phew..." Mo Xueyao pushed open the glass door of the bathroom and breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Because it's much warmer inside than outside.

She put the umbrella in a red plastic bucket next to her and walked to the counter with a little trepidation.

When Mo Xueyao was a child, it cost two yuan to take a bath at this bathhouse, but now the price on the sign on the wall behind the counter has changed several times.

Small bathrooms like these only have the most basic showering function. It's impossible to imagine a large bathroom where you can relax comfortably after showering, or even be equipped with various entertainment facilities.

At that time, most ordinary people only had one very basic need for a bathroom.

That is—being able to wash your body clean.

Both men's and women's baths have two types of bathhouses.

One type has a soaking tub, while the other is just a shower.

Mo Xueyao went to the one with the soaking tub once and didn't plan to go again.

Because the water there doesn't seem to be changed very often, and you don't know what's put in it; it's dark green, and anyone can come in and soak in it. It's not as clean as you might imagine.

If you just want to take a bath, then take a shower.

She also remembered that before she was discharged from the hospital, the nurse seemed to have said that she should not go to public bathhouses because there was a possibility of cross-infection.

Even though it's been two months since the surgery, that area is still relatively delicate and fragile.

"A bath..." Mo Xueyao, who had been staring blankly at the price list for a while, finally took a deep breath and tried to regain the natural feeling she used to have when coming to the bathhouse. "A shower."

"Three yuan." The proprietress, who was so fat that her clothes looked like they were about to burst, lit a cigarette and was watching a soap opera with great interest in front of a small TV.

Mo Xueyao glanced at it and realized that it seemed to be the same movie her mother was watching.

It seems this soap opera is quite popular.

"Here you go." She placed the basin on the counter and took out a five-yuan bill from her pocket.

If she wants to take a bath at a public bathhouse with a soaking tub, five yuan is just right.

But she would rather save the extra two yuan and buy something to eat on the way back.

"Take it." The proprietress glanced at her briefly, then tossed a sign for the women's bathhouse's storage room and the two yuan change she had received onto the counter.

Mo Xueyao stuffed the two-yuan bill back into her pocket, swallowed hard while holding the number tag, and cautiously walked to the entrance of the women's bathhouse.

"Splash—" The heavy cotton quilt at the entrance of the bathhouse on the second floor without a soaking tub was lifted, and a middle-aged woman with a sallow complexion walked out. She was so frightened that she trembled slightly, as if she had been caught red-handed as a thief.

However, the older woman completely ignored her and walked out on her own.

"Phew... I look completely like a girl now... Why should I worry about being discovered... Besides, even if I take my clothes off, I don't have that thing anymore..." Mo Xueyao pinched her cheeks, lifted the thick cotton cloth and went inside.

It's no different from the changing room in the men's bathhouse.

Some middle-aged women were changing clothes here, and their overweight bodies were truly unbearable to look at.

It was completely different from the women's bathhouse that Mo Xueyao had imagined.

Perhaps, there's a little disappointment?

But at the same time, I also breathed a sigh of relief.

If they were all young and beautiful bodies, she probably wouldn't know what to do.

The secret to changing clothes in the locker room is to not look at others, just focus on yourself.

This can avoid embarrassment for both yourself and others.

Having removed all her clothes, Mo Xueyao, naked and fair-skinned, carefully entered the bathroom.

As soon as you step inside, you feel a wave of heat wash over you.

In winter, there's nothing more enjoyable than taking a relaxing bath in a warm bathroom.

After paying, hot water is supplied in unlimited quantities, which is much more enjoyable than taking a shower at home where you can only wipe yourself with a wet towel and rinse off with water at the end.

Perhaps to save costs, each showerhead was separated by only two walls, and the walls were only up to Mo Xueyao's neck. If she turned her head and looked around, she could see the other people next door at a glance.

Furthermore, these so-called cubicles do not have doors.

That means others can see you just as they walk by...

The old Mo Xueyao wouldn't have been so shy, but perhaps because of the surgery, her body was different from before, so she only dared to turn her back to where there should have been a door, and then squint her eyes, trying her best not to think about anything else.

As the hot water bathed my body, time seemed to stretch out infinitely.

You can't have such a wonderful experience at home.

Only after she felt warm all over did Mo Xueyao start applying soap to her body, and of course, she didn't forget to give a special wash to a certain area.

"Actually, it's not as difficult as I imagined," she chuckled to herself as she rubbed her hair.

"Oh my, all the young girls these days are so fair-skinned."

"Oh dear, we're getting old."

"We weren't this fair-skinned when we were young."

"Times have changed."

"Yes, this is a great era."

Mo Xueyao blushed immediately, knowing without a doubt that the older women were talking about her.

But... is this a good era?

Indeed, compared to the era when people couldn't get enough to eat, this is a much better time.

But she believes that the future will definitely get better and better. We haven't reached the end yet; on the contrary, this is just the beginning.

As she thought about it, Mo Xueyao gently rubbed every part of her body with a bath towel until her skin turned red.

After showering, she changed into clean clothes, put two yuan in the pocket of her clean clothes, handed over her number, and left the bathroom.

Even the crisp air outside didn't seem so cold anymore.

A few drops of rain, blown by the wind, landed on her face, which actually made her feel refreshed.

She had just finished a comfortable hot shower, and her whole body was steaming with white heat.

Looking at her reflection in the puddle, she couldn't help but think of freshly baked sweet potatoes...

This suddenly made her crave roasted sweet potatoes.

Unfortunately, there aren't many shops that specialize in roasted sweet potatoes; you can only buy them from those mobile tricycles.