A Young Woman's Heart

"Pretty much, it means the same thing." Mo Xueyao, who was running in the lead, stopped and stretched out a fair and delicate hand to her godfather. "Do you need a hand?"

"Haha, do you think you can handle this little brat?" Despite saying that, her godfather still grabbed Mo Xueyao's hand. "Where are you from, fellow believer?"

“From Russia,” Mo Xueyao replied, “and he was from the same hometown as my great-grandfather!”

"Oh ho, you've run into someone from your hometown? How did you meet?"

"It was recommended by the English teacher, and she's a girl."

"I've heard that Russian women are all quite beautiful," the godfather said, seemingly with a hint of longing.

"It's just a rumor."

"How can it be a rumor? Xiaoyao, look, you have some blood from that place, and you're quite beautiful, aren't you? Well, it's just that you're a bit too short."

“Even among Russians, there are different ethnic groups… those with Nordic ancestry are probably prettier,” Mo Xueyao muttered, struggling to drag her godfather upstairs. “Besides, I don’t want to be that short. It’s my mom’s short, and besides, Chinese people are generally short anyway.”

"Haha, who said that?" The godfather wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and patted his potbelly, which looked like he was pregnant. "Actually, Europeans used to be very short, only about 1.6 meters tall. They grew taller mainly because of better living conditions, better food, and better nutrition. Generation after generation, they gradually became taller."

"Is that so?" Mo Xueyao was somewhat surprised. "I thought that Europeans and Americans were just genetically predisposed to growing very tall."

"Haha, that's all brainwashing propaganda from foreigners, trying to make us believe that Chinese people are an inferior race." Godfather shook his head. "In fact, if our country develops for another twenty years, by then, the boys of your age will probably all be 1.8 meters tall, and the girls will all be close to 1.7 meters tall."

"That tall?" Mo Xueyao touched her head. "Then wouldn't I be like a disabled person?"

"Haha, don't rush, don't rush. Aren't you still growing? I'll buy you some calcium supplements another day so you can grow taller. Maybe you'll suddenly be 1.7 meters tall."

"I won't even dream of being 1.7 meters tall..." Mo Xueyao thought of her mother's height, "I'd be perfectly content with 1.65 meters..."

"Haha, 1.65 meters... that should be okay."

The godfather and Mo Xueyao chatted casually without any airs. Although there was a big age difference between them, they were able to talk to each other easily. They didn't seem like a godfather and goddaughter, but rather like a chubby older brother and a tomboyish younger sister.

They walked until their godfather was so tired he was almost collapsing to the ground before finally reaching the rooftop.

The rooftop door was closed, but not locked.

Mo Xueyao carefully pushed open the door and walked onto the spacious rooftop terrace.

Standing atop a high-rise building, looking down, the entire city appears as tiny as a model.

The vehicles coming and going are like remote-controlled toys, and the pedestrians of all shapes and sizes are like ants of different colors.

Although it can't compare to the photo of Moscow taken by Morning Star, it still gives the impression of being very prosperous.

The distant suburbs were so dark, and the city center was so brightly lit.

The moon was obscured by clouds, but the sky was still brightly lit by lights, so bright that the color and shape of the clouds were clearly visible.

"Human civilization is truly magnificent." She murmured inexplicably, brushing aside a strand of hair that was fluttering in the wind. "Peace is so precious..."

“This peace did not come easily.” The godfather smiled. “It is a rare golden age.”

"Godfather, what were you like when you were a child?"

"Back then? It was much worse off than it is now, and it wasn't as developed. It was backward in every aspect, and everything from abroad was better. Although it seems similar now, at least we can manufacture many things ourselves. Don't underestimate those knock-offs; being able to copy them is a skill in itself."

"Is it a good thing or a bad thing that the Earth is being transformed by humans?"

“Everything has two sides, but I think this is ultimately a good thing. Otherwise, would we still be living in that primitive era? All development comes at a price; it’s the law of nature.” The godfather lit a Zhonghua cigarette. “This is so that we can have a better future.”

"Speaking of which, haven't foreign news reports been saying lately that China's natural environment is getting worse and worse?"

"Of course, after all, the country needs to develop and doesn't have that much energy and money to take care of these things. But in fact, when those so-called developed countries were developing, their environmental pollution was probably much more serious than ours." The godfather took out a lighter and lit a cigarette. "You have to give to receive, and you have to pay a price to get a return. The environmental problem will definitely be solved when our country develops better."

"Godfather, what you're saying sounds like official jargon from a press conference..."

Haha, really?

"They look so alike!"

"No way, does saying something good about this country necessarily mean it can't be the truth?"

Mo Xueyao shrugged and didn't say anything more, but just snapped a lot of photos.

My godfather's camera is the kind that's very expensive. Even at night, the photos he takes don't have much noise and still look clear.

Finally, Mo Xueyao stood on the edge of the rooftop, holding onto the railing, and called out to her godfather, "Godfather! Take a picture of me!"

"Are you going to send your photo too?"

"Yes."

"No problem, stand in line! One, two, three, cheese!"

Mo Xueyao made a "V" sign, and under the colorful lights of the city at night, time seemed to stand still at that moment.

……

Chapter 132 A Phone Call from an Old Classmate

November 20th, Saturday, a sunny day.

Mo Xueyao slept in late, a rare occurrence for her, and didn't get out of bed until almost nine o'clock.

Only at this time, when the warm sunshine shines on her body, can she finally wriggle out of her warm bed?

My mother had already gone to work as a housekeeper at someone else's house, while my father was, of course, already working at the fruit shop.

She was all alone at home, so it felt rather empty.

"Whoosh—" Mo Xueyao grabbed the quilt, shook it a few times, and simply spread it out. Under the warm winter sun, fine dust particles danced in the air.

She yawned widely and then stretched languidly.

Standing in front of the mirror in the wardrobe, I suddenly noticed that my chest seemed to have swelled up a little.

She pressed it gently, and immediately winced in pain.

It was like dough that had expanded, and it had even gained some elasticity.

"Hmm..." She hesitated for a moment, then quickly lifted her collar and peeked inside.

Normally, looking down like this, all I could see was a flat plain, and I could easily spot my smooth belly. But today, I was surprised to find that it looked like a small fried egg.

The slight fluctuations seemed to add a touch of allure.

"Ahem!" Mo Xueyao, who was somewhat engrossed in watching, coughed awkwardly, closed her collar again, and walked into the bathroom with feigned composure.

The mirror was covered in foam and grime from brushing my teeth, along with a layer of fine dust.

She turned on the tap, cupped some water in her hands, and used her hands as a rag to wipe the small, cracked mirror. After washing her hands, she picked up her toothbrush and cup.

I don't know if other people have the habit of looking in the mirror while brushing their teeth, but Mo Xueyao does, even though she can't really see clearly whether her teeth are clean or not because of the foam...

Moreover, most of the time their gaze is not on their teeth, but on their own face.

For her, the time she spends observing herself the most each day is probably when she's washing up.

In the mirror was a graceful young girl with a slightly flushed face, as pink and tender as a newly ripened apple, making one want to take a bite.

If you look closely, you'll notice that the blue in their clear eyes has become more pronounced, especially in bright sunlight where it appears even clearer.

It seems that Mo Xueyao's deep blue eyes will gradually fade, turning into sky blue or light blue.

She touched her nose again and found that it seemed to be more upturned, and the corners of her eyes seemed to have opened up a bit, making her facial features appear more three-dimensional.

It has also gradually become distinct from most Chinese people, taking on a touch of grassland style.

Why is it described as grassland scenery?

Seeing these facial features, many people might assume that the person has Xinjiang ancestry.

You would never guess that they are actually of Soviet descent.

The more she looked at herself, the more beautiful she became, and the more she liked herself. Mo Xueyao even wondered if she had fallen in love with the person in the mirror. Sometimes she thought that if another version of herself could crawl out of the mirror, she might really fall in love with that person without hesitation.

"I always feel like I'm developing into the type of girl I like..." she muttered to herself, stuffing a toothbrush with toothpaste into her mouth.

After washing up, she leisurely walked into the kitchen. To prevent the porridge from getting cold, her mother did not unplug the appliance but instead turned it on to keep it warm.

But because she got up so late, the water in the porridge had evaporated a bit, and it looked like a mushy lump of rice, rather sticky.

Fortunately, it was still hot. In winter, it's good to have something hot to eat.

The side dishes were still preserved mustard greens and various pickled vegetables.

Today, we also have salted duck eggs and pickled cucumbers.

When Mo Xueyao was little, she always thought that pickled cucumbers were made from a special kind of cucumber. Only when she grew up did she realize that pickled cucumbers are actually made by pickling cucumbers...

Speaking of cucumbers, they are called cucumbers, but why are they green on the outside and green on the inside, and they don't look yellow at all?

Who actually named it?

While eating breakfast, Mo Xueyao likes to let her mind wander and think about random things, mainly because there aren't many good TV programs on in the morning—generally speaking.

"Ring ring—ring ring—" Just then, the landline phone at home rang.

When I'm at home, I have to rely on it to contact my parents without leaving the house.

Of course, occasionally strange calls will come in; some are wrong numbers, and some are advertisements or scams.

But most of the time it's quiet; it might not even make a sound for three days.

"Who is it?" Mo Xueyao licked the rice grains from her lips, shuffled to the telephone in her slippers, and answered it. "Hello?"

"Hello? Is this Mo Xueyao's house?"

"Ah...yes..." Mo Xueyao vaguely felt that the voice was somewhat familiar, but she couldn't remember whose it was, mainly because the voice on the phone was slightly distorted. "Who are you?"

"I'm Li Gutao, Mo Xueyao's junior high school classmate and good buddy." The other person paused slightly, then asked with some confusion, "Hey, wait a minute, you're Xiaoyao, right?"

"Ah..." Mo Xueyao, who was not good at lying, stammered for a long time before finally admitting it, "It's me, it's been a long time since we've been in touch, Tao."

"Haha, it really is you. Why does your voice sound so... well... um... girly?" Since they were good buddies, he joked around without worrying that she would get angry.

"It was probably because of the phone call," Mo Xueyao offered as an explanation to get by.

"Maybe it's because the phone's signal is a bit distorted. Last time I called Xiaoqiang, that kid thought I was some kind of middle-aged man!"

"Ahem, yes, a bit." Mo Xueyao smiled awkwardly but politely. They used to be good buddies, but for some reason, they couldn't chat as intimately as before.