A Young Woman's Heart

"A filling might cost seventy or eighty, but if you want a denture, it'll cost at least two hundred, and that's the cheapest option. A better one would definitely cost five hundred—including all the other fees." The mother seemed to know very well.

"What a waste of money..." Even though it was her parents' money, Mo Xueyao's heart still ached. If she had used that 500 yuan to buy herself food or other things, she didn't know how much she could have bought!

"That's why doctors make so much money. Why don't you take the medical exam someday?" the mother said lightly.

"Tch, that requires upfront investment!" Mo Xueyao rolled her eyes. "Besides, being a doctor is a high-risk profession; you never know when a patient might beat you to death."

As Mo Xueyao said this, Li Wanyan readily unfolded today's newspaper, on which a small section displayed a news story from yesterday about a doctor being stabbed to death by a patient.

“That doctor deserved it; he was trying to take bribes and kickbacks!” The mother’s tone was full of prejudice. “Others were just too angry, which is why they made a mistake.”

"Hey, Mom, how could you say that!" Mo Xueyao immediately became indignant on behalf of the doctors, and even her toothache lessened considerably. "You haven't done any investigation, how can you just slander others like that?"

That's what it says in the newspaper.

"That's just what the newspapers say. Who knows the truth? Besides, even if this doctor is like that, other doctors might not be the same..."

"You little brat, you've never been to the real world, you really don't know how treacherous it is. Doctors will deliberately prescribe expensive medicine for you, and if you don't give them a bribe during surgery, they'll deliberately not do it properly, and if you die, it won't be their problem."

"That's prejudice, okay!" Mo Xueyao was very angry. "Just because you live in this so-called 'adult world' doesn't mean everything is dark! I believe most people are kind, and most doctors wouldn't refuse to save someone if they could!"

Seeing that she couldn't win the argument, the mother turned to her and said, "What's wrong with you? How dare you talk back to your mother?"

“It’s not talking back, it’s being reasonable, okay… Ouch—” Mo Xueyao bit her teeth again, her face contorted in pain.

"Alright, you two mother and daughter, stop arguing and hurry up and go to the hospital to get checked out, or they'll close down soon!" The father stepped in to smooth things over, then took out twenty yuan from the drawer and stuffed it into Mo Xueyao's hand. "After you get checked out, go buy two good toothbrushes, one for you and one for Wanyan, to prevent any dental problems you might have in the future."

"Then I'll stay in the shop and work for my godfather," Li Wanyan said with a slight smile.

"Well, not so many people need to go out in the rain, but there's not much business anyway. Wanyan, you can rest."

“…Then I’ll make some handicrafts to sell.” When Li Wanyan and Mo Xueyao have free time, they make some handicrafts, from simple Chinese knots to complex cross-stitch and various woven crafts. They usually put them in front of the cardboard box where bananas are sold at the door. People who like them can buy them individually. The price is not expensive. They basically only make two or three cents. Sometimes, if someone buys something more expensive or more, they will give one or two small handicrafts as a gift.

This is also a marketing tactic in business; even if it's not valuable, it can still leave a good impression.

Doing business should be a win-win situation. If it's a one-sided "predatory" business, it will never last long or succeed.

Simply put, a win-win transaction is one where the seller makes money and the buyer feels they've gotten a good deal or are happy with their purchase.

A pleasant shopping experience leads to more repeat customers.

At first, the father, who hadn't run a business for many years, was a little worried about whether he could keep it going, but over time, his confidence returned.

Even though a new fruit shop opened next door, he believed he would earn more.

A steady, long-term approach is the best.

Mo Xueyao stuffed the money into her pocket and followed her mother out the door.

It was raining quite heavily on the road. Even when riding an electric scooter wearing a raincoat, the rain would stick to your face and you wouldn't be able to see the road ahead.

So the mother and Mo Xueyao chose to walk there.

Of course, you shouldn't go to a cancer hospital—because cancer hospitals only have an oncology department. If you need to see a dentist, you should either go to a private dental clinic or a general hospital.

"When we get there, you have to call him 'Uncle,' understand? Be polite," the mother instructed.

"Mom, do you know her?"

"Yes, it's a private dental clinic. I used to see him for treatment."

"Hey, you said you hated doctors before?"

“I never said that. I just said doctors make money.” Her mother moved the umbrella closer to her, while half of her own shoulder remained outside the umbrella.

Mo Xueyao didn't notice anything amiss; she only felt that the rain that had been occasionally falling on her face was now much less.

"Tch, never mind, too lazy to talk about it... my teeth hurt." Mo Xueyao said, grimacing. "So, Mom, you didn't brush your teeth properly when you were little either?"

“Back then, I didn’t have the means. I had to use toothpaste sparingly, and when I didn’t have a toothbrush, I even had to use a twig to brush my teeth. Besides, the food I ate back then wasn’t healthy; it was either too hard or too sweet, which was very damaging to my teeth. If I had the means you have now, how could I have developed dental problems at only sixteen?” Her mother tapped Mo Xueyao’s forehead. “Moreover, I didn’t have dental problems until I was thirty, unlike you.”

"Times have changed! There are too many temptations now, so it's easy to get cavities! Besides, you didn't take care of me when I was little."

"Who didn't care about you? When you were in junior high, I told you to eat less sugar as soon as your baby teeth fell out because they couldn't be replaced. But you still insisted on eating them. Luckily, this tooth isn't one of the more important ones. If it were one of your molars, you'd be in big trouble!"

"But I brush my teeth...it must be the toothpaste that's the problem."

"You blame others for your own shortcomings? I thought you'd changed." Her mother glanced at Mo Xueyao sideways. "You need to look for the problem within yourself, understand?"

"whispering sound……"

"Oh, by the way, when I went out this morning, I checked my mailbox and there was a letter from you."

"Mine?" Mo Xueyao was taken aback, then remembered that it should have been sent by Nora. She had almost forgotten about it recently and didn't know when the letter was sent, but she still couldn't help but feel a little excited.

It's been quite a while since we last met. I wonder what she wrote in her letter this time?

Are there any local specialties included?

"The letter was a bit bulging. I opened it for you and saw some dried fish stuffed inside—it was all written in English. Who sent it?"

"Hey, Mom, don't just open other people's letters."

"You're my child, so what's wrong with me opening your letter?"

"...Never mind, he's a friend from abroad, in Russia."

"You have Russian friends?"

"That's a long story, but I don't want to talk about it now." Mo Xueyao made a face. "You can open my letters all you want, but I'm not telling you, hehehe~"

……

Chapter 143 Three Rules

I had a wonderful night and didn't wake up until the afternoon.

Chen Cheng looked out the window. The rain was pouring down, and the tiles were covered with a layer of fine water droplets, indicating that the rain had been falling for a long time, making the whole of Hangzhou quite humid.

He subconsciously reached out to touch it, but found nothing. His gaze then fell on the prosthetic leg placed next to the bedside table.

The girl beside him was so charming and lovely that most people would never imagine that she had a disability under the covers.

Chen Cheng's sitting up seemed to wake Zhuang Lianlian, who let out a soft moan, reached out to hug him, and slowly opened her eyes.

"Awake~?" The girl asked with a slightly hazy smile, her coquettish tone carrying a touch of the elegance of a young lady.

"Hmm, it's getting late, it's already noon." Chen Cheng glanced at the time.

"I've already prepared lunch."

"what?"

"I made this this morning~ I didn't have the heart to wake you up since you were sleeping so soundly." Zhuang Lianlian tilted her head and smiled, struggling to sit up in bed. Perhaps because she only had one leg, her body was a little crooked. "Cheng, are there many pretty girls in your class?"

"Our class? There are quite a few, aren't there?" Chen Cheng closed his eyes and counted, then seemed to remember something and quickly turned to Zhuang Lianlian, saying, "But none of them are as beautiful as you."

"Everyone loves beauty~ Besides, I can't control you while you're at school~" Zhuang Lianlian said lazily, making Chen Cheng a little uncomfortable with her smile.

"Hahaha……"

As Zhuang Lianlian drew circles on his chest, she whispered, "I'm yours now, so you have to take responsibility for me."

"Of course, I will definitely marry you."

"But what if your parents don't agree?"

"Who cares about them!" Chen Cheng waved his hand dismissively. "They've all started their own families; they have no right to interfere with my choices!"

"Hmm~ But we still need to agree on three rules."

"Huh?" Chen Cheng was taken aback.

"Is that not allowed?"

"Of course, no problem."

"Let's have lunch first~" Zhuang Lianlian put on her clothes and got out of bed. For convenience, she usually chooses to wear a skirt at home.

The prosthetics were clearly not cheap. Once they were on her body, they looked almost perfectly natural, provided she maintained her current figure. Otherwise, whether she gained or lost weight, her legs would look very disproportionate.

And another thing... you have to wear pantyhose to achieve the best camouflage effect.

Chen Cheng felt somewhat uneasy during this lunch.

But he eventually convinced himself that the other party would not give him any difficult problems.

After lunch, a piece of paper torn from a notebook was covered with a list of 'family rules'.

"After you've read it, if you agree, then sign it," Zhuang Lianlian said with a smile, nestled against Chen Cheng's chest.

"Haha, what's the big deal? I can sign it without any problem. You definitely wouldn't hurt me." Chen Cheng readily signed his name, and the latter's smile became even brighter. The part that had made him uneasy earlier seemed to have faded away, replaced by a genuine smile.

At that moment, Chen Cheng knew he had acted impulsively, but he truly loved her, so he wanted to tell her not to worry about anything, that he would not abandon this love.

Hmm... this is just a high school boy's somewhat naive view of love.

Only after signing the agreement did he re-examine the contents of the three-point agreement.

The "three rules" are just a title; in reality, there are naturally more than three agreements, or rather... constraints.

1. No cheating allowed.

When Chen Cheng saw this, he visibly breathed a sigh of relief. This was perfectly reasonable. Falling in love with someone else while still dating a girlfriend was something only a scumbag would do!

Although he had been in several relationships, he only started looking for the next one after each breakup.

2. When I'm around, you're not allowed to look at other girls for more than five seconds, unless it's necessary.

"3. Even if it is necessary to communicate with a girl, when I am with you, keep the time to within three minutes."

"4. After school, you must go home on time and are not allowed to wander around. Sometimes I will come home to conduct surprise checks."

5. If the food I cook is bad, you must tell me, otherwise you will be punished by doing one hundred push-ups.

6. In crowded places, you must hold my hand tightly.

7. If you find out I've gained weight, you must tell me. Don't lie.

"8. Pay attention in class, and answer the questions I didn't understand when I studied on my own during the weekend."

"9. No reckless spending. We will keep our money in a shared box. If we need to spend more than one hundred yuan, we must inform each other and both of us must confirm before we can spend it."