A Young Woman's Heart

In fact, he hadn't eaten for two whole days and nights when he arrived here.

Children who grow up in the city probably wouldn't have the willpower to escape.

"Where did you run off to? You're all dirty and have so many cuts. Did you get scratched by thorny plants? Where are your mom and dad?" Duanmu Bi gently patted his head. "Hey? Little guy, can you talk?"

Duanmu Ji just looked at him warily, his eyes filled with a vigilance that a child his age shouldn't have.

Seeing that he didn't speak, Duanmu Bi turned and left.

This relieved the young Duanmu Ji, but also left him somewhat disappointed.

If the other person had been more resolute, perhaps he really would have said something...

Unexpectedly, a moment later, Duanmu Bi, who was still a young girl at the time, walked over with an ice cream cone in her hand. Having grown up in the mountains, she had never seen anything like it before.

"Want some ice cream?" Duanmu Bi offered the ice cream forward, and seeing that Duanmu Ji didn't react, she simply pried open his hand and placed it in his palm. "Try it! It's delicious!"

Duanmu Ji stared at her blankly until the ice cream started to melt, then he lowered his head and gently licked it with his tongue.

A slight coolness accompanied by a rich sweetness.

"...Thank you, thank you." Duanmu Ji's throat felt like it was glued shut, and he managed to squeeze out two words with great effort.

"Where are your parents?" So, Duanmu Bi sat down next to him.

Her hair was casually tied in a single ponytail, and she wore neutral clothing, looking refreshing and capable.

A faint fragrance emanated from her, like the scent of flowers on a hillside.

“I don’t have parents,” Duanmu Ji replied abruptly after hesitating for a few minutes.

"Huh, really?"

"Hmm..." Even though Duanmu Ji was mature at that time, he was still just a ten-year-old child. When he felt that he could trust the other party, he told her all about his background. When he finished his ice cream cone with relish, Duanmu Bi specially bought him another one so that he could continue talking.

"Oh, I see..." Duanmu Bi swayed gently. "Then why don't you live with me? I don't have any parents either."

Perhaps it's because women are more likely to be approached by children, or perhaps it's because Duanmu Bi seems like a kind girl, so ten-year-old Duanmu Ji agreed almost without hesitation.

"I grew up in an orphanage and don't have parents, um! When I turn 18 next year, I'll transfer your household registration to my name!"

Duanmu Ji snapped out of his daze and realized he had already turned several pages.

The picture on this page shows Duanmu Ji sitting in a spacious hall. He is wearing clean new clothes and has two bracelets he bought from a street stall on his wrist, with two fluffy round balls hanging from the bracelets.

This reminded him of when she put this on him, and how he had resisted it for a long time because he thought it was childish and made him look like a girl.

That year, Duanmu Ji was eleven years old.

Duanmu Bi used connections and relatives to transfer Duanmu Ji's household registration to her own name—because he didn't even have a household registration himself, it took him more than half a year to get everything done.

The name Duanmu Ji was given to him by Duanmu Bi.

From that moment on, Duanmu Ji completely threw his past name into the trash can of memories.

When he was filling in his birthday, he didn't actually know it, so he ended up filling in the same birthday as his sister.

"Then let's celebrate our birthdays together!" Duanmu Bi said at the time. "It's convenient, we can celebrate our birthdays together!"

With his household registration in place, Duanmu Ji was finally able to attend school formally.

He had only attended a simple village primary school in the mountains before, but during the year he spent with Duanmu Bi, she taught him a lot of new knowledge.

In addition, he worked hard enough to pass the fourth-grade entrance exam and was able to attend the fourth grade. In the second semester of the fourth grade, he took another grade-skipping exam and successfully skipped to the sixth grade, finally becoming the same age as his peers.

I lived with Duanmu Bi for seven years, but the memories are more vivid than those of the past ten years.

He couldn't remember many things before he was ten years old, but he remembered almost everything that happened after he met her.

His greatest fortune was that he met Duanmu Bi not too late.

He grew up with her like this, and they will continue to walk together into the future.

Although his "older sister" was always unreliable and eccentric, sometimes acting as childish as a younger sister, deep down he still regarded her as a mother figure.

Duanmu Ji flipped through a few more pages; those were scrolls he hadn't looked at since junior high.

There are drawings of him running at the sports meet, and drawings of him going out with his sister.

Most of them only depicted him, while a few included Duanmu Bi herself in the paintings.

The latest picture shows Duanmu Ji taking a bath in the bathroom.

From this perspective...

Was it Duanmu Bi who observed it through the crack in the door?

Duanmu Ji's forehead was covered in black lines, and the veins on his forehead throbbed.

—This unreliable older sister is getting worse and worse.

It wasn't so bad at first, but ever since she started working as a nude model at the age of nineteen, things have gotten worse day by day...

Of course, most of the time it's just helplessness.

He wouldn't despise his sister because of something like that.

She works as a nude model, displaying the beauty of her body to others so that they can paint pictures, all for the sake of her family's livelihood.

At the time, she couldn't afford to pay for her art lessons, so she worked as a nude model while attending classes.

Most of the money earned was used to pay rent and Duanmu Ji's tuition and fees.

Besides the food expenses, the little money left over was always used to buy all sorts of small gifts for Duanmu Ji.

From 50 cents to 50 yuan...

Duanmu Ji smiled foolishly, closed the album again, and just like that, carefully and heavily put away the box called memory.

……

Chapter 270 Today is a Day of Bloodshed

May 9th.

It was a sunny day.

It rained a few times yesterday, so it wasn't too hot.

It should have been a pleasant day.

but……

As Mo Xueyao plopped down in the chair, she suddenly felt that her close-fitting boxer shorts were a little sticky.

Then I saw some dark red blood seeping out from under the skirt.

She knew perfectly well that she had her period again.

Menstrual cycles can only be calculated in general terms, and even the dates cannot be calculated with absolute accuracy.

Naturally, it's impossible to predict exactly when it will arrive.

After suffering losses a few times, she has learned to be more prepared for such situations.

She estimated the date to be today or tomorrow. Her period came as expected, but she still felt annoyed.

Fortunately, the blood flowed down her thigh and didn't stain her skirt.

She was anxious but dared not take a step, so she could only walk into the bathroom somewhat awkwardly, while constantly being careful not to let the blood leak out.

Fortunately, it was still early and there weren't many people in the restroom, so she could change her pants in a relatively relaxed manner.

Clean boxer shorts and sanitary napkins were, of course, already prepared.

After wiping her skirt clean with a napkin, she put it all on. Having already mastered the technique, she certainly wouldn't do the embarrassing thing of sticking the glued side to her buttocks again.

There was some blood on the black over-the-knee socks, so I had to take them off and put them in a plastic bag; otherwise, they would have looked too ugly and disgusting.

Although it's already summer, it's still a bit chilly to come to school in the morning without wearing knee-high socks.

After taking off her over-the-knee socks, she felt a little chilly and wasn't used to it for a while, but she should be able to get used to it after about ten minutes.

"Ugh...so annoying." Mo Xueyao rubbed her hands together by the bathroom door, then splashed water on her face. "Those days of bleeding every month..."

At this time of year, she feels weak and her lower body is always wet and uncomfortable. She has to clean herself up every time she goes to the toilet. To be honest, this 'process' is quite disgusting...

Having been a boy herself, she still hasn't gotten used to it, and even now, no matter how skilled she is, she still can't help but feel slightly nauseous.

Men, on the other hand, have absolutely no such concerns and can enjoy themselves freely every day of every month without any restrictions.

The troubles of being a girl are truly evident in every aspect of life.

Mo Xueyao walked back to the classroom while sighing.

Li Wanyan glanced at her, clearly knowing what she had just been doing.

When I have my period, I feel uncomfortable sitting in a chair.

Mo Xueyao adjusted her sitting posture several times, but still felt uncomfortable.

So he stood up and leaned against the window to look at the scenery.

……

"Xiao Xi, time to go out." Huang Zhengyang put the freshly washed dishes in the cupboard and turned to greet Huang Yuxi.

"Um...mmm..." Huang Yuxi walked over with a pout, looking at him pitifully.

"What's wrong, Xiaoxi?"

"Hmm..." Huang Yuxi stretched out her left hand, and thin strands of blood were seeping out from the fingertips.

"What scratched you?" the older brother asked with concern, holding his younger brother's finger.

“Hmm…” Huang Yuxi pointed to the edge of the window.

"Huh? Did you get scratched there? Uh... wash your hands first, so you don't get tetanus." The older brother said, carrying his younger brother to the sink and carefully washing his fingers with soap. The latter frowned because of the slight stinging.

"I have band-aids in my car. Go down first, and I'll put them on in the car."

"Hmm..." the younger brother responded with a pout.