A Young Woman's Heart

"One hundred years old." Mo Xueyao stopped joking. "That's considered a peaceful death."

"Yeah, I guess we'll have to go back then."

"Where's the shop?"

“Then we’ll just have to let your mother take care of him for now.” The father lit a cigarette. “After all, he’s your great-grandfather, so we still have to go back and see him off.”

"What about the flower basket? I don't know how to arrange flowers," the mother asked, frowning.

"We'll just hold off on selling for a few days then," the father chuckled. "It's alright, they should be back within two days if things go smoothly."

"Do I have to go too?" Mo Xueyao strained her waist and abdomen, pushed off with her feet, and suddenly sat up from the recliner. "What about class?"

"We'll see when the time comes. The funeral won't be held immediately; it'll probably have to wait a few more days." The father stroked his stubble. "Recently, the country has been promoting cremation, so I don't know what the rest of the family will do."

"Wanyan, are you coming along?" Mo Xueyao looked at Li Wanyan again.

Before she could nod, her father shook his head and said, "Unless it's a weekend, let Wanyan continue attending classes."

"Tsk, it's so boring to go alone, isn't it?" Mo Xueyao pouted, then suddenly thought of someone else.

Although Hua Yinyin is no longer considered a direct descendant according to traditional Chinese clan concepts, her blood relationship is not too far removed, and she might go along this time.

Having a cousin who's a month younger than me accompany me isn't bad at all.

—Isn't it better than having no peers to accompany you?

In Mo Xueyao's memory, she had only met her great-grandfather once, when she celebrated his birthday. Moreover, her great-grandfather was several generations removed from her, so she didn't have much of a relationship with him. She felt some regret about his death, but not sadness.

You could even say this was expected. He was already a hundred years old and didn't have much time left to live. Even if she had just returned last year and received news of his death, she wouldn't have been surprised.

Once a person gets old, they may pass away at any time, and it may not be due to any disease. They may pass away like their great-grandfather, sitting in the sun.

"Sigh, Xiaoyao, do you think I'll be able to see my great-grandchildren when I'm gone?"

"What nonsense are you spouting?" Mo Xueyao gave him a disdainful look. Even without her saying it, her father should know what she meant.

Having a grandson means she must have married a man. However... although she has adapted to the life of a girl, it doesn't mean she can accept spending her whole life with another man.

It's uncertain whether this grudge will fade over time, but as things stand, it's basically impossible.

"So you're really not going to get married in this lifetime?" the mother asked tentatively, in a joking tone.

"Can not be done?"

"Wouldn't that mean you'd end up alone?"

"Live with you guys."

"We will get old too."

"Tch, can't there be couples where both are single and they form a family?"

"Hmm... Yan Yan is indeed a good girl." The mother pondered for a moment.

"What are you talking about?" Mo Xueyao blushed slightly. "I just meant that if there are other people who don't want to get married, we can support them and spend our lives as friends! Anyway, it's not necessary to have offspring, and adoption is also a good option, isn't it?"

"You probably won't find someone like that," the mother shook her head.

The father smiled and changed the subject: "The future is still a long way off, why are you worrying about things that don't concern you? We'll talk about it later—Xiaoyao, give me your homeroom teacher's phone number, I'll ask for leave for you when I get the notification."

"Wen's phone number?" She subconsciously looked at Li Wanyan. "Ask Wanyan, I forgot where I wrote it down."

“I wrote it in the home-school communication book.” Li Wanyan opened her schoolbag and gave Mo Wenli her phone number.

In the deep blue night sky, a few clouds drifted away, and the clock hands pointed to even more distant numbers.

"We're going home now, you two should go to bed early." The father slammed the roller shutter shut, instantly blocking out the streetlights.

"I know." Mo Xueyao picked up Sutang and put it in the cardboard box. Then she closed the door with lightning speed to prevent it from jumping onto the blanket and getting its fur everywhere. Besides, it had gained a lot of weight recently, and when it pressed against her chest, it would make it hard to breathe.

Mo Xueyao was the first to crawl into bed, curling up into a ball next to the newspaper on the wall.

"Whoosh, it's so cold in bed!"

"It'll be warm soon." Li Wanyan moved her right hand, took off the silver bracelet and placed it on the bedside table. "Yaoyao, aren't you going to take it off?"

"A bell?"

"Ah."

"Too lazy to take them off—" Mo Xueyao rolled around on the bed, "Oh well, I'll just take them off anyway..."

The silver bell strung on the red string made a crisp sound. She handed it to Li Wanyan, who then placed it on the bedside table, with the bracelet and bell placed together.

Su Tang was scratching at the door from outside, clearly wanting to come in and sleep with them.

"You should watch the shop properly tonight, you've been sleeping so much during the day!" Mo Xueyao shouted back, whether the latter could understand her or not was not something she needed to worry about.

"Click." Li Wanyan turned off the light and groped her way into bed in the dark.

"Whoosh, there's a wind—it's so cold." Mo Xueyao curled up completely.

Li Wanyan smiled gently, tucked the quilt in tightly, making sure every gap was covered, and the two of them were pressed close together, their body heat quickly warming the bed.

"Hehehe—" Mo Xueyao deliberately squeezed Li Wanyan, and the latter responded by squeezing in a little more.

Su Tang had stopped scratching at the door, but a furry little paw reached out from under the door and rummaged around, making a 'rustling' sound.

"Su Tang still wants to come in."

"Ah."

"No, it's time for it to catch some mice today."

"There shouldn't be any more rats in the shop now, right?" Li Wanyan and Mo Xueyao were standing very close together, and the warm air she exhaled could reach the latter's face, making her feel a little itchy.

"I don't know—but it seems like Su Tang hasn't been waiting for us outside the door with a mouse in its mouth for a long time." Mo Xueyao tilted her head, accidentally bumping into Li Wanyan. "Maybe it thinks we don't like dead mice, so it took care of them itself later?"

"perhaps."

Conversations at night can sometimes go on for a long time, and sometimes, like now, they fall silent after only a few words.

It wasn't that they had nothing to talk about, but rather that they were probably tired and wanted to sleep.

Mo Xueyao's breathing gradually became steady, and she once again fell asleep before Li Wanyan.

Outside the window, in the deep blue night sky, the clouds had been blown away by the wind, and the boundless Milky Way scattered its glittering light without any obstruction.

Li Wanyan stared blankly at the sky through the small window for a long time until drowsiness finally overcame her; almost half an hour had passed by then.

At this moment, Mo Xueyao was already fast asleep. She subconsciously moved closer to her, buried her face in her arms, and mumbled something in her sleep.

"Wanyan..."

"Ok?"

"I'm hungry..."

"...What would you like to eat?"

What does cat meat actually taste like?

"..."

"Hehehe... Don't run away, Crispy Candy, let me take a bite... Mmm... Chocolate flavor..."

Li Wanyan chuckled to herself; clearly, she was just talking in her sleep.

"Let me try some too."

"Don't grab it, don't grab it... I'll eat first!" Mo Xueyao was even able to answer Li Wanyan's words in her dream. She wondered what kind of dish the sugar in her dream had been made into.

"Is the brittle delicious?"

This time, she didn't answer: "Sesame brittle..."

So, was I eating 'crispy candy' in a dream, or was I actually eating 'crispy candy'?

……

Chapter 140 Local Mail

In the morning, a middle-aged man delivering newspapers stopped in front of the fruit shop on a slightly peeling dark green bicycle.

The roller shutter door was halfway open, and Mo Xueyao was washing up at the door. She tilted her head back, gargled a few times, and then spat on the steps next to her.

"Today's newspaper!" The newspaper delivery man didn't get out of his car, but instead put one foot on the ground and handed over a copy of the City Express newspaper while leaning to one side.

"Oh." Mo Xueyao grabbed the newspaper with her wet little hands and threw it onto the glass display case selling cigarettes.

"And another one." Just as she was about to turn on the tap again, the other party handed her a yellowish-brown letter that looked a bit like a pancake.

“Hmm…” Mo Xueyao glanced at the words on the envelope and found that it was a local letter—sent by Nora.

She's been very busy with work lately and doesn't seem to have much time to meet with Mo Xueyao, so even though they live in the same city, she still sent a letter instead.

That's not bad, after all, the two of them initially established their friendship through letters.

"Thank you."

"Hmm." The messenger stepped onto the bicycle pedal without any politeness—perhaps he was too busy to be polite, as there were many newspapers and letters waiting for him to deliver.

The crumpled envelope was yellowed and the paper was rough, suggesting it was quite old.

There is some Russian writing in the lower right corner, and there is a pattern that looks like a military insignia.

Before she even opened the package, she saw Li Wanyan gently patting aside the candy blocking her way with her foot, standing at the shop entrance, using the mirror embedded in the wall next to her to tie her hair up.

“Wanyan,” Mo Xueyao said, flicking the envelope in her hand, “It’s from Nora.”

"Has she gone back to Russia?"

"No, it's just local mail. I guess they're very busy."

"Yeah, you haven't contacted her in a long time either."

"Thinking about it, it makes sense. Before, it would take at least a month for letters to go back and forth, but I would still send a letter every month. Now that we're so close, I don't send any anymore, and I don't even go to visit her in person." Mo Xueyao muttered, touching her lips, and then quickly found an excuse for herself, "Well, I'm probably afraid of bothering her. She must be quite busy with work."

Li Wanyan didn't respond to her words, but only glanced at the letter that had been sent: "Read it when you get to the classroom."

"Ok!"

After washing up, the two dressed neatly and set off.