A Young Woman's Heart

Mo Wenli glanced awkwardly at his father, coughed lightly, and was about to follow Mo Xueyao inside when his father called out to him with a serious expression, "Come here."

"What's wrong, Dad?"

"Since you three brothers are here today, I'll take this opportunity to make some arrangements for my affairs... Don't speak. I've already written my will and submitted it to the notary office. I'm just telling you some things. I'm getting old, and I don't know when I'll pass away..."

Grandpa stood up, picked up a large pipe, and led Mo Wenli to the next room.

Hua Yinyin's parents were chatting with her grandparents. In the swirling snow, the two elders had healthy rosy cheeks and looked quite robust.

The adults wanted to talk about other things, so only Mo Xueyao and Hua Yinyin, the two children, went into the morgue first.

My great-grandfather was placed in the coffin. The largest coffin lid was not yet closed; only the inner layer was covered. You could still see his smiling face through the transparent glass.

He was as stiff as a wax figure, but that didn't frighten Mo Xueyao. The room was warm, as if the heating was on, and the chilly atmosphere couldn't penetrate it.

When they reached the front, Mo Xueyao and Hua Yinyin looked at each other, unsure of what they should do.

"A bow is enough," an elderly woman nearby advised, as she couldn't recognize which relative the woman was.

There's no need to burn incense or put your hands together; simply place your hands on your thighs and bow sincerely.

On the wall next to it are the greatest achievements of my great-grandfather's life, which will probably be engraved on the back of the tombstone as an epitaph.

He has provided China with a variety of advanced bridge-building technologies and personally designed more than ten large bridges. In addition, he has some knowledge of aircraft, missiles, tanks and other technologies. He once participated in the research and development team and worked with others to study and design these military weapons.

In that era, he was definitely one of the most sought-after talents in China, and it was precisely because of this that he was able to stay there permanently and obtain a genuine citizen ID card.

There was also a family tree of his descendants hanging next to it.

Great-grandfather had three sons and one daughter. The descendants of his eldest grandfather, second grandfather, and Mo Xueyao's biological grandfather were also written on it.

These people have many descendants, and their descendants have spread like a tree.

Unlike ordinary family genealogies, both men and women were recorded on it, and Mo Xueyao saw that her name and Hua Yinyin's name were clearly written on it.

"It's already quite a large family," Hua Yinyin said with a sigh, standing on tiptoe and looking at the family tree hanging rather high.

"But it seems that not many of the later generations are doing research; instead, more and more people are going into business."

“After all, we’ve entered a peaceful era,” Hua Yinyin replied matter-of-factly.

After walking around, the two came outside. Next door was a place to rest temporarily. The adults were chatting inside or standing outside the door, while the children sat in the corner, seemingly feeling a little bored.

The only person of the same age as Mo Xueyao is Hua Yinyin; the others are either too old or too young.

Although they are all relatives, they seem very distant because they don't see each other often.

Only the adults would come over and exchange a few pleasantries; the children wouldn't chat with each other at all.

"Thank goodness Xiaoyao is here~"

What Hua Yinyin said was actually what Mo Xueyao wanted to say as well.

Thankfully, Hua Yinyin was there...

The older generation seemed to be the most heartbroken, while the older generation seemed to only have a faint sadness. As for the children... most of them didn't seem to feel anything, as if the one who died was just someone unrelated to them.

“Last time, Great-Grandpa was chatting and laughing with us,” Mo Xueyao muttered, resting her chin on her hand. “I didn’t expect him to leave so soon.”

"Of course, when people get old, they might go anywhere at any time," Hua Yinyin replied matter-of-factly. "Hey, Yaoyao, shall we go see what fun things there are nearby?"

"What fun things are there around the funeral home?" Mo Xueyao rolled her eyes. On the way here, she had looked out the window the whole way and there were hardly any shops around.

Although there were many trees planted around the funeral home, it still felt eerie, and the snow kept falling, with no idea when it would stop.

The father had finished talking with his two other brothers inside. He then walked around the mourning hall, bowed several times in front of Mo Xueyao's great-grandfather's coffin, and then came out in the snow. He patted Mo Xueyao, who was hiding under a big tree opposite, and said, "We're going to stay at a hotel later. You two can stay together, okay?"

"Uh...anything is fine...?" Mo Xueyao originally wanted to say that she wanted to share a room with her father, but then she thought that she was now a daughter and was almost an adult. If she shared a room with him, people might gossip.

The father himself might also feel embarrassed.

At this point, it's still more convenient to have a son.

"Hehehe—Little Yaoyao~"

"Go away and play somewhere else. I knew you'd want to do something."

"It's nothing, we just took a shower together and stuff!"

"You two go to the hotel first. When you get there, just say that the Mo family booked the room. Here's your phone number. Call us if you need anything." The father clearly couldn't leave yet. "I know you can't stay still. There might be an arcade or something at the hotel. You two can go play if you want, but don't stay out too late."

"Alright!" Mo Xueyao immediately became interested. "Where?"

"Go out from this road, turn left, and keep walking along Yangpu Street. Then turn left again at Dalian Road. You will see a Chaoyang Hotel with a very prominent sign."

"Dad, you stayed here?"

"That was several years ago, but nothing should have changed there."

"Oh, shall we set off then?"

"Okay, be careful on the road." The biggest difference between fathers and mothers is that the latter have complete confidence in their children...

If their mother were here, she definitely wouldn't let the two children, who were unfamiliar with the area, go to the hotel by themselves first.

Although the snow on the road was not thick, the melted snow still soaked through her shoes. After walking a short distance, Mo Xueyao felt water seeping into her shoes, and her feet were ice-cold, as if they were stuffed into a refrigerator.

Hua Yinyin was well-prepared, wearing snow boots. Because the soles were high, the small amount of snow wouldn't wet the boots at all.

"Hiss—it's so cold." Mo Xueyao shivered, instinctively snuggling closer to the fluffy Hua Yinyin. "Yinyin, how much did you pay for your fur coat?"

"It seems to be seven or eight hundred? Hmm... fox fur."

"Ugh—so expensive." Mo Xueyao shook the snow off her umbrella and sneezed. "Achoo! It's snowing, but my face feels so dry."

"Since it's in the north, did Xiaoyao bring face cream and lip balm?"

"I did bring it..."

"I need moisturizing products here. Wait a minute, I'll take them out of my bag when we get to the hotel."

"It seems like there's hardly anyone on the street. Is this place too remote?"

"Hmm...that's part of the reason, but I think it's probably because most people are staying at home."

"At home? Don't you go to work?"

“In many places in Northeast China, such as those with outdoor jobs, people start to take a break in the winter—of course, without pay. So, people either save money and stay home to rest, or they do odd jobs or something like that… Well, I don’t know the specifics, because I don’t go back to my grandma’s house very often.”

"I thought I could take paid leave."

“There’s no such thing as a free lunch.” Hua Yinyin rolled her eyes. “But the New Year holiday does start earlier than in the south. However, with heating becoming more and more common recently, it seems that many companies are arranging their New Year holidays the same as those in the south.”

"The North is really not a good place to live..."

"Well, many northerners think the south isn't suitable, there are so many bugs, it's so annoying~" Hua Yinyin chuckled as she put away her umbrella and crawled under Mo Xueyao's umbrella.

What are you doing?

"It's more comfortable to be close to Xiaoyao, aren't you cold? Look, my fur coat will warm you up."

"Alas……"

The two walked even closer than before, but their pace slowed considerably because Hua Yinyin kept clinging to Mo Xueyao's arm...

"It's so heavy! You're so free, why don't you hold the umbrella?" She handed the umbrella to Hua Yinyin with a hint of annoyance, then looked up at the distance. "That sign... isn't that the hotel we're looking for?"

"Huh? It seems so... The entrance looks so deserted."

"Ah, the heating, here I come!" Mo Xueyao immediately quickened her pace.

……

Chapters 145 Elders Keeping Watch at the Funeral Hall

Chaoyang Hotel.

As for whether it should be pronounced 'cháo' or 'zhāo', Mo Xueyao had no idea.

Despite being called a grand hotel, it's actually just a six-story guesthouse.

The lobby is quite spacious, with an artificial water feature and leather sofas placed by the floor-to-ceiling windows.

The counter is located to the upper left of the entrance. A young woman is watching a television hanging overhead, which is playing a Korean campus comedy.

The volume wasn't turned up very loud; you could only hear it clearly if you got very close.

The heating in the lobby wasn't very strong, perhaps because the space was so large, but it was still much warmer than outside.

In the empty hall, only one man sat on the sofa, leisurely watching the carp in the pond. It was unclear whether he was a guest or a friend of the owner.

At the far end of the hotel, there is a partitioned restaurant area where only one chef is eating noodles, and no other guests are coming in.

The desolate atmosphere actually matched the light snow falling outside quite well.

"Hello, we are from the Mo family, someone booked the room before."

"Okay, please verify the phone number you left here." The receptionist's gaze shifted from the television to Mo Xueyao's face, and when she saw those clear blue eyes, she clearly showed envy.

"Hmm... the number is..." Hua Yinyin reached into Mo Xueyao's pocket and pulled out a piece of paper with the phone number written on it. She gave it to the other party, and after verifying that it was correct, she handed them an access card.

The door number was written on it, along with two free breakfast vouchers.

Although it looked like just a big hotel, it was quite advanced in this respect. Mo Xueyao thought she would hand over a set of keys!

"Take the elevator this way." The receptionist pointed to the left, then turned her attention back to the TV series.

This elevator was quite different from the elevators Mo Xueyao had ever seen. The elevator door was actually a hollow iron door. Although it opened automatically, you could see the situation inside the elevator shaft very clearly.

"What an old elevator!" Hua Yinyin looked around aimlessly, but Mo Xueyao tugged at her sleeve and pulled her into the elevator together.

Although it was old and simple, it was still very stable in operation. After arriving on the sixth floor, the two searched for a while in the long and intricate corridor before finally finding the door number marked on the access card—6015.

"Oh, there are two beds... Little Yaoyao, let's put the two beds together tonight!"

"I want to sleep alone," Mo Xueyao refused without hesitation. "I want to get a good night's sleep."

"What? It's warmer when two people sleep together!"

"With heating, it's not cold at all, okay?"

The heating in the room was already on. Unlike the air conditioning and heating in the south, this was a centrally supplied underfloor heating system, which was less dry and warmer.

Even wearing the hotel's disposable thin-soled slippers, Mo Xueyao could feel the heat emanating from the floor.