A Young Woman's Heart

"No, no, it's just a regular apple. Hmm... I haven't tasted it yet. My dad said it's similar to a Fuji apple." Mo Xueyao said, then darted over to Black Chocolate. As the rabbit grew bigger, it became bolder. Instead of running away, it turned around and tried to lick her palm.

Li Wanyan slowly walked over, bent down slightly, and patted its head.

It's like a black ball, and it feels fluffy and incredibly comfortable to touch.

And unlike those small rabbits, which you're afraid of hurting by touching, these big rabbits can be rubbed hard without any problem.

"You two are here so early." Mo Xiao smiled as she carried the bouquet of flowers into the room, then turned to the two who were petting rabbits in the yard and said, "Would you like to come in? It's more comfortable sitting on the sofa."

"Okay, I'll go in in a bit!"

Pets are always the ones that other people love the most.

Because you don't have to take care of it yourself, yet you can enjoy the pleasure of being touched...

"Xiaoyao, you and the class monitor are here so early!" Mo Zhuyou said as she rinsed the small glass cleaning mop outside after wiping the windows, "It's not even eight o'clock yet."

"Are you alright? Hmm... I guess we're all used to waking up early?" Mo Xueyao couldn't help but yawn after hearing her say that. "When are the others arriving?"

"Yinyin seems to have just woken up!" Mo Zhuyou wrung out the mop with her little hands, which were red from the cold water, and then hung it on the wall outside the house. "Lele should be coming with Tongjue, right? Xiaoxi's brother answered the phone and said that his brother was bringing him, but because his brother has to go to work, he has to deliver the goods first before he can come over."

"Why didn't Cheng Yuan come?" Mo Xiaoxiao, who had just placed the flowers, stood in front of the rabbit with a handful of dried vegetables, feeding it breakfast as she asked.

"She's sleeping in late."

"Huh, didn't she stay overnight at her family's fruit shop yesterday?" Mo Zhuyou asked, stroking the rabbit's chin.

“She spent the night at the fruit shop yesterday, but I went to wake her up this morning, and she said she wanted to… sleep a little longer.”

“They’re all lazybones.” Mo Xiao smiled, her eyes crinkling, and covered her mouth to chuckle. “It’s better if they come later, so we can prepare dinner for Christmas Eve.”

"Hey, what about lunch?"

"Dinner is definitely more important on Christmas Eve, so lunch can just be a simple bowl of noodles, right?"

"Do you have instant noodles? I want to eat instant noodles!" Mo Xueyao, who usually eats at home, would never miss the chance to eat instant noodles.

"Yes, there is... but instant noodles aren't as good as the noodles my sister cooks."

"It's okay! I just love instant noodles!"

……

Chapter 231 Jingle Bells

The bright morning sunlight disappeared in no time.

The sky was once again covered by dark clouds, but it seemed slightly brighter than a typical overcast day.

A minivan drove along a narrow country road, swaying and bumping from side to side, and stopped at the gate of the yard.

"Clang clang clang!" Wang Jiale couldn't wait to open the car door and jump out. Her two ponytails swung back and forth, picking up a few shiny little metal pieces.

Then, a middle-aged man, who was neither fat nor strong, got off the car and carried a Christmas tree out of the back of the vehicle.

"Look what I've brought!" she shouted to the girls in the room.

"Wow—!" Mo Zhuyou's eyes practically sparkled like those in anime. She cupped her cheeks and pushed open the door. "What a huge Christmas tree!!"

"Did Lele bring the Christmas tree that was displayed in front of the store?" Mo Xueyao teased from the doorway, then greeted Sanhua Tongjue, who had just gotten out of the car, "Tongjue!"

"Hi~ Merry Christmas Eve~" Wearing a pink wig and pink contact lenses, Sanhua Tongjue spun around in place. "Look, how's my Santa Claus costume?"

"Huh...? A female Santa Claus? Where did this outfit come from?" Mo Xueyao looked her up and down in surprise and asked.

Unlike traditional Santa Claus costumes, this is a dress, and it's been modified to be quite sexy, perfectly showcasing the girl's shapely figure.

“Of course it’s custom-made,” said Mika Tongjue in Chinese with a Japanese accent. “Does it look good?”

"Beautiful!" Mo Zhuyou exclaimed from the side.

"Hello, Uncle," Li Wanyan said politely as she came out.

Mo Xiaoxiao was the last to come out. She was also very polite, smiling and giving a half bow: "Hello, Uncle, thank you for your hard work."

"Haha, have a Merry Christmas! But tomorrow is Monday, don't forget to get up early for school, Lele—if you really can't get up, just call me and I'll drive over to pick you up."

"I'll definitely get up, don't worry!" Mo Xueyao replied confidently, while Wang Jiale coughed awkwardly beside her.

Where should we put the Christmas tree?

"Over here, over here..."

This is an artificial Christmas tree, meaning it will still be usable next Christmas.

Similar to those in shopping malls, it was covered with various small gift boxes, but opening them only brought disappointment, as they were all filled with foam.

"Oh right, has everyone bought gifts yet?"

"A gift? What gift?" Mo Xueyao stared blankly at Wang Jiale. "Um, I bought flowers, does that count?"

"That doesn't count! I want a gift, and then we'll distribute them randomly... like that."

“No—” Mo Xueyao and Mo Zhuyou shook their heads in unison.

"Forget it, let's prepare it next year." Mo Xiao smiled and touched the beautiful Christmas tree. Some green powder and some colorful metal pieces stuck to her hand—in fact, upon closer inspection, one would find that these were not metal pieces, but reflective plastic pieces.

"I also brought this. My company shipped it to me. I couldn't find it anywhere in China!" Sanhua Tongjue picked up a large box, and Wang Jiale's father quickly came over to help, placing it at the door.

"What is this?" Mo Xueyao poked the box and asked curiously.

"A table warmer! Once it's set up, you'll see what it is—it's super cozy!"

"Oh dear, Tongjue also put one in my house. Once you use it, you can't get out of it..." Wang Jiale said with lingering fear, "But it's really super warm..."

"Thank you, thank you... for bringing so many valuable things." Mo Xiao smiled and thanked them repeatedly.

"Don't mention it! For my family, it's as ordinary as buying a bag of snacks on the street when leaving school." Sanhua Tongjue unintentionally 'showed off' her wealth again. Although everyone knew she didn't mean it, they still fell silent for a few seconds.

The Christmas tree at the entrance even has a built-in music player. Just insert the batteries and turn it on, and it will play the most classic Christmas carol, "Jingle Bells."

"OH, Jingle bells, jingle bells, Jingle all the way..."

They left it playing on a loop outside the door, instantly filling the space with the Christmas spirit.

By the time students reach high school age, they may prefer Christmas to the Spring Festival.

Since it's not a traditional holiday, there's no need to visit relatives and friends, see those aunts and uncles, or be asked about your studies or teased about whether you're dating...

Adults probably hate the Spring Festival even more, because every year when they go back, they are met with relatives urging them to get married, and they can feel the anxious look in their parents' eyes.

The people on this land are always very strange.

When their children are in school, parents hope they won't have early romantic relationships, but when they reach the age to get married, they suddenly hope their children will get married quickly.

But things in the world don't happen that fast.

Can a child who has never been in a relationship really know how to love someone?

Do they even know how to be loved?

But upon closer reflection, whether children are from abroad or in China, they are ultimately all being pushed along by the tides of the times—the only difference is what kind of tides are pushing them along.

In short, they actually have very few choices left.

In this era, Christmas is a holiday for young people.

And it's only at Christmas that good friends can get together—during the Spring Festival, everyone has to go back to their hometown or maternal grandparents' house with their parents.

According to the Gregorian calendar, the year 2000 is finally coming to an end, and a new year is about to begin.

Some say that 2001 was the true beginning of the 21st century, while others say it was the second year of the 21st century.

But it doesn't matter anyway, because every year is brand new for the children.

Perhaps only children would look forward to the arrival of the new year in this way.

Because adults have too many worries:

Going back to the countryside requires considering travel expenses and deciding how much money to give to parents.

When visiting relatives and friends, you should also carefully consider how much money to give their children as a red envelope.

Prices will rise significantly during the New Year, so we need to stock up on New Year's goods in advance. We don't need to buy new clothes for ourselves, but we must buy clothes for the children, which will be another big expense.

If you owe money, you also have to think about whether to pay it back, when to pay it back, and how much to pay back...

Life is never easy for ordinary people. For adults, this New Year doesn't bring much joy; instead, they feel more pressure and exhaustion.

They might even hope that there would be no Chinese New Year, so they could save a lot of money.

Therefore, adults cannot experience the joy and anticipation that children feel.

Children think much simpler:

During the Spring Festival, there are delicious foods, new clothes to wear, and the opportunity to go back to the countryside to see things that are different from those in the city.

The boys might think about buying firecrackers to set off, while the girls might miss the furry cats and dogs in the countryside...

Hua Yinyin and Huang Yuxi arrived at noon—she hitched a ride on Huang Zhengyang's truck with his younger brother.

"Xiaoxi's brother, aren't you staying to spend Christmas Eve with us?" Mo Xiaoxiao asked, looking up at Huang Zhengyang sitting in the driver's seat as she put on her apron.

"Sigh, I'd like to too, but it's Christmas Eve today, and there are so many places to deliver to, I'll have to work overtime. If I can make it tonight, I'll come over, I'll try my best!" Huang Zhengyang said, tossing out a bag wrapped in oil paper. "Here, these are some small firecrackers I bought, you guys can take them and play with them!"

"Hmm, girls don't really like playing with firecrackers, do they?" Mo Zhuyou muttered softly.

"Then let Xiaoxi play with it."

"Xiao Xi likes playing with firecrackers?" Mo Xueyao asked in surprise. She always felt that he was more like a girl than she was.

"Xiao Xi—I'm here to catch you!" Sanhua Tongjue ran over quickly and shouted excitedly.

Huang Yuxi glanced back at her brother and carefully climbed down.

Although the jump was only 20 or 30 centimeters, he almost fell. Fortunately, Sanhua Tongjue protected him and held him in her arms.

If you imagine Huang Yuxi as a girl, this scene actually looks quite beautiful.

Mo Xueyao was thinking to herself when she suddenly paused and realized that she seemed to have been influenced by Hua Yinyin too much. Why did she always expect a pair of young people to be a girl?

"Perfect timing, everyone's here! My sister bought a lot of groceries yesterday, let's all help out!"

"No need, no need, I can manage on my own," Mo Xiaoxiao quickly replied.