A Young Woman's Heart

As a high school student, she knew that all of this was a suit, but she had never seen such a rough suit before. In her memory, this did not seem to be the usual style of Tsuburaya Productions.

But upon closer reflection on the actual era in which it was filmed, it suddenly makes sense.

At that time, Journey to the West hadn't even started filming yet!

The clouds outside the window grew thicker, and even the sunlight no longer appeared pale, but rather dimmed.

The streets were still bustling with people, but the noise couldn't drown out the sound from the television.

Just like Mo Xueyao when she was a child, Yu Jinyu imitated Hayata Susumu's transformation move, shouting "Ultraman!" and "transformed" along with the giant in the TV series.

Perhaps, when children are young, all interests and hobbies are not divided by gender.

The worship of heroes may be something ingrained deep in human genes.

So, were the different interests and directions that boys and girls later developed deliberately guided by adults?

If adults didn't deliberately draw a line between boys' and girls' hobbies, wouldn't we see many girls who like to watch 'Ultraman' and boys who like to watch 'Sailor Moon' at school?

Are different hobbies based on gender innate, or are they imposed on children by adults?

Mo Xueyao was so engrossed in thought that she didn't even notice what the episode was about.

But she also realized that Yu Jinyu wasn't only excited when Ultraman appeared.

Unlike the boys who like to fight, she is also very interested in the storyline before her transformation.

This is probably the difference between boys and girls.

Perhaps, even without adult intervention, boys and girls will inevitably develop different interests and hobbies as they grow older...

……

Chapter Twenty-Three: Planting a Wish

Under a locust tree beside the tea plantation.

The round and plump 'Dark Chocolate' was lying there peacefully eating grass, not at all startled by the sound of the shovel digging in the soil next to it. Instead, it seemed to be used to the noise.

"Is that enough?" Mo Xiao smiled and asked, glancing at Duanmu Ji, who was covered in sweat.

"Um... how about going a little deeper?"

“It’s better to go deeper, so we don’t get dug out by some animal.” Duanmu Bi stood with her arms crossed, speaking casually, but Duanmu Ji was the only one here responsible for doing the hard labor.

Duanmu Ji didn't complain at all. He continued to dig down with his foot on the shovel, throwing out handfuls of yellow soil that piled up into a small mound on the side.

Don't get me wrong, this is of course not about digging a hole to bury any person or animal—what's being buried is simply one's own wish.

This was suggested by Duanmu Bi, who also said that the wish should be buried here for more than ten years, so everyone should think it over carefully before writing it down.

Each person's little note was stuffed into a plastic capsule, about the size of a baby's fist. Although it was cheap, it would definitely withstand the erosion of ten years.

As evening fell, some of the clouds that had been obscuring the sun were lifted, and the setting sun cast a few beams of light that were not very warm.

The evergreen leaves rustled in the wind, but the most noticeable sound was the clattering of the bare branches against each other.

Mo Zhuyou picked up a long earthworm with her hand and threw it into a plastic box next to her, intending to sell it to the uncle in the nearby village who loved fishing.

Of course, what they got in return wasn't money, but some firewood or small trinkets like ginger candy that the uncle had chopped.

The other three people had very normal expressions, as if pinching earthworms and catching insects with their bare hands was nothing unusual.

Although Mo Zhuyou grew up in the city, after her parents passed away, the poverty she experienced led her to do many even dirtier things, so squeezing an insect was naturally no problem for her.

Duanmu Ji and Duanmu Bi spent half of their lives in the countryside or near the countryside. They couldn't even make insects, let alone play with mud and urine when they were little.

If Wang Jiale saw this, he would definitely shrink back and show a disgusted expression, right?

"Wow, another one! Is this a family of earthworms?" Mo Zhuyou excitedly picked up another earthworm and threw it into the dirty little plastic box.

"Hmm—that's deep enough." Duanmu Bi looked at the pit dug by her younger brother and nodded gently.

—It's about half a person's height now, so there's no need to worry about it being easily dug open by animals.

"Come on, let's throw our wish seeds down!" Duanmu Bi was even more excited than the children, and she was the first to throw her capsule with a little wish slip inside into the pit. "Once the wish seed is buried, it will slowly sprout and grow!"

"Wish, wish, grow up quickly~" Mo Zhuyou followed closely behind.

Mo Xiao smiled and nodded gently, then squatted down and carefully placed the capsule down.

It slid down the steep slope of the pit to the bottom and lay quietly with the other people's capsules.

Duanmu Ji hesitated for a moment, then, like Mo Xiaoxiao, slowly put down his wish capsule.

"Xiao Ji, what is your wish?"

"...I won't tell you."

"Huh? You're not going to tell me? Hmph, no problem, I'll dig the hole myself and see for myself!"

Duanmu Ji rolled his eyes, not wanting to pay attention to his 'childish' older sister.

Mo Xiaoxiao chuckled and said, "If others see this, it won't work, and your wish won't come true either."

"That's all feudal superstition!" Duanmu Bi shouted, hands on her hips.

"Isn't this it?" Mo Zhuyou pointed to the pit in confusion.

"Hmm—it's just a wishful thought about the future!"

Duanmu Ji didn't say anything, but silently filled the soil back in.

The pit quickly turned into a slightly raised mound of earth, and after a few steps, it became as flat as the surrounding land.

"Should we make a mark or something?" Duanmu Bi muttered, rubbing her chin.

"You really want to come back and dig?" Duanmu Ji said helplessly.

"What? If we come back ten years from now, how will we know where the wish was buried?"

“Under this tree…” Duanmu Ji’s eyes seemed to be looking down on his sister’s intelligence, “At most, you can just make a mark on the tree.”

"That's true..."

So, like a child, Duanmu Bi carved a line of small characters on the tree trunk: "Duanmu Bi, Duanmu Ji, Mo Xiaoxiao, and Mo Zhuyou were here."

"Wouldn't it be better to add a date?"

"Isn't that childish..." Duanmu Ji covered his forehead, "Are you still in kindergarten?"

"Leaving one's mark on the world is a human instinct, isn't it!" Duanmu Bi answered confidently, and in the end, she still carved today's date on the tree bark.

2001 1 Month 17 Day.

"Hey, Xiao Ji, what did you wish for? Why are you being so mysterious?" As they descended the mountain, Mo Zhuyou walked up to Duanmu Ji, gently nudged him, and asked in a low voice.

"Uh," Duanmu Ji glanced up at the sky, "I don't have any particular wish..."

“I can tell you mine, and then you can tell me yours. That’s fair, right?” Before Duanmu Ji could answer, Mo Zhuyou whispered, “My wish, well, I hope my sister doesn’t get married, so we can stay together forever…”

Duanmu Ji's lips twitched slightly: "My wish is... that my older sister and I will both be healthy."

"Tch, who would believe that! It's all so mysterious, but it's just such a pointless wish? I told you so honestly, and you still lied. Well, Xiao Ji, I never thought you were this kind of person!" Mo Zhuyou glared at him angrily and shouted.

"What's wrong?" Mo Xiaoxiao, who was walking in front, turned her head.

Mo Zhuyou immediately shook her head and forced a smile: "It's nothing, it's nothing~!"

After her sister turned away, she glared at Duanmu Ji again, gritting her teeth and threatening, "Hurry up, are you going to talk or not?"

"..." Duanmu Ji turned his head awkwardly, looking at the tangled bare trees next to him, "Uh... I hope... I can... cough, win over the girl I like."

"What? This is all?"

“This isn’t just an ordinary relationship,” Duanmu Ji said seriously. “We hope to get married after we get together.”

"Oh—you're quite devoted, aren't you? Wait, the girl you like isn't my sister, is she?"

Her response was met with Duanmu Ji's emotionless eyes; though silent, they conveyed his meaning.

Clearly, Duanmu Ji had no interest in Mo Xiaoxiao.

"So, who is it?" Since it wasn't her older sister, Mo Zhuyou became quite interested in gossiping. "It couldn't be me, could it?"

"Aren't you too confident in yourself?" Even Duanmu Ji, who was usually not very talkative, couldn't help but tease her.

"Tch." Mo Zhuyou wasn't angry at all. "It's a good thing it wasn't me, otherwise you definitely wouldn't have a chance. Let me tell you, I like you, older sister!"

“Anyone with eyes can see that already. Do you think I’m an idiot?” Duanmu Ji replied, not very pleased.

So who exactly is it?

"..."

"From our class?"

"..."

"Is it? Is it?"

"Yes……"

"Let me guess, it can't be Xiaoyao, right?" Mo Zhuyou was just joking, but Duanmu Ji's face started to turn slightly red. "Hey, why are you acting like a girl, all shy and bashful, you're a grown man?"

"What...and what?"

"What's there to be shy about? There are plenty of boys in the whole school who like Xiaoyao. I'm the one who's surprised that your taste is so ordinary."

"what?"

"Hmm... A girl as pretty as Xiaoyao, especially one of mixed race, would certainly be liked by many guys, but isn't this 'liking' a bit too generic? Do you just like her because she's pretty?"

"Couldn't it just be that you happen to like someone who's good-looking?"

"Oh, so you're actually quite eloquent?" Mo Zhuyou chuckled, covering her mouth playfully. "Then why don't you talk much usually?"

"When I am silent, I feel fulfilled; when I speak..."

"Alright, alright, stop with those famous quotes." Mo Zhuyou pulled away and quickly walked towards her sister. "If you like her, just go for it. How will anyone know you like her if you keep quiet?"

"But... there's not much of a chance."

"How will you know if you don't try?" she casually tossed out the words, ran a few steps, caught up with Mo Xiaoxiao, and swayed her arm from side to side, clinging to her like a piece of chewing gum.