A Young Woman's Heart

His parents brushed it off by saying he was a "tomboy".

When her maternal grandmother asked about it later, her mother said that she had never had a son before and was afraid of being scolded by her, so she lied and said that she had a son...

This lie, riddled with flaws, was surprisingly accepted by many people.

Everyone nodded, their faces showing complete understanding. Someone turned around and teased Mo Xueyao, saying that she was so beautiful now that even if she were a daughter, it wouldn't be a loss, since she could at least get a good dowry when she got married...

These words were said to her face, and although it was a joke, she didn't find it funny at all.

Of course, a few people had doubts about this, but out of respect for the 'boss,' they decided to keep their questions to themselves and not delve too deeply into the matter, which would only make others dislike them.

Don't assume that people in the countryside are simple and honest; they can be just as shrewd!

Even in small matters, they are more calculating than city dwellers—because that's life for many of them.

Without a bit of cleverness like this, you'd be bullied in even more backward rural areas.

After being bullied so many times, you'll naturally learn something, right?

"And this one, is she also your daughter? She doesn't look like it. Could she be an illegitimate child?" someone joked, deliberately using Mandarin that Mo Xueyao and Li Wanyan could understand.

"That's our goddaughter whom we took in!"

"Oh my, no wonder you're a big boss, you're even doing charity now!" This flattery was particularly sarcastic.

"What do you know? This is also considered an investment!"

"What? We're going to have someone else become our son-in-law!" the father joked.

It may seem like a joke, but it's actually a way for adults to test each other.

Once everyone realized that Mo Xueyao's family was both wealthy and shrewd, and not the kind of nouveau riche who would be easily fooled, their enthusiasm waned slightly, and their conversations became more sincere. Of course, there was also a lot of 'flattery' that hadn't been there before.

But no matter what, communication between people in the countryside is still much simpler than when Mo Xueyao went to her godfather's annual party that day.

It's quite easy to bridge the gap between people here...

"Grandma!" Mo Xueyao called out in a clear voice.

Grandma smiled happily. Although she held old-fashioned ideas that favored boys over girls, beautiful things could ultimately make people feel happy.

So she still asked enthusiastically, "Are you tired after returning?"

"No, I'm tired," Mo Xueyao replied in broken local dialect.

"Blue eyes, like a doll, so pretty." Grandma then tried her best to praise her in her broken Mandarin, "Skin, so fair."

"Wow, your granddaughter is mixed race, she'll definitely have a lot of suitors! Does she have a boyfriend yet?" The adult next to her made a good-natured joke amidst the praise.

It seems that the only ways adults and children get closer are through studying and dating...

"It's still early. It's considered puppy love now," Mo Xueyao said earnestly, as if she were a well-behaved girl who knew nothing but studying.

She can disguise herself, of course.

Even if you don't like them, you still have to put on a show when facing these relatives.

A naive and adorable demeanor is perfectly suited to handle this situation.

If someone insists on acting like a boy at this point and says they like girls, then they're the fool!

Although she didn't choose to be a girl, she's not stupid!

……

Chapter Thirty-Two: The Unchanged Countryside

In the eyes of children, conversations between adults are always so boring.

It's not even as interesting as snowflakes falling all around.

Mo Xueyao quietly slipped out of the crowd, only to find that the air outside, with snow falling, was so fresh.

Li Wanyan stood quietly beside her, letting the white snowflakes fall on her head.

"What are you going to do?"

"Hmm... anywhere is fine, as long as we don't stay here, right? Let's just wander around." Mo Xueyao pouted, noticing Li Wanyan opening an umbrella and glancing at her sideways.

It seems to be expressing the meaning of 'leading the way'.

My maternal grandmother's home is located deep in the mountains, but the mountains here are not very high, and the villages are built on the mountainsides with relatively gentle steps for passage, so it doesn't have the oppressive feeling of most mountain villages.

In fact, even considering it's a mountain village, my maternal grandmother's house is considered to be a place with convenient transportation.

This is no joke.

The snow in the deep mountains was significantly heavier than outside. The eaves and the rarely traveled paths were already covered with snow. The children, hiding inside, were all looking out the window with longing eyes, hoping that more snow would accumulate so that they could have a snowball fight or build a snowman tomorrow.

Although Hangzhou is in the south, it still snows every year in the countryside, so while the children were excited, they didn't experience the novelty of never having seen snow before.

In the mountain village, the roads are wide enough for three or four people to walk side by side, but narrow enough for only one person to walk alone.

After walking out of her grandmother's mud-brick house and along the wide road for a while, Mo Xueyao jumped down three steps and stood on a small open space.

One summer, she went back to her maternal grandmother's house for summer vacation and spent a month there—or maybe half a month. Anyway, her mother said she couldn't stand the summer there because there were many mosquitoes and no electric fan, so she couldn't sleep at night.

But in Mo Xueyao's memory, that summer was very happy.

We usually play marbles here—because the sun doesn't usually shine here.

At other times, they would go to the stream to catch small fish and shrimp, or go hiking with the young people to chop firewood...

Perhaps people always add a touch of beauty to their memories.

In short, every time her mother heard her say that she cried and begged to go home back then, she could hardly believe that it was her.

"Wow, so beautiful! Whose daughter is this? She's so pretty!" A young man with glistening snowflakes in his hair walked towards us. His skin was as black as charcoal, but his eyes were bright. When he was a child, he fell and had a small five-pointed star-shaped scar on his forehead that had not completely disappeared to this day.

In addition, since his surname was Bao, when she was a child, Mo Xueyao, along with the other older children, called him "Bao Zheng".

After a while, the title changed to "Bao Gong" (a famous judge in Chinese history), and later it became "Grandpa" (another famous judge in Chinese history), which seemed to carry a hint of maternal grandfather.

In the local dialect, the pronunciations of "阿公" (ā gōng) and "外公" (wài gōng) are very similar.

"Hey, Grandpa?" She might not have dared to greet anyone else, but it was him. His image was so vivid that she remembered him the moment she saw him, and it brought back memories of the past.

"Hmm? Who are you? Which family's daughter are you?" He paused, holding two black bags in his hands, and looked her up and down as he asked. In his memory, he had never met such a beautiful girl when he was a child—just those blue eyes were enough to rule out all other possibilities.

"I'm Xiaoyao!" Mo Xueyao excitedly pointed to herself. Anyway, her parents had already explained it, so she would just repeat what they had said, and they would understand.

Now she was more interested in seeing what kind of expression would appear on the other person's face.

Then, his dark face turned a little pale, not from anger, but from a hint of shyness. His eyes darted around, yet he was also very curious and wanted to examine her closely.

Mo Xueyao stood there gracefully, even deliberately straightening her back—but unfortunately, he was still so much taller than her, even taller than before.

"Which Haruka are you...?"

"You forgot? That summer, you tried to ride on the cow, but you were thrown off, your pants fell down, and the cow even butted your butt, making it bleed profusely!"

"Holy crap!" Grandpa couldn't help but exclaim, whether out of embarrassment or amazement, "Is it really Xiaoyao? Back then, when people said you were a tomboy, you insisted you were a boy. Turns out you really are a girl, and you've grown so beautiful..."

"Yeah..." Mo Xueyao felt a little guilty, but when she saw Li Wanyan beside her, she felt a little more confident. "So, have you found a girlfriend yet?"

"I don't have a girlfriend, why don't you be my girlfriend?"

"Tch, you wish." Mo Xueyao rolled her eyes. "Let me introduce you, this is... uh, um, my sister, her name is Li Wanyan."

"That's a nice name." Seeing two pretty girls, he suddenly stopped in his tracks. "Are they your cousins?"

"Uh... my cousin, I guess." Mo Xueyao made up a name for herself, because if she said "adopted sister," she would have to explain again, which was too much trouble.

"Hello." Li Wanyan nodded gently to him, and the latter immediately felt as if he had been chilled by the biting cold, and shrank back his neck—or perhaps it was just that some snowflakes had fallen on his neck.

"Um, hello, my name is Bao..."

"Bao Zheng!"

"What? Hahaha, that's a nickname. My name is Bao Cheng, the 'Cheng' in 'successful'."

"Huh, is that your real name?"

"Of course!"

"Hello, Bao Cheng." Li Wanyan nodded again.

Bao Cheng glanced at Mo Xueyao's blue eyes, then secretly swept his gaze over Li Wanyan's small face, which seemed to suit the cold winter. He hesitated as if he wanted to say something, but Mo Xueyao preemptively asked, "By the way, Grandpa..."

"Can't I just call you Brother Bao Cheng... Brother Bao is fine too, I'm not your 'grandpa'."

"Ugh, what a hassle. Anyway... are you free right now?"

"Oh, I'll take these two bags of beef back." Bao Cheng glanced down at the black bags he was carrying in both hands, then remembered his important business for the day.

"Are you free later?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" He nodded vigorously immediately. "Where do you want to go later?"

"We don't know where to go, so just show us around."

"What's fun about this in the dead of winter?" Bao Cheng laughed, but still agreed, "I'll be right there, you guys wait for me here!"

"Okay." Mo Xueyao nodded gently, his silhouette merging with that of the same dark-skinned boy he was as a child...

Mo Xueyao cried and wanted to go home after losing a beautiful marble. When he asked her why, just like today, he told her to wait there while he ran back and brought the beautiful tin box back. When he opened it, it was filled with all sorts of beautiful marbles...

That immediately made her stop crying and start laughing.

Then I picked five or six for her, but unfortunately she lost them all—but at that point, she was too embarrassed to keep crying.

Li Wanyan tilted the umbrella slightly towards Mo Xueyao, blocking the snowflakes that were blown in by the wind.

"Xiao Yao!!" Before long, Bao Cheng rushed back again, just like before.

"What's the rush, little..." Before Mo Xueyao could finish her sentence, she saw Bao Cheng lose his balance on the wet, slippery ground. He tried to lean back, but still slid forward uncontrollably. He stumbled and struggled for several seconds before finally falling to the ground with a 'plop'.

"Cough... um..." Mo Xueyao's lips twitched, and she finally couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Li Wanyan gently bit her lip, seemingly suppressing a laugh.

—Her threshold for laughter seems to be getting lower and lower lately, almost like Mo Xueyao's.

"Hey, what are you laughing at? Nobody came to help me up just now!"