A Young Woman's Heart

Li Wanyan seemed to understand why, and nodded slightly to herself.

"Let me introduce you, this is my cousin, also your cousin."

"Huh? What? What?" Mo Xueyao immediately realized something was wrong. "How come they're first cousins ​​and then distant relatives?"

"Don't rush, let me finish." The mother suppressed a laugh and cleared her throat. "He is the son of your great-grandfather's brother's son and the daughter of your... great-grandfather's brother's son, so he is of your generation."

Mo Xueyao was completely confused, but at least she had grasped the key point. "So, um... he is both my cousin and my maternal cousin?"

"Yes, but the blood relation is a bit distant."

"Cousin," the old man laughed and patted her shoulder, "I went to the funeral last time, do you remember me?"

"Uh, you didn't stay overnight there, did you?"

"Yes, I was busy with something at the time, so I only went to the funeral and then went to Moscow on business."

"Oh... there were so many people at the funeral, I don't think I remember much." Mo Xueyao scratched her head awkwardly, only then noticing that the old man's eyes were deep blue, as deep as the sea near a glacier, which inexplicably made her feel a sense of familiarity.

"Hello, Grandma!" The young man next to her hurriedly greeted her, as if to make up for his previous neglect. But it wasn't his fault; Mo Xueyao had spoken too quickly.

"Grandma...?" Mo Xueyao pointed at herself in disbelief. "Me?"

"correct."

"Shouldn't you call me aunt?"

"That's my dad, hahaha—"

Mo Xueyao felt as if she had aged a lot overnight after the New Year: "You... how old are you?"

I am twenty-eight years old.

"It's so strange that a twenty-eight-year-old is calling someone who's not even eighteen yet 'Grandma,' isn't it?" Mo Xueyao shook her head speechlessly. "What era are we living in? We don't need to be so particular about seniority anymore..."

"I still have to tell you!" the young man said with a loud laugh. "Actually, I was a little embarrassed before we met, but my aunt is such a beautiful... uh, so beautiful, well then I'm not at a disadvantage, hahaha—"

"It's a pity my Yaoyao is too young, otherwise this great-aunt might be your wife!" the mother joked. "Anyway, the blood ties are already several generations apart."

"Haha, then we'll really be living with a darling!" Mo Xueyao's cousin, the man in his sixties, laughed heartily. "Seriously, if we find someone suitable, we must recommend him. He'll be thirty soon if he doesn't get married."

"Okay, okay, I'll definitely keep an eye on things for him. If I find any good ones, I'll recommend them to you!"

Mo Xueyao helplessly covered her forehead. The topic had shifted back to the adults, so she grabbed Li Wanyan's hand and subtly bypassed them.

“Let’s walk to ‘Wapo’ today,” Mo Xueyao said in her local dialect, not knowing how to pronounce the place name in Mandarin. “We can also enjoy the scenery along the way—walking there is a different experience than taking a car.”

"Where's Bao Cheng?" Li Wanyan asked, turning her head slightly. Noticing the young man chasing after her, she turned her body to the side as well.

"Him? He has..."

"Grandma!"

"..." Mo Xueyao was stunned for a few seconds before realizing that she was being called, so she glared at her with her clear blue eyes, "What?"

"Are you going to a rural town? Do you want me to drive you?"

"No need, no need, we'll walk there. It's not far, only about forty minutes' walk."

"Shall we go together?"

"What are you doing? I didn't give you any New Year's money!" Mo Xueyao subconsciously covered her pocket and stared at him warily.

"Pfft, hahaha... No, no, okay, then be careful on your way."

"Don't worry, I'm not a child anymore... I'm your great-aunt!" Mo Xueyao teased him playfully.

"How does it feel to be a great-aunt?" After driving along the main road for a while, Li Wanyan asked with a slight smile.

"Ah... that's weird. I feel like I've aged decades all of a sudden." Mo Xueyao shook her head, her hair swaying wildly, as if that would shake the strange feeling out of her mind.

This road is not usually very busy, but during the Chinese New Year, you can often see all kinds of cars driving by and all kinds of people walking by.

People, whether they knew her or not, greeted her, making her feel like she had suddenly become a celebrity.

However, these were not her fans, but simply relatives and friends with some blood relation.

"Gah, gah gah—" As they were walking, their path was blocked.

Seven or eight brown ducks wagged their tails and marched in unison across the road, onto the dirt path in the field, and then jumped into the clear stream.

The clear chirping gradually faded into the distance, disappearing into the mountains.

"The ducks are the first to know when the river warms in spring. Does this mean that spring has arrived?" Mo Xueyao's gaze fell on a yellow wildflower by the roadside. It was small and ordinary, and looked inconspicuous. A crystal-clear water droplet was slowly flowing down the small petals.

The idyllic rural scenery seemed to be frozen in this moment by the warm sun in the sky.

However, this beautiful scene was soon shattered by a large yellow dog passing by.

It raised one of its hind legs toward the little flower, and Mo Xueyao could guess what would happen next even with her eyes closed.

The wet wildflowers swayed violently back and forth in the wind, but a slightly fishy smell filled the air.

"Uh..." Her words of praise stuck in her throat and she couldn't say them.

Li Wanyan gently brushed a strand of hair from her left side and said calmly, "But this is a good thing for it."

"Uh... well, let's just say it's fertilizing..." Mo Xueyao scratched her head, suddenly feeling that the scenery in the countryside wasn't so beautiful after all. "No matter how beautiful the scene, there's always something dirty and filthy beneath it..."

"But you must never say that filth and filth are not nourishment for making other things better."

"Too……"

……

Chapter 41 Huang Zhengyang's Boring Holiday

It was cloudy in Hangzhou on the second day of the Lunar New Year.

It snowed in all the surrounding cities, but not here, which always gave me a sense of being excluded and disappointed.

There were still many pieces of fireworks and firecracker debris left on the streets. Although a small number of sanitation workers were already on duty, there were far fewer than usual, and the workload was heavy, so the progress was exceptionally slow.

But it's better not to sweep it away, as if that would make the New Year pass more slowly.

Huang Zhengyang lay lazily at home. The sun remained hidden behind the clouds, and he was too lazy to get up.

"Xiao Xi, what do you want for lunch?" He had slept for too long, which made his mind a little muddled. He yawned and reached out from under the covers to pat his head—usually at this time, the blanket would have hit his head, but this time he only hit empty air.

He then realized that he had been home alone all this time.

No wonder the house feels so quiet and empty.

Although Huang Yuxi cannot speak, she still makes some noises at home.

For him, that wasn't noise, but rather the background music that life should have.

"Uh—" If Huang Yuxi were home, he would definitely get up to cook, but when he was alone, without the responsibilities he had to bear, he became lazy.

He writhed like a centipede on the bed for a long time before finally getting up.

When my younger brother isn't around, I feel like I can't muster any energy.

Huang Zhengyang quickly washed up, too lazy to shave, and sat down on the sofa, turning on the TV to watch a bit.

Television channels are filled with all sorts of Spring Festival Gala programs.

There were rebroadcasts of CCTV's Spring Festival Gala, as well as Spring Festival Galas from local TV stations, and even rudimentary Spring Festival Galas from strange little TV stations...

There are TV dramas, but most of them are the kind that have been replayed countless times and whose theme songs are already tiresome.

Huang Zhengyang stared blankly at the television for a while, not paying any attention to what was being shown.

My stomach, however, started rumbling.

"Let's go out to eat!" He stood up abruptly, grabbed his keys, and left home.

However, which breakfast shops are open on the second day of the Lunar New Year?

He walked around his neighborhood for a while but couldn't find a single shop open. So he wandered aimlessly for a long time and saw mostly little kids setting off firecrackers.

The empty road now feels like their own home; they can walk wherever they want, and some even dare to lie down in the middle of the road.

As for those traffic lights... it would be a miracle if they obeyed them.

That's why Huang Zhengyang, who strictly follows traffic rules and walks with a blank stare, looks like an NPC in a game, following a predetermined route.

Before I knew it, I had arrived at the outside of a large supermarket.

Compared to the relatively empty city, this square was quite lively. Occasionally, some middle-aged women would come out carrying bags, so it seemed that this large supermarket was still doing business today.

Only at times like these does he appreciate the benefits of large supermarkets.

Huang Zhengyang went inside and bought a big bag of bread—intending to put it in the refrigerator so he wouldn't have to cook for the next few days.

However, in this weather, it seems there's not much difference between putting it in the fridge and leaving it outside.

He didn't want to go back, so he casually found a park and sat down on a relatively clean chair.

Right now, he practically has the word 'bored' written all over his face.

"Whoosh—smack!" Don't get me wrong, it wasn't the sound of fireworks, but a basketball flying in from a distance.

It hit Huang Zhengyang squarely in the face. His expression twitched, then he calmly ripped the bread, now flattened and stuck to his cheek, off. The basketball imprint on it was very obvious…

"Uncle, I'm so sorry..." a gentle voice sounded softly, and a fair-skinned young man, about 1.7 meters tall, stood in front of him apologizing, "It wasn't on purpose... I was playing basketball over there just now..."

"Basketball?" Huang Zhengyang then realized that the so-called 'park' was actually a basketball court. It was just that the surrounding greenery was well done and there were many benches, which made him mistakenly think that he had walked into a park.

"Um... are you alright?"

"...It's nothing." Huang Zhengyang touched his face. Apart from being a little sore and dirty, there was no damage. His nose bridge was also a little sore, but it was fine after rubbing it a bit.

"Excuse me, why don't you eat at that chair over there? There's a flower bed blocking the view, it might be a bit better there."

"Oh—" Huang Zhengyang stood up blankly, and walked to the chair he pointed to and sat down.

"Wait, uncle! Your bread!" A handsome young man with a sunny disposition hurriedly ran over carrying a large bag of things.

"Oh, thank you." Huang Zhengyang nodded, but in his heart he was thinking, if his younger brother grew up... if he could continue to develop, would he also grow to this height?

After all, Huang Zhengyang himself is already over 1.7 meters tall, so it's not surprising that he grew to 1.7 meters as well.

He'll grow from a cute boy into a handsome and cheerful young man, then he won't have to take care of everything for his older brother.