A Young Woman's Heart

"Mom—I want to—take a bath—"

"Don't wash at home, go to the public bathhouse instead," the mother replied without turning her head, as she was wondering where to hang the bag of sausages.

"Going to the public bathhouse? Dad—give me the money!"

"Your dad is on the balcony."

So Mo Xueyao, like a little rabbit, tiptoed through the gaps between the bags, hopping all the way to the balcony, where she slapped her father's shoulder hard, almost making him drop his cigarette.

"What are you doing?" the father asked, shrugging his shoulders in an annoyed tone.

He smoked countless cigarettes along the way, and the smell of smoke from his mouth made Mo Xueyao take two steps back.

"Give me the money, and Wanyan and I will go to the public bathhouse!"

"Go to the one we usually go to?"

"Hmm, is there anything else?"

"How would I remember?" The father pulled a crumpled cigarette box from his pocket, then a crumpled ten-yuan note. "Here, oh, here's another twenty. And buy me a pack of cigarettes while you're at it."

What do you want?

"Liqun, please."

"Tsk, the rest is mine?"

“Okay,” the father readily agreed.

"How about buying cheaper cigarettes?"

"No!" Her father glared at her, then chuckled and scolded, "Go buy it... go wash it!"

"Tch, all you do is smoke, and smoke such expensive cigarettes."

Why do you always imitate your mother?

"Isn't it a fact that you smoke a lot?"

Mo Xueyao tilted her head and rolled her eyes at her father, then clutched the money and ran to her mother's side: "Mom—what clothes should I change into later?"

"Why don't you just pick something yourself? I don't have time to find clothes for you right now."

"Skirt or pants?"

"skirt."

"Tch, are pants not acceptable?"

"Fine, fine, wear whatever you want." The mother, who was packing the suitcase, was getting a little impatient.

"Never mind, I'll just wear a skirt..." Mo Xueyao suddenly changed her mind again.

"What? Are you going through a rebellious phase? I say one thing and you say another?"

"Ahem, no! I just suddenly realized that we don't really have any nice pants at home right now..."

"Oh my, so you know you need to look pretty now?"

"After all, I'll be coming out of the bathroom..." Mo Xueyao scratched her cheek sheepishly, then turned to Li Wanyan in the small room for help, "Wanyan—what do you think I should wear later?"

Li Wanyan was getting her clothes to change into. It was a long dress she usually wore, made of a comfortable and warm fabric. She and Mo Xueyao each had one.

Hers was white, and the latter's was black.

Perhaps her mother considered that Mo Xueyao's habits made it easy for her to get white clothes dirty, so she chose mostly black dresses for her.

Bathed in the afterglow of the setting sun, Mo Xueyao and Li Wanyan stepped into the open door of the bathroom under the dim light of the street lamps.

There were quite a few people today, especially families of three or four.

"Yangyang, go and wash with your dad!"

"Why would I do that? I don't know how to wash. Let him wash with you!"

"Make way, come here! Go wash with Mom!"

When it comes to bathing the children, deciding who to take care of them becomes a big problem. However, the children don't seem to mind at all. Instead, they feel happy running around like they're at an amusement park.

"Boss, two people." Mo Xueyao nimbly slipped into the crowd, stretched out a hand from the gap, and waved vigorously at the boss.

"Six yuan for two people!"

Mo Xueyao, who hadn't been to a public bathhouse in a long time, didn't know if the price had gone up. In any case, a price reduction was unlikely, so at most it probably hadn't changed.

Of course, it's not impossible for prices to drop, for example, if there's a promotion today...

In short, Mo Xueyao got two sets of keys and went into the changing room with Li Wanyan.

The changing room was filled with women whose figures had changed. Occasionally, a few young girls would walk by, and the women would cast nostalgic and envious glances at them.

The little boys brought by their mothers were the only members of the opposite sex who could openly enter the women's bathhouse at this time.

A mischievous little boy even darted up to Mo Xueyao and shamelessly shouted, "Wow, this older sister is different from Mommy! She doesn't have any fur..."

"Cough!" Mo Xueyao brought her legs together.

Li Wanyan glanced at the little boy without changing her expression. The boy was immediately frightened by her cold gaze and hid behind his mother, as if facing a wild beast that preyed on little boys.

The awkward feeling dissipated considerably when I entered the bathhouse.

Because of the pervasive moisture here, people can't see clearly from a distance, as if everyone has been covered with a natural mosaic.

"Phew—it's so stuffy." Mo Xueyao took a deep breath, feeling her lungs become damp. The air inside was a mixture of various shampoos and shower gels, and it seemed someone was using medicated soap, so there was also a hint of Chinese medicine...

It doesn't smell bad, but it's not exactly pleasant either.

"Wanyan! There's an empty cubicle over there!" Mo Xueyao pointed and ran over quickly, followed by Li Wanyan carrying a washbasin, who quickened her pace.

"Slow down, Yaoyao, be careful not to fall."

"Don't worry, don't worry!"

Just as Li Wanyan reached the door of the cubicle Mo Xueyao had chosen, a little girl suddenly grabbed her leg. The little girl looked up and stared at her with wide, questioning eyes: "Mommy...?"

"Make way—Mommy's here!" a young woman called out to the little girl, both amused and exasperated.

She immediately let go, embarrassed, and pretended nothing had happened, staggering into her mother's arms.

In the cubicle, Mo Xueyao was already taking a hot shower. She squinted her eyes in enjoyment, as if every pore on her body had completely relaxed.

Her long hair, dripping with water droplets, fell naturally downwards.

"Rural bathhouses really can't compare to those in the city... The floors there are all cement, they don't even have tiles."

"Ah."

"Wanyan, you've gained weight, haven't you?"

Li Wanyan paused, lowered her head, stared at her body for a while, and even pinched the soft flesh of her waist and thighs. Her brows gradually furrowed: "...Hmm."

"Hehe, you've definitely gained weight, huh!"

"Isn't Yao Yao the same?"

"I didn't!" Mo Xueyao pinched the fat on her stomach, then suddenly felt a little guilty. "Ah... I guess I've gained weight... uh... um... a little bit... it's just that I've been eating too much these past few days, I'll lose it all soon!"

"Let's weigh ourselves at the roadside pharmacy later."

"Ah, I don't need that, do I?" Mo Xueyao seemed to want to escape reality. "I've only gained two or three pounds at most..."

"Who knows?" Li Wanyan slightly curled the corners of her lips, her eyes misty with a hint of amusement.

"I think it might be because I'm going through puberty. Hmm, have I grown taller?"

"Absolutely not."

"So... that's where it developed?"

"Absolutely not."

"..."

……

Chapter 48 Noise Can Also Make People Feel at Ease

The setting sun had already hidden below the horizon, only peeking out halfway. The sky and clouds looked as if they were on fire, casting a reddish glow on the concrete road.

Mo Xueyao, who had already washed herself clean in the bathroom, ran out in her clean sandals that she was specially made to wear after showering. With the help of the sunset and the residual heat from her shower, she did not feel cold. Although she had dried herself several times, her still wet hair was slightly reflecting light.

Steam was still rising from her head, like a freshly steamed bun.

Li Wanyan followed along, carrying a washbasin in one hand, and glanced at the old woman selling tea eggs and dried tofu at the bathroom entrance.

Sure enough, the next second Mo Xueyao pointed at the old woman and shouted, "Wanyan, do you want some dried tofu? Or a tea egg? Ah, we should be having dinner soon, how about we buy a skewer of dried tofu, one for each of us?"

A skewer of spiced tofu comes in two pieces. If two people want to share it, they can ask the vendor for a bag, or one person can simply finish one piece and then give it to the other. Both are acceptable options.

"what ever."

"Then have one!"

"Fifty cents," the old woman said with a cheerful smile.

The two large pieces of dried tofu were skewered together with two bamboo sticks, perhaps because they were worried that one stick would be too thin and easily break.

Mo Xueyao asked for two more bags, one for herself and one for Li Wanyan, and they ate as they walked.

Many shops along the street were not yet open, and many roller shutters had the character "福" (fortune) pasted on them. Fireworks and firecrackers that someone had set off and not thrown away were still on the steps in front of the doors.

The New Year atmosphere is still strong; not only students, but even many adults haven't started work yet.

Many people back then thought that going back to work on the eighth day of the Lunar New Year was too early, but they never expected that more than a decade later, being able to go back to work on the eighth day of the Lunar New Year without having to take a compensatory day off would be such a wonderful thing.

When I got home, my mother was still packing, and my father was still sitting on the balcony, not having moved an inch—he'd probably smoked several cigarettes by now.

Where are my cigarettes?

"Huh? Oh right, I forgot, hehe!"

"...Go buy some quickly." The father squeezed the crumpled cigarette pack. "I'm out of cigarettes, I've been waiting for you!"

"You smoke every day, try to smoke less." Although Mo Xueyao said this, she still pulled Li Wanyan out the door again, asking before leaving, "Mom—when is dinner?"