Volume 1 / Chapter 57: Girls’ Gossip (Part 1)

As an only child—well, an only daughter now—Mò Xuěyáo had never before slept in the same room with so many people.

From kindergarten through high school, she’d always been a day student. Her relationships with her cousins, both paternal and maternal, were never particularly close either. So she'd long since grown used to being alone.

But now and then, experiencing this kind of lively atmosphere wasn’t so bad.

After all, humans are social creatures. Even those who thrive in solitude will occasionally yearn for moments like this—moments full of chatter and warmth.

On the edge of a cliff stood a secluded villa, and inside its loft attic, a group of girls were huddled together in a cozy pile, laughing and playing.

They talked about the past, chatted about the present, and dreamt aloud about the future.

For a moment, Mò Xuěyáo felt as if she were floating—like she'd been soaked into a glass of clear rice wine. Her body softened, her spirit relaxed. No effort was needed. She could just lie there, lazily, and drift.

“Xiaoyáoyáo, comfy lying on me?” Huā Yínyín's teasing voice pierced the tranquility.

Startled, Mò Xuěyáo bolted upright. She turned to see that Huā Yínyín was now sitting cross-legged behind her. Apparently, she'd been resting on Huā Yínyín’s generously endowed chest just moments ago.

…Could drinking milk really make those grow that much?

Mò Xuěyáo fell into quiet contemplation.

“What’s wrong, huh? Cat got your tongue? You sure looked like you were enjoying it~”

“Cough, cough…!” Mò Xuěyáo let out two awkward coughs. “Why were you sitting behind me anyway? Where’s my pillow?”

“Right here,” Huā Yínyín pointed to her own head. She’d been leaning against the wall earlier, with the pillow tucked between her head and the wall as a cushion.

“It’s already nine o’clock?” Mò Xuěyáo glanced at the alarm clock beside her in surprise and muttered to herself.

Then again, maybe it wasn’t so odd. That urban legend storybook she’d been reading wasn’t exactly thin—and now she was nearly done with it. Thinking back, a few hours probably had passed.

“Girls upstairs!” A stern voice suddenly boomed from below, breaking the cozy chatter. “Lights out time! What’s all that racket? We can hear you all the way from down here!”

The attic froze in silence for a few seconds. Then someone scurried over to the window and peeked outside cautiously.

“It’s this side—it’s this side.” Since the attic had windows facing three directions, you couldn’t see the instructor unless you were looking through the right one.

As expected, the female instructor was glaring up from below, arms akimbo—just as strict as she’d been during the day. “What are you staring at? Lights out means sleep! Do you need me to come up there and do it for you!?”

The girls all shrank back slightly, intimidated.

“Jeez… such a tigress…”

“Why so fierce? It’s not like we knew when lights-out was.”

“Seriously…”

Despite their grumbling, everyone scrambled back into their sleeping bags in record time. The class monitor, who’d been silently staring at the ceiling all this time, got up and ensured everyone was tucked in. Then she closed the windows—leaving only a few slightly ajar—and flipped the attic’s main light switch off with a ‘click’.

The low attic was instantly swallowed in darkness.

In the stillness, they listened to the instructor’s footsteps gradually fade away. Only when the sound had completely vanished did the group let out a collective sigh of relief.

Even though they’d just been animatedly chatting, it was impossible to fall asleep so suddenly.

Wáng Jiālè was the first to break the silence. “Good thing our class got the male instructor.”

“Yeah, if it had been a female instructor, we’d be doomed,” said a voice that Mò Xuěyáo recognized as Chá Lí.

“Women making life hard for other women…” This voice had a distinct tone—must’ve been Tián Xīnnán, the girl built like a panda.

Not only was she plump, but she was also tall and broad—more like a bear than a girl. Yet her demeanor was mostly silly and harmless, which made her resemble a cuddly panda.

With that size and sheer presence, she could probably keep rowdy boys in check better than most actual guys.

“Women do make life hard for each other,” Chá Lí muttered. The others murmured in agreement.

“Hey, by the way, is anyone in our class on their period right now?” Mo Zhúyōu suddenly asked out of the blue.

She and her older sister had similar voices, but you could usually tell them apart by their tone and inflection.

This question prompted every girl to start mentally counting dates.

Next to Mò Xuěyáo, Huā Yínyín sighed regretfully. “Ahhh—I just checked. Mine’s due next week.”

“If mine could’ve been delayed a bit, that’d be great.” Wáng Jiālè sighed even harder. “I just finished…”

“How many days do you all usually have?” someone asked. It was Lǐ Wǎnyán, the class monitor. Her sudden voice caused the whole room to fall silent.

Then someone laughed. “I thought the monitor was about to scold us! Gave me a fright!”

“Me too!”

“Yeah, her voice is just so commanding.”

“Am I really that scary?” Lǐ Wǎnyán asked helplessly. “Are you all that afraid of me?”

“Well… you don’t really smile much.”

“Yeah, and you don’t chat with us very often.”

“Hmm…” Lǐ Wǎnyán sounded thoughtful. Then she gently steered the conversation back. “So, how long do your periods usually last?”

“I average three to four days~” Huā Yínyín answered first. She was closest to the monitor—within arm’s reach—so of course she had to be the first to play along. Better not to leave the monitor hanging.

“Eh? That short?” Wáng Jiālè muttered in surprise. “Mine lasts about seven days…”

“That’s so long! That’s like one-fourth of the month! Poor Jiālè~”

Mò Xuěyáo’s face flushed red.

She couldn’t join this kind of conversation at all.

To be fair, after sixteen years living as a boy, she probably understood boys pretty well… but girls? Not so much.

Topics like this weren’t just unfamiliar—they were downright overwhelming. The more she listened, the hotter her cheeks burned.

Were girls’ late-night chats always like this…?

Boys never asked each other about that. Conversations were more like: “Which girl’s hotter?” “Who’s got a better figure?” At most, they’d maybe compare sizes of something else.

Right now, Mò Xuěyáo felt exactly like a boy trapped in a sea of girls. She didn’t dare say a word, terrified that she might accidentally let something slip that made everyone suspect she wasn’t a real girl—even though, realistically, no one would ever think that way.

“I’m about five days,” Chá Lí added.

“Hmm~ Mine’s been short lately—only two or three days,” Mo Xiǎoxiào chimed in softly.

As if on cue, one by one the girls began reporting their cycle lengths.

Mò Xuěyáo pretended to be asleep, staying silent.

But she hadn’t counted on the monitor remembering her. “Mò Xuěyáo hasn’t said anything yet, right?”

“Oh right, she hasn’t spoken at all.”

Others started to chime in too.

“Ah… me? What about me?”

“Nothing,” Lǐ Wǎnyán didn’t press the earlier question. “No need to be shy. It’s not that hard to be part of the group.”

Mò Xuěyáo couldn’t help thinking—was Lǐ Wǎnyán really qualified to say that…?

Well, if she really wanted to blend in, it wouldn’t be hard. It was just a matter of whether she felt like it.

“By the way, Mò Xuěyáo—do you like any boys?” a voice she didn’t recognize asked suddenly.

“Eh!? I… I don’t… I don’t like anyone…” Mò Xuěyáo stammered.

“Aww, we’ve only just met Xiaoyáoyáo! She probably doesn’t even recognize all the girls yet, let alone the boys. Asking her is pointless.”

“Y-yeah, exactly!” Mò Xuěyáo quickly nodded, praying the topic would move on.

“Not necessarily,” someone said. “Didn’t she pick Zhōu Yǒng as her partner in Home Ec the other day?”

“That might not have been her decision though. Maybe one of the other girls in her group likes Zhōu Yǒng?”

“Ooh… Mo Xiǎoxiào or Wáng Jiālè maybe?”

“Ahhh no way! I definitely don’t like Zhōu Yǒng, okay! He’s not even handsome, and sometimes he’s downright sleazy hanging out with Liú Xiǎowěi and those guys!” Wáng Jiālè protested. “It was all Xuěyáo’s decision that day! Had nothing to do with me or Xiǎoxiào!”

“Denial is a kind of confession~” someone teased, making Wáng Jiālè even more flustered.

“E-even if I were to like someone, it’d be that oaf Lǐ Hóngrǎn before I ever picked Zhōu Yǒng!” she shouted.

“Ahem, keep it down,” Lǐ Wǎnyán coughed, and everyone instantly dropped their volume.

“So… you do like Lǐ Hóngrǎn?”

“No I don’t! That’s not what I meant—”

“Alright, alright, stop bullying Jiālè.” Chá Lí stepped in. “Let’s change it up—who do you all like in our class?”

“Can’t we not like anyone?”

“Okay, then who do you kind of like? Or who’s good-looking? Or who would make a good boyfriend?” Chá Lí asked a string of questions.

Even though they grumbled about no one in their class being boyfriend material, the girls quickly launched into an enthusiastic debate.

“What do you think of Mr. Xuě ?” someone asked.

“Mr. Xuě? He’s not drop-dead handsome, but he’s got that scholarly, quiet vibe.”

“Yeah, kind of like a bookworm?”

“And he doesn’t really talk to other guys much.”

“Probably not the type who’d know how to care for a girlfriend.”

“Xiaoyáoyáo, what do you think?” Huā Yínyín nudged Mò Xuěyáo’s arm and asked suddenly.

“M-me? Uh… I think he’s okay. He seems mature, and probably knows how to navigate social stuff, so being around him wouldn’t be too exhausting.”

“Wah~ You said so much! Do you like him?”

“N-no! I just meant… as a friend…”

“A boyfriend kind of friend?”

“Huā Yínyín, why do you always pick on Mò Xuěyáo?” Lǐ Wǎnyán stepped in protectively.

“Hehe, ‘cause she looks so cute when she’s embarrassed~”

You little devil… Mò Xuěyáo grumbled inwardly.