Volume 1 / Chapter 58: Girls’ Gossip (Part 2)

Once girls start gossiping, it’s like a dam breaking—there’s no stopping it.

“So, what about Lǐ Hóngrǎn?”

“Just a tall dummy. Aside from being tall, there’s really nothing else going for him. And honestly, he’s probably just barely 1.8 meters, right?”

“1.8 meters is already quite tall!”

In this era, a guy standing at 1.8 meters was already considered tall.

After all, average height shifts with the times. The more prosperous life becomes, the better the nutrition. Consequently, boys tend to grow taller than the previous generation, while girls' skin tends to improve noticeably...

The more peaceful the times, the more beautiful women there are—it’s just how it goes.

Good looks aren't merely the product of genetic randomness; they can be shaped by environment too. Privileged living conditions naturally "nurture" more beautiful women.

“1.8 meters is tall by Chinese standards, sure—but compared to foreigners?”

“Why are we always comparing with foreigners? If you like them so much, why don’t you just go marry one?”

“Hmph, I wouldn’t mind!”

What started as idle girl talk suddenly felt like it had picked up some gunpowder.

Lǐ Wǎnyán broke the awkward tension, throwing out, “If there were only two guys left on Earth, would you choose Gāo Yuán or Liú Xiǎowěi?”

“Neither.”

“Yup, rather stay single for life.”

“Same here!”

Poor Liú Xiǎowěi and Gāo Yuán—thanks to their reputation for being creepily awkward, not a single girl in class had a good opinion of them.

Then again, it might not be true hatred. Maybe the girls just pretended to dislike them so they could blend in with the rest and avoid giving the wrong impression.

“What about Zhōu Yǒng?”

“He's kind of average-looking, but still better than those two creeps.”

“Still wouldn’t pick him though.”

“By the way, who’s actually the best-looking guy in our class?” Mo Zhúyōu asked, prompting some genuine reflection.

“Umm… Ān Ruòsù?” Wáng Jiālè said uncertainly.

“Ān Ruòsù, the sunny type? Yeah, he’s cute, but feels like he’s missing that special something.” Huā Yínyín said as she absentmindedly scratched Mò Xuěyáo’s chin.

—Technically speaking, shouldn’t she be scratching her own chin?

Mò Xuěyáo silently slid away from her wandering hand.

“That’s because you’re into pretty boys, aren’t you?” someone teased with a chuckle.

“Meh, I actually prefer pretty girls~”

“Eww—”

“Lǚ Bólún?”

“Come on, his face is so square!”

“Square faces can’t be handsome?”

“Hmm… I’d say that’s more rugged than handsome.”

“What about Chén Chéng? He’s tall, fair-skinned, and honestly good-looking.”

“Yeah… he probably counts as handsome.”

For once, the girls seemed to reach consensus.

“I think Má Jiànháng is pretty good-looking too.”

“He’s way too dark though—” someone immediately shot that down.

Honestly, these girls sure were picky.

“Wait a sec, aren’t you forgetting someone?” Mo Xiǎoxiào chimed in. “What about Jūn Ruòhuán?”

“Oh, right!”

“He talks even less than Xuěyáo.”

“He’s always so quiet.”

“Broody pretty boy?”

“Yeah, yeah! Exactly Huā Yínyín’s type!”

Huā Yínyín didn’t even blush. Instead, she nodded enthusiastically, “Yup! I like that kind. Especially perfect for being the one on the bottom~”

Cough cough!

Everyone around her choked awkwardly, all coughing to cover the silence.

For once, Mò Xuěyáo felt seen. So it wasn’t just her—turns out the other girls couldn’t handle Huā Yínyín’s avant-garde thinking either.

“So our class’s most handsome are Ān Ruòsù, Chén Chéng, and Jūn Ruòhuán?”

“Seems like it,” Lǐ Wǎnyán said, equally caught up in the gossip. “I still think Ān Ruòsù’s the best.”

“Oooh~ does the class monitor have a little crush?”

“Of course not. I just think he seems gentle, that’s all.”

Lǐ Wǎnyán’s tone was calm and cool—none of that bashful flustering Mò Xuěyáo had shown earlier.

Which, ironically, only made it harder to tease her.

“Hey, do you think Xuěyáo would look super handsome with short hair?” Wáng Jiālè suddenly tossed the topic back in Mò Xuěyáo’s direction.

“Ooh~ she really might!” Even in the dark, Mò Xuěyáo could practically see Huā Yínyín’s eyes sparkling.

“Xuěyáo’s face shape would look great with either short or long hair,” Lǐ Wǎnyán added objectively.

Mò Xuěyáo sweatdropped.

She couldn’t help but wonder—back in middle school, had girls gossiped about her like this too?

And yet, she’d never dated anyone through all of junior high.

Could it be that the better-looking a boy was, the fewer girls dared to make a move?

“Yikes, if Xuěyáo had short hair, she’d totally look like one of those foreign gay guys, huh?” Chá Lí added out of nowhere, surprising everyone.

Even Mò Xuěyáo had to pause before she got what was meant.

“Not necessarily~ She might be a lesbian instead!”

…So no matter what, she just didn’t look like a normal person?

Mò Xuěyáo rolled her eyes. Girl interests sure were strange.

“Oh right, didn’t the drill instructor say earlier that Mò Xuěyáo’s eyes are deep blue?” Lǐ Wǎnyán asked.

“Uh… probably because my dad is part Russian. So I inherited a little of that, I guess.”

“Wow, so Xuěyáo is half-foreign?” Wáng Jiālè asked, surprised.

“I think quarter is more accurate—unless your mom’s also a foreigner.”

“My mom’s fully Han Chinese…” Mò Xuěyáo mumbled.

“So… what ethnicity does that make her now?” Lǐ Wǎnyán asked curiously.

“My grandpa was an immigrant, but my dad is considered Han,” Mò Xuěyáo recalled. “I remember when I was just starting elementary school—or maybe right before—my grandpa said my great-grandpa wanted to take us back to visit the Soviet Union. But then, not long after, the whole thing collapsed.”

“Oh yeah, I remember that. The media was all over it,” Lǐ Wǎnyán said. Then, pausing slightly, she asked, “So is your great-grandfather still alive?”

“Yup. He’s almost ninety now.”

“Four generations under one roof… that’s rare and wonderful.” There was a bit of wistful admiration in her voice.

“By the way, didn’t someone mention today that our school has a psychological counselor now? Have you guys seen them?”

Once again, the topic veered off somewhere else, and Mò Xuěyáo quietly exhaled in relief.

It was definitely better just to listen to these girl chats.

There were more than twenty girls in the dorm, anyway—not like it needed her voice to keep going.

“I’ve seen her~ She came all the way over just to bring Xuěyáo some meal tickets.” Wáng Jiālè piped up. “She looks super young, like a middle schooler . Is she really a teacher?”

Mò Xuěyáo just felt confused—why did every topic end up having something to do with her?

“Maybe she just looks young.”

“Or maybe she has dwarfism?” someone speculated.

“Her head looks pretty normal though, everything’s in proportion. Like a regular middle school girl,” Wáng Jiālè shot that theory down.

“The upperclassmen say we’ve got a lot of new teachers this year, especially young female ones.”

“Right, supposedly all brought in by the new principal.”

“Even the infirmary used to be staffed by gym teachers, but this year we’ve got an actual medical teacher—rumor says she just graduated from med school.”

“You’ve seen her?”

“I passed the infirmary once and saw the principal chatting with her.”

“Speaking of—our principal is kinda handsome, huh?”

“Yeah yeah! He’s got that mature, rugged charm.”

And just like that, the conversation spun off again.

Mò Xuěyáo figured she’d never be able to keep up with the lightning-fast pace of these girl talk topics.

From the principal, they jumped to modern-day heartthrobs, then onto famous imperial concubines, then on to Chinese goddess, then to mythological beauties and demonesses.

At some point, Mò Xuěyáo’s thoughts began to blur—until suddenly she realized they were talking about… bedroom stuff.

Various positions, various scenarios, whispered flirtations—it was more graphic than the kind of stuff boys usually dared to say.

Her face turned scarlet. Flustered, she buried her head under the covers.

But there was no escape.

Because the one talking the most excitedly… was Huā Yínyín, lying right beside her.

“You girls are sure having a good time, huh?”

Just then, the sound of a jangling keychain and a stern voice came from the door—it was the female instructor.

The attic dorm, which had been buzzing just seconds ago, instantly fell silent. It was like the chatter had never happened, or like every girl had fallen asleep at the exact same moment.

“If you’re so full of energy, how about coming down for a few laps?”

The instructor’s voice was icy. “If you’re still noisy when I come back later, every single one of you is running.”

Her footsteps finally retreated down the stairs.

“All right, let’s sleep,” Lǐ Wǎnyán whispered, stopping Huā Yínyín who looked like she still wanted to keep talking. “It’s late. We won’t have any energy tomorrow if we don’t sleep now.”

“Mmhm…”

“Yeah, time for bed.”

“Goodnight, everyone~”

Soon, the attic dorm settled into silence.

Mò Xuěyáo finally let herself relax.

She exhaled deeply and instinctively reached to tug at her blanket—only to remember Huā Yínyín was lying right next to her.

She lay there stiffly, still unused to it.

Oddly enough, Huā Yínyín didn’t try anything weird tonight. That, more than anything, surprised her.

Peeking over, she realized… Huā Yínyín had already dozed off.

That fast? Seriously?

Could it be that, despite her bubbly energy earlier, she had actually been exhausted?

And once the talking stopped, she just slipped into sleep like flipping a switch?

With that thought, Mò Xuěyáo reached for her pillow by the wall, tucked it under her head, and quietly drifted into slumber.

That night, she dreamed a strange, uneasy dream.

She was thrown into a boundless frozen tundra, her entire body nearly frozen stiff—especially her lower abdomen, which felt so cold, it physically hurt…