Volume 1 / Chapter 73: Even More Boys' Clothes

Weekend buses weren’t nearly as crowded as weekday ones.

Mò Xuěyáo and Lǐ Wǎnyán sat side by side.

“Your parents are really easy to get along with,” Lǐ Wǎnyán said softly.

“Mm, our whole family’s pretty easygoing.”

“Did it feel too sudden, me coming over like this?”

“It’s fine. Honestly, I’d already heard you might be having some trouble at home, so it wasn’t that much of a surprise.”

“I’m really envious of your family.”

“It’s okay. Just treat it like your own home from now on.”

Lǐ Wǎnyán didn’t respond. She knew full well those were just polite words. Treat it like her own home?

That was easier said than done.

After all, she was still just an outsider.

Being accepted so quickly and kindly by Mò Xuěyáo’s parents was already far beyond anything she’d expected.

When they got back home, it was still quite early. Sūtáng had been waiting at the door for a while.

The moment Mò Xuěyáo stepped inside, the cat jumped up affectionately.

She caught it in her arms, then switched on the TV in the living room. “Class moni… Wǎnyán, wanna watch something?”

“Mm. What do you usually like watching, Xuěyáo?”

“Me? I like cartoons and stuff, but nothing like that’s on at this hour.” Mò Xuěyáo muttered as she dragged over a chair and sat in front of the TV. “If only we had a DVD player. Then we could go rent discs from the rental shop.”

“DVD players are expensive, though.”

“Yeah, not exactly cheap…” Mò Xuěyáo idly scratched under Sūtáng’s chin and passed the remote to Lǐ Wǎnyán. “You pick a channel.”

“Okay.”

The class rep didn’t hold back—she flipped through them one by one, finally stopping on a romantic drama.

Mò Xuěyáo wasn’t much into urban love stories. They always ended up feeling over-the-top and sappy.

In those kinds of shows, love seemed to trump everything.

But to her, there were plenty of things in the world more important than love.

She couldn’t imagine giving up so much in life just for romance.

Maybe it was because she’d never fallen in love, and didn’t really understand what it meant.

There’s a saying, isn’t there—the bystander sees clearly, the one in it is lost.

Maybe when you’re really caught up in it, love does feel like the one thing worth chasing in life.

As Lǐ Wǎnyán got more engrossed in the show, Mò Xuěyáo took out a cat teaser stick she’d made with shuttlecock feathers and started playing with Sūtáng.

Only at moments like this did the cat act like a young, energetic kitty.

“You only lost a leg, but she… she lost her love!” The show reached some dramatic climax, but to Mò Xuěyáo, the line was just ridiculous.

Still, Lǐ Wǎnyán looked utterly absorbed.

Mò Xuěyáo just didn’t get the appeal…

It all seemed so shallow, so one-dimensional—or rather, too extreme.

It didn’t feel real at all.

Time slipped by, and soon it was noon.

For a brief moment, the clouds parted, and bright sunlight spilled across the city. It streamed in through the windows, lighting up the balcony of Mò Xuěyáo’s home.

She hadn’t had much of an appetite earlier that morning, so now, just past eleven, her stomach was growling.

Apparently, her dad had forgotten to prepare anything for lunch. The fridge only had some raw meat she didn’t know how to cook.

She didn’t dare try. If she messed it up, it’d be a total waste.

Better to leave it for her mom to make into something delicious.

In a family like hers—not exactly poor, but not exactly well-off either—there wasn’t always an abundance of food. The one thing they always had, though, was instant noodles.

Back then, instant noodles were still considered kind of nutritious!

So her mom often kept some at home for days when she didn’t have time to cook.

You could just soak them, or even better—boil them with some greens and an egg for a richer flavor.

“Class monitor,” Mò Xuěyáo called out, still not quite used to calling Lǐ Wǎnyán by a nickname, “are you hungry? Wanna eat something?”

“A little,” the class rep replied as she stood up. “Want me to help?”

“No need, it’s just instant noodles. I can handle it myself.” Mò Xuěyáo gave an apologetic smile. “Sorry for only having instant noodles.”

“No problem! I like them. I don’t even get to eat them much at home.”

“Really…? So, class monitor, what’s it like at your place?”

“Well, I help my mom cook. If she’s too busy, I cook myself.”

“Wow, so you must be a good cook?”

“Eh… I’m okay,” Lǐ Wǎnyán replied modestly.

Mò Xuěyáo didn’t push further. She got busy washing vegetables, boiling water, and tossing in two packs of noodles and the seasoning.

She unwrapped a starchy sausage, sliced it up, and threw it in too.

Sūtáng circled nearby, meowing hungrily—nearly ready to leap up and snatch a piece.

“No.” Mò Xuěyáo scolded, frowning and tapping the cat off her leg. “Down.”

“Meow—meow—”

“Is it that hungry?” Lǐ Wǎnyán asked, concerned.

“Probably not, it had dumplings this morning…” With a sigh, Mò Xuěyáo opened another sausage and handed it to the cat.

“Ah-woo! Meow-woo!” Sūtáng devoured it like it hadn’t eaten in days.

One sausage was gone in no time, and it still looked unsatisfied—licking its paw and staring up at her, begging for more.

“Later.” Mò Xuěyáo scratched its head, picked it up, and carried it out of the kitchen. “Alright, stay out of here now.”

The pot was bubbling.

She tossed in the sausage, cracked two eggs, but accidentally broke the yolks. So much for poached eggs—now it was just egg noodles…

Finally, she added the vegetables, letting them cook briefly.

She preferred her noodles a little chewy, so she didn’t overcook them.

Everything she’d put in cooked quickly anyway, so undercooking wasn’t a worry.

“Class monitor—no-beef Braised Beef Noodles coming right up!” she said, carrying out a big bowl. “Here, this one’s yours.”

“Thanks.”

Instant noodles were pretty tasty—if you only had them now and then.

They got a bit greasy if you ate too much.

But when boiled instead of soaked, the taste was lighter and less cloying.

Mò Xuěyáo slurped down every last drop of soup, then let out a satisfied sigh. “Hoo… warm and cozy. Feels great.”

“Xuěyáo, you always talk like a boy.”

“Ah, do I? Haha, maybe I’m just casual like that,” she chuckled awkwardly.

“Xuěyáo, can I take a shower here?” Lǐ Wǎnyán asked while clearing the table.

“Sure! But we don’t have a water heater. You’ll have to mix boiled water with cold. In a little while, we might be able to go to the public bathhouse, but it’s probably not open yet.” Mò Xuěyáo replied.

“I’ll wash the dishes. You boil the water?”

“Uhh… I can wash…”

“No, let me. I should help out, right? I mean—you said to treat it like my home.”

“Er… alright then.” Seeing how serious she was, Mò Xuěyáo gave in and filled the kettle. “There’s already one thermos of hot water. One more kettle should be enough.”

She set the full kettle on the stove.

They didn’t even have an electric one—just the old-fashioned gas kind.

Which meant someone had to watch it, or it’d boil over.

It would whistle when ready, sure, but it was still easy to miss.

Mò Xuěyáo waited beside the stove until it boiled, then placed it by the bathroom door and called out, “Wǎnyán, water’s ready! Better bathe now or it’ll cool. Just bring the thermos in with you.”

“Got it.”

Lǐ Wǎnyán entered the bathroom with the hot water, shutting the old, moldy wooden door behind her.

Honestly, if you crouched low enough, you could probably peek through the rotting wood slats…

“Is it okay in there?”

“Yeah, I can wash just fine,” Lǐ Wǎnyán replied. “Which towel can I use?”

“Use mine—the light blue one.”

“Okay.”

Water splashed as she bathed. In the past, this would’ve made Mò Xuěyáo’s heart race.

But now?

She’d bathed with girls already—this kind of thing didn’t stir any weird thoughts anymore.

A short while later, Lǐ Wǎnyán’s voice came again: “Xuěyáo… I… I left my clothes in my bag.”

“Ah? Uh… want to borrow mine?”

“Not sure if they’ll fit…” She was definitely taller than Mò Xuěyáo.

“I’ll look. I should have something loose…” Most of her boys’ clothes were roomy anyway. She dug through her closet, then passed a loose-fitting outfit through the door gap.

Soon, Lǐ Wǎnyán stepped out, steam still trailing behind her.

The oversized men’s casualwear actually made her look more handsome—sharper, even—than when Mò Xuěyáo wore it.

“You really have more boys’ clothes than girls’,” she said as she towel-dried her damp hair.

“Ah… I just don’t really like girly clothes, I guess.”

“Why not?”

“I just feel more comfortable in looser stuff,” Mò Xuěyáo offered, scrambling to explain.

“Is that so? Xuěyáo’s tastes are really… unique.”

“Haha… yeah, I guess so…” Mò Xuěyáo laughed awkwardly, quietly letting out a sigh of relief in her heart.