Chapter 5

The time is October 7, 1999.

It is also the last day of the National Day holiday.

School starts tomorrow.

At this time, the noon sun was shining on the ground, and the refreshing cool wind was blowing on Mo Xueyao’s face, blowing a few strands of black hair.

It was late autumn now, and the weather was not so hot anymore. When one stood under the sun, it felt warm and comfortable—of course, it would still sweat a lot after standing for a long time.

Father went out early this morning and came back at noon.

He said that he was tired today, and he planned to take a rest after pulling goods by tricycle in the morning.

But he took out a lot of tools and called Mo Xueyao to go downstairs to maintain her bicycle.

“Father, these are old bicycles anyway, do they need to be maintained?” Mo Xueyao squatted in front of the bicycle, resting her chin, and asked lazily.

“Even if it’s an old thing, you should take good care of it and cherish it.” My father smiled and wiped the bicycle’s body carefully with a damp rag. “And it can be used for a long time after it is well maintained.”

“But just wiping the body, can it really play a maintenance role?” Mo Xueyao expressed doubts about this.

“Although it doesn’t help much, you can’t stop doing it just because it’s a small thing.” Father picked up the engine oil while talking, “Xiaoyao, turn the pedals for me.”

“Oh…is that so?” Mo Xueyao pinched the pedal with her hand and started to turn it.

“Yes, not too fast.” Father nodded, then added engine oil to the chain, and brushed it with a small brush with the other hand.

“Ok?”

“Okay, let me take a look at the brake pads.” Father looked at the brake pads carefully and checked, “The wear is a bit serious, it’s time to change it.”

“Dad can repair bicycles—it’s the first time I know.” Mo Xueyao had the expression of knowing her father for the first time.

“That’s right, your father and I assembled my first bicycle by myself.” Father looked proud, “I can still ride it now.”

The dusty old-fashioned black bicycle left in the corner of the bicycle garage appeared in Mo Xueyao’s mind, and she said suspiciously: “It can still be ridden…Are you sure?”

“It’s good to fix it, but I don’t need it now, so I don’t ride it, after all, I have a new blue bicycle, but now I ride a tricycle every day, and I rarely even ride that new bicycle.”

It can be said to be new, but it was bought two or three years ago.

After replacing the brake pads, my father checked the tires and handles, tightened the screws, and replaced the original barbed wire basket with a basket with thicker iron bars as the frame.

This makes it possible to carry heavier items.

The last thing is to wax the bicycle. If you don’t look carefully, you may think that this is a newly bought bicycle.

“Give it a new paint next time.” Dad said, looking at the bike.

“Is goose yellow bad?” Mo Xueyao asked.

“It’s just not resistant to dirt, and the wear and tear is a bit serious. Next time, if you repaint it, what color would Xiaoyao want?” Father stroked the stubble on his chin, and before Mo Xueyao could answer, he said himself. “How about pure white?”

“Hey, isn’t that even less resistant to dirt? You are contradicting yourself!” She looked at her father with drooping eyelids, “If I had to choose, I still choose black.”

“Black…? Hmm…it looks too dark.”

“It’s fine as long as it’s resistant to dirt.” Mo Xueyao didn’t care about it.

“How about black and red?”

“It’s also possible…” Mo Xueyao imagined a black and red bicycle and nodded.

“Well, let’s do this for today.” Father yawned big. “I haven’t slept well for several days. I took a shower and went to sleep.”

“Then you go up first, I’ll park the car in the bicycle garage.” Mo Xueyao said, pushing the bicycle and leaving.

Because it has just been waxed, it is better not to touch it for the time being.

Otherwise, it will be oily on hands and clothes.

After parking the bicycle and returning home, Mo Xueyao walked through the living room and glanced at the master bedroom.

The noon sun shone in through the gaps in the tightly drawn curtains, and father’s hair was still wet, but he was already snoring extremely rhythmically, as if he had fallen into a deep sleep.

There are a few white hairs mixed in father’s wet hair.

Mo Xueyao remembers that on the day she went to Shanghai for surgery, her father’s hair was still black and shiny, but now, not only does his hair look like withered grass, but are also stained a little white.

However, he himself didn’t seem to notice it and he was still sleeping carelessly, with his whole body in a large font, lying on the bed sprawled.

Mo Xueyao walked into the room, drew the curtains a little more, and covered all the gaps so that the sunlight could not come in.

Then she exited the room softly and closed the door slowly.

This is how most ordinary people live.

Sweet and bitter. For them, sweet is the least, sour and bitter are the most.

But it is also because of this that they feel that that little sweetness will make people happier.

In the same way, it will be more cherished.

Mo Xueyao returned to her small room, and the two sets of school uniforms that had been washed were lying quietly in her closet.

Except for these two sets of school uniforms, all the others are her boy clothes.

Parents are remarkably busy recently, and Mo Xueyao has no plans to buy new girls’ clothes, so the closet is still full of memories of her childhood as a boy.

Mo Xueyao stared at the girls’ school uniform for a long time, then suddenly reached out and grabbed the hem of the skirt.

“Anyway… I have to wear it tomorrow, no matter how I hide it, I can’t hide, why don’t I try it today?” Mo Xueyao said to herself and took off the blue and white skirt school uniform.

The texture of the skirt was soft and comfortable, making Mo Xueyao’s face a little red.

This feeling… It was as if there was a girl standing in front of her, and the skirt was on her body, and then she boldly reached out to touch her.

This made her a little dazed.

After recovering, it was a moment of loss.

Because this skirt… was worn by her.

Mo Xueyao took off the men’s jacket and looked at herself in the mirror.

With fair skin and a petite figure, she looks a little weak and well-behaved.

The chest is still flat, no different from when she was a boy.

Mo Xueyao looked at her body calmly, then took a deep breath, and put on the short-sleeved school uniform shirt on her body.

“Hmm…? Here…?” Mo Xueyao squinted her eyes and looked at her chest in the mirror. Although it was not obvious, she was able to see the bumps…

It didn’t seem like this when I was a boy.

Perhaps this is the performance of physical development.

She pressed it lightly, and a strange feeling crossed her brain, which made her let go of her hand in a panic.

Skirts are much easier to wear than pants, as long as you put them on directly.

But when she put it on, Mo Xueyao’s ears were already extremely red.

The suit she was wearing was genuine girl’s clothes.

This is the first time I have worn girls’ clothes since I can remember.

A cool breeze came in from the window, lifting her skirt slightly.

And more wind poured in from below, making the lower body feel chilly.

It’s a completely different experience than wearing pants.

Mo Xueyao’s heart beat faster.

She stood in front of the mirror and looked at herself with long hair.

She was clearly looking in the mirror, but she didn’t seem to see herself——she saw another girl.

Who is the most familiar person?

It’s yourself.

Who is the strangest person?

Still myself.

After being stunned for three full minutes, Mo Xueyao came back to her senses, took a deep breath, took off her dress, and changed back into the boy’s clothes.

Sure enough, the trousers made her feel more secure.

Because it would give her the illusion that she was still a boy.

Perhaps, it can be regarded as a psychological self-protection mechanism.

She refolded the clothes and put them back in the closet before sitting at the desk and sorting out the things she would use for class tomorrow.

She plans to bring all the textbooks there tomorrow, and then stuff them directly in the desk drawer, so that she only needs to bring homework books and required textbooks back and forth every day-this can reduce a lot of weight.

Obviously, it didn’t take long, but when I came back to my senses, I found that the sun outside the window was about to sink below the horizon.

“Kala, creak—” was the sound of the door being pushed open after the lock was turned.

Mo Xueyao ran to the door with some doubts and saw her mother taking off her shoes.

“Hey, mom, why is it so early today?”

“The family that worked at night doesn’t need a babysitter now.” Mother replied, “Is your father back yet?”

“Go home at noon.”

“Oh…” Mother nodded, then suddenly remembered something, and handed her the paper bag at her feet, “The clothes I bought for you are definitely something you will wear on weekdays.”

“Isn’t there a school uniform…” Mo Xueyao muttered, opened the paper bag, and her face flushed instantly.

Because what was inside was girls’ underwear and palm-sized briefs.

“You may not be used to that kind of bra.” Mother said the word very directly, making Mo Xueyao so shy that she only dared to look at her toes, “So I bought this kind of vest, there is a sling at the back, just tie it around your neck, if not, I will teach you later.”

“Uh… um…”

“I also bought rubber bands and hairpins. I will teach you how to tie a ponytail later. Disheveled hair is not allowed in school, right?” Mother looked at Mo Xueyao, “However, come here and help me make dinner.”

“Well…don’t you usually ask me to help?”

“Of course, girls have to learn these things, what if they don’t know how to cook?” Mother pinched Mo Xueyao’s little face, “Hurry up and help.”

“Why do girls have to do so…” Mo Xueyao muttered softly, “It’s better to be a boy…”

But my mother had already walked into the kitchen, and there was the sound of flushing water.

“Hurry up and help.” Mother raised her voice again.

“Here we come…” Mo Xueyao walked in helplessly. Although it was her own kitchen, she felt so strange. She only cooked two kinds of food here, one was noodles, and the other was egg fried rice.

The last time I cooked noodles here seemed to be a week ago.