After dinner, Fang Huahua hurriedly went to Fang Yu's house. "Fang Yu, I wanted to come to your house this afternoon but I didn't have time. Now my grandma is sick, and I have to stay home to do chores."

"What's wrong with your grandma?" Fang Yu asked Hua Hua with concern.

"I'm telling you, but don't tell anyone!" Fang Huahua whispered to Fang Yu, "Last time you said my grandma was going to get married, but now she's not going. That old man is dead."

"Oh no, how could he suddenly die?"

“It was a car accident. Someone came to our house that day and told us. At first, we didn’t know why he came. Later, my grandma,” Fang Huahua tilted her head, “actually, she was so heartbroken when she heard the news that she became a little abnormal. She often talked nonsense. My dad took her to see a doctor. We don’t know if she can get better.”

"Oh, so can you stay at my place tonight?"

“I’ve already told my dad that my grandma can’t control me anymore.”

"Then I'll go lock the door." Fang Yu locked the door from the inside, shook it a few times to make sure it was secure before she felt at ease.

Lying in bed, the two girls had endless things to talk about.

"Fang Yu, do you know what menstruation is?"

"I know, every girl will come when she grows up."

Have you arrived?

"not yet."

"Are you scared?"

"I'm not afraid."

"You're not afraid of bleeding? Do you know what to do when it happens?"

“My mom told me that she had prepared sanitary napkins for me and taught me how to use them.”

"Your mom even taught you this?"

“Of course you have to teach me these things, your mom… well, I’ll tell you when I get here, I’ll teach you how to use them.”

Okay. Are sanitary napkins expensive?

"I don't know either, my mom bought it."

"Oh, so how much will it cost to buy this since I'll be using it every day?"

"Why would you use it every day? You'll stop using it after a few days when the blood stops flowing."

"Haven't you been bleeding the whole time? Will it stop?"

Fang Yu burst out laughing, "Hua Hua, do you think that just because you're menstruating, you'll bleed all the time down there?"

Fang Huahua was also confused, "I'm not really sure either, I just know that girls bleed when they grow up."

"It only lasts a few days each month, and the bleeding will stop after a few days."

"Oh, I see."

The next morning, after Fang Huahua got up from Fang Yu's house and returned home, people in the neighborhood casually chatted with them, saying, "Third brother's daughter came back from school, and Shugen's daughter stayed at her house. They seem to have a good relationship."

“Yes, both mothers are, hey~,” the speaker seemed to suddenly realize something, “There are three madmen in our village. The third brother’s wife went out and wasn’t home, and Tree Root Mother went mad. Does that mean there have to be three madmen in the village?”

"Nonsense! If that's the case, then there will be new lunatics when they get old. Medicine is getting better and better now, and there won't be any more of this disease in the future. Didn't Tree Root's mother say that she went to a mental hospital and is taking medication?"

"However, this is really strange. Not long after Ji Hong went to another place, Shu Gen's mother was like this."

“You just need to scare her a little. Ji Hong had a few crazy episodes in the first few years after she came here. But after her daughter grew up, she was fine and never went crazy again. She was busy making money every day and never stopped doing housework. When her daughter went to junior high school and lived at school, she immediately went out to find business to do.”

"That's true. She can make money, and she doesn't hit or curse people. She's not crazy at all. It's just that some of her behaviors are different from other women."

"She's just following the trend."

Although there was such talk in the village, it was mostly just idle gossip. However, there were a few superstitious people in the village who said that the village needed three madmen to be stable, and if one left, another had to come to replace him.

There were even rumors that Hua Hua went to live with Fang Yu and brought Yu Jihong's "crazy" personality to her home.

Yu Jihong wasn't home either, and Fang Shugen's mother had never been well-liked before. Now, with her frequent mental instability, even fewer people interacted with her.

So no matter what people say, it doesn't affect their lives. They continue to live as usual, and their lives don't affect what people say. They continue to say what they want to say, and the more outlandish the rumors, the more interested people become in listening.

Fang Yu packed her things on Sunday evening, closed the door, and went to school by herself. She carried Shi Feihao's enamel mug, intending to return it to him at school. The enamel mug seemed to have its own weight, dragging Fang Yu's hand. How annoying, she had to talk to him again.

After Sunday evening self-study, Shi Feihao came to find Fang Yu. "I'll go get the cup and return it to you," Fang Yu said.

"No need, return it to me on Saturday. If I give it back to you, I might lose it and get scolded by my mom. Keep it with you for now."

Fang Yu tidied her desk, didn't say much to Shi Feihao, and left the classroom.

Shi Feihao followed, "Fang Yu, has your uncle written anything? How's their business going?"

"It's alright," Fang Yu said softly.

"Oh, where did they do it last time?"

"I'm going to my dorm now." Fang Yu quickened her pace and walked towards the dormitory building.

The dormitory was a row of old bungalows with creaking wooden doors. After evening self-study, students would come and go with their washbasins, making it quite lively.

Upon entering the dormitory, there is a wooden table against the wall, its surface polished smooth by years of books, with a few indelible ink stains still stuck to its edges.

A row of wooden crates was neatly stacked on the table, including old dark brown crates and new crates covered with decorative paper. Some of the dark brown or black locks were already rusty.

To the right of the door were two wooden frames connected together, one above the other.

As Fang Yu walked to the dormitory door, a straightforward classmate who had just returned from washing his face said, "Fang Yu, it seems like your cousin likes you and is pursuing you."

A classmate standing nearby, carrying a washbasin and about to leave, chimed in, "Yeah, if it weren't for your cousin, I'd really think it was a male classmate who likes you."

"It's my second aunt's son. I took an enamel mug from his house last week, and he came over to tell me about it." Fang Yu picked up the basin and hurried to the sink outside. If she didn't hurry, the lights would be turned off when it was time for the dormitory supervisor to come and check.

The lights had just been turned off, and the moonlight seemed even brighter, streaming in through the wooden window lattice and illuminating the shared beds. The students were still chatting about what they would be eating at home for the Mid-Autumn Festival.

“My mom said that besides the Spring Festival, the Mid-Autumn Festival is the biggest holiday. My sister and her family came back for a visit, and it really felt like the Spring Festival.”

Fang Yu looked out the window. In previous years, her mother would cook a few more dishes for the Mid-Autumn Festival and take her to the bridge to look at the moon. She would say that everyone was looking at the same moon on this day and telling the moon what was on their minds.

This year, I heated up some chicken soup by myself, put some noodles in it and ate it like that. Luckily, Huahua came over that night to chat with me, so I wasn't so lonely.

The dormitory supervisor arrived, shone her flashlight in the hallway, and scoffed, "Go to sleep, everyone, and don't talk." The dormitory immediately fell silent.

A few chirps of insects drifted in from outside the window, occasionally mingled with the barking of dogs from the distant village.

I miss my mom. If she were home, I could go home and sleep after evening self-study, just like the other kids from my village. Mom is coming back for the Chinese New Year, but school hasn't even been in session for a month yet, so it'll be a long time. Mom should be asleep now; she wrote in her letter that she has to get up very early in the morning.

The moonlight slowly shifted, and occasionally a classmate would turn over, causing the wooden bed to creak. The roommate's breathing gradually became even.

Fang Yu closed her eyes, buried her face in the pillow, and her eyes quietly welled up with tears.