A Young Woman's Heart

Huang Yuxi tilted her head in confusion; it was the first time she had ever seen such a strange driver.

He then took out his passport and handed it to the driver.

When the latter saw him reach out, he recoiled as if he were about to be bitten by a snake, until he finally saw the big word "Male" in the gender column of the passport.

It was as if he had taken a miracle drug; his 'condition' improved by half immediately.

"A boy?" The driver looked Huang Yuxi up and down, looking incredulous.

"Hmm!" Huang Yuxi cleared her throat and patted her chest forcefully.

"...Really...?" After calming down, he finally saw the part of Huang Yuxi that could barely be considered male—he couldn't quite put his finger on it, but he just felt that he was indeed a particularly handsome and refined young man.

Huang Yuxi brushed her hair, which was below her earlobes, upwards and somewhat embarrassedly took off the pair of yellow crystal earrings her brother had given her, putting them back in her bag.

"Where to?" He lit another cigarette, looking lingering fear.

Huang Yuxi flipped to the last page of the notepad, tore off the address, and handed it to him.

"Oh... here, metered, no bargaining, is that okay? My meter is definitely not modified, it won't jump up very fast like other people's. It'll probably cost around eighty yuan to get there." The uncle opened up various drawers in his car and emptied his pockets to show that he wasn't cheating.

"Ah."

"Is that alright?" The driver glanced back and noticed that many of the people in the back of the line were dressed like office ladies. He sighed and looked at Huang Yuxi. "If there's no problem, please get in. Do you want to sit in the front or the back? Do you have any luggage?"

Huang Yuxi nodded quietly and patted the large suitcase next to her.

The driver immediately got out of the car, opened the trunk and helped him put his luggage in. Before getting back in, he looked him up and down again and jokingly said, "This is the first time I've ever seen such a handsome young man."

Huang Yuxi sat in the back seat, gently closed the car door, and smiled somewhat embarrassedly.

The middle-aged man was about to light a cigarette, but then put the lighter down and asked apologetically, "Uh, do you mind if I smoke?"

"Um... um..."

"Okay, then I won't smoke." The man put the cigarette pack and lighter back with great regret, and the car started moving smoothly.

Huang Yuxi thought it would be very bumpy, but for the first part of the journey, he didn't step on the gas or brake hard at all.

He treats cars with the same gentleness he shows his wife.

The prolonged silence, coupled with the lack of cigarettes, made the driver feel somewhat stifled. He rolled down the window a little and couldn't help but speak first: "Do you know why I don't pick up single women at night?"

"Hmm?" Huang Yuxi sat in the middle of the back seat, leaning forward slightly so that the driver could see in the rearview mirror that she was listening attentively.

"Sigh, it's because I have psychological trauma. I went to see a psychologist, and he said it has to be treated slowly. He said I have something like... anxiety and phobia when facing women in certain situations."

"Hmm."

"Because one time I was driving at night with a woman, and she was alone, ugh..." Just thinking about it gave the driver goosebumps, and he couldn't help but shrink his neck. "Because the main road was under construction, I took a side road, which was faster, but she didn't want to, and we had an argument along the way. She deliberately left one of her socks in my car, and the next day she came to the company to complain about me..."

The middle-aged man swallowed hard, seemingly wanting to elaborate, but a nameless fear prevented him from speaking in detail. In the end, he could only sigh heavily: "Anyway, in the end, there was no absolute evidence that I had any ill intentions or committed any indecent acts, but I was still fined a whole... a whole 150,000 yuan, which I still haven't paid off... and I also lost my job, so I had to bring my wife and daughter to Hangzhou to start over... sigh."

Huang Yuxi didn't completely believe the driver's one-sided story, but thinking about how scared he looked just now, it was clear that he really had a mental illness because of it, so she couldn't help but feel a little pity for him.

"Haha, sorry, did I scare you just now, young man? Can't you speak?"

Huang Yuxi didn't answer, but just gave a shy smile to the rearview mirror.

The roads were very quiet late at night, with only the dim streetlights for company.

His home was in the suburbs, and even after he drove into the residential area, the feeling of desolation remained unchanged.

"We've arrived. It's eighty-eight yuan in total. Thanks for listening to my rambling all the way. I usually have to smoke, otherwise I get too sleepy and can only ramble on by myself."

Huang Yuxi gazed at him with her large, clear eyes, like pools of autumn water, and handed him the entire hundred-yuan bill. Although she didn't say anything, she conveyed a gentle kindness.

The older man even got out of the car to help him with his luggage and asked if he needed help taking it upstairs. Even though he knew there was an elevator, he insisted on taking him to the elevator door before leaving.

The middle-aged man with a fierce-looking face turned out to be a kind and warm-hearted person.

For Huang Yuxi, perhaps all the conflicts in the world stem from a lack of sincere communication—and perhaps in his heart, there are no truly evil people in this world…

……

Chapter Fifty-Nine: Early Spring Snow

February 10, 2001, the 2th day of the first lunar month, Saturday.

Early in the morning, Li Wanyan got up very early, while Mo Xueyao was still fast asleep next to her, occasionally grinding her teeth.

It is said that people who frequently grind their teeth in their sleep are generally deficient in calcium.

It was still early, only seven in the morning—quite early for a holiday.

The sky was a hazy gray; if you didn't look at the alarm clock, you might think it was only just dawn.

The streetlights in the neighborhood went out just as Li Wanyan looked at them, and the blooming peach blossoms by the roadside became the brightest embellishment in this gray world.

Snowflakes, even smaller and more delicate than osmanthus blossoms, gently fell.

It snowed in the area around Hangzhou throughout the New Year period. I thought it wouldn't snow here again this year, but unexpectedly, we were greeted with an early spring snow.

If I'm not mistaken, this will probably be the last snowfall before the next winter arrives.

Li Wanyan turned past Mo Xueyao, who was lying next to her, picked up her coat and put it on. She didn't rush to get up, but quietly leaned against the window, watching the tiny ice crystals fall one by one.

Unlike winter snow, it doesn't bring a biting chill.

In fact, quite the opposite is true—the coolness was mixed with a touch of spring warmth.

But this shouldn't be considered "warm" in terms of perceived temperature; rather, it's more of an atmosphere or mood created by the ambiance.

A glistening snowflake was playfully blown into the room by the wind and landed on Li Wanyan's cheek. It melted quickly, as if it had seeped into her skin, a wonderful sensation as if she had been gently touched by the delicate hand of the Spring Maiden.

Mo Xueyao, still immersed in a sweet dream, turned over, muttering something indistinctly, her long, curly eyelashes trembling slightly.

She first hugged the bedding, but perhaps feeling it was a bit empty, she then hugged Li Wanyan's body—but probably still feeling a bit awkward about it, she finally moved down a little, hugged her thigh, and placed her face on the latter's lower abdomen, drooling unconsciously and wetting her pajamas.

Li Wanyan leaned back slightly to make Mo Xueyao more comfortable.

Time seems to pass more slowly when you're not in a rush to get up.

The time spent struggling to get out of bed when the alarm rings for school, but then unable to resist squinting and sleeping for a while, seems to fly by.

The former felt like half an hour had passed, but only five minutes had gone by, while the latter felt like only five minutes had passed, but half an hour seemed to fly by in an instant...

The house was quiet; Mo Xueyao's mother had already left early.

In the morning, Li Wanyan vaguely heard her bustling around in the room. If nothing unexpected happened, the porridge was definitely kept warm in the rice cooker, and there was probably some fried noodles or egg pancakes in the pot. She would also cover them with a lid to prevent them from getting cold too quickly.

Usually, if the food gets cold, Li Wanyan will reheat it for Mo Xueyao.

"Ah... um... going to school...!" Mo Xueyao suddenly sat up from her sleep, pulling the blankets off both of them. A cold wind rushed in, making her immediately roll the blankets back up.

Today is Saturday.

"Ah, right, Saturday..." Mo Xueyao breathed a sigh of relief, but the drowsiness that had filled her body just now had almost disappeared.

Humans are so strange. They don't like to sleep in on holidays, but they can't get out of bed when they're supposed to be in school.

Everyone experiences pressure. With the start of the school year approaching, Mo Xueyao has been having a lot of dreams these past few nights.

It could be that you're late for school, or that you didn't do well on the first exam of the semester, or that you've actually gotten shorter during a physical exam. There have been precedents for this, such as when Wang Jiale was measured to be one centimeter shorter in her second year of high school than in her first year—although that was probably just a measurement error by the instrument.

"Wanyan, have you been sleeping well these past few days?"

"how."

"Just asking, cough, you don't seem to have any pressure about starting school at all!"

"The more effort you put in regularly, the more confident you will become."

"...Then I'd rather have more pressure," Mo Xueyao said sarcastically, pouting.

"Look outside."

"What's going on? Wow—it's snowing? It's snowing so late? And it doesn't seem...very cold?"

"Ah."

"But such light snow probably won't accumulate much."

"Ah."

"Let's make a snowman when there's enough snow, then put it in the freezer and take it out in the summer!"

"That's no longer useful."

"Why not give it a try? There's still room in the fridge..."

The two of them quietly watched the snow outside the window. Time seemed to be passing by leisurely, like an old man walking with his toes pointed outwards and his hands behind his back. However, since they were already awake and there was nothing to do in bed in the morning, they lingered for a while before getting up.

In the kitchen, Li Wanyan was heating up breakfast. Mo Xueyao, who was washing up after her, asked indistinctly while brushing her teeth, "Uh-ah (Wanyan), shall we go to report together later?"

These words, which sounded like encrypted language, were understood by Li Wanyan: "Okay, let's go after breakfast."

"OK!" Mo Xueyao made a gesture, poured some water into her mouth, and was about to rinse her mouth when she heard Li Wanyan's voice drift over again.

"Have you brushed your teeth for five minutes yet?"

"Five minutes? Wasn't it three minutes?"

"I'll spend more time browsing during holidays."

"Holy crap, that's way too long—glug glug—"

Do you still want to get your teeth fixed?

"Okay, okay, I'll put on some more toothpaste and brush my teeth again, okay..." Mo Xueyao looked helplessly at herself in the mirror, and once again filled her mouth with foam.

A peaceful morning that seemed utterly boring to outsiders.

That's how daily life is, without too many ups and downs.

When I arrived at the school on time, the school gate was only half open, and it was so deserted that I wondered if no students came to register on Saturday.

Does everyone have a procrastination problem and like to wait until the last day to do something?

The light snow continued to fall, and the cherry blossom tree at the school gate was in full bloom. Snowflakes had already accumulated on the branches and petals, creating a beautiful scene of pure white amidst the pink blossoms—a beauty that is usually unseen at school.

Since it's still the second year of high school, neither the classroom nor the homeroom teacher's office has changed.

"Knock knock." Li Wanyan knocked on the door very formally, while Mo Xueyao stood lazily to the side with her hands in her pockets.