A Young Woman's Heart

If you have to pretend to listen attentively to the person speaking on the stage when you're on the playground, then in the classroom you can basically ignore the voices on the radio.

It wasn't just Class 2 that was making a lot of noise; the classes upstairs and downstairs were all quite noisy, and you could also hear the sounds of desks and chairs being dragged from other classrooms.

It seems that Ye Wen wasn't the only one who took advantage of this indoor opening ceremony to rearrange the students' seats.

The sound of light rain falling on the trees and grass was as hard as snow, making a 'rustling' sound.

However, looking outwards, there was no snow accumulation; at most, one could see 'trickles' slowly flowing along the lower slopes.

"Alright, second group, second group—" Ye Wen called out several times, but her voice was completely drowned out by the noisy students at the back of the classroom.

Li Wanyan coldly looked at everyone, then silently walked to the podium and slammed her hand on the blackboard.

Although she didn't speak, she created an inexplicable pressure on the others. Under her gaze, they quickly quieted down. Although some people still spoke, they only dared to whisper among themselves.

"Alright, Hua Yinyin, come here, first row of the second group. You are to your left, and Mr. Xue is to your right."

"Hey—why am I still sitting next to Xiaoxue? I'm going to be sitting next to Xiaoyaoyao now—!"

"No, you're so noisy. You're sitting next to Mo Xueyao, how can she control you?" Ye Wen scolded. "It's best to be with Xiaoxue, and you should sit in the first row, that way you'll be at ease (dialect: less trouble)."

"Waaah, I actually got to sit in the first row, how decadent..."

"What? People want to sit in the first row but can't. The first row is so much better, you can see the blackboard so clearly."

"Ah Wen, you've been a student before..." Hua Yinyin pouted, deliberately lowered her head, and dejectedly carried her schoolbag to her new assigned seat.

However, she didn't really care. If all the girls in the class had to choose a boy they would never dislike as their deskmate, then everyone would definitely vote for Mr. Xue.

In front of Hua Yinyin was Mo Zhuyou, who was sitting on the right side of the podium.

The two of them were quite close, so at least she had company, which gave her some comfort.

"Youyou, have you taken the wrong medicine? Why did you suddenly want to sit in a seat like this? It's even worse than my seat in the first row." Hua Yinyin put down her schoolbag and asked in a low voice.

Hearing this, Ye Wen, who was standing next to her, couldn't help but roll her eyes at her.

"Hmph... I'm doing this so I can study hard. If I can't motivate myself, I'll have to rely on others to motivate me!"

"Your grades aren't that bad, are they? You should be able to get around 20th place out of forty people, right?"

“But I’m nowhere near as good as my sister. She’s always in the top ten of her class, and even in the top fifty of the whole grade… Sigh.” Mo Zhuyou sighed and explained softly, “If I don’t study hard, my sister will have to take the entrance exam for a bad and expensive university with me. If we don’t have enough money, she might not be able to go to university. So I have to take the exam for a good university with her. Good universities are cheaper…”

Hua Yinyin cupped her face in her hands, and unusually, she didn't joke around. Instead, she nodded seriously: "Okay, then you have to do your best."

"Hey, Yinyin, why are you suddenly so serious? That's weird."

"Hey, can't I ever be serious?"

"You two, be quiet! I'm starting to wonder if we put them in the wrong seats. You two aren't allowed to talk during class, okay? Xiaoxue, keep an eye on them." Ye Wen teased with a smile as she looked at the seating chart in her hand.

Zhou Yong, who had always sat in the back row of the classroom, was also moved to the front.

He and Ma Jia sat behind Mr. Xue, it seemed the teacher wanted him to have a different environment to study properly.

"Hmm, let me see... the last row of the second group... Li Hongran, you sit behind Du Qicai, An Ruosu, you and Li Hongran will be deskmates."

“OK!” Li Hongran readily agreed. He was very satisfied with the seating arrangement because this way, he wouldn’t have to stand at one end of the classroom and shout to the other when he went to play ball with An Ruosu after class.

An Ruosu lowered her head slightly and silently sat down in her seat, seemingly lost in thought.

"What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?" Li Hongran nudged him with her elbow and asked with a smile.

"It's nothing..." He scratched his head, leaned on the table, and buried his head in his chest, seemingly trying to hide something.

Soon they reached the third group, and Wang Jiale and Xuan Anyi were assigned to the same row. Having sat with Mo Xueyao for a whole semester last semester, she thought the two of them would be deskmates from now on.

"Hmm, sitting next to Auntie is not bad, but I still want to sit with Xiaoyao." Wang Jiale muttered, leaning to one side, seemingly a little unwilling.

"Ah, I'm free! That's wonderful!" Mo Xueyao exclaimed deliberately.

This amused the latter so much that she stomped her foot hard: "Oh, Yao! You're making me so mad!"

"Pfft, hahaha... Okay, okay, maybe I'll be assigned to sit behind you later."

"It's not fair! Why can everyone else's requests be met, but mine can't?"

Despite her complaints, Wang Jiale ultimately didn't confront Ye Wen. Despite her stubbornness, she was timid and obediently sat down in her new seat.

However, Mo Xueyao was never called by name. Instead, Li Wanyan was assigned to the same group as Wang Jiale, separated by a row, and became Jun Ruohuan's deskmate.

Jun Ruohuan's name sounds a bit gender-ambiguous, but the owner of the name is quite handsome. If it weren't for his height, he could probably replace Chen Cheng, the school heartthrob.

Yes... Chen Cheng is considered a campus heartthrob.

Jun Ruohuan is probably the most handsome guy in the class.

Mo Xueyao doesn't seem to be able to distinguish the degree of a boy's handsomeness. As long as he reaches a certain threshold, she thinks he's about handsome enough.

If Chen Cheng's handsomeness carries a hint of rebellion and unruliness, then Jun Ruohuan's handsomeness is probably more of a rogue's charm, the kind of bad boy handsomeness.

When he smiles, he looks just like a handsome villain...

Many girls like this kind of thing.

The saying goes that women don't love men who aren't a little bad. Since this saying has been around for so long, there must be some truth to it.

Li Wanyan didn't express any opinion about who her deskmate was; she seemed to have always been indifferent to it.

Jun Ruohuan, on the contrary, complained: "Oh dear, how can I be deskmates with the class monitor? This won't do, it's too rigid..."

"Stop kidding me. The reason we put the class monitor next to you as your deskmate is to keep you in check. Back in the first year of high school, you did well in every subject, always ranking in the top 15 of the class overall, and occasionally even in the top 5 in Chinese. But now, at the end of last semester, your Chinese ranking dropped to 34th, and you almost failed. Look at you, have you been studying properly?"

"Oh, this is very simple. I think I can learn it casually and do well on the exam."

"Stop talking big, class monitor! Keep an eye on him!"

"Hmm." Li Wanyan nodded lightly, then coughed heavily. Jun Ruohuan had no choice but to sit down helplessly.

Like Liu Xiaowei, Chen Cheng sat in the last row of the third group, without even a deskmate.

It's obvious without even guessing that Mo Xueyao will be assigned to the fourth group.

That's not bad, at least this side is by the window, the view is better...

In fact, from childhood to adulthood, Mo Xueyao's favorite spot was always the window seat by the playground.

"Come on, Gao Yuan and Ma Jianhang, you two are in the first row."

"Okay, I like it!" Gao Yuan shouted, contrary to his usual behavior. Of course, he hadn't suddenly developed a strong desire to study; he was just being silly. Everyone else had been protesting, so it was quite unexpected that he would suddenly agree with everything.

—Only unexpected things are dramatic.

Gao Yuan is truly a master of the art of being a goofball.

"If you don't like it, then... if you do, sit down properly! Stop making a fuss, look, everyone else is already sitting down." Ye Wen's tone was like coaxing a three-year-old.

Lu Chengyuan, who had been waiting for this moment, finally heard her call out her name.

“Lu Chengyuan, you sit by the window. Lü Bolun, you sit next to her.”

"Eek—" Hua Yinyin immediately drew out the sound of her teasing, and was then slapped on the forehead by Ye Wen, causing her to bite her tongue. "Hiss—"

"Wow—I get it!" Wang Jiale suddenly realized that Lu Chengyuan had been whispering something to Ye Wen.

Mo Xueyao was somewhat surprised. She never expected Lu Chengyuan to be so bold as to ask to sit next to the boy she liked.

It seems she's determined to get it...

Even if they got together tomorrow, she wouldn't be surprised anymore.

The third row features familiar faces: Huang Yuxi and Ai Xiuer.

These two seem rather quiet; they're clearly the type who won't talk in class or disrupt the class order.

Mo Xueyao, who was always assigned to a front-row seat, was assigned to the fourth row this time.

"Mo Xueyao, you sit by the window, and Leng Feng, you sit next to me."

"Leng Feng?" This name was quite unfamiliar to her; at most, she only knew that he was her classmate.

It's not that she's quiet or doesn't talk much, it's just that they don't usually interact. Her social circle and Mo Xueyao's social circle are completely different.

This is a tall girl, not the kind of 'tall' like Aya Akimoto, but just the right height.

She's probably around 1.7 meters tall.

Her skin tone doesn't quite match the style of her name; it's wheat-colored, almost dark, but that doesn't detract from the fact that her features look delicate.

At first, the two were a little awkward and unfamiliar with each other. They just glanced at each other and then sat down.

Mo Xueyao was looking out the window, and she was also looking out the window—only on the other side.

"Finally—Duanmu Ji, Yue Tingfeng, alright, all the seats have been arranged. Now it's the principal's turn to speak, so everyone please be quiet and listen attentively!"

……

Chapter Six: The Cold Wind, the Helpless Cold Wind

Strangely enough, the moment the opening ceremony ended, the light rain suddenly stopped, and the dark clouds in the sky seemed to be torn apart by a pair of giant hands, revealing the golden sunrise behind them.

The bell rang at the right time, and the students walked out of the classroom in twos and threes.

Before the first class even started, many people took advantage of the break to go to the restroom.

We chatted about the fun things that happened during the winter break.

In reality, it's all the same: where I went, what delicious food I ate, what strange people I met, and what new and interesting things I encountered.

But it is precisely because of this that people can feel the beauty of this simplicity.

"Mo Xueyao, do you have any problems being the leader of the fourth group?" Ye Wen, who had walked over from the door, asked, resting her hands on the cold-winded table.

"Me? The group leader? But I have to participate in band activities." Mo Xueyao neither said she was willing nor resistant; at most, she just found it a bit troublesome.

"It's okay, just collect the homework and stuff. Come back from the band room a little earlier and collect it during the morning reading session."

"Ok."

"Then it's settled. Mo Xueyao, the leader of the fourth group." Ye Wen nodded and ticked a box on the list in her hand.

Many people went to the restroom, making the classroom very quiet.

Wang Jiale and the others weren't there either; they went to the restroom without calling her, which made Mo Xueyao bite her lip.