A Young Woman's Heart

Chapter Twenty-Four: April Fool's Day 'Truth'

The school's small gate was ajar. The security guard was asleep, leaning back in his chair with his hands dangling loosely at his sides. The newspaper he had been reading before falling asleep was now covering his face.

A girl in a yellow-green dress stepped through the dappled shadows of the trees and quietly pushed open the iron gate.

"Squeak—" The slight sound blended with the sound of the wind blowing through the leaves, making it sound as if it was just being moved by the wind.

A few more cherry blossom petals fell from the tree and landed on her head.

Standing here, you can faintly hear the 'thump thump' sound of a basketball hitting the ground, along with some indistinct shouts.

She pressed down on her skirt, which was being lifted by the wind, and leisurely walked inside.

Closer and closer, the sound became clearer.

A dozen or so boys were gathered in a basketball court, looking like they were playing a formal game.

She recognized a few of them because they were classmates, but she didn't recognize the others; they might be boys from other classes or even other grades.

I didn't say hello.

I didn't deliberately get close to them.

I simply enjoy this leisurely feeling.

She sat down on a bench in a small open space, where there were no leaves to block the sunlight, so the sun shone on her face without restraint.

With its head slightly tilted to the side, a pink petal gently slipped down and was picked up by a passing ant, who used it as a sunshade.

The yellow-green over-the-knee socks reflected slightly in the sunlight, and a long line of ants snaked around her feet, as if they were going around a high mountain.

Under the girls' watchful eyes, the boys put in even more effort in their 'performance,' their sweat falling to the ground and leaving behind slightly darker black spots.

A somewhat gloomy-looking boy dribbled the ball, pushed past the tallest boy, and then leaped into the air, throwing the ball into the basket.

"Oh—!" His teammates shouted in unison.

The hoop was still shaking from the powerful shot of the basketball, which bounced and crashed through the half-closed metal gate before rolling out.

It hopped along the way and finally rolled to the girl's feet.

The basketball gently bumped against the girl's ankle, leaving a dark gray stain on her clean over-the-knee socks.

The boys looked at each other, but didn't seem to be in a hurry to get the ball. Instead, they sat on the ground under the camphor tree as if it were halftime.

This camphor tree, which is at least several decades old, grows outside the barbed wire fence, with only some of its branches and leaves extending inside, but it is enough to create a shady spot for people to enjoy the shade.

Some were sitting, some were lying down, and some were leaning against their friends.

Their sweat-soaked hair and dirty clothes made them look a bit disheveled, but they were laughing very happily, chatting about something, and occasionally glancing at the girl sitting opposite them.

She glanced at the basketball at her feet, seemingly in no hurry to return it, but instead placed one foot on it and leisurely gazed at the azure sky.

I don't know when or how much time passed, but the boy's side suddenly became quiet.

A boy was sent out as an 'envoy' to 'negotiate' with the girl.

His sweat-soaked hair had almost dried, but now it stood up straight, as if he had used hairspray, making him look somewhat comical.

As he walked toward her, he brushed the dust off his clothes.

When he got close to her, he finally looked a little more presentable.

“…I’ll get the basketball.” He said sullenly, looking down at the ball instead of looking into her eyes.

"Oh, take it." The girl's gaze shifted from the sky, and she released her little foot from the basketball.

The black leather shoes were so clean they looked brand new; you could even see the boy's reflection in them.

He bent down and grabbed the basketball with one hand.

The girl and he were very close at this moment; if he moved forward even a little, the tip of his nose would touch her knee.

The fragrance of flowers and fruits made him feel slightly intoxicated, and it took him more than ten seconds to realize what was happening before he straightened up again.

"hurry up!"

"Speak!"

"I'm willing to bet—" The boy who shouted this was immediately covered in the mouth by his companion.

The boys were urging each other on for some reason.

"What are you daydreaming about? Your friends are all waiting for your basketball game." The girl smiled and pointed to the basketball court. Her smile was brighter than the sunshine and as sweet as a mountain stream.

The boy threw the basketball back, and the ball bounced high into the air and hit one of the boys on the forehead, immediately causing a wave of laughter.

His hands were behind his back, his left hand tightly gripping the fingers of his right hand, and his eyes seemed unsure of where to look.

"Mo Xueyao... I... like you." The boy tried to keep his voice calm, but it still trembled slightly.

A sudden confession, a seemingly uneventful remark.

Mo Xueyao's expression froze for a full five seconds.

"Ah... Xiao Ji... why all of a sudden...?"

"It's nothing... It just happened suddenly. I've liked you for a long time. Is it okay? I...? Can we... date?"

She opened her round, almond-shaped eyes wide; her jewel-like blue eyes possessed a magical power that drew everyone's attention.

The ant colony at her feet carried a breadcrumb, and more ants swarmed over, dividing the breadcrumb into countless small pieces, and then carrying them into the hole.

Duanmu Ji looked down at the busy ants, as if he could watch them for an entire afternoon.

The boys all lay prone on the barbed wire fence closest to this side, their mouths practically stretched to their ears with laughter, shouting and yelling at each other in a way that was hard to understand.

"Uh, actually..." Under her gaze, he finally couldn't hold on any longer, but before he could finish speaking, she interrupted him.

"Hmm—sounds good, let's see what it's like to date a guy?"

"Huh? Really? Really?" Now it was Duanmu Ji's turn to widen his eyes like saucers.

"Of course!" Mo Xueyao winked playfully, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Well then, if we're going to date, let's start by holding hands!"

Duanmu Ji rubbed his eyes and pinched his cheeks, as if he doubted he was dreaming.

The sun is so bright, the sky is so blue, and the girl in front of me is smiling so sweetly; it doesn't feel like reality.

The scene I'd imagined countless times actually appeared before me, leaving me somewhat at a loss.

Mo Xueyao straightened her legs and stood up, extending a slender and fair hand towards him, even her fingernails were a delicate pink color.

He straightened up abruptly and reached out his hand, but upon seeing the grime left from playing basketball on his hand, he immediately rubbed it vigorously on his pants, not caring that he had left several black marks on his jeans.

"Hmm?" She stretched her hand forward again, and the latter finally grasped her hand.

It looks so slender, but it feels very soft to the touch and doesn't feel rough at all.

His hands were more than half again as big as hers, which made her hands look even smaller.

The group of boys who loved watching the drama were now dumbfounded, each of them looking as if they were dreaming.

The newly formed 'couple' slowly walked to the basketball court.

"Holy crap!" Someone exclaimed, and the others followed suit.

"real or fake?"

"No way..."

A look of smugness and happiness appeared on Duanmu Ji's face, while Mo Xueyao couldn't help but chuckle to herself.

"Are we really a couple now?" he asked again, still somewhat unconcerned.

"Hmm, of course—" Her blue eyes darted around, and then she finally couldn't help but break into a sly smile, "Of course I was just kidding! Hahaha, Happy April Fool's Day, Xiao Ji!"

"Huh?" Duanmu Ji was stunned.

The other boys immediately smiled happily.

This is probably similar to the mentality of "seeing others make money is more painful than losing money yourself".

Mo Xueyao chuckled and raised an eyebrow: "Tch, you really think I don't know you're playing Truth or Dare? Did you lose and then they pushed you here to find me?"

"Ahem..." Duanmu Ji scratched his head somewhat embarrassedly, subconsciously loosening his grip on Mo Xueyao's hand. "Uh, yes, yes, I thought you would fall for it... I didn't expect you to outmaneuver me first..."

"Tch, all this so suddenly, and on this particular day, do you think I'm an idiot?" She rolled her eyes, nudged Duanmu Ji with her elbow, and laughed teasingly, "Speaking of which, you didn't actually take that seriously just now, did you?"

"Exactly, really? No way, really?" The others chimed in with mockery.

However, such teasing among friends can actually prevent the atmosphere from becoming too awkward.

"Cough, what? I was just pretending. I thought you really liked me," Duanmu Ji retorted stiffly. Anyone with eyes could see that he was just being stubborn.

"Oh dear, how could I possibly like a boy?"

Wow—this is a huge scoop!

"No wonder he's so close to Hua Yinyin..."

Who is Hua Yinyin?

"There's a girl in my class who's very cute, but she likes to cling to other girls."

"Our school's most beautiful girl actually likes girls, what a waste!"

Mo Xueyao put her hands on her hips and glanced at them sideways: "What I mean is, there isn't a single boy in this school that I can fall for, you know?"

"Am I not charming enough?" Duanmu Ji continued to ask shamelessly, but his nervous, trembling tone and flushed face were completely unconvincing. Only Gao Yuan or Liu Xiaowei could say such a thing—they could say those very 'confident' things without batting an eye, which was quite entertaining.

"Hmm—as a brother, you're pretty good!" Mo Xueyao patted his shoulder, then turned and walked towards the vending machine. "Alright, alright, you guys keep playing ball!"

"Uh, I'll go buy some drinks." Duanmu Ji made an excuse, wanting to continue walking alone with her for a while.

In front of the vending machine, sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, creating dappled patterns.

Mo Xueyao tossed in a coin to buy a can of milk. As she bent down, she suddenly said softly, "Actually, that wasn't an April Fool's joke."

"Huh?"

"Let's be a couple starting tomorrow." Mo Xueyao lowered her head, hiding the mischievous smile on her face.

"Really...really?"

"Hahahaha—no way, you fell for it twice?!" She couldn't help but burst into laughter, almost choking on her own. "Cough, cough... Happy April Fool's Day!"