A Young Woman's Heart

"I had a great time today," said Mo Xueyao.

……

Chapter Twenty-Five: Clouds Are Like Ice Cream

Monday, August 2001, 4.

It seems that around the time of the Qingming Festival every year, there is always a continuous drizzle. This morning was no exception. The clouds in the sky were bluish-gray, with cotton-like rain threads drifting crookedly across them.

The girl blinked her blue eyes, rested her chin on her hand, and looked out the window. She felt that the world outside was a hazy green, as if it were covered by green glass.

An owl flew across the sky in the rain, flapping its wings and crashing into the bushes in the green belt.

A black cat lay on the eaves of the wall, yawning as it covered its mouth with its long black tail. One paw hung on the wall and swayed gently, seemingly uninterested in the clumsy 'free-range chicken'.

The blue-eyed girl picked up her teacup and took a sip. The bitterness of the pine needle tea made her frown.

The wind outside the window carried a drizzle into the classroom, ruffling her long, dark brown hair—in fact, if you didn't look closely, you couldn't tell the difference between it and black hair.

Beside the whiteboard in the classroom, a round-faced girl sat barefoot and cross-legged on a chair, holding a silver-gray metallic pipa in her arms. Her fingers flew as she played the pipa, which occasionally produced the sound of an electric guitar.

“Qingming Festival is just around the corner…” The girl drinking tea tilted her head slightly, her clear blue eyes, as blue as the sky, were fixed on the white-clad boy beside her—his school uniform had been taken off and was hanging on the back of his chair.

The boy with rosy lips and white teeth always showed eight teeth when he smiled, but he didn't have the stiffness of a waiter; instead, he seemed very friendly and natural.

"Hmm, is there anyone you miss?"

"It's nothing... um... at most it's my great-grandfather. He passed away last year when it snowed. I don't know if I should go back to my hometown to pay respects at his grave this Qingming Festival, but it's so far away, I probably won't go...? He's in J City..."

"Phew, tea, tea!" The round-faced girl put down her pipa, quickly darted to the table, picked up the cooled green tea, and drank it in large gulps. "What a pity, April Fool's Day was yesterday. Why is April Fool's Day on Sunday? It can't be a school day!"

Why does it have to be on school days?

"That way I can tease Yaoyao!"

Mo Xueyao rolled her eyes: "Tch, do you think a prank can work twice? I've been fooled before, I definitely won't fall for it again on April Fool's Day!"

Hua Yinyin hugged Mo Xueyao's leg and rubbed against it vigorously, saying, "Hey, little Yaoyao~ You smell so good~"

"What's gotten into her all of a sudden..." She helplessly pressed down on Hua Yinyin's head. "Speaking of which, the school should be holding some kind of activity for Qingming Festival this year, like going to sweep the tombs? Last year we went to the martyrs' cemetery, I wonder where we're going this year?"

"Perhaps it's the same place?" Hua Yinyin tilted her head up, then leaned to the side and lay down on Mo Xueyao's lap.

"This year we should go to Jade Emperor Mountain," Mr. Xue said with a faint smile.

How did Xiaoxue know?

"Last year, the second-year high school students went to Yuhuang Mountain."

"I see……"

"Speaking of which, our Snow Music Team hasn't arranged any performances yet. It's so annoying. Class 3 next door has already gone out to compete twice. I heard that the next one is the finals..." Hua Yinyin bumped her forehead against Mo Xueyao's stomach and complained.

"Isn't it good to have nothing to do? You can be so free every day, you can drink tea in the band room and stuff."

"Eek—when did Little Yao Yao become so lazy?"

"I... I was just going along with your ideas!"

"Phew, even though there aren't any performances scheduled, I still need to write a new song. When was the last time I wrote a new song..." Hua Yinyin sat up abruptly and pulled out paper and pen from the drawer. "Hmm—I suddenly have an inspiration!"

Mo Xueyao looked at this guy who seemed to have inspiration so easily with a hint of envy, tilted her head and asked, "Have you thought of a melody yet?"

"No, I just thought of what song to write... Hmm, I'll start with the lyrics!"

As Hua Yinyin spoke, under the watchful eyes of the other two, she began to write rapidly, without any apparent pause for thought, completing the task in one go.

Of course, something written in one go doesn't necessarily mean it's good; after all, not everyone is a genius poet like Li Bai.

"OK, how is it!" Hua Yinyin held up the notebook in her hand with a satisfied look, examining it as if it were a work of art.

“I said…” Mo Xueyao’s eyelids drooped, “Next time you write lyrics, could you consider rhyming…?”

"What? Modern music doesn't need rhyming at all! Pursuing rhyming makes it lose its meaning and become meaningless! As long as the melody sounds good, that's enough!"

"Then why don't you just find a book and leave a blank line after every half sentence? I can write a song just by reading a paragraph," Mo Xueyao teased, pouting. This made Hua Yinyin so angry that she bit her finger, leaving a shallow tooth mark.

"Hehe, isn't this great? It's full of youthful energy."

"It's not surprising at all that Xiaoxue said this..." Mo Xueyao covered her forehead helplessly.

The lyrics of this song are called "Colorful Cloud Ice Cream".

She's completely focused on desserts; that's definitely Hua Yinyin's personal style.

I feel a little hungry.

　I had breakfast.

　My stomach is full, but my mouth is still craving something sweet.

　If only the clouds in the sky were edible!

　The rain is bluish, carrying the bitterness of green tea.

　But when you take a bite, there's a slight aftertaste of sweetness.

　Sunny days are white, it should be~

It tastes like marshmallow!

Springtime's tender green leaves are refreshing and sweet, just like mint candy~

Cool and refreshing in summer, it's round and round original flavor ice cream!

The golden autumn colors are sizzling in the oil.

　It's hot on the outside and cold on the inside!

　winter?

　It's definitely the coldest, hardest popsicle.

One bite, and a tooth broke.

Colorful cloud-shaped ice cream~

　I want to eat it right now!

　A bite after a meal—even the gods wouldn't trade it!

　I want to keep eating!

"Is it this lively in the morning?" Wang Jiale wobbled as he walked into the band room carrying his bass, not even putting down his backpack, and curiously approached.

"Look, Yinyin's new song."

"Hmm...that's very much in line with Yin Yin's personal style..."

"Heh heh, not bad, right?"

"I wasn't praising you, okay!" Mo Xueyao gently patted her forehead. "How are you going to compose music for lyrics like these?"

"Tch, there's no tune in this world that I, Hua Yinyin, can't compose!" She patted her 'sparkling' chest triumphantly, picked up the pipa beside her, and began to test the sound.

Although Mo Xueyao is quite talented in music, Hua Yinyin is no less so. In addition, she has practiced for so many years, so her level is naturally much higher than everyone else's.

It's probably only someone as incredibly talented as Mr. Xue who could possibly compete with her.

Having talent isn't anything special; what's terrifying is when a talented person also works exceptionally hard, leaving many ordinary people far behind.

A piece of music cannot be written in a short time, but in one morning she wrote a rough draft, like a sketch of a painting, which already had an outline. The next step was to refine it.

The bell rang for Monday morning assembly, and everyone chatted as they walked back to their classrooms.

Duanmu Ji, who was sitting behind Mo Xueyao, was staring blankly at her seat. He only snapped out of his daze when she walked over and sat down.

Seemingly due to excessive tension, he lost his balance while sitting in the chair, leaned backward, and fell sprawled on the ground.

Ye Wen, who was already standing on the podium, was amused by him: "Duanmu Ji, what's wrong with you? You can't even sit properly without falling down? Or are you and Mo Xueyao the positive poles of a magnet, and you repel each other as soon as you meet?"

The students burst into laughter, not out of malice, but simply because school life was boring, and anything interesting made them happy.

He awkwardly got up, silently straightened the chair, and sat down.

Mo Xueyao turned to look at him, blinked, and thought of what happened on April Fool's Day yesterday: "Hey? Xiao Ji?"

"what?"

"Did you have a good April Fool's Day? Pfft, haha..."

"Hey, why is Xiaoyao laughing so happily?" Leng Feng asked in confusion.

"Uh, it's nothing, I just thought about April Fool's Day and got a little happy."

"Oh—you went to play pranks on someone, didn't you?"

"Hmm, Leng Feng, did you go and play pranks on others?"

"No, I was home alone on April Fool's Day, I didn't run into anyone, I couldn't possibly play a prank on myself, could I? Haha." Leng Feng laughed and tossed his hair. "Wait, you weren't playing a prank on Duanmu Ji, were you?"

"Yes, that's right!"

How did you play a trick on him?

He tricked me first.

"So what did you say?" Leng Feng asked, somewhat curious.

"It's nothing, it's nothing." Mo Xueyao was about to share the joy of playing tricks on people, but suddenly felt that it wasn't quite right, even though Duanmu Ji had played tricks on her first—at least that's what she thought.

Besides, today isn't April Fool's Day, so this topic becomes a bit sensitive on ordinary days. It wouldn't be good if someone misunderstood it.

Maybe Duanmu Ji likes other girls, and her actions have only caused trouble for him?

Speaking of which, what kind of girl would Duanmu Ji like?

Is she also the quiet type, like him?

For example, Ye Banxia, ​​Ai Xiuer, and the like?

"Everyone, please be quiet!" Ye Wen clapped her hands as she sat on the podium. "It's raining outside today, so the morning assembly will be held in the classroom. Anyone who insists on making noise will have to stand on the playground by themselves to listen later!"

Although they knew Ye Wen was just trying to scare them, the students obediently quieted down. Although there were occasional whispers, they weren't too excessive.