A Young Woman's Heart

Yu Shu peeked inside and then greeted Mo Xueyao with some delight: "Hmm, good morning, Xiaoyao."

"Yu Shu? Why are you up so early today?"

"Because I wanted to get to school early to save yesterday's videotape."

"Do you need it edited?"

"Yes, of course."

"let me see……"

"Let's watch it after it's edited." Yu Shu unusually refused her, sat down in front of the computer, and then started working.

Mo Xueyao wasn't that curious, so she continued to lie on the table and said with a smile, "Yu Shu has the potential to be a manager."

"Eh? Well, I can't do that kind of thing..."

"How did you feel after yesterday's performance?" She rested her cheek on her hand, took a sip of warm tea, and asked with anticipation and curiosity.

"Hmm—everyone's very handsome."

"And me?"

"They're really impressive."

"How perfunctory." Mo Xueyao rolled her eyes, rested her head on the windowsill, and looked up at the gray sky.

Time seemed to pass both quickly and slowly while I was lost in thought. The dark clouds had only drifted a little distance away when the band room suddenly became lively.

"Hey! Little Yaoyao, didn't you sleep well last night?" Hua Yinyin's shout and the hand patting her shoulder brought her back to her senses.

The band members had all arrived, and Mr. Xue was sitting next to Yu Shu, seemingly giving her some pointers.

"Shu'er has already edited the video, go take a look~" Hua Yinyin grabbed her arm and dragged her up from the chair.

"Yes, that's fine." Mr. Xue nodded gently, which seemed to make Yu Shu breathe a slight sigh of relief, whether intentionally or unintentionally.

Everyone gathered around her, and she timidly started playing the video in full screen.

At the very beginning, everyone was quickly looking for themselves on the stage.

Mo Xueyao was no exception. To be honest, seeing herself in the video felt very strange, and she felt a strange sense of unfamiliarity.

She even had the illusion that the girl on the stage wasn't herself.

Because her action of closing her eyes and taking a deep breath in front of the electronic keyboard was so cute, it didn't look awkward at all, but rather had a unique girlish innocence.

And... she thought she was standing with her legs apart, but she didn't expect her legs to be so close together.

Especially when you first lightly press the keys to test the sound...

Surprisingly, she has a kind of ladylike elegance?

Is this really me?

Or was it simply that she was putting on a more perfect image of a young girl during the performance?

When the performance was finally about to begin, she actually pouted cutely, puffed out her cheeks, and winked at the audience, as if she were flirting—she had no recollection of any of this.

At this moment, it even made her feel so ashamed that she felt a chill.

A strange unease welled up inside me, as if my subconscious was resisting being 'replaced'.

"Hey, look! Look! Lele picked her nose here!"

"No, I didn't! I just rubbed it!" Wang Jiale glared at Hua Yinyin as if he wanted to swallow her whole.

On stage, all emotions are amplified. Even if everyone thinks they are calm at the time, many small actions still betray them.

"Xiaoxue suddenly started playing again, that's really unexpected... Does she sometimes get emotional?" Mo Zhuyou asked curiously as the videotape reached its most exciting part at the end.

"I just suddenly found it very interesting," Mr. Xue smiled.

Wang Jiale pointed to the sky that was being photographed at the same time, which was slowly clearing up, and said, "Sometimes I wonder if Xiaoxue is even human. Look, as soon as he said the clouds hadn't dispersed yet, the clouds in the sky dispersed in no time, even though it looked like it was going to rain heavily!"

"Maybe Xiaoxue is the Dragon King!"

Mo Xueyao was a little confused: "Why the Dragon King?"

"Because they control wind, rain, thunder, and lightning, they can not only make it rain, but also choose not to make it rain."

She drooped her eyelids, disagreeing.

Mainly influenced by many classical fantasy novels, she had a very poor impression of the Dragon King—he was just a local minor god who was both protective of his own and powerless. He couldn't beat anyone, whether it was Nezha or Sun Wukong. In the past, when there was a prolonged drought, the common people would throw the statue of the Dragon King out to be exposed to the sun!

Simply put, I feel like this thing doesn't seem very high-end.

"Yinyin, you're really reckless!" Just as she was lost in thought, the recording was about to end. Wang Jiale grabbed Hua Yinyin by the neck. "This is the second time already. What if you fall off the stage?"

"Don't worry, that's absolutely impossible!"

"Tch, all you do is talk big." Mo Zhuyou agreed with Wang Jiale's words. "Next time, Yinyin, if you jump into the crowd like that again, you'll have to write a self-criticism."

"What the heck? Who's the captain anyway?!"

"Improvisation is fine, but don't do anything too dangerous." Mr. Xue nodded with a smile.

"What? Even Xiaoxue said that, then... Xiaoyao—"

Why are you looking at me? Aren't we all doing this for your own good?

"Waaah, even little Yao Yao..."

"Don't make it sound like everyone's ganging up on you, okay?" Mo Xueyao helplessly covered her forehead.

The video recording had finished playing. Yu Shu took a CD from a CD case next to her, put it into the computer's disc reader, and started the CD burning program.

"What is Yu Shu doing?" Mo Xueyao, who doesn't have a computer at home, is far less knowledgeable in this area than Yu Shu.

Yu Shu turned around shyly: "Um... I want to burn it onto a CD and then watch it slowly when I get home."

"Ugh, no way! That's so embarrassing!" Mo Xueyao thought about her previous 'cute' actions and her forehead felt like it was about to steam.

"This is great! I want one too!" Mo Zhuyou raised her hand high.

"No problem, we have plenty of blank CDs."

Hua Yinyin suddenly had a bright idea: "Hey, wait a minute, can't we use this to make our own music video! Or a song album!"

"Hmm...!" Wang Jiale immediately realized, "It would be great to keep it as a souvenir or give it as a gift!"

"Let's try making an album when we have some free time!" Hua Yinyin looked eager to try, and it didn't seem like just a whim.

"With our skill level... are we okay...?"

"What? Our Snow Music Band is amazing, okay?!"

"Yeah, you're amazing." Yu Shu nodded vigorously, her face beaming. "Everyone is so handsome... Sometimes, I'm quite envious of you guys... being able to stand on this stage."

"What's wrong with that?" Hua Yinyin put her arm around her shoulder and blew into her ear with a mischievous smile. "If Shu'er wants, she can join our Snow Music Band!"

"Eh? Huh? That, that, I, I, I can't, I can't!" Yu Shu stammered, leaning limply against the back of the chair, her face so red it looked like it could fry an egg.

Mo Zhuyou tapped her head with her drumstick: "It's okay if you don't know how. Look, I started learning from scratch too!"

“That’s right, I haven’t been learning for very long either.” Mo Xueyao encouraged her from the side, “Don’t be so scared. Everything is difficult at the beginning. With so many of us teaching you, there will definitely be no problem.”

Wang Jiale gently ruffled Yu Shu's bun: "Shu'er, what instrument do you want to play?"

"Um...no, no...I mean...I...I don't dare to stand...on the stage..."

"What's there to be shy about? Just think of the people in the audience as radishes and potatoes." Hua Yinyin rubbed her cheek against hers vigorously. "The important thing is the process of 'playing'!"

Why is it "playing"?

"Because playing means having fun, and it's precisely because we find it fun that we play and enjoy it! That's why it's called 'playing music'!"

Yu Shu hurriedly covered her cheeks, but still held onto a longing in her heart: "Um... um... what do you think... what's the best thing about me?"

"Something simple? Does Shu'er have a budget? The bigger the instrument, the more expensive it is."

Mo Xueyao nodded and poked herself with her thumb: "How about the electronic keyboard? I can teach you!"

"If we disregard these factors, what instrument do you all think is best suited for Shu'er?" Mo Zhuyou's words suddenly silenced everyone.

Mo Xueyao tilted her head and began to think, trying to connect her with some kind of musical instrument.

"Hmm... Erhu? How about forming a street performer duo?" Hua Yinyin suddenly spoke up, breaking the silence.

"Thump!" Mo Xueyao and Wang Jiale's fists slammed mercilessly into her forehead.

"Hey~! Then... the saxophone..."

"Be serious, Yin Yin!"

"Actually, I really like... Senior Yin's pipa..."

……

Chapter 41 Shall we give it a try?

Thursday, June 2001, 4.

It was another gloomy morning.

The gray world made Yu Shu, who was swaying on the bus, feel drowsy.

A few distinct dust particles floated in the air.

Although it was a cloudy day, the faint light coming in from the window still created a barely noticeable dividing line between the dark areas and the outside world.

The two-carriage bus, like a small train that can run on the road, swayed and rattled along.

It was early, so the journey was smooth. I just closed my eyes for a short nap, and I arrived at Yukong High School.

She touched the bun at the back of her head and quietly stepped into the still quiet school.

Instead of going directly to the classroom, they went into the laboratory building.

She also has a key to the band room.

The classroom was still empty.

There are actually very few instances like this, where she arrives before the others have even arrived.