A Young Woman's Heart

"Is there anything right to do this kind of thing..." Mo Xueyao glanced at her sideways with her eyelids drooping.

The stair railings were exceptionally clean today; they felt smooth to the touch, as if they had been waxed.

She suddenly had an urge to slide down the armrest; she had done this quite often in junior high school.

Before she could even make a move, Shen Kelin sat down first.

The problem is, she's wearing a dress right now.

Mo Xueyao stared blankly as she slid down the handrail, really wanting to ask her if her bottom hurt now...

"Haruka, hurry up!"

"You seem to be having a lot of fun..."

"I learned it from you."

"That was in junior high school, you know."

The two walked out of the teaching building side by side, bathed in the warm sunshine, surrounded by the fragrance of flowers and plants.

With such beautiful weather, the playground was naturally full of students after lunch.

There are quite a few people like them who are just strolling around on the track.

The main problem is that we can't find suitable seats.

There are empty benches, of course, but they're not in the sun. But on such a nice day, why not sit in the classroom and chat instead of coming to the playground?

"Xiaoyao, I need to ask you a favor!" Shen Kelin dusted off her skirt and put her arm around Xiaoyao's shoulder. "Will you be my girlfriend?"

"Huh—?" Mo Xueyao looked at her with a crooked mouth, "Are you playing some kind of truth or dare game?"

"To be precise, it should be that I pretended to be my girlfriend."

Why?

"Because... there's this guy who keeps pestering me to be his boyfriend, so I have to find a reason to reject him. I told him before that I like girls and that I have a girlfriend, and that I couldn't find anyone suitable last week. He thinks I'm lying to him—which is true, but I still want to provide some evidence to stop this guy from clinging to me. He's so annoying, even super glue can't keep him sticking to me!"

"Ah, I see." Mo Xueyao could roughly understand Shen Kelin's feelings. After all, being bothered by someone you don't like, it's already a sign of good manners to refrain from making a move. "What does that guy look like?"

"It's just so-so!"

"What if he's very handsome?"

"That depends on what kind of person it is."

"Does being handsome give you the right to stay?" Mo Xueyao clicked her tongue. "But why make up a reason that you like girls? Can't you just say you already have a boyfriend?"

"How do I find a guy to scam him?"

Mo Xueyao was momentarily speechless: "Isn't there any boy who can help? Shen Kelin, don't you have any male friends?"

"Yes, there is, but doing it this way could easily lead to misunderstandings! And what if in the end someone else starts bothering us?"

"Ah, that's true... What if the guy pretending to be your boyfriend wants to be your real boyfriend? That would be even more troublesome, because you've already fooled someone once. And if the guy who's been bothering you tells everyone about it, it'll be even more difficult to handle."

"So, of course I'll go to Haruka."

"Why do you have to ask me? Why don't you just ask a girl in your class? You must have friends like that, right?"

Shen Kelin leaned close to her ear, her warm breath tickling her cheek: "Actually, if Xiaoyao were a boy, I might have said I had a boyfriend and asked you to pretend to be him."　

"what?"

"After all, you and I are the closest people here, and I trust you the most. Most girls would easily tell others about this kind of thing."

Mo Xueyao scratched her head, thinking of Wang Jiale's enthusiasm for all kinds of gossip, and nodded in agreement.

Even if you promise not to tell anyone, I'm afraid you'll eventually find yourself telling them.

Moreover, if they are classmates, the pressure will be greater.

Mo Xueyao, who used to be a boy, wasn't so fragile. She didn't care about the rumors and gossip, because in a sense, she did like girls...

"So, what do I need to do? And when do I need to appear?"

"Let's do it this Friday! Then if anything comes up later, I'll ask you to act again, maybe interact with him occasionally, so he won't get suspicious again."

"You're so suspicious... Why do you have to keep bothering me?" Mo Xueyao didn't like this guy. "Men should be more mature. If a girl says she doesn't like you, that's fine. Does he think that if he keeps trying to please her, she'll be moved?"

“Uh…” Shen Kelin looked up at the sky, scratched her cheek, but did not answer.

So, would girls really be moved by this?

Mo Xueyao, who had been a girl for almost two years, felt completely unable to understand.

This feeling is probably similar to a salesperson constantly pushing products while you're shopping. But most people would only find it more annoying, and would never actually like the product being recommended just because the salesperson has been pushing it for a long time.

That's what she thinks.

But thinking about it carefully, it seems that quite a few middle-aged women have been tricked by salespeople in shopping malls. Perhaps, in this respect, women are all the same.

"Then it's settled!" Shen Kelin patted her shoulder hard, making her wince and cover her spot. This girl was a bit rough; those two pats really hurt. "By the way, want a drink?"

"Forget it, uh... I'll treat you to a hamburger next time."

"A hamburger? No problem!"

Shen Kelin left satisfied; she really is the kind of person who only comes to the temple when she has a reason.

"Phew." Mo Xueyao straightened her clothes, which had become a little messy from being hugged, and looked up at the laboratory building not far away.

Everyone else should be in the band room by now, right?

Today I still need to teach Yu Shu the basics properly.

I don't know if Hua Yinyin taught her properly.

He may be serious, but his frequent joking around might slow down his learning progress.

If you really want to learn quickly, it's definitely better to let Mr. Xue do it.

However, when she pushed open the door to the band room, she saw Mr. Xue sleeping on the table, and Hua Yinyin teaching Yu Shu music theory very seriously.

For a fleeting moment, Mo Xueyao even thought the person sitting there was Li Wanyan.

Because their temperaments are so similar.

However, as soon as Mo Xueyao entered the classroom, she immediately reverted to her usual self.

"Hehehe, little Yaoyao~ Hug!"

"Ugh!"

……

Chapter 46 Midterm Exams in the Second Semester of Grade 11

"Dudu~dudududu la~ la la la la~dudu..." The melodious tune being hummed seemed to indicate a relaxed mood.

Wednesday was all exams.

Seating was assigned according to the examination room. Unfortunately, Mo Xueyao was assigned to a room by herself, and the only classmate in the room was her deskmate, Leng Feng.

In the morning, Mo Xueyao left her schoolbag in the band room, planning to only take the necessary stationery with her later.

Students with excellent or poor grades are not worried about exams; it is the students who are mediocre who are nervous.

After all, the parent-teacher conference is the day after the exam.

Nobody wants to get a scolding from their parents on a weekend night...

Then the whole weekend might not be so pleasant.

Because her classroom was being used as an exam room, Li Wanyan came here to "take refuge" this morning.

She held her English book and recited it repeatedly. Even though she already remembered it very well, she still wouldn't stop for a moment.

"Wanyan, aren't you tired?"

"What."

"I always feel like you... uh... how should I describe it?" Mo Xueyao, leaning on the corridor railing, scratched her head, "are putting in your all in everything you do. Is it really necessary to push yourself so hard?"

Li Wanyan looked at her in surprise, initially seeming to want to refute, but then seemed to think that what she said made sense, so she wanted to explain, but as soon as she opened her mouth, she couldn't continue: "No... um..."

"what?"

"Because if you don't work hard, you will be eliminated."

"It can't be that bad..." Mo Xueyao lazily turned around and leaned against the railing. "There are always amazing people and ordinary people in this world. If there were no ordinary people, how would we highlight the amazing ones? Besides, everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. There's no need to do everything perfectly, right?"

"At the very least, you should do your best. Society is a constant competition."

"That's true... but there's no need to compete so fiercely... Isn't it tiring? I'm the kind of person who needs to spend at least half... a third of my time relaxing. If I keep going all out, I can manage for a while, but I can't take it for long, unless I really enjoy it."

Li Wanyan neither agreed nor disagreed, and went back to memorizing her English vocabulary and texts.

Mo Xueyao leaned against the railing for a long time, but didn't see a single student enter the school.

In the quiet air, only Li Wanyan's incantation-like recitation echoed.

"Giving it your all is a habit."

"what?"

“I grew up under that man’s constant criticism. I’ve always wanted to prove myself, but no matter how well I do, he never praises me.”

"And...where's your mom?"

"Very few."

"But there's no need to prove anything now, right? Wanyan is already very capable. Look, even Xiaoxue sometimes slacks off."

"Even so, I'm only barely keeping up with him, so I need to work even harder."

"Ah..." Mo Xueyao suddenly felt that if Li Wanyan became a mother in the future, she would definitely be the strictest kind. As a result, would she become the person she least wanted to be?

However, her starting point at that time was for the good of the child, so she was even stricter in her demands.

But people aren't machines; they need to rest and relax, and not just occasionally.

Even if physical rest is not possible, mental relaxation should at least be a normal thing.