A Young Woman's Heart

Hua Yinyin originally just went back to the band room to get the sheet music she had forgotten, but after witnessing Mo Xueyao pretending to be another girl's girlfriend, she joked around with her for a while. By the time she came to her senses, it was already getting late, so she decided not to go back and wait for her father to drive her home after the parent-teacher conference.

Looking back now, Mo Xueyao still felt incredibly ashamed of what had just happened. She really shouldn't have agreed to Shen Kelin's completely absurd request...

To paraphrase Hua Yinyin's later words, Mo Xueyao and Shen Kelin at the time seemed to be acting strangely out of sorts, almost like they were on shaky ground.

As for how things will develop between them, that remains to be seen.

Judging from the current situation, it seems that the boy has really given up.

"His name is... Jin... what?"

"It's Hua Yinyin." Hua Yinyin replied with a smile, showing no sign of impatience. "Auntie, our school building is on the fourth floor. Go up the stairs on the right and then go into the classroom at the very back."

“It’s 408,” Mo Xueyao added, her gaze fixed on the plastic bag her mother was carrying.

The mother nodded wearily: "Okay, thank you. Have you eaten? You can have dinner with Yaoyao later. I brought a lot of food for dinner."

"Did you buy it or make it yourself, Mom?"

"I made it myself."

"So free?"

"Not at all, I'm swamped with work, but cooking for myself is definitely more hygienic and healthier. There are two vegetarian dishes and two meat dishes inside, and the big lunchbox at the bottom contains soup—remember to drink it all, there should be lots of minced meat at the bottom."

"OK!" Mo Xueyao quickly placed the heavy wooden plaque in Hua Yinyin's arms and eagerly took the bag.

"Xiao Yao! Yin Yin!" Just as she was licking her lips, Mo Zhu You came out from around the corner, followed by her older sister. "My sister and I are done eating! You guys go ahead and eat!"

"Just in time!" Mo Xueyao patted her seemingly deflated belly and shouted excitedly, "Our dinner is here too!"

So the two of them simply took Mo Xueyao's mother with them back to the classroom.

Li Wanyan was pointing out seats to the parents who had arrived early, while Ye Wen was checking various materials that would be needed later on the podium.

Leng Feng's parents were among the first to arrive. It wasn't her parents who came, but her grandfather or maternal grandfather. They were neatly dressed and clean, looking energetic, but their expressions were quite serious and earnest, suggesting they were very methodical people.

"Wanyan—let's have dinner first!" Mo Xueyao sat down directly in Li Wanyan's seat, and Hua Yinyin immediately took the seat next to her.

"Mmm." Li Wanyan responded softly and sat down facing Mo Xueyao in the seat in front of her.

"Tsk, I should have chosen that spot... It's definitely better to face it directly..." Hua Yinyin muttered under her breath. Mo Xueyao rolled her eyes and pretended not to hear anything, without replying.

Although not many parents were mentioned, there were still outsiders present, including her own mother. If she were to find her wolfing down her food, she would likely get a scolding when they got home.

So she ate exceptionally well today—she usually does pay attention to this, but today she just ate in smaller bites and chewed for longer.

The mother greeted the old man next to her familiarly: "Hello, are you the parent of my daughter's classmate?"

"Yes, it's her grandfather."

"Her parents must be very busy, right?"

"I'm a bit busy today, so I came over," the old man replied briefly, seemingly not intending to extend the conversation further.

He was clearly very cautious when he spoke, always pausing for a few seconds before opening his mouth.

Perhaps it's related to work and life experiences.

Ye Banxia's mother was flipping through the exam papers on the table when she turned around and asked with a smile, "The people helping out here today must all be top students, right? Sigh, I think you were here at the parent-teacher conference before too? Sigh, if only my daughter were half as smart as you."

“Xiaxia’s grades aren’t bad either,” Mo Xueyao defended Ye Banxia. “Besides, she’s a nice person, everyone likes her, unlike Yinyin—”

"Hey!" Hua Yinyin called out in a muffled voice, her cheeks puffed out.

Ye Banxia's mother couldn't hide the smile on her face: "This year, it should be you, the class monitor, and that boy surnamed Xue competing for the top three again, right?"

Mo Xueyao, with her blue eyes, is so easy to recognize; you can basically remember her after seeing her just once.

After all, this is a city with very few ethnic minorities.

"That's what they say, but the gap between me, who came in third place, and them is huge. Besides... I don't even know if I can get into the top three this time."

Students with good grades aren't worried about showing up at parent-teacher conferences, so those who stay to help are usually either confident in themselves or completely indifferent and shameless.

For example, Gao Yuan, who stayed behind to help on several previous occasions.

The reason I wasn't there this time is because even on Fridays, I have tutors scheduled to come to my house for lessons...

His parents seemed to be planning to make up for all the laziness he had accumulated over the years in one go.

More and more parents arrived in the classroom, and the three of them quickened their eating pace, finally finishing their dinner before most of the others arrived.

The entire school was brightly lit, a stark contrast to the pitch-black darkness of the nights on ordinary days.

When I leaned on the corridor railing and looked out of the school, the entrance was already full of bicycles and electric bikes, and a few cars were parked on the playground behind.

The sheer number of bicycles parked so densely makes it feel like you've arrived at the entrance of a factory.

Normally there aren't this many cars parked here, and students usually park their bicycles in the basement.

"Chirp!" Mo Zhuyou pursed her lips, trying to whistle, but could only make this strange sound. "Xiao Yao, it seems like the parent-teacher conference is about to start."

"Well, everyone should be here by now, and the other classes are all full too..."

"Phew, we can take a break now." Cha Li, who had been guiding the parents to their seats during the meal, wiped the sweat from her brow and casually asked, "Where's Xiaoxue?"

"Xiaoxue is at the school gate. There are still a few parents who haven't arrived yet, and he's waiting for them there."

"Who else hasn't arrived yet?" Mo Xueyao asked疑惑地, her cheek turned towards Li Wanyan.

"Gao Yuan, Chen Cheng, Liu Xiaowei, and Ma Jia."

"It's not surprising at all that their parents are late," Mo Zhuyou sighed, resting her chin on her hand. "Shouldn't we say 'like father, like son'?"

"It might not be their father who comes."

Night completely enveloped the city, and the bright lights made it impossible to see many stars. Even if you did find them, they seemed as tiny as dust particles on a pair of glasses.

During parent-teacher meetings, the students who help out usually stand at the door and wait until it's over before going home with their parents.

While listening to a teacher's comments about a student can sometimes be interesting, most of the time it's quite boring.

Parents are only concerned about 'grades'. Every time a teacher finishes speaking, many parents will gather around and ask anxiously about their children's future.

Almost every parent worries if their child doesn't rank in the top ten.

In their view, getting into the top ten in high school is a very simple thing.

However, many of these people probably wouldn't even be considered top employees in their own workplaces...

Everyone wants to stand at the top of the pyramid, but as long as the pyramid's hierarchy exists, this is absolutely impossible.

Sometimes, seeing parents forced to accept reality and looking disappointed in the future made Mo Xueyao feel a little sorry for them.

After a parent-teacher meeting, most parents are left feeling worried—and even if some children have excellent grades, their parents will still be worried, because people are never truly satisfied.

"Let's go play in the lab building!" Hua Yinyin suggested suddenly, hooking her arm around Mo Xueyao's neck.

Parent-teacher meetings are usually held in the classrooms where students are having classes, and right now the laboratory building is completely empty and dark.

Mo Xueyao tilted her head and bumped it against Hua Yinyin's forehead: "What are you going there for?"

How about playing hide-and-seek?

"Are you a primary school student...?"

"Hide and seek, I haven't played in ages! I want to play!" Mo Zhuyou excitedly raised her hand, which made Mo Xiaoxiao smile helplessly at Mo Xueyao.

"Is anyone afraid of the dark?" Hua Yinyin asked again.

"It's more fun to play hide-and-seek in the dark, isn't it?" Cha Li seemed to want to give it a try as well.

Even Li Wanyan nodded, but she looked indifferent; she probably just nodded so as not to spoil the fun for the others.

After all, it wouldn't be fun if fewer people played hide-and-seek.

More people means more happiness.

"Okay, let's call Xiaoxue later! That'll make seven people, that should be enough, one person can be the ghost and catch the others."

"Can we run?" Mo Zhuyou asked eagerly.

"No, even if we spot them and catch them, the lab building is so big. If they can run away after we spot them, we won't be able to catch them by the end of the parent-teacher conference!"

"OK, then let's go!"

"Tsk, you bunch of childish brats..."

……

Chapter 50 'Ghost' Catches People (Part 1)

The laboratory building is actually an unfamiliar place for liberal arts students.

Although there are a few experimental classes in the first year of high school, they are not many. It is not until the second and third years of high school that science classes come here for classes more frequently.

Humanities students, on the other hand, do not have strict requirements for experiments or practical training and generally do not attend classes here.

For them, that place was like a school building that didn't need to exist at all.

Even Mo Xueyao, who comes here every day, feels completely unfamiliar with everything in this building.

After all, every day it's just walking up a staircase to the top floor, directly to my music classroom.

The rest of the territory is completely unknown.

In stark contrast to the darkness, the main teaching building was brightly lit.

You could faintly hear the principal's speech on the radio, and even feel the sighs of many parents.

The stars in the sky were sparse, while the city in the distance was brightly lit.

The main teaching building of Yukong High School is like a lighthouse shining in a dark ocean, enticing the flying insects of early spring to crash against its lampshade.

Seven people gathered downstairs in the laboratory building.

"Have you picked up everyone yet?" Mo Xueyao asked, with one hand on Mr. Xue's shoulder.

"Liu Xiaowei's parents are the only ones who haven't arrived yet."

"His parents never came, right?"

"Ah."