A Young Woman's Heart

Even though Mo Xueyao attended every parent-teacher meeting, she never met Liu Xiaowei's parents.

It was as if he were an orphan living alone.

I heard that his parents are very busy and don't have time to take time off to attend any parent-teacher meetings.

They didn't care about Liu Xiaowei's grades at all.

Perhaps it's because inheriting their work doesn't require much cultural knowledge.

"When was the last time Cha Li played hide-and-seek?" Mo Xueyao turned her head and looked at Cha Li, who was full of anticipation.

Despite being the class's academic representative, she is always very interested in having fun.

Aside from the few girls closest to her, Mo Xueyao was the one she knew best.

"Yeah, we still played in junior high."

"Hmm, this is completely different from what I imagined..."

"What does Xiaoyao imagine?"

"Although Cha Li speaks casually, she seems like an intellectual woman, just like Wan Yan, right? Probably the kind who matured early?"

"It's precisely because I'm precocious that I want to be a little childish, otherwise I'll seem a bit out of place."

Cha Li's smile at this moment and Mr. Xue's smile were somehow synchronized.

Although their personalities differ, they may share some common beliefs.

Ah... compared to them, Hua Yinyin and Mo Zhuyou are probably really 'childish'...

"Let's begin! Black and white!"

This method is used to determine who will ultimately become the ghost.

In such a dark environment, probably none of the girls would want to be ghosts.

Even if this is a safe school, even if the one who becomes the ghost is a very rational girl...

But even a girl like Cha Li would probably worry that some strange shadow might emerge from some corner.

In Mo Xueyao's mind, the only person who was not afraid of the dark was Li Wanyan.

Perhaps it was her idea that influenced the trajectory of the timeline; in any case, it was indeed Li Wanyan who was ultimately chosen to be the 'ghost'.

"The ghost can only come to grab people after a hundred seconds of countdown. Before that, everyone else should hide!" Hua Yinyin was already prepared to run away.

"Can we hide in the classroom?" Wang Jiale asked in a low voice.

"No problem! As long as you can get in, that's fine! Those who get caught will have to help the 'ghost' catch people."

Mo Xueyao looked at Li Wanyan with some concern: "Uh... Wanyan, you have to close your eyes when you count later, is that okay...?"

"Hmm." Li Wanyan's expression was calm.

—Just like the bright moonlight.

Her gaze fell on the tires of a jeep on the playground. The crevices were covered with dust and seeds of flowers and plants, which seemed to prove that the owner of the vehicle had recently been to the countryside.

"Let's begin now."

"Wow—!" Wang Jiale was the first to run, and Hua Yinyin also exclaimed, grabbing Mo Xueyao's wrist and running to the other side.

Cha Li went with the two sisters, Mo Xiaoxiao and Mo Zhuyou, but Mr. Xue was the last to move.

He didn't seem to have much intention of hiding. He simply went up the steps from the doorway to the second floor, then leaned against the railing, leisurely watching Li Wanyan downstairs counting with her eyes covered.

Suddenly, several more stars lit up in the night sky, as if someone had suddenly activated a display screen called the starry sky.

If the night sky is just a giant screen, then all the celestial bodies that humans see are fictional objects that do not exist in this world.

It's like a water cup covered with starry sky stickers, seemingly having glimpsed the bustling and mysterious 'world outside the cup,' but in reality, it only has a false image.

"Thirty, thirty-one, thirty-two... sixty-nine... eighty-seven... ninety-nine, one hundred."

By the time Li Wanyan finished counting, the noise that had reached her ears had long since disappeared.

Everyone seemed to have quietly hidden themselves away.

However, she could still hear the clear sound of the bells tied to Mo Xueyao's ankles.

It's just that we can't figure out where it came from.

hide and seek.

It's actually a very childish game.

It is said that this game was originally given to children so that they could hide quietly and escape the search when soldiers searched villages during wartime.

In fact, many games played by human children are, in the beginning, based on considerations of survival.

The pitch-black school building did not frighten Li Wanyan.

In fact, she saw it as nothing more than ordinary quiet.

Compared to the chaos of the urban villages at night, this place is so relaxing.

There is nothing unknown in the darkness, and even if there is, it is not frightening.

Because the most terrifying thing in this world is always the human heart.

Returning home through the dimly lit streets, the last thing I wanted to face was that drunken man.

hide and seek……

The last time we played together was probably in kindergarten.

She stopped playing because she felt it was very childish and meaningless.

It brings no benefit whatsoever; it's purely a waste of time.

But as she grew older, she came to understand many things more clearly. It's not that things that seem meaningless on the surface are meaningless or have no meaning at all.

Because sometimes, things that seem meaningless can bring irreplaceable memories.

The so-called 'meaning' can never replace true value.

As for its value, it is also immeasurable by numerical values.

The sound of Li Wanyan's footsteps echoed on the steps.

The sound of an owl hooting came from the school wall.

She had seen it several times when she arrived early.

It was an owl so fat it seemed it couldn't fly at all.

At first, I thought it was just tired and taking a break here, but I never expected it would later make this place its home.

Perhaps it is in this bustling yet crisis-ridden city that the gathering place of these innocent high school students is what makes it feel most at ease.

Li Wanyan planned to search layer by layer. Even though she didn't care about winning or losing a game of hide-and-seek, her subconscious competitiveness still made her instinctively lower her voice.

The first person I saw was Mr. Xue, who made no attempt to hide himself.

There was no sign of joy on her face, only a furrowed brow and a hint of dissatisfaction: "Why didn't you hide?"

"Being a ghost all by yourself must be boring, right?" Mr. Xue chuckled and turned his head. "Are you in such a hurry to catch them? Maybe it'll be more exciting to let them hide."

Before being caught, you'll definitely be on edge, but once you're caught, you'll actually relax.

“Even in a game, you should take it seriously.” Li Wanyan walked to his side and followed his gaze to the brightest star in the sky.

That must be Polaris.

—Written in textbooks, these stars can be used as guiding lights.

In the countryside, it was bright enough to be easily distinguished, but in the city, it appeared somewhat dim.

It's like a speck of dust on a windowpane that hasn't been wiped clean.

"I'm very serious, it's just that I prefer being a 'ghost'." Mr. Xue tilted his head, his bright eyes shining brighter than the stars.

Li Wanyan could never see him as a boy, perhaps because she always felt that there couldn't be such a perfect man in the world.

He is like a work of art sculpted by God.

In many cases, they cannot even be called human.

It was as if God had incarnated on earth.

In fact, Li Wanyan rarely had such close contact with him alone as she did now.

He always possesses a calming quality.

She then asked, "Why don't you want to be the one who 'hides'?"

"If you're playing the 'ghost,' you'll be more proactive, right? Haha."

"..." Li Wanyan did not consider herself to be the one taking the initiative, but she did not answer.

It's still early; the parent-teacher meeting will end in at least another hour.

She wasn't really in a hurry to arrest other people.

Chatting with Mr. Xue under the starry sky seems quite interesting.

"Where do you think the others are?"

"What do you think?" he threw the question back, then added, "How about we go to the rooftop? The night sky is even more beautiful there."

"Aren't you going to arrest people anymore?"

Mr. Xue smiled and winked: "Isn't it more interesting to make the 'prey' tremble in fear?"

"I understand you less and less." Li Wanyan subconsciously put her hand on his shoulder like Mo Xueyao had, then suddenly came to her senses and withdrew it. "Yaoyao should be in the music room."

"Are you so sure?"

"He should hide in the cupboard where the mop is kept."

"You know her very well."

“She and Yinyin are similar in some ways.” Li Wanyan’s brows relaxed. “Do you have any ideas about the others?”

"Judging from the sounds I just heard, someone hid in the women's restroom, and someone else hid in a classroom on the fourth floor."

"Let's go."