A Young Woman's Heart

Even the scissors placed by the window for cutting cardstock seemed to have taken on a certain charm at this moment.

……

Summer nights always seem to fly by.

Because it gets dark late, even if it feels like it's only been a short while since it got dark, you'll find when you check the time that it's almost 10 o'clock.

On Zhou Yong's simple folding bed, there was an old mahjong mat.

This is the coolest mat in the house; my parents still use a straw mat that's a bit too hot.

However, Zhou Yong, who was tossing and turning at the mahjong table, couldn't fall asleep no matter what.

What comes to mind are either Mo Xueyao's azure eyes or Tian Tingchan's legs encased in black pantyhose.

The crescent moon hanging high seemed to be staring at him, as if it would bring some kind of punishment if he did something wrong.

"Phew..." He suddenly sighed, "Will I have a girlfriend when I go to college?"

He thought about it with some worry, even considering the worst-case scenario.

His thoughts wandered at this moment, and he even imagined himself at thirty years old, still unmarried.

Even the snow-white walls could make his face flush.

Even though it's not anything unusual.

However, the only thing that could soothe his troubled mind was the pictures saved on his computer.

Sometimes he would even fantasize that he would wake up overnight and become a beautiful girl, so that at least he wouldn't have to look at photos, and all his problems would be solved just by looking in the mirror.

Zhou Yong was tormented by this unrealistic imagination, which made him feel hot all over.

But even after he tossed and turned in bed for a long time, he couldn't cool himself down.

"Son, are you asleep?" His mother pushed open the bedroom door, and the light from the living room shone in, causing him to hurriedly wrap himself tighter in the blanket.

"What, are you cold?"

"fine……"

"Then why are you hugging the blanket so tightly?" the mother said jokingly. "I thought the electric fan was on too high."

"Ah...that's perfect."

"Shall I set a timer for you?"

"No...it's too hot."

"It's alright, it'll cool off in the middle of the night."

It seems that all mothers in the world say this in order to save electricity.

Zhou Yong could only nod helplessly.

Perhaps it was because of the timer that he felt the coolness at this moment was even more precious.

He took off his shirt and threw it on the desk, as if trying to alleviate his anxiety.

Humans are animals capable of suppressing their desires.

But people can't always do this.

The walls were still snow-white, but there were far fewer tissues available.

A splashing sound came from the toilet bowl.

"Do you have diarrhea?" The mother's sleepy voice drifted from the master bedroom.

Zhou Yong gave a muffled reply, then eagerly jumped onto the bed, as if only here could he feel safe and protected.

There were actually no wandering ghosts in the surrounding dark space.

In his dreams, there was only his pale body that was constantly tormenting him.

For teenagers in puberty, there is no such thing as a nightmare.

Even the most grotesque ghosts transform into beautiful female ghosts in their world...

From a metaphysical perspective, they might seem like invincible beings at this moment.

Because of this 'impure' heart, he is invincible.

……

In the middle of the night, Mo Xueyao was awakened by the urge to urinate.

It's not because I need to pee, but because it feels like I've already peed...

She frantically touched her lower body to make sure it wasn't wet before quickly getting out of bed.

She fumbled and installed the detachable faucet switch on the faucet by the door.

It was late at night, and there wasn't a single car passing by.

She carefully washed a thin piece of fabric, then nervously looked around, trying not to make a sound.

But this is obviously impossible.

The mother, a light sleeper, mumbled in her sleep, "Yaoyao—don't pee at the door, go to the public toilet, or it'll stink tomorrow..."

Mo Xueyao pretended not to hear, or rather, pretended that nothing had ever happened.

She hung the thin fabric to dry next to the van, intending to find a replacement, but the night was too dark and the small room too crowded. Any noise she made would be easily noticed, so she could only smooth out her nightgown and lie quietly in bed, not daring to move.

Perhaps only at this moment could she sleep so peacefully.

The night air grew increasingly chilly.

A silent clap of thunder suddenly flashed outside the window.

After a long while, a deafening roar finally broke out.

Lightning flashed and raindrops mingled.

To block out all other sounds.

The city thus became incredibly 'quiet,' with only the sounds of nature's outpouring remaining.

This worried her greatly; would the thin fabric hanging there dry by tomorrow...?

Listening to the 'patter-patter' of the rain and feeling the sudden coolness, she felt that she already had the answer in her heart.

Mo Xueyao's tired eyes closed slightly.

I fell asleep with the night.

……

Chapter Sixty-Seven: Rain, Thunder, and Cocktails

The sudden thunderstorms in summer always bring unexpected joy.

It's like receiving a gift on a birthday when no one else is celebrating it for you—it's so delightful that it makes you feel refreshed.

Gao Yuan was already waiting at the classroom door early in the morning.

"Hey, so early today!" Mo Xueyao called out from afar, raising her arm and waving lightly.

The raindrops were blown by the wind, and a few scattered drops landed on Mo Xueyao's face.

"Ha, good morning! Are you wearing white stockings today?"

Even someone like Gao Yuan wouldn't greet a normal girl like that.

But Mo Xueyao is different.

She's the kind of person who's very easygoing, so she won't get angry when these things are brought up.

Instead, she'd proudly twirl around and show off, saying, "How about it? I look alright in white, don't I!"

"This milk-colored one, tsk tsk, perhaps it would be more suitable for Hua Yinyin to wear."

"what?"

"Cows!"

"Oh—it seems that's true." Mo Xueyao nodded thoughtfully.

She rarely wore white over-the-knee socks, mainly because her mother thought she would get them dirty and then they would be difficult to wash.

After leaving today, I went to the band room to put my instrument case away, and then swapped socks with Li Wanyan.

She vaguely remembered that when she was a boy, she never cared what color her socks were, as long as they were comfortable to wear.

And now... I always want to make some changes to this unchanging life, even if it's just a small detail like changing a pair of socks to a different color.

Speaking of which, even when I was with my best friends, we never swapped socks. In fact, we would tease each other about having athlete's foot.

Even if there's no smell, you still have to pinch your nose and make a disgusted face after taking off your shoes.

But I don't have this kind of concern when it comes to close female friends.

She suspected that she was too influenced by Hua Yinyin, always feeling that girls should be this close and intimate with each other.

"Ha, I brought something good today." Gao Yuan patted his backpack and said mysteriously, his lewd expression making him look like someone selling illegal videotapes near the train station.

"What did you bring?" Mo Xueyao tilted her head and looked at his bulging backpack, which was rarely so full. "You didn't bring a backpack full of snacks, did you?"

"It's not a snack, hehe, you'll find out soon enough." Gao Yuan raised an eyebrow, and after Li Wanyan opened the classroom door with her key, she couldn't wait to run in, put her schoolbag on her chair, and then zipped it up.

She leaned closer to take a look, and wow, the entire backpack was filled with RIO bottles of different colors, all of them glass bottles. Gao Yuan didn't seem to mind the weight at all, carrying about ten bottles.

"Want a drink?" He took out a bottle opener from his pocket and handed it to Mo Xueyao, as if he wasn't here to go to school but to have a party.

"What's gotten into you today?" she muttered, resting her chin on her hand. "Why did you bring so much alcohol?"

"Of course, we'll drink it."

Who are you going to drink with?

"Whoever wants to drink can drink later!" Gao Yuan proudly poked his chubby cheek with his thumb. "I can drink it all by myself, I have a very high alcohol tolerance!"

Mo Xueyao had no interest in discussing alcohol tolerance; she was only somewhat curious about the taste of this cocktail.