A Young Woman's Heart

The main reason is that there's no one home at this time of year, but if we go to the fruit shop, at least my father is there, so I don't have to worry about dinner.

"Okay..." Before the class monitor could finish speaking, she heard Ye Wen shout at her from afar.

"Class monitor—stay after school for a bit!"

"Okay, sure." Li Wanyan looked at Mo Xueyao with a hint of helplessness.

"It's okay, I'll wait for you. I can give you a ride on my bicycle." Since the school wasn't far from the fruit shop, Mo Xueyao didn't mind wasting a little time at school.

"It's something important." Ye Wen walked up to the two of them and said to Li Wanyan, "It's about your parents, and it will probably take about an hour."

"An hour? Then Xiaoyao, you should go back first."

"Alright then." An hour is too long. Although there was no homework today, Mo Xueyao was still not used to staying at school after school, so she nodded and turned to leave.

"Why is she staying at Xiaoyao's house instead of at school?" Even though she already knew that Li Wanyan was staying at Mo Xueyao's house, Ye Wen still felt a little confused.

"Hmm... let's talk in Teacher Ye's office," Li Wanyan said softly, glancing around.

"okay."

Li Wanyan remained silent throughout the journey, while only her homeroom teacher, Ye Wen, kept trying to find topics to talk about.

"Don't you miss your parents?" Ye Wen finally couldn't help but ask.

“…I don’t really want to.” Li Wanyan lowered her eyes, looking at her toes. “They’re not like my parents.”

"No matter what, they are the people who gave you life and raised you..."

"..."

"Well, the police will be coming to ask about your parents later. They've lost contact with all their relatives and friends, so they're officially missing. Hmm... there might be something... serious going on."

Upon hearing Ye Wen's words, the two dreams Li Wanyan had previously had immediately surfaced in her mind.

Her father was a scoundrel, and she had no doubt that he would abandon her.

But even though her mother wasn't perfect, she shouldn't have abandoned Li Wanyan.

It was precisely because of this doubt that she couldn't help but wonder why.

When she is awake, she can try her best to stop herself from having wild thoughts, but she cannot in her dreams.

In fact, those nightmares were exactly what she was thinking, what she feared, and what she worried about.

"Hey, tell me, why don't you want to live on campus?"

"...I don't really like living in the same room with a lot of people for a long time."

"It's okay, the school can arrange a separate dormitory for you. You can live alone. An Ruosu in our class lives alone. Anyway, there are plenty of empty dorm rooms, so there's nothing to worry about," Ye Wen gently patted Li Wanyan's head. "What's the reason?"

Li Wanyan sighed, forced a smile, and said, "Actually, maybe I just want a place that feels like home."

"But to Mo Xueyao's family, aren't you an outsider too?"

"Well... at least there's a homey atmosphere there, and... I live in her father's fruit shop, so I don't have to worry about disturbing her family in my daily life."

"And you can enjoy a family atmosphere at the fruit shop before it closes for the day, is that right?" Ye Wen asked.

"Ah."

"Since it's your own choice, the school won't force you. But having a school might provide better protection for you. Uh... even if you don't live on campus, it's okay. I've already applied for a financial aid program for impoverished students from the principal. Your tuition will be waived, and you'll also receive some living expenses—after all, it's not good to always use other people's things when you live in someone else's house."

"Isn't the school's subsidy someone else's too?" Li Wanyan asked half-jokingly, but it was clear that she wasn't as relaxed as she appeared.

"This is a government subsidy, something a student like you should receive. It's different from any personal help you could receive."

"Um……"

"Okay, don't be nervous when you get to the office. The police should be here by now."

Then, Ye Wen pushed open the office door. There were no teachers inside, only three police officers, two men and one woman.

"Hello." The policewoman smiled and nodded at Li Wanyan, looking very kind. "Li Wanyan, right? We're about to ask you some questions. Please answer them truthfully, okay?"

"Ok."

"When did your mother disappear?"

The policewoman nodded, gesturing for Li Wanyan to sit down, and then got straight to the point.

"She was gone when I came back from school on October 11th."

Where is your father?

"I haven't seen him since I woke up on October 12th."

"So when did you stop living at home?"

“Starting from the 13th… I haven’t dared to go home.” Li Wanyan’s body trembled slightly as she said this.

It seemed as if he had remembered something terrible.

Then she took a deep breath to calm herself down: "When I went out that day, I saw a lot of people carrying knives heading towards my house. I was buying breakfast on the roadside at the time..."

Do you know those people?

"do not know."

Could you briefly describe what they look like?

"...I...don't remember."

"Okay, and then..."

A series of questions stirred up unpleasant memories for Li Wanyan.

After an hour of questioning, she was drenched in cold sweat.

Even though she usually appears very calm, she is still just a child.

These things were truly terrifying for her.

After all, nobody knows what outrageous things those scoundrels lurking in the shadows of society might do...

……

Chapter 84 The Tire is Flat

Zhou Yong went home after school as usual.

But today is different.

—He actually managed to borrow Gao Yuan's digital camera!

The only price I paid was helping him with his homework for a week.

Although I can only take the digital camera home for one night, I have to return it to him tomorrow.

But that was enough to excite him.

Unfortunately, I only had some loose change in my pocket, which amounted to only about ten yuan.

At most, only two or three photos will be printed.

"Which one should I print?" Zhou Yong looked through the photos in his digital camera, deep in worry.

If only I had money, I could print out all the things I like.

Unfortunately, that's impossible.

That's certainly true, at least for now.

At this school sports meet, Zhou Yong took many photos of Mo Xueyao with the help of Gao Yuan's digital camera.

Although they are quite far apart, each has its own unique charm.

In particular, one of the paintings shows sunlight shining directly through the clouds onto Mo Xueyao, like a spotlight on a stage.

This made her stand out from the crowd and become the most dazzling one in the truest sense.

Although it only lasted for less than half a minute, the clouds in the sky drifted away.

However, Zhou Yong still managed to capture the moment in the photo.

However, while the artistic conception is sufficient, the clarity is still lacking, which is the most regrettable aspect.

"Ding Ding Ding-"

Just then, a clear bicycle bell rang from behind. Zhou Yong subconsciously turned around and saw Mo Xueyao wobbling as she rode her bicycle toward him.

The gentle orange sunlight of the afternoon shone on her face, revealing the faint golden down on her small face.

In the sunlight, you can vaguely see that her pupils are deep blue rather than dark brown.

Her eyes were clear and clean, without the slightest impurity, as if they could wash away all the filth in the world.

Time seemed to freeze at that moment.

In that instant, Zhou Yong thought of so many things about her future.

In my confusion, that fantasy seemed to have become reality.

But he quickly came to his senses, and the distracting thoughts in his mind vanished instantly. At that moment, he only wanted to do one thing.

That is to pick up the camera hanging around your neck and freeze time at this moment, forever.

Photography is a kind of scientific 'time magic'.

"Crack!"

Pick up the camera, switch to shooting mode with one click, adjust the angle, press the shutter button—all in one smooth motion.

In the digital camera's photo album, there's a new picture of a girl wearing the Yukong High School uniform. She's full of youthful energy, with both the dashing spirit of a boy and the gentleness of a girl.

The sounds of bustling traffic filled Zhou Yong's ears once again, followed by Mo Xueyao's clear and melodious voice, which was as refreshing as sand slipping through one's fingers.

"Hey!"

"Squeak-"

Then came a sharp screech of brakes.