A Young Woman's Heart

"Ah!" Then, losing her balance, Mo Xueyao frantically tried to grab the handlebars, but failed. The bicycle tipped over in front of Zhou Yong, and the girl fell to the ground in a sorry state.

Attracted by the faint milky scent emanating from Mo Xueyao, who was so close to him, Zhou Yong suddenly snapped out of his daze. He was flustered and stammered, "N-you...you're...are you alright?"

"Cough..." Mo Xueyao rolled her eyes and struggled to get up from the ground. Zhou Yong quickly helped her lift the bicycle up, set up the kickstand, and parked it on the sidewalk.

Mo Xueyao looked like she was about to collapse, and slowly sat down on the sidewalk steps, her grimacing expression showing that she was in a lot of pain.

"Are you OK?"

"Thank goodness... it's you, Zhou Yong! What are you doing suddenly walking from the sidewalk into the middle of the road?!" Mo Xueyao frowned and complained irritably.

"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry..."

"And why did you turn around and take pictures when you could have easily avoided it? Were you having a mental breakdown?!"

"Sorry, sorry, sorry!" Zhou Yong apologized repeatedly, as if he couldn't say anything else. He also glanced nervously at the digital camera, and only breathed a slight sigh of relief after confirming that it hadn't been touched. "Um... are you hurt? Where does it hurt?"

"It's nothing, I just rubbed it." Mo Xueyao clutched her right knee, and tried to stand up, but the pain made her sit down again.

"Is the injury serious? If it is, you should go back to school and get some medicine applied."

"I already said it's nothing, it's just a little sore."

However, in Zhou Yong's view, this is not just "slightly"!

As Mo Xueyao muttered to herself, she lifted her skirt up a little and then rolled down her stockings bit by bit, making Zhou Yong's mouth go dry and his eyes and hands feel like they didn't know where to go.

After the stocking on her right leg was pulled down, Mo Xueyao's fair and slightly pink thigh, full of flesh, could be seen. If you looked closely, you could even see some faint blue veins.

Even military training didn't tan her, or perhaps it was because five days was just too short.

However, her knees were bright red, ruining the beauty of her fair skin.

The stockings my mother bought from the night market stall were indeed of good quality; even though her knees were chafed, the stockings remained undamaged.

"Let's hurry to the infirmary to apply the antiseptic!" Zhou Yong said anxiously.

"No need, it's just a scrape, not even bleeding," Mo Xueyao said calmly, as if it were a trivial matter.

In this respect, Zhou Yong felt that she was like a boy, not caring about her small wounds.

She was completely different from other girls.

If it were another girl, she would either be crying from the pain right now, or she would be blaming Zhou Yong because she might have wounds on her body.

But Mo Xueyao appeared very magnanimous.

After Zhou Yong apologized, she seemed to forgive him on the spot.

"Hiss—whoosh—" Mo Xueyao gritted her teeth, stood up again, and then straddled the pale yellow bicycle.

"I'm off. Be careful next time you walk," she said, stepping onto the foot pedal and preparing to leave.

But the car had just started moving when Zhou Yong hurriedly shouted, "Wait!"

As soon as she finished speaking, the air in the rear tire of her bicycle rushed out because her whole body was pressed against the bike. The air leaked out so quickly that the tire seemed to twist, and Mo Xueyao lost her balance once again.

Just as he was about to fall again in a sorry state, Zhou Yong reacted quickly this time, rushing to Mo Xueyao's side at a speed even faster than he had during his physical education exam in the high school entrance exam. He used his shoulder to brace the bicycle, which was about to fall to the right, and then gripped the handlebars tightly with both hands, his whole body rooted to the ground like a nail. He finally managed to stabilize the bicycle and prevent it from falling over.

Still shaken, Mo Xueyao gasped for breath. Her warm breath brushed against Zhou Yong's ear, making him feel ticklish and as if a fire was burning inside him.

"Alright... I can hold on now..." Mo Xueyao said with droopy eyelids, "Can you move your hand away now? You're squeezing too hard, it hurts my hand."

In the heat of the moment, Zhou Yong didn't think twice and grabbed the handlebars, which naturally included Mo Xueyao's small hand.

It was only after she reminded me that I realized what she meant.

"Oh, well, I'm sorry."

"It's okay, otherwise I would have fallen again—you just used too much force." Mo Xueyao looked completely unconcerned.

And she didn't seem embarrassed at all that Zhou Yong had pinched her hand; on the contrary, she was complaining that he had pinched her too hard and that her hand hurt...

"It looks like the tire is flat." Zhou Yong quickly changed the subject to avoid appearing too embarrassed.

"It might have been punctured by a nail or a sharp pebble," Mo Xueyao said after stopping the car and examining it carefully.

Getting a flat tire while riding a bicycle is a very common occurrence in this day and age.

Because most roads are not that smooth or that clean.

When riding through a pile of garbage, you're bound to encounter some sharp objects.

Students who regularly cycle to and from school should find it strange if they haven't experienced a flat tire in two or three months.

"There don't seem to be any repair shops around here," Zhou Yong said, scratching his head. "Can you push the bike now?"

"Of course it can be pushed."

“But your knee is injured, so you shouldn’t push yourself… Ah… cough… How about I help you push the car? Until we find a repair shop? Consider it an apology for making you fall earlier?” Zhou Yong asked tentatively, already prepared to be rejected.

"Sure," Mo Xueyao said nonchalantly. "Then I'll leave it to you, kid."

"Ah... Oh!" Zhou Yong scratched his head and took the handlebars of the bicycle. "Mo Xueyao, sometimes when you talk, it feels like we guys are chatting with each other."

"Really? That's great." Mo Xueyao patted the dust off her skirt. "Let's walk this way. It's the way back, and there should be a repair shop along the way."

When she said "go home," she actually meant go back to the fruit shop.

Yukong High School is located in a remote area, really remote.

Apart from a few shops near the school gate, there are no shops or even houses along a long stretch of the street behind it.

The roadside is lined with rows of trees, and occasionally you can see some factory buildings enclosed by iron railings.

At most, you can see a few apartment buildings. If you want to find a store, you have to walk for more than ten minutes to get to the location of the fruit store.

After all, there's a cancer hospital there, with relatively complete supporting facilities, high foot traffic, and naturally, many shops.

"Huh, this doesn't seem to be the road to Desheng East Village, does it?" Zhou Yong, who had taken the same bus as Mo Xueyao that morning, was a little confused.

"Yes, today we're going back to my dad's fruit shop."

"Wow, your dad owns a fruit shop? That means we can eat as much fruit as we want!"

"It's alright... My interest in fruit is limited to bananas."

"Cough cough!" Zhou Yong, who had been thinking about something inappropriate, almost choked on his own saliva. When he saw the strange look Mo Xueyao was giving him, he hurriedly turned his head to the other side to cover up his terrible thoughts.

……

Chapter 85 The Innocence of Youth

The orange rays of the setting sun slanted across their faces.

The boy and girl walked slowly side by side on the road.

Time seemed to slow down at this moment.

Even the fallen yellow leaves seemed a bit more relaxed.

Looking at Mo Xueyao's serene face, Zhou Yong noticed that she seemed to be in less pain, though she was walking very slowly.

But he was happy with it.

The slower the better.

After all, such moments are far too precious.

Zhou Yong certainly liked Mo Xueyao.

Putting aside her inner qualities, her appearance alone is enough to make someone's heart flutter.

This is normal; after all, everyone has a love for beauty.

Before discovering a person's inner qualities, the first thing to discover is their appearance.

Good-looking people have an advantage because others are more willing to discover their inner qualities.

But this kind of liking can only be described as infatuation.

It's like looking at an exquisite doll in a shop window. Even though you think it's beautiful, pretty, and lovely, you can't help but stop and admire it every time you pass by.

But there will always be a sense of distance.

Even when you're very close, there's still a cold, impersonal shop window separating you.

Zhou Yong was very self-aware; he knew he was just an ordinary boy.

This applies to appearance, education, and other aspects as well.

He has neither special talents nor any major flaws.

He is just one of the masses.

They are the cornerstone of society, the most indispensable part, but also the most insignificant speck of dust.

Therefore, all his feelings for Mo Xueyao were limited to mere admiration.

Just like liking celebrities.

I clearly understand that there is no possibility for me to be with the other person.

So even such a brief time together was enough to make him happy.

Perhaps many years later, he will still remember his teenage years and the memories of walking together with that dazzling girl in the whole school.

Perhaps the taste of this memory is faint and not sweet, but it always leaves a lingering aftertaste.

Zhou Yong's thoughts drifted away. At this moment, he could almost write an 800-word essay in his mind, and the topic of the essay was, of course, about Mo Xueyao.

"Found it! There's a car repair stall over there!" Mo Xueyao suddenly exclaimed, her tone filled with relief and surprise.

Zhou Yong snapped out of his daze and followed her gaze.

It was at a narrow intersection corner where there weren't even any traffic lights. A dark-skinned middle-aged man had set up a small stall.

Several old bicycles were placed next to the stall, while a large pile of tools covered in black oil stains were scattered on the stall.

The wrench, which should have been silver, has turned completely black.

The water in the red basin placed to the side was also very murky.