A Young Woman's Heart

(One)

in fact--

According to the International Convention on the Rights of the Child, anyone under the age of eighteen is considered a child.

In other words, even high school students can celebrate Children's Day.

"Is this your reason for making the band room all fancy?" Mo Xueyao drooped her eyelids and flicked Hua Yinyin's forehead with her small hand.

Today, no one expected that Hua Yinyin would come early in the morning and decorate the classroom.

Colorful balloons hung on the walls, and sparkly plastic flowers adorned the window and door frames. Even the desks were wrapped with ribbons typically used on gift boxes.

The whiteboard was covered with graffiti depicting the six members of a band, and the words "Happy Children's Day" were written in large characters at the top.

Moreover, the blank spaces were filled with hollow exclamation marks.

"This is our last Children's Day! Next year, we'll all be adults, right?" Hua Yinyin put her arm around Mo Xueyao's neck. "Enjoy it!"

"Don't hug so tightly...uh..." Mo Xueyao slapped Hua Yinyin's arm hard, "I haven't celebrated Children's Day since junior high!"

"Little Yaoyao really doesn't have a childlike heart~"

"But I was born in 1983, so I'm an adult now."

"Anyway, I'm from '84. What about Xiaoyao?"

"Me too……"

"I'm also from '84!"

Yu Shu was the last to weakly raise her hand: "Me too..."

Actually, if Yu Shu hadn't missed a year due to surgery, she should have been in her second year of high school, just like Mo Xueyao and the others.

"What year was Xiaoxue born?" Mo Xueyao asked, holding her empty teacup and resting her head on Mr. Xue's head.

"I was born in '84 too."

"Hmph, it seems you're all younger than me. Call me 'older sister'!"

"Sister!" Hua Yinyin called out without any shame, "Quickly give us Children's Day gifts!"

Wang Jiale's eyes lit up, and her two pigtails swayed slightly as her head rose and fell: "That's right, that's right, as the 'older sister,' I have to take care of my younger sisters!"

"No way, I'm only eighteen! I want to celebrate Children's Day too!"

The mornings in the band room are always noisy like this, but if one day everyone isn't joking around like that, the atmosphere feels unusually dull.

A good mood for the day always starts here.

……

(two)

It was Children's Day, but during the third period, the senior high school students gathered on the playground to hold an adult ceremony.

Most of them looked a bit overweight, and the rare opportunity to get some fresh air made them all look exceptionally relaxed.

This was supposed to be a political class, but because Wan Jianlei was absent, it was taught by a teacher from another grade.

It sounded much more boring and dull than usual.

This elderly gentleman with gray hair seemed to only know how to read from the book, simply reciting the words on the page.

Mo Xueyao was somewhat absent-minded, resting her chin on her hand and looking out the window.

I was only sixteen when I started high school.

Back then, I felt like turning eighteen was still a long way off.

There's even a feeling that I'll always be sixteen.

This made her feel as if she had aged suddenly.

—However, in reality, even at eighteen, one is still very young.

"Students, even after you graduate from high school, you are still children. Don't think you are mature enough—people can never truly mature; they are just a little more mature than they were in the past. Thinking you are mature will only lead you to make many mistakes..."

The principal of Yukong High School always seems to give speeches that are different from those of other schools.

Generally speaking, shouldn't we say things like, "You've grown up, you're adults now, you should be more mature and composed"?

Mo Xueyao didn't pay attention to the lesson, but she did hear the principal's entire speech.

This time next year, the students standing on the playground will be the current second-year high school students.

Did those high school seniors standing here today ever imagine last year that everything would happen so quickly?

……

(three)

Winters at Yukong High School are warm.

But like most schools, summer is a very difficult time.

In June, Hangzhou is already in the height of summer.

The sunlight shone into the classroom with great enthusiasm, making it feel like an oven.

All the ceiling fans were turned up to the maximum, but they were blowing hot air, and I couldn't feel any coolness at all.

Right now, Mo Xueyao just hopes that the trees next to the teaching building will grow taller and taller, so that they can block out the glaring sunlight.

Suddenly, Duanmu Ji, who was sitting behind her, stood up and slammed the curtains shut.

With the light blocked, it became slightly less hot.

But then another problem arose: the wind that would occasionally sneak into the classroom would blow the curtains up, tickling her cheeks again and again, and knocking her books and stationery to the ground.

Close the window... that would make it even more stuffy.

Mo Xueyao could only helplessly endure the curtains' repeated 'teasing', and suddenly she could understand how Su Tang felt when she was sleeping and Su Tang was suddenly touched on the head.

Because at this moment, the curtains resembled her hand touching the candy.

And... it's not over yet.

"Ugh, it's so hot!" Leng Feng's forehead was covered in sweat, and his back was soaked with sweat as well.

It seems that people who are good at sports are more afraid of heat, and once they feel hot, they sweat profusely as if it were raining.

"When can we get air conditioning?" Mo Xueyao complained weakly. "Cold air, oh dear, you're sweating too much, your notebook is all wet."

"It's too hot..."

"It will be hot in a few days, especially from the end of June, the temperature may reach 40 degrees Celsius - it's already 33 today."

"It's getting hotter every year."

However, it seems that everyone says the same thing every year.

After finally getting through the last Chinese class in the morning, the students couldn't wait to rush to the cafeteria. Even Mo Xueyao was much more enthusiastic than usual today.

Because the cafeteria has air conditioning.

Although the air conditioner itself is not cool enough, there are several very large ceiling fans that can send cool air to every corner of the cafeteria.

The floorboards were shaking, as if a fire had broken out, and the students running around had excited expressions on their faces.

In this hot weather, even the convenience store is much less crowded.

Because there was no air conditioning there, not even an electric fan, so eating a bowl of instant noodles made you sweat like you'd just been pulled out of the water.

Queuing, getting food, and reserving seats were all done in one smooth motion.

Mo Xueyao didn't rush to eat because she was covered in sweat and needed to cool down before she could regain her appetite.

Summer cafeteria lunches are also quite refreshing.

The fruit is pineapple, the meat dish at this window is a bowl of lean meatballs with seaweed and pickled mustard greens, and the vegetable dish is green beans and cauliflower.

On a hot summer day, soaking rice in soup can make the food easier to swallow.

Mo Xueyao poured the rice she had brought directly into the large soup bowl containing the lean meatballs, stirred it slightly, and took a small sip. It was still so hot that her heart was steaming.

Hua Yinyin and the others also sat down one after another. Because everyone chose different windows, their speeds varied.

"Yinyin—it's so hot, can you please stop sticking so close to me?"

"Where's it hot? Feel my hand~"

"Huh...so cold?" Mo Xueyao rubbed Hua Yinyin's little hands in surprise, feeling as if they had been taken out of the refrigerator.

"Little Yaoyao is so naughty, rubbing my hand~" She lowered her head slightly with a shy look, and anyone who didn't know better would think that Mo Xueyao was the one taking advantage of her!

Mo Xueyao immediately slapped her hand away with obvious 'disdain' and asked in confusion, 'Why is it so cold?'

"Clang clang clang, ice!" Hua Yinyin opened her other hand, where she held a crystal-clear ice cube, from which a cool liquid was constantly flowing.

"Where did this come from?" Mo Xueyao grabbed the ice cube, touched it, and even pressed it against her cheek, immediately revealing an expression of enjoyment. "Ah...so comfortable...it's so refreshing..."

Wang Jiale tossed a small ice cube onto the table and pointed to a corner of the cafeteria: "Xiao Yao, didn't you see? There's a big plastic bucket of crushed ice in the corner."

"I really didn't see that... The cafeteria is so nice, it not only has air conditioning and fans, but it even has ice!" Mo Xueyao continued to press herself against the ice, enjoying herself so much that she lay sprawled on the table. "Everyone can just have class in the cafeteria."

"I agree!" Mo Zhuyou nodded vigorously. "It'll be a little inconvenient without a blackboard, but we're sure we can overcome this small difficulty!"

Given the choice between having no air conditioning and having no blackboard, Mo Zhuyou chose the latter without hesitation.

"Hey, what's Lele's? Why isn't there a plate?" The small ice cubes had almost melted, and Mo Xueyao reluctantly looked up, her gaze falling on Wang Jiale's table.

"This is the last window, chilled mung bean soup, and the main course is a sandwich."

"Ah—this is good, I wish I had eaten this."

"Hehe, I cut in line, otherwise it wouldn't have been so fast." Wang Jiale pointed to the long line, which almost stretched outside the cafeteria.

It seems that quite a few students have little appetite in this sweltering summer heat.

……

(four)

There was no air conditioning in the band room, of course.

The ceiling fan whirred, bringing a negligible amount of coolness.