A Young Woman's Heart

But they caught nothing.

Her gaze unconsciously followed the dejected children until she was shaken awake by Mo Xueyao once again.

"Wanyan, what's wrong with you today? You seem a little distracted. Do you want to try your luck at the claw machine?" Mo Xueyao tugged hard on the strap of her keyboard bag. This electronic keyboard, which was almost as big as her, made her eager to go home every day after leaving the band room.

"No."

"Why not give it a try if you want? Uh... I happen to have a dollar." Mo Xueyao said, walking up to the claw machine and putting the dollar in.

"Gurgle—" The number '2' suddenly appeared on the red digital display screen of the claw machine.

This means you can catch it twice.

"Would Wanyan like to go first?"

Li Wanyan seemed a little dazed, as if she hadn't quite come to her senses yet.

However, Mo Xueyao had already pushed her in front of the claw machine. She subconsciously grabbed the handle and pressed the button.

The grabber wasn't even properly positioned before it descended, so of course it didn't grab anything.

"That's not how you do it!" Mo Xueyao grasped Li Wanyan's hand, letting her feel the burning heat on it; it seemed the evening sun was still quite hot for her. "You have to do it like this, aim, and then press!"

This time, the grip seemed stronger than any of the previous times the children had played with it.

It firmly grasped the cat plush toy with the pink bow.

Under Mo Xueyao's eager gaze, it slowly moved to the landing point and released with a 'click'.

"Gurgle." The fluffy toy rolled down very quickly, and Mo Xueyao squatted down and took it out.

This is a completely different feeling from looking through glass.

"Hehe, how about that? Pretty good, right? You caught it right away!" She shook it triumphantly and stuffed it into Li Wanyan's arms. "I still have my schoolbag hanging in front of me, so I can't carry it. Wanyan, you can take it."

Li Wanyan lowered her head and stared intently at the cat doll with the bow, as if it overlapped with the one in her memory.

The one from her childhood was long gone, so now she felt as if Mo Xueyao had borrowed Doraemon's time machine and brought it back from the past to the present.

"Oh, you don't like this?"

Li Wanyan gently shook her head and murmured softly, "The same as that one."

"What's the same?"

Not only are the dolls similar, but even the way you catch them is very similar.

It was caught only a very small number of times.

After all these years, this style of doll is still being sold?

No, perhaps it's different from what I remember. It's just that the memory is blurry, and I only remember a few key features, which is why it seems similar to it.

But Li Wanyan still held it tightly in her arms.

Just like when I was a child.

Mo Xueyao, who handed the doll to herself, could not reconcile the doll's appearance with her mother's.

The light of the setting sun dimmed further, and the dim yellow streetlights next to it lit up, replacing its light.

"Pfft, looks like you really like it? But there's no need to be so careful. These kinds of dolls aren't worth much even if you buy them, so it's not a big deal if you lose them."

"I don't want to lose it again."

……

========

It's a new month! Begging for monthly votes! And I'll be writing a long review too!

Who do you hope Duanmu Ji will end up with? (I definitely won't take your opinions into account, hehe.)

Chapter 88 Duanmu Ji and his sister's Children's Day

Duanmu Ji was eight years old when he started primary school. At that time, his adopted sister, Duanmu Bi, had only graduated from junior high school—she was only fifteen years old.

For the children in the orphanage, compulsory education ends here.

In fact, being able to complete nine years of schooling in a regular school is already considered lucky for someone living in a big city.

At that time, my older sister was just a child herself.

"Xiao Ji, Xiao Ji, Xiao Ji!"

"Sister, what's wrong?" Duanmu Ji, whose face had become a little chubby after living with her sister for only a year, rubbed her eyes. "Can I sleep a little longer..."

"Little chubby boy, wake up! If you keep going like this, you'll turn into a pig!"

"I'll definitely lose weight when I go to junior high..." he muttered in defense, "Wasn't my sister also chubby in elementary school..."

"I'm not fat at all!" Duanmu Bi rubbed his cheek hard. "Hmph, little guy, you actually peeked into my photo album?"

"No... I found it by accident..."

Duanmu Ji was still incredibly sleepy, his eyes looked swollen and he couldn't open them no matter what.

"Get up! We celebrated Children's Day today! Someone gave me two amusement park tickets!"

At this moment, let alone an amusement park, even if a French feast were placed in front of Duanmu Ji, he would only want to hug his pillow and take a nap.

But his sister still managed to drag him out of bed.

After washing up, I finally woke up from my dream.

The amusement park in Hangzhou is actually a children's palace.

There is actually no ticket required to enter.

The tickets that Duanmu Bi mentioned were simply vouchers that could be used to ride amusement park rides.

They have coins ranging from 50 cents to 5 yuan.

I don't know where this stack came from, but it's definitely enough for the two of them to have a good time.

Duanmu Ji doesn't come to such a lively place often.

However, perhaps because he had been trafficked to the mountains, he particularly liked such lively places.

Because it makes me feel very safe.

With people everywhere, it seems unlikely that human traffickers will appear.

However, when his older sister went off to play somewhere, he felt lost and anxious again.

She brought him here to have fun, but she herself was the one who had the most fun.

The noise of children was everywhere, and the amusement park, crowded with people, was much hotter than outside, making him feel slightly dizzy.

A few mischievous children ran into the fountain; this 'shower head' was indeed much more luxurious than the one we usually use for bathing.

"Eeya ah—"

"Wow--"

"Waaah—Mommy—"

Different voices intertwined.

This created an extraordinary lively atmosphere.

Duanmu Ji stood on the steps of the arcade. Behind the transparent glass, a child was riding a motorcycle, and the colorful image was reflected on his face.

He wanted to go inside and take a look, but his sister wasn't with him, so he didn't dare to move.

He was worried that if he ran too far away, his sister wouldn't be able to find him.

The two of them got separated in the crowd here...

The steam mixed with the smell of sweat, and there was also a faint odor of rancidity.

After getting off the frog-jumping machine, there are always a few kids who will hug the trash can and vomit.

The older sister was still nowhere to be found in the crowd.

This made him so engrossed in that he didn't even have the energy to think about how fun the motorcycle game was.

"Sister—Sister—!" he couldn't help but shout.

My heart aches as if it's being squeezed by a giant hand.

"elder sister--!"

His voice was lost in the crowd.

It simply cannot be transmitted.

"Smack!" A large, furry hand slapped him on the head, startling him. He looked up and saw his sister wearing a teddy bear glove she'd bought somewhere, winking mischievously at him. "Hehe, what's wrong? I'm just buying something at that little shop over there. No need to be so scared, right? Little Ji is such a coward~ Come here, let your sister give you a hug!"

Ignoring the summer heat, Duanmu Ji instinctively opened his arms and rushed into his sister's embrace.

She was also sweating a lot, but it didn't smell bad; instead, it had a reassuring scent.

"She really hugged me! What a clingy little thing." Although Duanmu Bi said this, a smug smile appeared on her face. "Alright, let's go, let's go ride the drop tower!"

The drop tower machine is the real name for the frog jump machine.

This drop tower is about six or seven meters high, and even adults can ride it.

However, this is only for those who are relatively light in weight; otherwise, this drop tower, which is specifically designed for children, cannot accommodate them.

"what?"

When Duanmu Ji came to his senses, he was already sitting on the drop tower.

The seatbelts were fastened by a smiling young man.

His sister was sitting next to him, which made him feel much more at ease.

"Go!" Duanmu Bi excitedly raised her hand, which was being tightly held by her younger brother, and then, as if on command, the drop tower shot into the sky and then came to a sudden stop with a 'bang'.

Before Duanmu Ji could recover from his shock, the drop tower plummeted again.

The intense feeling of weightlessness made him feel like he was about to burst and urinate.