A Young Woman's Heart

Go to bed early! A calm mind brings coolness.

"I can't calm down..." Mo Xueyao jumped out of bed and ran to the freezer in the fruit shop. After rummaging around for a while, she took out the cooled boiled water she had put in there that afternoon, unscrewed the cap, and drank several mouthfuls in a row. The water leaked from the corners of her mouth and dripped onto her clothes on her chest, soaking that area.

Go to bed early.

"Okay, have some water, Wanyan? Do you want some?"

"No need," came her soft voice from inside.

"Aren't you going to drink?" Mo Xueyao asked again.

"Don't drink."

"Alright, go to sleep now," the mother urged again.

"Okay, okay—"

……

Chapter 111 A Belated Dragon Boat Festival

June 25, 2001, Dragon Boat Festival.

This year's Dragon Boat Festival came exceptionally late, almost at the end of June.

The cicada chorus has expanded considerably, making it even noisier in the sweltering summer heat of over 30 degrees Celsius.

Mo Xueyao and Li Wanyan hid in the convenience store next door. It had air conditioning and a long table next to the floor-to-ceiling window, which was perfect for studying.

The library was certainly quieter, but it was closer to home, and Mo Xueyao and Li Wanyan, who were used to the noise of the fruit shop, didn't find it particularly noisy.

The sounds of vehicles and pedestrians coming and going, or guests coming and going, are like background music. They don't annoy people at all; on the contrary, they make people feel at ease.

After all, this is the essence of city life.

Today is the last day of the Dragon Boat Festival holiday, and final exams will begin tomorrow.

There were two days of exams, and then the holiday began.

You only need to pick up your report card once during this period.

The bottom 50 in the whole school, they still have to attend classes and tutoring during the summer vacation.

Of course, if you pass the make-up exam, you don't need to take it again.

But if you're already in the bottom 50, it probably won't be easy to pass the subject you failed.

With summer vacation approaching, it feels like time has already filled up.

Mo Xueyao, who usually studies with a good balance of work and rest, has started intensive review these past few days, just like Li Wanyan. She is both looking forward to it and feeling a little nervous.

It's not that I lack confidence in myself, it's just that I don't want to mess things up at a crucial moment.

She wore a cream-colored dress with blue and green polka dots, and on her feet were a pair of transparent plastic sandals that dangled gently in mid-air.

The book's pages were slightly warped, and each page had some circles and dots on it.

However, she didn't draw long sections of lines; she simply marked the key points that she felt needed attention.

Li Wanyan's textbooks were spotless, like a brand new book, because all her notes were written in a notebook with detailed page numbers. Although they were just notes, they could be used as a reference book.

The two of them weren't actually reviewing at this moment. To be precise, they weren't memorizing knowledge points from textbooks, but rather referring to past test papers, textbooks, and homework, creating questions for each other.

Everyone took a new notebook and started creating problems one by one.

The exam being administered now is a comprehensive humanities exam, which includes history, politics, and geography.

The more challenging the questions, the better; the more questions the other party gets wrong, the better the results.

Only by identifying problems in time can we avoid being misled by certain questions during the exam.

The air conditioning in the convenience store was on full blast, but the bright, scorching sun was also shining in from outside, scorching my skin. The heat from the sun was offset by the air conditioning, so I didn't feel cold or hot.

Staying in the convenience store is great, but there's a huge drawback: you might not be able to get out later.

Staying outside all the time doesn't feel too hot, but if you go outside after being in an air-conditioned room, it feels like you've entered a giant oven. Even if you stay in the shade with a fan blowing on you, it still feels unbearably hot.

My father has recently been considering whether to install an air conditioner in the fruit shop. He doesn't need a new one; he just wants to buy a used window air conditioner.

Unlike convenience stores or the noodle shops next door, fruit shops have glass doors and windows that can be closed.

If we want to install air conditioning, then we'll also need to install glass doors. Fruit shops have large storefronts, and the price of installing glass doors will be much higher than that of air conditioning. So, when you add it all up, it's not cost-effective.

After all, the renovation was just completed recently, and even though the profit margin is high, there's not much money left.

—Many of the appliances and furniture have only been paid for in half.

The excuse for buying on credit is to check if the furniture is good, so that there will be no one to provide after-sales service if there are any problems.

Of course, in reality, I can't come up with the money; I can only wait to use the money I've earned in the last few months to pay the remaining balance.

The hot summer breeze blew through the trees on both sides of the road, causing the wilted leaves to sway listlessly a few times.

"Ding dong."

The automatic door beeped, and Su Tang followed a customer into the convenience store.

As soon as it came in, it walked very skillfully to Mo Xueyao's feet and lay down, occasionally scratching the soles of her feet with its furry paw.

"Grandma Jin, it's so cool here, even Su Tang keeps coming over to enjoy the air conditioning."

"Hehe! Cats are very intelligent." Grandma Jin laughed happily, seemingly pleased that Mo Xueyao and Li Wanyan had come to cool off.

Although customers come to the convenience store from time to time, she is usually alone, and perhaps she feels a little lonely.

In fact, Grandma Jin owns many shops, all of which she bought. She even has a 50% stake in the nearby Yinshan Commercial Street.

She had absolutely no need to open this grocery store—the money she earned from rent was negligible compared to what she could earn there.

But she still kept it running, and even renovated it again.

When people get old, they always need to do something, otherwise they'll feel bored and restless.

She didn't always talk to Mo Xueyao; it seemed that just watching the two of them busy with their studies made her feel fulfilled.

"Phew—it's done!" Mo Xueyao breathed a sigh of relief and handed the notebook to Li Wanyan. "Wanyan, are you done?"

"Ah."

Without taking a break, the two of them immediately started working on the problems the other had set for them.

It was lunchtime, and the convenience store was getting busy. Some well-dressed people, but who didn't look particularly wealthy, came to buy snacks and bento boxes.

There are actually many restaurants around, but some people still prefer to buy their food here.

Perhaps it's because convenience stores have some Japanese bento boxes that aren't commonly sold elsewhere.

If you don't have much of an appetite at lunchtime, you can buy some oden (Japanese stew).

Some guests would sit directly on the bar stools by the floor-to-ceiling windows, so Mo Xueyao and Li Wanyan sat in the corner, leaving at least half of the tables empty.

The fruit shop across the street was experiencing a slow period of business. My mother was carrying the groceries she was going to make for lunch and went around to the back—we cook there now, mainly so as not to affect the shop's appearance.

After all, stir-frying will produce a lot of oil fumes.

Mo Xueyao looked up and was momentarily lost in thought: "Hmm, Mom went to cook. Looks like we'll be eating soon."

"Hmm." Li Wanyan glanced at her sideways. "Finish writing before dinner."

"Hmm, it's good to rest after dinner." Mo Xueyao put aside her chaotic thoughts and focused on doing the problems again.

They also timed themselves, which was to train their thinking speed so they wouldn't run out of time during the exam.

The speed at which you answer questions is also a major factor affecting your exam scores.

After all, if you do it quickly, you'll have time to go back and check it again.

"Ding dong."

"Ding dong."

The automatic glass door opened and closed repeatedly, and the bell that signaled the entry and exit of guests rang continuously.

There are quiet guests and noisy guests.

Especially those groups of boys and girls.

Stepping inside, Mo Xueyao felt as if she were sitting in a classroom right after class. They greeted and shouted to each other, even though they were very close.

"Hey—look at this! Has anyone drunk this drink?"

No, is it a new release?

"Buy one bottle!"

"Wait, wait! Didn't you come to buy correction tape?!"

"I want to buy some oden!"

"Didn't we just eat?"

"This is called an after-dinner snack."

Mo Xueyao and Li Wanyan continued writing without any distractions. If this little bit of noise could affect them, they might as well just spend the night at school.

For students living in big cities, noise is the norm.

But quietness is rare.

Sometimes, too much quietness feels a little strange.

"Damn, two beauties." Some boys whispered among themselves; judging by their age, they were probably high school students.

Of course, what they called whispers were clearly heard by others.

"I didn't see her face clearly."

"She has fair skin, a good body proportion, and her face can't be too bad."

"That's not necessarily true. What if it turns out to be a dinosaur?"

"What's there to be afraid of? It's all the same with the lights off! At least it's not a tank."

"Then go ask for their phone number."