A Young Woman's Heart

"Then you should call her quickly. I saw Wang Jiale almost crying when she went out just now." Qiu Yi glanced at her sideways. "Tsk tsk, can't you speak more tactfully? You have to be so firm. You just know how to bully children."

"What do you mean by bullying a child!"

"Do you believe I 100% cried after she went out just now?"

"Surely not...a high school student—"

"You're not a good homeroom teacher," Qiu Yi joked, then said seriously, "She's very fragile inside, and she loves being with her friends. She's easily made to cry, unlike Hua Yinyin."

"What? You haven't observed them properly at all. It's actually Hua Yinyin who's more emotionally fragile, okay?"

"Pshaw, that's nonsense."

"Hmph, believe it or not." Ye Wen turned her head and flung her long hair at Qiu Yi's face.

……

"Hey, Lele, you haven't gone back yet?" As she walked out of the school, Mo Xueyao spotted Wang Jiale in front of the ice cream shop at the school gate. She was sitting on a high stool, slowly turning around while licking her ice cream in small bites, her brows furrowed, seemingly deep in thought.

"Hmm, I'm thinking about how to get Wen to agree to go with me."

"Oh, we've already talked to her about it, and she said she'll think about it when she gets home tonight."

"Really?" Wang Jiale's eyes lit up, and she immediately jumped off the stool. "If we can really go together, Xiaoyao! I definitely want to hold you and sleep with you all night!"

"Huh? Isn't that Yin Yin's line?"

"Hey, try learning from Yinyin!" Wang Jiale winked mischievously. "Yeah, if you succeed, I'll treat you to McDonald's!"

"Success is not just my achievement; everyone thought of you."

"Hmm, please have a meal with everyone! Phew... I hope Wen will consider me..." Wang Jiale hesitated again.

"Why don't you go home early? Isn't it hot outside?" Mo Xueyao comforted her. "You might get a call from Awen to your parents when you get home."

"My parents aren't coming home that early today. Hmm... never mind, I'll just go back home. There's air conditioning at home."

"Ah, air conditioning—" Mo Xueyao said enviously, "I want to live in an air-conditioned room as soon as possible..."

……

Chapter Seven: Preparations Before Departure (Part 1)

It rained and thundered for more than an hour in the early morning.

Around 7 a.m., the gloom in the sky had not yet been swept away, and the raindrops were still dripping down like a faucet that had not been turned off.

The cool breeze dispelled yesterday's heat, making Mo Xueyao, who woke up early, feel refreshed, a rare treat.

I felt completely refreshed, as if I had slept for twelve hours straight, without any of the usual drowsiness.

Today is July 4th.

Tomorrow is the day we set off.

The newly renovated house hasn't been moved into yet, and the mother is taking advantage of her free time in the morning to pack the two of them's luggage.

Because some of the clothes were packed in cardboard boxes and hadn't been opened yet, while others had been taken home and left there, finding them was even more troublesome.

To find a piece of clothing that she remembered having, her mother would have to search for ages, and the small room was now as messy as a garment factory's junkyard.

All sorts of clothes were scattered haphazardly everywhere, leaving no room to step.

Su Tang tried to sneak in and rub herself against the clothes scattered on the floor, but her mother immediately kicked her out with a light kick and closed the door behind her.

"Meow—" Su Tang complained and scratched at the door frame, but Mo Xueyao picked her up by the scruff of her neck and threw her into a deep cardboard box—this thing had just been used to hold watermelons.

As for the watermelons, my father had already put them on the shelf.

It tried to climb up, but found it couldn't, so it simply lay down and took a nap.

These nerve fibers are probably thicker than electrical wires.

"You two are going to teach in a rural area, aren't you going to buy some things?" The father had just finished his work, poured out the sugar candy, and then folded all the cardboard boxes one by one and put them at the door. Although the person who collects cardboard can fold them himself, who knows when he will come? Just leaving them piled up like that still takes up too much space. Organizing them like this will at least make them look much neater.

"Isn't Mom tidying up?" Mo Xueyao felt the breeze blowing in from outside was very comfortable today, and she was too lazy to move from her small stool.

"That's just packing clothes and some basic daily necessities. Don't you have anything to bring? Let me tell you, the wind is strong at the beach and the sun is strong too. I suggest you buy some moisturizer, sunscreen and the like."

“I still have some left over from last year’s purchases,” Mo Xueyao continued, searching for a reason not to stand up.

"Last year's results may not be good, and the places that need teaching support are definitely very remote. If we don't buy some things, it will be inconvenient to buy them later. Don't blame Dad for not reminding you."

Mo Xueyao's gaze finally regained some focus. She lazily lay on the folding table, tilted her head to look at Li Wanyan, and mumbled, "Wanyan—is there anything you want to buy?"

"No..." Li Wanyan was interrupted by her father before she could finish speaking.

“Of course Wanyan said no when you asked. Don’t you want to bring some snacks and drinks? There might not even be a convenience store there. How about buying some novels to pass the time? Xiaoyao, don’t you love building toys the most? Buying some won’t be too boring. Think about other things, what else do you want to buy? There’s always something to buy.” The father took out a hundred-yuan bill from the drawer, waved it in his hand, thought for a moment, and then took out a fifty-yuan bill. “Here, one hundred and fifty, that should be enough for you! Buy whatever you want, don’t worry about the cost. This is for more than a month, consider it an early allowance!”

The moment she saw the money, Mo Xueyao's eyes lit up.

The family has been short of money lately, and she hasn't spent any pocket money in a long time. Although she has saved quite a bit, she buys snacks or stationery every day, and it all slowly runs out. Now there's not much left.

Since their father was giving them the money to buy it, they certainly couldn't miss this opportunity.

So she immediately jumped up from the stool and smiled ingratiatingly at her father: "Hey, Dad, do you want me to bring you a beer when I come back later?"

"Go away, stop flattering me." My father, who had only finished junior high school, could always utter words that sounded quite cultured. "When have I ever given you money to buy beer? Go on, go on, you should go to the Lotus Supermarket at Peace Square. They have a lot of stuff there, enough for you to take your time choosing."

"It's too far."

"It's only a few minutes, what's the big deal about the distance? We can get there by bus by eight at the latest." Her father swept two bills across Mo Xueyao's cheeks, tickling her a little. "Do you want them or not?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" She snatched the banknotes and happily stuffed them into her skirt pocket. After hesitating for a moment, she looked at Li Wanyan and said, "Wanyan, can you put them in for me so I don't lose them?"

"Ah."

Both her parents and Li Wanyan had long been used to this.

Whenever Mo Xueyao went out, they felt especially at ease as long as Li Wanyan was by her side.

It's Wednesday, and the buses are crowded, so Mo Xueyao and Li Wanyan simply rode their electric scooters out instead.

My mother uses this car now.

In those days when traffic regulations were not strict, an electric scooter could carry not only two people, but even three people, and drive past a traffic policeman without the officer even blinking, let alone stopping them.

Mo Xueyao's cycling skills are better than Li Wanyan's, mainly because she has better balance.

The electric scooter maintained a speed of about 30 miles per hour, speeding along the fairly wide road. When it encountered intersections with few cars, it didn't even stop at red lights, just 'whoosh'ed through them.

Similarly, this is quite normal in this era.

Therefore, articles often use the example of Chinese people not following the rules to criticize others.

However, in reality, people all over the world are the same; obeying the law and being civilized cannot be achieved by relying solely on self-discipline.

As we approached Peace Square, the number of shops around it increased, and the closer we got, the more bustling it became.

Although it's some distance from the city center, it's considered central to the area by the locals.

At the entrance of Lotus Supermarket, there is always a stage set up, with a host trying their best to attract the attention of passersby and promote all kinds of products.

Today's vendor is selling mobile phones. They say the prices are cheap, and it's a flip phone. They even give away a SIM card with the phone, and it only costs one cent per minute...

"One cent, that's so cheap!" Mo Xueyao was almost unable to walk any further; she had always wanted a cell phone of her own.

But her parents both said they would wait until she went to university before buying it.

“But there is a minimum spending requirement.” Li Wanyan pointed to the billboard next to her.

The words "minimum spending guarantee" were printed in very small print on that price list.

It costs one cent per minute, but the minimum spending requirement is 189 yuan.

This means that even if you didn't make that many calls, you'll still be charged this much.

Mo Xueyao immediately lost interest, pushed a shopping cart from the door, and went up the elevator with Li Wanyan into the supermarket.

She had one foot on the small tray on the wheel, while the other foot would occasionally slide, treating the cart like a skateboard. Li Wanyan, standing beside her, held onto the handlebars to prevent her from losing control and crashing into the shelf.

The promotional display area next to it was filled with all sorts of summer-related products.

Before I came, I couldn't think of what to buy, but now that I'm here, I feel like I need to buy so many things.

"Oh, Wanyan, do you think we should buy an electric fan? Do you have any fans here?"

These words surprised Li Wanyan, and she pondered for a while before replying, "I'm not sure either."

"Should we buy it... Hmm—Wen should be able to prepare it, right?"

"Even if you're not prepared, you can buy it on the spot."

“That’s true, we can just go to the city. If we buy it now and it’s not available there, it’ll be a waste.” So Mo Xueyao picked up the buy-one-get-one-free floral water and medicated oil and put them in the shopping cart. “These are definitely necessary. There are bound to be a lot of mosquitoes in the countryside.”

"Yes, and mosquito coils too."

These mosquito repellent products are all sold together, which is very convenient, as you don't have to run around looking for them.

"Bring some snacks too, since we're already here."

"Don't take too much heavy stuff." Li Wanyan said casually as she watched Mo Xueyao stuff some cheap spicy snacks and instant noodles into the shopping cart. "Your suitcase is already quite big."

"Hmm, I won't take the drinks... Sunscreen... Do you want it or not?"

"No need," Li Wanyan shook her head, adhering to the principle of not wasting anything.

"It says this is for the beach and can protect against sea breeze corrosion. How about I buy a bottle? The price is okay, um... thirty-six."

This result is also based on comparison with other sunscreens. You know, for thirty yuan, you could buy mosquito coils, floral water, and medicated oil and still have more left over.

Li Wanyan pouted helplessly: "Buy it."

"Actually, it's okay if you don't buy it. You can just tag along with other people's."

"More than a month."

"That's true, it's not good to keep using it. Let's buy some more. Together with the one we had before, it should be enough."

Before going to the supermarket, I felt like there wasn't much to buy, but once I got there, my shopping cart kept getting fuller and fuller.

I even bought two inflatable pillows for summer.

"Hey, Xiaoyao!" Just as Mo Xueyao was pulling Li Wanyan to buy a water gun, a familiar voice came from behind.