A Young Woman's Heart

As the coastline recedes into the distance, a sense of powerlessness arises.

The ship beneath our feet has become the only land.

Apart from that, it was all seawater where one could not set foot.

She turned her head again and saw that the surging sea and dark clouds in front of her were merging together, seemingly spinning and twisting, as if they were about to swallow her and the boat together.

"Are you seasick?" Mr. Xue had walked up to her side without her noticing. Mo Xueyao turned her head and found Li Wanyan standing in the distance, silently watching her.

"No, I just felt like there weren't many people around here, so I just stayed here to see when the land would disappear."

"We're about to lose sight of it."

"Huh? I can't see anymore."

“Look closely, you can still see a little bit.” Mr. Xue’s brows were furrowed.

"It seems... a little bit?"

"Yes, it will disappear completely soon."

It felt like being surrounded by seawater; a sense of helplessness suddenly overwhelmed me.

Mr. Xue frowned even more deeply: "If this were not the sea, but the starry sky, then we would see the Earth receding into the distance."

“But we certainly won’t be able to experience it. However, when humanity actually enters the interstellar colonization era, will we feel even more lost?” Mo Xueyao thought of many science fiction novels she had read, in which interstellar travel was basically a standard feature in the setting.

However, current human technology is insufficient to even break through this 'basic setting'.

"I felt like I had been abandoned, lying in a coffin, drifting in the universe."

Mo Xueyao imagined the feeling and immediately got goosebumps all over her body. When she was on land, she longed for interstellar travel, but when she was sailing on the ocean and then imagined interstellar travel in a similar way, she found it a bit unbearable.

Moreover, there was no sound in the Milky Way, unlike the bustling atmosphere of the ocean.

She turned her head to look at Mr. Xue's furrowed brows, and was about to ask him something when she saw him suddenly open his mouth and spit out a "whoosh" towards the propeller at the stern.

……

Chapter Twelve: An Island Seemingly Isolated from the World

"Um... Xiaoxue... do you get seasick? You didn't seem to get seasick last time we went fishing?"

"I don't get seasick on small boats, only larger ones," Mr. Xue said, maintaining his elegant smile, then turned and vomited again, "Ugh—"

"That's strange. This ship is quite stable, and it's not that different from the land."

This time, Mr. Xue simply shook his head, too busy to answer Mo Xueyao—at least not until he finished vomiting.

Li Wanyan slowly walked over from a distance and handed him a wet wipe.

"Thank you." He smiled, as if he had been prepared, and took a bottle of mineral water from the outer pocket of the backpack he had been carrying on his back. He rinsed his mouth and then spat it out.

After repeating this process several times, the food residue in the mouth was finally cleaned.

Only at times like this did Mo Xueyao feel, more than ever before, that Mr. Xue was such a living, breathing person…

"Pfft, that's really strange."

"What's so strange?" He wiped his mouth with the wet wipe Li Wanyan handed him and asked with a smile, showing no embarrassment whatsoever.

"Xiaoxue gets seasick too."

"That's normal."

"But I always feel like you don't have any weaknesses."

These words surprised Mr. Xue, who then asked with a hint of seriousness, "Do you think I am omnipotent?"

"Hmm...that's about it?"

"How could that be? I'm just an ordinary person."

Mo Xueyao rolled her eyes: "If you're an ordinary person, then most people in this world wouldn't be able to live like human beings!"

Li Wanyan pursed her lips and gently raised the corners of her mouth: "Does Yaoyao feel nauseous?"

"Don't say it, don't say it. I didn't want to think about it until you mentioned it. But now that you've brought it up, I can't help but think of Xiaoxue from earlier... uh—" Mo Xueyao scratched her head. "Never mind, let's find somewhere else to get some fresh air?"

“Okay,” Mr. Xue said with a hearty laugh.

This time, the three of them went to the bow of the ship.

Through the transparent cabin, you can see the captain chatting with the teachers. There are many people standing here, including sailors and students who came with us.

Duanmu Ji leaned against the railing, one arm resting on his knee, his posture somewhat resembling that of a wandering swordsman in an illustration.

Coupled with his slightly disheveled hair, which was blown by the sea breeze, the flavor was even more intense.

"Hey, Xiao Ji, where's the rest?"

"Let's get some fresh air somewhere else." Duanmu Ji slightly raised his eyelids, completely different from his lively demeanor in the car just now, as if he were a different person. He spoke with a pretentious tone, and his eyes were particularly concerned about Mr. Xue.

It was like two rivals meeting.

Of course, Mr. Xue didn't feel that way at all. He sat down next to Duanmu Ji very casually and said without any hesitation, "I threw up at the stern just now and I feel much better. Do you want to throw up too?"

"Huh?" A mixture of surprise, astonishment, joy, and confusion flashed across Duanmu Ji's face, finally settling on bewilderment: "What do you mean?"

Are you sitting here because you're seasick?

"of course not."

"I see. When I was seasick just now, I just wanted to sit down, but I was afraid of throwing up on the boat, so I could only hold on to the railing as much as possible."

Mr. Xue's frankness prevented Duanmu Ji from making a mocking remark. He remained silent for a few seconds, then said in a strange tone, "I didn't expect you to get seasick too."

"Yes, this is a very normal physiological reaction," Mr. Xue replied with exceptional sincerity.

—It was as if Duanmu Ji would be abnormal if he didn't spit out a couple of mouthfuls.

This left him somewhat speechless.

As they were talking, Hua Yinyin walked over, leaning on the railing. Her face was pale and bloodless.

"Little Yaoyao..." She had barely uttered those words when she clutched her stomach in discomfort, arching her back like a shrimp about to be boiled.

"What's wrong?" Mo Xueyao didn't tease her, because she knew that Hua Yinyin was prone to motion sickness, so it was normal for her to get seasick.

It's at least easier to explain than Mr. Xue's reasoning.

Moreover, she had only been off the bus for a short time and hadn't recovered before boarding the ship, which must have intensified her discomfort.

"Are you seasick?" Mr. Xue asked with concern, slinging his backpack over his chest, opening the outermost pocket, and taking out a pack of wet wipes. "Here you go."

"What?" Hua Yinyin was in so much pain that she was no longer able to think straight, let alone keep up with Mr. Xue's advanced thought process.

"Just lean over the railing and vomit, then use this to wipe your mouth."

"Ugh—don't even mention that…I really feel like throwing up…"

Although Hua Yinyin had experienced motion sickness countless times and knew very well that she would feel much better after vomiting, her body's instinct made her very resistant to vomiting.

After all, vomiting until your teeth feel soft and your tongue feels sore is hardly a pleasant experience.

"You can go to the stern, where the wind blows backwards, so the vomit won't fly onto you," Mr. Xue shared his experience, his tone equally sincere.

"Hmm, Yinyin, don't push yourself. It's best to prepare in advance."

"Ugh... Yao... Yao... hold me up, I can't walk anymore..." Hua Yinyin covered her mouth with one hand and slowly walked towards the stern of the boat.

However, before they even reached the stern, but only the side of the boat, she couldn't help but open her mouth. At first, nothing came out, only a mouthful of bitter water. Then, like a tap running, she vomited uncontrollably.

"vomit--!!"

Mo Xueyao quickly closed her eyes, afraid that if she looked at too much, she would feel nauseous.

Li Wanyan was a little better, but she still glanced at her out of the corner of her eye.

Only Mr. Xue stood beside her without caring, gently patting her back. After she finished vomiting, he took out a bottle of cola from his bag to help her rinse her mouth.

—Although I didn't finish the bottled water, it still touched my mouth, so it's a bit dirty.

"Ah—much better..." Hua Yinyin clung to the railing, almost unable to stand. The vomit clinging to the ship's walls was washed away by the waves and disappeared instantly, as if nothing had ever been there.

"Haha, first time on a ship?" a young sailor sitting on a pile of cargo asked with a laugh.

He was shirtless, still sweating, and as soon as he spoke, his companions next to him laughed.

"It's not the first time... but... I'm prone to motion sickness..."

"It's normal to feel seasick today, because the weather at sea is bad and the waves are very rough!" another person said with a reassuring smile.

Mo Xueyao indeed felt the same way.

The journey of more than an hour became increasingly bumpy as it progressed, with dark clouds seemingly swirling around, as if trying to completely devour one's mind and spirit.

Finally, before the torrential rain started, the cargo ship arrived at a port that was even simpler than the previous one.

Or rather, it shouldn't be called a port, but rather a very rudimentary dock.

The group disembarked with their luggage and stepped onto the brown sand mixed with pebbles.

It felt like I was connected to the earth, and a sense of security welled up inside me, like the gentle comfort of a mother.

This is a fairly large island, and the nearest island is almost invisible. The leaden clouds and the gloomy sea merge together, making this place look like an abandoned land.

An island that seems to be isolated from the world.

"Alright, everyone, rest on the shore for a bit, then we'll head to our lodgings first, because it might start pouring rain soon!" Qiu Yi clapped his hands and shouted to the students.

Su Yuqing looked down and opened the leather bag she was carrying, which looked like the kind used by battlefield medics, and took out small bottles that were already filled with black liquid, handing them to each student.

"What's this?" Mo Xueyao asked, and before receiving an answer, she immediately uncorked the bottle, poured some into her mouth, and her face scrunched up from the sourness. "Ugh—ah—"

"It's vinegar. There's not much here, just a small sip. It'll make you feel better," Su Yuqing said gently with a smile. "Don't be afraid of the sourness, you must drink it. We still have a long way to go later."

"It hurts so much—" Hua Yinyin looked up at the sky.

Cha Li rested her head on Mr. Xue's shoulder, and placed her other hand on Xuan Anyi's neck: "Our morale seems to be low before the rural teaching support program has even started?"

Indeed, Mo Xueyao felt a little bit of regret.

But the thought that tutoring her students might help them catch up with the new material after the start of the new semester gave her a renewed sense of motivation.