A Young Woman's Heart

"Waaah, why are you like this, Yaoyao! You don't want to drink the black tea, juice, or milk tonight?"

All of these were instant beverages, and she brought quite a lot with her.

"...Then, let's go together."

Although it only has three floors, it still feels like a lot of trouble.

Mo Xueyao didn't use the kettle to take a bath because it was too much trouble. In winter, there was no way to mix hot and cold water at home, and in summer, even if it rained, she didn't feel that cold.

After all, I've gotten used to it.

Besides, shouldn't the way to enjoy a shower be to just hold the showerhead and spray directly onto your face?

They even mixed in some hot water halfway through, and then poured it over my body little by little with a towel. It wasn't satisfying at all, was it?

Although the washroom is small, it is fully equipped, and if you feel stuffy, you can open the windows for ventilation.

Mo Xueyao adapted to this very well, after all, she had experienced much more difficult conditions, and not just for a year or two, but for more than a decade...

"Ugh... what a terrible bathroom! There's no bathtub, and no separate shower..."

"Not bad." Mo Xueyao came out wrapped in a bath towel, and glanced back at Hua Yinyin who had just walked in. "At least you're using a toilet, not a squat toilet, otherwise you'd be even less used to it."

"Squatting here feels so dirty, like a public toilet."

"...My house used to be like this, like a public toilet, I'm so sorry—" Mo Xueyao said sarcastically, pouting.

Mo Xueyao dried herself with a bath towel, changed into clean clothes, and wore a light summer dress as pajamas.

But Hua Yinyin's complaints never stopped:

"Ugh, I want to take a bath..."

I want to take a hot shower right away...

Mixing hot water is such a hassle...

"The cold water is so icy!"

"It's so crowded..."

"I feel like I'm about to hit the toilet if I move even slightly, ugh..."

"Little Yaoyao—are you there!"

Mo Xueyao finally replied, "What are you doing?"

"I think even public bathrooms are better than this."

"Alright, alright, stop complaining. It's good enough that we have it..." She shook her head helplessly, and sat down at the desk with her long hair, which was still a little damp even though she had wiped it with a towel.

I picked up the thermos that I had just filled with boiling water and made a cup of orange juice in a small, unbreakable enamel mug.

The juice was sweet with a hint of sourness, and Mo Xueyao had loved drinking it since she was a child—and still does now.

When I was little, I always tried to persuade my mother to buy me juice by saying it was cheaper than buying ready-made juice, but in a year, I would only buy one bag at most...

Even if she drinks it sparingly, she usually finishes it all in one or two months.

The rain intensified, and the 'drip-drip' sound became more frequent.

After a long while, Hua Yinyin finally came out of the bathroom looking a little dejected. She shook her hair, which was covered in water droplets, pouted unhappily, and took a small hairdryer to dry her hair at the door.

"It wasn't a pleasant wash at all..."

"You'll get used to it." Mo Xueyao took a sip of hot juice with great enjoyment, tilted her head to look out the window, and a gentle breeze blew by, lightly lifting her temples.

"Little Yaoyao, why are you so casual?"

"What do you mean 'whatever'... This is called being adaptable, okay? Besides, the environment isn't that bad."

Hua Yinyin rolled her eyes, threw the bath towel on the sofa, and bent down to put on her clothes.

Just then, there was a rapid knocking at the door.

"Who is it?" she asked nervously as she hurriedly pulled on her pants.

"It's me! Wang Jiale! Xiaoyao and Yinyin, are you both inside?"

"What else?" Hua Yinyin replied irritably.

"Aren't we going to do something tonight? It's the first night after all, and I'm so excited I can't sleep!"

"It's only a little past seven o'clock, it's unlikely you'll be able to sleep..." Mo Xueyao gently touched her cheek.

"Open the door!"

"Wait a minute!" Hua Yinyin finally put on her shirt. "I'm still getting dressed!"

"Oh—I want to see!"

"Lele, did you steal Yinyin's lines...?" Mo Xueyao asked, somewhat amused.

Hua Yinyin finally finished dressing and skipped and hopped to the door.

……

Chapter Seventeen: Golden Sunlight and Pebble Beach

"Whoosh—Boom—Thud—!!"

The waves surged in from afar, crashing heavily against the large rocks on the shore, then creating high sprays.

This huge reef has been worn smooth, yet it still stands firmly and steadfastly.

However, its back is still rough, with many small characters engraved on it. Only the deeply engraved ones and those engraved in recent years are still legible, while the rest are very blurry.

The golden sunlight, seemingly much brighter than that inland, slanted down as the rising sun slowly ascended over the coastline.

Mo Xueyao sat on a small rock on a beach full of pebbles.

Behind it is a towering cliff where the school is built.

Last night, Wang Jiale dragged Li Wanyan to their room for a "long talk all night long." At first, they talked about ghost stories, then about which ghost was the most interesting, and later they talked about their favorite types. Wang Jiale was even led astray, and later he and Hua Yinyin discussed what kind of girl they wanted to stick to all the time.

Mo Xueyao vaguely remembered falling asleep around 1 a.m., while the two of them were chatting enthusiastically until they finally drifted off to sleep just before dawn.

She got up at five in the morning to use the restroom, and suddenly felt less sleepy. So she changed into a gray-blue long dress, put on the sandals her mother had prepared for her, and quietly went out.

The island isn't small, but there are only a few roads.

The islanders' houses are mostly built next to the main road, and there are a few side roads, but they are all very obvious and lead to their respective homes.

Following the mountain road down, after only a few turns, we arrived at the beach behind the island.

Unfortunately, she didn't witness the sunrise – it was already getting light when she left home.

Standing alone on the beach, the feeling was surprisingly nice.

Although the waves were large, I felt relaxed and peaceful.

A few seabirds flew across the cloudless, azure sky. Mo Xueyao's pale blue eyes narrowed slightly. Although it was still the morning sun, it still felt a little dazzling to her.

She wiped away the tears that had welled up in her eyes due to a physiological reaction, and yawned widely: "I should have brought Dad's sunglasses... The sun at the beach seems especially strong..."

Last year, Mo Xueyao's eye color was more sky blue, but this year it has lightened considerably, and then there haven't been any further changes; it seems to have stabilized at this level.

This made her somewhat sensitive to sunlight.

"I wonder if the others are up yet." Mo Xueyao glanced at her wrist subconsciously, but then remembered that she hadn't brought her watch with her.

She stood up and took a few steps toward the sea.

The seawater gently washed over her ankles, much more so than when she faced the rocks.

What drew her to take a step was a slightly frosted, sea-blue stone lying among the pebbles.

Upon closer inspection, its color appears hazy and not translucent at all; judging from its appearance alone, it looks like a beautifully colored gummy candy.

She picked up the cold stone, washed the mud off it in the seawater, and held it up to the sunlight.

It's not very transparent, but light still passes through.

It has a frosted texture and feels very subtle to the touch.

I had never seen anything like this on Ye Wen's beach before—there were only all sorts of seashells there.

In contrast, there seemed to be very few seashells on this pebble beach.

A few of them were even cracked by the stones, and their colors weren't very nice either.

"What kind of stone is it? Is it a gemstone?" She shook the water droplets off the stone, stuffed it into her skirt pocket, and patted it gently.

Looking further, there seemed to be no similar stones on the beach. This one seemed to be extremely precious, which made Mo Xueyao feel as if she had found a treasure, and her mood instantly became cheerful.

Perhaps it's something extremely precious?

Upon closer inspection, one can also find some murky, mist-like substances inside, as well as some green threads that outline shapes of unknown meaning.

It's not only beautiful, but also has a unique aesthetic appeal.

"Nature's masterpiece..." she muttered to herself, happily stuffing the stone back into her pocket, intending to take it back and show it off to Hua Yinyin and the others.

Actually, sitting on a deserted beach for a long time can be quite boring.

The scenery before my eyes remained unchanged. While the horizon where the sea meets the sky was certainly breathtaking, I soon found myself sinking into an endless emptiness.

In junior high school, there was a book that our teacher required us to read: Robinson Crusoe. To survive alone on such an island, you really need a strong heart.

Even if you have a savage companion, but the two sides cannot communicate verbally, it's probably similar to having a large dog as a pet.

Mo Xueyao tilted her head, stretched, and walked back the way she came.

Although the road is also paved with gravel, it is different from the gravel of different sizes on the beach. These gravel stones are at least relatively uniform, and the road is relatively flat.

The advantage over dirt roads is that they are not too muddy on rainy days.

Actually, there are small shops on the island.

It looked no different from an ordinary house, except that there was a flag hanging at the door with the three large characters "General Store" embroidered on it.

It has a distinctly classical feel.

Several sealed wine jars, covered in dust, sat outside the grocery store, making one wonder if they hadn't been opened in a long time.