A Young Woman's Heart

……

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Lesson Preparation and Summer Homework

The rain has stopped, and the bright moon still shines over the island at night.

Mo Xueyao had just finished showering and was drying her hair when she came out.

The ceiling fan was turned up to its maximum, sending cool air to every corner of the room.

A few faint croaks could be heard – it seems there are ponds on the island too.

Under the cover of night, the cicadas began to sing their favorite songs again.

The crickets are their harmony, and the croaking of the frogs is their drumbeat.

"Knock knock." The tightly closed door was knocked on.

Ye Wen's voice came from outside the door: "Xiao Yao, it's your mother calling."

"Coming!" Mo Xueyao hurriedly pushed open the door, and Ye Wen immediately handed her her phone, while holding a large bowl in her other hand, filled with fries with ketchup.

"Here, these are the leftover fries from tonight. Xuan Anyi re-fried them. Let's have them as a midnight snack."

"Oh, okay—" Mo Xueyao took the fries, placed them on the desk, then stood by the French window, watching the tides rhythmically lapping against the shore, and brought her phone to her ear, "Hello—Mom?"

Every time she went on a long trip, her mother would call every few days. If Mo Xueyao didn't not have a cell phone, she probably would call three times a day...

She had heard her mother's voice a few days ago when she went out, and it didn't make her feel nostalgic at all. On the contrary, she felt a little embarrassed because Ye Wen was waiting at the door, and she hoped to hang up the phone as soon as possible.

"Yaoyao, how are you doing over there? Are you settling in well? Have you started teaching yet?"

"It's alright, classes have already started today."

"You have to teach properly in class, don't be so irresponsible. It's not easy for children in poor areas to go to school, you have to take responsibility."

"Do you even need to tell me..." Mo Xueyao couldn't help but roll her eyes.

One of the main reasons she disliked her mother calling was that the mother always gave her unnecessary and pointless instructions.

Little did she know, her mother was simply trying to find topics to chat with her about.

But as parents, it's not as easy to find topics to talk about as it is with friends, so we can only ask her about her recent situation and see if we can start a conversation.

However, there is a reason why Mo Xueyao doesn't like to answer her calls. This situation happens all the time, but it is especially serious when she is on the phone—that is, she always likes to lecture.

It's normal for parents to lecture, but if it happens too often, it can get tiresome.

"How do you wash your clothes over there?"

"Um... Wanyan washed it."

"Don't always let others do your laundry. Honestly, you make Yan Yan do everything. Is she your maid?"

"No, no... cough... she came to get it herself."

"Wash it yourself next time."

"I know, I know," Mo Xueyao replied perfunctorily.

In fact, she had no intention of listening to her mother at all.

Since Li Wanyan is helping with the washing, isn't it better not to do it yourself...?

She didn't let the other person do everything for her; sometimes, she would help Li Wanyan with some things.

Overall, Li Wanyan did more for her...

Mo Xueyao mainly felt that her relationship with her was already very good, and there was no need to be polite about these trivial matters.

"How's the food over there? Is there lots of seafood by the sea? Don't you get tired of eating seafood every day?"

"It's alright... I don't eat it at every meal."

"Maybe you haven't gotten tired of it yet, since it's just the beginning."

"That should be the case. Uh... I also ate a very big fish today."

"You ate all by yourself?"

"Of course not, we ate together."

Are the students coming too?

"Yes." Mo Xueyao turned her phone to the other side and opened the French windows a little to let more air into the room. "Is there anything else?"

This was actually a subtle way of reminding her mother that it was time to hang up.

However, sometimes the other person would pretend not to understand and continue asking questions: "It's so hot, did you and Yan Yan get heatstroke? Do you have electric fans at night over there? There shouldn't be air conditioning, right?"

"No heatstroke, there's a ceiling fan, no air conditioning." Mo Xueyao's answer became increasingly brief. She leaned half her body out of the window, letting the sea breeze and the sound of the waves soothe her slightly agitated heart, so as not to directly show her impatience.

"When you get there, don't forget to study. You'll be a senior in high school after the summer vacation, so don't let your grades drop because of teaching there..."

"Okay, okay!"

"You always complain that Mom is a nuisance. When Mom's gone, let's see who'll bother you then!"

"Tch, by the time you're gone, I'll be in my sixties or seventies, okay?"

"People age very quickly. Look at Grandma, her face is full of wrinkles all of a sudden."

"Oh--"

"Alright, alright, this is your homeroom teacher's phone after all. Otherwise, she'll run out of phone credit. Anyway, take care of yourself and don't always rely on Yan Yan to take care of you, understand?"

"I know—" Mo Xueyao drawled, just like the elementary school students she taught.

Perhaps when I was rambling on in class, they felt a little impatient.

"Okay, that's good. That's all then." After saying this, the mother on the other end didn't hang up immediately. Instead, she waited a few seconds to make sure Mo Xueyao had nothing more to say before hanging up.

"Phew, Wen, here's your phone." Mo Xueyao walked to the door and handed over the phone.

“Most people are the same when they’re young,” she remarked with a soft laugh.

"What?"

"It's nothing. Although you don't have class tomorrow, you should still get some rest early tonight. Oh, and remember to do your summer homework. I'll be checking it later."

"no problem."

After watching Ye Wen return to her room, Mo Xueyao closed the door.

The sound of running water could be heard coming from the bathroom; it was Hua Yinyin taking a shower.

Xuan An Yi's fries are the plump kind, and they're especially crispy. Even though they're double-fried, it doesn't affect their deliciousness.

They even thoughtfully stuck a few toothpicks inside, so you won't get your hands dirty while eating.

The night sky is azure blue.

The stars are numerous.

It would be even better if there was a skylight overhead.

"It smells so good! What's that smell?" Hua Yinyin, wrapped in a bath towel, twitched her delicate nose slightly and spotted the golden fries on the table within seconds. "I ate dinner early and I'm really hungry. When did Xiao Yaoyao steal these from the kitchen?"

"What do you mean 'stolen'..." Mo Xueyao glanced at her sideways with annoyance. "It was delivered by Awen. Auntie fried it again, so it's still hot."

"Hmm—" Hua Yinyin picked up a toothpick and deliberately chose a fries that hadn't been dipped in ketchup. "I feel that fries taste better without ketchup, that way they retain their original flavor."

"It's too dry if it's not moistened." Mo Xueyao opened her sixth-grade Chinese textbook and looked at the table of contents.

She was mainly looking at which articles to discuss first.

Generally speaking, it's best to start by learning classical Chinese poetry, as this knowledge is quite dense.

But studying classical Chinese poetry all the time can get boring, so it's necessary to intersperse it with other, relatively interesting articles.

She opened her notebook, which had the words "Sixth Grade" written on it, and wrote down the article she planned to talk about on Monday and some extracurricular knowledge.

For example, the author's life story, or the historical background of that era, etc.

Mo Xueyao obviously couldn't teach all six grades by herself, so Hua Yinyin is now teaching grades one, two, and three.

"Yinyin, how was your class today?"

"Hmm—I feel like a broken record." Hua Yinyin taught first-grade Chinese today. "When teaching pinyin, I kept repeating the most basic pinyin letters... It's so boring."

"It seems that the older students are better off, at least they can tell stories."

"Basic teaching is so incredibly boring," Hua Yinyin said, taking a packet of black tea from her desk drawer. "Little Yaoyao, would you like some?"

"Uh, I want to drink that juice."

"Okay, the cup?"

"Look, it's on the table."

Hua Yinyin opened the juice powder packet, poured it into Mo Xueyao's cup, then filled it with hot water, stirred it gently with a coffee spoon, and handed it to her: "Hmph, am I good?"

"Good good..."

After brewing her own black tea, she sat down comfortably in the chair.

"A vacuum-sealed bathrobe is so comfortable!"

"Hey, put your clothes on."

"Anyway, no one's coming in, so I don't want to wear it anymore."

"Can't you have some sense of responsibility as a teacher...?"

"She's just a child."

"Ugh—don't talk like that, it's giving me goosebumps." Mo Xueyao took a small sip of her still-hot juice, poked a fries with ketchup into her mouth with a toothpick, and squinted her eyes in enjoyment. "Mmm—to be able to eat fries in this rural area, it feels so wonderful."

"That's right, fries and black tea are simply divine!" Hua Yinyin nodded vigorously. "Xiao Yaoyao, have you thought about how to design the exam papers?"

"Exam papers...it's still early..."

"Actually, it's only a little over a month, right? Didn't Awen say that the exam would be on the last day of teaching, like a final exam for summer tutoring?" Hua Yinyin took a sip of black tea, sticking out her pink tongue from the heat. "It's better to think about it in advance, since whoever teaches should be the one to set the exam."

What will happen to the exam papers then?