A Young Woman's Heart

Just like someone who dares to step on a cockroach doesn't necessarily like to hold a cockroach close to their face and stare at it, right?

Only these few audacious little brats are so unafraid of getting dirty.

That's why they say a newborn calf is not afraid of a tiger.

"Where should I put it?" Duan Xingyu scratched his head. Mo Xueyao suspected that the kid had touched a mouse and hadn't washed his hands.

"A toilet will do. The kind of toilets in schools won't get clogged."

"oh oh--"

"You guys hurry up! Right now..." Just then, the bell rang for class, and Mo Xueyao immediately changed her mind, "The bell has already rung, hurry up, don't waste time!"

"I understand!"

The mischievous children put down their brooms, happily joined forces, carried the iron bucket, and ran off into the distance.

Do they think that, given a legitimate reason, even missing a few minutes of class is a good thing?

Mo Xueyao waited a little longer before writing down the new words and phrases for the dictation test on the blackboard.

Actually, it's not really 'new' anymore, since it's all stuff taught in third grade.

This dictation is just for review and reinforcement.

"Look carefully, all the words for this dictation are in here. If anyone still has several words left blank or can't write them, you'll have to do it ten times, just like we agreed last time." Mo Xueyao threw down the chalk, clapped her hands, and banged on the blackboard. "If there are any words you're not good at, hurry up and memorize them now!"

Her handwriting was quite large, which was perfect for writing on the blackboard so that the students could see it clearly, with each stroke distinct.

Moreover, because a lot of force is used, it is easy to see where the strokes need to be horizontal, vertical, or curved.

Once the three boys were finally seated and rested for a while, she erased the chalk writing on the blackboard and began dictation.

Today's noisy 'pre-class activities' have come to an end.

Perhaps because I had a good commotion with the students, everyone listened exceptionally attentively in today's Chinese class. After the dictation, we even had a lesson that would normally take a full class period to complete.

"Goodbye, teacher!" The students waved goodbye as get out of class ended.

"Bye-Bye!"

Mo Xueyao grabbed the presentation slides with one hand, waved casually, and left the students with only her retreating figure.

"I think Teacher Mo is very handsome too."

"Yes, even though she's a woman."

"What do you know? That's called being cool."

"Ha, Duan Xingyu, you think you know something now?"

A few words of the students' conversation reached Mo Xueyao's ears, making her secretly smile.

For a teacher, being admired by students is certainly a very happy thing.

Back in the office, Hua Yinyin moved the small electric fan that had been assigned to her and put it directly in front of her face, blowing it "whoosh, whoosh."

“My mom says that if an electric fan blows in your face, you’ll get facial paralysis,” Mo Xueyao said, giving her a lazy sidelong glance.

"Did Wanyan have too many electric fans blowing on her face when she was a child?"

As they were chatting, Li Wanyan suddenly walked in, startling Hua Yinyin, who quickly changed the subject: "Little Yaoyao, how was class today?"

"It's alright."

"I noticed your students were quite noisy, running around with buckets of water. What were they doing? I think they were in class by then?"

"There's a brat..."

"Is it Ren Wenkai?" Wang Jiale, who was teaching English to fourth graders in the next class, immediately asked.

"Ah, right, it was him. He caught a mouse in his mousetrap at home and insisted on bringing it to school to show off. When he opened the trap, the mouse was running all over the classroom. It took him a long time to catch it."

Where are the mice?

"They drowned and were thrown down the drain."

"Could it be that she didn't drown and is just pretending to be dead?" Hua Yinyin squinted with a mischievous smile. "Maybe she'll suddenly pop out when she goes to the toilet later?"

"Ugh—!" Wang Jiale's face immediately scrunched up. "Yinyin, don't be so disgusting!"

"Don't worry, even if I have to crawl out, I'll crawl out of the men's restroom." Mo Xueyao picked up a small fan from her desk and shook it. "Ahhh—I'm so sleepy. Anyone in the office during the third period, remember to call me. I'm going to take a nap... I stayed up too late last night eating late-night snacks and looking at the stars..."

……

Chapter Forty-Six: The Pure Evil of Children

The sea breeze blows.

The waves crash.

But it remains hot on the island.

noon.

The indoor sports stadium is at its noisiest at this time.

Even those who aren't there to exercise will come and join in the fun.

Mo Xueyao had been staring at Song Shanyan for quite some time.

She squatted there, observing the ants walking along the corner of the wall, and then tried to find ways to stop them.

Or you could place an eraser in the middle, or put a piece of candy that has fallen on the ground, and then take it away when many ants come by.

I would also try to crush an ant that was much larger than my companions with the cap of a marker.

"Song Shanyan!" Mo Xueyao finally couldn't help but call out, "What are you doing here all by yourself? Why don't you go play with the others?"

Although she was a third-year student, she was the first person I greeted, so I must still remember her.

Moreover, she was also a boarding student, so I often ran into her even after school.

“Teacher?” she looked up and said in an innocent tone, “I’m playing with these ants.”

"It's dirty, don't touch it."

"Yeah! I use things I don't need anymore. I picked up this eraser from the ground, and the marker ran out of ink." She looked up at Mo Xueyao, then looked down again. "When I'm bored at home, I play with ants."

Children are always full of curiosity about the world.

Although their curiosity always comes at the cost of harming some creatures.

But there's nothing we can do about it; humans are at the top of the food chain, after all.

Do you often play this game at home?

"Yeah, when I'm bored, I play around with things like burning newspapers or flooding them with water."

Mo Xueyao wanted to tell her that these were all lives and should not be killed indiscriminately.

But thinking back, I realized I used to do that all the time when I was little, and the adults never said anything to me.

After all, this is really just a game.

To spout grand principles would seem overly pedantic and hypocritical.

So Mo Xueyao didn't say anything, but just told her not to get bitten by the ants.

"Has the teacher been bitten too?"

"Yes."

"Me too! It swells up for a day or two after I get bitten, but I don't usually get bitten."

Mo Xueyao smiled and said, "You've played with so many ants, do you know why there are so many ants when it's about to rain?"

"I know! Because we're moving!"

"That's right, we move from lower to higher ground, but we don't move every time—if we feel that rainwater won't get in, we won't move."

"Yes, I know that!" Song Shanyan couldn't wait to share her observations. "I found that if I wash the path the ants have taken with water, they seem to have no idea how to get back."

"Because the pheromones left behind have disappeared, it doesn't mean we can't go back, it just means we'll waste some time."

"Oh—has the teacher ever seen a queen ant?"

"I think... I've met him before."

"I see them all the time! I find ant societies very interesting. I wish I could raise ants."

"Why keep it? To observe it?"

"Yes, it feels like being a god!" Song Shanyan said excitedly. "This way, we can see how the ants will save themselves if we fill the nest with water."

Mo Xueyao sighed helplessly, gently rubbed her head, and changed the subject: "Your hair is so oily! Haven't you washed it in days? Girls can't be unhygienic."

"Just two more days..." Song Shanyan scratched her head a little embarrassedly, "Washing my hair is too much trouble."

“But you sweat a lot in the summer, so you definitely need to wash your hair.” Mo Xueyao patted her shoulder. “Wash your hair properly today, or it will smell bad.”

"Okay, Teacher Mo."

Mo Xueyao stood up and scanned the gymnasium to see if there were any students playing alone.

Being alone often means being excluded from the group.

Especially for young children who are at an age where they really need friends.

If there are friends around, they probably won't choose to be alone.

Adults can tolerate loneliness, but most children cannot.

By the window diagonally opposite, boys of different ages, around seven or eight years old, were gathered together, making a racket and shouting something I couldn't quite make out.

From afar, Mo Xue could see these people poking at a half-dead toad with twigs or pencils.

Li Wanyan walked over faster than her, and the group of noisy brats scattered like birds.

And that toad, I don't know which little brat took a knife and chopped off half of its head.

Although he is still alive, he clearly won't live much longer.

"What's going on? What's happening?" Mo Xueyao asked Li Wanyan, puzzled.