A Young Woman's Heart

"Wanyan~" Mo Xueyao finished the popsicle, and suddenly felt even more listless. "How about we rest for a day tomorrow and go back?"

"Ah."

"Phew, speaking of which, we can finally live in our newly renovated home!"

"Hmm." Li Wanyan raised the corners of her mouth slightly, turned her head to look at her, and asked, "Are you homesick?"

"Well, just a tiny bit." She pinched her fingers to indicate that it really was just a tiny bit. "The important thing is that we're back now, and we can finally have air conditioning! It's right on one of the hottest days."

"Ah."

"Take some corn with you when you go back. The corn by the sea seems to taste better than the corn you usually buy."

"Ok."

"Ugh—ah—is summer really over yet? It's still so hot."

"The beginning of autumn has already passed."

"It doesn't feel like autumn at all."

"We'll have to wait another month."

"It's been a long time."

"Very soon."

"Really?" She suddenly quickened her pace, and even though she was sweating profusely, she still put her elbow on Li Wanyan's shoulder. "Ah—it's good to be home. It's too isolated here. There's nowhere to buy anything good to eat. I miss those alleyway stalls. In the summer, they should sell iced mung bean soup, right? Oh right, there are often cold noodles sold near our park in the evenings. Wanyan, have you ever tried them?"

"I've seen it, but I've never eaten it."

"I'll take you to eat it when we get back! It's absolutely amazing in the summer~ Add lots of vinegar and a little of those colorful chili sauces, it's sour and spicy, so refreshing." Mo Xueyao said, her mouth practically watering. "Tsk, I really want to eat it, I'll eat it as soon as we get back!"

"it is good."

"And some even add roasted gluten, which is twice as delicious as wheat gluten!"

"I've eaten roasted gluten."

Did you buy it from outside?

"...When I went to offer incense at Tianzhu Temple, I ate vegetarian food with my mother."

"Oh, I've eaten there too. That's where I first tasted roasted gluten! Ever since then, I've added it to every dish I see that has roasted gluten."

Li Wanyan smiled and nodded, brushing back the strands of hair that were stuck to her forehead with sweat: "We've arrived."

Ren Wenkai's home is on this hillside.

There are several mountains on the island, and the school is located on the highest one.

This one is much shorter, and the uphill road isn't steep, but it's not even paved with gravel; it's just a primitive dirt road.

The soft dirt road actually made my feet feel much lighter when I stepped on it.

Before Mo Xueyao could even find out which building Ren Wenkai lived in, she saw the boy barefoot, lying on the dirt road playing marbles with someone.

She was so engrossed in her work that she didn't even notice their arrival.

The other child playing with him looked unfamiliar; they must have been a kid who didn't attend summer tutoring classes.

Mo Xueyao gave Li Wanyan a look, and the latter understood and slowed down, gradually approaching the chubby boy with her.

"Cough, umm—" After getting closer, she cleared her throat forcefully. Ren Wenkai had just knocked someone else's marble into a dent and was raising his arms and shouting.

"I won! It's mine!"

"Ren Wenkai." She suppressed a laugh, trying to keep her tone as calm as possible.

He turned around in a panic, like a mouse caught by a cat.

The excited expression on his face vanished instantly.

It's even more amazing than Sichuan opera face-changing!

He couldn't even utter a single word, "teacher," as if he had become mute in that instant.

"Um, Ren Wenkai, have you done your summer homework?"

"Uh……"

"Have you written it yet?"

"I wrote it." His voice was very soft, as if it were buried in the soil and coming out muffledly from below.

Everyone has been a student before, and Mo Xueyao could tell at a glance that the boy was feeling guilty. However, she didn't expose him, but instead pressed on, asking, "Where are you?"

"At home..."

"Okay, take us to your house so we can check your homework and see how much you've done."

"Uh—" His feet seemed rooted to the spot and wouldn't move.

"What's wrong? Can't you move?"

"can……"

"Then lead the way!" Mo Xueyao's tone was light and cheerful. It was quite a strange feeling to go from being the oppressed to being the oppressed.

He hesitated for a long time, but finally gave in under the gazes of both Mo Xueyao and Li Wanyan.

They were just moving very slowly, as if they were stalling for time.

This made her find it somewhat amusing.

Since it's going to be discovered eventually anyway, there's no point in delaying it.

Is it really better to be discovered even if it takes a minute longer?

"Hurry up, hurry up," she urged with a mischievous grin.

But it was only about a hundred meters, and even at a slow pace, it wouldn't take long before they arrived at Ren Wenkai's house.

This is a rural courtyard. Entering through the main gate, there are two two-story buildings on both sides, and at the end is a one-story building, which looks like a warehouse or chicken coop.

The yard wasn't paved with cement; it was just a dirt path. The corners that weren't frequently visited were overgrown with weeds and wildflowers.

A large white dog wagged its tail to greet its young master. After coming up, it curiously circled around Mo Xueyao and Li Wanyan, sniffing their scent.

"You are... Ren Wenkai's grandmother, right?" Mo Xueyao asked uncertainly, looking at the old woman who was rushing over to greet her.

Yes, yes.

"Oh, we just came to check if Ren Wenkai has done his homework these past few days and to see how he's doing with his studies."

"Okay, okay, Kai! Take out your homework!" Grandma shouted at Ren Wenkai with a stern face—in her Mandarin full of local accent.

"Go get it." Li Wanyan bent down, gently patted his head, and smiled softly.

Ren Wenkai was startled and almost stumbled while walking.

"Grandma Ren Wenkai, how is Ren Wenkai doing at home? Is he studying?"

"He just plays all day at home, I've never seen him pick up a pen." The tone sounded like someone who was extremely disappointed in his son.

"We need to keep a close eye on him; his exam scores are absolutely appalling."

"Sigh, I want to take care of it too, but I'm busy every day. I can't help it. I have to go weave fishing nets later."

Ren Wenkai hesitated for a long time before finally taking out his homework.

One is for Chinese language, and the other is for mathematics.

As for English.

Well, anyway, no English teacher is coming.

Mo Xueyao guessed that the kid probably hadn't uttered a single word.

They might not even have written their own name on the title page.

After all, it's only been a few days since the holiday started, so it's not appropriate to say too much.

Li Wanyan opened her math workbook. The first page was quite well-written, showing that she had put in a lot of effort.

But the later pages felt perfunctory, with large sections left blank and only a few multiple-choice questions written on them.

And it was filled in randomly.

But at least it was written.

"Why are you only doing math problems? You've only done two Chinese problems, and it's been several days already. At this rate, you'll never finish!" Mo Xueyao complained. "Aren't you afraid of me? You're not going to do Chinese, are you?"

Ren Wenkai scratched his head, not daring to speak.

Actually, it's probably because math characters are easier to write, unlike Chinese characters which have so many strokes...

Li Wanyan squatted down on the rattan chair next to her, placing the homework on it: "The first page is well written. You should be just as careful with the rest. If you write carefully, you can get a lot right, right? But there's a serious mistake here. It's not that you miscalculated, but that your logic is wrong. Tell me about it first..."

Mo Xueyao stood to the side, feeling as if she, as a Chinese teacher, was not that important.

……

Chapter Seventy-Four: Information Barrier

The sun was shining brightly outside the window. Mo Xueyao was dressed very lightly and sat by the French windows with her legs crossed.

With both the ceiling fan and the floor fan blowing at the same time, the slightly warm air barely kept her from sweating.

Even the slightest movement will cause you to sweat profusely.

She had already gotten up, but she was still sleepy.

At this moment, I did nothing but squint at the sea.

She was leaving tomorrow, and she felt she could just sit there and watch all day.

—So that the beauty of this blue sea and clear sky can be firmly imprinted in my mind.

The teaching materials I brought are not intended to be taken away; they have been neatly stacked on the table for the teachers who will actually come here to teach later.

She suddenly straightened her legs, probably because they were a little numb from being upturned, and her smooth soles arched, her pink toenails glistening like jewels in the sunlight.

Underneath her thin tank top, her large movements revealed glimpses of her fair and delicate skin.