A Young Woman's Heart

She wore the sea glass she had picked up that day around her neck. Although it wasn't pierced, Hua Yinyin still came up with a solution: she tied it with a slightly rougher rope, one with more friction, and then used a less rough red rope to bind the rope holding the sea glass, making a simple necklace.

At least half of the sea glass was obscured, but the hazy blue that was faintly visible only made it more beautiful.

"Bang!" The door was suddenly pushed open, bringing with it a wave of heat blowing in from outside.

And there's the salty, fishy smell of the sea.

"Little Yaoyao~ I brought roasted corn!"

"Oh, breakfast?"

"Let's leave it at that. Auntie and Wanyan didn't get up today, and Xiaoxue isn't here either. It was Chali and I who baked it. There's still a lot left; Awen got it from the farmers. Should we take some back later?"

“Okay.” This was exactly what Mo Xueyao wanted to hear.

"Since there was nothing to drink, I grabbed two cans of Coke from the fridge. These are the last ones," Hua Yinyin said, scattering the roasted corn wrapped in old newspaper and the two cans of Coke onto the table.

The cola can rolled down with a 'glug' sound, and Mo Xueyao quickly reached out to prevent it from falling.

Unlike bottled drinks, canned drinks can actually break if dropped on the ground...

"Be careful," she muttered, opening the bottle of Coke and taking a sip. She immediately let out a refreshing exhale. Even if her family could afford Coke, they would never allow her to drink it first thing in the morning without drinking water.

You can't even drink this stuff in the morning; if you really have to drink it, it has to be during a meal.

And if you drink it more than twice a week, you will definitely be scolded.

It's either expensive or unhealthy; there's always something to say.

Suddenly, she didn't feel so much looking forward to going back.

Although it's busy here, at least it's more free than when I was at home...

Of course, that's just a thought.

Hua Yinyin brought back four roasted corns, no wonder she couldn't hold them just now.

"Phew, it's so hot outside."

"It's only morning, but it'll be soon."

"What's coming soon?" Hua Yinyin asked in confusion, gently peeling back the newspaper.

"Autumn."

"Oh~ I feel like it's still early."

Beneath the newspaper were corn husks.

Roasting the corn leaves along with the corn prevents them from burning and also imparts a subtle, pleasant aroma.

The glutinous corn, without any seasoning, has a salty taste with every bite, perhaps because it is grown by the sea.

It's not too salty, just right, and very flavorful.

Like the watermelons by the sea, especially the yellow-fleshed ones, they are fresh, sweet, and slightly salty...

If they weren't so heavy, I would really like to bring more back with me.

However, space was limited. Besides corn, Mo Xueyao also wanted to bring back some of the dried fish that Hua Yinyin had bought last time, as these were the real local specialties.

—At least in most people's minds, this is definitely an essential part of the beach.

"Hmm, eh?" Hua Yinyin casually spread out the newspaper, using it as reading material while eating corn, and also to catch some corn crumbs. "Wow, Xiao Yaoyao! Look!"

"What—oh?" Mo Xueyao lazily turned her head, as if nothing was more attractive to her than the scenery outside the window. "Beijing won the bid to host the Olympics!"

"Huh? Really!? Didn't they say there was only a 40% success rate?"

"Yes, anyway, it was a success!"

"sharp……"

"Let me see... uh, it's news from last month."

"Ugh." Mo Xueyao rolled her eyes. "How come it took us so long to find out?"

"I asked you, didn't you hear it on the radio?"

"Hmm... there's only one music radio station I can find here, and I don't listen to it every day, it seems like it's only been running a few times."

There wasn't even a television set in the school, and newspapers weren't delivered there either, so there was practically no way to get news.

It's normal to be somewhat isolated from information.

And the key point is that no one is deliberately paying attention to these things.

"It arrived in our country in 2004?"

"No, no, it's 2008." Hua Yinyin shook her head. "2008 is still a long way off."

"2008—?" Mo Xueyao tilted her head, feeling that it was a long time ago.

It's only 2001 now, and there are still seven years until 2008.

For Mo Xueyao, who is not yet eighteen, seven years is a very long time.

Seven years ago, she was still in elementary school and was a child who was clueless about most things.

And seven years later?

Even if it's a five-year university, they've probably already graduated.

Thinking of this, she immediately lost interest.

"Pshaw, it's still a long way off."

"Shouldn't we be getting ready to start building the Olympic venues now?" Hua Yinyin's gaze lingered at the bottom of the newspaper before she turned the page.

News about the successful bid for the Olympics took up a lot of space, which Hua Yinyin could read to her heart's content.

Perhaps the most exciting thing is this feeling of being recognized by the world.

People in this era still yearn for recognition and to be liked by others, even to the point of compromising themselves to please people from other countries.

Perhaps this is an inevitable stage in the development of every country.

"By 2008, we should be able to travel on our own and go watch the Olympics!" Hua Yinyin exclaimed excitedly as she finished reading the report, propped herself up on the sofa, and leaned back.

We'll talk about it later.

"Go on, go on!"

"We don't even know if we'll still be familiar with each other by then," Mo Xueyao said with a wry smile, deliberately teasing her.

"Then we'll go to the same university!"

"Tsk..."

"Then we'll go to the Olympics together after graduation! It'll be amazing!"

"Who knows?" She shrugged. "Let's get the public order sorted out first..."

"Phew, what kind of things does Xiaoyao like to watch?"

"Uh... I don't really have a favorite sport. If I had to pick one, it would be... soccer?"

"Football now has the World Cup."

"Then, it's probably gymnastics."

"I like watching that too!"

Mo Xueyao glanced at her sideways, feeling that this girl wasn't looking at the technical movements, but rather at the beautiful body.

But this is normal, after all, gymnastics is meant to showcase the beauty of the human body.

"Let's tidy up our things later—" Mo Xueyao muttered while chewing on corn, "Otherwise, it'll be such a hassle to rush around tomorrow."

"I'll have to take the clothes I washed today home to wash."

"Oh, right, my clothes are still with Wanyan. She should have already hung them out to dry on the rooftop." Mo Xueyao shifted her body slightly, but then slumped back into the chair. "Never mind, I'll go get them when it's cooler tonight."

After finishing a corn cob, Hua Yinyin drank several sips of cola, burped, and comfortably put her legs up on the coffee table: "How many days are left in summer vacation?"

"It seems like we won't need to start school early this year."

"Really? I heard that in the past, senior high school students would start school half a month earlier."

"This year it might not be necessary, but it's only about half a month away anyway."

"Oh, right!" Hua Yinyin suddenly sat up, saying with great enthusiasm, "There are new first-year high school students this year!"

"Oh, yes."

"We should write a new song to welcome the new first-year high school students!"

"We'll talk about it when the school tells us to attend the welcoming ceremony."

"There are only two bands in total. Our band doesn't participate in any competitions anyway, so how could they not let us perform!"

Mo Xueyao rested her chin on her hand and glanced at her sideways: "Then you write it, anyway I can't write it."

"Tch, I never really expected anything from Xiaoyao anyway. Hmm... what kind of song should I come up with? Something like welcoming new students?"

"How tacky."

"I think so too... it's the scenery, or the people, or the story..."

"Whatever." Mo Xueyao remained nonchalant, having already picked up the second ear of corn.

Although it tastes good, chewing it for too long can make your cheeks hurt a bit because it's so chewy.

It's also a little sticky.

"Little Yaoyao is so cold, boohoo—" Hua Yinyin threw herself into her arms, then bit her tooth mark, "Mmm! Little Yaoyao's tastes better! It smells milky!"

Mo Xueyao drooped her eyelids and pinched her little face, saying, "I can't think of any songs to write."

"Just write, how's Yaoyao's heartbeat? Thump thump, soft and warm..."

She practically had a question mark written all over her face: "Is that a heartbeat you wrote?"

"Yes! You have a big heart!"

"Why don't you write something about the sea instead..."

"Ah, the sea~ you are the blue sea~"