A Young Woman's Heart

"This is not good; they will end up spending a lot more money each month."

"Everyone in Yaoyao's family has the same personality; they don't like being polite."

"At the very least, we should be polite."

“That will only make them feel like strangers.” Li Wanyan handed the chopsticks to her mother. “Just accept it gladly and with a grateful heart. When I first came here, I wasn’t used to it either—they don’t even like it when friends say thank you to them.”

"What a lovely family," Pan Jiexiang sighed with emotion. "We're so lucky."

"Ah."

"By the way, Yan Yan, when you have time later, could you go to the post office and buy me some envelopes, letter paper, and stamps? Take this hundred yuan and buy a lot, maybe twenty or thirty sets. Keep the extras for yourself."

"I don't need it, I'll give you back the extra later."

Pan Jiexiang's wrinkles seemed to deepen at this moment: "Mmm, it smells so good. Your godmother's cooking skills are really good, much better than mine."

“Mom’s cooking is also delicious.” Li Wanyan disagreed with her, “When I cook the dishes I learned from you for others, they all say they are delicious.”

"Really? Then you can learn more from your godmother, and then your cooking will be even better than the two of us."

"Um……"

……

Chapter 81 Strolling through Yinshan Commercial Street

2001 8 Month 15 Day.

Summer vacation is finally down to its last two weeks.

Senior students at other key high schools have already started school.

However, most regular high schools are still not making any moves. The earliest one to start is about ten days earlier, while the majority, like Yukong, will start school on September 1st as usual.

But no matter what, there isn't much time left.

Mo Xueyao wasn't particularly melancholy, probably because she had already had a fulfilling summer vacation. On the contrary, she felt a bit bored during these few days of free time and couldn't help but start looking forward to the start of school.

After all, I won't see my classmates until the start of the school year.

The rain continued to fall relentlessly, as if the plum rain season had returned.

She felt like she hadn't seen the sun for many days.

It was still early, around 7 a.m., and some senior high school students could still be seen wearing their school uniforms in front of the bus stop.

The continuous rain had taken away most of the heat. In front of the platform, the wind blew without any shelter. At first, it felt refreshing, but after a while, it even felt a bit chilly.

"Achoo!" Mo Xueyao sneezed loudly, and very naturally took a napkin from Li Wanyan's pocket and blew her nose.

She wasn't wearing a skirt today, but rather a long-sleeved tracksuit.

We wear school uniforms to school, and when it's hot, we wear skirts. When it's really cold, we wrap ourselves in thick cotton-padded coats, so we rarely wear casual sportswear like this anymore.

Normally, the weather wouldn't have made her feel cold, but she must have slept very poorly last night and caught a cold this morning. She couldn't decide what dress to wear right away—the one her mother had prepared was clearly too thin for her today.

So I just wore this outfit.

It's been a long time since I've worn them, and I'm finally experiencing that long-lost feeling of looseness.

Li Wanyan, standing to the side, was wearing a dress that just went past her knees, but with the addition of long stockings—she hadn't worn them in the previous few days.

With students not having to go to school, buses that pass by many schools have become much emptier, with only a few scattered students and some commuters resting with their eyes closed.

"Knock knock." Mo Xueyao and Li Wanyan got into the car and dropped two coins in, making a crisp sound.

The driver didn't seem to have had enough sleep; he still had sleepy eyes and was yawning several times while gripping the gearshift with one hand.

"Wanyan, sit here!" Mo Xueyao walked quickly inside and waved to the seat in the middle of the two carriages—a seat that could fit two people.

The downside here is that there are no windows, but it's good enough to have a seat.

Although there weren't many people on the bus today, there weren't empty seats everywhere for people to choose from.

"Yay—ha—" She watched as Li Wanyan sat down beside her.

She stretched comfortably and said, "Wearing these clothes while riding in the car makes me feel like I'm back in junior high."

Li Wanyan nodded with a relaxed expression, then offered the hot soy milk she had just taken a sip of to her lips.

Mo Xueyao glanced at the straw and shook her head: "No, I have a cold, I'll infect you later."

"I can't drink the rest."

“Okay.” Mo Xueyao took it naturally, gripped the bag tightly, bit down on the straw, and took a few sips every now and then.

The way he looked didn't seem to be drinking soy milk; it looked more like he was drinking alcohol.

"Let's go shopping at Yinshan Commercial Street today. School starts soon, so we need to buy new things, right? I happen to have some points that I can exchange for vouchers that can be used at certain stores." Mo Xueyao finally finished the soy milk in the bag, hooked it with one hand, gently swayed with the carriage, and sniffed as she spoke.

"it is good."

"By the way, your mother's back. Do you want to buy her a gift? Or maybe buy her something handmade and make it into a present? Although it might be a little late..."

"We'll see later."

"Hmm—something more practical would probably be better..."

The two chatted casually, their bodies swaying with the bus.

The roads weren't too congested, but there were a lot of traffic lights.

This time, the two did not get off near the fruit shop, but instead got off at the next stop near Yinshan Commercial Street.

The two of them each held up an umbrella to shield themselves from the fine rain falling from the sky.

Yinshan Commercial Street was rather deserted at the moment, with many shops having just opened. A young man on a bicycle rang his bell as he passed the two people. His basket was filled with all kinds of breakfast items, and even the handlebars were covered with them. Clearly, he was delivering meals to the shop owners on the commercial street.

Around noon, you'll see many people riding in to deliver boxed lunches.

They usually won't stop them, but if it's particularly busy inside, the security guards will let them park outside and go inside to deliver the food.

Some of these delivery guys are employees of a restaurant, while others are errand runners. Even if they don't advertise much, the boss can always get their phone numbers. In fact, Mo Wenli has quite a few such phone numbers. Sometimes when he's too busy, he just calls and asks someone to deliver the food directly.

Even if my mother cooks, she doesn't always have time for it.

It wasn't a long walk, so the umbrella wasn't very wet.

Mo Xueyao shook it vigorously, and it was almost dry.

"Achoo!" She was about to speak when she couldn't help but sneeze again, and took out a tissue from Li Wanyan's pocket and wiped her face vigorously.

"Ugh—this cold is awful," Mo Xueyao said, her voice thick with a nasal tone. "Wanyan, do you still have a pen?"

"I still have the pen, but the refills are almost gone."

"Then let's go to a stationery store first... I want to buy a few new pens. My old pen case has fallen on the ground so many times, it's all rough and it feels really uncomfortable to hold."

Li Wanyan glanced at her sideways, but the latter was completely unaware that she had accidentally uttered a swear word.

Although they have toned it down quite a bit now, they still occasionally blurt out one or two words.

It's not actually an insult; it's just a modal particle.

The shops on Yinshan Commercial Street are not arranged in a very regular way.

Stationery stores aren't all in the same area; they're always some distance apart, so you have to find them yourself.

Some stores sell all kinds of brands, some are specialty stores, and some sell imported stationery—the kind where a single ballpoint pen costs ten yuan. Just looking at the price tag, Mo Xueyao had no desire to go in.

"Is the management office of the shopping street open yet... Hmm, it seems so."

This is the first thing Mo Xueyao needs to do: exchange her points for some coupons.

The two exchanged for a 'large denomination' coupon. Li Wanyan got a 15-yuan voucher from several handicraft shops, while Mo Xueyao got an 80% discount coupon from Yinguang Stationery Store.

"Yinguang... his family should sell book covers, right?"

"Yes," Li Wanyan answered confidently.

Yinguang Stationery Store is next to a flower shop, and on the other side is a rice cake shop.

Both have a light, refreshing fragrance that is not at all cloying.

"Hey, they sell hot rice cakes here." Mo Xueyao slowed her pace. "Wanyan, look at that, how about those big pieces of rice cake?"

"Aren't you full?" she asked casually, turning her head slightly.

"Uh, I'd like to try some... a palm-sized rice cake." Mo Xueyao said, taking two steps forward. "Boss! How much are these pieces of rice cake?"

"One yuan a piece." That sounds a bit awkward.

What flavor does it taste like?

"It has no taste," the owner laughed. "It's just freshly steamed and cut large pieces of rice cake. I can roll it in white or brown sugar for you, or you can have chili powder or pepper powder if you want."

"Um, can you cut it in half?"

"no problem."

"Then let's split it in half. One half should have white sugar, and the other half... um... sweet bean sauce, is that okay?" Mo Xueyao pointed to the bottles and jars of condiments next to her.

"Sure." The shopkeeper readily cut the rice cake into two pieces, then coated them with sugar and sweet bean sauce.

"Wanyan, which one do you want?"

“All of them…” Li Wanyan suddenly stopped what she was about to say and changed her words, “Sweet bean sauce.”

"Hey—I want to eat this..."

"Then why did you ask?"

"Hehe, cough, I'll have the candy, and you can give me a bite of yours!"

"it is good."

The rice cake contains a small amount of glutinous rice, but it is not sticky. It is soft and tender, with the natural sweetness of the ingredients.

"Hmm—the white sugar one is also delicious, Wanyan, would you like to try it?"

"Ah."

The two tasted each other's rice cakes, and then walked side by side into the Silver Light Stationery Store next door.