A Young Woman's Heart

Tomorrow is the official start of the senior year of high school, and there are still many things I need to pack.

The sun in the sky was still shining brightly, as radiant as the smiles of the new students.

Three years is both a long and a short time.

When I first entered university, I always felt that it would be a long time before I faced the pressure of the college entrance examination.

Sometimes, even Mo Xueyao hates these kinds of exams.

But upon closer reflection, this is indeed one of the fairest things that has ever happened in life.

Once you enter the workforce, there's probably nothing fairer than the college entrance exam.

It can never be absolutely fair.

But everything needs to be compared.

Even walking in the shade by the wall, Mo Xueyao still felt hot under the midday sun.

Li Wanyan walked with her.

Neither of them spoke, but when they were almost at the fruit shop, they both glanced at the convenience store at the same time.

Li Wanyan's mother is not here.

Because she works the night shift, she's basically sleeping right now.

Chen Cheng rides his electric scooter every day and had already arrived long ago.

Right now, he's holding Zhuang Lianlian in his arms, looking all sweet and affectionate.

At first, Mo Xueyao thought he would get tired of her quickly, but so much time has passed and their relationship has only gotten better.

Perhaps she underestimated Chen Cheng.

He may have had many girlfriends before, but now, just like now, he truly only loves Zhuang Lianlian.

"Tsk."

Mo Xueyao couldn't help but smack her lips.

She recalled how, back in junior high school, she would always feel a little envious of couples like that.

She always imagined that one day she would have a girl she liked, and be held in her arms.

But all of that is like a distant dream from a past life.

Even if there is a future, I might still be the one being held in someone else's arms.

Even after so much time has passed, she still can't accept it.

So let's wait until later to talk about it.

Perhaps Mr. Xue could accept it...

Hmm... but being hugged by Mr. Xue probably doesn't feel like being a couple?

They're at most like brothers.

The fruit shop was neither busy nor empty. My mother was making lunch, and my father was smoking and drinking.

Strangely, he was all alone.

In Mo Xueyao's memory, it was rare for her father to drink alone.

"Dad, what's wrong? You've been drinking all by yourself today? And it's baijiu."

"It's nothing," the father said with a smile, shaking his head, his expression somewhat bitter.

"Tell me!" Mo Xueyao always pressed her father for answers.

The father lit a cigarette, leaned back slightly as if he were about to fall asleep, and sighed softly, "Ha, it's nothing. It's just that after so many years, I haven't accomplished much. I have too many regrets."

"Pshaw, if there were no regrets in life, would it even be called life?"

"Go away, you brat, don't try to lecture me!" The father waved his hand as if shooing away a fly.

Mo Xueyao finally realized he was drunk: "Alright, alright, you're so drunk, what are we going to do about business this afternoon?"

"You can't rest when you're doing business, so let's take a break today since it's a rare treat..."

"Tch—do you really think it'll work?"

The father tilted his head, changing the subject, his fingers gripping the cigarette butt, oblivious to the near burn he was about to receive. "So, senior year, are you ready?"

"what?"

"Sigh, senior year of high school is tough, do you think your dad doesn't know that?"

"...It is essential to read this."

"Hang in there, everything will pass."

Mo Xueyao rolled her eyes and stuffed a fallen grape into her father's mouth: "You should keep saying that to yourself!!"

……

Chapter Eight: Playing the Piano and Reflecting

"Beep-da".

Li Wanyan pressed the air conditioner remote control, and the fan blades slowly closed with a sound.

"What's wrong?" Mo Xueyao asked, looking puzzled, as she lay on her desk.

The desk lamp in front of her was on, casting its gentle orange light onto the books.

What was opened was not a textbook, but a small notebook for doodling.

The drawing on it was something she probably couldn't even understand herself; it was simply a way of venting her feelings.

It's raining outside.

"Oh—" Mo Xueyao immediately understood what she meant.

Air conditioning is comfortable, but it consumes a lot of electricity. You may be able to afford to buy it, but you may not be able to afford to use it.

Now that it's cool outside, there's no need to keep it on. Sometimes, the natural breeze from the window is more comfortable.

Mo Xueyao and Li Wanyan opened the windows one on each side, and the damp steam immediately filled the room.

The rain pounded against the simple cement awning, making a loud noise.

The light from the streetlights was also clouded by the rain, and the wind outside the window suddenly picked up, causing the sketchbook on the table to rustle and turn on its own.

"Phew—it's so refreshing!" Mo Xueyao almost collapsed.

"Go to sleep if you're tired."

It's only a little past seven o'clock now; the two of them have just finished dinner and taken a shower.

Even after using a hairdryer, Mo Xueyao's hair was still somewhat damp.

"I'm not sleepy, I just feel like I don't know what to do."

"Hmm?" Li Wanyan didn't quite understand. She turned her head slightly and looked at Yi with her gentle eyes, which were like hidden moonlight.

"There will be much less time to just sit around daydreaming like this in the future, right? My current state is probably like—stealing half a day of leisure—and taking the opportunity to contemplate life." Mo Xueyao pouted and rested her chin on the back of her hand.

What kind of life should we contemplate?

"Thinking...thinking...um...I say, Wanyan, what do you think? Should we recruit a few more people to the Snow Music Ensemble? Freshmen or sophomores are fine. Oh, and maybe we can bring Yu Shu's friends in too? Perhaps some of her classmates are close to her and interested in music?"

Li Wanyan stared into Mo Xueyao's eyes, and after confirming that her blue pupils were not joking at all, she gently shook her head: "Do you think Yu Shu will have many friends?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Perhaps she doesn't have a single friend in her class."

"Huh... that can't be right? She's not ugly, she's actually quite pretty, no one would dislike her."

Li Wanyan gently smoothed Mo Xueyao's long hair that was draped over her back: "Unless someone is willing to approach her on their own initiative, like Yinyin."

"Uh...do I really have no friends? Should I ask around tomorrow?"

Li Wanyan flicked the back of her head without saying a word, but that was her answer.

Mo Xueyao grabbed Li Wanyan's hand and placed it in front of her: "Then—we still need to find other first- and second-year high school students to join the band, right? But wouldn't that be too many people? Uh… if we really graduate, Yu Shu will be all alone—"

"Senior year of high school is very busy, so it's okay if the band disbands."

"That's not how it's supposed to be... Well, we still hope it exists, don't we? Speaking of which, it's amazing that our band has been kept on, even though the school bands are the ones who go to all the competitions. It seems like the school hasn't arranged many events for us so far."

The two of them suddenly fell silent, with only the sound of wind and rain outside the window.

Mo Xueyao suddenly stood up, her head almost hitting the bed board, which startled her so much that she instinctively shrank her neck.

If Li Wanyan had stood up like that, she would have already bumped into something.

She opened the black keyboard bag, took out the keyboard, carried it under the bed, and moved it to the desk.

Generally, a piano stand would be better, but the piano stand was already folded up and she was too lazy to unfold it again.

If you don't fold it properly at night and forget to bring it the next day, that would be a huge hassle.

She plugged in the piano, and the cool breeze from the window ruffled a few strands of her hair.

Perhaps it's because I've been practicing for so long, but I always feel a sense of peace when I sit in front of my own piano.

When I'm bored, I'll take it out and play some random tunes.

When I don't know what to do, the first thing I always think of is playing the piano.

My thoughts always resonate with the sound of the piano. Occasionally, when I'm out without my piano, I hear piano music playing on the street, and my hands will move involuntarily, making playing motions.

"Hmm hmm hmm hmm..." When she plays the piano, she doesn't really like to sing, but she likes to hum softly like this.

The melodious tune drifted out through the open window, but was blocked by the heavy rain, which was like a thick curtain.

"Hmm—how about we talk to Wen and ask her to help keep the Snow Music Band, and then after we graduate, we can help Yu Shu recruit some people to join. She can be the band's captain!"

“She might not have had the time then, and,” Li Wanyan paused, her gaze falling on her hands as she played the piano, “for her, the band itself wasn’t the important thing.”

“Hmm…” Mo Xueyao suddenly realized, “Oh right… but we can’t not graduate, can we? We can’t possibly repeat a year, can we? Ugh—I don’t want to repeat a year, I can’t wait for senior year to end.”