A Young Woman's Heart

He seems like a guy who doesn't really like talking to people.

If Mo Xueyao were here, she would definitely recognize him.

That's right, this is the boy who helped us yesterday—Duanmu Ji.

"What are you talking about with Teacher Qiu?" Zhou Yong sat down and filled a glass with warm water from the water dispenser in the corner. "Speaking of which, other clubs have so many people, how come our club only has so few people? As the president, you'd better think of a solution."

"What's the rush? Hey, I've got a big plan coming up," Gao Yuan said mysteriously.

"What action?" Zhou Yong asked, puzzled.

"Hehe, you'll find out later, kid! It's not confirmed yet."

"I'd like to see what kind of big fuss you can pull off. It can't be something like holding a photography exhibition at the school, can it?"

"Oh, this one is pretty good!"

Even Duanmu Ji couldn't help but roll his eyes at these words.

……

It's not uncommon for Gao Yuan to have dinner together as a family; what's rare is having dinner with only his family.

Because most dinners are for various other purposes, whether it's discussing business or building relationships, it's all about interests.

Most of the time, the father would take the whole family out for dinner, which was also a way to keep the mother from worrying.

Gao Yuan's mother is a full-time housewife, but she still seems to have endless things to do, busy from morning till night.

However, at least half of the daytime hours must have been spent in the beauty salon, right?

Today, Gao Yuan and his family of three had dinner together.

And because there were no other guests, it was just the three of them.

Even so, the three of them went to a high-end restaurant, the kind where waiters greeted them with smiles as they entered and exited. It was the kind of place that you could tell just by looking at the storefront that it wasn't a place that ordinary people could afford.

But for their family, it was as commonplace as going to a roadside snack shop in Shaxian.

"Gao Yuan, huh?" His parents were used to calling him by his full name. Just then, his father finished ordering the food, took a sip of beer, and asked, "How's your studies going lately?"

"Cough...it's alright." Gao Yuan stared awkwardly at the ceiling.

"It's about time to start preparing now; we'll send you abroad in your senior year of high school."

"Dad, do we really have to go abroad? Isn't life in China good enough?"

“Of course you can go to school in China, but with your grades, you can only get into an ordinary high school. I’ll send you abroad so you can study at a better school.”

"Won't you have trouble adjusting if you go there in your senior year of high school?"

"It's okay. After you go to senior year, you can start from the first year of high school again."

"Retaking the exam?"

"Yes, of course. All you have to do is learn English well." Gao Yuan's father picked up a piece of cold black fungus salad from the table. "Understand?"

“…I don’t want to go.” Gao Yuan rubbed the corner of her eye. “I still like my current classmates, and I still like the atmosphere in our class.”

"You'll naturally adapt to the new environment."

"But that's different. In this class, there are many of my classmates from junior high. By now, we're all best friends..."

All good things must come to an end.

Gao Yuan lowered his head and sighed silently.

Watching from the side, Gao Yuan's mother smiled and comforted him, "Maybe you can bring back a foreign girlfriend if you go abroad, isn't that great?"

"...I still prefer girls from our country, okay? Ah...I really don't want to go."

"What would it take for you to be willing to go?" the mother asked gently.

"Um... Dad, I need to talk to you about something."

"what's up?"

"Does your company have any vacant land? Just a small piece will do, a slightly out-of-the-way location is fine."

"What do you want to do?"

"Let's build a simple prefabricated house, the kind that our club designs ourselves."

Gao Yuan's father stroked his chin, seemingly considering the feasibility of the matter.

Do you still remember that tea plantation?

"Ah...the one our family contracted?"

"Well, to be precise, it should be the company, but I have no problem using a little bit of land at the foot of the mountain. The location is just a bit out of the way, what do you think?"

"No problem!"

"That's settled then. You have to study English hard. I'll have your tutor check your work every month. If you can't get over 90 on her tests—"

"Okay, okay—but Dad, you still have to pay for the materials and stuff."

"This is all small change, of course no problem."

"Hey! It's settled then. Being able to accomplish such a big thing before I go abroad will be quite fulfilling."

……

Chapter 100: The New Members of the Club

November 2nd, a sunny day.

Around six o'clock, although the sun had not yet fully risen, the sky was already quite bright.

The sky was cloudless, indicating that today would be a sunny day.

Mo Xueyao stopped her bike at the school gate, reached out and pushed the small gate, but found that she couldn't push it open.

In the past, at this time, although the main gate would be closed, the side gate should have been ajar.

Mo Xueyao reached her hand into the crack of the small door and touched the rusty padlock.

Normally, even when the door is locked, it's not completely locked, but today, this lock has completely locked the small door.

The door wasn't high; she could easily climb over it. But what about the bicycle?

"What time is it... It shouldn't be that early, right?" Without a watch, Mo Xueyao could only tiptoe to look towards the gatehouse, but because of the angle, she couldn't see the clock hanging on the wall inside.

"Security guard—are you there—?" Mo Xueyao shouted loudly.

There was no response, which was expected.

Looks like we'll just have to wait.

Mo Xueyao walked back to her bicycle and saw a man in a security guard uniform walking towards the school gate.

Unlike the previous goofy uncle, this should be a young man around thirty years old.

He had a scar on his face that almost crossed the sergeant's face, making him look particularly ferocious.

If he hadn't been wearing a security guard uniform, Mo Xueyao would have suspected he was one of those idle thugs on the street.

"Security guard... uncle?"

"Uncle? Me?" The security guard was taken aback and asked, pointing to himself.

"Ah...that's called...Big Brother?"

"Uh, call me whatever you want." Contrary to his appearance, he seemed surprisingly easygoing. "You want to go in, right? Wait a minute, I'll open the door."

As he spoke, he reached in with the key, fumbled around on the brass lock for a while, and then somewhat awkwardly opened it. He then removed the lock and pushed open the small door.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." He replied as he walked to the steps in front of the security booth, squatted down, and started eating the glutinous rice balls for breakfast.

That pose looks just like one of those petty thugs loitering on the street...

Well, you can't judge a book by its cover. He might just look like one on the surface, but he's probably a good person in reality.

After all, Yukong High School wouldn't hire petty thugs who could pose a danger to the students as security guards.

Yukong High School has the best school spirit among ordinary high schools, and even key high schools may not be able to compare with it. After all, even key high schools have bullying.

However, Yukong High School rarely has such students.

Even if there are students in the class with lower IQs than other students, or those with autism, they won't be deliberately bullied; at most, they'll just be distanced.

But emotional abuse is still much better than physical violence that directly affects the body.

This may also be related to the fact that there are more girls at Amakura High School.

The number of men and women has reached a balance, and theoretically, every boy should be able to find a friend—although the reality is often the opposite.

Mo Xueyao pushed her cart past the new security guard, who watched her figure gradually disappear from his sight before turning away.

“It’s so good to be a student…” he suddenly remarked with inexplicable emotion.

Li Wanyan had already arrived in the classroom.

"Xiao Yao, you're here." Now she would greet Mo Xueyao first, and the relationship between the two seemed to be gradually becoming closer.

"Hmm, looks like it'll be sunny today." Mo Xueyao stretched lazily. "I really want to sleep a little longer—"

"Then let's sleep a little longer and come back later. There's still plenty of time."

"The main problem is that if I don't get up early, I'm always worried that I'll be late."

"You should be able to time yourself when riding a bicycle."

"I'm afraid of unexpected situations... so I usually allow plenty of time to get to school in case of any unforeseen circumstances, and I don't like being in a rush."

"Then let's take a nap now."

"But the table is so hard..." Mo Xueyao muttered, lying on the table, "My arm will ache if I use it as a pillow..."

"Hmm...then you can wait for Hua Yinyin to come," Li Wanyan teased. "She'll definitely be happy to be your human cushion."