A Young Woman's Heart

"A mixed stew of meat, containing pigeon, beef, mutton and pork."

"It smells so good, what seasonings did you put in it?"

"I didn't put anything in it, just a little tomato and lemon leaves, so it's sweet and sour."

Shi Haiming patted the small table placed by the door: "Come, come, you two sit down first, I'll bring you a drink to try!"

"What couple?!"

"Haha, I always see you two walking together. Oh my, Xiaoyao, did you find a boyfriend?"

Mo Xueyao sat on the folding table with droopy eyelids, grabbed a pair of chopsticks, and tapped the tabletop again and again: "What the hell are you thinking about?"

Li Wanyan knew Mo Xueyao's true secret, so she simply sat down with a smile, showing no emotional reaction to Shi Haiming's words.

"You've gained so much weight. Shouldn't you lose weight after working so hard?"

"Haha, I ate too much when I came back. I didn't get to eat much outside, so I had to treat myself when I got home, you know?"

"Hey, looks like you won't be able to mooch off rich women anymore." Mo Xueyao poked her chopsticks on the folding table with a 'thud' and said teasingly, "Even if you lose weight, you can't go back to being a gigolo."

"What gigolo? I'm self-reliant now, understand?" Shi Haiming suddenly held his breath, gripped the handle of the enamel cup with the hand that was holding the damp rag, quickly walked to the table and put it down, then placed a small bowl for each of them. "Actually, generally speaking, it tastes best when you eat directly from the cup and don't pour it out, because the freshest things settle at the bottom of the soup."

"Actually, we've already had dinner."

"It's alright, you guys eat first, I'll take care of anything you can't finish." Shi Haiming plopped down on the simple plastic chair, which seemed a little too fragile and cheap to support his weight.

"Thank you."

"You're too kind. Xiaoyao is my brother... uh, a very good friend, so there's no need to be so formal, haha. Anyway, business isn't great right now; we just opened today."

Has anyone eaten yet?

"Only one came, and it was taken away."

How much is one cup?

Five yuan.

"There's quite a lot of material, won't you lose money?"

"After deducting rent and utilities, I make about a dollar per serving, hehe. I put in more cheap meat, haha, don't worry."

"So if you make twenty a day, you'll only earn twenty yuan? You might as well work a regular job."

"It's alright, let's practice first, just in case there are too many people eating here." Shi Haiming swayed his body, and the plastic chair under his bottom creaked and groaned.

This made Mo Xueyao worry; what if the chair suddenly collapsed...?

"Oh my, it's been so long! You haven't changed at all, and you've even become more beautiful."

"Your last sentence was unnecessary," Mo Xueyao rolled her eyes. "Does that mean you have to say something smooth-talking every time you meet a girl?"

"This is the truth, and it's not a compliment!"

"Come on! Tell me—about what's been going on with you lately."

"It all started when I broke up with a beautiful woman..."

Mo Xueyao rolled her eyes dramatically, her disdain practically written all over her face.

……

Chapter Thirteen: Make the most of your time to sleep

"Come again next time! It's right next to your house! Haha, to be honest, I don't even know which neighborhood you live in, I only know it's near this Tesco."

"Tch, I'll take you to my house next time. It's 10:30, too late, I have to hurry back."

"Okay, okay, you seniors must be really busy."

"Of course! You, who don't go to school, have no idea how busy we are, we're exhausted..."

"Tsk tsk, I haven't had much free time either, have I?"

"Come on... Go home, go home, Wanyan, go home and sleep, I'm so sleepy, oh, I still need to take a shower... Can I skip the shower today?"

"No."

……

It probably rained last night.

The window under the bed and in front of the desk was open, letting in a breeze that lifted Mo Xueyao's clothes, revealing her clean and cute belly button.

She had kicked the blanket off halfway, but her upper body was still tightly wrapped up, as if she and her lower body were from different seasons.

In her dazed state, she felt both of her wrists being grabbed and pulled up forcefully.

"what……"

“Yaoyao—” Li Wanyan’s voice was tinged with helplessness, “Wake up, it’s already 6:30.”

"Ah—" This moment seemed to trigger some kind of defense mechanism in Mo Xueyao's brain. She suddenly sat up, her eyes wide open, as if she were sleepwalking, her pupils unfocused.

In her daze, she got out of bed and staggered into the bathroom.

I grabbed the wrong toothbrush and cup.

Li Wanyan wanted to remind her, but she was one step ahead and stuffed Li Wanyan's toothbrush into her mouth, shaking her head from side to side without realizing it.

—Yes, her hand holding the toothbrush didn't move at all.

Although she was very sleepy, she still managed to browse for three minutes.

She was still unconscious because she was washing her face with hot water.

We installed a solar water heater at home. As long as the sun was out yesterday or the day before, we can have hot water today. The only difference is whether it's hot or lukewarm.

When Li Wanyan saw that there was some face wash on her hair, she couldn't help but go into the bathroom to wipe it clean with a towel and comb her hair into a single ponytail.

Mo Xueyao waited for Li Wanyan to tie her hair, as was her habit, and then swayed back to her bedroom, where she haphazardly put on the clothes her mother would leave on her desk every night.

When we're in school, we wear school uniforms, but during holidays we wear our own casual clothes.

Perhaps my mother felt a bit cold today, because she added an extra pair of black over-the-knee socks compared to the past few days, providing a negligible increase in warmth.

After all, even if it's cold, it's not that cold, so it's actually just right.

"Haa—whoosh..." She yawned several more times, then suddenly stood up, her head almost hitting the bed. It wasn't that she stopped in time, but rather that she was just that tall.

There is reason to suspect that her father ordered the bunk bed according to her height.

Her over-the-knee socks weren't even at all, one was longer than the other, and her clothes were crooked, as if she had just rolled out of bed.

She walked to the door, her eyes, which had been wide open before, almost closed. Like a blind person, she groped her way open the door, bent down, and put on her little leather shoes.

She wouldn't make a mistake wearing this, because Li Wanyan's shoes were two sizes larger than hers.

"distant."

"Ok?"

Stand up straight.

"Oh……"

Her knee-high socks, which hadn't been fully pulled up, were straightened, and her crooked dress was also straightened. Although her expression was still dazed, she looked much more energetic than before.

Clothing can slightly change one's overall image.

As soon as she stepped out the door, she let out a big yawn. Li Wanyan behind her turned around and closed the door, followed by the sound of a key turning in the lock.

The door opposite was pushed open at that moment, and Yu Shu walked out with her schoolbag on her back.

Mo Xueyao then remembered something and mumbled with a lisp, "Huh... I think I forgot my schoolbag..."

"I'll take it for you," Li Wanyan said, handing the keyboard bag to Yi with one hand, while she herself carried two backpacks.

To be precise, one of them was being held in front.

"Hey, Haruka? You haven't gone to school yet today?"

"Ugh...so sleepy..."

"It's almost seven o'clock."

Actually, there was still about an hour before I was late, but that was during the morning rush hour, and nobody knew if there would be traffic jams on the road.

Mo Xueyao nodded and quickly started walking: "Then we have to hurry!"

"Yaoyao, be careful."

"Don't worry, you can see the stairs!" she said, even deliberately taking an extra step.

As soon as she stepped out of the building, she felt a refreshing breeze, which made her exclaim, "The feeling of autumn is getting stronger."

"Are you awake?" Li Wanyan asked abruptly, which seemed a bit strange at first glance.

"Half-asleep?" Mo Xueyao said, half-jokingly and half-seriously.

"Xiaoyao, did you go to bed very late last night?" Yu Shu asked curiously from the other side of her, leaning her head forward slightly like a kitten blinking its big eyes.

"Hmm, I think it was almost midnight before I went to sleep?"

"Senior year of high school is so tough, you're doing homework so late?"

"Well... it's not like I'm doing homework."

"They went out to play."

"Huh?"

"Oh, this is a rare treat. I just need to sleep in the car for a bit..."

Mo Xueyao walked as if she were about to fall asleep.

The sky was overcast, with not a single cloud in sight.

Occasionally, a few drops of rain drifted by, like dark clouds weeping.

But it was less like rain and more like water leaking from someone's apartment while watering their plants...

She rarely comes to take the bus this late.