A Young Woman's Heart

"Xiao Yaoyao's hair grows so fast! Last summer she only had ear-length bob."

"It seems to be almost past the shoulder blade now, doesn't it?"

"Ah."

"Should we get it cut shorter...?"

“Hmm, long hair is quite nice.” Hua Yinyin shook her head. “Let’s keep it. We can cut it when it gets really long.”

As she spoke, she slowly gathered Mo Xueyao's hair and then skillfully tied it into a side ponytail.

"All right?"

"All right."

"Even faster than Wanyan."

"Hmph, of course! Actually, I've always wanted a little sister so I could help her braid her hair and play with it. I often braid my mom's hair too."

"Oh--"

Hua Yinyin suddenly leaned close to Mo Xueyao's hair and took a deep sniff, making a look of utter delight: "Little Yaoyao's hair smells so good~!"

"Alas."

"Is it the smell of the shampoo, or my body fragrance?"

"Where did that body odor come from?" Mo Xueyao rolled her eyes. "If there really was one, then I already had it before..."

She meant that as a boy, he should have a natural body odor.

However, in reality, when she was a boy, she didn't have any fragrance at all—it was good enough if she could wash herself clean and not smell of sweat.

"what?"

"Nothing, cough, what's that smell?"

"Hmm... the scent of flowers, fruit, and milk."

"Are you talking about my hair or my body?"

"You have them all, right?"

"Does it still smell like that? I haven't been spending much time at the fruit shop lately, so it wouldn't be surprising if it did before, since I sleep there every night..." Mo Xueyao tugged at her ponytail and sniffed it, "...it smells like shampoo."

"What shampoo?"

"It tastes like lemon?"

"No, no...it's not just that taste!"

“Okay, but before that…” Mo Xueyao glanced sideways at the cup of noodles in front of Hua Yinyin, “Your instant noodles are going to get burnt, aren’t they?”

"Oh no! This is terrible!"

Hua Yinyin quickly lifted the lid of the instant noodle and stirred the noodles inside with a fork.

It's a little burnt, but not too badly.

This is a small cup of Japanese instant noodles. It was obviously not bought from a convenience store, but brought by myself and then made with hot water borrowed from the teacher's office.

Mo Xueyao, who wasn't hungry at first, couldn't help but lick her lips when she smelled the enticing aroma.

"What flavor of instant noodles is this?"

"It's tomato and beef flavored, it's really delicious! Little Yaoyao, you haven't had lunch yet, have you? Want a few bites?"

"Uh... there aren't two spoons."

"Hey, are you disgusted by my saliva? You've eaten it so many times already!"

"Wow, Xiaoyao and Yinyin have actually gotten to that point?" Wang Jiale burst in with a hint of mockery, followed by Mo Zhuyou, who was chuckling behind her.

Mo Xueyao lowered her eyelids and said, "Don't listen to Yinyin's nonsense. She always talks nonsense."

"Who said that! Back when we were teaching in the rural area, we often shared a cup to drink water in the dormitory!"

"I always drink the side you haven't tried before, okay?"

"Actually, I secretly spit a little saliva in every time~"

"Ugh—" the girls collectively exclaimed in disgust.

Hua Yinyin quickly waved her hand: "Ahem, just kidding!"

"What Yin Yin said didn't sound like a joke at all," Mo Zhuyou said seriously.

The victim, Mo Xueyao, stared intently at her with her blue eyes, as if she would grab her by the neck and throw her out at any moment if she said the wrong thing.

"Really, there isn't any. Here, Xiao Yaoyao, have a bite of instant noodles, ah—" Hua Yinyin held the cup of noodles to Mo Xueyao's lips, blinked her eyes mischievously and smiled, and scooped up a small bite of noodles with a spoon.

Mo Xueyao took a small bite, but the taste was not quite what she had imagined.

how to say?

It's probably—

It's not that delicious.

Would you like some soup?

"Okay, I'll give it a try." She nodded.

Sure enough, the essence is all in the noodle soup.

The sweet and sour tomato soup was very appetizing. Although Mo Xueyao still couldn't eat more than a few bites, she felt much more energetic.

"Is Xiaoyao awake yet?"

"That's about enough."

"Oh—" Hua Yinyin drawled, making Mo Xueyao instinctively suspect that she was plotting something strange again.

"what?"

"Everything's fine now~"

So that means you have something to do later?

Not only her, but no one else could guess what kind of trouble she was going to cause.

Hua Yinyin took a bite herself, then fed Mo Xueyao a bite. If they weren't both girls, people would probably think they were a sweet couple.

"Little Yaoyao, ah—"

"Alright, alright, I'm full..."

"Do you still want some soup?"

"Hmm... I'm getting a bit tired of this, I'll just have some tea instead."

"Good~"

Hua Yinyin was acting strangely today, to the point that everyone, including Mr. Xue, was looking at her with very odd eyes.

Of course, it's quite possible that Mr. Xue was just imitating Wang Jiale and the others.

"I've finished eating too!" She finished the remaining noodle soup in one gulp, wiped her mouth with a napkin, and looked at Mo Xueyao with a smile.

"W-what are you doing?" Mo Xueyao felt a little uneasy under her gaze.

"Hey, little Yaoyao~!" Hua Yinyin suddenly pounced on her and started groping her all over, from her hair to her back, then to her waist and thighs.

"Hey, what weird places are you touching? Have you been possessed by something strange?"

"Can't I touch it?"

"nonsense!"

"Hmph, didn't Xiaoyao say you could touch me as you pleased!"

Mo Zhuyou and Wang Jiale immediately widened their eyes, eager to hear the details.

Mo Xueyao looked completely bewildered: "What? Did I say something like that?"

"Yes, it happened during PE class today. You said that as long as I don't bother you while you're sleeping, I can touch you however I want later~"

"Did I say that?" Mo Xueyao asked, her cheeks slightly flushed as she pretended to be clueless, as if she had just remembered something.

The door was suddenly pushed open gently, and Yu Shu came in after finishing her meal.

At lunchtime, first- and second-year high school students eat later than third-year students.

All the members of the Snow Music Band were present.

"Um..." Yu Shu carefully sat down in an empty chair, "We agreed on Wednesday... for practice, right?"

"Yes, yes, practice today!" Mo Zhuyou nodded vigorously, and Wang Jiale next to her quickly followed suit.

"Oh right, I was practicing today. By the way, I've been thinking about writing a new song lately. The last one was released ages ago."

"Should we compose the music first or write the lyrics first?"

"Hmm...composing music?"

"Then you guys keep it up... I'm going to take a nap..." Mo Xueyao covered her mouth and yawned, then slumped back onto the table.

"Xiao Yao—" Yu Shu called out softly with a hint of complaint, which immediately drew chuckles from the others.

It seems that starting a proper practice session is not an easy task.

……

Chapter Sixteen: Life is tiring, don't ask too many questions.

2001 9 Month 6 Day.

Thursday.

After tonight, it will be Friday.

Perhaps it was because the weekend was approaching, but Mo Xueyao felt particularly tired today.

She swayed as she carried her keyboard bag and dragged her heavy steps out of the school.