A Young Woman's Heart

"The first-year high school students have just finished military training and need to adjust. The third-year high school students also need to get back into a strict study routine. There's no time for you to waste..."

"The annual school sports meet will be held after National Day. We hope everyone will participate actively and register..."

"This concludes Monday morning meeting."

The familiar athletes' march had only played for a second when it was abruptly cut off.

The faint sound of Shen Kelin could still be heard from over there.

"No need to put it down, no need to put it down, we don't need to go back to the classroom..."

Mo Xueyao couldn't help but lower her head and smile, then suddenly realized that it had been a long time since she had seen Shen Kelin.

Even though we're in the same school, we're not in the same class, and she didn't intentionally try to chat with her, so it feels like we're in different schools, and it even feels a bit distant now.

……

(Fives)

On Monday, the first Chinese class was taught by art teacher Qiu Yi because the homeroom teacher was on leave.

Literature and art are inherently interdependent.

Moreover, literature itself should be considered the most popular art form.

In theory, anyone who can write has the potential to create literature.

The autumn wind, carrying the scent of rain, blew into the classroom, making the girls feel a bit cold.

"Could you please turn off the window if you're sitting by the window? It's so cold!" Wang Jiale couldn't help but complain.

"What's so cold about it?" Liu Xiaowei, who wasn't even sitting by the window, insisted on joining in. "I actually feel hot!"

"I feel cold!"

"Then you should wear more clothes."

"School uniforms are just skirts, there can't be much more than that, okay?"

"Winter's already over, hasn't it?"

"We have heating in winter!" Wang Jiale glared angrily.

Liu Xiaowei seemed to have nothing to say in rebuttal, so he scoffed dismissively, "Forget it, a good man can't argue with a woman."

"What kind of good man are you? Xiaoxue is the real good man!" Wang Jiale puffed out his chest and shouted with a condescending look.

Mr. Xue behind him shook his head helplessly.

"Alright, alright, you two, the bell has already rung, what are you arguing about?" Qiu Yi's expression was similar to Mr. Xue's, but because he was of average appearance, it looked rather awkward.

It can't really be called ugly.

It's just that without comparison, there's no harm done.

"Teacher Qiu, could you please change my seat?" Wang Jiale openly expressed her dislike for Liu Xiaowei. "I don't want to sit next to someone who's dirty and has a foul mouth!"

"Well, let's talk about it after your teacher Ye Wen recovers."

"Hmm—maybe I'll switch seats with Gao Yuan! Anyway, they always like to hang out together..." Perhaps realizing that her words were a bit hurtful, Wang Jiale's voice gradually softened, but she still pouted with a hint of grievance, her eyes fixed on Qiu Yi.

"Haha, Wenwen used to tell me that being a homeroom teacher is not easy, and I didn't think much of it. But now it seems that it is indeed true. Okay, okay, Wang Jiale, don't be angry." Qiu Yi said earnestly, "Students should get along well with each other. Liu Xiaowei, uh, you do have a lot of dandruff. Take more showers and improve your personal hygiene, and the girls won't all dislike you so much."

"Pshaw, that's called manliness! Why would I need them to like that?"

"Haha, stop being stubborn. It's not like I've never been a student before." Qiu Yi shook his head with a wry smile. "Alright, that's enough! Everyone, open your Chinese textbooks to Unit 2! Today's lesson is about language and literature—oh, I forgot to mention, take your senior year textbook (second semester). We'll talk about the first semester when your teacher, Ye Wen, comes back, so I don't get it wrong. This lesson will cover some topics that aren't very important for the college entrance exam, but are very important for our Chinese language learning."

Wang Jiale gave Liu Xiaowei a disdainful look, snorted, and then turned her head toward Qiu Yi, pretending to listen to the lesson attentively.

Liu Xiaowei rolled his eyes, but unfortunately, she didn't see it.

……

Chapter Nineteen: Teachers' Day

(One)

The crisp, yet subtle, simple bell rang on time; it was the school bell that belonged only to the senior high school students.

"Alright, that concludes today's lesson. You all have very short breaks now, so I won't extend the get out of class. Anyone who needs to use the restroom, go ahead..." Before Qiu Yi could finish speaking, Wang Jiale suddenly stood up.

Liu Xiaowei, who was standing to the side, was startled and instinctively shrank back to the side.

"Teacher Qiu! Happy Teacher's Day, and this... was originally meant for Awen..." However, Wang Jiale didn't intend to beat him up; he simply took out an exquisitely wrapped gift box.

"Huh?" Qiu Yi didn't react for a moment. "Oh, right—it's Teacher's Day today, isn't it?"

"Ok!"

"What's inside? Haha, can I open it and see?"

"No! Hmm—Awen has to take it apart, but I can tell you what it is. Actually, it's just a fake flower that I made myself, sewn from fabric..."

"Great, great." Qiu Yi nodded vigorously. "I'll give it to Wenwen, thank you."

"Teacher Qiu, there's mine too!"

"Me too!"

The students rushed forward eagerly, clearly having prepared in advance.

Most people send greeting cards; only a small number send gifts or flowers.

"Teacher Qiu, wait a minute!" Gao Yuan shouted, running to the back of the classroom, opening the cabinet used for storing odds and ends, and taking out a large bouquet of flowers. "This is for Wen!"

"Such a big bouquet? I can't carry it!"

"It's okay, I'll take it to your office for you!"

"Haha, you don't need to send such a big gift next time, it's too much." Qiu Yi couldn't help but shake his head and laugh helplessly as he carried the bags of gifts out of the classroom with Gao Yuan.

Mo Xueyao was keeping her head down, too embarrassed to look up.

Well, she forgot it was Teacher's Day, so she didn't prepare any gift at all...

"Little Yaoyao didn't buy anything? There are so many greeting cards at the shop near the school gate." Hua Yinyin opened her schoolbag, which was filled with various greeting cards. "Lots of people were gathered there buying them, so I bought a few too~"

"When I arrived, the shops near the school gate weren't even open yet, okay?" Mo Xueyao muttered, her eyelids drooping. "Do you have any extras?"

"No, why would I buy so many? I just bought one for each of my favorite teachers. I only bought four or five in total."

"Tsk... never mind." Mo Xueyao tilted her head and lay on the table. "Anyway, I didn't usually give gifts on Teacher's Day. A blessing is enough. The thought is what counts."

"Hehe, want some greeting cards? I have some!" Liu Xiaowei suddenly grinned lewdly and pulled a cardboard box out of his backpack, which was filled with a variety of greeting cards.

Judging from the quality, they should all be the cheap kind—the most expensive one shouldn't cost more than 50 cents.

It might not even be as nice as the little greeting card that came with the flowers at Mo Xueyao's house.

"Ah..." Mo Xueyao was hesitating when Liu Xiaowei said another sentence.

"One yuan a piece, cheap, right?"

Mo Xueyao glared at him: "Hey, the most expensive of these is only fifty cents, right?"

"That's called the middleman's profit margin, okay? Otherwise, why would I buy so much?" Liu Xiaowei said matter-of-factly.

"whispering sound--"

"Xiaoyao, do you want some greeting cards? I have some extra." Wang Jiale glanced coldly at Liu Xiaowei, then immediately turned around and smiled broadly, seemingly with a hint of smugness. "I bought a small pack, and I have two extra."

"Ah, that's perfect. I'll write one for Awen and another for... Teacher Qianyu."

"No problem~"

Wang Jiale immediately placed the two greeting cards on her desk. When she turned around, she deliberately gave Liu Xiaowei a disdainful look: "You even make money off your classmates, tch."

"Damn, I'm doing legitimate business, okay?"

"Speculation and profiteering, and you call that legitimate? If it were before, you would have been arrested long ago!"

Liu Xiaowei once again adopted the attitude of a good man who doesn't fight with a woman, lazily propping his chin up with one hand and flicking his dandruff-covered hair.

After only a few touches, a whole bunch of them fell down with a 'whoosh'.

I have no idea where it came from.

It seemed like it would never stop falling.

Wang Jiale frowned in disgust, her whole body tilting so much she almost fell off the table.

……

(two)

A cool breeze drifted in through the window. Zhou Yong rested his chin on his hand, staring blankly at the blackboard. However, Wang Qianyu, the English teacher from the previous class, had already left the classroom.

Today, Wang Jiale is in charge of erasing the blackboard. It's the long break time right now, and she's jumping up and down on her tiptoes. Luckily, Wang Qianyu isn't much taller than her, otherwise she probably wouldn't be able to erase the top chalk writing.

Eye exercises are done at the beginning of the third class, so you can move around freely at this time.

In fact, the time between classes is now almost the same as the regular break time, but high school seniors can only use this time to go to the toilet or do other things.

If there's nothing you want to do, you can go outside and get some fresh air.

It's been raining a lot lately, and the autumn breeze in the corridor is still quite cool.

"Zhou Yong? Zhou Yong?" Mo Xueyao felt that he seemed to still be in the middle of an English class.

Her ordinary-looking deskmate's eyes slowly regained focus after she called out softly, and then he turned his head to look at her nervously, as if he had been caught doing something wrong.

"What are you doing? You were spacing out for so long just now, and now you're all tense?" Mo Xueyao rested her chin on her hand, tilted her head to look at her, and her blue eyes were slightly narrowed.

"It's nothing..."

"Tch, you look like you have something on your mind!" Mo Xueyao lowered her voice and moved closer to him. "You can talk to me about it, maybe I can help you!"

"Ah..." Zhou Yong subconsciously took a step back to the right, feeling a little embarrassed by her closeness. "Uh... really?"

"Is something really wrong?"

The words that Zhou Yong was about to say suddenly stopped him from saying them.

It took him a while to regain his composure, and he sighed helplessly: "Uh, Mo Xueyao, what do you think is the best way to win a girl's heart? Or rather, how should she behave to prove that she likes me?"