A Young Woman's Heart

"Thank you for your hard work tonight. Come back quickly after you deliver it. You can rest tomorrow."

"Don't worry, I'll deliver it as soon as possible!" Huang Zhengyang laughed heartily, grabbed the edge of the truck door and climbed up, then slammed the door shut.

For most people, it would already be time to get off work, but Huang Zhengyang had only just set off.

This is a temporary task. A customer called and placed an urgent order at a price that is much higher than usual. By making this trip, he can earn more money.

However, since it was a last-minute order, they couldn't find any other drivers available for the job, so they had to call Huang Zhengyang, who was about to get off work, to help out.

The destination is Ningbo.

According to the weather forecast, another major typhoon is about to arrive, so we need to stock up on goods in advance to avoid running out of vegetables when the storm hits.

"If the typhoon arrives early, you can stay there overnight. I'll reimburse you for your hotel and food expenses, don't worry." The uncle patted the car door and said with a big laugh. He valued and took good care of this hardworking young man.

"Alright, I'm off then!"

"Go early and come back early!"

This isn't the small truck Huang Zhengyang usually drives; it's the biggest truck on the farm.

Standing next to it, it feels like a mobile warehouse; shorter people can't even reach the doorknob.

The large truck, fully loaded with goods, started up with a 'rumble' and slowly rolled over the dirt road in the countryside, embedding the few pebbles deep into the mud.

The setting sun was enveloped in rosy clouds, like an egg yolk floating in boiling soup.

The slightly blue sky was like a cocktail that complemented the scene.

A set meal of boiled eggs and blue cocktails?

Huang Zhengyang couldn't help but chuckle and slowly pressed down on the accelerator.

……

(two)

The setting sun had already hidden behind the mountains, and only a little of its dim yellow light peeked out, but it was no brighter than the streetlights.

Trucks loaded with goods can't drive too fast. There aren't many cars on the national highway, but it still passes through villages. If someone suddenly appears, it could easily cause an accident.

Therefore, Huang Zhengyang always drove slowly, and he almost never shifted the manual lever to fifth gear.

The cell phone rang with its rough and cheap ringtone, vibrating in his trouser pocket.

He slowed down a bit and skillfully answered the phone with one hand: "Hello?"

“Brother.” Huang Yuxi’s voice came from the other end.

Since he was able to speak, many things have become much easier.

Although it's still a bit stumbling, and it takes a long time to utter a complete sentence, this is a breakthrough from zero to one.

"Hey, Xiaoxi, did you see the text message I sent you before? I was afraid you were still in class, so I didn't call."

"Ah."

"So I might get back very late today. If I get delayed, I might not be able to go back at all. You're home alone, so go to bed early. Uh, maybe you can grab something to eat downstairs, or just grab some instant noodles. I also bought some sausages and braised eggs, and I've put them in the fridge."

"Okay." Huang Yuxi was silent for a while on the other end of the phone before laughing and saying slowly and deliberately, "Be careful on the road!"

"Don't worry, haha, go to bed early when you're home alone. Even though you have the day off tomorrow, you can't stay up too late. You have to be asleep before midnight!"

"...Brother, brother, you, usually, on your days off, are always...in the early hours of the morning..."

"Ahem, I'm an adult now, unlike you. I only need to sleep six hours a day, but you need to sleep eight hours, and you can't stay up late, understand?"

"I'm alone, and I can't sleep. I'll wait for you to come back... okay?"

Huang Zhengyang, with one hand on the steering wheel, overtook an electric car traveling in the road. The originally green mountain peaks, backlit by the setting sun, now looked like huge black shadows.

"I'm not that fast, oh dear, Xiaoxi, you should go to sleep early—"

"...Then, call me before 12 o'clock."

"Okay, I'll keep an eye on you and see if you fall asleep, haha. I'm driving, I'll hang up now."

"Ok!"

Huang Zhengyang hung up the phone and casually tossed it onto the passenger seat.

He was humming a little tune, clearly in a good mood.

Although it's overtime, after the overtime is over, I can rest for an extra day and get an extra few hundred yuan in wages. On the weekend, I can go out for a nice meal with my younger brother.

However, he can't be too wasteful, because he's currently saving money to buy a house.

The place where he lives costs more than 700 yuan per square meter. Relatively speaking, the location is not worth that price, but it is considered a mid-to-high-end community, and it is a high-rise building with an elevator.

A house costs around 100,000 yuan – this includes all the miscellaneous small expenses and basic renovation costs.

"If this month's salary comes, it should be more than three thousand, maybe four thousand, um... after all, I've been working a lot of overtime this month..." Huang Zhengyang muttered as he calculated his salary. As a truck driver, after driving for a long time, thinking about things while driving is the most basic operation.

Few people can guarantee they'll stay fully focused throughout such a long journey.

Knowing when to relax and when to concentrate is itself a skill.

"Last month it was over two thousand..."

Prices have risen considerably recently, and truck drivers' wages have also increased accordingly—mainly due to high demand. In fact, wages in not every industry can keep up with inflation.

I've heard that some long-distance drivers who travel across provinces can now earn tens of thousands of yuan a month. If they wanted, they could buy a house in the provincial capital in a year.

"There should be over 60,000 yuan in my savings account. If I save a little more... maybe I can buy it next year..."

Having hope for the future is a very happy thing.

……

(three)

“Ziya, I, as your father, have never stopped you from doing whatever you want. But you need to understand that given your current situation, it’s actually very difficult to find a man who is compatible with you. The men I’ve introduced to you are all people who don’t care about your infertility. It’s rare to find someone who is a good match for you and doesn’t care about your infertility. As for other shortcomings, you should try to accept them. Aren’t your own shortcomings significant?”

"Is marriage a must?"

"Of course we should get married. I'm doing this for your future happiness."

"...I don't think I'll be happy with those people in the future."

"As long as you have money in hand, you don't have to worry about being unhappy. How many wealthy couples are only together in name only? What's so strange about that? He does his thing, you do yours. The important thing is that the two families' businesses can support each other. Even if you get married, what does it matter if you don't live together?"

"Then what's the point of getting married?"

"--Assure."

Zuo Ziya looked at the middle-aged man in front of her, who, despite his smile, still exuded the authority of a superior.

“You should know that most parents wouldn’t agree to what you’ve done.” He gently patted Zuo Ziya’s shoulder. “Don’t think that just because you ran away from home you can do whatever you want. You know very well how much money you’ve spent.”

"I know." Zuo Ziya slowly shifted her gaze away from him.

“This is to secure your future and for the development of our family.” He turned around and looked at the sunset outside the window, which resembled tomato soup. “Or if you can find a man who truly loves you, I won’t stop you. As your father, I’ve actually been more tolerant of you than you need to be.”

“I know.” Zuo Ziya repeated, this time with a heavy sigh. She hesitated, as if she wanted to say something, but ultimately swallowed it back. Her thin lips moved slightly. “Then I’ll go out.”

"Going to do what?"

"To relax."

As she spoke, she pushed open the wooden door to the study.

In the lobby, her driver and personal secretary were waiting quietly. Upon seeing her come out, he immediately went up to her and asked, "Miss, are you going out?"

"Ah."

"Long distance or short distance?"

"Just taking a walk."

"Okay, I'll drive."

"No, I want to walk by myself."

“But…” Nianlu hesitated for a moment, and couldn’t help but turn around to look at Zuo Ziya’s father, who had just come out of the study.

"It's nothing, you don't need to follow me."

"Let her go." He waved his sleeve and shook his head helplessly.

The setting sun reflected on the surface of West Lake, and she could see such a beautiful view as soon as she stepped out the door.

Once you see it, you no longer find it beautiful; instead, you feel there are too many tourists, and it's noisy and crowded.

She hailed a taxi and gently got in.

The purple earrings hanging from her earlobes swayed slightly, reflecting the light of the setting sun.

Looking at the elegant young woman, the taxi driver subconsciously made his tone more refined: "Excuse me... where would this young lady like to go?"

Zuo Ziya calmly looked down at the hem of her skirt and said lightly, "Let's drive around the city, to places with good scenery, and stop when we've driven a hundred yuan."

The driver had never encountered such a strange request before.

But he didn't voice his objections; instead, he obediently pressed the accelerator pedal, treating it as if he were using the passengers' money for a ride.

"You can drive however you want, right?"

"Yeah, let's drive towards a scenic spot... There are too many people here."

"it is good."

Zuo Ziya didn't bring a bag, but she still had two bank cards and over a thousand yuan in her small wallet.

She casually paid the driver one hundred yuan, then leaned back and looked out the window.

Her dark purple hair possessed a mysterious beauty in the dim light of the setting sun.

……

Extra Chapter 1: Snow and Tea

The distant sky was filled with an intoxicating blue.