A Young Woman's Heart

For most people, working at a convenience store is just a temporary stop. Once they've settled down in the city, found a place to live, and found a more suitable job, they'll quit immediately.

Zhuang Lianlian pursed her lips: "Hmm... I'm considering it, but when they're busy over there, I'll still need to go and help out."

"When the noodle shop is busiest, let Grandma Jin serve the noodles herself," Mo Xueyao suggested as a compromise.

However, Grandma Jin hasn't been appearing in the store much lately. She only comes occasionally to take a look. It seems she's enrolled in a senior university and now goes to class every day.

"Let me think about it some more." Zhuang Lianlian didn't agree immediately; she seemed much calmer than when she first arrived.

She became much more relaxed in her speech and actions, no longer worrying as much as she had at the beginning that her tomorrow would not come.

"Aunt Pan, what are you doing?"

"It's the bubble solution I mentioned at the amusement park."

"Oh!" Mo Xueyao squatted down. "I did this when I was little, but it was really hard. The few times I succeeded, it was just luck."

"Yes, so I'm adjusting it slowly." She scooped up some water from the basin, carefully sensing something, and then added a little more of a clear, semi-solid liquid.

"What is this?"

"Glue." She put the cap back on the glue bottle and looked at Mo Xueyao with a smile. "If you want to mix your own in the future, I can write down the recipe for you."

"Ahem, I don't think I have much time to play this kind of thing..." Mo Xueyao saw Pan Jiexiang's eyebrows droop and quickly tried to salvage the situation, "Ah, but it's okay to learn a little more, just consider it as helping Wanyan remember!"

Pan Jiexiang smiled, pursing her lips.

The mother and daughter are indeed very similar; their smiles are almost identical.

"Aunt Pan, which school did you attend before you stopped studying?"

Pan Jiexiang seemed a little surprised that Mo Xueyao would ask this question. She paused for a moment, then a smile reappeared on her face: "High school."

"Oh, oh..." Mo Xueyao didn't ask if he had graduated. "People who have studied always have this kind of gentle and refined temperament."

"Pfft, are you praising yourself?" Pan Jiexiang was amused by her.

"Well, things are different now than before. High school used to be equivalent to university now, and university used to be equivalent to graduate school now."

"It's not that exaggerated."

"My godfather said that highly educated people will become less and less valuable in the future." Mo Xueyao unconsciously steered the conversation elsewhere, just like bamboo shoots sprouting everywhere in autumn.

Pan Jiexiang stirred the water in the basin and chuckled softly, "If highly educated people aren't valuable, then what kind of people are valuable?"

"Hmm...are they related?"

"It's the same in any era."

"That probably means someone with technical skills. Although it's tiring, it's needed everywhere."

"Doesn't this mean we've gone back to square one?"

"That's just how times are, always moving forward two steps and then back one."

"Did your godfather say this too?"

"This isn't it." Mo Xueyao stared at the rather unappealing color of the soapy water and muttered softly, "This is something I came up with myself. By the way—what should we use to blow it later?"

“Just use bubble wands that other people have thrown away. I’ve collected a few these past few days.”

"It's clearly a purposeful collection..."

"I just saw it and it just occurred to me, so I kept it." Pan Jiexiang smiled and took out a few small pink plastic bottles with their wrappers torn off from her pocket.

These have all been washed clean again. Unscrew the cap and you can see the little bubble wands inside.

You can just blow on it with your mouth. Although it's cheap, you have to admit it's still very useful.

Most importantly, it's cheap to maintain and doesn't require batteries.

The foam that had been stirred up inside had gradually subsided, and the color had become plain.

It's probably because of the vinegar that it has a slightly brownish tint.

Pan Jiexiang finally dipped the bubble wand thoroughly in water, then put it to her lips and tried blowing gently. After finding that it could produce bubbles, she blew hard.

Several large bubbles were blown out in succession and floated in the air.

If the sunlight is bright, you should be able to see their vibrant colors.

The fragile and beautiful bubbles floated slowly, disappearing no matter what they bumped into.

Only one swayed precariously, as if deliberately manipulated by a mischievous autumn maiden using the wind to avoid various obstacles.

Mo Xueyao couldn't help but hope in her heart that it could float a little longer.

However, even though it didn't hit anything, it suddenly disappeared into the air with a 'pop'.

The fleeting beauty leaves one feeling somewhat regretful.

"It worked! Want to give it a try?"

“Okay!” Mo Xueyao and Zhuang Lianlian said in unison.

Zhuang Lianlian first picked up a bubble wand, dipped it in water as she did, and then blew hard.

As a result, no bubbles were blown out; the little bubbles that were trapped on the bubble wand were blown back into soapy water.

"Haha, that's not how it is, Lianlian—watch me!" Mo Xueyao, who often blew bubbles as a child, was quite skilled at it. She blew slowly and steadily onto the bubble wand, and a beautiful big bubble immediately floated out. It was shaped a bit like an eggplant, and it was probably too big, so it looked very heavy. It wobbled in the air for a few moments before it 'popped' and fell to the ground, bursting instantly.

"Well……"

“Try a different technique. If you blow a steady but slightly rapid stream of bubbles like this, you can blow a series of small bubbles.” Pan Jiexiang was also teaching her from the side. “Yan Yan taught me these before.”

"Oh? Wanyan used to like playing this?"

“Yes, she really enjoys playing with this, otherwise I wouldn’t have thought of making bubble solution myself.” Pan Jiexiang’s smile was a little stiff, perhaps because she was thinking about her past life. “But even if we make it at home, we can’t do it often.”

"Oh—after all that talk, let's bottle them up and save them for later!"

"If you leave these for too long, they won't be as effective. It's best to use them up within a week."

"It should be fine. Can I take a few bottles to school for other people to play with?"

Pan Jiexiang nodded: "You don't need to ask me about this kind of thing."

"I'll decorate some for Chen Cheng too..."

"Pfft, does he want to play?"

“…If he won’t play, I’ll blow on his face.” Zhuang Lianlian pouted.

"There are some industrial raw materials added to this, so it's best not to blow it into your eyes or anything like that," Pan Jiexiang reminded her, while Mo Xueyao had already quickly filled three bottles of bubble solution.

There were seven or eight small bottles in total, which were quickly filled up. Only a small amount remained in the basin. Mo Xueyao dipped the basin in water again, then, with the bottles in her pocket, she quickly darted behind the fruit shop when no one was around.

Li Wanyan was busy washing vegetables, while her mother was vigorously tossing the wok, almost setting the vegetables on fire.

Every time she saw this scene, she felt it was a bit exaggerated, and she was also very curious as to why the fire was so big but didn't burn anything else.

"A polite remark!"

Li Wanyan was carefully washing the vegetables, checking for any remaining dirt or insects, when she heard Mo Xueyao's shout and quickly looked up.

"Ok?"

"Look!" Mo Xueyao blew a series of bubbles, big and small, which landed on Li Wanyan and popped gently into the air.

Li Wanyan gave a helpless twitch of her lips. She wanted to say something, but swallowed it back. She looked down at the vegetables and then suddenly looked up: "Yaoyao."

"So, Wanyan, do you want to give it a try?"

"You're becoming more and more like a girl." Li Wanyan gently shook her head.

The mother, who was standing nearby, had exceptionally sharp ears at that moment: "That's a good thing!"

Mo Xueyao's excited smile immediately vanished: "No way...?"

"It's fine." Li Wanyan's expression was almost breaking down.

"Ugh—this is so annoying."

"Isn't this a good thing?" Li Wanyan asked, feigning doubt.

"I know it's a good thing, but don't say it out loud, it's so annoying!" Mo Xueyao held her head, muttered, and squatted down to the side, plucking a few weeds with her slender fingers, as if venting her emotions.

Her adorable appearance was so endearing that it was impossible not to laugh. Even Yang Xiaoyu, who was taking a break from her busy schedule to glance back at her, was amused.

……

Chapter Forty-Two: Night and You

(One)

A deep purple permeates the night sky.

Mo Xueyao rested her snow-white thighs on the cold wall and looked out at the sky.

There aren't many stars to see today, just a handful scattered about, and the bright moon is obscured by some cloud.

Mo Xueyao tilted her head lazily, her gaze somewhat unfocused.

The bed shook slightly as Li Wanyan climbed on.

The sound of a key turning came from outside, followed by the mother's hushed voice and the father's coughing and spitting.

A few seconds later, the door to the small room was pushed open with a 'whoosh'.

My mother never had the habit of knocking on Mo Xueyao's door before entering her room.

In the past, I didn't even like her keeping the door closed.

"Still not asleep?"

"What—" Mo Xueyao's lips moved weakly, looking listless.

"School starts tomorrow, are you still not done playing? Go to bed early!" The mother poked her head in and nagged, "Don't say you didn't get enough sleep and don't want to get up tomorrow."

"I know, I know……"

The mother smiled and looked at Li Wanyan: "Yanyan, go to bed early too."

"Ah."