A Young Woman's Heart

"Then why..."

"Ahem, it's just that you've gotten used to not taking favors from others, haven't you?"

“This isn’t a benefit, it’s a testament to our friendship,” Ye Banxia said earnestly.

“Okay…” Mo Xueyao glanced at Li Wanyan, who did not seem to want to refuse any further. “Then let’s eat something, but don’t eat anything too expensive.”

"It's okay, I can't afford the expensive ones anyway," Ye Banxia laughed happily.

Aside from always wearing pigtails, she was one of the less noticeable girls in the class.

In fact, there are many such people living around us. They are ordinary people, but they all try their best to do what they should do and contribute to society.

Moreover... many times, ordinary people like this are ourselves.

They may be easily overlooked, but ordinary people are the cornerstone of the world and the most indispensable part of it.

Although it was already five o'clock, the school gate was still quite lively.

After all, high school seniors get out of school a little later; they've probably just gotten out of school right now.

Most high schools require their senior students to attend evening self-study sessions, but Yukong High School has never done so.

At most, it just means the school dismissal time is delayed.

Even so, the senior high school students all looked somewhat tired, and only when they left the school gates did they regain some of their energy.

The busiest place is always the general store at the entrance, which sells all kinds of snacks, toys and stationery. As long as you have a little money in your pocket, you can buy something to help alleviate the loneliness of walking home alone.

Even a dime can buy two Coke candies.

And with just three cents, you can try your luck at the cheapest lottery.

There are all sorts of lotteries, and some people are so addicted to them that they have to spend their allowance on lotteries every day.

Of course, some people only smoke once a day, using very little money to get that little surprise in life.

Mo Xueyao rarely visited the convenience store, but today she happened to see a lot of raffle boxes displayed in front of the counter, which piqued her interest, and she wanted to try her luck.

"Mo Xueyao, would you like to try it? I'll treat you."

"Uh... then let's draw one." Mo Xueyao pointed to a lottery game that cost five cents per draw.

This is a lottery that is not easy to tamper with, and it is generally called a "hole-in-the-hole lottery".

In other words, a box is divided into many compartments, and each compartment contains a prize, only the quality varies.

You can get the contents by simply poking a hole in the thin paper on the grid.

Is one treatment enough?

“Ah, once is enough,” Mo Xueyao said with certainty.

"Okay, then—I'll try it too, class monitor, do you want to try?"

"No need," Li Wanyan shook her head.

So Ye Banxia handed one yuan to the shopkeeper, and she and Mo Xueyao each selected a square and then 'thump'ed it open.

Mo Xueyao received a clock that was even smaller than her small hand.

It doesn't have a timer or alarm function; it's just for telling time. Its advantage is that it's extremely small.

And it's not a digital clock, it's a mechanical clock.

It looks like a mechanical watch strap that has been removed and then fitted with two horn-like things that can be used to keep it stable on a table.

The whole thing exudes a cheap feel.

"Mo Xueyao, look, you won the first prize!" Ye Banxia exclaimed, patting her arm excitedly. "You're so lucky!"

"Hmm...it's alright." Mo Xueyao held the small mechanical clock with obvious affection, secretly overjoyed.

She just happens to need a clock so she can check the time anytime.

I used to want to buy a watch, but watches were too expensive. Now I spent 50 cents to win a small clock, so it's definitely a good deal.

“Mine is a Pikachu pen cap.” Ye Banxia played with the small Pikachu pen cap. This kind of pen cap doesn’t have any practical function; it’s just attached to the pen cap and serves as a decoration.

But it's quite cute.

At least it doesn't look deformed.

It's just that the eyes don't look quite right.

“Not bad either,” Mo Xueyao said.

"Alright, then—please have something to eat. What would you like?"

"Uh—" Mo Xueyao scratched her head, "Whatever?"

Where is the class monitor?

"It's all right."

"Then—how about I treat you to that ice cream?"

"Ice cream?" Mo Xueyao looked towards the school gate; the ice cream vendor wasn't there today.

"It's not real ice cream, it's one of those snacks that's like ice cream, it's sticky and covered in sugar."

“I’ve never eaten this before…” Mo Xueyao looked at Li Wanyan and found that the latter also looked blank.

"Then let's try it, it's only 50 cents each, very cheap!"

"it is good."

So Ye Banxia plunged into the crowd, her twin ponytails becoming somewhat disheveled due to the jostling, but she finally managed to buy ice cream candy.

It's half the size of a real ice cream. Once you open the package and take a bite, a sweet taste stimulates your taste buds.

It has a marshmallow-like texture, but it's chewier and a bit sticky.

"How does it taste?" Ye Banxia asked expectantly.

"Hmm—pretty good," Mo Xueyao praised.

"It's alright." Li Wanyan nodded gently and took another small bite.

"I'm glad it's delicious~" Ye Banxia looked very happy.

Perhaps it was because I shared my favorite food and received recognition from others.

Although it was just a five-cent ice cream candy, the pure kindness and joy it brought were priceless.

Mo Xueyao suddenly let out a soft sigh.

Will she still feel happy about such cheap snacks when she grows up?

"Hey, class monitor, what's wrong?" Ye Banxia asked in confusion, causing Mo Xueyao to look up and see Li Wanyan walking straight towards the alley next to the shop.

“There are boys from our class smoking.”

"Huh?" Mo Xueyao was taken aback. "The boys should be almost adults by now, right? There's no need to...make such a fuss, is there?"

"The school rules state that students are not allowed to smoke," the class monitor said firmly.

Mo Xueyao had no choice but to follow her toward the boys.

……

Chapter 105 The Boy Who Smokes

"Chen Cheng, what are you doing squatting here?" A boy with skin that looked like it had been tanned by the sun asked from the alley entrance next to the small shop.

The alley was very narrow, and there were some useless boxes covering the entrance. Especially when crouching in the shadows, you wouldn't notice anyone in the alley unless you looked carefully.

"Smoke, vest, do you have a lighter?" Chen Cheng, who was about the same height as Li Hongran but looked much fairer, asked.

"Are you out of your mind? Smoking here?" The man in vest glanced at him sideways. "Aren't you afraid of getting caught by the teacher?"

"What are you afraid of? Lend me a lighter. It's not like you're the one smoking."

"I don't smoke, so where would I get a lighter?" The man in the vest coughed twice.

"Come on, I saw you secretly smoking in the bathroom before. Hurry up and let me borrow it. I'll give you one if you want."

"Really?"

"Nonsense." Chen Cheng said, and readily pulled a slightly crumpled cigarette from his pocket.

"Hey, Liqun." The man in the vest casually took the cigarette with two fingers, put it in his mouth, lit it for Chen Cheng first, and asked, "Where did you get this? Didn't the convenience store stop selling it?"

"I took it out of my dad's pocket."

Aren't you afraid of getting caught stealing his cigarettes?

"So I stole two cigarettes. He probably didn't even know how many cigarettes were in his pack."

"Sure." The man in the vest gave Chen Cheng a thumbs up. "But isn't it a bit too arrogant of you to just smoke right here?"

"What do you know? This is called excitement." Chen Cheng took a deep drag on his cigarette and exhaled a puff of white smoke. "Otherwise, why would so many couples choose to have affairs after marriage?"

Vest rolled his eyes: "Fine, I'm not going to smoke here anyway. I'll take this cigarette back and smoke it slowly."

"What are you cowardly for? Are you even a man?"

"If you're a man, you can't back down, right?" The man in the vest wasn't embarrassed at all. "That's called being flexible. If you don't want to back down, first ask your thing down there if it agrees and can stay erect for a year or two."

"I've had an erection since last year, and it's still standing up. Want to touch it?" Chen Cheng said, half-jokingly and half-sarcastically.

"...It seems the class monitor is coming over."

"So what if she comes over? She's not a teacher, what can she do to me?" Chen Cheng said with disdain. "You're such a coward. What kind of man is a man if he's afraid of women?"

"Your man, you hold the fort." The man in the vest stuffed his cigarette and lighter into his pocket, and casually pulled out a half-eaten packet of instant noodles from another pocket of his shirt. He ate it as he walked across the alley.