A Young Woman's Heart

"Oh right, these socks belong to Yu Shu. I need to return them to her after I wash them. Wanyan, could you remind me then? Don't forget again."

"Hmm." Li Wanyan nodded, glancing at her sideways with a blank expression.

Mo Xueyao keenly noticed the doubt in her eyes.

"Well, because I once took one of her shoes home and never returned it to her. If she hadn't come back to be my neighbor, I probably would never have had the chance to return it to her."

"Oh."

"It was when we were kids, playing pranks and stuff, haha..." Xueyao scratched her head a little embarrassedly, deliberately using a hearty laugh to cover up her embarrassment. "When we were kids, boys liked to 'bully' girls, you know, the kind of bullying that... wanted to get the other girl's attention."

"I know."

"Huh, has Wanyan been bullied too?"

"..." Li Wanyan helplessly tugged at her arm, bringing the two closer together so that the umbrella wouldn't be unable to block the rain falling from the sky.

If you share an umbrella and don't stand close enough, you'll often find your shoulders soaked by the time you get home.

"As expected, no, right? I knew it. How could someone like Wanyan be bullied?"

What's wrong with me?

"Well, it's not that I'm saying you're bad, it's just that, how should I put it, Wanyan has a very strong aura! Most people wouldn't dare to mess with you, so why would they deliberately bully you?"

"some."

"Yes? When was it?"

"primary school."

"what……"

"Back then, I attended a school for migrant workers' children, and it was very chaotic there."

"I know, I was in first or second grade when I was a kid. The people there were like gangsters, even though they were just a bunch of kids, haha."

"Ah."

"Were you bullied by boys?"

"girl."

Are there many people?

"Seven or eight, or ten or so, at first they just isolated me, but later they also wanted to bully me."

"Uh, so you rebelled on your own?"

Li Wanyan smiled and shook her head: "No."

"what?"

I'll tell you later.

The fruit shop was now in sight. Li Wanyan gently smoothed Mo Xueyao's long hair, seemingly unwilling to revisit this past event today...

……

Chapter 51 The Last Sports Meet of High School (Part 2)

(One)

A gentle breeze stirred up clouds stretching for miles, and a cool wind caressed Mo Xueyao's face.

When she got up, it was still raining, but when she and Li Wanyan got on the bus, it stopped.

The fresh, tender morning sun peeked out leisurely, casting a few pale yellow rays of light.

The withered yellow leaves were picked off piece by piece by the invisible hand of autumn. Early in the morning, sanitation workers were already busy sweeping the fallen leaves together.

"Swish-swish-" That's the sound of a bamboo broom sweeping across the road.

"It feels even colder than when it rained yesterday..." Xueyao muttered, unusually closing the window a little smaller to prevent the chilly wind from getting into her collar.

Yesterday, her mother finally managed to prepare some warm clothes for her; otherwise, she would definitely be shivering from the cold.

She was wearing thick black tights, a slightly longer and thicker autumn skirt than she wore in summer, a long-sleeved autumn school uniform, and a red autumn coat.

Worried that she might still feel cold, I let her bring a hand warmer that I had filled with hot water that morning.

However, this thing was now in Li Wanyan's arms because she had her period today and felt a little cold, so Mo Xueyao naturally handed it to her.

Although we don't need to go to school to open the gate today, people's routines are still based on inertia.

So they still got up very early, and there weren't many people on the bus yet.

The driver yawned several times and quickly took two bites of the steamed bun while waiting at the traffic light.

Mo Xueyao took out the Sony cassette player that her godfather had given her from her schoolbag, pressed the power button, and found that there was no response. So she opened the battery compartment and bit the battery a couple of times.

The taste was sour and astringent, making my tongue feel numb.

She spat out the window where no one was walking by, then put the battery back in.

This time, pressing the switch will allow the tape drive to continue operating.

Although I brought spare AA batteries, it felt like squeezing toothpaste – if I didn't use the last bit, it would feel wasteful and a pity.

She put on the left earphone and then skillfully and naturally put the right earphone into Li Wanyan's ear canal.

Li Wanyan, whose face was a little pale, leaned forward like a shrimp and put her hands inside the hand warmer a little more: "Want to listen to some music?"

"Let's listen to the radio! The morning broadcast, hmm—" Mo Xueyao lowered her head and adjusted the dial, just like changing TV channels. She would listen for a few seconds, and if she didn't like it, she would switch to the next channel.

"Today, the lowest temperature in Hangzhou is 11 degrees Celsius, and the highest temperature is 15 degrees Celsius. It will be cloudy with a northerly wind of level 3. The temperature has dropped so suddenly, so please take care to keep warm..."

"Next, let's talk about the international situation, specifically the United States' role in..."

"Yesterday, Mr. Ding, a resident of Genshan Liushuiyuan, had a conflict with Manager Zhao of the community's property management. Not only did Manager Zhao refuse to admit his mistake, he even physically assaulted Mr. Ding. Let's hear what happened..."

"Autumn is here, and flu outbreaks are frequent. Please take precautions and drink more Banlangen (Isatis root), which is available at most pharmacies. Prevention is more important than treatment..."

"Experts predict that the international economy is about to enter a period of growth, and our country must seize this opportunity to strive to surpass Japan within ten years. Moreover, we don't have much time left. Although we are currently on the rise, the seeds of an economic crisis have already been sown. He predicts that a massive global economic crisis will occur within ten years. Let's connect with Professor Zhang and hear what he has to say..."

"Next up is joke time..."

After listening to a variety of radio programs, there didn't seem to be any particularly interesting ones, so Mo Xueyao put away the antenna and switched to listening to cassette tapes.

"I feel like I've heard it too many times, I'm getting a little tired of it," Mo Xueyao muttered as she listened to the melodious tune playing in her ears.

"Let's go rent some new cassette tapes near home."

"Rent? That's too much trouble. I'd rather buy. It's not too expensive... Good instrumental cassette tapes are hard to find."

"Hmm." Li Wanyan nodded gently, resting her head on the back of the seat in front of her, looking somewhat uncomfortable.

Are you still feeling very uncomfortable?

"It's not that I feel unwell, just a bit cold and tired."

"How about we get someone else to do your work today? Let Li Hongran do it."

"We'll see."

Li Wanyan gave Mo Xueyao a barely perceptible, and somewhat forced smile, before the cool breeze that suddenly brushed against her face made her close her eyes.

……

(two)

Sunlight shone through the gaps in the clouds and fell upon the earth.

The second arena is about the same size as the first arena, but it has fewer seats. In contrast, there are several private boxes specifically for watching the games.

Some were located at the very back, while others were located at the very front.

It probably looks like a series of square boxes, and if there's a competition or performance, those are definitely the VIP seats.

However, there's nothing special about it now. If the students want, they can even sit inside and have a tea party.

Another difference is that the venue here does not have a complete dome, which means that if it rains, it will not rain into the stands, but into the playground.

Fortunately, it doesn't look like it will continue to rain today.

Then its advantages are revealed, namely, it is well-ventilated and breathable.

Although it can feel a bit chilly in this late autumn season.

……

(three)

The athletes' march continued to play on a loop throughout the stadium. Gao Yuan held a large potato chip and popped several chips into his mouth. Zhou Yong next to him also reached out and grabbed a small handful without any hesitation, but he ate them one chip at a time, unlike Gao Yuan who ate them so voraciously.

"Gao Yuan, if you keep eating like this, you'll gain all that weight back."

Snacks are my life!

"Then eat less. You finally lost ten pounds."

"I think he's already gained all that weight back," Liu Xiaowei teased from the side. Suddenly, his eyes lit up, and he squatted down to pick something up. "Holy crap, a dollar! I made a profit!!"

"You're quite something," Gao Yuan said jokingly. "You're this happy over just one yuan?"

"How can I not be happy about finding this for free? Hey, let's wander around some more, maybe we can find a few more!"

"Pick whatever you want. You're not doing any sports activities today, are you?"

"That's all!" Liu Xiaowei waved his hand. "Let's wander around!"

"What do you mean by 'strolling'? That's called an adventure!"

"How old are you, Gao Yuan? Still going on adventures? Are you a little kid?"

Zhou Yong coughed lightly: "Actually, I still think hide-and-seek is quite fun..."

"Three years old?"

"Damn, you're only three years old!" Zhou Yong immediately raised one middle finger, while Liu Xiaowei raised two—if he weren't wearing shoes, he might have raised four.

"Come on, come on, there are so many rooms here! Let's go in and take a look, see what they're all for." Gao Yuan pointed to his backpack. "Who wants to carry my backpack for me? Take any snacks you like."

"I'll do it!" Liu Xiaowei naturally snatched the schoolbag without hesitation, casually pulled out a dark, rustic chicken leg from inside, and started gnawing on it.