A Young Woman's Heart

“Mr. Xue? That’s a strange name.” He tapped his pipe and couldn’t help but chuckle, whether it was sarcasm or simply finding it amusing.

"Sir, I've come to buy used books."

What do you want to buy?

"I haven't decided yet, I'll just wait and see."

"Then look for yourself! Don't mess up my books!" The old man lowered his head and continued reading the books on his table, showing no intention of offering to help. "Young man, you were quite assertive just now. What will you do if no one helps you? Can you fight so many people by yourself?"

Even if we can't win, we have to fight.

"Haha, let's really fight first!" The old man's tone seemed to carry a hint of admiration.

Gao Yuan whispered in Mr. Xue's ear, "This is the first time I've ever seen him treat someone so well."

"Hey kid, what are you whispering about?"

"Ah, no, no... I didn't say anything, haha..."

……

(four)

The old bookstore was a mess, with books piled up everywhere.

However, there was little dust on the shelves and books, indicating that they are cleaned regularly.

The rain hadn't stopped outside, and the raindrops were rhythmically tapping on the eaves.

Although the bookstore was narrow and crowded, there was still a broken square table and two chairs at the far end.

There were books under the table, but the table itself was clean, except for a few old newspapers laid out as placemats.

The bookshelves don't seem to be arranged by category, so it's a bit troublesome to find things.

However, upon closer inspection, it becomes clear that these books are arranged chronologically.

Mr. Xue found five or six copies of "New Youth" on the bookshelf behind the table.

He carefully flipped through the pages and found that they were all issues containing "Diary of a Madman".

The books here are all from the old days; some are well-preserved, while others are tattered and worn.

And it wasn't just books, it even had old newspapers.

Most of them are from the Republican era.

These things are very hard to find nowadays.

A white stray cat emerged from the gap in the bookshelf, a struggling mouse dangling from its mouth.

It jumped down with the mouse in its mouth, then darted over to the counter to ask the old man for a reward.

The old man casually gave it a handful of peanuts, and it used one paw to hold down the mouse, lowered its head and sucked the peanuts into its mouth one by one, swallowing them as if it didn't need to chew.

"Sir, how much is this old edition of Lu Xun's essays?"

"Five yuan." The price was cheaper than expected. Of course, he quickly explained, "That was published in the 1980s. It's not worth much. On the back shelf, there are also collections of Lu Xun's essays published during the Republic of China era."

“Okay…” Mr. Xue replied absentmindedly, because he noticed the other books on the shelf.

The book has a simple title, "The Barefoot Doctor's Manual," and its red cover remains vibrant even after decades.

……

Chapter Fifty-Nine: The Rented Residence of the Three-Flower Pupil Jade

(One)

Mika Hitomi's ancestors actually came from China. At that time, this land was ravaged by war, and the whole family, who had been doing business for generations, moved away to Japan.

The character '珏' in 三花瞳珏 is a character that does not exist in Japanese kanji. It is taken from the Chinese character '珏', which means two pieces of beautiful jade put together.

Sanhua's ancestors were originally surnamed Gui. Besides his branch, another branch went to the United States, while another branch remained in the country. However, when the flames of war spread to every inch of land, the members of that branch also scattered to various places and their whereabouts became unknown.

The three flowers represent three bloodlines, like three osmanthus blossoms, small yet fragrant.

Here on the mountainside, a light rain was falling from the gray sky, wetting everything in the world. Sanhua Tongjue held Huang Yuxi's hand and stood in front of a low house.

Because the streets are built along the mountainside, this house is also located on this sloping uphill slope.

It's a bit far from the cancer hospital, but closer to the main road. If you compare the slope to a mountain, then it's located at the foot of the mountain, but still far from the mountainside.

The house has two floors. The roller shutter door on the first floor is always locked. To go up to the second floor, you can go up through the iron staircase at the back.

Her father had studied at Zhejiang University when he was young and had thought about bringing his family back to the land where his ancestors had lived, but in the end he did not do so.

The reason this two-story house has been empty is because her father has been paying rent.

Perhaps it's to leave something for myself to remember.

In any case, this rent was just a drop in the ocean for him, not worth mentioning.

Upon learning that his daughter was returning to the city, he arranged for her to stay here.

As for cleaning, she doesn't need to do it; we can just hire a part-time cleaning lady.

When she arrived, the house had already been cleaned; it wasn't spotless, but it was at least very tidy.

……

(two)

“Hai! I’ve arrived!” Mika Hitomi handed the transparent umbrella to Huang Yuxi, who was half a head shorter than her, and tilted her head to find a remote key in her shoulder bag.

Huang Yuxi can understand Japanese, but he hasn't heard anyone around him speak Japanese in a long time, so he paused for a few seconds before realizing what she was saying.

The key was brand new, obviously a newly made one, but the roller shutter door was quite old, making a 'clunking' sound when it was turned on, making one wonder if it would get stuck halfway open.

Behind the roller shutter door is the storefront that has just been cleaned.

The entire facade is almost entirely made of glass, clear and refreshing.

You can see some simple furniture inside through the glass door.

A sofa against the wall, a wooden coffee table, a square table by the floor-to-ceiling window, two matching light green chairs, a large bookshelf, and a small TV cabinet next to the bookshelf, on which sits a television that, though outdated, still looks quite exquisite.

This ground-floor shop was once used by my father as an activity room for university clubs, where he often conducted business research.

Although the furniture and decorations are old, they are not dirty or messy, and have a kind of historical charm.

Huang Yuxi looked around curiously: "This is...the place where your father used to live?"

"The activity room, huh? This is just..." Sanhua Tongjue's halting Chinese gradually became more fluent, but her habit of inverting words was still hard to correct, and her accent was still a bit strange, often pronouncing the third tone as the second tone and the first tone as the fourth tone...

"Wow, it's huge!" Huang Yuxi exclaimed excitedly, as if she had discovered a secret base.

“And it’s mine too, the living room, from now on.” Mika Hitomi cleared her throat, revealing a malicious smile, and blinked her left eye lightly. “Late at night, here, we can also… um… do some fun things.”

She still couldn't help but occasionally blurt out a few words of Japanese.

Huang Yuxi instinctively squeezed her legs together, looking somewhat flustered.

……

(three)

Actually, Sanhua Tongjue only arrived yesterday and hasn't had a proper chance to visit the place where her father lived when he was young.

You can't go up to the second floor from the first floor; you have to go through the small door at the back and then go up the iron stairs.

After looking around, she didn't find anything particularly interesting, so she grabbed Huang Yuxi and walked out the small door again.

Rain was pounding on the rusty iron stairs, which were so badly rusted that the water overflowing from the crevices was stained reddish-brown.

The evergreen trees planted behind this area showed no signs of yellowing; instead, they became even greener under the autumn rain.

Stepping on the slightly wet iron steps, Sanhua Tongjue and Huang Yuxi arrived at the entrance to the second floor.

He still held the umbrella out to her, while she struggled to open the security door, whose keyhole was rusty.

“In a few days, I’ll change the door…” Mika Hitomi muttered as she pushed open the creaking door and hung the key on the shoe rack by the door. “So many things need to be changed.”

Huang Yuxi consciously bent down and took off her shoes, while Sanhua Tongjue rummaged through the shoe cabinet and took out two pairs of clean new slippers.

The entryway is specifically for changing shoes; there's a shoe cabinet on the left and the bathroom on the right.

Further inside, there is a large kitchen.

One or two people don't need such a big kitchen, but in the past, the club's meals were all cooked here, and several people had to work together in the kitchen, so it had to be big.

Outside the kitchen was a large square table that could be unfolded into a round table, with a wooden turntable on it.

It's clear they used to often gather here to eat together.

There is no living room upstairs, since there is already such a big room downstairs.

There is only one bedroom here, which is combined with the study.

The restaurant was large, but this room was very small, and the ceiling was slanted, with the lowest point only a little over a meter high.

It's essentially a small attic at the foot of the roof slope.

The floor is covered with tatami mats, similar to the kind in Wang Jiale's house.

The room, which doubles as a study and bedroom, is filled with many personal belongings, all neatly arranged.

Huang Yuxi walked up to the tube radio and touched it curiously.

If this thing were around today, it would just be a decorative item.

Whether it can still be used is another matter.

Although the items are old, the interior design is quite modern and wouldn't be outdated even in China today.

The bathroom even has a separate shower room with a toilet and sink.

These items were very expensive back then.

But it meant nothing to Sanhua Tongjue's father.

—Even though the family business wasn't as big back then as it is now.

……