A Young Woman's Heart

Some people planned to take a nap or do some homework in the classroom at noon, while others called on their friends to go to the playground to play together.

The weather is exceptionally nice today.

Hua Yinyin lay on the table, burying her face in her arms, motionless, as if she had fallen asleep.

"Hua Yinyin, aren't you going to the band room today?" Mr. Xue grinned, the sunlight shining on his white teeth, giving them a golden sheen.

Hua Yinyin didn't answer; she seemed to have really fallen asleep.

Mr. Xue tentatively patted her shoulder, and she finally slowly raised her head.

She rubbed her reddened eyes, her soft, pink tongue helplessly licking her teeth.

And the teeth gently bit the tongue, as if the two were playfully fighting.

"What's wrong?" Mr. Xue asked with a smile.

Looking at his harmless face, Hua Yinyin finally sighed helplessly: "It's nothing, I'm just a little sleepy."

"Then go sleep in the band room."

She nodded silently, lowered her head slightly, and dragged herself out of the classroom.

Mr. Xue quickly followed her, keeping a respectful distance as he stood protectively by her side.

Hua Yinyin walked unsteadily, like someone recovering from a serious illness, and almost bumped into others several times.

This is not only the students' lunch break time, but also the workers' lunch break time.

They sat together in small groups, their clothes dirty, their hair covered in wall dust, small pebbles, and broken cement.

They seemed to be tangled in a thicket of hair, and could not be easily shaken off.

In front of the workers not far from Mr. Xue, an old newspaper was spread out, and several plastic bags were laid out on the newspaper, each containing a white foam box.

It contained lunch from the cafeteria of Yukong High School.

They ate the food that many students were tired of eating with great relish.

Mr. Xue clearly saw a lean man stuff a large piece of fatty meat into his mouth, as if he were savoring the most wonderful food in the world, with a look of happiness and satisfaction on his face.

The swaying Hua Yinyin accidentally bumped into a worker.

A large piece of pork belly fell from his chopsticks onto the dusty old newspaper. His first instinct was to pick it up and put it in his mouth. Only then did he turn around in a panic, revealing a cheerful yet humble smile: "Little girl, are you alright? Oh, I'm so sorry, I got your socks dirty."

Hua Yinyin glanced down at the wall dust on her black pantyhose, gently patted it off, and then waved her hand to indicate that she didn't care.

"Be careful, if you get sick, just ask for leave. Oh dear, this young lady is quite strong-willed."

"Haha, maybe she's afraid that if she takes a day off, she'll fall behind in her studies. Sigh, I wish my son was as studious as she is!"

"Hahaha--"

The workers burst into laughter.

Mr. Xue stepped forward to help Hua Yinyin up: "Are you sick?"

"No, I'm just a little sleepy." As she spoke, she actually yawned, and a few slightly cloudy tears leaked from the corner of her eyes.

……

(three)

The band room was right in front of them, but Hua Yinyin stopped in her tracks.

She tilted her head and chose to walk towards the rooftop.

"Want to go to the rooftop for some fresh air?"

"Ah."

“Okay.” Mr. Xue nodded, seemingly unconcerned about her, and turned to walk into the band room.

Hua Yinyin clearly heard the girls shouting Mr. Xue's name in an exaggerated manner, and the noisy laughter spread throughout the entire teaching building.

She struggled to push open the broken door to the rooftop and went up alone.

It is surrounded by tall, fine wire mesh, made of the same material as basketball and badminton courts.

The brisk autumn wind blew wildly, causing her braided pigtails to slap against her cheeks again and again.

She found a clean spot and sat down, hugging her knees.

Time seemed to stand still at that moment.

All that remained was the not-so-gentle autumn wind.

Suddenly, the dilapidated door was pushed open again.

She saw a shadow appear on the ground in front of her. It was Mr. Xue walking towards her.

"Yinyin, I borrowed some wet wipes from Lele. Wipe the dust off your socks, and there's some on your skirt too."

Hua Yinyin tilted her head to look at the wet wipes Mr. Xue handed her, pursed her lips, and then looked back.

"Then I'll wipe it for you," Mr. Xue said with a smile.

Hua Yinyin did not resist and let him grab her ankles and place them on his legs.

Mr. Xue lowered his head, gently unwrapped the wet wipes, and then carefully began to wipe.

The dust on the hem of the skirt and the socks was wiped clean.

Then, he took out a napkin and wiped it again before wrapping the soiled wet wipe and napkin in a bag and stuffing it into his pocket.

He put Hua Yinyin's legs back down, which were draped over him, and then quietly took a book out of his pocket.

It was an old book with the words "Barefoot Doctor's Manual" written in large characters on the cover.

The two did not exchange a single word until the bell rang signaling the end of lunch break.

As she stood up, Hua Yinyin thanked him in a voice only she could hear.

Mr. Xue, however, remained engrossed in his reading, as if he hadn't even heard the bell.

……

(four)

The second class in the afternoon was Qiu Yi's art class.

Today he's going to talk about why Chaplin's silent films are so good, and teach the students some cinematic language.

Of course, very few people listened; most were rushing to do their homework or review previously learned lessons.

No matter what, this is an honors class, so there's never a shortage of hardworking and diligent people here.

"Knock knock." A slow, steady knocking sound came from outside the classroom door.

“Actually, we can see…” Qiu Yi stopped speaking and walked to the door. “Please come in.”

The door opened, and a man wearing a black leather jacket and black jeans stood outside.

Upon closer inspection, wasn't this the lean man Mo Xueyao had seen a few times before?

However, he seemed to have taken a shower and changed his clothes, so he didn't look like the same person at all.

My hair was washed very clean, and I even applied hair oil and combed it carefully.

Although his face was dark, it looked very clean.

The leather shoes she was wearing even had a crocodile logo on them.

"you are?"

"Oh, I'm Liu Xiaowei's dad... father. I've come to pick him up for his medical appointment. We've already made an appointment and spoken with Teacher Ye Wen."

"Liu Xiaowei! Your dad's here to pick you up!" Qiu Yi called out to Liu Xiaowei, then turned around and asked, "What happened to him?"

"I'm going to get a few cavities filled, mainly because the dentist only works Monday to Friday, and it won't be time to go after school."

"Haha, he must not pay attention to oral hygiene." Qiu Yi looked at Liu Xiaowei, who was quickly packing his schoolbag, and teased, "Liu Xiaowei, after you get your teeth filled this time, you'd better remember to brush your teeth more often next time!"

Liu Xiaowei coughed awkwardly, packed his schoolbag, and quickly walked up to his father. After glancing at his father, who was dressed very formally, he couldn't help but laugh and shout loudly, "Dad!"

"Okay, I'm off. Hurry up and go. I can come back for evening self-study later."

"Do we have to go back?"

How long does it take to get a filling?

"Look, I've already packed my schoolbag..." Liu Xiaowei packed his schoolbag and ran out because he wanted to 'act first and ask questions later'.

His father shook his head helplessly and gently patted his head: "Come on, alright, let's go."

"OK OK!"

"Teacher, we'll be going now."

"Okay, take care." Qiu Yi replied politely, and only after Liu Xiaowei and his father had walked a distance away did she gently close the door. "Alright, classmates, let's continue talking about what we just discussed..."

……

(Fives)

The fourth class ended, and the classroom was still piled high with books and schoolbags.

Since the next step was just a short rest before evening self-study, the students didn't tidy up their things much.

Mo Xueyao was walking past her desk at that moment, casually tossing a small note onto it as if it had just fallen out of her pocket by accident.

She herself seemed oblivious to everything, chatting with Wang Jiale about where to buy lunch later.

"Yinyin, what's wrong with you today? You haven't seemed very energetic all afternoon."

Hua Yinyin read the note several times, then crumpled it up and stuffed it into her drawer. Suddenly, she stood up abruptly and slapped Mo Xueyao on the shoulder: "Little Yaoyao, let's go eat dinner!"

……

Chapter Sixty-Four: The Evening Self-Study Session Was Cancelled at the Last Minute

"Hey, um, hello, hello? Can you hear me?" The vice principal's deep, slightly aged voice came over the loudspeaker, "Due to a meeting for all teachers tonight, the evening self-study session for senior students is temporarily canceled. Please go home as soon as possible. I'll repeat that again..."

The classroom was as lively as if it were a festival. Some boys were even hugging each other. Hua Yinyin followed suit and stretched out her arms to hug her tightly.