A Young Woman's Heart

The other girls, as if joining in the fun, also crowded around.

"Alright, alright...you've all turned into money-grubbing types, haven't you?" Mo Xueyao complained irritably, "I'm so bored..."

"Pfft, if all the girls in the class turned into Hua Yinyin, that would be too scary!" The tall Aya Akimoto couldn't help but laugh.

Ye Banxia nodded in deep agreement.

Mo Xueyao tilted her head and glanced at Hua Yinyin: "Hmm—it would be quite interesting if they were all Yinyin, watching them take advantage of each other and stuff."

"That's truly using her own weapon against her..."

The girls couldn't help but shudder at the thought of a group of women lying together, touching each other.

After the excitement subsided, the students who had just left the classroom or hadn't yet left returned to their seats and began packing their bags.

Although evening self-study sessions have been canceled, homework still needs to be done, so there's not much time to linger outside.

"Yinyin, are you going to the band room today?"

"Huh? No way." Hua Yinyin stuffed all the scattered pens on the table into her pencil case, then tossed them into her schoolbag. "I'm going to the hospital later."

"Huh? What's wrong?"

“My dad suddenly went into shock when he got home last night. We took him to the hospital in the middle of the night. My mom has been with him the whole time, but I don’t know how he is now.” Hua Yinyin answered calmly, then slung her backpack over her shoulder, and gently pinched Mo Xueyao’s cheek with a light laugh. Yes, it was a calm and serene smile, not the mischievous grin she usually wore. “I have to go see how he is.”

"Oh... okay, everything should be alright, right?"

"If something really happened, my mom would probably have already called the school."

"Huh?"

"To witness my father's last moments or something," Hua Yinyin said playfully, sticking out her tongue.

"Hey, hey, don't say such unlucky things!" Mo Xueyao finally understood. "No wonder Xiaoxue... um, no wonder you haven't been energetic all day, is it because of this?"

"That's part of the reason."

"What about the rest?"

"Hmm—I won't tell you~" Hua Yinyin blinked. "Okay, I have to catch the train now. I hope it's not too crowded..."

"Going to the city center hospital will definitely be very crowded."

"Then let's take a taxi!" Hua Yinyin's voice came from the classroom door. She turned her head, her bright almond eyes seeming to hold a pool of clear autumn water. "See you tomorrow, Yaoyao."

"Hey, don't talk like that, it's giving me goosebumps..." In Mo Xueyao's memory, it seemed that only her mother and Li Wanyan called her that, while Hua Yinyin always added the word 'Xiao' in front of her.

Just as a subtle feeling welled up in her heart, she heard Li Wanyan shout loudly, like a shout to subdue demons and tigers, which startled her and made the subtle feeling disappear without a trace.

"Zhou Yong! Come back!"

Zhou Yong, who was trying to slip away, could only slink back dejectedly.

Ye Banxia opened her mouth, just about to say something to Li Wanyan, when she saw Li Wanyan run over and stop Chen Cheng, who was about to leave.

"Chen Cheng, you haven't cleaned the house yet."

"I did it."

"What did you do?"

"Mop the floor."

"The floor hasn't been swept, so mopping it won't help."

"But Liu Xiaowei didn't come back today."

As they were talking, Liu Xiaowei returned to the classroom with his schoolbag on his back. He looked at the students leaving with their schoolbags, somewhat bewildered, wondering what had happened.

Then, he saw Li Wanyan's sharp gaze coming his way.

Instinctively, he turned and ran.

But this time Chen Cheng caught him. He was a little unhappy just now, but he became cheerful: "Haha, Liu Xiaogou, don't even think about running away. Hurry up and sweep the floor!"

"Damn—" Liu Xiaowei's words were still a little incoherent, "What's going on with this Demon Star Mine?!"

"You shouldn't have replied 'you know'! Now that you're back, hurry up and clean up, haha, there's no evening study session tonight!"

"I rely on!!"

The cleaning staff finally took their positions, and after a brief period of activity, the classroom finally quieted down.

Li Wanyan and the others, who were at the back, locked the door, said their goodbyes, and left the school.

It was neither early nor late, but in the last few days of late autumn, on the eve of winter's arrival, it was getting dark earlier and earlier.

It's a little past five o'clock.

Only half of the setting sun could be seen, as if it had been pierced, scattering its blood-red paint across the sky.

The telephone poles, back from the sunlight, turned into dark pillars, as if they had become my own shadows.

Mo Xueyao's footsteps on the sidewalk tiles occasionally made a 'click' sound.

Suddenly, streetlights behind them lit up, as if transmitting light, illuminating the lights around them and in the distance.

This made the blood-red sunset in the sky appear even dimmer.

Mo Xueyao then imitated the cat on the wall, jumping onto a slightly higher section of the roadside shoulder, swaying precariously as if crossing a log bridge.

She accidentally bumped into Li Wanyan, and her clear laughter immediately carried far.

The dim streetlights and the setting sun intertwined, casting patches, streaks, or crooked silhouettes.

That is the special appearance of many ordinary things in the city at a special point in time.

After walking along a street with no shops or residential buildings, only construction sites and dilapidated roads, the road ahead suddenly brightened up again.

The aroma of stir-fried dishes wafted from the low-rise buildings along the roadside.

"Splash, splash—"

"Clang, clang—"

"Thump, thump!"

These are the sounds of different people cooking.

They also mingled with the cries of a baby, the arguments between couples, and the scolding of children by parents…

These various sounds intertwined, creating a symphony called life.

Mo Xueyao fanned herself vigorously, coughing a few times from the spiciness of the air: "Ugh—who cooks this spicy? I can't even stand the smell. Is it really edible?"

"They're probably from Hunan." Li Wanyan turned her head away and took a breath of fresh air.

"Oh—this place makes West Lake Fish in Vinegar Sauce? Or sweet and sour pork ribs? The smell is so familiar."

"Hmm, but it might be a little burnt."

"Hmm, it is a bit..."

Through the various windows, there are all sorts of people.

However, looking into the dimly lit street, all one could see were busy figures.

Some homes have blindingly white lights, some have warm, yellow lights, and others are very dim, with even the streetlights shining in brighter than their own lights.

"Achoo!" Someone coughed, followed by the sound of someone forcefully patting their back.

The closer Mo Xueyao got to the fruit shop, the lighter her steps became.

This land seemed to possess a power that could restore her spirit.

Finally, we saw the fruit shop.

Behind the fruit shop, Pan Jiexiang and Yang Xiaoyu were busy working together. A wall lamp hung on the wall, but it wasn't very bright, and they had to rely on the light from the streetlights to make use of it.

The moths crashed against the wall lamp, while a large swarm of small flying insects hovered in the beam of light from the street lamp, as if they thought they were basking in the sunlight.

"Boom—crash—" The pot in the mother's hand seemed to catch fire, a large ball of flames surged up, and she quickly threw a bunch of green peppers into the pot. When the sweet aroma spread, she quickly put in the chopped pork belly.

A rich fragrance filled the air. Even though she had smelled many more enticing scents along the way, only this one made Mo Xueyao feel at home.

"Yan Yan, Yao Yao, you're back so early today?" Pan Jiexiang was mixing cold dishes in a large iron basin. She saw the two of them from afar, but only asked them with a gentle smile when she got closer.

"Hey, girls, you're back! Why are you back so early today?" The father, who was squatting by the door eating sunflower seeds, suddenly stood up and asked with a big laugh.

"The teachers had a meeting today, so evening self-study was canceled at the last minute."

Li Wanyan nodded, confirming that Mo Xueyao was not lying.

"Ayu, Ayu! Wife!!"

"What are you doing?!" The mother impatiently fanned herself with her hand. Without a range hood, it was really too pungent when cooking.

"Xiaoyao and Wanyan are back early, so cook a couple more dishes!"

"What do you say?"

"They're back! Cook a couple more dishes!"

Yang Xiaoyu turned off the stove with a 'whoosh,' and the noisy sounds finally disappeared from her ears for the time being.

"What? Oh? Yaoyao, Yanyan, you're back so early today?"

Mo Xueyao could only repeat what she had just said.

"Then let's stir-fry some cowpeas too."

"Hmm, I'll make some egg drop soup using the coal stove," Pan Jiexiang added.

"Okay, Jiexiang, thank you for your hard work."

"It's nothing, my daughter and I are both..."

"Haha, I've said it so many times, no need for thanks, it's too formal." Her father took a deep drag on his cigarette. Mo Xueyao had always wondered how he could smoke and eat sunflower seeds at the same time…

Pan Jiexiang smiled and nodded, then went back to her work.

That coal stove was originally used to boil water, but now it has also taken on the important task of cooking soup.

The advantage of gas cylinders is their convenience; they can be used immediately upon opening. The advantage of coal stoves is that they are relatively cheaper, and coal briquettes are also safer.

At least it's less likely to explode...

Mo Xueyao waved her hand to shoo away the flying insects under the light. Although it was already late autumn, their numbers did not seem to decrease.