A Young Woman's Heart

If it were a red and black plaid skirt, then it would be hard to say.

Leaving the school, you have to pass through the first floor of the teaching building, where the Academic Affairs Office is located, perhaps to supervise the students.

This prevents students from being too unruly in the teaching building.

After all, the principal's office is quite far from the teaching building. Firstly, it is located in a teaching building on the other side that doesn't usually have many students, and secondly, it is on the top floor of that teaching building, so it lacks a deterrent effect on the students.

Although the teaching quality of Yukong High School has declined considerably since it became a public school, the school spirit remains excellent. In this era of frequent school violence, it is rare for Yukong High School to have a single real incident of school violence throughout the year. This advantage in management has been inherited.

The three of them had just passed the teaching affairs office when the office door was pushed open.

Chen Cheng walked out reluctantly and looked at Li Wanyan, who seemed to completely ignore him.

The head of student affairs pushed up his glasses with his arms crossed and gave him a wink.

After hesitating for a moment, the latter walked with legs that felt like they were filled with lead to Li Wanyan's side.

Li Wanyan paused for a moment, stopping slightly.

"Class monitor, I'm sorry."

"..." Li Wanyan pinched the temple of her glasses and said calmly, "It's okay."

"I did not do it on purpose."

"I know."

"Oh." Chen Cheng turned around and looked at the dean of students, with an expression that said, 'Is this okay?'

"Go home." The head of the teaching department gently poked Chen Cheng's back and gave him a gentle smile. "I hope this won't happen again next time, and I also hope that next time you smoke, I won't catch you."

Chen Cheng didn't answer, but silently walked towards the school gate.

"Tch, not a shred of sincerity." Mo Xueyao rolled her eyes. "Can't a man take responsibility for himself?"

"Alright, every student has a different temperament and personality because of their family background. Being able to recognize one's mistakes is at least not a bad outcome." The head of the teaching department smoothed Mo Xueyao's hair, then turned and handed a plastic-wrapped garment to Li Wanyan. "Li Wanyan, this skirt is a replacement from the school. After all, you got your skirt torn while maintaining school order, and skirts are not easy to repair, so this new one will do—it should fit you."

"Thank you, teacher."

"It's alright." The head of the teaching department brushed his bangs back and took out a brand new blue hair tie from his pocket. "Your hair tie is almost worn out. If you don't mind, use mine. I've only used it a few times."

"Hmm..." Li Wanyan lowered her head, gently took the hair tie, and put it in her pocket.

Her hair obscured her face, preventing Mo Xueyao from seeing her expression.

"Huh... is it leaking?" Mo Xueyao suddenly looked up at the ceiling, then at a wet spot on the floor. "But it hasn't rained."

"Ahem." Ye Banxia coughed awkwardly. "Um... by the way, Mo Xueyao, did you lock your bicycle?"

"Oh no!" Mo Xueyao was startled and quickly ran out of the school gate.

I was in such a hurry when I came in that I left my bicycle unlocked at the entrance of the shop.

If someone were to ride it away, that would be terrible!

A bicycle costs several hundred yuan; if I lose it, my parents will definitely scold me to death.

Once Mo Xueyao had run far away, Li Wanyan raised her head, subtly wiped the corner of her eye, and cast a grateful glance at Ye Banxia.

"Um... well... class monitor, I'm going home now." Ye Banxia waved gently to Li Wanyan. "See you tomorrow."

"Okay, goodbye." Li Wanyan also said goodbye to her, then turned around and bowed slightly to the head teacher. "Thank you, teacher."

"It's alright. Putting people first is the most basic rule of our school. Be careful next time and don't do anything so reckless. Boys off campus and boys on campus are sometimes not the same kind of creatures, you know?"

"Ah."

……

Mo Xueyao rushed back to the shop and saw that her bicycle was still there, with two teenagers standing next to it. One of them was looking around with some confusion.

"Zhou Yong?" Mo Xueyao greeted him with delight.

"Ah, Mo Xueyao! You're here. I knew this car should be yours, but I didn't see anyone around, so I wanted to see who the owner was." Zhou Yong chuckled sheepishly, scratching his head. "Why didn't you lock the car before running off somewhere else?"

"I forgot to lock it." Overjoyed, Mo Xueyao forgot her identity as a girl and naturally patted Zhou Yong on the shoulder, saying, "Thanks, buddy."

"Dude..." Zhou Yong didn't know what expression he should make at this moment.

"Oh, Duanmu Ji is here too, thank you."

"I didn't do anything." Duanmu Ji looked at Zhou Yong, indicating that it was all Zhou Yong's credit.

"Oh right, Gao Yuan said he invited everyone in our club to go out on Saturday, but he's too shy to invite the girls, so he asked me to ask him if you want to go?" Zhou Yong said, as if he had just remembered something.

"That kid... he'd be embarrassed?" Mo Xueyao asked with a look of suspicion. "He'd actually be embarrassed?"

"Cough cough!" Zhou Yong immediately coughed, clearly indicating that something was amiss.

"He wanted to invite you to the exhibition himself, but he was too embarrassed to ask you to join." Duanmu Ji, standing to the side, bluntly exposed Zhou Yong's true intentions.

"Ha-haha..." Zhou Yong immediately scratched his head and laughed awkwardly.

What exhibition?

"Uh... it's a small circle... game, anime, and tokusatsu conventions, not many people, maybe a few dozen or a hundred, but it's already quite an achievement to be able to gather these enthusiasts. Everyone only found out about this circle through hard-to-find channels."

Although it's called an exhibition, it's more like a regular gathering.

"What channel?"

“For example… arcades… or introductions from friends or something.” Zhou Yong patted Duanmu Ji on the shoulder. “If it weren’t for Xiaoji’s recommendation, I wouldn’t even know these kinds of gatherings existed!”

"Don't call me chick." Duanmu Ji raised an eyebrow.

"chick?"

"Yes, his name is Duanmu Ji, right? His name only has the character 'Ji' in it. Then Gao Yuan and I thought, to make it more affectionate, let's just call him Xiao Ji!"

"Pfft, cough!" Mo Xueyao almost spat out a mouthful of saliva. "Um... Xiao Ji, Xiao Ji... is... not bad."

"Of course, you can call him Little Jiji if you want, right?"

Duanmu Ji rolled his eyes. It turned out he wasn't as gloomy as he appeared.

Actually, isn't he a lively person at heart?

"Anyway, thank you both." Mo Xueyao brought the topic back on track.

"Hmm, then... shall we go?"

"Let's go take a look." Mo Xueyao nodded. "See you at the school gate tomorrow?"

"Okay, see you at the school gate at eight o'clock tomorrow morning!" Zhou Yong laughed happily. "I'll be there on time!"

“I’ll arrive early,” Mo Xueyao retorted defiantly.

"Let's go." Duanmu Ji couldn't stand it anymore, so he grabbed Zhou Yong's shoulder and walked away.

Mo Xueyao put her schoolbag in the bicycle basket and straddled it.

Then I suddenly felt the back seat sink.

"Oh? It's Wanyan."

"Hmm, what were you talking about just now? You seemed pretty happy."

"Really? Ah... haha... it's probably... reminding me of things from the past." Mo Xueyao chuckled, gripping the handle and wobbling as she pedaled. "Squad leader, do your legs hurt from sitting?"

"A little."

"Then hold on tight, don't fall."

"Ah."

"Speaking of which, what do you want to eat when you get home today?"

"Either is fine."

"I thought the fried baby potatoes I ordered yesterday were delicious, so I asked my dad to order another serving today."

"It's all right."

……

Chapter 107 Godfather Gives Out Bonuses

"Hey, girls, you're back?" In the fruit shop, the father skillfully trimmed the flower branches. Even though he was the only one working in the shop, everything was tidy and organized.

It looks clean and refreshing; even just glancing at it while passing by is pleasing to the eye.

Mo Xueyao had heard her mother say since she was a child that her father was actually a very smart man, but he just never used his intelligence in the right way.

Or rather, only a small portion was spent on the right path.

After nearly losing his family fortune through gambling, the father was hesitant to try anything new for a long time.

Instead, he chose to be a lowly office worker.

This position lasted for nearly ten years.

Life can wear down a person's edges, making them lose the courage to face the storms.

But my father managed to regain the courage he had lost despite being forced to lose his job.

As the ancients said, a man is no longer confused at forty. My father's age is probably the peak of a man's combined energy and wisdom.

Her father displayed his talent once again, reminding Mo Xueyao of the expression on her mother's face when she talked about her father's past when she was in elementary school.

"Xiaoyao, your father has always been a gambler, not just in casinos, but in business as well. Do you know what it means to earn ten thousand dollars with just ten dollars...?"

I still remember that it was a proud smile on his face.

Opening a fruit shop certainly won't make you that many times more money all at once, but its advantage lies in its stability.

Life is more than just a day or two of pleasure.

More importantly, it's about taking it slow and steady.

Today repeats yesterday, and tomorrow repeats today, but there are slight differences in the repetition of yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Moreover, life is always slowly moving upward. This kind of ordinary yet hopeful life is what makes people feel happiest.

At least for Mo Xueyao, that's certainly true.