A Young Woman's Heart

"Dad, have you ordered fast food yet?" As soon as she returned to the fruit shop, Mo Xueyao habitually threw her schoolbag down, causing the cardboard box to shake. Then she saw the brittle candy seeping out from the gaps in the box, looking like a liquid.

"Haha, no fast food today." The father twirled the scissors in a fancy manner and tossed them onto the table. "Let's go to your godfather's house for dinner."

"Going to Godfather's house? Dad, are you closing your shop?"

"Just the two of you going."

"what?"

"Your godfather received his bonus from last month today, so he's treating you two girls to a nice meal."

"I think I eat pretty well usually," Mo Xueyao said, putting her hands behind her head. "So what are you going to do?"

"It's okay, just pack some more for me when you're done eating, right?"

"This is truly a case of 'they can't afford to suffer the consequences...'"

The father laughed a few times, and was about to say something when he heard the phone ring with a hummingbird-like sound, accompanied by its vibration.

"Hello? Don't worry, the girls will be there right away. No need, no need, why drive to pick them up for such a short distance? It's a waste of gas money. Even if it's reimbursable, this isn't how you use it, is it? Okay, okay, I know, I'll make sure they get there as soon as possible." The father said, hanging up the phone. "Alright, girls, put down your bags and let's go!"

"Godfather is still so impatient." Mo Xueyao casually picked up a fallen grape from the fruit stand. "How can he become a bureau chief like that?"

"Isn't he still the section chief?"

"So, can someone with a short temper really become a bureau chief?"

"Come on, you're calling others impatient. I think you're even more impatient than your godfather!" The father waved his hand and said with a laugh, "Go on."

"I know." Mo Xueyao shrugged and looked at Li Wanyan beside her. "Let's go, Wanyan."

"Okay, Uncle, let's go." Before setting off, Li Wanyan didn't forget to say goodbye to Mo Xueyao's father.

"Be careful on the road!" Mo Wenli waved his hand.

The home of godfather Yu Liang is not far from the fruit shop.

It takes about ten minutes to walk there.

They're only two streets apart.

In other words, you'll arrive after passing two traffic lights.

Mo Xueyao and Li Wanyan walked through the bustling night market, and the surrounding streets gradually quieted down as they walked until they arrived at an upscale residential area.

"This is your godfather's house?" Li Wanyan couldn't help but glance at the tall stone pillars at the entrance a few more times. "Nordic style."

"Yeah, although I feel a little out of place with the surroundings." Mo Xueyao put her hands in her pockets, faced the cool breeze blowing in her face, and walked to the entrance of the community.

Just as the two were figuring out how to get through the barrier that blocked pedestrians—something like a security checkpoint at a train station—the window of the security booth next to them was suddenly flung open.

"Two young ladies, visitors please register over here!"

"You're here." Mo Xueyao used to ride in her godfather's car directly in, but this was her first time walking, so she was a little unsure of the procedure.

After registering their names with Li Wanyan, the security guard called her godfather again and only allowed them to pass after receiving confirmation.

"Really strict." After walking a short distance, Li Wanyan commented softly.

"Well, there's nothing we can do about it. That's just how it is in these upscale neighborhoods," Mo Xueyao said helplessly, shrugging her shoulders. "At least their attitude is alright."

My godfather's house isn't far from the entrance of the residential area; it's a building next to an artificial lake.

"Hmm... this should be the right unit." Mo Xueyao hesitated for a moment in front of the door, but still tried knocking.

"咚咚-"

"Coming~" came the cute, sweet voice of a little girl from inside the room, and then the door was pushed open a crack from the outside.

"Ah, it's Sister Yaoyao, and... the one from last time."

"Just call her Sister Wanyan." Mo Xueyao, feeling embarrassed at being addressed as 'sister', reintroduced Li Wanyan's name to Yu Jinyu.

"Yaoyao's here." Her godmother's voice followed, and then she hurriedly walked to the door, took out two pairs of cotton slippers from the shoe cabinet next to her, and placed them on the ground.

She had always been called Xiao Yao, but now that she was suddenly being called Yao Yao, Mo Xueyao felt strangely uncomfortable.

Well, the latter does sound cuter, but I still get goosebumps when I hear it.

Fortunately, his godfather still calls him Xiaoyao.

"Xiao Yao, you're just in time. All the dishes are served. I was just about to call your dad to remind him." The godfather said, then looked at Li Wanyan, "Your name is Li Wanyan, right?"

"Yes, hello uncle and aunt."

"Don't be shy, make yourself at home," the godfather said, pulling out a chair from the dining table. "Please take a seat!"

"Was the bonus a lot this time, Godfather?" Mo Xueyao sat down very naturally, as if she were at home.

"What are you saying? Does that mean I can't invite you to dinner if I don't give you a bonus?" the godfather joked, then said to the godmother, "Wife, bring me that bottle of red wine."

"Drinking again?"

"Yes, when you're in a good mood, you should definitely have a drink to liven things up." Godfather said, taking the red wine that Godmother handed him and swirling it around. "How about it, Xiaoyao, would you like a glass?"

"I don't think I can drink alcohol."

"It's okay, you can drink more after you've had enough."

“What I mean is—that’s what the doctor said,” Mo Xueyao said, her eyelids drooping.

"It's alright, a little won't hurt. It's just red wine, not very strong." But her godfather insisted that Mo Xueyao have a glass too.

"Ah Liang," the godmother tapped the godfather on the head with a wine opener, "have you been in the officialdom too much? You're even urging your niece to drink?"

"Haha... I always feel like it'd be more fun with some alcohol." The godfather was taken aback, then laughed somewhat awkwardly.

The godmother pinched the godfather's chubby arm and said, "Don't bring your bureaucratic drinking culture home. It's disgusting to see."

“Sometimes, once you get used to something, it’s hard to change, right, Xiaoyao?” Her godfather said, trying to comfort himself while winking at Mo Xueyao, seemingly implying something.

Li Wanyan doesn't talk much in front of strangers; most of the time she's just an observer and listener.

Her outward personality is that of a quiet and earnest person.

"Tsk, never mind, give me a little bit, just a tiny bit, and I'll mix it with Sprite." Mo Xueyao held out her glass. "I've often heard that red wine and Sprite taste good together, but I've never tried it before."

"Alright, let's try some!" The godfather poured some red wine for Mo Xueyao, swirled the bottle, and looked at Li Wanyan beside him, asking with a hint of teasing and joking, "Class monitor, would you like some?"

“Okay,” Li Wanyan agreed readily, surprisingly so.

So a wine glass was filled, but Li Wanyan only took one sip before frowning.

"Haha? Not good?" the godfather laughed.

"It's a bit astringent."

"Red wine, well, that's pretty much it." Godfather chuckled as he took a sip. "Hmm, actually I think rice wine is better. Red wine is purely for showing off your taste. Tsk tsk, the adult world is so boring, isn't it, Xiaoyao?"

"Probably," Mo Xueyao replied perfunctorily, her gaze already fixed on the sumptuous dishes on the table.

While it may not feature delicacies from land and sea, it does include all kinds of common meats.

Braised beef, roasted chicken legs, stewed lamb, braised fish...

In the end, Mo Xueyao was so full she could barely walk, and there was still more than half of the food left.

"That's such a waste."

"No need to waste any, pack some up and take it home. It'll be your dad's dinner tonight, and you can have it with porridge for breakfast tomorrow." The godfather cracked his neck. "So, how about watching a movie at my house tonight?"

"Watch a movie? My dad'll starve." Mo Xueyao rolled her eyes, but her next words betrayed her true thoughts: "Watch what?"

"I got my hands on an English version of The Matrix with subtitles on a videotape. I projected it onto a screen with a projector. It was absolutely awesome."

"...Then what about my dad?"

"No problem, I'll drive it over."

"That's too extravagant..."

"Haha, you two can relax and watch. I'll go turn on the projector—honey, pack up all the food, I'll take it to Ali later!"

"all?"

"of course."

……

Chapter 108 The Matrix

The cool night breeze gently brushed against Mo Xueyao's face.

It was almost 10 p.m.

Mo Xueyao and Li Wanyan had just come out of her godfather's house, but her thoughts were still on the movie she had just watched.

Perhaps it was because she had just watched a movie that she felt a little unreal about the real world.

"Is everything we see, hear, touch, and experience necessarily real?" Mo Xueyao stared blankly at the sky, almost bumping into a lamppost.

"Xiao Yao, are you still thinking about the plot of the movie? Be careful not to bump into the pillar." Li Wanyan tugged at Mo Xueyao's arm and reminded her.

"Hmm... because it's such an interesting idea, and the special effects are amazing. When will our country be able to make such a good, or even better, sci-fi movie?" Mo Xueyao stretched out a big yawn. "Wanyan, do you think we're in reality right now, or in a cultivation container?"

"Of course, in reality."

"Why? What evidence do you have to prove it?"

"Then what evidence do you have to prove that this isn't reality?"

"Hmm..." Mo Xueyao brushed her bangs, which were a little messy from the wind, "Okay, but if you really lived in such a world, would you want to continue living in the illusion, or wake up?"

"Perhaps, I'm still indulging in illusions," Li Wanyan smiled faintly. "At least I can taste steak there."

"Breaking free from constraints, pursuing freedom, and finding the truth are not always a good thing, are they?" Mo Xueyao said thoughtfully.

"Hmm... Of course, in such a world, it would be even better to be a hacker who can change the world." Li Wanyan couldn't help but mimic the gesture of the male protagonist in a movie, "How comfortable would life be if you could have whatever you wanted?"

“I think that would be boring.” Mo Xueyao held the opposite opinion. “The reason why life is so exciting is because everything is unpredictable and many things are beyond our control. If you have no pursuit after becoming invincible, you would find it even more boring.”

"Isn't a happy life something to strive for?"