A Young Woman's Heart

Even though every minute and every second felt like torture, time still seemed to fly by.

Mo Xueyao had no appetite at lunchtime, so she stayed in the rocking chair to sunbathe.

Yu Shu was so sleepy that she fell asleep on the table. Her mother held her and squeezed her together with Mo Xueyao—both of them lay on the rocking chair.

The chair was spacious enough that two petite girls could lie down comfortably.

In winter, it's warmer to huddle together.

The warm sunshine seemed to have only lasted a short while before gradually dimming again.

Winter nights always come so early.

What a precious Saturday, wasted like this.

Mo Xueyao suddenly felt even more heartbroken.

I was planning to take Yu Shu sightseeing today...

The setting sun was blood red, illuminating the world until all color was lost, leaving only the gray of the telephone poles and the black of their long shadows.

The setting sun shone on Mo Xueyao's face, casting a long shadow.

Yu Shu opened her eyes somewhat dazedly, staring blankly at the sky. She habitually turned over and almost slipped off the rocking chair.

"Yaoyao, why are you still feeling unwell?"

"Huh? Feeling unwell?" Mo Xueyao scratched her head, suddenly realizing that she felt much better without even realizing it.

Time truly is the best healer.

"If you're not feeling unwell, call Yan Yan and ask her to come to the store for dinner."

"Oh!" She sat up abruptly, almost stepping on something furry.

She hurriedly swayed to the side and fell onto Yu Mei, twisting her ankle slightly.

"Su-tang!" Mo Xueyao glared at the round, fat cat. "What are you doing? I almost stepped on you. If I had, you would have been dead, you know?"

Surprisingly, Su Tang didn't cry out in protest—usually it would yell loudly at times like this, as if someone else was in the wrong.

Her response was a clear, ringing bell.

"Ring ring... Ring ring ring..." With its fat and chubby limbs, Su Tang nimbly darted onto Mo Xueyao in just a few moments.

Its furry paws were covered in mud from who-knows-where, leaving several plum blossom-shaped footprints on Mo Xueyao's clothes.

"Sugar—!!" Her voice suddenly became much sharper, but then abruptly stopped.

Because she clearly saw that Su Tang was holding that little silver bell in her mouth.

"Spicy candy!?" This time it was a surprised shout.

"You got into a fight with Su Tang today, didn't you?" the mother teased as she went back to the shop to get the ingredients, as she was about to cook the next dish.

"Mom!" Mo Xueyao exclaimed excitedly as Su Tang spat the silver bell into her palm, holding it up high. "Found it!!!"

Its sound was still incredibly crisp; the only difference was the addition of two barely noticeable teeth marks.

At this moment, she didn't care about the footprints on her body or the saliva on the bell. This feeling of getting something back was more exciting than gaining something new.

"What did you find?"

"A bell!! Look!!" Mo Xueyao jumped off the chair, raised the bell in her hand high, and shook it vigorously in front of her mother.

"How did you find it?"

"It was brought back by the sugar candy!"

"Did it bring it back?"

"Yes! What a clever and good cat!"

"I used to say it was a stupid cat, but it seems you're quite lucky to have brought it back to you."

"Su Tang!!!" Mo Xueyao picked it up tightly, then put it down again because of the mud on its paws.

I have no idea where it ran off to.

I guess the bell really did fall into the farmland.

"Let me see?" The mother took the bell, seemingly to confirm that it was the one she had lost. "Yes, it is indeed this one. No wonder it fell. Look, the part used to string the cord is broken."

"Ah...it really is, this section is so thin."

"After all, there are only bells that big in total."

"So now we can't hang it back on the red string?"

"Hmm, you like this bell so much."

"cough!"

"I'll see later. We should be able to pass through the hollowed-out part in the middle like this, but if we do that, the bell won't ring very well."

"Hmm...can't it be fixed?"

"What, you're thinking of using super glue to fix it?" the mother joked. "I'll go to a goldsmith to see if they can fix it, but I reckon the repair cost will be enough to buy a bell."

"Hmm!" My mood, which had been down all day, instantly turned cheerful. The emptiness I felt before now felt incredibly fulfilling.

"Put it away yourself first, don't lose it."

"Hmm, I'll find an envelope to put it in..."

"Xiaoyao... what's wrong... why are you so happy all of a sudden..." Yu Shu, who had just woken up, hadn't figured out what was going on.

"The bell has been found!"

Mo Xueyao raised the bell high and shook it again.

The last rays of the setting sun reflected off the wall and onto the bell, making it appear exceptionally gentle at that moment.

……

Chapter 81 Night

Night had fallen.

Mo Xueyao sat on the not-too-crowded bus, watching the rows of brightly lit shops outside the window recede into the distance.

Someone was leisurely riding a bicycle, occasionally ringing the bell.

Others wrapped their coats tighter and hurried along under the dim streetlights.

Mo Xueyao patted her pocket and then popped a peanut into her mouth.

Today, her father wanted to drink rice wine, so her mother specially fried a plate of peanuts for him in the evening. When she came back, Mo Xueyao wrapped a handful in white paper and stuffed it into her pocket.

I ate slowly on the way back.

Li Wanyan was in the car, using the dim light to flip through the remaining pages of the last volume of this book.

After a whole day, she was finally about to finish reading it.

Actually, there was only half left by noon, but she seemed afraid of missing something if she read too fast, or perhaps she was reluctant to finish it, so she read it slower and slower, until now she is almost finished.

The lighting inside the carriage was poor, so she kept her eyes wide open, always looking around when the train stopped at traffic lights.

Because the streetlights on both sides of the road will be slightly brighter at that time, and there will be no changes in light and shadow.

Mo Xueyao crunched on peanuts, her eyes half-closed, somewhat lost in thought.

For her, the night is the best wine.

Perhaps because she had seen too much bright sunshine, she preferred the dim darkness of the night.

Nighttime has its own tranquility.

"Desheng East Village, we have arrived. Please use the pedestrian crossing when crossing the road..."

With a voice announcement, Mo Xueyao was jolted awake from her hazy fantasy.

Her thoughts were just wandering with the flashing neon lights!

"A polite remark!"

"Hmm." Li Wanyan's gaze seemed glued to the book, unable to look away.

Mo Xueyao could only support her arm and pull her to stand in front of the disembarkation door.

The car door opened with a 'whoosh,' and the two of them got out of the car in a few quick steps.

The outside world was much colder than the carriage, especially the sudden gust of wind, which instantly woke up the slightly drowsy Mo Xueyao.

"Achoo!" Standing on the platform, she sneezed suddenly in the cold wind.

Not far behind was the KFC attached to the Tesco supermarket, and people were still coming out of the supermarket plaza from time to time, carrying large and small bags, while others were going in with their families.

It wasn't early, so it wasn't as lively as usual in the evenings.

It was past nine o'clock, and the supermarket was about to close.

Li Wanyan took a few steps forward, stood under the streetlight, and finished reading the last few sentences of the novel. Then, as if she had lost something, she sighed deeply.

"finish watching?"

"Ah."

"You've been watching for a whole day and night, how are you feeling? Aren't you sleepy?"

"A little."

"Is it really that good-looking?" Mo Xueyao asked curiously.

"It's alright." Li Wanyan gently licked her slightly dry lips. "Mainly because the author wrote it very realistically, that kind of life..."

"Who did the protagonist end up with?" Mo Xueyao asked casually.

But Li Wanyan was taken aback. She closed the book and hugged it to her chest: "What? With whom?"

"Huh? So usually there's an ending where they fall in love with someone and end up together, right?"

"No, that's not it."