A Young Woman's Heart

Aya Akimoto fell asleep on the wooden stump table, her drool wetting the exam paper.

Leng Feng chuckled and gently nudged her. She opened her eyes groggily and mumbled a few words that no one else could understand, as if she were still dreaming.

Ye Banxia had just finished her homework, poured herself a cup of hot water, and sat down, seemingly intending to rest. She turned to Mo Xueyao and the others and asked, "Speaking of which, did our class win the debate competition last time?"

"No, we lost. The award certificate will probably be presented at the morning meeting this Monday."

"It really won't work without Xiaoxue." Hua Yinyin shrugged.

Li Wanyan, who was attending in place of Mr. Xue, raised her eyebrows slightly.

Because everyone was focused on their homework, they kept their voices down when they talked to each other.

There was a noticeable hissing sound when people were talking.

It's like whispering under the covers.

"Hmm!" Akimoto Aya suddenly sat up, breaking the silence, and Aishuer, who was sitting by the fireplace, threw in a piece of firewood.

"Ah—what time is it?"

"Don't worry, I haven't slept until the second day yet—but it'll be soon." Mo Zhuyou joked with a smile, pointing to the clock hanging on the living room wall.

The hour hand is pointing to eleven, and the minute hand is already past the halfway mark.

"It's so late."

"Yes, everyone has been working hard on their homework for several hours." Mo Xueyao raised her head and stretched comfortably. She was prepared and slept until one o'clock in the afternoon, so she was still very energetic.

Wang Jiale yawned, and tears mixed with saliva streamed down her face.

"Yinyin, pour me a glass of Shaoxing wine!" Mo Xueyao handed over her empty glass. Although she had a high alcohol tolerance, she didn't like strong liquor. Instead, she preferred this kind of 'drink' with a hint of sweetness and alcohol.

—Although this stuff can knock many girls out, it's really just a beverage to her.

"Xiaoyao's alcohol tolerance is amazing..." Yu Shu rubbed her slightly numb legs and sighed. She was completely unable to drink alcohol, so she felt a little regretful.

"Here." Hua Yinyin handed a cup filled with yellow wine to Mo Xueyao, and grinned mischievously at Yu Shu, "Hey, Yu Shu, want a sip?"

"Xiao Yao is so energetic." Leng Feng rubbed her eyes, the flickering flames in the fireplace making her face look especially hot.

Yu Shu shook her head vigorously, backed away, and leaned against Mo Xueyao: "Ugh—I don't want to!"

Mo Xueyao gently placed one hand on Yu Shu's shoulder and subconsciously pushed her away a little, just like she usually pushed Hua Yinyin: "Didn't you guys sleep a little longer? I prepared in advance and didn't get up until the afternoon."

"Come on~ It's really delicious~!" Hua Yinyin grinned mischievously and handed the glass a little more.

Ye Banxia and Ai Xiu'er's cheeks were very close, and she muttered softly, "Yin Yin is bullying people again."

"Ah, I only slept until ten o'clock, I thought that would be enough—" Leng Feng patted Aya Aya, "Aya Aya was so sleepy that she fell asleep just now.

"It's okay, I feel better now—I just woke up too early this morning."

Hua Yinyin gently pinched Yu Shu's cheek, as if she wanted to force her to drink the wine.

"Alright, Yinyin, stop fooling around—" Mo Xueyao glared at her, then looked at Qiu Yuanling, "What time did you get up?"

Yu Shu was completely pinned down on Mo Xueyao, forcing the latter to tilt her body to the side: "Eee ...

"I got up at five o'clock, phew... to help my dad deliver steamed buns."

"Steamed bun?"

"Yinyin, stop fooling around." Mo Xiaoxiao 'snatched' the wine glass that she had raised high.

“Yes, fermented rice buns.” Aya Akimoto nodded.

"She doesn't seem to have ever bullied me," Aishuer whispered to Ye Banxia beside her.

Wang Jiale was slumped over her math test paper, finally finishing all her math homework: "I'm hungry... Youyou, do you have any midnight snacks at home...?"

"Hehe, whoosh whoosh—tickling!" Even without the wine glass, Hua Yinyin seemed determined not to let Yu Shu off the hook.

"Sis—do you have any late-night snacks at home?"

"Hua Yinyin." Li Wanyan, who had been engrossed in her homework, finally looked up. Her gaze was so intense that it seemed to 'push' Hua Yinyin away.

"Yinyin is the type to bully the weak and fear the strong. She probably thinks you're not someone to mess with." Ye Banxia raised her voice slightly amidst the noise.

"Huh? Me? Do I look fierce?"

"Hmm—" she drawled, as if considering how to answer.

"Late-night snack? Hmm, we have some. We have some light snacks, and if you want something hot, we can make it fresh."

"Um... mixed noodles, is that okay?" Wang Jiale asked somewhat shyly.

"Let me see……"

Ye Banxia watched Mo Xiaoxiao walk past her and suddenly thought of a phrase: "Perhaps it's because you seem rather cold on the surface?"

"Is there?"

"Hmm, there's a bit of a mysterious vibe to them, like they don't really like communicating with others."

Aisha stuck out her tongue: "No... I just often think about my own things, like fortune-telling or something."

Leng Feng chimed in, joining the conversation: "It's better not to let her know, otherwise, Yin Yin—tsk tsk, back when the first year of high school started and Xiao Yao wasn't here, she even tried to seduce Ling Ling's thighs."

"Shu'er is about the same size as Xiao Yaoyao when you hold her, so cute~" Hua Yinyin hugged her and rubbed her cheeks hard. "The shyer you are, the cuter you are~ Xiao Yaoyao hasn't been shy lately, she's not cute at all!"

"That means they're immune to you, okay..." Wang Jiale pouted.

Sitting opposite her, Mo Zhuyou poked the back of her hand: "Lele, come quick, why is this English reading passage so hard to understand? It's all so convoluted!"

"Oh? You did that too? That's really interesting, let me teach you!" Wang Jiale actually loves to teach, but he just doesn't usually have the opportunity.

"Has Xiaoyao ever tried staying up all night to do her homework?" Aya Akimoto flipped through the test paper in front of her, feeling sleepy again.

Aishuer gently poked at the pretty stones beside her leg with her toes, and looked at Ye Banxia who was yawning, and asked softly, "Xiaxia, huff... hah... seeing you yawn makes me want to yawn too—are you sleepy?"

"Hmm, a little." Ye Banxia nodded, squinting her eyes. "What about you?"

"Of course I've tried it," Mo Xueyao replied matter-of-factly, taking a big gulp of the still-warm yellow wine. "I've been addicted ever since I tried it last time. It feels so good to do my homework at night. It's so quiet, and I can concentrate really well. It even gives me a kind of... well, how should I put it? It's that wonderful feeling, like swimming in a sea of ​​stars, like I'm floating."

Aishuer reached out and picked up a pretty pebble from the ground, casually tossing it onto her homework: "I'm not sleepy. Divination is usually done at night, and it's more accurate at night, like divination in the mirror."

"Mirror divination, Aishuer can do it?!" Wang Jiale looked over as if she heard the voice, her face full of excitement. "The kind that can only be done after midnight?"

"Yes, that's it."

"Let's try it later! I heard it's very accurate! It's just that a mirror demon might replace the person doing the divination."

"Don't worry, I am the Dream Witch."

"A strange metaphor," Leng Feng replied, echoing Mo Xueyao's earlier words.

"We have noodles!" Mo Xiaoxiao hurriedly walked out of the small warehouse. "We also have sausages, and as for snacks, there are some homemade cakes in the refrigerator."

"I want to eat dry noodles!"

“What’s strange about it?” Mo Xueyao looked at Mo Xiaoxiao. “Ah, Xiaoxiao, I want to eat it too.”

"Aishue always says she's a witch."

“Yes! My grandmother was a witch, a real witch in the area.” Ashley said this with great pride.

"Okay, so, who else wants some noodles?"

"You'll get fat." Hua Yinyin sat up straight and looked at Yu Shu, who was about to raise her hand.

The latter immediately withdrew her little hand.

"Wow, amazing, a real witch?"

"Don't worry! A little bit of noodles won't make you fat. You'll lose weight if you exercise!" Leng Feng patted Akimoto Aya's firm thigh beside him.

"Pfft, you're filming your own pictures, why are you filming mine?"

"Oh dear, I'm so sorry, the money has melted!"

"What do you mean 'I' have melted'?"

"She turned into a weird female psychopath."

"Hey! Hey!"

"Okay, Xiaoyao wants one too. Does anyone else want one?"

“You guys try mirror divination later, I’ve never seen it before—Aishue, would you like some noodles? I’d like to have a serving and share it with you, one bowl might be too much for us to finish…”

“Okay.” Aishuer tossed the pretty pebble in her hand and nodded gently.

"Thank you for your help, Xiaoxiao. We're all here to do our homework, but you're the one taking care of us."

"I'm fine, and making noodles is quick."

"I'll go help my sister start the fire!" Because Wang Jiale was chatting with Ai Xiuer and hadn't continued teaching her for the time being, she stood up as well.

"Slap!" Akimoto Aya slapped Leng Feng's thigh hard. "Yours is even stronger than mine."

"Ha, I'm just a little shorter than you. You didn't beat me in the sprint last time."

"I've left you far behind in long-distance running."

"Tch—you have an advantage in that respect because your legs are long..."

"What's the use of being sturdy? Nothing feels as comfortable as Xiao Yaoyao's fleshy body!" No need to ask, this must have been Hua Yinyin's words.

Mo Xueyao simply ignored her and poured the yellow wine that she had just intended to give to Yu Shu into her own cup.

"Drink less," Li Wanyan said without looking up.

"Hmm, oh..."

"Want a fried egg?" Mo Xiaoxiao, who had just stepped out the door, turned back.

Mo Xueyao winked at Li Wanyan: "Wanyan, would you like some Shaoxing wine?"

"Yes! Soft-boiled egg!" Wang Jiale raised his hand high.

"I want a soft-boiled egg too," Mo Xueyao quickly added.

"I don't want to eat noodles, but I want to eat fried eggs, the kind that are fully cooked."

"I'm just like Aya~"

"Let's talk about it later," Li Wanyan replied, seemingly unaffected by the surrounding noise as she continued to write.