A Young Woman's Heart

"Isn't it quite a success?" Wang Jiale tilted his head and looked at Yu Shu.

"Um... I also attended my teacher's wedding later..."

"Today was truly fulfilling and wonderful." Mo Zhuyou straightened her legs. "Haha—or rather, it was so wonderful and fulfilling that there wasn't a single mistake, and there were all sorts of unexpected surprises. It almost feels unreal, doesn't it?"

"Yes, everything went so smoothly, it was truly a perfect New Year's Day performance." Wang Jiale crossed his right foot over his left. "It was such a success..."

"Indeed, after all this commotion and busyness, I feel a bit tired. My energy is like a rubber band without elasticity, a little loose and slack." Mr. Xue touched his Adam's apple and squinted at the gently swaying clock.

"Hehehe, anyway, let's celebrate this great success! After school, let's go to the convenience store at the school gate to buy some snacks!" Hua Yinyin excitedly tapped the marble floor with her heels.

"And then what?" Mo Xueyao asked listlessly, tilting her head to the side.

"Um—and by the way, tomorrow's a holiday, didn't we agree to go to Youyou's house to play today?!"

"and then?"

"Hmm—and then, then I just go back to school, and then prepare for the freshman orientation performance."

"To represent the school in the competition!"

"And there's the New Year's Day cultural performance next year!"

Everyone was talking and laughing loudly, one sentence after another.

Yu Shu lowered her head, sniffed hard, and said in a hoarse voice, "There won't be a New Year's Day performance next year... By then, we won't all be together anymore..."

"Oh, what should we do then... why don't we both repeat a year?" Mo Xueyao said half-jokingly.

"How could that be..." Hua Yinyin wiped her eyes, chuckled, and patted Mo Xueyao's forehead. "You're graduating soon."

"I won't graduate until next year," Mo Zhuyou muttered.

"It's this year, and it's already the first day of the new year."

"Ah...this year."

The scorching air cooled down instantly.

There was a sense of oppressive silence in the silence.

"There are so many, many, many things I want to do in the future..." Tears welled up in Hua Yinyin's eyes and finally fell one after another.

“There is no future.” Mo Xueyao took a deep breath. “This time next year, we will already be in university.”

"There are still so many songs I want to write." Hua Yinyin finally couldn't hold back her sobs and covered her face with her arms, leaning on Mo Xueyao's shoulder.

"I still want to form a band with everyone... forever and ever..." Wang Jiale choked up, snot running down his face.

Yu Shu, who remained silent, was actually sobbing uncontrollably.

She lowered her head, looking like a wronged kitten.

"Hey, hey, don't be so sad, okay? There's still a semester left! Half a year left! There's still a long, long time left, and there will be many more opportunities to perform together!" Mo Xueyao looked to Mr. Xue for help, hoping he could ease the atmosphere that made her want to cry.

But then I saw Mr. Xue tilting his head back slightly, two lines of clear tears flowing down his face. Even though he still had a smile on his face, he couldn't hide his red eyes and somewhat dirty cheeks.

It's obvious that he had already secretly wiped it with his hand.

“Xiaoxue…” Mo Xueyao sighed helplessly, “You too…”

"High school was great, the band was great." Mr. Xue tilted his head back, letting the sunset's glow fully illuminate his face. "Right?"

Mo Xueyao felt a lump in her throat, bit her lip, and nodded gently.

"From now on—we'll definitely form a band together again!" Hua Yinyin suddenly shouted, then quickly choked on her own saliva, "Cough, cough cough..."

"Yes, there are still many, many opportunities! Even after graduation!"

Mo Zhuyou hugged Yu Shu and said earnestly, "Yes! Shu'er, we'll be waiting for you at university!"

“Okay…” Yu Shu replied, but what she swallowed was bitter tears.

Children's wishes are always beautiful, but even they, who are carefree and innocent, know to some extent that after graduating from high school, they will almost all go their separate ways.

After graduating from university, it becomes even more difficult to get together again.

Life can break down the connections between people.

They didn't see each other for many years.

"Yinyin?" Mo Xueyao gently patted Hua Yinyin's head, and, suppressing the soreness in her eyes, smiled at the girl who was crying on her shoulder, "You can hug my leg, okay?"

"Pfft... No, not now..."

"Eek! Lele, you've wiped your snot all over me!"

"Hehe."

"Yu Shu, let's go get a hamburger! With char siu filling!"

"What?!"

"Pfft haha..."

The light of the setting sun gradually faded from the classroom, and the lines of light and shadow gently swept across everyone's faces.

It's like the hands of a clock.

……

(two)

Li Wanyan was a little tired after helping with the cleaning, but she was in good spirits. She and Mo Xiaoxiao next to her each held an inflatable light stick. The simple light stick had only four simple words on it.

But today, it touched the softest spot in Mo Xueyao and the others' hearts.

With legs that felt like they were made of lead, Li Wanyan stepped heavily up the stairs.

Mo Xiaoxiao gently tapped her palm with the inflatable stick: "Youyou and the others must have had a lot of fun today. I didn't expect you to buy so many light sticks, Wanyan."

Li Wanyan couldn't help but smile: "Hmm... Yaoyao must be very happy."

"Maybe he'll just push the door open and rush over to hug you?"

“She’s not a spendthrift,” Li Wanyan said, quickening her pace as if her physical fatigue had subsided considerably.

The last rays of the setting sun cast her long shadow.

"Click".

She quickly pressed the doorknob of the classroom.

But it wasn't as noisy as I had imagined; there was only the ticking of the second hand on the clock, moving at a leisurely pace.

The girls leaned on one another, eventually putting all their weight on Mr. Xue, who was leaning against the wall.

"Hmm...she's asleep." Mo Xiaoxiao tiptoed to her sister's side, leaned down to stare closely at her slightly trembling eyelashes, and couldn't help but flutter them.

"Yaoyao is asleep too."

"You look really tired."

"Ah."

"You've been busy all day, but you must have had a lot of fun, right?"

"Mr. Xue is asleep too."

"He's probably the one who's the most tired..."

"Let them get some sleep."

"Hmm, let's wait until it's completely dark before we talk about it?"

"it is good."

……

(three)

"Haaah—" On the bumpy, swaying bus, Mo Xueyao covered her mouth and yawned loudly, almost bumping her head into a pillar.

There weren't too many people on the bus, but there weren't too few either, so none of them had seats and they could only gather together near the exit.

"You got on the bus without eating a hamburger..." Mo Xueyao put her arm around Li Wanyan's shoulder, but then, feeling that Li Wanyan was too tall and it was a bit difficult to put her arm around her, she put her arm around Hua Yinyin instead. "I'm so hungry."

"There's nothing I can do, the shop is closed, and I wanted to eat there too." Wang Jiale rubbed his stomach, which seemed to have shrunk.

"What's wrong with Yu Shu?"

"My stomach hurts..." Yu Shu replied listlessly from her squatting position.

"Are you too hungry?"

"It's okay, I'll cook when we get back."

"By the time my sister finishes, it will be too late."

"Then—how about we go eat at Sister Duanmu's place?"

"Sister Duanmu? Oh, you must be Xiaoji's older sister, right?" Mo Xueyao was stunned for a moment before she realized.

"Yes, we do odd jobs whenever we have free time."

"Let's go there to eat then, I want a hamburger!!" Mo Xueyao stood up straight, as if she had already eaten one.

"When you're very hungry, you shouldn't eat greasy food."

"Then Xiaoxue can go have her porridge by herself later," Mo Xueyao replied quickly.

Mr. Xue, who was trying to avoid being knocked over without holding onto the handrail, chuckled to himself.

"Then I'll just have mashed potatoes for now."

"Oh, right, and mashed potatoes too, I want to eat those later! The mashed potatoes my mom made for me last time were not good at all, I feel like I can never make them the same way."

"Because the ones in the store aren't made directly from potatoes, they're made with instant noodles."

"Huh?"

"Just like baby formula, you can prepare it by mixing it with hot water."

"Not even potatoes?"

"It is indeed a potato, but it's just potato starch."

Are there any activities planned for tonight?