A Young Woman's Heart

There weren't many students left at the school gate, but the afternoon sun was shining brightly, making the white wall at the school gate reflect light.

Mo Xueyao always suspected that the plaque had been repainted, otherwise why would the words on it be so much golder than last year?

"It's because I'm at school that I feel like it's too early to go home now. Should we go somewhere fun? Otherwise, I feel like I'm missing out." Hua Yinyin licked the cream from the corner of her mouth with her pink little tongue and threw the bag of bread into the trash can next to her. "Let's go shopping!"

"...Why do you always go shopping if you have nothing better to do?"

"Let's go shopping and see what new and interesting things are available!"

"I always have to buy something when I go shopping."

"Just don't buy it."

"I can't resist buying it." Mo Xueyao rolled her eyes, but Hua Yinyin grabbed her arm.

"Come on, let's go."

"Okay, okay... Is there anything you'd like to see this time?"

"Let's go check out the music store first!"

"You always go to the music store..."

"Hmm, let's see if there are any new styles of pipa or the like."

"Then you have to go to the Pipa Shop."

"I don't think there are any dedicated pipa shops on the commercial street, are there?"

"Why don't you consider having your dad invest in one?" Mo Xueyao teased, patting her greasy little hands and pinching Hua Yinyin's thigh.

"Wow—Little Yao Yao!"

"Hmph, who told you to always touch my thighs? This is called giving them a taste of their own medicine!"

"Tch—you should have said you wanted to wipe your hands earlier. Come on, stretch out your hands, I'll lick them clean for you~"

"Eek—Eek!" Mo Xueyao took three steps back. Sure enough, in terms of being a pervert, she was far inferior to Hua Yinyin.

At the critical moment, it was Li Wanyan who pulled out a pack of wet wipes to save the day.

Seeing this thing reminded her of the embarrassing scene yesterday when she used it to wipe away bloodstains.

"Hmm, it's okay, let me do it. My tongue is very flexible."

"You're kidding me!" Mo Xueyao flicked her forehead with her other hand, which hadn't touched the bread crumbs. "If I'd known you were going to the pedestrian street, I wouldn't have bought the pork floss bread."

"What's wrong?"

"There are so many good places to eat on the pedestrian street, but I've already had a pork floss bun. If I eat anything else later, it will be too much. Ah, it's not that I can't eat..."

Li Wanyan lowered her head and silently put the half-eaten bread back into the packaging bag and stuffed it into her schoolbag.

The sunny and breezy weather makes even a simple stroll down a deserted main road feel pleasant.

When you have the leisure to observe your surroundings, life becomes full of surprises.

They might be wildflowers growing inside bricks, tadpoles swimming in puddles, or even a strangely shaped stone...

Car exhaust fumes don't necessarily destroy this natural beauty; on the contrary, they create a subtle sense of harmony where all things in the world coexist.

"The sunlight is really nice today." Mo Xueyao gently shielded her eyes from the slanting sunlight with her hand. The shadows of the three of them intertwined on the wall, occasionally making them look like a crooked tree.

"Maybe we should lie down on the roof of the lab building and take a nap or something?"

"We're almost at the pedestrian street..."

"Hey, Yaoyao, look at that!"

"What? Why are you so excited..."

Mo Xueyao squinted and looked in the direction Hua Yinyin was pointing. The wall was covered with colorful graffiti, which looked out of place with the neat walls around it.

It looks like a scene that often appears in gangster movies.

However, these graffiti are quite beautiful. Mo Xueyao, who doesn't know much about art, thinks they can be classified as Picasso-style.

"Look, it's Yue Tingfeng."

"Is that strange? His house is probably nearby, right?"

"But there's a bar inside, and he actually pushed the door open and went in!"

“We’ve been to underground bars before… even though it was for a performance.” Mo Xueyao said nonchalantly.

"But he's definitely not, you forgot? Jun Ruohuan used to go to bars every day, so maybe Le Tingfeng is too..."

"Someone like Jun Ruohuan? I didn't realize." Mo Xueyao quickened her pace instinctively. "He really went in?"

In this day and age, let alone going to a bar, even going to a karaoke bar will be equated with being a 'bad student' by adults.

The key point is that Yue Tingfeng usually behaves quite normally, without any of the characteristics of a bad student. He can only be described as a lively character like Gao Yuan and the others.

Who would have thought there was another side to it?

"Let's go take a look!" Hua Yinyin excitedly darted over and stood close to the wall.

Logically speaking, the bar shouldn't be open at this time, and this door—it looks like a back door.

Does being able to use the back door mean he's very familiar with this place? Or even a regular customer?

"Hey, what are we doing here? Do you expect us to wait for him to come out?"

"Ok!"

"...That would be a long time from now, how could we possibly wait for him?"

"What if it comes out soon?"

"Yinyin, you're just as gossipy as Lele..." Mo Xueyao propped her feet against the wall and squinted. "Alright, let's go, it's just a bar..."

"Don't you know? The bar we went to before was a more artsy one, hmm—didn't you notice it had a rather rustic style? It even had wooden doors, and it was mainly for watching performances. There weren't many seats for drinking, you could say it was an underground stage, a more formal one. But this bar, just by looking at the graffiti outside, you can tell it must be—"

"A mess, a chaotic place, a favorite spot for thugs?" Mo Xueyao added a whole host of adjectives in one breath.

"That's right!"

"He doesn't look like a thug."

"You can know a person's face but not their heart! No, should we go in and take a look?"

"Why do we have to expose him to his face?" Mo Xueyao felt it was unnecessary. "Maybe it's just a hobby of his?"

"No way! Tch, you don't know? Xiaxia has a crush on him. As a friend, it's my duty to help her find out!"

"Oh—that's a pretty reasonable reason, but—how come I didn't know that?"

"Because I know Xiaoyao is clueless about love, I won't tell you this!"

"Then Wanyan probably doesn't know either."

"Wanyan...who would dare say such things to Wanyan!"

"Aren't you one?" Mo Xueyao glanced at her sideways, her tone teasing. "Last time you even told Wanyan to her face that you wanted to steal her wife."

"So you admit you're Wanyan's wife now?"

"I was just repeating what you said..."

Mo Xueyao hadn't finished speaking when the back door was pushed open again.

The three of them instinctively held their breath and looked at the person who came out, their expressions varying.

Hua Yinyin was expectant, Mo Xueyao was flustered, and Li Wanyan was... disgusted.

"Wow, damn it, you scared me! What are you three doing squatting here?" It was Yue Tingfeng who came out. He was so startled that he jumped to the side and bumped his head on the door.

"Hmph, I never expected Le Tingfeng to be this kind of person!"

"What kind of person is this?"

"Does going to bars mean you're living a life of debauchery every day?"

"What are you talking about..." Le Tingfeng put his hands in his pockets. "This is my house."

"what?"

"Your house is a bar?" Mo Xueyao's eyes widened.

"Yeah, a large part of my house is partitioned off to run a bar, and the other small part is a room where I live. But every time I go back to my room, I have to walk through the bar lobby, which is such a hassle."

"Huh?"

"Alas--"

"Is that so?" Li Wanyan seemed somewhat distrustful of him.

“Yeah…” Le Tingfeng scratched his head, “I really do live there, didn’t you guys know? Uh… I think I’ve only told the boys.”

"I haven't heard Zhou Yong and the others mention it either." Mo Xueyao, who was closer to the boys, was a little angry. She felt that those guys didn't treat her like a 'brother'.

"Ha, haha...it's not that strange, is it?"

Hua Yinyin leaned forward, seemingly observing whether he was lying: "Then why did you go in and come out again?"

"My mom said we ran out of soy sauce and asked me to go out and buy some soy sauce, and also buy some vegetable oil while I was at it."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah, what's up? Want to come over to my place? It's just past the bar lobby, it's quite spacious, uh—although it's a circular corridor, kind of like it wraps around half the bar. But since it's underground, the rooms don't get much sunlight, only the living room has a skylight that lets in light..."

"That sounds really interesting?"

"Yeah, uh—Mo Xueyao, you wouldn't be thinking of coming to my place for a drink, would you? Just so you know, even though I live in a bar, there's no alcohol in my room."

"Hey, what?!" Mo Xueyao rolled her eyes. "Do I look like the kind of person who likes to drink a lot?"

"Huh? Isn't that right?"

"Being able to drink and liking to drink are not the same thing, okay!"

"Let's go play at Yue Tingfeng's house later!" Hua Yinyin stomped her foot excitedly. "Do you have a stage there?"

"Yes, I have……"

Do you usually have performances?

"Yes... oh, those people singing is so noisy. Luckily I've gotten used to it. When I first moved in in first grade, I couldn't sleep at all."