A Young Woman's Heart

Cha Li rested her chin on her hand, slowly twirling the pen in her hand, following the teacher's train of thought as she solved the problem.

Mr. Xue lowered his head, his pen scratching softly on the paper.

Suddenly, the two of them picked up their respective water glasses on the table and took a sip of the cooled tea.

Then one continued listening to the lecture, and the other continued doing exercises. There was no interaction between them, but they seemed to get closer together.

The rain outside the window continued to fall in a light drizzle.

On the damp windowsill, two wet sparrows were preening each other's feathers.

……

Chapter 196 The Third Daughter?

(One)

The rain had just stopped in the morning when the sun broke through the clouds, making it feel like winter again. The temperature suddenly rose, turning from cold to cool.

Mo Wenli lay in the van, a cut flower branch dangling from his mouth, chewing on it like a cigarette.

This was because Yang Xiaoyu had confiscated all his cigarettes, so this was the only way he could relieve his boredom.

The sunlight shone brightly through the bare branches of the tree, illuminating Mo Wenli's face. He squinted, rolled down the window a little, waited for the breeze to brush against his face, took a deep breath, and then slowly exhaled.

In his imagination, a smoke ring had already risen.

Using the spring breeze as a cigarette, what a ridiculous idea!

"Ugh!" He rolled over. "I'm going back to sleep. I still have to go to the vehicle management office later..."

The faded jeans had several cigarette burn holes. He rubbed the mud off the pant legs with his bare feet and shifted to a more comfortable position.

"Hello, how about I buy something?"

The sound of Yang Xiaoyu greeting customers came from inside the shop, but it seemed to be carried further and further away by the wind, becoming fainter and fainter.

……

(two)

"Aren't you having lunch today?"

"Oh dear, I overslept. Hurry up, or we'll be too late. The vehicle registration office probably closes around four or five in the morning." Mo Wenli habitually patted his pocket.

Yang Xiaoyu glared at him and said, "You're not allowed to buy cigarettes later, or they'll be confiscated."

"Okay, okay," Mo Wenli replied verbally, but inwardly she was just going through the motions.

"Lianlian—are you done with your work? Have you had lunch yet?" Yang Xiaoyu greeted Zhuang Lianlian as she came out of the noodle shop.

"Huh? I haven't eaten yet, they're serving noodles at the shop..."

"Don't you get tired of eating noodles every day? Come on, want to go out and have some fun with your Uncle Mo? We can grab lunch while we're at it?"

"No need..."

Mo Wenli raised his voice and continued Yang Xiaoyu's words: "Haha, Lianlian, come on, Uncle has never taken you out to play before, let's go! But we have to finish our business first before we can have a proper meal, but before that, I can buy you some snacks for the road."

"Go have some fun," Old Chen's wife said with a smile as she came out and patted her on the shoulder.

"Okay..." Zhuang Lianlian, who had been confined to this small area, finally couldn't suppress her longing for a wider world and nodded gently.

—Although we can't go too far, at least we can go to the city center, which is 'far' from here.

"Get in the car!" Mo Wenli laughed loudly. "Let's go for a drive!"

"Uncle Mo, would you like to fasten your seatbelt...?"

"Whatever you want, wear it if you want, don't wear it if you feel uncomfortable, it doesn't matter." He waved his hand casually and laughed again, "If Xiaoyao heard me say this, she would lecture me for a long time."

"It's definitely better to wear it on..."

After confirming that the car doors were closed, Mo Wenli stepped on the gas, and the van made a 'bang' as it slowly drove forward.

He was already familiar with the shop owners along the roadside, and would greet them whenever he saw them.

"Oh, this is your third daughter?"

"Haha, you've seen her before, this is Old Chen's daughter-in-law!"

"I thought you'd taken her in as your goddaughter!"

"It's not impossible!" Mo Wenli teased, looking at Zhuang Lianlian. "Right, third daughter?"

Zhuang Lianlian smiled, then shook her head shyly: "No need, you have enough daughters already."

“I mean, it’s time to have one…” Mo Wenli’s graceful figure suddenly stiffened for a moment, then sprang to life again, “Haha, you can never have too many daughters!”

"Old Mo, where are you going?"

"You need to get your vehicle inspected at the vehicle management office and also get insurance."

"Your beat-up van, just get the cheapest insurance you can afford."

"Insurance is no problem, but the annual vehicle inspection means the scalpers will have to make some money off it."

"Speaking of scalpers, how about I recommend one? They're cheap, reliable, and incredibly efficient; they can get it done for you in an hour."

"Okay, send me your number via text message later."

"I'll send it to you right away. Just say I introduced you to this company!"

"okay!"

……

(three)

Karen Mok seems to have friends wherever she goes.

At least that's what Zhuang Lianlian thinks.

The wind blowing in from the window was exceptionally brisk. Old Chen's family didn't own a car, and she hadn't ridden in a private car in a long time—if a minivan could be considered a private car by most people.

"Um……?"

"Looking for the window button?"

"Hey, um, where is it?"

"Haha, no, it's a hand-cranked one, isn't it!" Mo Wenli subconsciously touched his pocket, then the van's drawer, and finally only pulled out a nearly empty lighter.

"Never mind..." he muttered to himself.

"Oh... I see."

"The wind must feel great."

"OK."

"How come your hair has grown back?" Mo Wenli casually started a conversation.

"It's impossible to keep it golden forever; you always have to dye it, which is too troublesome and too expensive."

"Oh dear, what a pity, your blonde hair was really quite beautiful."

"Let Xiaoyao try it another day."

"Her? Ha, we'll have to wait until she graduates, and besides, she probably wouldn't want to—she's much more averse to trouble than you are."

"Well, it's better not to dye it. Dyeing your hair is very damaging. I lost a lot of hair back then." Zhuang Lianlian flicked her slightly curled hair at her temples, her posture a little stiff.

"The seats are a bit dirty, aren't they? Haha, haven't washed them in ages. I'll give the car a good wash after the annual inspection today." Mo Wenli tapped on the steering wheel. "The inside needs a wipe too."

"Oh, no..."

……

(four)

Mo Wenli gradually became less talkative, not because he found it boring, but mainly because he was sleepy and was using all his attention to keep himself from falling asleep.

Driving is such a strange thing. You should be able to wake up when you stop, but you just feel sleepy when you're driving.

The roads in the city center were somewhat congested, with vehicles and pedestrians moving slowly.

After finally arriving at the vehicle management office, the van finally found a spot to park in the not-so-spacious square.

"Ah—" He stretched, "Finally, we're here. This stretch of road felt farther than the drive to Shanghai."

"Pfft... You've worked hard."

"Are you hungry? Do you want to eat something first? That little shop sells dried tofu, corn, and meatballs. Oh, they smell pretty good. Maybe it's because I haven't eaten."

"I'm not hungry. I'm cooking noodles in the kitchen, so I won't get hungry easily."

"What, you've had your fill of smelling? Haha."

Mo Wenli nodded, glanced at the text message on his phone, and then dialed the number.

"Hello, I am..."

"...You were introduced by me? Okay, we're old friends. I handle all his vehicle inspections. You can trust me to get things done. Are you at the vehicle management office? I'm right here."

"I'm standing near the door."

"Okay, I see you. Is that you?"

"It's me, brother over here!"

……

(Fives)

If Mo Xueyao were present, she certainly wouldn't be interested in this kind of haggling and bargaining.

But Zhuang Lianlian was different; she was listening with great interest when the playful breeze ruffled her bangs.

"...Okay, this is the lowest price I can offer. After all, it's your first time contacting me, so it's a new customer discount. It won't be this cheap next time, okay? Did you bring your ID?"

"I brought them, are they all for you?"

"Just leave it to me, I'll take care of it for you. Give me the car keys too. Okay, you haven't eaten yet, have you? Go have a meal with your daughter, it'll be done in an hour."