A Young Woman's Heart

"What are you doing?" The old gatekeeper stroked his sparse stubble, a cigarette dangling from his lips, and turned to ask.

Shi Haiming immediately went up to him: "Hey, grandpa, we used to be students here, and we've come back to visit our teachers today!"

"Looking at the teacher? Today isn't Teacher's Day, is it?"

"I just happened to have some free time, so I came back to visit my teacher."

The gatekeeper gave Shi Haiming a disbelieving look, then looked at Li Gutao, and finally at Mo Xueyao.

Seemingly thinking that the latter two looked more like students, he finally nodded after pondering for a while: "Then register first, and then go in."

"okay."

……

(two)

On the teaching building, a few withered vines clung to the ground, and tender green leaves had already sprouted at the bottom. The place was exactly the same as it had been three years ago, and even the path leading to the teaching building was still overgrown with weeds.

Even though they had graduated three years ago, the three of them couldn't help but lower their voices when they returned here.

They looked at each other and couldn't help but laugh.

It feels like sneaking out over the wall and then sneaking back in.

It felt as if nothing had changed, as if time hadn't flowed by, as if I were still a student here.

It seemed like the head of student affairs might jump out from some peculiar corner at any moment and grab these three students who were wandering around during class.

"If time could go back, would you relive your junior high school life?" Mo Xueyao asked abruptly.

“If time could really go back… I probably wouldn’t want to experience it all over again.” Shi Haiming stroked his chin. “Haha, after all, junior high school is too far from adulthood. I still feel like a child, unable to do many things.”

"Well, and to be honest, I feel like junior high was too restrictive. Although I miss it, I don't think anyone would want to go through it again, right?" Li Gutao said, looking at Mo Xueyao.

"Tch... never mind, how are we supposed to find Brother Long?"

"Shall we go and take a look at the old classrooms first?"

"good idea."

Long Xinghua.

For Mo Xueyao, her homeroom teacher for the three years of junior high school should actually have been for two years, because in the third year, he became a regular math teacher to her.

At the end of the second year of junior high, classes were divided. Li Gutao and Shi Haiming went to the lower-ranked classes, while Mo Xueyao was moved from the lower-ranked class to the front-ranked class.

Even so, their relationship remained close during their final year of junior high. They would chat during breaks at school and go out together during holidays. Apart from not attending classes in the same classroom, everything else seemed the same as before.

At the very edge of the teaching building, there is a staircase leading to the top floor.

Moreover, there's no need to pass through any classrooms; as long as you move quietly, you won't disturb anyone.

A noisy commotion arose in the classroom; the bewildered junior high students seemed to have no idea what their future held.

When Shi Haiming sat here back then, he probably never imagined that his life would go through such ups and downs.

When I first graduated, I hooked up with a rich woman and thought I would be set for life.

Later, he wanted to make a living through his own abilities, but he never expected to end up so destitute.

The world is impermanent.

Who says you can succeed just by working hard?

Well, it depends on the person.

Some people have to take a different path than others to achieve so-called 'success'.

……

(three)

Climb the stairs and you'll reach the fifth floor.

Class 31, Grade 8.

This is the last classroom here.

Based on my understanding of Long Xinghua during my three years of junior high school, he should be the kind of teacher who teaches struggling students year after year.

Of course, even the homeroom teacher won't always be in the classroom.

Especially during times when classes should be in session.

However, somewhat surprisingly, they actually encountered Long Xinghua.

Instead of attending class, he secretly peeked through the window.

Back then, they were all students, and they would often be startled by Long Xinghua standing by the window in the classroom.

This was the first time they had seen the outside world from the corridor.

Unlike the 'terror' he had initially felt, his posture was clearly somewhat comical.

Mo Xueyao was wondering in her mind why Long Xinghua had skipped the first and second years of junior high and started teaching the third year students directly, when she suddenly realized that three years had already passed.

She was already a senior in high school, which meant that Long Xinghua had taught another class of students up to the third year of junior high.

Graduation is almost here again.

She stood still, unsure of how to proceed.

Shi Haiming, however, was just like he was in junior high school, sneaking up behind him with a bit of mischief and then gently patting his shoulder.

Long Xinghua was startled and trembled.

Li Gutao couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Returning to campus felt like getting revenge, making me feel incredibly relieved.

"Haha, Brother Long, you've finally gotten scared?"

Long Xinghua may not have recognized Shi Haiming immediately, but he recognized Li Gutao right away.

Although he has changed, the changes are not as significant as those of Shi Haiming.

"Li Gutao? Then you kid... Shi Haiming?"

"Hey, Brother Long, you recognized me!" Shi Haiming happily put his arm around his shoulder. "Brother Long! Long time no see!"

"Hey kid, what brings you back here? It's class time now, isn't it?"

"Haha, Tao and... well, Tao and his friends had a power outage and were on holiday today. I didn't go to high school, so I came to see you."

"Thank you so much." Long Xinghua shook his head helplessly, but there was still a hint of happiness in his tone. "Well, how about it, kid? Back then you didn't study hard and said you wanted to live off a woman. Are you living off her now?"

"Hey, Brother Long, I'm earning my living through my own hard work now, I'm just an employee."

"Tsk tsk." Long Xinghua slapped his head hard. "You kid, you're clearly a smart guy, but you don't like studying. What are you doing? Look at you, what kind of work are you doing? You've made yourself so sloppy. Are you carrying bricks every day?"

"Ha, haha...more or less."

Where is Li Gutao?

"I'm in vocational high school."

“Your grades aren’t great, but at least you have some dreams. Even if you go to vocational high school, you should study hard. You can still get into a good school in the college entrance exam. You know, if you get into a junior college, you can take the exam to transfer to a four-year university. You’ll still have a bright future.” Long Xinghua said earnestly, as if he were still their homeroom teacher.

Li Gutao, who had been all smiles just moments before, suddenly had reddened eyes. He pinched his nose and forced an awkward smile: "Hehe...of...of course."

"Who is this classmate? She looks familiar, but I don't remember any girl in our class who is so pretty, especially with blue eyes."

"Oh, this is my...girlfriend," Shi Haiming introduced her as agreed beforehand.

"Hello, teacher." Mo Xueyao placed her hands together in front of her lower abdomen and bowed very gracefully.

"You little rascal, you've managed to snag a beautiful mixed-race girlfriend, and she looks like she's still in high school, right?"

"Um... Senior year of high school," Mo Xueyao answered honestly.

"Hehe, she's amazing. Even though she goes to a regular high school, she's one of the top students in the whole grade."

"You're so smug, kid. What kind of good fortune did you accumulate in your past lives to find such a great girlfriend?" Long Xinghua glanced at Mo Xueyao a few more times before turning his gaze back to Shi Haiming. "Come on, what are you doing standing in the corridor? Let's go to my office to talk. I'm also quite curious about what you two experienced and what stories you had in those three years after graduation."

Long Xinghua patted Shi Haiming and Li Gutao on the shoulder.

The three of them stood up straight, and Mo Xueyao then realized that Long Xinghua seemed to be about the same height as Li Gutao.

Back then, they all felt that Long Xinghua was a cut above them.

It seems these two boys have grown taller since entering high school.

It barely grew; it seemed like only Mo Xueyao herself was left.

……

(four)

The three followed closely behind Long Xinghua, and the students in the classroom couldn't help but look out the window, their eyes filled with curiosity and envy.

Those innocent faces reminded the three of the past.

I thought I was quite mature when I was in junior high school, so why do I seem so childish now?

Long Xinghua's office is still in the same old location.

The Chinese language teacher was also in the office.

That chubby man, with hairy arms but an unusually fair face, always had a smile on his face and a very kind appearance.

He was almost never angry and was very tolerant of his students; he was probably one of Mo Xueyao's favorite teachers.

"Hmm? Shi Haiming and Li Gutao?" He recognized them at a glance, then hesitated for a moment when looking at Mo Xueyao. "Hehe, the girl in the back looks a lot like one of my former students, but he's a boy."

"Ahem... Hello, teacher." Mo Xueyao was a little nervous. She didn't know if the Chinese teacher recognized her, but in the end, she didn't continue speaking.

"Come on, come on, sit here and chat with me about what's going on after graduation. Haha, Tao and Xiaoming's girlfriend, you're about to take the college entrance exam, right? Have you decided which school to go to?"

As they were talking, another man walked in through the door. He looked around with his dark-circled eyes, scratched his messy hair, and tentatively asked, "Hello... I am Lin Mian's father."

"Lin Mian's father?" The Chinese teacher raised her hand and waved to him. "Come, this way, I'm Lin Mian's homeroom teacher, please sit down."

The Chinese teacher, who was also Mo Xueyao's homeroom teacher in her senior year of high school, seemed to always teach classes with relatively good grades.

"Hello, I'm here to get her homework for the next few days, because she may need to stay in the hospital for a few more days for observation, and then go home to rest for a few more days."

"The high school entrance exam is approaching soon. Is Lin Mian's condition serious?"