A Young Woman's Heart

"Alright, Yao Yao, let's give it a try! Consider it a warm-up before the performance!"

"Can I sit down..." Mo Xueyao wanted to slack off again.

……

Chapter 230: The Performance at the Underground Bar! (Part 2)

(One)

"A primary school student?" Just as Mo Xueyao couldn't help but start competing to jump as far as possible, Wang Jiale's voice, tinged with doubt and helplessness, came from behind her.

"Ahem! Lele's here!" Mo Xueyao's voice unconsciously became high-pitched, and she dragged out the last syllable as if she were being coquettish. "I'm just playing with Xiaofengzi out of boredom."

"Who's the little madman? Hey! That sounds like the name of a mental patient..."

"It's so hot... Aren't you guys hot?" Wang Jiale didn't have much energy to join in the fun. Although she was holding a parasol, she looked listless, and her lips were visibly dry.

"The sun will set soon." Le Tingfeng stood on the graffiti wall with one foot, looking relaxed.

"The show should start soon after we get down the mountain..." Wang Jiale licked his lips, unscrewed the bottle of mineral water and took a big gulp. As if it still wasn't enough to quench his thirst, he simply tilted his head back and drank all the water in one go.

"Oh, right, what time is it now?" Mo Xueyao turned her head and asked—even though she usually wore a watch, she always forgot about it.

“It’s almost four o’clock, where is everyone else?” Le Tingfeng suddenly remembered the important matter and quickly took out his gold pocket watch to take a look. “It’s about time to go in and get ready, the music will start at five-thirty.”

"Well, there's no rush."

"The main purpose is to set aside time for adjustments, as well as for makeup and preparation."

"Let's skip the makeup thing, we don't need it anyway."

Upon hearing this, Wang Jiale tilted her head and looked at Mo Xueyao: "Hmm... I did bring a small, simplified version of makeup..."

"Ah, never mind, it's completely unnecessary." Mo Xueyao didn't think she was naturally beautiful and didn't need that thing; she just found it troublesome.

"Could you draw a five-pointed star or something? And I should always put on some lipstick."

"This is so troublesome—"

"Xiaoyao is always afraid of trouble."

“Yaoyao has always been like this.” Li Wanyan also teased her without making a sound, which earned her a roll of her eyes.

……

(two)

A few minutes past four o'clock, everyone had finally arrived.

Mo Zhuyou and Mo Xiaoxiao arrived because they lived far away, while Yu Shu had just finished her tutoring class. The most surprising person was Mr. Xue, who was the last to arrive.

"...Xiaoxue, what's with this outfit?" Mo Xueyao looked him up and down, asking with a speechless expression.

“Hey, hey, since we’re at a bar, we should be having some fun.” Mr. Xue, wearing a big gold chain, said a couple of sentences in a very professional manner.

"Pfft, hahaha... Is Xiaoxue really this funny?" Le Tingfeng covered his face and burst into laughter.

"Ahem... He does sometimes do that..." Mo Xueyao was a little embarrassed.

"No, no, shouldn't we be wearing the hoodies we bought last time? We should be wearing matching uniforms!" Hua Yinyin said, hands on her hips, expressing her dissatisfaction.

"Oh? Is that so? I thought you were dressed for a bar," Mr. Xue said seriously. "I put together a special outfit before coming here."

"So that's why you were the last one to arrive..." Mo Xueyao looked at him with her eyelids drooping, while Mo Zhuyou next to her was already laughing so hard she could hardly breathe, clinging to her older sister.

Before me stood Mr. Xue, wearing a graffiti-style hat and a pair of light black sunglasses with red frames—the kind that allowed you to vaguely see his eyes.

He had a cigarette candy dangling from his mouth, a large gold chain around his neck that looked like a child's toy, loose-fitting clothes in the same graffiti style, and pointed leather shoes on his feet.

The most creative thing about him is his teeth. This guy actually stuck gold foil on his teeth, making two gold front teeth.

What is this, a gold-toothed hamster?

"Damn it, I even wore yesterday's hoodie here!"

"...I washed my clothes yesterday. Yinyin, are you wearing your clothes without washing them?"

"I washed them, the sun was so strong today, they'll be dry by noon." Hua Yinyin suddenly looked at everyone warily, "You didn't all come dressed, did you?"

"You didn't say that..."

"Hello, hello, hello—"

"Ahhh—" Mo Xueyao pushed Hua Yinyin's face away forcefully, "Don't stick to me, I'm dying of heat..."

"Xiaoxue?" Wang Jiale nudged his arm with her elbow with interest. "How about I draw some patterns on your face later? They'll match your clothes perfectly!"

"Okay, but I want patterns in purple, red, or yellow."

"Yes, I know, I want more vibrant colors."

"Yes."

Mo Xueyao glanced at Mr. Xue, who was thoroughly enjoying himself, and sighed helplessly, "Alright, alright, let's go in..."

……

(three)

Le Tingfeng led everyone down the stairs. The sunlight was thrown outside, and the temperature gradually dropped. After all, the bar was located in a basement, and it was as cool as if the air conditioning was on. It wasn't open yet, so the place was empty. All the lights were on, making it as bright as a living room.

— Bars, it seems, just aren't truly atmospheric or atmospheric unless they're completely dark.

Le Tingfeng's mother was wiping the bar counter, while an aunt who had been specially hired was cleaning other areas.

"Mommy!" When Le Tingfeng called out these two words, there was no hint of coquetry in her voice; it was more like Mo Xueyao calling her "Mom." "These are the classmates I told you about!"

"The Snow Music Band, right?"

"Wow, Auntie has such a great figure!" Wang Jiale praised without reservation.

"Hehe, you flatter me."

"Where's your mother?" Mo Xueyao turned to look at Le Tingfeng.

Before he could answer, Mo Zhuyou asked in confusion, "Huh? Isn't it right here at the bar?"

"Not his mommy, but his mother."

"Huh?"

"Hey, Mo Xueyao, didn't you tell everyone?" Le Tingfeng scratched his head helplessly. "Never mind, I have to explain every time. Let me explain again, this is my mommy, and I have another mom. Um, I don't have a dad."

"Huh?"

"Hmm?"

Everyone was surprised when they first heard about this, but Mr. Xue grabbed Le Tingfeng's arm and asked a question that was different from the others: "Le Tingfeng, do you like men or women, or men dressed as women or women dressed as men?"

"...Xiaoxue, I only like women who are original, okay?"

"it's a pity."

"What's a pity? Really... you're just like my mommy..."

"It's rare to have such a family. Wouldn't it be a shame not to try a love that's forbidden by conventional morality?" Mr. Xue said with a serious expression.

"Damn it, Xiaoxue, you wouldn't... I don't like men!" Le Tingfeng took a few steps back quickly, looking at him warily.

—Of course, I was just kidding.

Le Tingfeng's mother was quite pleased: "Hmm, this young man is quite good-looking, handsome, and seems very knowledgeable. He's a good match for you, Tingfeng."

"Look, even your mommy said that." Mr. Xue tilted his head and looked at Le Tingfeng, as if he was deliberately teasing him.

"Damn it, what a load of rubbish!!" Le Tingfeng raised two middle fingers.

"Hahaha..." Fortunately, Mr. Xue laughed out loud and stopped making the joke, otherwise others might have really suspected that he had a strange sexual orientation.

……

(four)

The changing rooms and makeup rooms in the bar are in the same room, and there is no separation between men and women.

However, apart from Mo Xueyao, the others did not need to change their clothes, so there was no need to avoid suspicion. After Mo Xueyao changed her clothes, she let Mr. Xue come in with her.

Wang Jiale, who brought makeup, insisted on drawing patterns on everyone's faces; otherwise, there would have been no need for her to even come into the changing room.

"Xiaoyao is wearing all black today. I think she's worn it before?"

"Of course I've worn it." Mo Xueyao nodded helplessly.

After all, it's a performance; you can't just go on stage in ordinary casual clothes.

I was just too lazy to wear it when I came, since I was afraid of getting my clothes dirty on the way.

This is a black dress with black lotus patterns. I've worn it to school before, but this time I brought the petticoat with me.

If her mother hadn't known she was coming to perform today and specially brought this thing out, Mo Xueyao probably wouldn't have even known it existed.

After putting on the petticoat, the entire black dress became somewhat fluffy, which was completely different from the feeling before wearing the petticoat.

"Hmm—I feel like Haruka's outfits aren't suited to overly flashy patterns."

"Then let's just not draw it at all?" Mo Xueyao was naturally the happiest.

"No, no, we still need it... Let me think, hmm, I'll just draw three black horizontal lines."

"What kind of person is that, a disciplinary committee member?"

"The pattern is pretty much the same... Hmm, add two more silver five-pointed stars, and then use a lip gloss with a bit of shimmer... Hmm, that should do it."

"Ugh, these stickers on my face feel so uncomfortable." Mo Xueyao frowned and gently scratched her cheek. "Can't I just not wear them?"

"It only has a decorative effect after it's pasted on."

"Okay, okay." Mo Xueyao nodded resignedly and looked at herself in the mirror.

Wang Jiale then took his tools and went to the next person.

Mr. Xue, who was next to me, was the first to have patterns drawn on his face. His once clean and fair face now had several colorful graffiti, and his lips were even painted green.

To be honest, if she hadn't known beforehand, Mo Xueyao probably wouldn't have recognized him.