A Young Woman's Heart

Wang Jiale and the others followed behind, coming over in twos and threes.

"It's rare to find a place without other tourists, why don't we take a group photo here?" Wang Jiale suggested excitedly.

"So who will take the photos?"

"How about using a delay, and then... placing it on that rock?"

"Okay, okay!" Hua Yinyin fiddled with her camera. "How about we just stand over there on the swing? And then grab onto the swing?"

"It's so strange that so many people are holding onto the swing." Mo Xueyao tilted her head and glanced at the swing next to her.

"Then just strike any pose you like, as long as you get caught on camera!"

"Then I'll stand on the class monitor's side~"

"Oh my, Xiaoyao and the others are taking a group photo!" Chali, who had just come out from around the corner, waved vigorously and tugged at Mr. Xue behind her. "Wait for us!"

"Yo ho!"

"It's Xiaoxue and Chali! Come quick!" Mozhuyou jumped up and down. "We're about to start filming!"

Hua Yinyin waited until Cha Li and Mr. Xue stood still before pressing the time-lapse button, and then hurriedly ran towards where everyone was standing.

"Ouch!" She stumbled and lost her balance.

Mo Xueyao quickly helped her up, and at that moment the camera clicked, capturing the instant.

—In the harmonious photograph, a blurry afterimage of Hua Yinyin appeared.

……

Chapter 255 Yu Shu's Labor Day

(One)

Let's go back to May 2nd.

Labor Day in this era is a holiday that truly belongs to the working people.

Everywhere was filled with tourists on holiday. Some of them didn't have enough money to leave the city, so they took buses to Hangzhou's famous tourist attractions.

Yu Shu stood alone in front of the bus stop. This was the small square of Tesco supermarket, which was usually not deserted, but today it was even more lively.

From afar, you can hear people loudly promoting new products with microphones, using various lucky draws to attract customers to buy.

A large group of people always get off the bus, and another large group of people squeeze in. Only at times like these can you truly feel how many people there are in the city, and how crowded it is.

Under the warm sunshine, a soft breeze blew, and in the car exhaust, there seemed to be a faint fragrance of flowers and grass.

May is here, and summer is just around the corner.

Yu Shu didn't tie her hair up in a bun today, but instead braided it into a princess hairstyle. The braid on her head looked like an ear of wheat—it might have looked even more like it if her hair were blonde.

She wore a white sun hat and a light pink dress with a semi-transparent gradient effect at the hem that didn't go past her knees.

She wore crystal-colored sandals, and her pink and translucent toenails looked even more translucent in the bright sunlight.

She had a PHS phone hanging around her neck, which was actually a mobile phone, but with simpler functions and a cheaper price. It was often sold as a bundle with a mobile phone card when you signed up for a phone card.

Apart from a blue-black lanyard, there was nothing else on the phone. The lanyard was quite long, allowing her to turn on the phone without taking it off her neck.

"Ding-dong." A simple notification sound rang out, without even a vibration. She picked up her phone, glanced at it, and saw that it was a text message from Jiang Yuruo.

"Have we arrived yet?"

Before I could reply, another message came in, but this time it wasn't from Jiang Yuruo, but from Mo Xueyao.

"Yu Shu, good morning! We've arrived in the city. Have you finished your homework?"

Yu Shu tilted her head, awkwardly pressing the number keys on the nine-key layout, and replied to the message: "I finished writing yesterday, what are you guys going to do?"

"What?"

Less than ten seconds after sending the message, I received a reply from Jiang Yuruo.

She paused for a moment, then looked closely at the recipient's name and licked her lips awkwardly, saying, "I sent it to the wrong person. I'm waiting for my bus."

After resending the message to Mo Xueyao, she looked up and saw the bus she needed to take slowly approaching in the distance. She hurried forward and, uncontrollably swept onto the bus in the crowded throng.

The small bus was like a can, packed full of people.

Because she is not tall, she can only stand on tiptoe and tilt her head back to breathe fresh air.

Even so, I still feel incredibly stifled.

"Young lady, sit here?" A woman in her fifties stood up, pointed to her chair, and smiled.

Yu Shu quickly waved her hand: "No, no need, I'll be fine standing, thank you..."

"You look like you can barely stand. Come on, sit down. I'm getting off the bus. You can sit here."

"Mmm... thank you."

In a crowded car, having a seat makes time seem to fly by.

By the time Yu Shu changed buses for the third time, the bus was finally much emptier.

The bustling streets of the city were left far behind; ahead lay a flat highway, with only roadside trees, mountains, water, and scattered rural houses along the roadside.

Yu Shu was the only one left in the car. The driver even turned around to look at her, and only slowly closed the car door after she got off.

Not far away is a new rural village, where the houses are all neatly arranged and have a very uniform design.

At the village entrance, there was a private car and three vans parked, and a tractor was making a 'thump-thump' sound as it drove out of the village and headed towards the farmland.

"Oh, Shuer!" A chubby, round-faced girl stood in the distance, waving gently as she held up the drink she had just bought. "You're here!"

"Um...I just arrived, you...you've been here for a while?"

"I just arrived not long ago, and I'm thirsty. Let me buy a drink first."

What about Ruoruo?

"Are you at home? I haven't gone there yet."

"oh oh……"

"Here, want some?" Wu Shanshan had just unscrewed the bottle cap, intending to give Yu Shu the first, most satisfying sip of cola.

"Need not……"

"Then I'll drink it myself." She didn't stand on ceremony anymore and tilted her head back to gulp down two big mouthfuls. "Phew... I usually don't spend the pocket money I save up, I only spend it when I go out to play occasionally."

How much did you bring?

"Fifty yuan should be enough, right?"

"Not counting the fare, I... I only brought twenty-five with me..."

"It's okay, there's nothing particularly expensive anyway." Wu Shanshan downed half a bottle of carbonated drink in one gulp, feeling refreshed as she walked side by side with Yu Shu toward Jiang Yuruo's house at the end of the street.

……

(two)

Jiang Yuruo's expression was exceptionally cheerful. She stood at the door of her house waving vigorously, but she didn't say a word.

If you weren't familiar with her, you'd probably think she was mute.

"A friend has arrived?" Her grandfather was a sprightly old man with a full head of black hair without a single silver strand. If it weren't for the many wrinkles on his face, you probably wouldn't guess that he was almost seventy years old.

There were two paint buckets on the ground, and he was using a paint scraper to apply paint to the cement wall, apparently planning to do some minor renovations on the unfinished parts.

That's how farmers build their houses. First, they build the framework, and then they gradually repair the rest as they have the money. This is the most simple and unpretentious way of life.

If you were to tell these farmers that there is a country across the ocean where they can borrow money to furnish their houses, move in comfortably, and then slowly pay back the money, they would certainly find it very hard to understand.

They would ask a simple and unpretentious question: What if you can't pay it back?

People's answer will always be that as long as you work, you can definitely pay it back, but they don't want to face the possibility of not having a job.

"Hello, Grandpa!" Wu Shanshan called out first.

"Hello, Grandpa..." Yu Shu looked at him timidly, as if she always felt that old people were not easy to talk to.

"Hehe, have you had breakfast? There's still porridge in the pot and tea eggs on the table. Ruoruo, why don't you go get some snacks for your friend?"

Jiang Yu nodded vigorously, ran upstairs with a 'thump thump thump', and then jumped down with a 'thump thump thump', already carrying a large bag of snacks in her hand.

Those were very rustic snacks, all sold in bulk, and from a variety of different brands.

—Anyway, they're mostly counterfeit products.

The taste is definitely not as good, but if you eat a few bites, it won't be too different. As a snack to satisfy your cravings, it's cost-effective and affordable.

"Let's go out and play!" Jiang Yuruo finally spoke up. She hugged a large bag of snacks in her arms, ran out first, and then dumped all the snacks into the bed of the electric tricycle.

"Be careful when you drive your electric bike!" Grandpa ran to the door carrying a paint bucket and shouted loudly, giving Jiang Yuruo a word of advice.

Jiang Yu nodded vigorously, practically radiating relief.

"Where are we going to play?" Wu Shanshan asked excitedly. "Has Ruoruo ever caught lobsters or crabs before?"

"Yes!" Jiang Yuru nodded vigorously. "Let's go to the river!"

"Huh? Huh... Is it alright to sit here?"

"Just sit still." Wu Shanshan sat next to Jiang Yuruo, both of them with their backs to Jiang Yuruo.

The truck bed was very clean; apart from the rust, there was no dirt or dust, as if it had been specially cleaned for their upcoming visit.

Jiang Yuru sat in the front and turned the handlebars. The tricycle shot off like a wild horse, startling Yu Shu so much that she quickly grabbed the edge of the tricycle, afraid that she would be thrown off.

"Slow down! Ruoruo! Shuer is almost scared to death by you!" Wu Shanshan shouted loudly.

"OK!" Jiang Yuruo responded, slowing down the tricycle before making a smooth turn and smoothly entering a dirt road.

The largest vehicle that can travel here is a tricycle like this; even cars can't get in.

On both sides were farmland, and the green wheat was bent over by the wind, giving it a feeling of a sea of ​​rice.

……

(three)