A Young Woman's Heart

"Tsk, quiet little Yao Yao is not used to it."

"Really?" Mo Xueyao's tone was devoid of emotion. She dangled her legs outside the window; since it was only on the first floor, it wouldn't be a big deal if she slipped.

Her skirt fluttered in the breeze, and Mo Xueyao brushed her slightly messy hair aside: "The abandoned Hundred Herb Garden in Lu Xun's writing... I don't think it was this messy."

"There shouldn't be grass that tall?" Hua Yinyin gestured. "That one must be four or five meters tall..."

"It's not that exaggerated, it's at most three meters."

"Really? Little Yao Yao observed so carefully? Did she even measure her own height?"

"..." Mo Xueyao glanced at her sideways, put the green jujube in her mouth and took another bite. The crisp sound alone was enough to make one's mouth water. "It's a pity the weather isn't hot enough, otherwise there should be crickets or something."

"Beetles are not bad either."

"...That's not fun."

"There are some really pretty beetles, right? I saw a boy from the next class catch a beetle with a black carapace that was really beautiful in the sunlight."

"Really?"

"Yes."

Mo Xueyao immediately widened her eyes, as if she could find one herself right away.

Unfortunately, the yard was overgrown with weeds, so even if there was something special, it would be hidden and difficult to find.

"Hey, it's a gecko, a blue one!"

Where? Where?

"Here!"

"Ah, it really is..." Mo Xueyao looked in the direction Hua Yinyin was pointing. It was a blue gecko. The body part might not be obvious enough, but the tail was a blue color like paint. At first glance, it even looked like it was dyed with chemical products.

The gecko seemed to sense that someone was watching it, so it immediately climbed up a few steps and then stopped and remained motionless.

Before Mo Xueyao could even admire the beautiful gecko for a few moments, there was movement in the weeds. A pigeon flapping its wings darted out of the grass. It didn't fly, but walked on its feet, hopping around from time to time, like a gray free-range chicken.

It seemed to have its eye on the beautiful little gecko, slowly approaching step by step.

Neither Mo Xueyao nor Hua Yinyin interfered; they simply held their breath instinctively.

Just as the pigeon was about to succeed—no, to get its beak—a small orange cat darted out from behind.

Unlike Ye Wen's yellow and white cat, Milk Candy, it has more orange parts on its body, and its ears are pure orange. Only its tail has a little white, like a few white clouds mixed in with the sunset-reddened sky.

Moreover, its fur is longer and looks fluffy, unlike a typical mixed-breed cat; it looks more like a purebred cat.

Of course, it could also just be a special local variety.

After all, there are several types of mixed-breed dogs.

"Meow~!" Although it was a cat, the two of them inexplicably heard a hint of joy in her voice. The pigeon was so frightened that it flapped its wings and flew away, leaving only one wing behind.

When Mo Xueyao turned around again, the blue gecko was nowhere to be seen; it had vanished without a trace.

“Hey, come here?” Hua Yinyin clapped her hands at the orange kitten.

Meow~?

"Meow—" Mo Xueyao mimicked her and called out. The latter seemed to be attracted by her voice and actually walked over slowly. Then, without any fear of people, she jumped up and landed on her lap.

Then it rubbed its dirty little paws against her thigh.

Several gray muddy claw marks suddenly appeared on the black pantyhose.

"Hey!" Mo Xueyao was both amused and exasperated. "Damn it, now I have to wash my own clothes. I just changed into these today, and I was hoping to wear them again tomorrow..."

"Hey, little Yaoyao, be careful your feet won't smell if you don't change your socks every day."

"Ahem! Silly cat." Mo Xueyao changed the subject, lifted the orange cat from under its two paws, and placed it on Hua Yinyin's lap. The orange cat treated her the same way and rubbed against her skirt without any politeness.

"Hey, Yao Yao!"

"Hmph, that's fair now." Mo Xueyao was very satisfied.

"Meow?" The orange cat twitched its ears in confusion, its equally fluffy tail swaying gently behind it. "Meow~!"

Then, it simply lay down, hugged its fluffy tail, and lay there comfortably.

“The little guy is quite content…” Hua Yinyin scratched her ear, and the latter shook violently as if bitten by a mosquito. The more she scratched, the more violently its ear shook. Later, it simply stood up and vigorously shook its fur.

"Pfft, stop teasing her, or you'll get fleas on yourself."

"It's okay, it's okay, it'll just infect you soon."

"Alas--"

……

(three)

The long-haired little orange cat didn't leave. It stayed on the windowsill during evening self-study. Liu Xiaowei, who sat at the front desk, would occasionally turn around to look at it. Duanmu Ji, who sat behind, would always be unable to resist scratching its chin with his pen cap. The cat seemed to accept everyone's touch.

The study atmosphere in Class 2 was the best in the whole school; it was always very quiet, and Ye Wen only needed to grade homework.

Occasionally, a substitute teacher would come in to explain some key points, but it was always done in an orderly manner.

Far behind, probably from the direction of Class 5 or 6, came the roar of a male teacher.

Throughout the entire senior year of high school, it's impossible for a subject to have only one teacher; there are at least two, and for key subjects, one teacher teaches only two classes.

"Ah, how can you sleep! At your age, how can you sleep, huh!?"

The roar immediately woke up the somewhat drowsy students in Class Two.

For example, Liu Xiaowei, who was sitting in front, patted his cheeks and refocused on the test paper in front of him.

The clear moon hung high in the sky, its pure white light filtering through wisps of feather-like clouds and spilling like water onto the weeds and wildflowers in the 'Hundred Herbs Garden' outside the window.

Mo Xueyao couldn't help but take a few more glances.

She had finished her homework, and it was the end of evening self-study, a time for her to relax.

Although there were many students in the classroom, it was very quiet, with only the sound of pens scratching on paper.

Time seemed to stretch on endlessly, and my thoughts seemed to drift along the dark night, touch the glittering sea of ​​stars, and float along the Milky Way.

Time seemed to fly by at that moment; she felt as if she were about to drift away beyond the Milky Way, when the bell rang to signal the end of get out of class.

The sound wasn't coming from the speakers, but from the hallway outside the classroom.

Qiu Yi was carrying a bell, gently shaking it, and singing a modified song: "The night is deep and everyone is quiet, it's time to sleep after class (Note ①)~"

……

========

Note ①: The pronunciation of the character 了 here is the same as '疗'.

Chapter 261 The Ship Hired by Taiyin

(One)

2002 5 Month 18 Day.

After two consecutive weeks and a total of fourteen days of study, we finally got a short break.

For the past two weeks, the senior students at Yukong High School haven't had a single day off. They've maintained a high frequency of study, and their daily lives consist of attending classes, eating, and sleeping.

Even the free time between classes is scarce.

Some people have gotten used to it and don't even feel tired anymore, but many more people feel the pressure getting heavier and heavier and find it increasingly difficult to concentrate.

So on the fifteenth day, the school finally decided to give the students a holiday.

The timeframe is today's entire day plus tomorrow's daytime, which means I have to attend evening self-study tomorrow as well.

Even so, for students who hadn't had a holiday in a long time, it was like a long-awaited rain after a drought.

At five o'clock in the morning, Wang Jiale, who always had difficulty getting up, turned off the alarm clock a second before it went off, turned over and tried to go back to sleep, but was suddenly awakened.

"Hoo hoo hoo... Get up, get up!" She wasn't calling anyone else, but encouraging herself—even though she had only just stretched one arm out of the covers.

"It's a holiday today..." Hua Yinyin rolled over, hugging the blanket to her chest. Her back was completely exposed to the air, but she didn't feel cold at all. "Let's sleep a little longer..."

"Huh? Oh, right..."

Wang Jiale pulled her fair, lotus-root-like arms back in and wrapped herself up like a little ball.

In the early morning, the mountains are filled with the sounds of insects and birds, a beautiful melody of nature.

Although the start of summer has passed, the morning breeze in the mountains is still a bit cool.

Humans are always strange.

If I have class today, I always want to stay in bed until I have no choice but to get up.

But if I say I'm taking a break today, I feel very energetic, and even the drowsiness from not having slept enough is instantly dispelled.

The dormitory was quiet for only ten minutes before the girls woke up as if they had slept for two hours.

"Hmm...it's still early...I'll sleep a little longer..." Wang Jiale glanced at her phone, turned over, and rolled over next to Cha Li.

The latter pressed his forehead against Wang Jiale's head, appearing to be awake but unwilling to open his eyes.

"Hoo." Mo Zhuyou reached out and hugged her older sister, who returned the hug. The two always seemed to have a very good relationship. "I really don't know how I got through these past two weeks..."

"Hell..." Even Mo Xueyao sighed.

"There are still two weeks left," Wang Jiale said, pursing her lips.

"Will it still be like this after we go back?"

"It shouldn't be... right?" No one was sure.

For the past two weeks, I've been getting up at 5 a.m., having breakfast, starting class at 6:30 a.m., and not finishing evening self-study until 11 p.m. No matter how hard I rush, I only get a maximum of five and a half hours of sleep each day. If I have to wait in line to shower, I only get five hours of sleep.

Even though Li Wanyan is usually very hardworking and gets relatively little sleep, she still suffered from some sleep deprivation after two weeks.

On the contrary, Mo Xueyao was one of the best performing students in the class.

Like Mr. Xue, she seems to fall into deep sleep more easily, and can get enough sleep even in just five hours.