A Young Woman's Heart

Yang Yankai, who was sitting near the aisle, was probably the unluckiest one.

The sun always shines here easily; even though it's only nine in the morning, the sunlight has already completely enveloped him.

And it covered him perfectly, not too much, not too little. Ma Jianhang was hiding behind the windowless wall, and his deskmate Zhang Yumeng moved out a little so that the sunlight couldn't reach her.

If you were standing in the classroom looking towards his spot, you would see that everyone else was hiding in the shadows, while he, like a chosen one, was bathed in sunlight as if illuminated by stage lights.

Even at nine o'clock in the morning, the sun was still scorching hot, and sweat kept pouring down his forehead.

Fortunately, for someone who often works outdoors, this bit of sun wasn't a big deal. It was just that the sweat would easily wet the textbooks, making the writing blurry, which was a bit of a problem.

"...Would you like to move closer?" Zhang Yumeng looked at him and asked softly.

"It's alright." Yang Yankai was prepared. He took out a towel, wiped the sweat off his face, and continued listening to Ye Wen on the stage explaining the important knowledge points for review.

After one Chinese class, he looked like he had been pulled out of the water.

The only advantage of having classes here is probably that there are no eye exercises. After all, there isn't even an announcement system here. The bells for starting and ending classes are all rung by the teachers, who use those brass bells and strike them hard like they're hitting a triangle. It's quite retro.

As soon as get out of class ended, Yang Yankai got up and ran outside. Actually, it wasn't hot, but he was sweating so much because he was constantly exposed to the sun.

The breeze blowing in the corridor was very refreshing, making Yang Yankai feel like every pore on his body was relaxed.

"call……"

"Yang Yankai? If the sun is too strong, you can move to the middle. I see you sunbathing every day, aren't you hot?" Ye Wen walked out of the classroom carrying teaching materials, gently patted his shoulder, and then immediately pulled her hand back. "You're covered in sweat."

"It's okay, I'm used to it. It's nice to bask in the sun, haha." Yang Yankai laughed heartily. As a farm boy, he often worked in the fields during the hottest days of summer, so this sun was relatively gentle compared to that.

You know, the summer sun can really make your skin peel.

……

(two)

The long break between classes is neither too long nor too short.

There isn't even a convenience store here, so there's no way to buy ice cream or drinks.

After class, students either stay in the classroom or walk around in the spacious square outside.

Of course, the 'Hundred Herbs Garden' in the back was also a popular spot for many boys, but they had to be careful not to get caught by the teachers.

Because they were worried about snakes, the teachers never allowed the students to go into the yard.

"Hey, are you coming or not?" Chen Cheng walked up to Ma Jianhang, called him by his nickname, and made a smoking gesture with his hand.

"Let's go!" Ma Jianhang immediately perked up. "Wait, let's call Vest too."

"Okay, let's go to another place to smoke today. I found it last night; it's absolutely hidden."

"Vest!" Ma Jianhang's eyes lit up, and he waved vigorously at Vest, who had just returned from the restroom. "Come on! Let's relax!"

"Alright!" The man in the vest's eyes lit up, and he seemed to perk up considerably all of a sudden.

Chen Cheng led the way, bypassing several teachers who came from the corridor, and headed towards the back mountain. After winding and turning and passing through dense bushes, they finally arrived at their destination.

The road isn't actually that far, it's just a bit hard to find.

This is a cliff, and the bushes behind it provide the best cover. Unless you walk in yourself, it's hard to tell that someone is inside.

Even sounds can't travel very far here.

"How many cigarettes do you have left?" Ma Jianhang patted his pocket and pulled out a pack of cheap Daqianmen cigarettes. "This is my last pack."

"Sigh, there's nowhere to replenish our ammo," Vest sighed. "We're going to be completely out of ammo and supplies."

"Save your cigarettes from now on. I still have three packs of Double Happiness cigarettes in my dorm room," Chen Cheng said, taking out a half-smoked pack of cigarettes from his pocket.

"Have mine first." The man in the vest took out his crumpled pack of Furong cigarettes. "I have three left."

The three of them didn't mind. At this time, it was good enough to have cigarettes, so each of them picked one up, lit it with each other's lighters, and squatted down by the cliff.

Beyond the cliff is a steep slope, below which flows a winding river, and in the distance are towering mountains. There are hardly any houses, let alone cities, or even rural mud houses.

Ma Jianhang took a deep drag of his cigarette, the cheap smoke swirling around him. He slowly exhaled a smoke ring, then a smaller one, which passed through the larger one.

For them, the long break between classes is just the time it takes to smoke a cigarette.

The three of them didn't smoke very fast, but inhaled slowly, holding the cigarette in their mouths for a while before spitting it out.

“Phew…” Ma Jianhang sighed, “There’s still a month and a half left.”

"Almost there." Vest exhaled wisps of smoke and leaned forward. "Hey, buddy, Old Chen, have you two chosen your colleges yet?"

"Let's go to the big city school, it's closer, and my wife can take the exam there too."

The other two were already used to who Chen Cheng's wife was, and without a doubt, it was Zhuang Lianlian.

"What about you, Ma Dai?"

"Me? I haven't fucking thought about it yet, what the hell are you thinking?"

"I'll try for a teacher's college. The score is a bit low, but I should be able to get in if I try hard. If not, I'll just go to a junior college." Ma Jia didn't have high expectations for himself. "I'd be lucky if I could even go to college."

"Indeed, so many people can't even get into university, but you actually want to go to teachers' college? Holy crap, if you graduate and become a teacher, that's going to be a disaster."

"What's wrong? Is there a problem with teaching these little brats?"

"Haha, you'll definitely end up in one of those schools with a bad atmosphere, that's perfect for you, kid."

"I'm not a thug, why would I resort to violence to fight violence?"

“No wonder my old junior high school teacher always said that only teachers who aren’t good at academics come to teach junior high,” Chen Cheng suddenly said.

"That's relative, isn't it? If your grades are really bad, you won't even be able to get into university!" Vest spat on the ground. "No matter what, we're still the tail of the phoenix, right?"

“Alright.” Ma Jianhang chuckled twice, “Then I’ll go to teachers’ college with you, kid. You’ll be the math teacher and I’ll be the PE teacher. If I don’t want to teach, you can just tell the students, ‘Oh, the PE teacher is sick and can’t come.’”

"Damn." The man in the vest immediately raised his middle finger and waved it vigorously in front of him. The three men who had finished smoking threw their cigarette butts on the ground and were looking at each other, wondering if they should have another one, when the school bell rang.

Now there was no need to hesitate any longer. The three of them pushed and shoved each other as they ran through the bushes toward the classroom.

……

(three)

When Yang Yankai saw Chen Cheng and the other two rush in, he knew without a doubt that they had gone out for a smoke.

To be honest, he was also a bit craving a cigarette. Although he only needed to smoke when doing farm work, he hadn't smoked for more than ten days.

It's better not to think about it, because as soon as I do, my head feels numb and itchy, and I wish I could take my brain out, scratch it, and then put it back in.

"Sigh, there isn't even a convenience store." He sighed again, pursing his lips in frustration.

This is a math class, and the teacher is not Jingdie—she stayed at Yukong High School to teach other students who did not want to participate in the school trip and training camp.

So the teacher who taught Class 2 was the math teacher from the other classes.

This is a real veteran teacher. To be honest, the young teachers in Class 2 are used to seeing this kind of old man teaching math class, and at first they were really not used to it.

He speaks in a gentle, slow, and unhurried manner.

The atmosphere in class was not oppressive at all; on the contrary, it was very relaxing.

But math class is still math class, and some people will still fall asleep at their desks while listening to the lecture.

"Hey, some of you might not understand this question. Actually, if we look at it from a different perspective, it's quite simple. It's like asking..."

After a somewhat drowsy math class, the sunlight finally shone from Yang Yankai onto Ma Jianhang behind him.

He was so hot that he kept pushing the table towards the middle, to the point that his deskmate's table was almost next to Lu Bolun's.

As soon as get out of class ended, the math teacher immediately left the classroom, walked to the square next to the bushes, and started smoking.

This old teacher was also a heavy smoker.

Yang Yankai couldn't help but lick his lips, looking at the man in vest and Ma Jianhang behind him: "Ahem, do you two still have any cigarettes?"

"Old Yang, you want a smoke? I don't have many left, let me share one with you."

At times like these, even a cigarette is incredibly precious.

"Thank you very much."

"Let's smoke during PE class later, let's find a secluded spot." Ma Jianhang patted him on the shoulder. "Haha, Lao Yang, you've already finished your cigarettes, haven't you?"

"I only brought one pack..." Yang Yankai sighed and quietly put the cigarettes away.

Zhang Yumeng saw it, but didn't say anything, pretending not to have seen it.

In fact, this is pretty much an open secret.

There are a few boys in the class who smoke.

This is normal.

It would be strange if no boy in a class smoked!

The fourth period, which was also the last period this morning, was physical education class. There's no playground, so the activity area is in that square, with at most two basketball hoops that we can use for playing ball or something.

If you don't want to move, just sit on the steps and enjoy the breeze.

"Holy crap, Gao Yuan, you even have potato chips!" Liu Xiaowei shouted again.

"Hehe, didn't expect that, did you!"

"Give me some!"

"Take it yourself."

How much do you still owe?

"Haha, if we're careful, it should last for another two weeks, right?"

"Damn, that was awesome, kid."

It seems that not only cigarettes, but also snacks are in great short supply.

……

Chapter 266 Daily School Life Deep in the Mountains (Part 3)

(One)