A Young Woman's Heart

"Damn it, I don't want to..."

"You're so superstitious?"

"I'm not afraid of that thing, I'm afraid of getting caught, that would be so embarrassing."

"Pfft, haha..."

……

Chapter 275 A low mountain, a small city

(One)

A mountain god temple, its mud walls covered with green vines.

Just as its name suggests, it has become one with nature.

The summer flowers are in full bloom, swaying gently in the breeze.

The temple was very small, probably only two or three square meters, and inside was a seated statue of a god.

Is the mountain god here a woman?

“It looks…right?” Mo Xueyao patted the mountain god’s chest casually—that place was clearly bulging.

Le Tingfeng panicked a little: "Hey, hey—no, don't touch me like that!"

"Why can't I touch it?"

"Uh... this is, well, it's something like, it can't be desecrated, that's roughly the meaning."

"Oh, you're so superstitious."

"It's better to believe it exists than not to believe it doesn't," Le Tingfeng said earnestly. "Because my family worships Guanyin, and we have to change her fruit every week."

"...Your family is way too superstitious!"

"That's not how it is." Le Tingfeng picked a blade of grass from the roadside, chewed it, and said, "When you're doing business, you tend to believe in things like fortune, because some things are really mysterious... Uh, don't you have any of these at home? Don't you even have a God of Wealth statue?"

“No way.” Mo Xueyao rolled her eyes and looked at him with disdain. “What era are we living in? You’re still a high school student in this new era. How can you be so superstitious? My family never displays such things. If you want to believe, you might as well believe in those proletarian warriors.”

“…Ahem, they’re not the same concept.” Le Tingfeng was a little unsure how to explain.

This clay sculpture of the mountain god is also painted with exceptionally vibrant colors.

It has long black hair, a delicate mole between its eyebrows, and golden-red eyes.

There were also some ginkgo leaves in her hair as decoration.

Mo Xueyao stood on tiptoe and looked around, discovering that there were indeed many more ginkgo trees around here than on other hilltops.

"This mountain god statue is quite beautiful."

"Uh... is it pretty?" Mo Xueyao looked at Le Tingfeng strangely. "The craftsmanship feels very rough, even a bit... abstract?"

"Ah, I'm speaking from the perspective of idols. This... can also be considered a form of art of expression."

"Tsk tsk." She clicked her tongue twice, as if she wanted to say something, but then swallowed it back.

……

(two)

The view from the mountaintop wasn't as expansive as I'd imagined.

The main problem was that there were just too many weeds and shrubs. When you looked up, there were dense branches and leaves blocking your view, making it seem no different from when you were halfway up the mountain.

"Mo Xueyao! You can climb this tree!" Le Tingfeng shouted excitedly as he stood beside a banyan tree with its gnarled roots.

"what?"

"The view is much better up there," he said, and climbed up first. Compared to the straight pine trees, these trees were obviously much easier to climb. Even if he fell from the top, he shouldn't fall to the bottom immediately.

When she was a child, Mo Xueyao was also good at climbing trees. Now, seeing how nimbly Le Tingfeng climbed, she was itching to try it herself. She grabbed the rough bark and followed him up.

This tree looks like it's made up of many trees growing together, forming a dense grove of trees. The trunks are exceptionally thick and sturdy, and they are usually not straight but lean at a considerable angle, making it easy for people to climb.

At the very top, there was a spacious branch where Yue Tingfeng was already sitting, with an empty seat next to him for another person.

Although the tree was easy to climb, Mo Xueyao still broke out in a sweat. She sat down next to Le Tingfeng without any hesitation, holding onto a branch with one hand, stretching her legs out and then letting them go.

The view here is indeed much wider than below; or rather, only here do you get a sense of reaching the summit.

From here, you can see the winding river in the distance, as well as the smaller hills that are even lower than this mountain.

You can even see the city.

Compared to the towering skyscrapers of Hangzhou or the more bustling Shanghai, the small city looks tiny from a high vantage point, with sparse buildings and few particularly prominent ones, making it appear exceptionally small.

"This mountain isn't very high, is it? Why does it feel like there aren't any mountains in front of it that are even half as tall as it?"

"Haha, the place we came from is already the mountaintop!"

"Oh right... So, if you really climb from the foot of the mountain, this mountain should be even higher?"

"Pretty much." Le Tingfeng leaned back, letting the breeze blow across his face. "Ah... I especially enjoy the feeling of the wind blowing when I climb up really high."

Did you have any friends when you were a child?

"Damn it, what do you take me for? Why don't you have any friends?"

"Hey, didn't you say you were often bullied?"

"Even if you're bullied a lot, you'll still have friends. You won't be completely isolated."

"What about your friends when you're being bullied?"

“…Uh…” Yue Tingfeng hesitated. “How should I put it…those who bullied me were mostly school bullies or something. Even my friends would be afraid of them.”

"What kind of friend is this?" she said, pursing her lips.

"I was young back then, so I was afraid of that kind of person. I think the friends I made in high school now wouldn't be afraid of that kind of person anymore."

"That's not necessarily true. What if the other party has a knife, or is a criminal with a gun? Your friend would definitely be scared."

"Isn't that obvious..." Le Tingfeng was both amused and exasperated. "What exactly do you want? You have to contradict me no matter what I say."

"Ahem...! So, did you go out with your friends? Uh, back in elementary school?"

"They went out."

What to play?

"Playing marbles, shooting birds with a slingshot, climbing over walls and such."

"They're all the same after all."

"Hmm? Mo Xueyao, you didn't grow up like this, did you?" Le Tingfeng touched his wind-blown hair. "Haha, now I know where your tomboyishness comes from."

"Tch... When we were kids, there was no distinction between boys and girls, only between personalities."

"But back then, I would go out with others and then slip away to rest on my own halfway through, and then I would go over when everyone gathered together."

"What does that mean?" Mo Xueyao asked, puzzled. "When I was in elementary school, I was always the one who led the way wherever we went to play."

"Ah...sometimes, I get a little bored, so I just stay by myself." Le Tingfeng squinted her eyes. "Oh, those were such naive and adorable times."

Mo Xueyao puffed out her cheeks slightly, not quite understanding him.

"Tsk."

"Hey, were you ever bullied when you were a child?"

She was certainly bullied because she was pretty and looked like a girl.

But every time, she fought back forcefully, never saying anything about being submissive or going back to her parents to cry and complain.

"Yes, but I always fight back until no one dares to say those things about me anymore."

"Impressive." He gave a thumbs up. "A strong heart beneath that delicate appearance."

"Pfft, strong?" Hearing someone praise her like that, she suddenly felt a little embarrassed. "Oh, not really... I often feel weak and want to back down too."

“You’re much stronger than me.” Le Tingfeng suddenly stood up and climbed up the tree trunk, sitting on the uppermost trunk. But that one looked even more dangerous because there was nothing to hold onto. At most, he could only grab the trunk he was sitting on to maintain his balance. “I feel like even the class monitor might not be as strong as you.”

"Ugh, I'm definitely not as good as her. If I were in one of those messy families, I would have broken down long ago."

Le Tingfeng didn't know what had happened in Li Wanyan's family, but he at least knew that her family's situation used to be very bad and terrible—this was already a semi-public fact.

"That's not necessarily true. Although she seems to be able to withstand any pressure, she might actually be incredibly fragile."

"Pfft, hahaha—" Mo Xueyao couldn't help but laugh so hard she almost fell over. "What? You're saying Wanyan is fragile? You might as well say that Xiaoxue is actually a girl, that would be more convincing!"

"Hey—what I mean is... uh, never mind." Le Tingfeng stopped insisting, because the leaves above her head were being tapped by the 'patter' of the rain.

"Huh? It's raining?"

"Hmm... It's raining so hard, let's go down and take shelter under the tree for a while."

"it is good."

Be careful.

Don't worry, you won't die from the fall!

"Don't say such unlucky things..." Yue Tingfeng said helplessly.

……

(three)

The rain was still falling, and it seemed to be getting heavier.

Fortunately, the trees on the mountaintop were dense enough, and since it was summer, the lush foliage acted like an impenetrable umbrella, keeping the rain out.

Of course, a few drops will occasionally slip through the gaps in the leaves, but that's nothing compared to the others.

"It's raining so hard, it'll be troublesome to go down... the ground will be very slippery."

"...You even came wearing leather shoes." Le Tingfeng glanced at Mo Xueyao's shoes. "Don't let them roll all the way to the bottom later, okay?"

"Can't you have a little faith in me? Tsk." Mo Xueyao snapped irritably.

Le Tingfeng laughed, picked up a leaf, put it to his lips, and blew on it, which actually made a whistling sound.