A Young Woman's Heart

Chapter 280 Warming Up the Scene

(One)

The voice of the new host from before came from the stage.

She went out through another small door.

They stood just outside the curtain.

"Dear guests and contestants, good morning! Welcome to the 2nd Rainy Sky Brawl! This year's competition is unprecedented in scale, bringing together top players of 'Rainy Sky Brawl' from all over Hangzhou, and the rewards are exceptionally generous..."

Before the opening performance officially started, Mo Xueyao took off her ponytail and tied it up again, then looked at the others around her.

Everyone here is a seasoned veteran, so this opening ceremony isn't particularly nerve-wracking.

"The first song is 'Funeral Song of Trouble,' right?" Mo Zhuyou waved her drumsticks with a relaxed expression. "It feels like we often use this song as the opening song."

"Who said that? I feel like there are more fallen leaves than potato chips at the beginning of a song, right?" Wang Jiale gently strummed her bass strings. It had been a long time since she had touched one, and she needed to get back into the swing of things.

"Can we leave after the opening performance?" Mo Xueyao asked, shaking her head.

"No, we also have to go to the closing ceremony..."

"Huh—does the school provide lunch?"

"Don't worry, we can eat out. There's a subsidy for it!"

"Oh—! I want a hamburger!"

"No problem, just get reimbursed by the school." Hua Yinyin patted her chest confidently, as if she were the one who paid for it.

"I want to eat a hamburger like Yaoyao! But... are there any McDonald's or KFCs around here?"

Mo Xueyao frowned and thought for a moment: "Yes, there is, but you have to go to the supermarket..."

"A bit far?"

"It's alright, we're not in a rush anyway."

As they were talking, the host on stage finished his long opening remarks, and his tone became slightly more enthusiastic: "Before the competition officially begins, please welcome our special band from Rain Sky High School—the Snow Music Band!!"

The curtain slowly opened to both sides, and Mo Xueyao quickly sat up straight, while Wang Jiale also placed one hand on the bass string.

Hua Yinyin's expression was somewhat charming, and her arms were elegantly positioned in the starting posture of playing the pipa, just like those dancers in many TV dramas.

However, the modern clothes she was wearing somewhat diminished the overall impression she made.

"Next up, the Snow Music Band will perform for this competition..."

Mo Xueyao couldn't hear the voices behind her.

All she heard was the sound of Mo Zhuyou's drumsticks being struck.

Then, as if by instinct, he pressed the piano keys, blending into the music of the others.

The lead singer of this song is Mr. Xue. He held the suona in his hand, grasped the microphone in front of him, and began a rhythmic rap. The applause from the audience was thunderous, and many people even jumped off their chairs and ran to the front of the stage.

There are always so many people when we perform here.

Mo Xueyao thought so.

Her gaze swept across every face of the audience below the stage.

Li Wanyan and Mo Xiaoxiao were in the middle. The former had a slight smile on her lips and looked at her quietly, while the latter was jumping up and down to the rhythm, cheering loudly and banging on the inflatable light stick in her hand.

It seems that it was something she kept after using it before.

Somewhat surprisingly, Yue Tingfeng was also there, wearing an armband issued by the school for maintaining order in the venue, and was telling the audience not to get too close.

Standing next to him was the new first-year high school host, who was looking at Mo Xueyao and the others on stage with longing.

……

(two)

"Phew, three songs... I'm all sweaty." Mo Zhuyou was packing up her drum set. "We can just wait until the closing ceremony to perform next, right?"

"Okay, that's it~ It's about time, isn't it? Shall we go to KFC now?"

"Isn't it too early?"

"Silly Yaoyao, can we sit there and chat? Or would you rather watch them play games?"

"Hmm... Shall I watch for a while?" Mo Xueyao was actually quite tempted.

She hadn't played the game in ages, and she didn't even know what version it was updated to. Come to think of it, she hadn't really played the character designed by Zhou Yong yet!

When they packed up and returned to the audience seats, the two game consoles had already been carried up and placed on either side of the stage.

A white screen was lowered in the middle, and a projector was used to display the game footage in real time.

The characters are still the same few, but the interface looks much better. Mo Xueyao immediately spotted the blue-eyed, short-haired girl in the character selection screen.

Apart from having the same eye color as her, they are actually quite different in other ways.

That character looked very mature, was relatively tall, and was clearly an older sister type. Her movements were also very elegant, without any girlish feeling at all.

"Hey, Yaoyao, that's the design Zhou Yong used based on you, right?"

"What?... That one doesn't look like me at all. You can't possibly see a blue-eyed person and think that's me, can you?"

"Maybe it's just your imagination?"

"What are you thinking? He has someone he likes."

"Who is it? Who could it be? It can't be Xiaoxue, can it?"

"You called me?" Mr. Xue turned his head in confusion, holding an ice cream that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere.

Mo Xueyao blinked and looked at him: "Xiao Xue... there's ice cream on your lips... um."

"here?"

"Ah."

"Xiaoyao, tell me quickly, which girl does Zhou Yong like? Is she from our class? Or from another class?" Wang Jiale's gossip instincts kicked in again. "Graduation is coming soon, will he go and confess to that girl?"

"...He's not from our school, he's a college student, and the kind who's about to graduate."

"Wow, a relationship between an older woman and a younger man? How come Xiaoyao has never mentioned it before?"

Why gossip about other people's private affairs?

"Zhou Yong has been studying hard lately because of her." Mr. Xue knew about this, after all, he often mingled in male circles.

"What a romantic story, working hard for each other and all that." Mo Zhuyou clasped her hands together. "Sister, I must work hard to get into the same university as you!"

"It's the last month, Youyou, you'd better do your best!" Mo Xueyao peeked at her and chuckled.

……

(three)

Perhaps the busyness of life made Mo Xueyao forget the fun of games.

In the past, even if she couldn't play, she could watch it all day long.

But today, after watching only a few shows, he stood up on his own initiative to leave with everyone.

As she was about to leave the venue, she turned back and saw that the blue-eyed character had defeated his opponent, and the boy who had competed suddenly stood up from his chair, raised his arms and shouted. Although he had only advanced one level, his performance was as if he had already won the championship.

That looks like a first-year high school student.

That's how youth is, isn't it? Full of energy and drive for everything.

Although Mo Xueyao wasn't much older, she always felt like she was already old.

"Little Yao Yao hasn't been making a fuss lately, has she?"

"Huh?" Mo Xueyao quickened her pace and walked to Hua Yinyin's side. "Why are you talking about me again out of the blue?"

"Hmph, little Yao Yao, pretending to be mature."

"What do you mean?"

Everyone thinks so!

“That’s right.” Mo Xiaoxiao chuckled softly in response.

"Yes, yes, although Xiaoyaoyao didn't like chatting with us much before, she never looked so expressionless."

"Huh?" Mo Xueyao rubbed her cheeks. "Hmm—maybe it's because I've been spending too much time with Wanyan? Wait, what you're saying is that Wanyan is also pretending to be mature, Wanyan! They're smearing you!"

Li Wanyan suppressed a laugh: "Why don't I think so?"

"Look, look, Wanyan smiles more often now! Hmm, could it be that Xiaoyao and Wanyan have switched bodies?"

"Your imagination is too vivid!" Mo Xueyao poked her head, and the latter cried out "Ouch!" as if she had been hurt, and exaggeratedly hugged her head.

"By the way, have you decided where to volunteer?"

"Don't rush me... Why do you seem more anxious than Wen? You'll have to ask my mom when we get back."

"Xingda is pretty good too, it's a first-tier university! Although it's definitely not as good as Zhejiang University, there's a saying, 'Better to be the head of a chicken than the tail of a phoenix,' right?"

"Maybe I'll be a chicken head there too?"

"Damn it—Little Yaoyao is going to abandon us!"

The girls started making a ruckus, chasing each other down the seemingly endless corridor, gradually disappearing into the distance...

……

(four)

On the second floor of KFC, pedestrians pass by outside the window.

The girls were gathered around a table with hamburgers, fries, and chicken nuggets on it.

Although I ate quite a lot, there was still some left over.

"Xiaoxue—you can eat the rest, I really can't eat anymore." Hua Yinyin rubbed her stomach and leaned back weakly in her chair.

"I said, have we eaten too much? Will this cause problems with the performance?"