A Young Woman's Heart

"It's okay, it's still early. Five or six hours should be enough for us to digest it."

"Today, I'm just too happy..." Mo Zhuyou said, letting out a burp. Mo Xiaoxiao next to her picked up a napkin and helped wipe her greasy lips.

"I can't do it anymore either."

"Hey, Xiaoxue, you can't say no!"

"Yeah, this is the first time I've ever heard Xiaoxue say no!"

"Go, Little Snow!"

This time, even Mr. Xue showed a helpless bitter smile: "No, this time it really won't work."

"Yinyin, are you sure we can get reimbursed?"

"It cost so much... I... I don't even know anymore!"

Why didn't you say so when you bought it?

"You naughty little Yaoyao, you ordered it too, and you're blaming me!"

Hua Yinyin bumped her head against her stomach, and the latter immediately waved her hands, pleading, "Stop bumping me, stop bumping me, I really want to throw up..."

"I'll probably gain five pounds this time." Wang Jiale said with a look of regret. "I should have known better than to eat so much. Waaah... I'm going to only drink porridge for the next few days."

Li Wanyan looked at them with a mixture of annoyance and amusement, shaking her head.

She had tried to stop them before they even ordered, but even Mr. Xue agreed to order more. Now look what happened—they really did learn their lesson for not heeding the advice of their elders.

"That's right!"

"What? Yinyin, don't tell me we have another performance later, I'll kill you first."

"Count me in!" Wang Jiale raised his hand high, but didn't move his body.

"No, I mean, isn't there a fireworks display tomorrow? On the Qiantang River, does everyone want to go watch the fireworks together?"

"night?"

"Ok!"

……

Chapter 281 Fireworks Display (Part 1)

(One)

Sunday, July 2, 2002.

Even though the college entrance exam is getting closer and closer, time seems to be passing more slowly, so much so that at the beginning of the month, June feels like an entire semester.

"Yaoyao, you've been pacing back and forth since just now, what's wrong?"

"what?"

"She's rummaging through drawers one minute, bookshelves the next, playing the piano one minute, and then going looking for snacks the next." Li Wanyan had clearly seen everything. "What's wrong?"

"Cough... um... it's nothing, it just feels like evening is coming so slowly, the fireworks display won't start until tonight." Mo Xueyao plopped down in a chair, propped her chin on her hand, and looked out the window. The bed above her head was the biggest obstacle to her getting up and stretching.

Li Wanyan shook her head helplessly: "You took the doll out, but you haven't put it back yet."

"Well, let's leave it here for now. It's been a while since we took it out, so it needs to get some fresh air."

"What's wrong with you? You're like a headless fly today." She placed a hand on Mo Xueyao's head and gently rubbed it. "Do you really want to see the fireworks display?"

"It's not that... It's just that time seemed to pass so slowly today. I did so many things, but every time I felt tired, I checked the time and only half an hour had passed."

"You're so idle," Li Wanyan said, both amused and annoyed. "If you have time, why don't you study a little longer?"

"Oh dear, all I'll do there is review and practice tests. It's a rare holiday, so of course I should relax a bit. I'm not planning on writing a single word today!"

"Okay, okay." Li Wanyan vigorously rubbed her head, then suddenly seemed to remember something, rested her chin on her hand, and looked at her with a smile, "Then teach me to play the piano?"

"Alas?"

“Let’s start teaching from the beginning. I haven’t played in a long time, and I’ve forgotten a lot of it—I didn’t remember much to begin with.”

"Okay!" Mo Xueyao immediately became interested, quickly stood up, and then suddenly shrank her neck as if she would hit the bed board if she stood up like that. However, in reality, at most her hair would just brush against it.

The electronic keyboard sat quietly on the keyboard stand, covered with a dustproof cloth sewn by my mother, which looked like it had been cut from an old curtain.

"Come, come, Wanyan, sit down!" Mo Xueyao seemed to find this very novel, and with a smile on her face, she pushed Wanyan to sit down on her piano bench.

This ordinary electronic keyboard has always been well maintained, but it inevitably has a few inconspicuous scratches, and some dust has accumulated in places that are not easy to clean.

Mo Xueyao stepped forward, puffed out her cheeks, blew hard, then took out a glasses cloth to wipe them clean before standing behind Li Wanyan again.

"Hmm—where should we start... Wanyan, do you still remember the hand gestures for playing the piano? Place each finger on a key."

"remember."

“That’s good. Now, let’s find the middle keys! Look, just follow the black keys to identify them. Two or three black keys encompassing the white keys form a group.” Mo Xueyao pointed to the keys. “Hmm, starting from here, this is the sequence: Do Re Mi Fa So.”

"Ah."

"Try pressing them one by one with your fingers?"

"Okay." Li Wanyan was the best student at this moment. She tried it several times as Mo Xueyao said. "I haven't played for a long time, and my fingers are a little rusty."

"Don't worry, you'll get back into the swing of things soon. So, let's start with something simple, ah, like that one!" Mo Xueyao clenched her left fist and slapped her palm hard, "Swoosh mi swoosh mi do, come fa mi come swoosh."

"The painter?"

"That's right, this is it. It's super easy, want to give it a try?"

"Hmm." Li Wanyan readily agreed, but her fingers seemed to be in a knot, always pressing the wrong key or pressing two keys at the same time.

"Don't rush, don't rush, one at a time. First, remember the sound that each finger corresponds to, and then silently recite it while pressing the keys." Mo Xueyao, who rarely acts as a teacher, is exceptionally patient. "Come on, first the little finger, 'whoosh,' then the index finger, 'mi,' then repeat twice, and then use the thumb... That's right!"

Li Wanyan regained her touch, and her clumsy fingers began to become more dexterous.

"Okay! The first section is over! Then repeat it again, but change the last note from 'sou' to 'do'."

Li Wanyan tapped her feet lightly to the beat, playing each key and note one by one as taught by Mo Xueyao.

"Then it's time for some fun..."

"...then the second paragraph is repeated."

"It's simple, isn't it! Shall we start from the beginning again?"

"Okay." Li Wanyan built up her confidence with her repeated encouragement.

Mo Xueyao placed one of her fingers on the piano keys beside her, providing harmony while softly singing along.

"I'm a painter, and I'm very skilled at painting. I'm going to paint that new house even more beautifully..."

Li Wanyan echoed, shaking her head, "Painting the roof and then the walls, the brushes flying everywhere..."

"Oh my little nose, it's changed so much!" When the not-so-smooth music stopped, Mo Xueyao and Li Wanyan looked at each other and then burst out laughing at the same time.

"Ahem, it's just the beginning, so I can only play children's songs... Oh, right, try Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, that's very simple too!"

"This time I want to do the harmonies myself."

"Okay, no problem! But it's a chord, not a harmony, hmm—let's find middle chord first. Then, hmm, put your left pinky on the major key, and then press your index finger on the F major key, that's the key, yes, your thumb on it, the Twinkle Twinkle Little Star chord, let me think, if I remember correctly it should be..."

"When you press the first Do, simultaneously press the C major key, and then..."

"Is that right?"

"Well, that's good enough. Anything too complicated will just make you flustered." Mo Xueyao held up one index finger. "OK~! Let's begin! *dodo swoosh swoosh la la swoosh*..."

When playing chords for the first time, Li Wanyan's two hands were simply too busy. Sometimes her left hand pressed the keys faster, sometimes her right hand pressed them faster, and sometimes they pressed them simultaneously, but her left hand didn't release them in time.

"Chords are difficult, aren't they?"

"...It's alright." Li Wanyan bit her lip. "I'll try again."

"Okay, take it one time at a time, no need to rush." ​​Mo Xueyao said, leaning down and placing her slender hand on Li Wanyan's relatively larger palm, just like a teacher teaching a child the correct way to hold a pen when writing. "I'll play it once, you feel it, and then you can play it yourself."

"Um……"

"Twinkle, twinkle, little star..."

……

(two)

Time slips away unnoticed.

By the time Mo Xueyao came to her senses, it was already four o'clock in the afternoon.

However, the summer sun doesn't set that early, so the sky outside the window is still bright.

But Mo Xueyao and the others had to set off.

The fireworks display is held on the banks of the Qiantang River. Although it doesn't start until dark, if you don't go early, you won't be able to get even a slightly closer spot.

"Phew... How are you feeling, Wanyan? Play the piano."

"Not so easy."

"You'll get used to it. The electronic keyboard is relatively simple. As for Yin Yin's pipa, I still don't understand how to play it."

Li Wanyan covered her mouth with the back of her hand and chuckled softly: "Well, that's definitely more difficult."

"Alright, shouldn't we be about to set off? Hmm, I'll send Yinyin a text message to ask if she's left yet. It should be quite close to the Qiantang River from where she is."

"Take the bus?"

"No...it might be very late, and even if there are buses then, just imagine, a bunch of people crammed onto a bus, it'd be suffocating! I'd better ride a bicycle." Mo Xueyao straightened up. "Luckily, my period is over, so I can ride my bike without worry!"

"it is good."

……

(three)

On the street, a rainbow-colored bicycle sped forward as Mo Xueyao pedaled rapidly, while Li Wanyan's silver bicycle followed at a leisurely pace.

It's quite a long way from here.

It takes about an hour and a half to cycle.