A Young Woman's Heart

Like Yang Yankai, the vice principal simply carried the sapling on his shoulder, and when he passed the equipment room, he also carried the shovel by the door.

He didn't seem worried at all about getting his clean clothes dirty, and just walked along, laughing happily: "Why did you suddenly think of planting trees?"

"Just to keep as a souvenir," Yang Yan replied.

"This will do." He smiled and didn't ask any further questions. Instead, he stopped next to an empty lawn. There were no bushes around, only a large, lush banyan tree with intertwined roots planted not far away.

"it is good!"

"I'll dig it, or you'll ruin my lawn." The vice principal took the shovel, lightly stepped on it, and dug off a patch of soil, looking quite skilled.

Mo Xueyao then noticed that he wasn't wearing his usual leather shoes today, but rather a pair of somewhat worn green canvas shoes.

The two pits were dug quickly. Although it was early morning, he was covered in sweat. Yang Yankai hurriedly carried the two saplings in, picked up the shovel that the vice principal had placed beside him, and filled the pits back with soil.

The vice principal glanced at Mo Xueyao standing beside him and asked with a kind smile, "How did the exam go?"

"Is there a problem?" Mo Xueyao answered confidently.

"I should be able to get in." Yang Yankai was not so sure. "Well, I'll get into at least one school. I applied for all agricultural majors."

“Agriculture? Heh…” The vice principal just laughed without making any comment. He raised his head and pointed to the old banyan tree that took up a lot of space. “That tree, I planted it.”

"Was it planted when you first took office?"

"Not really." He patted his pockets but found nothing. For a moment, he seemed to be stuck, as if he didn't know what to say.

Yang Yankai, who was standing next to him, casually handed him a cigarette. The latter was taken aback, then chuckled twice. He didn't refuse, but he didn't put it in his mouth either. He just hung it on his ear: "Ha... I planted that when I graduated from high school."

"The vice principal graduated from high school back then? It must have been an all-girls high school back then, right?"

“I was an accident that year.” He touched his lips. “Mo Kong, who is the current principal’s father, rescued me from hunger and cold. Besides him, there were seven or eight other young men. He has been supporting us ever since. We were supposed to finish elementary and middle school under his arrangement, and then either go to work or pass the entrance exam for a new high school. But at that time, I got into a fight at the high school I had been admitted to and was about to be expelled. So he sent me to study here.”

"But they're all girls, aren't they? Do the other girls agree? Do their parents agree?"

"So I registered here and studied alone in a warehouse. I had several teachers who were very close to me. Although I was in school, I rarely went out. Back then, this place wasn't so beautiful. There wasn't such a big playground. There was just a vacant lot that was always overgrown with weeds..." The vice principal seemed to be lost in memories, but he quickly brought the topic back. "In another ten or twenty years, the trees you planted will also be lush and green, accompanying generations of people."

"It sounds like it's suddenly become so great..." Mo Xueyao clicked her tongue. "Vice Principal, you really like this school, don't you?"

"Haha..." He didn't answer, he just laughed.

……

The tree has been planted, and the vice principal and Yang Yankai have both left.

The people Mo Xueyao was waiting for gradually arrived at the door.

Wang Jiale was the first to arrive today. Carrying a bulging bag and a wheeled suitcase that rattled as she dragged it, she rushed to Mo Xueyao and exclaimed as if she'd discovered something amazing, "Xiaoyao, Xiaoyao!!!"

"What's wrong? Why are you in such a hurry?"

"Phew... I'll show you something." With that, she took out a piece of draft paper with her unique handwriting, as small as a rice weevil.

"Uh... scattered guitar picks, discarded scraps of paper... what's this? Lyrics? Written by Lele?"

"No! I copied it. I found it while I was tidying up the band room yesterday!"

"Oh! Right, we haven't brought back a lot of stuff from the band room yet!"

"It's okay, it's okay, we can sort it out when we get back. The important thing is this! It's written in a lyric book, and Shu'er's name is on that lyric book. I've seen her using it before!"

"what?"

"It's a song she wrote for us!"

"Wow, that's amazing! You even drew the sheet music. Has the piece been composed?"

"Ok!"

"It's just a little sad, uh..."

"So, I was thinking, let's change the melody for her and add a few sections in the middle."

"and then?"

"Think about it, Shu'er definitely wants to sing this song for us, right? She can't just leave it like this, can she? After all, it looks like she's been preparing for a long time. When I flipped through it, there were more than a dozen pages of drafts!"

"right."

"So, when she was halfway through her song and feeling very sad, we sang in the lyrics we added to give her a surprise!"

"Hmm, she wanted to surprise us, but now we're the ones giving her a surprise instead?"

"Hmm! Don't you find it interesting?"

"So, should I write some lyrics to encourage her? Hmm... By the way, does anyone else know?"

"I don't know yet. You all left yesterday, and I was the only one in the band room. I'll tell Yinyin and the others later!"

"Okay...right, let Xiaoxue help think of something too."

"Mmm!"

"The melody is quite nice..." Mo Xueyao couldn't help but hum softly twice.

"Xiao Yao, don't sing out loud later, or Shu'er will find out."

"I know, I know... Let me think... Should I add it at the end? So that when she finishes singing, we can suddenly... pick up the melody again?"

"good idea!"

"Okay, um... lyrics, lyrics..."

……

Chapter 2. Takeoff

(One)

Xiaoshan Airport.

Wang Jiale dragged his suitcase, walking briskly, seemingly enjoying the feeling of dragging the wheels on such a smooth surface.

"Phew... I have absolutely no recollection of my last flight." Mo Zhuyou took a deep breath and looked at Mo Xueyao, "Xiaoyao, it's just the two of us who didn't bring any instruments..."

"...There's nothing we can do about it, our instruments are just that big."

Although the electronic keyboard is much smaller than a drum kit, carrying it on a trip abroad is still a hassle.

In comparison, Mr. Xue was the most relaxed.

The plane tickets were purchased in advance by Sanhua Tongjue; they were all business class, but at economy class prices.

As for Sanhua Tongjue herself... she and Huang Yuxi had already returned on a private jet yesterday.

This trip abroad involved only the six members of the Snow Music Band.

Even Li Wanyan and Mo Xiaoxiao didn't come.

"Where did Wanyan and Xiaoxiao go?" Wang Jiale sat on the suitcase, then slid back down in a flash.

Mo Xueyao glanced at her helplessly: "Wanyan and Xiaoxiao have joined another tour group. Chali, Auntie, and Xiaxia seem to be there too."

Mo Zhuyou put her arm around Wang Jiale's shoulder and pushed her forward. The large suitcase now seemed to have turned into a shopping cart in a supermarket: "Yeah! My sister said we're going to G City for fun!"

"Where to? The beach?"

Yes, that's right.

"There's a sea in Zhejiang too, so why go so far away?"

"Aren't we the same?"

“We’re traveling abroad, it’s different now—” Wang Jiale suddenly stumbled and almost fell off her suitcase, but luckily Mr. Xue next to her caught her in time.

"Sigh, be careful, Lele." Mo Xueyao shook her head.

"Yinyin? Look over here~" Besides Wang Jiale, Yu Shu was the most excited person on this trip. She was holding a digital camera and taking pictures of everyone, occasionally capturing some of the most 'wonderful' moments.

Mo Xueyao suddenly remembered something: "What about the photos Yu Shu took before? I remember there were also videos, right?"

"Okay, let's watch it together when we get back this time!"

"Shu'er didn't drink today, did she? Why is she so different from usual?" Mo Zhuyou chuckled.

"Huh? Is there...?"

"It's just like that now!"

"It's good to be cheerful." Mo Xueyao rolled her eyes at Mo Zhuyou. "Yu Shu, ignore them and just have fun."

“I said…” Hua Yinyin always seemed more composed when they were outside, “How about we go through security first before we start making a scene, in case the plane takes off…”

"That's impossible, there are still two hours left!"

"Then we have to get the important stuff done first..."

……

(two)

Although it wasn't her first time flying, Mo Xueyao still felt a sense of novelty when she stepped onto the plane again.

It's probably because I was flying business class this time.

The space seemed a bit more spacious, and it felt much more comfortable to sit there—she wasn't sure if it was just her imagination, since it had been a long time since she last flew.

"Whoosh." Sitting next to Mr. Xue, Hua Yinyin put on her blindfold and leaned back comfortably in her chair. "So refreshing..."

"How long will it take to fly to our destination?" Mo Xueyao also fiddled with the black eye mask that had been given to her.

"About three or four hours?"

"Oh, if we get there, it should be around two or three o'clock?"

Wang Jiale tilted his head: "No, their time zone is different from ours. It should be three or four o'clock when we get there."

"Oh right, an hour earlier..."

"Is it an hour later?"

"Oh dear, Lele is sure to get the geography questions wrong this time."

"Huh?" Wang Jiale was taken aback, then realized where she had gone wrong. "Ugh... Xiaoyao... please don't take the high school entrance exam again before the results are out..."