A Young Woman's Heart

"It's better if the members of your band make the decision."

"Suggestions are fine too..."

"That's right, Wanyan, please give us your opinions too..."

“Before that—” Hua Yinyin poured herself a glass of iced tea and drank it all in one gulp, “take out what you’ve written and let’s take a look!”

"I know..." Wang Jiale was a little embarrassed, but still opened his lyric book.

She wrote: "Hold us tight, our last moments of tenderness, and we won't say goodbye after we part."

"Uh... isn't it too sweet?" Mo Zhuyou pressed her forehead.

“It’s not a love song…” Hua Yinyin agreed, “And they can obviously see each other again, why sing it so sadly?”

“Mine… is… never mind, I’ll read it myself!” Mo Xueyao held the lyric book, her face slightly flushed. “The sugar in the cup has dissolved, drink… finish the last cup of tea…”

"Hey, it's not like we're going to war! What's with all this talk of life and death?" Hua Yinyin glared at Mo Zhuyou, "Where's Youyou?"

"Um... well... this brief period of darkness... won't last too long."

"Oh, this... seems alright?" Hua Yinyin tilted her head and looked at the others.

“Not bad,” Mr. Xue agreed, “but something is missing; we should add another sentence at the beginning.”

"How should I add it..."

“But…?” Wang Jiale began.

"Don't be afraid?" Mo Xueyao looked at Li Wanyan, who didn't respond.

"We'll be waiting for you up ahead!" Mo Zhuyou's eyes widened. "And then—this brief darkness won't last long!"

"oh--!!"

"That's it, that's the feeling!"

"Is this section not enough? Shall we add more?"

"it is good!"

Inspiration finally came quickly to him at this moment. Mr. Xue hardly participated in the discussion because he also had to compose music for the lyrics he wrote for everyone at the same time. Of course, it was not the final result. It still needed to be revised and discussed before it could be finalized.

Fortunately, there are still a few days left, so everyone can further refine it.

The more you try not to let time pass, the faster it seems to pass.

Four days passed in the blink of an eye, but everyone felt as if they were not yet fully prepared.

But the fifth day finally arrived.

On the 22nd, senior high school students were notified that they could come to school to check their grades and pick up their admission notices, which had already been sent to the school…

……

(two)

Yu Shu, who is attending a tutoring class, arrived at school early today.

The summer sky wasn't even fully lit yet.

A hazy blue veil swirled around, the streets were somewhat quiet, and the school was rather deserted in the early morning.

She walked into the band room alone, pushed open the door, and her gaze fell on the whiteboard at the front of the room.

It was covered with other people's graffiti.

Some of them were even drawn at the beginning of the second semester of senior year and have never been erased.

The latest graffiti is a chibi version of Hua Yinyin, whose braided pigtails have turned into an electric fan.

The newer ones are probably the handwriting I wrote two months before the exam:

"Target: Ginkgo Women's University!"

Have they achieved their goals today? Have their wishes come true?

The clay figurines they bought that day were still on the windowsill; they said they would only take them away on the last day.

The clutter under the desk hadn't been cleared out yet, and the teacups on the desk were neatly arranged, each one different from the one used by the person on the desk, making them easy to distinguish at a glance.

The electric kettle, which hadn't been used in a long time, sat quietly in a corner covered with foam mats, where some pillows, water bags, and even thin blankets were scattered haphazardly.

—Many of them were things I used in the winter but didn't bring back with me.

Inside the desk, there were exam papers mixed with draft paper, and some musical instrument parts whose usefulness was unknown.

Wang Jiale's bass strings, and the many picks she bought even though she didn't need them.

The drumsticks of the ink bamboo grove were damaged or became moldy from dampness, and there was also the maracas that kept shaking when I didn't want to play the drums.

The silvery stickers and the torn sheet music were mixed together, revealing a corner of the thumb piano.

Mr. Xue has several tea canisters, which stand out in a way from the otherwise messy collection of miscellaneous items.

Next to Mo Xueyao's harmonica were a jumble of phone charms and a bunch of oddly shaped pens she had bought.

Of course, there were also Yu Shu's own things: her lyric book, her fruit-flavored eraser, and a lot of film for optical cameras...

She always felt that all this clutter would just pile up more and more in the desk drawer, filling it up more and more, and then end up scattered all over the band room.

But I never imagined that one day they would be packed up and taken away by their respective owners...

Like a long, seemingly uneventful, ordinary story that never seemed to have any surprises, it finally came to an end.

Perhaps the story continues, but the author has no intention of continuing it.

It's like after parting ways, everyone has their own life, but perhaps, some people will never cross paths again.

Although everyone says they've gone to Xingda University and are waiting for her, will she be able to get in next year?

There are always many unexpected things in life.

Yu Shu lowered her head, raised the back of her hand and vigorously wiped her reddened eyes, every strand of hair seemingly falling limply.

But she still got to work, dividing the prepared items into five portions and placing them one by one on the table.

At the bottom are photos, above that are cassette tapes, and at the end are individual discs containing clips of everyone's performances.

……

(three)

"Bang—!" The door to the band room was almost kicked open.

Everyone's face was beaming with smiles.

"Shu'er~! I have some really great news for you!"

"We've repeated a year!" Mo Xueyao raised her hands high.

"Ptooey, ptooey, what's all this nonsense—"

"Xiaoyao was just joking. We both got into Xingda University."

"That's right, that's right!"

"Yes, congratulations." Yu Shu smiled and looked up. "Here, I've prepared everything for everyone, one for each person."

"Wow, let me see, let me see—" Hua Yinyin ran over enthusiastically and picked up the photo at the bottom first.

They weren't scattered around, but neatly arranged in a photo album.

This thick photo album is the classic kind that can hold over a thousand photos.

Now, not a single page of it is empty.

—My mind is overflowing with memories.

Everyone knew that Yu Shu took a lot of photos, but no one expected that she would actually print out so many.

Five people, plus her own share, that's over six thousand...

Many moments that went unnoticed by most people were captured and placed in the photo album.

"This was taken when we first arrived, right? Back then, Shu'er liked to sit in the corner and fiddle with the camera."

"Oh, this composition... We practiced it together! We really enjoyed practicing back then."

"Well...it turned into a tea party afterwards."

"Pfft... It's actually pretty good!"

Everyone burst into laughter.

"Oh my, this is Silver's funny face, it actually printed out!"

"Hey, didn't you say you deleted it?!"

"Pfft... I find it hilarious every time I watch it..." Wang Jiale covered her mouth, tears welling up in her eyes from laughing.

"Was this taken at Xiaoyao's fruit shop? Xiaoyao looks so blurry."

"Yeah, it's almost gone in a flash."

"This is a photo of everyone having dinner together after school. Oh my, it feels like the time in my second year of high school when we didn't have evening self-study sessions was a thing of the past."

Yes, that's right.

"I had a lot of free time back then."

"This picture, Xiaoxue's silhouette against the sunset—so handsome!"

"Indeed—oh, there are several photos of Xiaoxue's profile and face in the back, pfft..."

"Hahaha—" Mo Xueyao laughed the loudest, "What is this? When was this Xiaoxue? Why does she look so worried? I don't remember her?"

"It was a snapshot taken right after I yawned..." Yu Shu said softly, fidgeting with the hem of her clothes.

"A photo of Xiaoxue washing the suona was also taken."

"Ugh, that sneaky Yin Yin, I remember now! That time she scared me at the bathroom door!"

"There are also many photos of Youyou and her older sister being affectionate together."

"Lele bites the bass!"

"Why is this one here too... Oh dear, I was thinking of changing the strings..."