A Young Woman's Heart

"Pfft, is it really that exaggerated!" Ye Wen choked on the water she had just drunk. "Cough cough... You... your math teacher is actually a person who is cold on the outside but warm on the inside."

"Really? I can't tell at all," Liu Xiaowei and Gao Yuan said in unison.

Tian Xinnan, a chubby girl sitting in the front row, nodded in agreement.

"I feel like our math teacher could kill a bull with one punch, yet her name is so gentle," Ma Jianhang, a boy with a square face and slightly dark skin, chimed in. "The contrast is just too much, isn't it?"

"Haha, your math teacher killed a cow?" Ye Wen laughed so hard she almost fell over. "That's impossible! You know what? She's actually afraid of spiders."

"Oh, I get it. Next time, I'll play a prank with a spider toy." Liu Xiaowei had an "I understand" look on his face.

"Tsk, then you'd probably get beaten to death on the spot." Ye Wen clicked her tongue. "Although she's afraid of spiders, it's different from what most people are afraid of. It's like how some people like watching horror movies but are afraid of ghosts."

"What a conflicted feeling..."

"Well, people are always contradictory," Ye Wen said, shrugging.

……

Chapter Eleven: Encountering an Old Classmate

The class monitor always seems to be very busy.

Li Wanyan was no exception.

After school today, she was dragged by her homeroom teacher to attend a lecture, which seemed to be about "how to be a good class leader." All the class leaders and vice class leaders in the first year of high school had to attend.

When Mo Xueyao first heard it, she misheard it as "How to be a rich person". For some reason, she felt that this kind of title had a strange similarity.

Anyway, after hearing about it, I didn't really want to go; it felt like a scam.

"The lecture will take about an hour and a half, Xiaoyao, you should go home first." Li Wanyan took the money and walked out of the classroom.

"It's alright, I'll help Ye Banxia clean up before I leave."

"Thanks for your hard work."

"It's okay, I've finished all my homework for today anyway, so it's fine if I go home a little later." Mo Xueyao smiled. "Ye Banxia, ​​let me help you."

"I'm so sorry to always ask you for help..." Ye Banxia smoothed her pigtails. "Sigh, there are only Gao Yuan and Liu Xiaowei here today, let them do more."

"It's nothing," Mo Xueyao replied nonchalantly. Having already become quite familiar with Gao Yuan and Liu Xiaowei, the two lively characters, she called out, "Gao Yuan, Liu Xiaowei~! It's you two again."

“The man sitting next to the class monitor is doomed,” Gao Yuan said dejectedly.

"You clearly broke classroom rules, can't you have any self-awareness?" Mo Xueyao teased.

"Actually, we stayed behind all for your sake," Liu Xiaowei said earnestly. "If no boys broke the rules and stayed behind, wouldn't the class monitor have to do all the cleaning work by himself?"

“That’s right, isn’t it?” Gao Yuan patted Liu Xiaowei on the shoulder forcefully. “Look how great we are.”

"Great my foot!" Mo Xueyao rolled her eyes. "Stop wasting time, hurry up and sweep the floor, I'm going to wipe the windowsill."

"I'll go wash the mop so it'll be easier later," Ye Banxia said hurriedly.

The class monitor in charge of student life is probably the most tired class officer. They have to do everything themselves, and this kind of tiredness is not the kind of tiredness from mental labor, but the kind of tiredness from real physical labor.

Mops were very heavy back then. Just thinking about a girl carrying two wet mops up and down the stairs is exhausting.

But in Mo Xueyao's mind, the class monitors were all girls.

It seems like it would be easier for boys, right?

Of course, it's also possible that the teacher thinks girls are more thorough in cleaning.

"Are you going to wash the mop again? Never mind, I'll do it." Mo Xueyao couldn't stand it anymore. "Last time you almost fell while carrying two mops up here."

"It's okay, I'll just take one this time."

"Tsk." Mo Xueyao glanced at Gao Yuan and Liu Xiaowei with dissatisfaction.

"Ugh, sweeping is such a damn hassle, I'm not sweeping anymore!" Gao Yuan threw the broom at Liu Xiaowei and snatched Ye Banxia's mop. "Come on, instead of sweeping, I'd rather wash the mop!"

The kid was talking loudly when he grabbed his mop and ran off in a flash, leaving Ye Banxia standing there in a daze.

And so, the four of them quickly cleaned the classroom, turned off all the heating, and left the school.

"Xiao Yao, why don't you go that way?" Ye Banxia said as she and Mo Xueyao walked for a while, then stood at a fork in the road. "I have to go this way."

"Okay, bye-bye." Mo Xueyao waved goodbye to her.

Because she had been going home with Li Wanyan almost every day recently, it was really hard for her to adjust to going home alone one day.

Although it was still early, it was already getting dark.

It's like a summer afternoon around six or seven o'clock.

The sunlight shone on the mountain, reflecting a hint of orange, while the noisy sounds still emanated from the arcade.

Looking through the gap, you can see some familiar figures.

Middle school and primary school students are not allowed to enter arcades.

However, many high school students are adults. Although it is not allowed according to school rules, they have already left the school. Since the police don't care about this matter, the school also ignores it.

Just like the school rules say no smoking, if a student is seen smoking off-campus by other teachers, it will be treated as if no one saw it.

People as meticulous as Li Wanyan are in the minority.

Mo Xueyao peeked inside a few times, seemingly hesitating whether to go in or not.

But the place was already packed with people, and it seemed there were no seats left.

Just then, the curtain of the arcade was lifted, and a familiar face appeared in front of Mo Xueyao.

Although he hadn't spoken yet, his voice was already echoing in Mo Xueyao's mind.

That's right, he's the guy who called her before—Li Gutao.

Mo Xueyao's best friend from junior high school.

We've done bad things together, and we've faced the punishment together.

It's like the bond between brothers going to war, sharing the same pants.

She had always thought that she and Li Gutao would be best friends forever, brothers who could talk about anything.

But when we met again, I felt nervous and apprehensive.

That face was still so familiar, not much changed, but I didn't dare to face it.

She hurriedly turned her head to the side, stepped onto her bicycle, and prepared to leave.

Li Gutao was clearly surprised at this moment.

He felt that the girl in front of him looked a lot like his good brother, but she had long hair. For a moment, the image of his good brother in his memory became blurry.

But he still instinctively shouted, "Mo Xueyao!?"

Mo Xueyao's body visibly stiffened for a moment.

If it were other classmates who weren't very close, they probably wouldn't notice this.

But Li Gutao clearly noticed it.

If she responds when called Mo Xueyao's name, then that means she is Mo Xueyao?

But why did you grow your hair long?

"Is it really Mo Xueyao?" he asked in utter surprise.

Seeing that there was no way to avoid her, Mo Xueyao could only deliberately turn her back and not turn around: "You've mistaken me for someone else."

"what?"

"Mo Xueyao... Mo Xueyao is my brother."

"Huh?" Li Gutao was shocked. "How come I've never heard of this during my three years of junior high school?"

"Because we only recently recognized each other."

"No way, they look so alike, they don't look like cousins ​​at all."

"He's my biological... illegitimate son." Mo Xueyao apologized to her father in her heart and answered stiffly.

"Uh, I see. No wonder I said they looked so alike. I knew it." Li Gutao scratched his head. "Looking closely, apart from the hair, there are indeed quite a few differences. He seems to be a little shorter than your brother?"

Mo Xueyao was speechless. What? This person can still get shorter after surgery?

Was it an amputation or something?

After all, they were once the best of friends, and not too long had passed since then. After seeing each other again, the nervousness gradually subsided, replaced by that familiar feeling from before.

"Is there?"

"It's a shorter one. Hey, isn't this your brother's car?"

“He’s not riding anymore,” Mo Xueyao continued to lie.

"I see... Speaking of which, you came from Yukong High School, right?"

"Yes."

"Oh, your brother goes to No. 14 Middle School. It seems your grades are still a bit worse than his."

"That's still better than your vocational high school." Mo Xueyao rolled her eyes and retorted in the same tone she used to use with her best friend.

Li Gutao's expression froze for a moment, then he looked Mo Xueyao up and down strangely: "Although your voice is a little different from your brother's, why does this tone sound so familiar?"

"...I learned it from what I've seen and heard all the time."

"Oh, I see. Come to think of it, your brother's voice sounded a lot like yours when he answered the phone last time." Li Gutao suddenly clapped his hands, startling Mo Xueyao. "Oh! Could it be?!"

She swallowed hard and whispered, "What...?"

"You didn't answer that, did you? Oh my god, is your brother playing this prank on purpose?"

"...Oh, I answered it," Mo Xueyao replied in a panic. "He's just playing a trick on you."

"That guy, I'll teach him a lesson when I catch him someday, hehe. How about I go to your house today and I'll go play with your brother?"

“My brother? Ah… he doesn’t get out of school that early. He has evening self-study sessions, and he doesn’t get out of school until nine o’clock,” Mo Xueyao lied.