A Young Woman's Heart

"Yeah, it's that teacher who really likes to eat simple meals... Ah, I guess that's the lifestyle of the rich, I don't understand." Mo Xueyao shrugged. "Ah, the light's green."

"Do you take piano lessons?" Hua Yinyin asked curiously. "Those must be very expensive, right?"

"No, it's just that we met by chance, and I can occasionally go to her classes or something." Mo Xueyao grabbed the handlebars and rode forward. "I got a few beginner piano textbooks from her, and Wanyan and I are using them to teach ourselves."

"How's your practice going? If you don't understand the sheet music, I can teach you. Although I've never played the piano, musical instruments are all interconnected." Hua Yinyin said as she rode her bike, spreading her hands to mimic playing the pipa.

"Take it easy..."

"It's okay, it's okay, I'm really good at riding a bike without hands!"

Before Hua Yinyin could finish speaking, the car veered to one side and almost crashed into a van turning right.

"How do you ride a bike?!" the van driver shouted angrily, sticking his head out.

"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry." Mo Xueyao quickly apologized on her behalf, then used her body to brace against the car that was about to lose its balance.

"Be careful." Li Wanyan looked at her helplessly.

"Tch, why be so fierce!" Hua Yinyin pouted.

"Don't blame others, you're the one who's wrong, okay..."

The two arrived at the gate of Zuo Ziya's villa amidst their bickering, only to find the gate locked. If Mo Xueyao hadn't been so impressed by the well-arranged front yard, she probably would have thought she had come to the wrong place.

"Not home—" she muttered, resting her chin on her hand.

“That’s normal.” Li Wanyan wasn’t too surprised.

"Phew, I was hoping to see her one last time. I had a lot of questions saved up! Although I don't remember them all..."

"Forget it~ Let's turn back!" Hua Yinyin finally felt tired. "It's almost one o'clock, isn't it? I'm hungry, let's find a place to eat?"

"Hmm, now that you mention it, I feel hungry too." Mo Xueyao lowered her head and touched her stomach, feeling it rumbling. "But... we need to leave West Lake, otherwise it's too expensive."

“It’s a scenic area after all.” Li Wanyan nodded, then judged the direction. “This way.”

"Okay, let's go again~ How about we go get KFC? It's on me!" Hua Yinyin said loudly, patting her 'bouncy' chest.

Although she was a little tempted, Mo Xueyao still firmly refused: "No, it's too expensive. We can't eat KFC every time you come out with us, can we?"

"What's the big deal? It's on me!"

"That won't do either..." Mo Xueyao wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth without making a sound. "We can't waste money!"

"Shaxian County, perhaps?" Li Wanyan suggested.

"Yeah, Shaxian is the way to go, it's cheap and delicious."

"Tsk, alright, alright, then it'll be Shaxian Grand Hotel~"

Even after leaving West Lake, we were still in the city center, surrounded by towering buildings, making it quite bustling.

"This seems to be near Zhejiang University School of Medicine." Mo Xueyao stood up on the foot pedal and looked into the distance. "Ah, there's a Shaxian snack shop over there!"

"Are we finally here? I'm starving." Hua Yinyin breathed a sigh of relief and followed Mo Xueyao as they rode their bikes to the store entrance and stopped.

It wasn't mealtime, and there was only one customer in the shop, holding a bowl and asking the owner for more rice.

He probably ordered something like a rice bowl with toppings.

When he turned around, Mo Xueyao was stunned for a moment, then waved her hand in surprise: "Oh, Zhou Yong, what a coincidence to run into you here!"

"Mo Xueyao?" Zhou Yong stiffened for a moment, an embarrassed smile appearing on his face. "What a coincidence."

“Yeah.” Mo Xueyao wanted to pat his shoulder, but then she remembered that she and he weren’t really best friends, just classmates who were relatively familiar with each other at school. It would be fine if it were Mr. Xue or Duanmu Ji, since they chatted often, but with Zhou Yong, it felt a bit distant. And since she was a girl, it wasn’t appropriate for her to do such an intimate gesture.

Pity.

She always felt that the best way for guys to express friendliness was to pat each other on the shoulder; as soon as they put their arms around each other, their relationship would instantly become much closer.

So she withdrew her outstretched hand, feeling somewhat awkward.

"Zhou Yong, do you live around here?" Hua Yinyin glanced at the menu, turned to the owner and called out, "Boss, give me a plate of fried noodles with a poached egg, and a bowl of wontons!"

"So much food, can we finish it all?" Mo Xueyao looked at her suspiciously.

"It's okay, we can all eat together." Hua Yinyin plopped down, then immediately stood up straight. "Phew... never mind, I've been riding my bike for too long, my butt hurts a bit, I'll just stand."

"What did Zhou Yong order?" Mo Xueyao looked at Zhou Yong, because the food he ordered included rice, so she wanted to order the same thing, so that if it wasn't enough, she could get some more rice.

Frugality was ingrained in her very being.

Even now that we're not so short of money, this remains true.

"Huh? Me, uh, pork chop rice."

"Oh, boss, I'll have a pork chop rice bowl too!"

"Coming right away!"

Li Wanyan remained silent for a long time in front of the menu hanging on the wall. It wasn't until Mo Xueyao's pork chop rice was served that she finally made her decision: "Duck leg rice."

"okay."

These dishes are quick to prepare because they're even simpler than rice bowls.

It involves laying down a layer of rice, then placing the braised pork chops or duck legs on top, along with some pre-fried shredded potatoes, dried tofu, and some pickled vegetables.

Of course, the price is also quite reasonable. This pork chop rice, which is bigger than Mo Xueyao's two little hands combined, only costs three yuan and fifty cents, and comes with a bowl of seaweed soup.

When you're hungry, anything tastes good.

Mo Xueyao is the kind of person who particularly enjoys food.

She sat down opposite Hua Yinyin, and Zhou Yong was sitting at the table next to her.

First, I tasted the rice... well, it was probably stale rice, not very tasty.

However, the parts that were drizzled with broth tasted very good, and the rice was very loose, with each grain separate. I don't think I can cook rice like that at home.

The pork chop was also very flavorful; just one bite made Mo Xueyao squint her eyes.

"Zhou Yong, your home isn't around here. What are you doing out today? Are you alone... out having fun all by yourself?" Mo Xueyao didn't say the last part, "How pitiful," but her eyes betrayed her thoughts.

"Cough... I, uh, I got drunk yesterday and just came from a friend's house."

"You can actually drink? And you got drunk?" Mo Xueyao looked him up and down. "Ai'ai, how's your alcohol tolerance?"

"Not really." Zhou Yong chuckled and scratched his head. He ate several mouthfuls of rice before taking a small bite of pork chop, seemingly planning to get another serving of rice later.

"So, who did you go drinking with yesterday? Why were you drinking? Did you break up with your boyfriend?"

"Heartbroken?" Hua Yinyin interjected. "Would anyone still like Zhou Yong?"

Li Wanyan glanced at Hua Yinyin, seemingly feeling that her words were hurtful, and awkwardly tried to salvage the situation by saying, "She didn't mean to say that."

"Cough, it's nothing, I'm used to it." Zhou Yong waved his hand and gave a 'sad' smile. "I'm not good-looking, I don't have any special features, it's normal that no girls like me, cough... I just wanted to drink, not because I was sad. I accidentally drank too much, that's about it."

"Is there such a way to drink? Are you an alcoholic?"

"...I don't usually drink much."

Mo Xueyao was about to say something when she suddenly saw Hua Yinyin, who was waiting for her fried noodles to be served, turn her head and sniff Zhou Yong.

"Uh...ah...wh, what's wrong?" Zhou Yong shrank back awkwardly and asked sheepishly.

A girl like Hua Yinyin is irresistible to any man – her charm is captivating.

Because she was so big, especially when she wasn't wearing her school uniform, it was even more obvious.

"It's strange, you have a scent that only girls have, the scent of hormones that comes out after you've washed very clean."

"That's an exaggeration... Do you have a dog's nose?" Mo Xueyao pulled her back with droopy eyelids, "Stop bullying Zhou Yong."

"Seriously, this guy has definitely spent time with girls! There were actually girls with him, wow—"

“What are you yelling about…” Zhou Yong felt hurt.

……

Chapter 219 Hey! Mo Xueyao

Saturday, April 15th, the air was a little hot.

Although it was only early morning, it gave one the inexplicable feeling that summer had already arrived.

It was still early, but the air was warm. My mother was busy in the kitchen, and the sounds of washing dishes, washing vegetables, chopping vegetables, and stir-frying vegetables came almost simultaneously...

If you didn't know, you might even suspect that there are several people working together in the kitchen.

Mo Xueyao, dressed in pajamas and barefoot, sat next to the electronic keyboard, playing a tune with a distinctly everyday rhythm.

Sometimes the pace is fast, like a mother rushing to do many things; other times it is very relaxed, like the world seen through the eyes of a cat.

The greatest advantage of having a hobby is that it's not easy to forget.

The electronic keyboard wasn't left to gather dust after it was bought; Mo Xueyao would often play it, sometimes following the set sheet music, and sometimes playing impromptu pieces.

As she became more familiar with the piano keys, she could now improvise and play reasonably well.

Playing music is a joyful thing; the better you are at it, the more you enjoy it, as if it possesses some kind of magic.

"Hmph~ Hmph~" Mo Xueyao hummed softly as she played a tune on repeat, occasionally adding small variations and sometimes seamlessly transitioning to classic pieces.

"Da da la la da la~ la la la la..."

"He didn't come to help so early in the morning, he just played the piano." The mother hurriedly ran into the bathroom and started washing clothes again.

It seems the vegetables are already cooked; now we just need to wait for the porridge to cook.

"Mom, there's no need to be in such a hurry... It's not even six o'clock yet."

"It's not even six o'clock yet, and you're still so energetic? Can't you be a little more considerate and help me with some chores?"

"Oh... just leave it there... I'll come and clean up."

"Come on, you didn't clean it properly at all. I'll have to clean it all over again later." The mother grumbled, repeating what she said almost every day.

"Tsk... whatever you want." Mo Xueyao's eyes darted around, and her pace suddenly became more cheerful. "Mom, Mom, why are you always so busy? Life moves so fast, can't you slow down a bit? Sometimes, even if you're in a hurry, you're only going to save ten minutes..."

"What kind of singing is that? It's awful."