A Young Woman's Heart

"Yes, great minds think alike."

"Oh, not at all, I wouldn't dare call myself a hero, haha."

As they spoke, the three of them, along with several staff members, walked into a large hall.

The lobby was very clean, but because the floors and walls were all made of marble, it felt very cold and lifeless.

Nearby, several family members of prisoners, accompanied by prison guards, were talking on a wired telephone through thick glass.

In the very center, a woman who looked extremely haggard was already sitting.

You can still vaguely see her beauty in her youth, and you can also tell that she is not very old, probably around forty years old, but her black hair is already mixed with a small amount of white hair.

She seemed somewhat bewildered by the person who had just arrived.

The prison guards only told her that someone who knew her had come to see her, but they didn't tell her who it was.

She thought it might be one of her relatives, with whom she had little contact, who had found her, or perhaps it was her daughter...

As for friends, she really doesn't have any close friends, and even if she loses contact with them, those so-called friends probably won't notice anything.

Mo Kong wasn't surprised by her confusion. He took off his sunglasses and politely nodded and smiled at the woman behind the thick glass.

Then, he pointed to the telephone receiver next to the other person's hand.

"...Hello?" The other party hesitated for a few seconds, then picked up the landline phone and looked at Mo Kong through the glass.

"Hello, Ms. Pan Jiexiang, I am your daughter's principal, Mo Kong."

"H-Hello!" After a moment of confusion, Pan Jiexiang became extremely tense. She seemed to have many questions to ask, but after her lips moved for a long time, she couldn't utter a single word.

"The lawyer you saw in court is the one we hired for you."

"Th-thank you...thank you." Pan Jiexiang bowed her head in trepidation and asked in a very low, soft voice, "My daughter...Wanyan, how is she?"

“She’s doing well. The school originally planned to have her live on campus, but a girl in her class was willing to help her. Now she lives in that girl’s house and lives a peaceful life, though not wealthy.” Mo Kong looked at the haggard mother in front of him with gentle eyes. “The school has already waived her tuition and fees. In addition to the poverty subsidy, she also works very hard and receives a scholarship from the school.”

"But...but I don't know if that'll be enough to pay for that family's food expenses..."

"You don't need to worry about that. That family has already taken her in as their goddaughter and treats her like their own daughter."

"is that true?"

“Of course.” Mo Kong nodded firmly. “If you’d like, I can bring you some of their photos next time.”

"Thank you, thank you!" The woman in front of him suddenly took a step back solemnly, then knelt down on the ground and kowtowed hard before being forcibly pulled up by the prison guards watching over him.

"As the principal of a high school, the most important thing is not to teach knowledge, but to teach students how to be good people. Therefore, we need to set an example, which is what we should do." Mo Kong said softly when the other party picked up the phone again.

Pan Jiexiang's face was streaked with tears and snot. A prison guard handed her a tissue, but she didn't wipe it away. She just clutched the tissue and sobbed, as if she had forgotten what she was supposed to do.

"Thank you so much, Principal Mo..."

"No need to thank me. Just work hard in the labor camp and try to get out as soon as possible."

“But… what can I do after I get out… I gave my daughter such a terrible family, and now she’s doing better and better with someone else. After I get out, will I just bring her back and make her go back to living that… beggar’s life?” Pan Jiexiang’s voice grew softer and softer as she clutched her chest tightly, as if she were clutching her aching heart.

"No matter what choice you make, she is still your daughter, and you are still her mother. At the very least, you should let her know that you are safe and sound."

"Yes...yes...ah! Don't tell her about what's happening now, please...don't tell her about her criminal mother..."

Mo Kong's eyes were meaningful, as if he wanted to say something, but he said nothing. He simply nodded slightly and made a promise: "I respect your choice."

"Thank you." This time, Pan Jiexiang's emotions gradually stabilized. She took several deep breaths. "I feel much better now."

Do you regret doing that?

“…If it happened again, I probably still wouldn’t be able to resist taking action.” Pan Jiexiang gave a bitter smile. “But I might, I might still still love him.”

“Try to get out of this wrong relationship.” Mo Kong looked into Pan Jiexiang’s cloudy eyes with his deep eyes. “He doesn’t love you. He’s just a beast in human skin.”

“I know…ha…”

Is there anything else I can help you with?

“No, no need… It’s already good enough as it is now. It’s just manslaughter, I’ll be out in three years, three years will pass quickly.” Pan Jiexiang hesitated for a moment, “May 5th is Wanyan’s birthday. Every year before, I would give her a sunflower that I picked from the mountain…”

“Okay, I’ve got it.” Mo Kong glanced at Su Yuqing beside him. “If you need anything or feel uncomfortable, you can make a request to the prison guards. As long as it’s not too unreasonable, we can accommodate you.”

"No, no need... It's already very good... One person per room... That's a privilege that other prisoners don't have."

“Then, I should leave now.” Mo Kong nodded. “I’ll come to see you again in a while.”

“As the principal, you must be very busy. You don’t need to come and see me. Actually, I’ve already gotten used to this kind of life.”

Mo Kong neither agreed nor disagreed, but simply gently put the receiver back in its original position.

Afterwards, the two of them visited the prisoners' canteen and dormitory, as well as the labor camp that was set up like a production workshop.

Everything was done in a very professional manner, and all the prisoners seemed to be in good condition.

Prisoners are allowed to spend money to buy materials and make their own clothes, and they can wear their own clothes at all times except when they are 'on duty'.

If no one told you this was a prison, you probably wouldn't be able to tell.

"If only all prisons were like this..." Su Yuqing said wistfully.

“That’s impossible.” Mo Kong put his sunglasses back on and looked at the deputy warden beside him. “Deputy Warden Zhang, this is enough. We’re leaving.”

"Okay, okay, take care!"

As the van drove away, the deputy warden suddenly heard someone mutter quietly beside him, "Why does someone so rich drive himself?"

"Ha, what do you know? The richer you are, the more individualistic you become. Maybe they just like driving themselves?"

……

Chapter 224 Arcade

The high-end hotel served delicious and beautifully presented dishes.

Then what……?

That seemed to be all, and it didn't leave a very deep impression on Mo Xueyao.

"Ugh, what a waste! I feel so bad about it after I finished eating." She muttered, holding the back of her head with both hands. "I didn't really eat anything special. The abalone didn't taste particularly special either... just so-so."

"Wow, Xiaoyao, you really don't know how to appreciate good food!" Shi Haiming said with feigned indignation. "Do you know that abalone costs eighty-eight yuan?"

"Money isn't the only measure of good food..." Mo Xueyao pouted. "Tsk, whatever, just pretend I can't live a good life, okay? Anyway, I feel more at ease eating ordinary food."

“Xiaoyao has a point.” Li Gutao patted Shi Haiming on the shoulder earnestly. “Your job isn’t very stable. You should save your money and not spend it recklessly. Use it to buy a house and save more money so that you’ll have a home to live in if you lose your job in the future.”

"I'm saving it up, but it'll take some time before I can buy a house." Shi Haiming shifted his body. "It's only afternoon, we still have plenty of time. Shall we go to the arcade?"

"Okay, you're treating, kid!" Mo Xueyao put her arm around his shoulder, just like she did back in junior high.

"Of course, you guys have to pay for our outing?" Shi Haiming casually put his arm around Li Gutao on the other side, and the three best friends swaggered towards the nearby arcade, looking like 'the three brothers are best friends'.

However, to outsiders, this scene is rather intriguing.

Fortunately, none of the three cared much about what others thought, and they walked straight into the arcade.

This is a location near the city center of Hangzhou, and the arcade is practically a city in itself.

There are five floors in total.

Each floor has a large number of different amusement facilities.

The top floor is an internet cafe, and Mo Xueyao and Li Gutao, who are underage, can't go in now.

"I've never been to this arcade before," Mo Xueyao muttered, looking at the large screen at the entrance, which displayed an overhead view of each floor of the arcade.

The content of each layer is different.

For example, the first floor has game consoles that girls like, such as dance machines and claw machines.

The second floor features battle or level-based games, while the third floor offers shooting games, including realistic shooting games where you can actually hold a gun.

The fourth level consists of games with a gambling element, such as slot machines and coin-refund machines.

Here, no matter what game you play, you'll get points if you win. You can exchange enough points for prizes, so there are people at the entrance who specifically buy loose points at low prices.

After all, exchanging them requires a lot of points, which most people simply can't accumulate enough of, so it's better to sell them to these people.

"It seems to have just opened last year." Li Gutao knew a bit about this place. "When I passed by last year, it was still under renovation. Hey, I just came here recently."

"You come to play video games all by yourself?" Shi Haiming looked at him with pity. "You're so pathetic."

“I came with Lin Huihui.” Li Gutao tilted his head back. “Just the two of us.”

"They turned the tables and killed them," Mo Xueyao commented from the side.

"Damn, just the two of you?"

Now both Mo Xueyao and Shi Haiming know that the young delinquent is named Lin Huihui, and it seems that she has a crush on Li Gutao.

Although I didn't figure out whether it was friendship or love.

"correct."

"Then she must like you, damn it! We were just chatting idly for so long at dinner, if you had told me earlier I would have known!"

"Damn it, why would I play games with you guys? Does that mean I've fallen in love with you two?" Li Gutao rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"If it were the current Xiao Yao, then it's really hard to say," Shi Haiming said jokingly.

"How the hell did this get dragged into me?" Mo Xueyao grabbed Shi Haiming's neck with her arm. "Do you want to die? What nonsense are you spouting?"

"Stop, stop, stop! Don't choke me! I can't breathe!" Shi Haiming immediately raised his hands in surrender.

Mo Xueyao loosened her grip slightly, then suddenly turned her head, her ponytail swaying back and forth behind her head: "Eh..."

"What's wrong?" Shi Haiming straightened his clothes and asked in confusion.

"Hmm... I think I just saw our school principal and the medical staff."

"Really? The principal comes here to play too?"

"Who knows..." Mo Xueyao took a few steps in that direction, turned a corner, and sure enough, she saw Principal Mo wearing brown sunglasses and Teacher Su holding a large basket of game tokens, looking for a claw machine.

"Oh, Mo Xueyao?" Just as Mo Xueyao was hesitating whether to greet her, Su Yuqing noticed her and greeted her with a smile, "You're here to play too?"