A Young Woman's Heart

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Chapter 252 Li Wanyan's Birthday Gift

May 5th is the day Li Wanyan was born.

That is, her birthday every year.

However, she didn't tell anyone that it was her birthday.

Just like any other ordinary day.

Although she had finished her homework, she was still bathed in the morning light as she did her morning reading.

Students with good academic performance often have a very strict self-discipline in certain aspects.

Although she was reading aloud in the morning, she seemed somewhat distracted.

Of course, she still remembered that today was her birthday.

She knew, of course, that since she had never told anyone her birthday, she wouldn't receive even a single birthday wish.

But sometimes thoughts are beyond our control.

Li Wanyan's morning reading gradually stopped. Sitting on the stool, she looked away from her book and stared blankly into the distance.

Although the past was tough, and there was always a good-for-nothing 'father' who liked to beat his wife and daughter.

But at least she has a mother who is her only family.

Her mother, who didn't have much formal education, taught her many life lessons through her actions.

This also made her more mature than her peers from elementary school onwards. She knew that although hard work might not guarantee success, as a person from the lower class, without hard work, there was basically no chance of getting ahead.

Things earned through one's own hard work are the least likely to be lost.

She also thought that every birthday her mother would pick a sunflower for her.

Most flower shops don't sell sunflowers, so you have to pick them yourself.

It was far from the farmer's house she used to rent—in fact, that farmer's house was right across from Mo Xueyao's house.

Li Wanyan stood on the balcony, quietly looking at the dirty and dilapidated farmers' housing area on the other side, and saw many people wearing old or even tattered clothes walking out of the alley.

On one side is a residential community, and on the other side it looks more like a slum.

Although they are only separated by a street, they feel like two different worlds.

Even though they were not far apart, she never went back.

That room must have already been rented to someone else.

She didn't know what kind of force was driving her body to move on its own.

When she came to her senses, she was already standing at the intersection called 'Huangma Road'.

If you walk further in, you'll enter that urban village.

She hesitated for a full half minute, but finally took the first step.

Just a few steps further in, you can see the garbage carelessly discarded in the alley, much of it already rotten and smelly, with dirty, thick liquid oozing from the garbage bags, but no one is cleaning it up.

This made her pinch her nose.

But thinking about it carefully, she, who had always lived in this environment, didn't seem to feel much.

This is perhaps what they mean by "not appreciating the stench after a long time".

Compared to this place, Mo Xueyao's place is much cleaner, both in terms of the environment and the people around her.

Two girls on opposite sides of the same street, yet with different fates.

Li Wanyan's mind went blank, and she didn't have many feelings. She just continued walking inside.

Some guys who had dropped out of school after junior high were lounging around, their faces, which hadn't grown much beard, were showing the air of adults 'giving orders'.

They would occasionally flick the cigarette butts from their mouths, and when they saw Li Wanyan walk by, they all boldly looked at her.

Those who remember her say she hasn't appeared in a long time.

Although she was quite far away, she could vaguely hear them saying that she was being kept by someone, which was why she was dressed so elegantly.

Li Wanyan didn't react at all, treating the rumors as if they were just a breeze blowing past her ears.

Finally, she stopped.

Deep within this urban village, I saw the house I knew so well.

Although it is not much different from the other farmers' houses next door.

The garbage piled up in the stairwell on the first floor was still left unattended, and a large pile of empty cans and broken glass bottles were discarded at the corner upstairs.

In the past, I had to be careful every time I went upstairs, for fear of stepping on the glass and breaking my shoes.

She once ruined a pair of new shoes when she was in elementary school.

Because of their poor family circumstances, after buying a new pair of shoes, they had no money left to buy another pair.

Her mother scolded her loudly that day, saying that she didn't understand thrift or family care at all, and that she wasn't at all attentive.

Li Wanyan felt very wronged.

But at night, I still saw my mother sewing shoe soles.

He made her a new pair of shoes using scraps of cloth he picked up from a trash can outside a clothing factory—even though they might not be very nice, and even though they were just a pair of cloth shoes that were already quite outdated for most students.

That night, my father came home and argued with my mother.

He hit Li Wanyan's mother.

She remembers it clearly; it was early morning.

She couldn't sleep at all because of the shoes.

So I witnessed it all.

He just didn't dare to open his eyes when his father made his move.

She saw her mother, with two new scars on her shoulder and arm, wiping away tears as she made shoes for herself.

The father lay on the side, completely drunk and unconscious.

The mother, meanwhile, painstakingly sewed the shoe uppers together, stitch by stitch, under the dim light of the incandescent bulb.

Later on, even Li Wanyan couldn't stay awake any longer and fell asleep.

When I woke up the next day, I saw my father sleeping soundly on the lower bunk, and my mother cooking porridge in a broken little rice cooker.

There was also a pair of new cloth shoes that fit Li Wanyan perfectly, placed quietly by the door.

When she closes her eyes, those images come flooding back to her mind.

She turned back, realizing that it was someone else's home.

Moreover, this place could never be her home without her mother.

Outside that window, other people's clothes were drying.

Although it's old, it's clean.

There were men, women, and children.

Judging from the style, it should be a young couple living with their young child.

Did Father and Mother also have such wonderful days?

Li Wanyan lowered her head, turned around, and chose to leave.

She has a new home now.

Together with Mo Xueyao.

Thinking this way, she felt much better.

So instead of going home, he took a bus to the fruit shop.

This was the first time she had ever gone to a fruit shop without bringing anything with her.

I didn't bring my homework or textbook.

There was only one novel she had borrowed displayed at the fruit shop.

Perhaps, because it's my birthday today, I want to give myself a rare break.

When they arrived at the fruit shop, Mo Xueyao had not yet returned.

"Yan Yan is here?" As if knowing that Li Wan Yan didn't like to greet people first, Mo Xue Yao's mother asked her with a smile first.

"Yes, where's Yaoyao?"

"He hasn't gone back yet, he should be back around noon."

"Ah."

"By the way, your homeroom teacher came by this morning."

"Is there something you need?" Li Wanyan asked softly.

Before Yang Xiaoyu could answer, Mo Wenli burst into laughter: "I brought you a birthday present! Haha, your school's teachers are so thoughtful."

Yang Xiaoyu coughed, signaling Mo Wenli to stop talking.

This is actually a way of taking care of Li Wanyan, but it might hurt her feelings.

After all, this kind of care can sometimes reopen her wounds.

Li Wanyan was taken aback for once, but she wasn't surprised that her homeroom teacher knew her birthday. What surprised her was that the teacher would send her a birthday present.

Thinking about it carefully, it doesn't seem strange. After all, her situation is special, and it's normal for her to be treated specially.

It's not charity, but compassion.

Li Wanyan thought about it without any resistance, but her eyes were a little sore.