A Young Woman's Heart

"Meow~ Meow..." Su Tang's voice suddenly became soft and sweet, as if she was being affectionate, or as if she was feeling wronged.

Grandma Jin's husky has grown quite large. If it crawls under the table and then stands up, it can even lift the tabletop.

So Grandma Jin put a chain on it so it would stay quietly by her side and not run around.

It was very friendly to DouDou... I don't know if it was really friendly, but it just got close to DouDou and sniffed its scent, then slapped it to the ground and put its head on it.

Is this a provocation or a way of expressing goodwill?

Although Mo Xueyao thought this was meant to express friendliness, this action... if Dou Dou wasn't just a small dog and couldn't beat it at all, she probably would have turned around and bitten it right now.

Such a sumptuous and lively dinner actually made Li Wanyan feel a little out of place, but she hid these emotions very well and still appeared quite calm.

"Come on, it's Wanyan's birthday today, let's drink!" The father took out a bottle of baijiu and was about to pour some for Li Wanyan.

"What are you doing? She's a girl, and you're pouring her wine, especially baijiu. What if she gets sick from drinking it?" His mother immediately stopped him. "A little red wine is the most you can have."

"Hey—it's alright, just a little bit!" The father picked up a small glass, about the size of a thumb. "Come on, it's a special day, only once a year. Let's drink some baijiu to celebrate growing another year older. Speaking of which, what year was Wanyan born?"

"1983."

"You're a year older than Xiaoyao. This year is your seventeenth birthday, and next year you'll be eighteen..."

"Haha, come on, your seventeenth birthday is very important, because after this year, you won't be a girl anymore!" Uncle Xiong raised his glass. "Next year you'll be a woman!"

"Come on, drink!" The father poured a drink for himself and Uncle Xiong.

Hua Yinyin interrupted their clinking of glasses.

"Wait, I want some too!" she said, picking up the buckwheat noodles from Mo Wenli's table without any hesitation and pouring them into her empty bowl. "Little Yaoyao, do you want some?"

"casual."

"Little Yaoyao has a high alcohol tolerance, so let's drink the same amount! Just half a bowl each~"

"Okay, come on, what does everyone else want to drink? Drinks or water? Pour them all, let's clink glasses!"

Zhuang Lianlian quietly poured orange juice for herself and Grandma Jin, while her mother simply poured herself a glass of cool boiled water.

This time, even Grandma Jin stood up with a smile and clinked glasses with everyone.

To be precise, it should be a bowl.

The bowl and cup gently collided, making a crisp sound; this was the beginning.

When everyone clinked glasses again, it was already after dinner.

Some leftovers were packed up to be used as food for tomorrow.

Li Wanyan's cake was taken out, unpacked, and placed in the middle.

After lighting seventeen candles, everyone sang "Happy Birthday" to her.

Happy birthday!

"Happy birthday to you--"

Amidst the blessing song, Li Wanyan silently closed her eyes to make a wish, then opened them and blew out all the candles in one breath.

Everyone stood up and clinked glasses again.

This time, Mo Xueyao, Li Wanyan, and Hua Yinyin finally finished off the last bit of baijiu they had left.

Happy birthday, Wanyan!

Happy birthday, class monitor!

"Happy birthday!" Grandma Jin shouted like a young person, then clapped her hands with a smile.

In the fruit shop at night, and on the streets at night, happiness permeates everywhere.

Li Wanyan stared blankly at the sunflower-shaped cake, lost in thought.

……

Chapter 254 The Sunflowers Sent by the Principal

Li Wanyan's alcohol tolerance was actually not very high; she only drank two glasses of wine—using a small wine glass about the size of a thumb.

But at this moment, he was already slightly tipsy and couldn't quite control his emotions.

"Hey? It's a rare birthday, why are you crying?" Mo Xueyao gently poked Li Wanyan's arm. "What's wrong?"

"The class monitor is probably just too happy."

Tears streamed down Li Wanyan's expressionless face. She finally couldn't help but squint her slightly sore eyes and furrow her brows.

"What's wrong, Wanyan?" Grandma Jin asked kindly. "Have you thought about something?"

“…Every year in the past.” After saying those four words, Li Wanyan swallowed, not because she was hungry and wanted to eat, but because she wanted to swallow back the tears that welled up in her eyes. She was silent for a full half minute before continuing, “My mother would pick sunflowers for me, and I would… dig out the sunflower seeds from them, either to play with, to eat… or to display.”

She sniffed and didn't continue.

But everyone could tell that she missed home.

To be precise, I miss my mom.

Many children who leave home may not miss their fathers much, but most will miss their mothers.

Li Wanyan had no idea how her mother was doing, or even whether she was alive or dead.

Mo Xueyao's mother was very good to her, but no matter what, she was not her biological mother.

She couldn't snuggle into Mo Xueyao's mother's arms and act coquettishly, nor could she complain to Mo Xueyao's mother about her daily life.

Even if it were okay to do that, it wouldn't make any sense.

Because the only person who can comfort her is her biological mother.

In the past, only her mother would celebrate her birthday.

After having a few drinks, Li Wanyan felt that she was really losing control of her emotions.

She tried her best to cut the cake and share it with everyone, but she couldn't muster any strength in her hand holding the cake knife.

"Let me do it, let me do it." Mo Xueyao's mother took the cake knife from Li Wanyan's hand. "Come on~ let's divide it equally, everyone gets some~"

"Hey, I've never eaten a cream cake like this before in my life!" Uncle Xiong said, taking a big gulp from the bottle of baijiu, slightly tipsy.

However, he had already drunk 1.5 jin of baijiu (Chinese liquor), and he still seemed relatively sober, only his body was a little uncoordinated.

He's much better than Mo Xueyao's father, who clearly has Russian ancestry but could barely stand after drinking a pound of liquor.

"Hmm..." Li Wanyan didn't try to be strong this time. She lowered her head and tried her best to hold back, but her voice still carried a hint of sobbing, and tears fell like pearls from a broken string.

Just then, out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of a sunflower in full bloom, larger than any she had ever seen before, each petal so full and round…

Her heart started racing instantly, and then she turned her head sharply, hoping to see the person she had been longing for.

But when she saw the other person clearly, she felt disappointed once again.

Because the one holding this sunflower is Mo Kong, the principal of Yu Kong High School.

He was dressed in a suit and tie, looking very formal, followed by Su Yuqing, a teacher from the medical department, who was wearing a plain-colored long dress.

"Happy birthday," the principal said to her with a smile. "Looks like I'm not late."

“Sunflower…why did you give me this?” Li Wanyan asked expectantly, letting the tears slide down her face.

Only at this moment could Mo Xueyao have such a strong feeling—Li Wanyan is not a mature adult; she is actually just a relatively mature child.

"I heard you like it."

"I have never... told anyone else."

“I have a way of knowing.” The principal smiled and turned to look at Mo Xueyao’s parents. “Hello, I am the principal of Yukong High School.”

"Principal? Hello, hello!" The father stood up somewhat nervously, grasped the other person's outstretched right hand with both hands, and shook it vigorously. "I'm sorry, I'm a little drunk."

"It's alright, just sit down." The principal looked at Mo Xueyao's mother and nodded with a smile. "I'm here to see how she's been doing lately."

The mother immediately understood what the principal meant.

After all, Li Wanyan's situation is indeed very special, so it's normal for the school to take care of her.

She was originally supposed to be assigned to live on campus, but since she insisted on living with someone else's family and they were willing to accept her, the school didn't interfere too much.

"Thank you, Principal." Li Wanyan's voice was muffled. She picked up the sunflower that the other person handed her with some weakness and quietly stroked it, as if she was recalling many things from the past.

This was the first time Mo Xueyao had ever seen Li Wanyan so lost in thought. Although the alcohol had affected her, it was also because she was reminded of someone by the sight of familiar objects.

The principal's presence put pressure on everyone, but fortunately, he seemed to understand this, so he didn't talk about school matters, only casually discussing some personal topics, and then led Teacher Su away.

"Is that your principal? You got married quite young, your daughter is already so grown up." Uncle Xiong said, taking a big bite of cake.

He had already eaten quite a bit and drunk some alcohol, yet he still managed to eat a piece of cake. All that fat on his body is definitely not for nothing.

"That's our principal's...girlfriend, or rather, wife," Mo Xueyao explained helplessly.

"Damn, so young, is this some kind of old cow eating young grass?"

Mo Xueyao had no say in this matter.

Just then, Hua Yinyin fell into her arms and started snoring softly.

He was so drunk that he had fallen asleep.

She could have easily drunk half a bowl, but she insisted on drinking another half.

If you drink more than you can handle, it's no wonder you get drunk.

Mo Xueyao is now more worried that she might suddenly vomit all over herself.

Even though the clothes are expensive, there's vomit on them, and I might even feel nauseous and throw up myself...

Fortunately, the latter was just asleep and showed no signs of vomiting.

Although I really want to go home and sleep, given the current situation, I'm afraid I'll have to make do in this small room in the fruit shop for the next night.

Although Li Wanyan didn't fall asleep immediately from drunkenness, her condition wasn't much better than Hua Yinyin's.

After she got up and washed up, she sat down in a chair and fell asleep immediately, without even having time to take off her clothes.