A Young Woman's Heart

Then, she finally reached the fork in the mulberry tree at the top, where she could stand steadily. Holding onto the branch, she shouted, "Should I shake it down or pick it one by one?"

"Can it be shaken down?" Hua Yinyin asked.

“It should be fine, they’re all ripe already, uh… I’ll give it a try—” Mo Xueyao said, grabbing the branch and shaking it vigorously.

The mulberries on top immediately started falling down with a 'pitter-patter' sound, and Hua Yinyin quickly put them one by one into the lunchbox.

“Keep going!” she shouted excitedly.

"Pick up what's on the ground first," Mo Xueyao rolled her eyes. "Don't waste it."

Some particularly ripe mulberries were smashed when they fell to the ground from such a height, while others were either lucky enough to land in softer areas or were not yet ripe.

These dark red fruits look like cola gummies made of gel, making you want to take a bite.

As Mo Xueyao shook the fruit, she casually picked a few and popped them into her mouth. The sweet taste with a hint of sourness was a pure and natural delight for her tongue.

"Don't eat yet, wash it first and then eat," Li Wanyan stopped her.

Hua Yinyin shook the lunchbox vigorously: "That's right, the lunchbox isn't even full!"

Shaking the branches is actually quite strenuous; these branches are very thick, and you have to use all your strength to shake them vigorously.

When Mo Xueyao was a child, she was quite light and could swing halfway up a tree branch. But now, although she's not heavy, if she were to actually climb up, she would definitely fall off the tree.

"Be careful," Li Wanyan kept reminding her.

Finally, Hua Yinyin filled an entire lunchbox with mulberries. The lunchbox wasn't small, and it was enough to hold them all.

Moreover, eating too much of this can make it feel astringent and greasy.

"Come down, little Yaoyao!" Hua Yinyin slammed the lid shut with a 'thud,' "It's full!"

"Okay, I'm coming down!"

The hardest part of climbing a tree is actually coming down.

Going up is as easy as just putting in force, but coming down requires a lot of skill.

The most important thing is not to slip up.

However, Mo Xueyao is very skilled at a special method of getting down from trees, the downside of which is that it may damage the branches.

But in front of the two girls, the boyish urge to show off started to resurface, and she wanted to demonstrate her skills.

So she grabbed the tree branch with both hands and jumped down.

"Whoa!!" Hua Yinyin didn't even have time to put down her lunchbox before rushing towards the approximate landing point, while Li Wanyan's brows furrowed completely.

"Watch out!" she shouted as she hurried over.

"Don't worry!!" Mo Xueyao laughed loudly, as if she had regained the feeling of being a boy. She grabbed the sturdy branch and bent it, and then finally stopped in mid-air.

But by then she was already very close to the ground, so she let go of the branch and jumped down. To absorb the impact, she ran forward a few steps, but eventually managed to stand firm.

"Whew, how about that? Pretty impressive, right?"

"That was too dangerous. You can't do that again," Li Wanyan said, frowning. "What if you got hurt?"

"It's okay, I used to do this all the time when I was a kid, it's called getting down from the tree quickly! And if it weren't for this kind of old tree, I wouldn't have done it like this."

"It looks so exciting! I want to try it too!" Hua Yinyin exclaimed excitedly.

"Hmph, this takes skill. Yinyin, you should skip it. You might fall if you don't grab it." Mo Xueyao rubbed the tip of her nose with one finger with a smug look. "When we were kids, there weren't many people in a group who knew this trick. Maybe two or three at most. I was one of them."

"Little Yaoyao is really good at this, but isn't it true that she shouldn't do strenuous exercise?"

"Ah... um... that's because I had heart surgery before." Mo Xueyao secretly winked at Li Wanyan, who knew the truth. "It's almost healed now, and I can participate in physical education classes normally next semester."

"Hehe, so that means I can do vigorous exercise with Xiaoyaoyao?" Hua Yinyin grinned mischievously.

"You're probably thinking about something terrible again." Mo Xueyao glanced at her with droopy eyelids.

Afterwards, Li Wanyan washed the mulberries, and the three of them sat cross-legged on the floor of the wooden house. However, it seemed that none of them had brought any entertainment, not even playing cards.

"I did bring some thick cardstock," Hua Yinyin muttered, tilting her head. "How about we make playing cards out of it?"

"Making playing cards? Hmm... How about we design a card game?"

"How do you want to play?" Hua Yinyin asked, intrigued.

"Each card is like a character, with its skills and health points designed. The game ends when all the cards are defeated?"

"That's pretty interesting!"

"We can give it a try." Li Wanyan seemed to want to get involved as well.

"What style are you going for?" Mo Xueyao tilted her head.

Li Wanyan picked up the lunchbox and chuckled lightly, a rare joking remark: "Any style is fine, you could even design a card called 'Lunchbox'."

"Huh? I didn't see wrong, did I? The class monitor not only laughed, but also made a joke?" Hua Yinyin shouted exaggeratedly.

"It's not the first time, why are you making such a fuss?" Mo Xueyao rolled her eyes at her. "But it's true, when designing cards, you don't have to stick to the established rules. You can be a little more imaginative. I could even design a card called 'Illusory Imagination,' and give it any ability?"

"No, that would break the rules!"

Designing cards is actually more fun than playing card games.

Not only Mo Xueyao thought so, but Li Wanyan also thought so.

Because that's like creating a world.

By the time the three of them had finished designing, it was already getting dark.

When it gets dark in summer, it means it's already six or seven o'clock.

"Ah, what time is it?" Hua Yinyin suddenly looked up and asked.

"Um... 6:30."

"It's quite bright."

"Yes, the sun has just set." Mo Xueyao leaned on the table, looking at the bright red sunset outside the window.

"It seems like it's still early before it gets dark." Hua Yinyin rested her chin on her hand. "Hmm...should we make dinner earlier?"

"What, are you hungry again?"

"A little?"

"I think it'll be more atmospheric if we do it when it gets dark."

"Tch... the artistic conception..."

In the end, Hua Yinyin couldn't endure it for even half an hour, so Li Wanyan started a fire in the small stove.

Dinner was the same as lunch, but with some leftover mulberries as a dessert.

The mulberries were put into a kettle and then into the well. Now that they've been scooped up, they feel icy cold, as if they've been chilled in a refrigerator.

"Did people in the past get cold drinks or iced fruit this way?" Mo Xueyao couldn't wait to take out a mulberry and put it in her mouth. "Mmm, delicious!"

This idea was actually Li Wanyan's. She had spent more time in the countryside and knew more about these things.

These are all very simple life experiences.

Although it's primitive, it works very well.

"If a world war really breaks out one day, I'll hide in the mountains with Wanyan. We shouldn't have to worry about not having anything to eat, right?" Mo Xueyao joked.

"Yes, the more sophisticated the instrument, the easier it is to break! In wartime, these clumsy methods might still be more effective."

The rich aroma of wild vegetable soup began to fill the air.

The light outside gradually dimmed.

Hua Yinyin closed the doors and windows to prevent mosquitoes from flying in, and she also remembered to light mosquito coils, since there were quite a few gaps in this dilapidated wooden house, and even if the doors and windows were closed, it would not prevent mosquitoes from flying in.

At this point, mosquito coils become a second line of defense.

The mountaintop where this cabin is located is quite open, especially in front of the window, where there are no trees to block the view.

So sitting by the window, you can see the stars shining in the sky.

As the sun sets at dusk, the moon slowly rises...

In fact, the moon could be seen even before it was completely dark.

The cicadas stopped chirping, but the crickets began to sing.

In the tranquil mountains, far from the hustle and bustle of the city, only the sounds of insects and birds, and the fragrance of the earth remain...

"This is wonderful..." Mo Xueyao murmured to herself, completely absorbed in the moment.

……

Chapter Seventy: Washing One's Body

After dinner, Mo Xueyao already felt a little tired.

She spent the whole day engaging in mental activities, and even climbed a tree in the afternoon, which nearly exhausted her already limited physical strength.

However, it was summer after all, and although it wasn't that hot at the top of the mountain, we still sweated a lot during the climb.

Mo Xueyao is a bit of a germaphobe. She can tolerate taking a nap, but sleeping like that all night is unbearable.

She knew before she went up the mountain that she might not have much of a chance to shower, but she still brought a towel.

There's a well next to the cabin now. Even if you can't take a proper bath, you can at least use a towel to wipe yourself clean, right?

"Ah—I forgot, you should take a bath when the sun is out."

"It's not really that dark, is it?" Hua Yinyin muttered, resting her chin on her hand. "The moonlight and starlight in the sky are quite bright."

"Hmm... well, it's alright, so I need to take a shower." Mo Xueyao picked up her towel and the underwear she had brought—for changing.

"Hehehehe—" Hua Yinyin chuckled mischievously once again.

"What are you doing, laughing like Liu Xiaowei?"

"What?! What?!" She exclaimed in shock. "I'm a pretty girl, for goodness' sake! How could you compare me to that perverted guy?!"