A Young Woman's Heart

"No way? She was just talking a moment ago, and she's already asleep?"

"She's probably too tired." Li Wanyan glanced at Mo Xueyao lying in the middle. "Go to sleep."

"Hmm, I'll count the stars. I should fall asleep while I'm counting..."

……

Chapter Seventy-One: Morning Dew

The morning light slanted across Mo Xueyao's face. There was no noise of traffic in the mountains, only the chirping of birds.

To be honest, Mo Xueyao didn't sleep very comfortably because the floor was too hard and it was also a bit damp at night.

When she woke up, she realized that she had almost fallen on top of Hua Yinyin without her noticing. It was probably because Hua Yinyin's body was so soft, like a Simmons mattress...

It was still early, but since it was summer, even though it was only six o'clock, the sky was already as bright as nine o'clock in winter.

The sun was already high in the sky. Mo Xueyao squinted at it for a few moments, feeling a slight stinging pain in her eyes. Then she shook her head and sat up.

"Ha-hoo—" She stretched out a big yawn, deliberately pinched Hua Yinyin's nose, trying to mischievously wake her up, but to her surprise, Hua Yinyin naturally switched to breathing through her mouth and continued to sleep soundly.

Li Wanyan, who was standing to the side, had also woken up and was quietly looking out the window.

It seems that the one who slept the best last night was the carefree Hua Yinyin.

"Get up!" Mo Xueyao shouted, grabbing her ear.

Hua Yinyin rolled over and pulled the hem of Mo Xueyao's shirt to cover her ears.

"Hey, these are my clothes, not a blanket."

"Sleep a little longer..." Hua Yinyin mumbled softly, as if she were pleading.

"Tsk, I'll just wash up a bit and head down the mountain. I want to have breakfast at a shop, hmm... tofu pudding!"

"Mmm mmm..." Hua Yinyin smacked her lips with her eyes closed, "Tofu pudding, delicious..."

It seems she doesn't need to eat breakfast, because she already ate it in her dream.

"Here you go." Li Wanyan got up and handed her a small twig that had been washed and peeled.

"What is this?"

"Wild apple branches."

"What's it for?"

"Brush my teeth," Li Wanyan replied, put on her clothes, changed into her sandals at the door, and then went outside.

As she felt the refreshing morning breeze from the mountains, Mo Xueyao instantly felt much more energetic.

It was still quite early; the cicadas of summer hadn't even started their work yet, and a flock of chirping birds had temporarily taken over the early shift.

A particularly beautiful black bird perched on a branch, tilting its head to look at the two of them.

"What kind of bird is that? It's pure black."

"Myna bird."

"Ah, is that a myna bird? Can it talk?"

"You can't do it without training."

Although it cannot speak, it can imitate the calls of other birds, blending in seamlessly without any sense of incongruity.

Mo Xueyao filled a well with water and used an apple branch to brush her teeth. The effect was certainly not as good as toothpaste, but it was better than nothing.

Several wildflowers whose names I don't know have already bloomed. If you look closely, you can see glistening dewdrops on their petals.

Insects landed on the petals, glistening with the morning dew, and Mo Xueyao couldn't resist dipping one in to taste it.

The dew was sweet and refreshing, better than any mineral water she had ever drunk.

She tried to collect some, but unfortunately only managed to collect a tiny amount. For insects, a single drop would be enough, but for humans, it was far too little.

After Mo Xueyao and Li Wanyan finished washing up, Hua Yinyin got up unsteadily and almost went outside without shoes.

"I'll wet the towel for you," Li Wanyan said, handing over the towel that was soaked in well water.

"Oh..." Hua Yinyin took the wet towel, then gasped from the cold, "Hiss—it's so cold!"

"Pfft." Mo Xueyao chuckled by the door. Whether Li Wanyan did it on purpose or unintentionally, she had tricked Hua Yinyin and also brought her back to her senses.

After washing up, everyone checked to make sure they hadn't forgotten anything and then left the cabin.

“This will be our secret base from now on! Hmm… to prevent anyone from wandering in…” Hua Yinyin looked around, then found a few stones to block the doorway, and placed a wooden board on it, carving a few words on it.

"This is a highly confidential area, no unauthorized personnel allowed..." Mo Xueyao grinned. "Do you think they'll care about you?"

"At least it can prevent people who don't know what this place is from going in. It's kept very clean inside. We even have to take off our shoes to go in!" Hua Yinyin pouted. "This is our territory!"

"Why don't you ask the government if they agree first?" Mo Xueyao rolled her eyes, then turned and walked down the mountain.

There seemed to be few mosquitoes in the morning. Although you have to be careful to control your strength when going down the mountain, it is still easier and faster for young people than going up the mountain.

"Wait—" Hua Yinyin called out to her, "We came up from there yesterday, it would be too boring to go down from there again, how about we go down from the other side?"

"The other side? Uh... if we connect from here to the other side... is that the mountainside over there?"

Yes, that's right.

"Then let's go that way."

Mo Xueyao readily agreed.

Banshan is lower than Hushan, but there are still uphill and downhill sections on the way there.

Once you reach the other side, you'll see some road signs. There's noticeably less moss on the ground here, and you can see groups of elderly people doing their morning exercise walking uphill.

"Wow, these young people are fast! They're already heading down the mountain?" an old man exclaimed. "Wow, they're really something young people."

"Haha, you were good at that when you were young too," another old man next to him joked.

Mo Xueyao blushed slightly, but silently accepted the praise—even though they had actually come yesterday.

After descending the wide steps, the three rested for a while in a small pavilion halfway down the mountain before continuing their descent.

It was already eight o'clock when we finally left Banshan Park.

The entire city has fully awakened and is no longer so silent.

Follow this road down, then turn left and cross the street to reach the fruit shop.

This place is built on a hillside, so the entire street is a slope.

The shops are built on these slopes.

Mo Xueyao's fruit shop is located on another street that is also sloping.

If you use a VPN, you can actually get there much faster.

But while Mo Xueyao could get over it, the other two girls might not be able to.

Besides, even if she doesn't mind, other girls still will.

Even if you're spending money, you'd still worry about accidentally exposing yourself, right?

Hmm...maybe? Probably!

Walking down the slope, there was a breakfast shop she knew very well.

If she gets up early and her parents haven't made breakfast yet, she comes here to buy some breakfast to take home.

To outsiders, this is a secluded alley, but to locals, it's the best market.

Because this street is enclosed within a residential area and is not a main road, farmers often set up stalls here early in the morning to sell vegetables they grow themselves.

They've turned this place into something like a morning market.

The urban management officers will also come, but since it's not a route that vehicles must take, they only supervise the vendors to clean up the garbage they create when they pack up.

My godfather used to work as a city management officer in this area, and the city management captain was one of my godfather's former underlings.

Of course, so many years have passed, and Mo Xueyao has changed so much that he, who had only met her a few times, naturally couldn't recognize her.

She did remember him somewhat; perhaps as people get older, they don't change much anymore?

She wasn't interested in greeting anyone, partly because she was afraid of making a mistake, and partly because she was afraid that others wouldn't want to talk to her, which would be awkward.

So I pretended not to know him and walked past him, then sat down in front of this snack shop.

At eight o'clock in the morning, when most people are just starting their workday, the morning market is already preparing to close up shop.

After all, it's Monday today, and adults don't have summer vacation.

Several students, who were also on summer vacation, were sitting in front of the breakfast shop. They looked like elementary school students or junior high school freshmen this year.

They gathered together excitedly discussing which junior high school they had been assigned to, and made plans to see each other more often in the future.

Children's wishes are always so beautiful.

However, in reality, after entering junior high school, unless you live nearby, you basically stop contacting your elementary school friends.

Any relationship needs time to maintain. Although elementary school lasts for six years, we were all still very young and naive back then. How could our friendship continue after we lost contact?

The owner wasn't too busy and even had time to look at the three of them: "What would you three ladies like to order?"

"I'd like some tofu pudding, and another serving of pan-fried dumplings."

"Is there anything?"

"There are steamed buns, pan-fried dumplings and buns, mixed noodles and wontons, sesame flatbread and fried dough sticks, as well as tofu pudding and soy milk..."

The variety isn't extensive, but it's sufficient for an average breakfast shop.

"I'd like a serving of xiaolongbao and a serving of tofu pudding."

"Noodles and tofu pudding," Li Wanyan replied briefly, adding, "We'll eat here."

"Okay, that's four yuan and fifty cents in total."

"I'll pay." Mo Xueyao stood up briskly. After all, Hua Yinyin had treated her many times. Although she always seemed to dislike him on the surface, the two of them had actually become very good friends without realizing it.