A Young Woman's Heart

Li Wanyan glanced at her sideways, her expression carrying a hint of reproach: "You're not a boy anymore, you should pay attention to your image."

"I know, I know—it's just doing this at home..." Mo Xueyao reluctantly put on her short-sleeved shirt. The close-fitting light blue short-sleeved shirt made her private parts even more obvious after the vest was removed.

Although it's not as obvious as a boy's erection in the morning, it's still noticeable.

"I wear a tank top to avoid being seen when I go out, which would look rather unseemly. So... how about using band-aids? Just stick them on these two spots like this," Mo Xueyao gestured. "Wouldn't that keep me cool and avoid embarrassment?"

Li Wanyan glanced at her helplessly: "Then you need to cover your neckline more properly, otherwise what will people think of you if they accidentally see it?"

"Hey—why? Why? Why can men go out shirtless but women can't? I don't accept this!" Mo Xueyao slammed her hand on the wall and shouted in dissatisfaction.

"Stop fooling around, let's eat breakfast."

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

"Knock knock." The sound was neither too loud nor too soft, making it difficult to tell whether it was a knock on the neighbor's door or on one's own.

"Was there a knock on our door?" Mo Xueyao muttered in confusion, pulling open the wooden door to see the petite Yu Shu standing outside the iron gate. Her bun hairstyle seemed to make her look cooler in the summer. "Yu Shu?"

"Mmm." Yu Shu's face flushed slightly, and her gaze darted away. "Xiao Yao, would you like to come to my house to cool off, like before?"

"To your house... to cool off?" Mo Xueyao was stunned for a moment, because it had been so long that some memories had become blurry. However, she did vaguely remember that she liked to go to Yu Shu's house in the summer.

Because her family has air conditioning.

In those days, her family was the only one in the entire building with air conditioning.

Sometimes other people's children would come over to cool off and join in the fun, and everyone would get together to play.

Then Mo Xueyao would often get jealous, feeling that only she was allowed to go to Yu Shu's house, and would keep people she wasn't on good terms with from coming in.

Of course, the key issue is that some people come over to play and then bully Yu Shu, who is the hostess. This is the main reason why Mo Xueyao keeps them outside.

As for Yu Shu herself... if she really had to choose, she would definitely let people in.

She has always been an easily influenced girl; her personality is more accurately described as docile than gentle.

"Mmm... just like, just like before." She smiled shyly, looking somewhat humble.

"Ah, bored being alone?"

"Eh, eh?" Suddenly exposed, she panicked, fidgeted with her clothes, and nodded slightly.

Li Wanyan stared at Mo Xueyao's back from behind, making her feel as if needles were pricking her.

"Aren't you feeling hot? Go ahead, I'll take the breakfast over."

"Ah, I'll head over then. It's really nice to have air conditioning." Mo Xueyao immediately slipped on her sandals. "Yu Shu, are your parents home?"

"He's not here."

"Oh, so you're alone after all," Mo Xueyao laughed. "Well, well, you used to be a bit slow-paced, but you weren't like this before. Is it because we haven't seen each other for a long time that you feel awkward?"

"Hmm...it's always been like this, hasn't it?" Yu Shu seemed to have a hard time remembering what her personality was like when she was a child.

"No, no, you weren't always this... this insecure. It's more like a feeling of insecurity, isn't it?"

"Huh?"

As Mo Xueyao spoke, she pushed open the iron gate and walked out. Looking at the girl who was even smaller than herself, she almost couldn't resist ruffling her head as she always had.

I loved doing this when I was little, and then Yu Shu would get angry and chase after her to hit her because her hairstyle was messed up.

Thinking back, it really was a carefree time.

If I mess up her hair now, will she still be angry?

Mo Xueyao finally couldn't suppress this interesting idea and couldn't help but press her palm on her head. The latter let out a "huh" and before she could react, she felt Mo Xueyao's palm stroking her head.

The cute-looking bun was pinched several times and even flattened a bit.

"Eh?! E ...

"Pfft, hahaha, cough!" Mo Xueyao laughed a few times, then realized that it wasn't right for her to be so gloating. Wasn't this considered bullying a girl?

As a boy—as a boy in the past—it's wrong to bully girls.

So she withdrew her hand: "Well, I just wanted to see if your reaction was the same as before."

"Ugh... Hmph..." Yu Shu stood up, pouting, and glanced at Mo Xueyao warily. "Xiao Yao is still the same as before."

"Hehe, of course, I haven't changed at all!"

"Should I hit you now?" Yu Shu stretched out her little fist and punched her arm lightly, without using any force at all.

"Ah, it doesn't hurt at all."

"I need to be a lady now, so I can't be like before."

"Tch, being a lady is so boring." Mo Xueyao shrugged. "Just be yourself."

"Eh...? Well... something happened, so it might be something that can't be undone."

"Ah, if I can't change it back, so be it. I'll just be myself." Mo Xueyao said, kicking her sandals aside and striding into Yu Shu's house.

The air conditioner is installed in the living room. The house has more simple yet elegant furniture than when we moved last time, giving it a modern style.

The walls were covered with light blue wallpaper, which looked much more comfortable than white walls on such a hot summer day.

A reading and relaxation area was created in the corner of the living room. Several foam mats were laid on the floor, and a low cabinet and bookshelf were arranged around it. Children would definitely like it because it makes them feel safe and secure, as if they have entered their own little world.

"Ah—this TV is still here." Mo Xueyao saw the large color TV in the living room, which was an extremely rare item back then, three times larger than Mo Xueyao's TV.

Even by today's standards, this screen doesn't seem small.

"Did you still pay the highest TV fee?"

"Huh? Hmm, that should be it."

Wow—there are over a hundred channels!

You should know that Mo Xueyao's family only pays the most basic TV fee, which only includes about twenty channels.

"Please sit down, Haruka."

"Um, wait a minute, I'll go get my game console and connect it to your TV to play, hehe..." Mo Xueyao said, and then ran out again.

……

Chapter Ninety-Four: Yu Shu's Past

Before long, Mo Xueyao came running over with the game console. Li Wanyan followed closely behind, using one foot to straighten the shoe that Mo Xueyao had kicked over the doorway, before walking into the house.

The cool air from the air conditioner eased Li Wanyan's slightly furrowed brows. After all, who isn't afraid of the heat? It's just that some people can endure it better.

"Come on, let's play a game!" Mo Xueyao handed a controller to Yu Shu. "Shall we play an adventure game or a versus game?"

"Huh...?" Yu Shu was dumbfounded. "Anything... is fine...?"

"Yaoyao, eat first."

"Ah—hehe...I know, I know."

"Yes, yes, we have food at home too." Yu Shu quickly stood up.

Breakfast was mung bean porridge. It was still hot in the morning, but it was put in the refrigerator later, so it's ice cold now. If you sprinkle some white sugar on top, Mo Xueyao could eat a whole bowl of it.

There weren't many side dishes at home today, just mung bean porridge, salted duck eggs, and pickled vegetables.

However, Yu Shu had other dishes at home, which made the breakfast much more substantial.

She took out all sorts of snacks from the refrigerator, which could be eaten with porridge or served with afternoon tea.

"This is a red bean paste bun, this is a pork floss roll, and this is a cream cake..."

"Wow, your family is still the same as before, always buying these expensive things to eat."

"Eh..." Yu Shu chuckled awkwardly, "No, it's not that expensive, is it? And I usually can't eat too much, so I often finish it when it's almost expired."

"Oh, then let me help you with that! Which one is about to expire?"

"Eat whatever you like..."

"Let me see... Hmm, pork floss roll, it expires in one day, so I'll take care of this one!" Mo Xueyao picked it up and opened her mouth. Noticing Li Wanyan's gaze, she changed her mind and took a small bite instead of a big one.

Yes, that makes you look much more ladylike.

Actually, she was already used to the things girls should pay attention to, but in front of her childhood sweetheart, she couldn't help but want to show her boyish personality.

It's like he's trying to prove he's still a boy.

Thinking about it carefully, it was all meaningless.

But it's impossible for people to be rational in everything, otherwise, would they still be human?

“Xiaoyao is different from before.” Yu Shu looked at her, resting her chin on her hand. “Before, she would take big bites, ‘Ah-hoo’ and eat half of the bread in one go, and she would often choke.”

"Well, I'm all grown up now, I can't act like a child anymore," Mo Xueyao said, making up an excuse.

"So... me too."

"Eh? Um..." Mo Xueyao was speechless for a moment, and the atmosphere became a little stiff.

Li Wanyan looked around and found a quiet corner to sit down.

Seeing that she was staring at the books on the bookshelf, Yu Shu quickly said, "You can look at any of those books, just pick out whichever one you want to read."

"Hmm." Li Wanyan nodded, picked up a magazine at random, and began to read it leisurely.

"Xiaoyao...that one."

"Ok?"

Yu Shu cupped her face in her hands, a little embarrassed: "I... I have some questions... because... because after summer vacation I'll be in my first year of high school, and then I'll have to take that... exam."

"Oh, so you mean I need to tutor you?"

“I’ll tutor you,” Li Wanyan said, closing the magazine. “Just ask me if you don’t understand anything.”

"Could we tutor you together? Hmm, Wanyan isn't very talkative, so she probably won't explain things in enough detail." Mo Xueyao took another bite of the pork floss roll. "By the way, are the opening exams very important?"

"Hmm... If I do well on the exam, I can go to a better class."

"Huh? It's like this again. They divide students into classes based on their grades, and the top two are the elite classes or something. They've created a class system right at the start of the semester." Mo Xueyao curled her lip in disdain. "It's always the same routine."