A Young Woman's Heart

When the light was turned on, Zhuang Lianlian lowered her head and finally said in a soft, delicate voice, "I'm sorry, then... then I'll leave."

"..." Chen Cheng turned to look at her and found that she was covering her face with her long hair, preventing him from seeing her clearly.

"Before... before I... make you angry... I... I should... go first..."

Chen Cheng's stern face fell. He scratched his head vigorously, walked up to Zhuang Lianlian, brushed the long hair away from her face, and looked at her eyes, which were already red and swollen from crying.

She pouted, trying hard not to cry out, but tears kept streaming down her face.

"Clap clap clap..."

Drop by drop, they fell to the ground.

"Ah—" He scratched his hair again, pressing down on Zhuang Lianlian's shoulders, "What I said just now was just an angry outburst...!"

"..."

"Really? You don't believe me? It was just something I said in anger. I... I didn't mean it that way. You really are different from others. I love you deeply..."

"But I am disabled. Think about it carefully, how could you possibly love me?"

"Really, this has nothing to do with whether you're disabled or not!"

"..."

"Yes...uh..." These three words seemed extremely difficult for Chen Cheng to utter. "Yes...yes...uh...I'm sorry."

Zhuang Lianlian looked up at him pitifully, her small face tilted up. She had somehow managed to grab his clothes, just like a kitten that might be abandoned by its owner at any moment.

This made Chen Cheng unable to resist picking her up in his arms and sitting down on the sofa with her.

"I shouldn't have said such harsh words, it was just said in anger, because... because you keep trying to get me to talk to him, which annoys me..."

"Mmm..." She curled up in Chen Cheng's arms, sobbing softly, "Then, then, I won't, I won't say anymore..."

“It’s okay, it’s okay… You can tell me anytime. I’m not always right, or rather, I’ve made a lot of mistakes. You should really talk to me more so that I can avoid making more mistakes. Actually, I understand the saying that honest advice is hard to hear…” Chen Cheng patted his pocket and looked at Zhuang Lianlian.

"Go ahead and smoke." She nodded.

Chen Cheng gave her a grateful look, then took out a Liqun cigarette, put it in his mouth, lit it with a lighter, and took a deep drag.

It was as if all the inner torment and pain I had just felt had vanished in an instant.

He let out a long breath and slumped onto the sofa, like a boneless jellyfish.

Have you ever considered that perhaps many things aren't as you imagine?

"..."

Zhuang Lianlian wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes and smiled through her tears: "Sometimes, you should face the things you don't want to face."

Chen Cheng didn't say anything, but took several big puffs in a row, and soon only a cigarette butt remained, which he stubbed out in the ashtray.

"Perhaps I really made a lot of mistakes..."

……

Chapter 105 Baby Squid

Tuesday, April 2000, 8.

Hangzhou has once again experienced a prolonged heatwave with temperatures dropping below 40 degrees Celsius. The streets are often deserted, and when cars do pass by, they speed by.

Riding an electric scooter in this kind of weather is like being smoked in hot air.

Putting aside the scorching sun in the sky, the hot wind alone felt like it was about to burn my skin.

The sanitation workers all took shelter under the trees. In such terrible weather, these outdoor workers are the ones who have the hardest time.

Meanwhile, Mo Xueyao was hiding in the air-conditioned library, which was as cool as autumn, like a different world from the outside.

The two of them didn't come to read books today; they came to do their homework.

The temperature in the city is already higher than in the suburbs, and sitting in that oven-like home is even more unbearable.

"If there were no air-conditioned libraries in this world, I wouldn't know where to do my summer homework..." Mo Xueyao used her teeth to bite open the tightly screwed cap of the ballpoint pen and took out the empty refill.

"Hmm." Li Wanyan took a sip of water, did a math problem from her summer homework, and then wrote seven or eight similar problems for herself on her draft paper.

Mo Xueyao couldn't do that.

It's fine to have her do the problems, but when it comes to setting the problems, it feels like she's just substituting formulas and changing numbers to calculate; it all seems like she's doing something meaningless.

However, when Li Wanyan sets questions for herself, she can apply the same principles to other problems, listing various similar questions that use this problem-solving method, and sometimes she even plays word games with herself.

No wonder she solves problems so quickly; it's all from practice.

Undeniably, there are many exceptionally gifted individuals in the world, but in reality, as long as one has a normal IQ, knowledge acquired at the high school level and below doesn't actually require any special talent.

All you need is a learning style that suits you.

I didn't bring lunch today, so I'll have to go back to the fruit shop for lunch.

I wonder if this spot will still be there if I go back and come back.

The library has people of all ages. It sounds quiet, but if you walk around, you'll find that there are actually quite a few people.

"What time is it, Wanyan?"

"10:30," Li Wanyan replied, taking the small alarm clock out of Mo Xueyao's pocket and glancing at it.

"Oh……"

"Can't you see it yourself?"

"Too lazy to take it out..." Mo Xueyao placed the pen on her upper lip, pouting to keep it from falling. "Hmm... I'll go back to the fruit shop in an hour."

"it is good."

Doing homework in the library won't lead to discrimination; on the contrary, staff members will cast approving glances your way when they pass by.

If you are looked down upon for studying hard, then either there is a problem with your environment, or there is a problem with the person who looks down on you.

Summer homework is basically finished. You should know that Li Wanyan was still making questions for herself while doing her homework, and her homework speed was about the same as hers.

However, Mo Xueyao's speed was not slow either. What others would take two months to finish their summer homework, she and Li Wanyan completed in just over a week.

Of course, it's also because they are so focused when doing their homework that they are so efficient.

An hour passed in the blink of an eye, and the two packed up their things and left the library temporarily.

Mo Xueyao had a premonition as soon as she placed her hand in front of the glass door. When she pushed the door open, she was immediately pulled back by the heat.

"Hiss—I feel like I'll turn into a smoked sausage the moment I step outside!" Compared to the sweltering heat, she didn't even feel that hungry anymore. "But there's no air conditioning outside!"

"Okay, I'm leaving." Li Wanyan said calmly, pushed open the door and walked out. The heat wave that hit her only made her frown slightly.

"It's so hot!" Mo Xueyao jumped up and down several times like a cat that had burned its foot. As soon as Li Wanyan opened the parasol, she immediately hid under it.

"Zi'er wa—Zi'er wa—" On such a hot day, the cicadas' chirping sounded much more mournful, and on the way back, you could hear them constantly echoing in your ears.

Apart from cicadas, it seems that no other animal is interested in making any noise on such a hot day.

The stray dogs on the roadside hid in the shadows behind the trash cans, barely shielding themselves from the sunlight. As for the stench around the trash cans, they were already used to it.

An old man riding a broken bicycle rode past them from behind. He was riding forward unsteadily, and even though there was no one in front of him, he suddenly lost his balance and fell to the ground with a 'thud'.

Mo Xueyao, who was walking behind, saw the eggs roll out of his basket. Two of them shattered, with the yolks and whites flowing onto the ground, making a sizzling sound.

In such hot weather, if you fall to the ground and don't get up in time, Mo Xueyao seriously suspects that you could burn your skin.

"Hey—" Mo Xueyao was about to rush out when Li Wanyan grabbed her arm.

"What's wrong, Wanyan?"

What are you planning to do?

"Help him up?"

"Don't help him up. If he can't get up, call 120."

"Seriously? This little thing requires an ambulance?... Hmm."

"Well, if he gets hurt when you help him up, then you'll have to pay compensation."

"Huh? Really?" Mo Xueyao said, but she still hesitated. "Hmm... he seems to have trouble getting up?"

"Call 120," Li Wanyan said, walking towards a nearby public phone booth.

"Grandpa, Grandpa, are you alright?" Mo Xueyao couldn't help but rush over and stand beside him. "Are you alright? Should I help you up?"

"It's alright... it's just that I'm getting old, and it's a bit hard for me to get up..."

"Oh...does it hurt anywhere?" Mo Xueyao asked cautiously. After receiving a negative answer, she hugged the old man from behind and helped him up.

His knee was injured, but fortunately it wasn't serious; it only bled a little.

"Grandpa, be careful." Mo Xueyao patted the dust off the old man's clothes. "If you feel like you can't ride anymore, just slowly push it back."

Seeing that Mo Xueyao had already started, Li Wanyan sighed helplessly and stepped forward to help pick up the scattered items and put them back into the old man's bicycle basket.

"Thank you, haha, the young lady is pretty and kind-hearted!" the old man said with a cheerful smile. "Would you like some baby squid? I just bought some from the supermarket. Here, don't be shy, take two."

"No need, no need." Mo Xueyao waved her hands repeatedly as she looked at the two packaged baby squid. "I'm not helping you because I want anything from you, and it's just a small thing."

"Oh, don't be so polite, oh—! You're that...that..." The old man couldn't remember for a moment, and after a long pause, he finally said, "The daughter of the fruit shop owner below the cancer hospital, right?"

"Huh? How did you know?"

"Haha, blue-eyed mixed-race kids are quite famous around here!"

"Really?" Mo Xueyao scratched her cheek sheepishly, surprised to find that she had become a celebrity without even realizing it.

Indeed, it wasn't just because of her blue eyes, but also because she had features typical of Caucasian women.

She should be thankful that she inherited the best traits of both races, rather than their flaws...

"Thank you, young lady, please accept this."

"Ah, okay, thank you..."

The old man got back on his bicycle and rode away shakily.

"See, it's a very simple matter, why did you have to call 120?" Mo Xueyao glanced at Li Wanyan. "Wanyan is too cautious."