A Young Woman's Heart

Later, the mother started talking about her recent events.

In her letter, she wrote: "Mom has been busy making money lately because your dad owes too much money, so Mom can only work hard to pay it off. Once it's paid off, we will have nothing to do with him anymore. Because I'm so busy with work, I can't be by your side to take care of you. The reason I'm away from you is that I hope to earn more money in a more prosperous place."

"You don't need to worry about Mom. Mom is currently living on a house with free room and board, and she won't spend a penny more than her salary. But it will take about three years to pay off the debt. Once it's paid off, Mom will come back to be with you, and then we'll find a place to live."

"Three years will pass quickly, Yan Yan. Don't worry or think about your mother. You don't need to keep sending letters, because your mother is very busy and may not have time to reply."

"Besides, sending letters costs money, so we should try to save as much money as possible."

Upon seeing this, Li Wanyan couldn't help but gently lick her lips; she herself felt somewhat bewildered by it.

If her mother comes back, she won't live with Mo Xueyao anymore...

It would be great if my mother could live here with me, but that's almost impossible, isn't it?

Li Wanyan sighed softly. She had thought about this many times, but like graduation, which was bound to come, she could only wait quietly, and often she couldn't change anything.

Even if you want to do something, it seems you can only wait until things happen.

Then, her mother wrote in the letter about some interesting things that had happened recently, which seemed to be gossip about her friends.

Most of them are rather boring, or rather boring to write, dry and uninteresting.

At the end of the letter, the mother wrote: "You don't need to write to me often. Seeing this letter is like seeing me in person—just open it and read it when you miss me."

This is probably the most literary sentence from the mother in the entire letter.

However, the phrase "seeing the words is like seeing the person" is a very good description.

Every time Li Wanyan looked at it, she truly felt as if she were seeing her mother in person.

This was the second time she had read the letter in its entirety. Then she put it back in the envelope and placed it under a heavy book.

When she looked up, she glanced at the electronic keyboard on the wall, got up and sat back down on the keyboard bench, and couldn't help but gently press a note.

"Boom..."

She doesn't have the same talent as Mo Xueyao in learning the piano, but she can now play some slightly more difficult pieces.

In the days since she finished her summer homework, she has been practicing whenever she has a spare moment.

What's frustrating is that Mo Xueyao can now even compose a piece of music based on her own feelings.

Moreover, it was the most challenging form of improvisation from the very beginning.

—Although she could never remember the score she had played after each performance.

She truly possesses an absolute musicality, requiring no deliberate effort to convert sheet music into detailed melodies and then map them to each position on the piano keys.

She can remember these through an abstract imagination, and then play those notes at will when she plays.

Sometimes, if you accidentally play a wrong note, or if the note doesn't feel right, you can immediately change the key—from a heavy piece to a light one.

This is a talent that ordinary people simply cannot learn; even Li Wanyan, who is better at studying than her, can only look up to her in awe.

"Wanyan, practicing again?"

"Ah."

"Um... keep your voice down... I'm watching TV..." Mo Xueyao said with an awkward smile and a hint of pleading.

"Hmm." One advantage of using an electronic keyboard is that you can wear headphones.

These headphones came with the cassette player that Mo Xueyao's godfather gave her, and Li Wanyan would occasionally use them on her electronic keyboard—they're all interchangeable anyway.

The greatest thing about the electronic keyboard is that you can immerse yourself in your own music without disturbing others.

In the same house, the two did their own things until late at night before returning to their soft beds together.

"Ah—that was awesome!" Mo Xueyao jumped up and down on the bed, then lay down straight down as if she had fainted, but in fact she was just playing around.

"You're all grown up now," Li Wanyan said, shaking her head helplessly.

"Men are boys until they die!" Mo Xueyao blinked. "A man's heart never grows old!"

"You're not a man."

"Huh—it used to be!"

“It wasn’t like that before. From a physiological point of view, you’ve never been.” Li Wanyan’s tone was calm, but her words were full of mockery.

"Oh, is it not working out mentally yet?"

"If it's a matter of mindset, then I should sleep separately from you."

"Tch, so it's all about the mind, huh? Besides, even if it is, it won't hurt you. I don't have any tools to do it." Mo Xueyao pouted. "And besides, if I were a real man, I would never date someone like Wanyan!"

"..." Li Wanyan did not answer, but only lowered her eyes slightly.

"Serious, rigid, preachy, and so nagging..."

"Really?" Li Wanyan's voice was very soft. She had already lay down and was quietly looking at the ceiling, but she hadn't turned off the light.

She's the one who usually turns off the lights.

Because she was the one sleeping on the outside.

"Oh no, Wanyan! Turn off the lights! Turn off the lights!"

"Turn it off yourself."

"Hey—Wanyan, you're not angry, are you?"

"No."

"You're really not angry? Cough cough... Okay, actually Wanyan is quite gentle—can we turn off the lights now?"

"Turn it off yourself."

"Huh? Are you really, really angry?" Mo Xueyao brought her face closer, their eyes almost touching, one side with sky-blue eyes and the other with deep black pupils.

Li Wanyan couldn't keep her expression in check and couldn't help but laugh out loud: "Okay, I'm not angry."

"Hehe... I knew it, Wanyan wouldn't get angry so easily." Mo Xueyao chuckled and reached out to pull the rope, turning off the incandescent light.

"Click".

When this sound comes out, coupled with the darkening of the room, it inexplicably makes one feel extremely sleepy.

"distant."

"Huh?" Mo Xueyao tilted her head. Although she couldn't see Li Wanyan's expression in the darkness, she still did it subconsciously.

"If I were a man—"

"What? Just because you're a man doesn't mean you want to marry me! Pfft, what girl would like a 'man' like you?!"

Li Wanyan ignored her and continued what she had just said: "I definitely won't ask you to be my girlfriend."

"Alas!"

"She's carefree and doesn't care about her appearance; she sometimes wolfs down her food; she likes to swear when playing games; and she always wipes her washed hands on her skirt..."

"Who said that? I don't even use skirts or pants to wipe my hands anymore, I just spin them dry!"

So, that night turned into a debate where everyone tried to find each other's flaws.

……

Chapter 139 I'm Just a Passing Kamen Rider

Monday, August 21st.

Nine o'clock at night.

Duanmu Ji was leaving the gathering of enthusiasts.

He was wearing the Kamen Rider Kuuga suit that the organizers, teacher Wang Qianyu, had given him last time.

Because that's what I wore when I went there, so of course I have to wear it back too.

The leather case is in very good condition. It's probably the most valuable thing in his house. If you really wanted to buy it, it would cost at least tens of thousands of yuan.

However, although the suit was said to be given to Duanmu Ji, it was more like it was being kept by him. Sometimes Wang Qianyu would borrow it from him when she needed it, and occasionally he would help her work as a staff member wearing the suit at enthusiast gatherings.

And this is like his work uniform.

In fact, Wang Qianyu didn't say it was a 'gift' to him; she just told him to take it home.

Nobody knows if they'll ever want to go back.

While he was careful because it was precious, Duanmu Ji was actually quite proud to wear it on the street.

Unfortunately, there were hardly any pedestrians on this remote street, and the few adults who occasionally passed by were even less likely to recognize what it was.

He can only admire his own beauty in solitude.

I feel like a real Kamen Rider, strolling through the peaceful city streets.

"Ahhhhhh—" A child's or woman's screams suddenly came from afar, and Duanmu Ji subconsciously quickened his pace and walked forward.

Immediately afterwards, there was another sound of a trash can being overturned.

A little boy, probably in sixth grade or just starting junior high, stumbled out of the alley, only to be immediately grabbed and pulled back by a hand.

"Help! Help—"

His exclamation echoed through the secluded street.

Duanmu Ji clenched his fist.

Is someone abducting children?

What he hated most in his life was child trafficking.

Because he had been trafficked—whatever the reason, he was sold by human traffickers.

If he hadn't seized the opportunity, he probably would have lived in that remote, impoverished place forever and never returned.

He didn't know where the power came from, but after taking a few quick steps, he started running and rushed to the entrance of the alley.

The trash cans in the alley have been overturned. People might pass by during the day, but it's deserted at night.

A nauseating smell emanated from the trash can, and he even saw a dead cat that had been tortured to death and thrown into it.