A Young Woman's Heart

What she didn't know was that Mo Xueyao often still used the male way of thinking she had before, and wasn't that sensitive at all.

“I have time,” Mr. Xue smiled. “But does the band need a suona?”

“It’s okay, any instrument will do. Hmm… how should the pipa be paired with the suona…? Hmm, maybe Xiaoxue should play the bamboo flute most of the time?” Hua Yinyin tilted her head and looked at Mr. Xue.

"Either is fine." He smiled amiably.

“So there are already four people, Cheng Yuan, don’t you really want to give it a try?” Wang Jiale nudged her arm.

"Uh... I guess I'll just let it go... Please spare me..." Lu Chengyuan said with a wry smile, "It really won't work..."

"I didn't expect that Lu Chengyuan, who is usually quite lively and cheerful, would be the most stage-frightened one." Ye Wen chuckled. "Alright, if you don't want to, then forget it. The four of you can already form a band."

"Awen~! The band has another important instrument!"

"What do you think is still missing?"

"Well, we should at least have a drum set, right? A drum set! Otherwise, it just feels like something's missing. With drums, the rhythm will be stronger, and it'll be easier to coordinate, right?" Hua Yinyin muttered, biting her finger.

"Cheng Yuan?" Ye Wen smiled as she looked at Lu Cheng Yuan.

"No, no..." Lu Chengyuan was already trying to run away.

"You used to say you wanted to be an idol star, how can this be?" Mo Xueyao patted her shoulder. "How about giving it a try?"

"I really don't want to... Going on stage is going to kill me!"

“Alright, then I won’t force you.” Ye Wen nodded. “I’ll ask the other classmates about the drummer. If it’s officially decided, take these four notices back, have your parents read and sign them, and bring them to me tomorrow.”

“No problem!” Hua Yinyin was the first to accept the notification slip, and then, with the demeanor of a team leader, distributed the other three to the other three people.

Mo Xueyao excitedly took the notification slip and found that it contained some precautions and possible consequences. It even mentioned that because it would take up a lot of time, it would affect her grades.

This means that the parents have to not mind.

Of course, the list also includes the competitions you can participate in, which serves as a reward for your hard work.

Moreover, even if you don't leave the school, you can still receive a scholarship.

This doesn't consider grades.

Although it's not a particularly large number, it's still an attraction.

If it were a student like Liu Xiaowei who wasn't doing well academically to begin with, his parents would definitely agree without hesitation, right?

But it's not necessarily the case for someone like Mo Xueyao.

This made her feel a little worried, and she hesitated whether she should imitate the signature herself first.

"Don't even think about forging the signature yourself. I'll notify your parents. It's very important that your parents see it before you sign it!" Ye Wen seemed to understand Mo Xueyao's expression and said, holding up one finger.

"Ah—" She was immediately discouraged and felt even more uncertain.

"Alright, let's go home now. Be careful on the road!"

Goodbye, teacher.

Goodbye, Wen!

Goodbye, Wen~!

Everyone bid farewell to Ye Wen, and Mr. Xue, who was the last to leave, closed the door behind him.

"The principal just asked me to select a student with a monthly stipend of one thousand yuan to join the band and learn an instrument," Ye Wen said softly, looking at Qiu Yi.

"Oh, so someone's already offering one-on-one sponsorship?"

"Um, you idiot, who do you think should be chosen?"

"Let me think...it should be students from impoverished families, right?"

"Of course."

"How about the two Mo sisters?" Qiu Yi stroked his chin. "Look, they have to work every day after school. With this funding, they won't have to work anymore. Learning a musical instrument is easier than working until late at night, right?"

“Hmm…that’s what I think too.” Ye Wen nodded and put a checkmark next to each of the two sisters’ names on the list.

……

Chapter 3 "Excerpt from the Side Story: The Final Journey of Life" - The Beginning of the Journey

This chapter is unrelated to the main text; it's an extra chapter added as a reward from Emperor Yan. Originally, it was supposed to be about the main text, but Emperor Yan specifically requested to see the content of the book I'm currently preparing to write in two or three years, so I'm presenting it here.

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Rows of streetlights leaned back, their dim yellow light reflecting off each other, casting long shadows that gently patted Ringo's face again and again.

The girl sitting in the passenger seat still had some tear stains at the corners of her eyes, as if she had just been crying.

Although her eyes were open, she was extremely tired, and her stubborn little mouth remained tightly closed, refusing to yawn even slightly.

"Qingqing." The person in the driver's seat looked much older than her, but was at most in their early twenties. "Are you tired from the ride?"

Ringo didn't answer, but simply opened her eyes wide, as if a person on their deathbed wanted to deeply imprint the last sight of this world in their heart.

"There's still a long time... to go."

Ringo's short, dark, pear-shaped hair swayed gently with the car. Although the air conditioning was on, she slowly rolled down the window.

The young woman driving glanced at her and quietly turned off the air conditioning.

This is already on the outskirts of the city. It's getting late, and although there are still some vehicles passing by, there aren't many anymore.

"Which way?"

“...The left side.” Ringo, who had been silent all along, finally spoke.

So the car turned into the left-hand side road.

This is a narrow path right next to the mountain, with only two routes, one for each side, and not even streetlights.

A truck coming from the opposite direction had its high beams on, and the dazzling light made Ringo involuntarily close her eyes.

RVs and trucks passed each other as they drove by, and ahead was pitch black again, with only the headlights illuminating the road.

Then came another very long silence.

The car had been driving for a long time, but it still hadn't crossed this road before.

There was a spacious parking lot ahead, seemingly for truck drivers to rest, but it was completely empty, with not a single vehicle in sight.

The RV's right turn signal began to flash, and as the vehicle gradually slowed down, it turned into the parking lot and stopped in the corner.

"Qingqing, is it alright to rest here?"

"Hmm..." Ringo gently bit her lip, leaned her head out the window, and let the evening breeze from the mountains caress her face.

Behind her were mountains, in front of her were mountains, to her left were mountains, and to her right were mountains. It was as if she was surrounded by mountains, which made her feel inexplicably breathless.

"Sister." She turned to look at Lin Jing—the girl driving, who was also her sister—"I'm hungry."

"Hmm...can I cook you noodles?"

"I do not want to eat."

"Make porridge? Add some pork floss, it'll be sweet and soft, very delicious."

"I don't want to eat it." Ringo shook her head, pressing almost her entire upper body weight against the car window. "I want to eat fried chicken."

"No, no, eating fried food is bad for your heart."

Ringo pouted, bit her lip tightly, and forced out a very soft voice from her throat: "Anyway, I won't live much longer."

"Who said that? What if..."

“If there were even a better chance, Mom and Dad wouldn’t have agreed to let me come out…” Ringo wiped her face. “I’m sorry, sister…”

"Why apologize... It's not your fault." Lin Jing's expression was also a little gloomy, but she quickly cheered up.

She unbuckled her seatbelt and then hugged her much shorter sister: "So, noodles or porridge?"

"Porridge bar..."

"Okay, I'll go make you some porridge, and add some sweet and salty pork floss~" Lin Jing immediately stood up and went to the back of the car.

The rear compartment of the RV is like a mobile home. Although it is the smallest RV, it is fully equipped with all kinds of basic furniture and facilities.

She got out of the back door, then pulled open the side panel, unfolding a platform with a pool and setting it on the ground.

This is an integrated cooktop that can be used outdoors.

The advantage is that it won't make the car interior full of oil fumes and it can save interior space. The disadvantage is that you can't cook while driving.

Lin Jing took out a small pressure cooker, rinsed the rice with water from the car's water tank, and then placed it on the integrated induction cooker.

The younger sister, Ringo, pushed open the car door and jumped out, but her knees buckled and she almost fell to the ground.

"Qingqing, you can't get out of the car so suddenly!" Her older sister was startled and quickly ran over to support her. "Are you alright?"

"I just wanted to give it a try..."

"No, you have to take care of yourself."

Ringo licked her dry lips with her soft tongue, but in the end, she didn't say those words again. She simply broke free from her sister's hand and walked alone to the edge of the parking lot, standing on the lawn and looking up at the dark mountain in front of her.

The pine trees on the mountain seemed to grow at an angle, a dark, dense mass, as if they might fall down along with the stars in the sky at any moment.

She stared blankly at the spinning starry sky, feeling herself spinning as well. Just as she was about to fall, she was tightly embraced by a pair of soft yet strong arms.

"Are you alright, Ringo? If you're tired, sit down for a while."

"I've been sitting for so long, I don't want to sit anymore..." Ringo suddenly covered her mouth, facing the trash can not far away. Before she could take a few steps, she vomited.

"Are you alright? Are you alright?" Her older sister gently patted Ringo's back and asked with concern.

The latter did not answer, but instead vomited more.

It took her a while to stop, and she took the tissue her sister handed her to wipe her mouth and hands.

She wiped away the tears that had flowed from her vomiting and turned to look at Lin Jing, who had been standing beside her: "Sister, I want to drink Coke."

"No, drink less carbonated beverages."