A Young Woman's Heart

"..."

"Okay... um... you're only allowed three sips."

"Mmm!" Ringo nodded vigorously, then smiled through her tears.

Looking at her sister's tearful smile, Lin Jing felt a pang of heartache.

Even though her standard for happiness is so low, but...

Fate is often unfair.

Thinking of this, she simply poured her sister a whole glass of cola, which made the latter as happy as if she had won the lottery.

She took a long time to finish that small cup of cola, sipping it slowly.

The porridge cooked in the pressure cooker is ready to eat.

Although it was still very hot after being cooked.

Lin Jing ladled out a small bowl, added some pork floss, mixed it, and then brought it to her younger sister. She scooped up a spoonful, gently blew on it to cool it down until it was lukewarm: "Come on, open your mouth~ Ah—"

"Ah—" The little girl opened her mouth, ate half a spoonful of porridge, chewed it carefully, and then giggled. "Hey... I drank too much cola, so I can't taste the sweetness of the pork floss anymore, it's just salty..."

"Then don't drink it next time." Lin Jing smiled absentmindedly, her gaze somewhat unfocused.

She was terrified of the day she would lose her sister.

……

Chapter Nine Musical Instrument Shop

The time is Saturday.

Although it's a sunny day, the crisp autumn air has washed away the summer heat. On this breezy day, even walking in the sunshine doesn't feel uncomfortable.

Today's high temperature is 29 degrees Celsius, though it will certainly be lower in the early morning.

Mo Xueyao, still wearing a summer dress, went downstairs and saw Hua Yinyin sitting by the flower bed yawning.

"Little Yaoyao~ So slow... Ah..." she said, then yawned again, "Let's go, let's go."

"Why so early?"

"It's cool in the morning!" Hua Yinyin hopped on her bicycle. "Mainly because I've been having some insomnia."

"Huh, you can have insomnia too?" Mo Xueyao found it intriguing. While squatting next to her bicycle and unlocking it, she chuckled teasingly, "Shouldn't someone as carefree as you fall asleep the moment you close your eyes?"

"That's Xiao Yaoyao, okay?!" Hua Yinyin pouted. "Haha... I was awake until five o'clock."

"Didn't sleep all night?"

"Well... I'm mainly thinking about how we're going to form a band and maybe even perform on stage. That's one of my life's dreams! So I'm so excited I can't sleep. And today I'm going to buy a new pipa, so I can't sleep at all."

"Are you a primary school student..." Mo Xueyao shook her head helplessly, straddled the bicycle, and said, "Let's go, we're going to West Lake, right?"

"Yes, that's where Hangzhou's largest musical instrument store is!"

"The price must be very high...?"

"It's a little more expensive, but the quality is guaranteed. You can't just buy musical instruments from random little shops."

"Tsk, that's what rich people say."

"Oh dear, Xiao Yaoyao's tone is so sour again," Hua Yinyin teased.

Mo Xueyao puffed out one cheek, ignored her, and rode on her own.

"Hey, Yaoyao, wait! You're riding so fast, do you even know the way?"

September already has a hint of autumn, but it's still the beginning of the month, so most of the leaves are green, with only a few turning slightly yellow.

Autumn is a season when everything slowly turns yellow.

The warm colors of autumn are also the season that Mo Xueyao finds most gentle.

The brisk autumn wind, in particular, is more intoxicating than the moist spring breeze.

The two raced each other on their bikes halfway there, finally stopping their playful antics after Mo Xueyao nearly crashed into someone.

As a result, he didn't have much energy left to ride in the second half of the journey—because he had used all his energy in the first half, like sprinting at the very beginning of a 1,000-meter race.

When they finally arrived at the entrance of the music store, both of them were so exhausted that they could hardly breathe.

"Huff... So tired..."

"It's all your fault! Why did you have to compete like that?"

"Tch, it's clearly Xiaoyao who's competitive. What's wrong with me riding in front as someone who knows the way!" Hua Yinyin muttered, parking her bicycle next to the shop entrance. "Phew, let's rest a bit before going in..."

"Hmm, take a rest..."

As if knowing they were sweating profusely from the heat, the sun overhead was briefly obscured by clouds, and a cool autumn breeze blew in, slipping under their skirts and making them feel as if every hair on their body was being 'cooled'.

"Haha, thank goodness I'm wearing a dress today, it's so cool~!" Hua Yinyin stretched and pulled a pack of tissues from her dress pocket to wipe the sweat from her forehead. "Little Yaoyao, do you want some?"

"No need." Mo Xueyao had already wiped the sweat off with her hands. She subconsciously wanted to wipe the sweat off her skirt, but then paused for a moment and changed her mind, "Give me one."

Here you go!

After calming down and feeling the chill of autumn again, Mo Xueyao and Hua Yinyin entered the musical instrument shop.

Although it is located in the Xihu District, it is not on the busiest street. It is relatively quiet, and the shops around it are also quiet shops such as cosmetics stores and private dental clinics.

The walls in the store are covered with thick soundproofing panels, so as long as it's not too noisy, it won't affect other people.

This is a two-story shop, and the first floor alone is already quite large. It displays all kinds of Western musical instruments, from saxophones to pianos.

However, there were only two pianos, which were probably for demonstration purposes. If other types of pianos were needed, they would likely have to be ordered in advance.

Mo Xueyao was dazzled by the wide variety of musical instruments. There were more than 30 electronic keyboards alone, and it seemed that every type and brand was available.

From cheap domestic products to imported goods, the most expensive ones cost as much as eight or nine thousand yuan.

However, compared to Teacher Qiu's 19,000 yuan electronic keyboard, it's nothing.

"What kind of musical instruments would you two young ladies like to look at?" The shop assistant greeted them with a smile, saying "look at" instead of "buy," which made them feel quite comfortable and less pressured.

Even the shop assistants said it was okay to just look around.

"Okay, let's just take a look ourselves," Hua Yinyin said, indicating that she didn't want to be disturbed.

"Okay, please take your time reading."

"Ah."

"Are all the instruments downstairs Western musical instruments?" Mo Xueyao looked around and confirmed that her judgment was correct.

"Yes, downstairs are all Western musical instruments, and upstairs are traditional Chinese musical instruments. Since we're already here, let's not rush. Let's take a look at the ones downstairs first."

Is the layout here the same as when you came before?

"Hmm, same thing. It feels like they just changed the soundproofing panels to a different color... And there are more mirrors too." Hua Yinyin muttered, walking up to the piano and unable to resist stroking it. "Wow, it's huge. Why don't traditional Chinese instruments ever come in such a big size..."

"Why does it need to be so big? It's not convenient to carry around at all." Mo Xueyao pouted, and as she walked through the electronic keyboard area, she couldn't help but press a few keys.

Some were not plugged in, while others were plugged in.

Those expensive ones definitely have their advantages; the built-in sound quality of the electronic keyboard alone is much better than hers.

The buttons have a better tactile feedback, although the ones at home are pretty good too...

If only I had money.

Mo Xueyao couldn't help but think to herself.

"Wow, an electric guitar, blue one, so cool!" Hua Yinyin stared at a blue guitar with a smitten expression, as if she had seen a handsome guy.

No, if it were her, it would probably be 'seeing a beautiful girl', right?

"Can you play?"

"I haven't studied it, but it shouldn't be too difficult?"

"Wow, what a boastful tone."

"But I still prefer the pipa. Little Yaoyao, let's go upstairs."

"Well, let's go."

The second floor offers a wider variety and greater quantity of goods, and the prices are relatively cheaper.

After all, most traditional Chinese musical instruments are relatively portable, unlike Western instruments such as guitars and electronic keyboards, which are often half a person's height and very heavy.

"Pfft, this erhu is new, but it feels old..."

"That's what the erhu is like." Hua Yinyin waved her hand. "Look, Xiao Yaoyao, isn't this bamboo flute pretty?"

"Yellow."

"Hmm, it has some patterns, it looks like a yellow tabby cat."

"It doesn't look like it at all, okay?"

"Little Yao Yao's imagination is failing!"

"Your imagination is just too far-fetched, isn't it?" Mo Xueyao shook her head helplessly.

"Hmm, pipa... um..."

"Is it here? They all seem pretty much the same, except for the patterns on them. They're all in a classic style." Mo Xueyao stood next to Hua Yinyin and said softly.

"Ah, that one!" Hua Yinyin's eyes suddenly lit up as she pointed to a pipa placed in the far corner and exclaimed.

The music store seemed unusually noisy in this otherwise quiet place.

"Gray?"

"Hmm, looking closely, it looks like it's been painted with that silver-gray varnish, but when you look closely it's actually the original color of the wood... Wow... This is the pipa I wanted!"

"If you like silver-gray so much, why don't you go buy an electric guitar!" Mo Xueyao's eyelids twitched.

"No way! I just love the metallic pipa, hehehe~"

"The price... three thousand five, that's so expensive." Mo Xueyao glanced at the price tag and immediately felt like leaving.