A Young Woman's Heart

"Yes, only one person came. Maybe the name of an art club sounds too high-end, making people hesitant to join."

"Teacher Qiu, don't flatter yourself!" Mo Xueyao said jokingly, blowing on her hot coffee.

"Knock knock." Just then, there was a knock on the door.

Duanmu Ji subconsciously sat up straight, seemingly wanting to leave a good impression on the new member.

"Come in," Qiu Yi cleared his throat.

"What's wrong, everyone?" However, it was Mr. Xue who pushed open the door and walked in. He looked at the students, who were sitting much more upright than usual, with some doubt. "Are you all so serious?"

"Of course, after all, we're having a new member coming, so we need to make a good impression," Mo Xiaoxiao said with a smile that curved her eyes.

“Yes, yes.” Zhou Yong nodded vigorously in agreement.

“Oh… I met a new member on the way. She couldn’t find her way, so I brought her here.” Mr. Xue said, taking a few steps inside and revealing the new member hiding behind him.

She was a short girl with her hair tied in a bun, probably less than 1.5 meters tall, so she could only rely on the high bun to add some false height.

This makes her look less short overall.

"Eh—Yu Shu!?" Mo Xueyao exclaimed in surprise.

Yu Shu, who had been keeping her head down and too embarrassed to look at everyone, paused for a moment, then slowly raised her head. When she saw Mo Xueyao, her eyes flickered, clearly showing both surprise and joy.

"Haruka...you're here too?"

"Yes, I'm a member of this club, but Yu Shu, didn't you say you were going to... go to... which school again?"

Li Wanyan glanced at her sideways and said for her, "Xuejun."

"Ah, right, wasn't it supposed to be Xuejun High School?"

"Um... because..." Yu Shu's eyes darted around, and she said somewhat embarrassedly, "I failed the final test."

"Ah, so I came to Yukong. Well, after all, Yukong is a regular high school, so the entrance requirements aren't that high. Don't worry, Yukong is great. Although it's a regular high school, it's better than many key high schools in various aspects. Plus, the atmosphere is more relaxed, which is nice. Studying all day like it's a battle is exhausting!"

"Mmm...uh..."

"You two know each other?" Gao Yuan asked curiously.

“She lives right next door to me, she’s my neighbor,” Mo Xueyao introduced generously. “We’ve known each other since we were kids, but she moved away when I started elementary school, and then she moved back last year.”

"Hmm..." Yu Shu smiled awkwardly, her head slightly lowered, not daring to look directly at everyone.

"Did you move to the house next to yours on purpose?" Mo Xiaoxiao asked curiously.

"No, it's more of a coincidence, or rather, fate!" Mo Xueyao patted Yu Shu's shoulder. "Come, come, Yu Shu, have a seat."

"Um……"

"Haha, it feels like we're all family here, so don't be shy." Qiu Yi laughed and handed over the coffee. "Here, have a cup of coffee. You can put a label on your coffee cup or something. Anyway, you can make your own coffee whenever you want. All the snacks and drinks here are free for you to take and eat."

"Thank you... teacher."

"Wow, this junior is quite cute." Gao Yuan extended her chubby hand to him. "Hello! My name is Gao Yuan!"

"...Hello, senior..."

"What do you mean 'the junior girls are cute'? All the girls in our club are cute, okay? Uh, except for the class monitor," Zhou Yong retorted.

Li Wanyan glared at him, which startled the latter into giving a dry laugh.

"My name is Mo Xiaoxiao, and this is my younger sister, Mo Zhuyou. At first, you might think we look alike, but once you get to know us, you'll be able to tell us apart."

"Um... Hello... Senior."

"Ah, junior, let's shake hands! We haven't shaken hands yet, I'm the president of the club!"

"Okay...okay." Yu Shu shyly stretched out her small hand, which Gao Yuan then grasped without any hesitation.

If you didn't know better, you'd think this guy was one of those school bullies who liked to bully boys and girls.

However, it's just his way of making friends, because he's the kind of person who's extremely outgoing and friendly.

"Hello, my name is Mr. Xue, because I was the first child born among my father's siblings."

"Mr. Xue?" Yu Shu glanced at Mr. Xue, who had red lips and white teeth, in surprise, then lowered her head even more shyly.

"Duanmu Ji." Duanmu Ji pointed to himself.

"Hey, little Jiji, stop acting so cool!" Gao Yuan patted his back hard. "This is Duanmu Ji. Don't let his aloof demeanor fool you, he's actually a very kind person. If you ever have any trouble, just ask him!"

“Uh…” Duanmu Ji glanced at Mo Xueyao with an unnatural expression, then nodded.

"Why are you looking at me...?" Mo Xueyao wondered to herself.

"Alright, let's begin the welcoming ceremony!" Qiu Yi picked up the ribbon next to him and opened it with a 'bang,' which startled Yu Shu, who instinctively hid behind Mo Xueyao.

"Teacher...you still do this...?"

"Haha, isn't this interesting?" Qiu Yi coughed lightly. "Gao Yuan will clean it up later."

"Damn, it's me?" Gao Yuan patted Zhou Yong on the shoulder. "Zhou Yong, it's up to you. This is the minister's task."

"I fucking refuse!"

"Pfft..." Yu Shu covered her mouth, amused, but still couldn't help but laugh out loud.

The tense atmosphere that had been building for her suddenly seemed to ease.

"Alright, everyone, sit down again." Qiu Yi started showing photos through the document camera. "Actually, our art club has a very broad scope, even including photography, since photography is an art form! Here, you can learn not only traditional techniques but also modern ones, such as the art of sound recording, the art of taking pictures, the art of photography..."

Although there was only one new member, Qiu Yi still introduced him earnestly, and finally asked, "Yu Shu, which area would you like to study?"

"Taking photos, videos, recordings... or something like that?"

"Sure, no problem at all. Our club has all these tools. By the way, does anyone know how to record on tape?"

"No way—!" Mo Xueyao was the first to raise her hand.

"Haha, here are some blank cassette tapes. You can record music using this tape recorder. The sound quality isn't as good as records, but it's simple and inexpensive. First of all..."

……

Chapter 42 Let's go, let's fight!

"Charge! Charge!" As soon as the school bell rang, before Guan Peng could even say "Okay, get out of class dismissed," Liu Xiaowei rushed out of the classroom with his already packed schoolbag on his back.

"Liu Xiaogou, help me grab a seat! It's on me!" Gao Yuan shouted from behind.

"OK!" Liu Xiaowei left with a graceful silhouette and disappeared down the corridor.

"These bastards," Guan Peng shook his head helplessly, "they really... have the same style as we did back in the day."

"Haha, was the teacher like this before?" Lu Bolun asked with a loud laugh.

"Yeah, but we didn't go to play video games back then. We rushed to play ball after school. If we were late, there wouldn't be any empty spots on the playground."

"Does Teacher Guan seem like someone who likes sports?"

"Damn, I was a basketball pro back in the day, let me tell you, I was a super strong player." Guan Peng was about to start bragging about his past glories when he was interrupted by Wan Jianlei, who walked to the door.

"Yueyue, let's go, let's go, it's time to get off work."

"Damn it, what are you doing? Don't I have any dignity in front of the students?" Guan Peng said with a laugh. "Can you please not call me that?"

"What's the big deal? Let me tell you," Wan Jianlei said enthusiastically to the curious students. "Back then, you all called our teacher Yueyue, because the last character of his name, Peng, can be broken down into Yueyue Bird, right? Once, he wrote his name too wide, and the teacher called him 'Yueyue Bird,' so we started calling him that. Over time, we dropped the last character and it became Yueyue."

"Pfft, what a cute name~" Wang Jiale covered her mouth and laughed.

"You motherfucker, get out of here!" Guan Peng shoved Wan Jianlei out.

"Hurry up, Ye Yu and the others have already gone over there."

"Oh my, that kid's here today too? I'll see if I don't take out my pistol and beat him up!" Guan Peng rolled up his sleeves, looking ready to make a big scene.

There are few people in the world who don't need entertainment. Teachers are ordinary people too, and they have more resources than students, since they are paid, so they also have more entertainment options.

When you're in a good mood, you're more efficient in class.

Otherwise, if you always have a stern face, the students won't listen.

It is precisely because of this that these young teachers feel more approachable, unlike the aloof 'gods' who need to be worshipped.

"Xiaoyao, shall we go?" Wang Jiale finished packing her schoolbag and asked Mo Xueyao, who was also packing her schoolbag.

"No, I have to clean the house today."

"Me too, my sister and I!" Mo Zhuyou straightened up and stretched. "You guys go ahead, shall we?"

"Where's Yinyin?"

"It's my turn to clean the blackboard today too." Hua Yinyin moved Gao Yuan's chair over and stood on it to wipe the blackboard.

"Then Xiaoxue and I will go ahead first?"

"Go on, go on!"

"Won't Lü Bolun be jealous?" Mo Zhuyou teased deliberately.

"Huh? What... is it?" Lu Bolun waved his hand dismissively. "Ahem, Lele, would you like me to take you there?"

"Why would you give it to me? My backpack isn't that heavy."

"Haha, so you still care after all!" Mo Zhuyou laughed exaggeratedly.

"No, no, I was just worried that she was tired."

"Hey, you're not usually this nice," Wang Jiale teased, glancing at him sideways.

"Who said that...!" Luberon tried to explain, but couldn't come up with a complete sentence. "Ahem, well, I'll go home now?"

"OK Bye Bye."

"Sigh, we used to be able to go home together."

"It's just walking to the bus stop, what's the big deal? Can't you walk home without someone to walk with you?" Wang Jiale pointed at Zhou Yong. "Do you want him to walk with you?"

"Let's go, Alan. Since your wife isn't with you, I'll have to keep you company. Let me temporarily take her place on this short walk home from school."

"what?"

"Can I reluctantly be your girlfriend for a while?" Zhou Yong said with a wink.