A Young Woman's Heart

"Unless there's an unexpected situation, I wouldn't do that intentionally." Mr. Xue was also folding two paper frogs with a childlike spirit and playing with them by himself.

"Has it been a long time?"

"About half an hour."

"Huh? It's only been that long? Why do I feel so tired?"

"It's psychological." Mr. Xue watched as one of his frogs finally jumped onto another, then finally raised his head and leisurely looked towards the doorway. "Here it comes."

"They're here?" Before Wang Jiale could even wonder, she heard the increasingly clear footsteps and the girls' chatter.

"Ha-ho~ We're here!" Hua Yinyin pushed open the door with a bang and walked in with great momentum. "What are you two slacking off for? Hurry up and practice!"

"You've practiced enough, now it's rest time." Wang Jiale pointed to the ginger tea in the teapot. "Xiao Yao, quickly pour yourself some tea, it's probably getting a little cold."

"Ginger tea?"

"Yes, I saved this especially for you."

"Hmm, thank you." Mo Xueyao was still thinking about what had just happened. She absentmindedly poured herself a cup of tea, sat down, and let out a long sigh.

It's definitely better to live a simple and ordinary life like this...

She sighed inwardly and took a sip of the ginger tea, which had now become warm.

"Shall we start practicing now?" Mo Zhuyou put down her schoolbag.

"Let's do our homework first," Mo Xueyao muttered as she sat down. "We can practice a little later."

"But what should we eat?"

"Just use Xiaoxiao's phone to tell my dad, and then have Wanyan bring everyone's portions over."

"Looks like we'll be practicing until after eight o'clock today?"

"Hmm... let's talk about it at eight o'clock!" Mo Xueyao sat up straight, but quickly slumped back down. "I feel especially sleepy today..."

"Want to take a nap?" Hua Yinyin patted her thigh. "It's so soft and comfortable!"

"Hey, don't waste time, let's get started." Mo Xueyao took out her notebook and started writing. Seeing this, the others also piled their homework on the table. In an instant, the band classroom turned into a small study room.

Moreover, there was a bamboo flute as background music, played by Mr. Xue, who had already finished his homework.

With Li Wanyan absent, Hua Yinyin became exceptionally presumptuous, sitting directly next to her and even draping her short legs over her thighs.

"Yinyin—"

"Hey, this is warmer~"

"I don't think so..." Perhaps it was because she was on her period, but the overly intimate contact made her feel uncomfortable, but she didn't dare to move around freely, so she could only let this guy do whatever he wanted.

Mo Xiaoxiao and Mo Zhuyou naturally sat together, with the younger sister asking her older sister for help with a question she hadn't understood in class.

Mo Xueyao had thought that she didn't like studying much, but she didn't expect her to be so focused at this moment.

"Was it like this when you came home to do your homework before you had to work?" Mo Xueyao asked curiously.

"Huh? Definitely not! We didn't have much time back then. My sister and I usually did our homework separately, and after we finished, we'd copy each other's work to solve it. Otherwise, we wouldn't get enough sleep, and if it got too late, we wouldn't have the energy to concentrate." Mo Zhuyou happily swung her legs. "That's why it's so much better now!"

Everyone knows that the two sisters don't need to work now because of the help from kind-hearted people. When Mo Xueyao heard this, she was genuinely happy for them.

This is much easier than working a regular job.

It's funny how being in a band can be a burden for others and might even lead to a drop in performance.

But for the two sisters, it might actually improve their grades...

"Oh, right, where did you all go just now? Why are you so late?" One person can do their homework quietly for a long time, but when a group of people do their homework together, if no one talks, the atmosphere will feel oppressive. So Wang Jiale couldn't help but start a conversation again.

"Just now, they went to have a group fight~" Hua Yinyin winked playfully.

"Huh?"

"They were boys from our school. They got into a fight with boys from other schools, and then Xiaoyao called her dad to stop them. Her dad then called a whole bunch of people over..." Mo Zhuyou excitedly explained, ignoring her sister's explanation of the topic.

Mo Xiaoxiao could only shake her head helplessly, but she did not stop her.

After all, time isn't that tight, so chatting while doing homework might not be a bad idea.

Time flowed by leisurely until the sun finally set and night fell completely before everyone finished their homework.

Besides Mr. Xue, Mo Xueyao was the first to finish her homework. She was worried that she would not have enough time to do her homework properly because she was often practicing in the band room recently, so she reviewed the homework she had done before. Only after she was sure that she had mastered it well did she breathe a sigh of relief.

When it comes to learning, it's a matter of either moving forward or falling behind.

The same applies to rankings; it's easy to fall down, but difficult to climb back up.

After all, she wasn't a particularly gifted student; her only way to get good grades was to build a solid foundation and study diligently.

She might not be so stressed in her senior year of high school because she heard that there isn't much new knowledge to learn in that year. If it's just reviewing, she's confident she can maintain a good state of mind.

"Have you all finished your homework?" Hua Yinyin slammed her workbook shut. "Let's start practicing!"

"Wait a minute? I still have a math problem..."

"Lele, you're writing so slowly. You only had two assignments left to do at the beginning, right?" Hua Yinyin ruffled her hair, making it messy. "Hey, are you missing your boyfriend? Is that why you're not focused on studying?"

"No, not at all! Uh, we were just chatting..."

"I've finished writing." Mo Zhuyou raised her hand slightly.

"Hey—! Wasn't Youyou chatting with me the whole time?"

"Doing two things at once, that's what it's like~"

"Tch, a mere Mo Zhuyou!"

"Hey, what exactly is my status in your heart?!" Mo Zhuyou shouted, hands on her hips.

The campus was already pitch black, and even the other bands had left.

Walking at night is unsafe, especially for students who live far away.

However, for Mo Xueyao and her friends, the band's practice had only just begun.

"Today we'll start practicing singing while playing the instrument. Xiao Yaoyao will be in charge of the harmony. If you're not familiar with it at first, just follow my rhythm." Hua Yinyin moved the sheet music in front of her. It was a newly printed version, with both simplified notation and lyrics.

Mo Xueyao also had a copy, while the others were looking at sheet music without lyrics.

Actually, it's only needed when you first start practicing. Once you're completely proficient, you can switch from standard musical notation to numbered musical notation, or you can simply skip the sheet music altogether.

"Youyou, Youyou, get ready to start!"

"Alright! One, two, one, two, three, four!"

As the drumsticks struck, Mo Xueyao pressed the piano keys, while Hua Yinyin's pipa led the rhythm of the crowd.

Mr. Xue's bamboo flute music was interspersed throughout the piece, bringing a few melodious tunes.

"Autumn always brings fallen leaves..."

"Fallen leaves—"

Because the window was open, the music could be heard and echoed in the quiet campus.

A black cat, perched on the rooftop enjoying the breeze, leisurely wagged its tail.

Beside it, Su Yuqing was gently scratching its chin.

“There are still students who haven’t gone home yet,” Su Yuqing said with a slight smile, her eyes narrowed as she took off her school doctor’s coat.

Sitting to the side was the somewhat unkempt principal, Mo Kong. He looked down into her eyes and placed his hand on the back of her hand: "Still practicing."

"It's so hard."

"You have to work hard when you're young, because you won't have the energy to work hard when you're old." Mo Kong's lips curled up slightly. "Why are we always hiding from each other when we're together?"

"Eh? Well... wouldn't it be inappropriate for the students to see this?"

"They are a legally married couple."

"But... other people might not see it that way, after all, you look much older than me~"

"Oh?"

"Well, it's not that I'm looking down on you." Su Yuqing leaned against Mo Kong's chest. "This song is quite nice, what song is it?"

"It was created by the students themselves."

"The students at our school are truly remarkable..."

Mo Kong let her lean on him, but didn't make any move: "For our wedding anniversary, are you going to hold an event for the whole school?"

"Hey? What are you doing? This is abusing public power for private gain!" Su Yuqing punched Mo Kong, her face flushed. "Really, don't joke like that!"

Mo Kong smiled and said, "I'm still quite humorous."

"Yeah, nobody said you're old-fashioned."

The music downstairs was still echoing, but this was the second time it had been played.

A cool breeze ruffled Su Yuqing's hair, and she suddenly sighed softly, "Sigh...so many years have passed."

"Ah."

"If only Yuko-neechan were still alive."

"..."

"Are you going to visit her in winter?"

"Okay, go ahead, when the time comes..." Su Yuqing wrapped her coat tightly around herself, "Speaking of which, the rooftop is really cold."

"Then go down."

"Hmm, let's also see which class of students is still playing."

“From Class Two,” Mo Kong gently stroked her hair and answered softly.

……

"Squeak—" The door to the band room was pushed open, and everyone instinctively looked towards the door, where they saw the principal and Teacher Su from the medical office standing.

The music then stopped.

"Hey? Hello, Principal...!" Hua Yinyin was the first to react, greeting him loudly and enthusiastically.

"Don't practice too late." Mo Kong nodded gently.