A Young Woman's Heart

However, the only fair aspect is that while there is strategy involved in Ludo, luck plays a major role, especially when there are only two pieces.

"I'll go first! Hehe, don't let me get first place!" Hua Yinyin was quite excited. If she really got first place, then whoever came in last would be in trouble.

It might turn into a strange competition where everyone is vying to avoid coming in last place.

"We'll focus our attacks on Yin Yin; we can't let her get first place!" Wang Jiale whispered to Sanhua Tongjue.

The latter nodded absentmindedly, staring blankly at the chocolate-flavored Pocky on the coffee table.

"Let's set the rules first. Both six and one can go, right?" Wang Jiale asked.

"Wrong. Because it's a double die, you can only move if you get a two, twelve, or a six. Then you can move twice more if you get a double six, and once more if you get a single six."

"Why use two dice? Give me back to using only one. Your rules are so complicated. Are you trying to do something sneaky?"

"Hmph, two dice are more interesting!"

In the end, everyone started the game using two dice.

"Six! Six!" However, Hua Yinyin herself was unlucky and never managed to launch a single 'airplane'. The two marbles controlled by Sanhua Tongjue had already flown across half the map.

In the end, without leaving any suspense, Sanhua Tongjue won first place.

Following closely behind is Huang Yuxi.

He only had one marble left to go in.

This made Sanhua Tongjue breathe a sigh of relief, but at the same time, she felt disappointed.

At this moment, her feelings were extremely complicated.

I couldn't help but look out the window at the telephone pole, which was much shorter than the building. Several sparrows were standing in neat rows on it, chirping incessantly, as if they were having a chat.

"Phew, I'm finally out!" Hua Yinyin, who hadn't been able to leave her 'home' for a while, finally rolled a double six. After taking a few steps forward, she rolled twice more. "Hmm, one, two, three... Hey, perfect! Hohoho~! Xiaoxi, you can go home now!"

"Ugh!" Huang Yuxi, who was only one step away from victory, was a little flustered, but these were the rules after all, so she could only helplessly watch Hua Yinyin put her marbles back at the starting point.

Huang Yuxi chose a red marble, which was not the color of the whole marble, but the color of the piece sandwiched inside.

From the outside, it looks like a strip of cloth being blown around by the wind.

Hua Yinyin's competitive spirit kicked in, and she even used strategy on this little board game, ultimately arriving at the base second.

"Done! I came in second!"

"Congratulations!" Wang Jiale clapped his hands, his tone full of mockery.

"Wait, wait a minute!! No, there's no first place anymore, so I should... take last place!"

"It's too late to think of that now." Wang Jiale looked at Huang Yuxi. "Xiaoxi, why don't you go first? Let me get last place."

"Mmm." Eating Pocky with a girl was something that made him very shy, but with Wang Jiale at the bottom, he felt much more at ease.

However, if forfeiting is not allowed in Ludo, it is often uncontrollable.

Just as Huang Yuxi was about to arrive, Wang Jiale's glass bead landed right on his grid, meaning he would have to go back to base and fly again.

In this way, there is almost no suspense about who will be in last place.

Sanhua Tongjue's eyes lit up immediately, and she clenched her hands with anticipation.

"Tongjue seems very excited?" Hua Yinyin said with a wink, speaking to Wang Jiale.

"Looks like I should give the opportunity to Xiaoxi?" Wang Jiale muttered, deciding to leave it to fate.

Soon it was Huang Yuxi's turn again, and somewhat flustered, he threw three double sixes in a row.

It makes you wonder if the dice are filled with lead.

Otherwise, why does it always end up in sixth place?

Although he didn't run into Wang Jiale again this time, his incredibly lucky streak allowed him to successfully deliver the last glass bead to the finish line.

"Phew..." He let out a long breath, a huge weight lifted from his heart.

"Looks like I'm in last place," Wang Jiale whispered in Sanhua Tongjue's ear. "Disappointed?"

"Eh? N-no..." Sanhua Tongjue's face turned even redder, "It's...okay..."

"Huh, what does 'can all' mean? That's weird."

"Here you go, accept your punishment, first place and last place!" Hua Yinyin opened a Pocky stick, took a bite herself, and then handed another one to the two of them.

The two girls looked at each other, and even the usually composed Wang Jiale became a little shy.

The two of them each took a bite from one end and then ate little by little.

When they were about to meet, they finally couldn't help but close their eyes.

As they ate the last bit, their lips lightly touched. There was nothing particularly special about the taste, but it just felt exceptionally soft for that moment.

Sanhua Tongjue smiled slightly. Although her face was flushed, she looked normal. On the other hand, Wang Jiale sat to the side looking somewhat lost, fidgeting with her fingers.

"Hey, aren't girls better? Should we dump Luberon?"

"Yinyin—what are you saying?" Wang Jiale pushed her round face away. "Ahem...! Isn't there anything else to play with? By the way, what about the comics you mentioned? Let's take a look."

"Huh? Didn't you say you didn't want to watch it?"

"Well... I'm a little curious, so I'll take a look..." Actually, she just wanted to change the subject.

However, the effect was very successful. Hua Yinyin quickly took out the comic she had drawn yesterday. Most of the scenes were relatively simple, with only a few exquisite close-ups.

This, of course, includes the part she said she most wanted to draw...

After watching, Wang Jiale's first thought was to see Huang Yuxi's reaction, but the latter remained indifferent.

It's not so much that they remain calm in the face of change, but rather that they've become accustomed to it.

Thinking about it carefully, it makes sense. He lives next door to Hua Yinyin, and he must have suffered a lot of 'torture' from her.

"Poor little Xi..."

"Hey, what are you saying?"

"Xiao Xi must have watched a lot of these videos, right?"

Upon hearing this, Huang Yuxi shook his head in a panic, but his expression seemed to be completely trying to hide something. The more nervous he became, the more people suspected that he had seen something even worse.

"Could there be...something even stranger?"

"Yes, we do have some—want to take a look?"

"Don't look!" Huang Yuxi shoved the whiteboard right in Wang Jiale's face, but it still couldn't stop her curiosity.

"Hmm...then...let's take a look?"

……

Chapter Fifty-Six: Mr. Snow's Morning

Mr. Xue's home is not close to the school; it takes about half an hour to get there by bicycle.

He usually takes the bus home, but he doesn't always come by bus.

Sometimes, he would leave home at five o'clock or even four-thirty, strolling leisurely to school.

Today is a sunny day, perfect for getting up early and going out.

After washing up, he carefully checked his clothes in front of the mirror, and only after making sure they were neat and tidy did he walk to the door.

He glanced at the calendar hanging on the wall, tore off a page, and brought the date to today.

Thursday, June 2000, 9.

The hour hand is pointing from '4' to '5'.

The minute hand is pointing to '9'.

Mr. Xue pushed open the door and went out, where he was greeted by the cool autumn breeze.

The area around my home is relatively quiet, but when I walked into the alley, I found that the city had already woken up early.

The alley wasn't too narrow, but it felt a bit crowded because of the street stalls on both sides.

This is a morning market unique to the city.

To avoid the city management officers, they had to arrive here early. Meanwhile, the elderly folks who were used to this world couldn't sleep and came down to buy some cheap vegetables and fruits.

The young newspaper delivery man shouted "Make way!" as he pedaled forward with all his might.

A basket of milk was hanging on the back seat, suggesting that he did other work on the side while delivering newspapers.

The bustling morning seemed quite out of place with the sky.

It was already autumn, and at this time the sun hadn't even risen yet; the sky was as dark as midnight.

The dim streetlights were still working, preventing the path from falling into complete darkness.

Mr. Xue walked through the market, brushing past many people, or being pressed close together because of the crowd, which added to his earthy atmosphere.

Of course, some street vendors also sell breakfast, but the selection is mostly very limited. For example, those selling egg pancakes only sell egg pancakes, and those selling soy milk only sell soy milk...

There were even vendors who only sold fried dough sticks. Some people would buy their fried dough sticks and then go next door to make rice balls, asking to have the fried dough sticks stuffed inside.

The place that sells rice balls only has dried fried dough sticks, not fresh ones.

All the stalls are independent, yet they are all closely connected.

Mr. Xue bought a fried dough stick from the tricycle next to him, and after walking a while, he bought a sesame seed cake. After looking around, he finally found the tofu pudding stall in the alley.

"What brings you here today? I almost couldn't find you," someone asked.

"Haha, I'm late today, there aren't any good spots left."

"Boss, a serving of tofu pudding, please." Mr. Xue walked over and said with a smile.

After that... after that it became deserted again.

After all, it's just a morning market in the city.

Behind them were a few other stalls, some of which were latecomers, while others sold things that ordinary people wouldn't normally buy at the morning market.

Mr. Xue poured the bag of sweet tofu pudding into his cup and threw the plastic bag onto the sanitation truck next to him.