A Young Woman's Heart

The sunshine warmed her, and the occasional cool breeze carried away the heat that might have accumulated, making her feel exceptionally comfortable.

This is absolutely the perfect weather for sleeping.

Mo Xueyao couldn't help but yawn, took out a pack of tissues from her pocket, and carefully wiped the wooden bench by the river.

People probably sit here regularly, so although there is some dust on the bench, it's not a lot.

However, after 'moving around' for a while, Mo Xueyao lost her drowsiness and could only sit and try to calm herself down for a bit longer.

Sometimes, flowery language fails to convey a direct feeling—Mo Xue gazed at everything before her, pondering how to describe it in her essay, and finally came to the conclusion above.

Just like the poem describes: "A small bridge, flowing water, and a family home."

No metaphors are needed; a simple, straightforward description suffices.

Sunshine, river, farmland, and rows of persimmon trees...

Sleepiness washed over her again, and she slowly closed her eyes contentedly. Before she could drift into a dream, she heard Mr. Xue's voice from not far away: "Xiao Yao?"

“…What?” Mo Xueyao rolled her eyes and opened them helplessly. By then, he had already walked to the bench.

"Why are you sitting here all alone?"

"I want to sleep for a while," Mo Xueyao glared at him, annoyed. "I'm a little sleepy."

"Did you go to bed very late last night?" Mr. Xue glanced at the bench, but ultimately decided not to sit down.

"It is indeed a bit late, yesterday was quite noisy..." Mo Xueyao opened her mouth to yawn, but only realized halfway through and covered her mouth with her hand. "Why are you standing there...? Is something the matter?"

"It's nothing, I was just passing by," Mr. Xue said with a gentle smile.

"Oh...then you can sit down."

"Are you alright? Weren't you going to sleep?"

"What's the big deal?" Mo Xueyao chuckled, seemingly finding Mr. Xue's excessive consideration for others somewhat comical. "I don't need that much space."

"it is good."

"There seems to be only one bench here, right?"

"Correct."

"Then enjoy the scenery..." Mo Xueyao waved her hand, chased away a bee that was flying around her, slid down slightly, and rested her head on the back of the bench.

Even with my eyes closed, I can still feel the brightness of the sunlight.

However, it's not annoying.

This must be the fun of sleeping during the day, right?

The warm sunshine was the best blanket. She was so sleepy that she almost forgot about Mr. Xue and fell asleep in a few breaths.

This time she really fell asleep.

The sound of the flowing water by the river seemed to be fading away, and the sounds from the outside world were no longer able to wake her. If Mr. Xue were to call her at this time, he would certainly not get a response.

He turned to look at her, then took a cigarette out of his pocket—

To be precise, they are cigarette-shaped candies.

This was given to him by other boys; it's sold in the small shops near the school gate.

On the surface it looks like a cigarette, but if you tear it open, you'll find little white candies inside, like button batteries.

This candy has a sour taste with a slightly sweet aftertaste. You can hold it in your mouth for quite a while, and it's cheap, making it very popular with students.

Besides this type, there is another type where the entire candy is shaped like a cigarette, rather than being disguised by packaging.

It's a long stick that looks like a cigarette, but you can actually chew it.

The only problem is that you have to finish the big ones in one go, unlike the smaller ones, which you can put in your pocket and wait a while before eating if you don't want to eat them anymore.

"Hmm..." Mr. Xue was quietly looking at the lake when Mo Xueyao unconsciously murmured something, her head slowly tilting to the left. Just as her body was about to fall, it tilted back, and the second time it subconsciously tilted towards Mr. Xue.

Within minutes, her head rested on his shoulder, then slowly slid down until she was lying on his lap, finally settling down.

Mr. Xue lowered his head slightly and glanced at her, then couldn't help but yawn, seemingly infected by Mo Xueyao's drowsiness.

When Li Wanyan found them, she discovered that one of them was lying on the other's lap, while the other was leaning back in a chair, sleeping soundly with his face up.

There were no other benches around, so it seemed like this was the only place to sit and lean against.

Li Wanyan stood to the side and watched for a full five minutes, seemingly lost in thought.

It wasn't until a squirrel darted past that she snapped out of her daze.

Li Wanyan gently poked Mo Xueyao's cheek, but the latter didn't react. She could only settle for second best and patted Mr. Xue's shoulder.

"Uh...!" Mr. Xue wasn't a deep sleeper; he was jolted awake by a few pats. "What's wrong?"

"It's time to gather, time for dinner." After saying that, Li Wanyan pressed her tongue against her teeth and gently scraped them.

"Oh, dinner's ready." Mr. Xue lowered his head, then looked up and smiled helplessly at Li Wanyan. "Looks like she's still sleeping."

"distant."

"Xiao Yao—wake up." Mr. Xue carefully placed his hand on Mo Xueyao's shoulder and gently shook her.

"Ugh... what are you talking about... how long has it been..." Mo Xueyao covered her eyes with her arm.

“It’s evening,” Li Wanyan replied.

"Oh dear, Wanyan's body is so soft, let me lie down a little longer..." Mo Xueyao muttered, causing the other two to exchange bewildered glances.

Li Wanyan smiled slightly and pinched her cheek: "I'm here."

"Huh? Eh? Two Wanyans?" Mo Xueyao opened her eyes groggily.

“And there’s another one, me,” Mr. Xue chuckled. “Ha, time to get up, isn’t it?”

"Get up, get up—" Mo Xueyao suddenly sat up, took a deep breath, and finally understood what had happened.

For the first few seconds, she didn't think anything of it.

Although it looks a little strange for a boy to lie on another boy's lap, they are, after all, the same sex...

Then, upon closer reflection, I remembered that I was a girl at that moment.

This reason made her feel somewhat embarrassed.

Even if Mr. Xue doesn't misunderstand, others will...

Having lived as a girl for a year, Mo Xueyao was well aware that she could no longer engage in such intimate actions with boys, not even her former best friends—at most, she could occasionally put her arm around their shoulders in a secluded place.

Even though it's the same person, the rules to follow are different depending on the gender.

Mo Xueyao felt her face getting slightly hot, but she didn't know whether it was because she was really shy or just a kind of performance.

"Did you sleep well?" Mr. Xue smiled calmly, seemingly unconcerned, and did not treat her with any special consideration because of her gender, which made her feel much more relaxed.

"Ah, I slept quite comfortably. I didn't expect Xiaoxue's legs to be so weak." Mo Xueyao coughed twice. "Okay, okay, let's go."

"Let's go." Li Wanyan turned around and walked in front.

Mo Xueyao quickened her pace to catch up and walked beside her: "Wanyan, are we going to sleep together again tonight?"

“I don’t mind,” Li Wanyan said softly, glancing at her sideways.

"Yinyin would definitely like to sleep together, and Lele too, since they both like being around people."

"Where's Yao Yao?"

"Me? Uh... I don't really care, but it's nice to have some fun." Mo Xueyao scratched her cheek sheepishly. "Today went by so fast."

"Because everyone is resting in the afternoon."

"Yeah, I took a nap and it felt like the whole day was over, like I didn't do anything..."

"Perhaps this is why great people always sleep less," Mr. Xue said with a smile.

"Well, time is more precious to them after all."

……

Chapter 82 Cooking by Fire

"Clatter—Clatter—Whoosh—" Mo Xueyao struck the match several times and finally lit it, then quickly threw it into the stove.

The feeling of lighting a fire with a match is completely different from that of lighting a fire with a lighter.

Although matches were invented later than lighters, using matches is still considered somewhat outdated by today's standards.

But in rural areas, matches seem to create a better atmosphere.

Most importantly, a match can be thrown in directly after it's lit, while a lighter requires lighting an ignition source before throwing it in, making it relatively simpler than a match.

Today, Mo Xueyao was in charge of starting the fire, mainly because she was interested in it, and of course, the weather was also quite cool.

After the sun sets, the wind only carries a chill. At this time, sitting by the campfire is incredibly comfortable—you feel warm all over, and you can even daydream for a long time just by watching the fire burn.

Cooking on a traditional earthen stove is difficult because the size of the fire is hard to control.

At most, the fire can be controlled by using bellows, but that's not very precise.

Therefore, rural dishes are mostly stir-fried, not only because it is efficient, but also because stir-frying only requires a strong fire and does not require other complicated operations.

Mo Xueyao broke off a few dry branches and added firewood to the fire. After the fire grew bigger and bigger, she picked up a few pieces of wood and stuffed them in.

You don't need to worry about the fire on this stove, since this is where you cook rice. Just keep the fire burning and don't let it go out. It's okay if it gets low later, since rice needs to be cooked by simmering.

The stove next to it needs to be constantly fueled with firewood; this is used for stir-frying, and it needs to be watched constantly.

Once both fires were lit and burning steadily, Mo Xueyao breathed a slight sigh of relief and looked up at Li Wanyan, calling out, "Is it alright now, Wanyan?"

“Okay.” Li Wanyan nodded, placed the washed vegetables on the cutting board, and then came the sound of very fast chopping, ‘da da da,’ with a rhythmic feel that made people feel particularly comfortable.

Hua Yinyin was responsible for assisting Li Wanyan. She was supposed to be the one chopping vegetables, but she was too slow, so Li Wanyan chopped the first dish herself.

Mo Xueyao is also the type who can't cut vegetables. She can cut them slowly, but if she wants to cut them quickly, evenly, and without cutting her hand... that's something she absolutely can't do.

“It seems like the other classes are learning from us too.” Li Wanyan had already started cooking, while Hua Yinyin slowly started chopping vegetables. She took a small stool and sat next to the stove, placing the cutting board on a slightly higher chair in front of her. She was actually very close to Mo Xueyao; otherwise, with all the noise mixed together, it would be impossible to hear what she was saying.

"Did they cooperate too?" Mo Xueyao took a small potato from Hua Yinyin, held it with pliers, and put it into the fire.