A Young Woman's Heart

So she lost most of her interest in the book, leaned to the side, put on her headphones and listened to the cassette player, quietly waiting for the bus to 'set off'.

"Xiao Xi, have a can, just one beer, it's fine, come on, everyone's drinking, aren't you going to drink?" Li Hongran enthusiastically urged Huang Yuxi to drink, "You didn't drink last night, here, make up for it today, I'll give you two cans!"

"Um...!" Huang Yuxi was somewhat resistant, but in the end she couldn't resist Li Hongran's enthusiasm and accepted the two cans of beer. The other party even opened one can and handed it to her.

“Uh, forget it. Xiao Xi had a stomachache after drinking beer last time,” Zhou Yong advised from the side. “If he doesn’t want to drink, then forget it, Lao Li.”

"Tsk, what kind of man can't even drink? He'll learn after a few more tries!" Li Hongran's words were quite chauvinistic. "Look at Xiaoxi, people always say she's not manly or 'sissy,' but once she can drink, she'll become manly, okay?"

"Damn, manliness has little to do with being able to drink, right?" Zhou Yong shook his head helplessly, unable to persuade Li Hongran, "Besides, you can't force all men to be like you."

"That won't do. If men don't act like men, who will defend the country if war breaks out? Won't they all run away with the women?"

“Li Hongran, what you’re saying is wrong!” Cha Li heard this and turned around to argue, “There are many women who defend their country during wartime.”

"What I mean is, you have to have a manly temperament. A man should act like a man."

"What era are we living in? Still so chauvinistic." Cha Li snorted. "No wonder he can't find a girlfriend."

"Huh? That's because women don't know how to appreciate things."

"You should also look at your own reasons," Cha Li said, glancing at him sideways.

Sanhua Tongjue had been looking this way, and at this moment she couldn't help but stand up, picking up the can of beer that Huang Yuxi was holding, which had already been opened: "Beer, I'll drink it."

Then he gulped it down in his mouth and drank it all in one go.

“Hmm…” Huang Yuxi cast a grateful glance at her.

"Don't bully Xiaoxi." Sanhua Tongjue glared at Li Hongran with her hands on her hips. At this moment, she suddenly showed a bit of a delinquent girl's temperament. Although she was much smaller than him, she overwhelmed him in terms of aura.

"Ahem, what are you doing? I'm not arguing... I was just trying to be nice and share some wine..." Li Hongran coughed, whether out of politeness to the international friends and the girl, or because she was intimidated by her aura.

"Don't give it to someone who can't drink," Sanhua Tongjue said with dissatisfaction, handing the other can of beer back to Li Hongran before simply sitting down in the empty seat next to Huang Yuxi.

"Why does it seem like I did something wrong..." Li Hongran was completely unaware of her mistake.

"You were wrong to begin with." Zhou Yong was already exasperated. Fortunately, he was his best friend, so it was best to just say what he wanted to say. Whether Li listened or not was another matter. "Don't interfere in other people's business, Lao Li. You just like to meddle in other people's affairs."

"Tsk, fine, fine, I won't care about anything from now on, okay?"

“That’s not what we’re talking about. You can take care of things when it’s necessary. Don’t worry about anything else that’s unimportant.” Zhou Yong patted Li Hongran on the shoulder. “Alright, alright, sit down. I’ll drink with you if you want.”

"You said that? Hey, watch me drink you under the table!" Li Hongran immediately became interested.

"You two shouldn't be unable to hold it in the car later," Gao Yuan joked. "If the car starts moving, you won't have anywhere to go to the toilet."

"What are you afraid of? Just open the window and start scattering!"

"You're already drunk before you've even had a drink?"

The students burst into laughter.

Huang Yuxi held up the whiteboard in her hand and wrote the word "thank you" on it. She first showed it to Sanhua Tongjue, and then, when Li Hongran was not paying attention, she secretly handed it to Zhou Yong, who was sitting diagonally opposite her.

"Uh, it's nothing." Zhou Yong scratched his cheek sheepishly, seemingly a little embarrassed.

After watching him thank others, Sanhua Tongjue said softly, "Xiaoxi, you need to learn to refuse others. You can't just go along with them."

"Um..." Huang Yuxi smiled shyly, "I just don't know how to refuse."

Sometimes you just have to... um... be a little bolder.

"Is it because you're a little thick-skinned?"

"Hmm, yes, that's what I mean."

"I guess I've gotten used to it..."

"So we need to start changing now, and from now on we need to be good at saying 'No' to others!"

"NO." Huang Yuxi wrote the two letters on the whiteboard, and then couldn't help but laugh.

Half an hour later, the rain finally subsided considerably, and the bus was started up, meaning it was time to depart.

"Everyone, sit down, we're about to leave. Let's double-check that we haven't forgotten anything..." Ye Wen reminded everyone from the front.

Having just drunk a few cans of beer, Li Hongran and Zhou Yong immediately shouted in unison, "Awen, I need to go to the toilet!"

"Also, anyone who needs to use the restroom, go quickly. I'll take attendance after you're done, and we can't leave until everyone is here."

Half an hour is neither a long nor a short time, but Mo Xueyao still decided to go to the toilet.

It's not that I couldn't hold it in any longer, but just in case. After all, we don't know how long the drive back will take, and girls aren't as convenient as boys, so it's better to take care of things beforehand to avoid any awkwardness later.

Of course, another important point in getting through the long car ride is to get some sleep.

Once you fall asleep, you won't feel the urge to urinate so quickly...

After everyone had been called and confirmed to have arrived, the bus slowly began to move forward.

The mountain road was difficult to drive on in the heavy rain, and the occasional oncoming traffic made the journey even slower.

Mo Xueyao looked at the rain outside the window, but surprisingly, she didn't feel sleepy at all.

Perhaps because the car was going so slowly, the ride didn't feel very bumpy.

It was usually the bumpy ride that made her fall asleep—like lying in a cradle.

Suddenly, she felt something heavy leaning against her shoulder. She glanced to the side and saw that it was Li Wanyan.

The book in her hand fell to the ground, and her breathing became even and gentle; she appeared to be asleep.

Mo Xueyao carefully picked up the books from the ground and placed them on her lap. Li Wanyan was a little uncomfortable because of her large movements, so she readjusted her position and then calmed down.

—I just leaned on her shoulder.

At that moment, the next classical-style pure piano piece began playing in Mo Xueyao's headphones:

Its name is "Journey of Joy".

……

Chapter Ninety-Two: Zhuang Lianlian's Waiting

Six days of agricultural training may not seem like a long time, but Zhuang Lianlian felt her heart growing emptier each day.

"Uncle, it's Saturday today. Chen Cheng should be back by now, right?" Zhuang Lianlian asked, biting her lip as she helped knead the dough at the noodle shop.

"Yes, I'm back today. Oh, time flies." Old Chen had a cigarette in his mouth, but didn't light it.

"Is it fast..." Zhuang Lianlian didn't feel that time was passing quickly at all, especially today, when time seemed to be passing particularly slowly. She would glance at the clock on the wall from time to time, and keep thinking about questions like 'Why hasn't Chen Cheng gotten home yet?'

The rain was still falling, and there weren't many customers in the noodle shop, but it was almost never completely empty, which was quite good for a noodle shop that had only been open for a short time.

Actually, many of them are regular customers of this noodle shop. Although the noodles are not as good as the original shop, the hygiene is much better. As a result, the regular customers are quite satisfied. If they continue to maintain this, these regular customers from the previous noodle shop will become regular customers of this noodle shop.

Running a food business is basically like a rolling gear; as long as you keep going, you can keep moving forward with inertia, and your income will generally remain at a relatively stable level.

Logically, Chen Cheng should have returned to school by noon, but it was already 1 p.m. and he still hadn't come back.

Zhuang Lianlian had just finished cooking noodles for a customer when Old Chen was smoking in front of the rain curtain outside the door.

She would glance at the doorway every now and then, waiting for that person to appear.

"Isn't he back yet?" She fidgeted anxiously with her hands, looking restless.

"Haha, I've waited five days, what's a few more hours? Maybe the rain is too heavy and there's a traffic jam on the road." Old Chen only had one cigarette butt left in his hand, but he still reluctantly threw it on the ground when the cigarette was almost burning his hand.

"Um……"

After a long silence, the last guest left, and no new guests arrived yet. Zhuang Lianlian continued to stare blankly, without clearing the table.

Suddenly, the shop's landline rang.

"Hello?" Zhuang Lianlian, who was sitting next to her, answered the phone almost subconsciously.

"Dad, oh...is it Lianlian?"

"Hmm... Chen Cheng?"

"Um, tell my dad that it's raining too hard and I forgot my umbrella on the bus. Could you bring me an umbrella?"

“Okay…” Zhuang Lianlian’s spirits lifted immediately. She happily hung up the phone and stood up from her chair.

Whose call was it?

"Chen Cheng, you need to send him an umbrella."

Where is his umbrella?

"They've gotten off the train."

"Hey, this kid, his memory is still so bad, he's always so absent-minded." Old Chen said irritably, "Then I'll go deliver the umbrella, Lianlian, could you please watch the shop?"

"Hmm...no." Zhuang Lianlian grabbed the long-handled umbrella that was by the door. "I'll go."

"You're going? It's raining so hard, it must be difficult for you to walk, right?" Old Chen looked at Zhuang Lianlian's right leg. "It would be troublesome if you fell on the road."

"No, it's okay...!" Zhuang Lianlian blushed slightly, but still insisted, "I'll just walk slower."

"..." Old Chen stared at her for a long time, then couldn't help but burst into laughter, his expression showing a hint of relief. "Alright, then go ahead."

"Thank you, Uncle!" Zhuang Lianlian happily opened her umbrella and walked out of the noodle shop.

While inside the store, the rain didn't seem too heavy, but when the raindrops fell densely on the umbrella, the rapid tapping sound made you truly feel just how heavy the rain was.

The road in the distance was blurred by the rain. She walked carefully. Compared to her healthy leg, her other prosthetic leg had no sense of touch. In this rainy weather, she couldn't immediately notice if she was slipping. So she had to spend some of her attention watching her feet.

The cold, rainy day caused her old wounds to ache again.

It felt like I was back in time, just two weeks after my amputation.

This also made her feel weak, and she started to walk with a limp.

Normally, as long as she doesn't walk too fast, no one will notice that she has a prosthetic leg on her right side.

But we've already gone halfway, and there's no way we can turn back now.

Zhuang Lianlian could only bite her lip and walk forward slowly at twice the speed of a normal person.

The thought of Chen Cheng getting impatient made her quicken her pace, but she would immediately have to slow down due to the worsening pain.

"Ugh!" She was a little distracted and almost fell over. Fortunately, there was a wall next to her, which allowed her to use friction to quickly steady herself. However, the rough wall also cut her delicate palms, causing a little blood to seep out from her palms.