A Young Woman's Heart

The large sign for "Zhejiang Cancer Hospital" is placed on the rooftop.

With a coordinate, Mo Xueyao followed it downwards and quickly found Grandma Jin's general store and her own fruit shop.

"It looks so small from here." Hua Yinyin shielded her eyes from the sun with one hand. "Yeah, I can see it, but the people don't seem very clear."

"Of course you can't see clearly from that far away." Mo Xueyao twisted her waist, and her joints made a soft 'crack' sound.

“It seems someone has been inside the cabin,” Li Wanyan said calmly, standing in front of the cabin, since the sign and bricks that had been placed at the door had been removed.

"It's been so long, it's normal for someone to go in." Hua Yinyin was already mentally prepared, and as she spoke, she pushed open the dilapidated door.

Newspapers were scattered all over the floor. Because the vents were still properly blocked, there wasn't much dust inside. The little bit of air probably blew in through the gaps in the door that couldn't be closed completely.

The legs of the wooden table had been chopped off, leaving only a tabletop lying on the ground, and the chairs were nowhere to be found.

"What a mess..." Mo Xueyao leaned closer for a look. "As expected, this place isn't 'secret' enough."

"There's nothing we can do about it. Where are we going to find a real 'secret base' in the city?"

So, where should we eat?

“The pavilion.” Li Wanyan pointed to the pavilion not far away. It was about a five or six-minute walk away. It was a newly built pavilion in recent years, made of reinforced concrete. However, in order to simulate the appearance of wood, it was painted red. Even though several years have passed, you can still smell the paint when you get close.

Since they didn't plan to stay overnight, the three of them only brought some snacks that would fill their stomachs.

For example, bread, duck legs, etc.

The time spent climbing the mountain is actually much longer than the time spent on the mountain.

The scenery is most beautiful when you first go up the mountain, but it gets boring after a while.

Even if we stay longer, it won't be primarily for sightseeing.

Mo Xueyao tore open a package containing a braised egg with the words "country bumpkin" written on it and put it into the instant noodle cup that had just been opened.

"Huh, Xiao Yaoyao even brought a thermos of water?"

"Yeah, that's why I came up here to eat instant noodles," Mo Xueyao said smugly. "I guess I really need to eat some staple food for lunch."

"Sly little Yaoyao, I want one too!"

"Who told you not to bring your own thermos? I only have one cup of instant noodles, and there's only enough water here for one cup."

"Let me have a bite!"

"Let's talk about it after it's soaked..."

"Hey, I'll share this with you, a big, country bumpkin chicken leg! In exchange, I'll give you half of my instant noodles!"

“Uh…” Mo Xueyao hesitated.

This huge chicken leg costs much more than a cup of instant noodles, but if you cut the instant noodles in half, there's not much left.

"Little Yaoyao, you don't think that's enough, do you? You're too greedy!"

"Well, how should we divide it?"

"Hmm...easy, just pour it into my water glass." Hua Yinyin drank the remaining water in her glass in one gulp. "Such a wide opening should be big enough to pour it in, right?"

"It should be possible..."

Li Wanyan watched the two 'transaction' from the side, while she ate a corn cob that was only slightly warm.

"Would you like Wanyan?" Mo Xueyao asked quickly, afraid of neglecting her.

"Need not."

The three of them sat on the edge of the pavilion, gazing down the mountain as they ate their lunch.

Time seemed to flow exceptionally slowly for them at that moment.

The world was exceptionally peaceful for them at that moment.

"Oh dear, there won't be many more days like this to come," Hua Yinyin suddenly remarked.

"what?"

"Think about it, we're already in our second year of high school. We'll be very busy in our third year. After graduation, we'll go to university. The first year will be a bit easier, but then it will get busy again. Once we start our internships, it will feel like we're really working. And after graduating from university, we'll be entering the workforce... We'll be busy all the time, and all we'll want to do when we get home is sleep."

"Hmm...that's true. By then, will we still get together often?" Mo Xueyao gently swung her legs.

"I don't know, but let's keep in touch!"

"...Don't make it sound like we're graduating soon, okay? It's only the first semester of our junior year." She said irritably, but then she remembered saying the same thing to many friends in junior high, and how many of them she still kept in touch with.

"Let's keep in touch" is probably the kindest lie that acquaintances tell each other before parting ways.

“There will still be many opportunities in the future,” Li Wanyan said softly, rubbing Mo Xueyao’s shoulder. “I hope these peaceful days can continue.”

"It's too peaceful, it feels so boring." Hua Yinyin stretched like a big cat and lay down on the bench. "Life really does need a little excitement, right? Ups and downs, isn't that more interesting?"

“I don’t think that’s meaningful at all.” Mo Xueyao glanced at her sideways. “Ordinary people’s lives are best lived peacefully and uneventfully. Ups and downs mean you might lose something. We’re not the protagonists of a novel, where the author makes up for what we lose, or some magical being saves us or something.”

"What kind of dramatic ups and downs does Yinyin want?" Li Wanyan asked more probingly.

"Well, for example, if the mainland goes to war and unifies the whole country, or if there is civil turmoil in the United States."

"That's all due to the international situation..."

"If it were someone I knew... I hope I could win the lottery! The kind that makes five million! That way I wouldn't have to work for the rest of my life!" Hua Yinyin said with great anticipation.

"These are all good things, not bad things at all." Mo Xueyao supported herself with one hand and leaned back slightly.

"If something bad happens... well, like falling down or scraping your skin, or something like that?"

"It's not even in the same league as the good thing you just mentioned, okay?"

"Well—so as long as there's good news, that's fine."

"What kind of ups and downs is that!" Mo Xueyao pinched her cheek angrily. "To put it bluntly, you just want to live a more carefree life!!"

"Hehe~"

……

Chapter Ninety-Six: The Out-of-Control Truck

Even under a cloudless sky, there are still shadows.

"Whew, it's actually a bit chilly where the sun doesn't reach." Hua Yinyin darted out of the shadows. "It's much warmer in the sun."

"After all, it's already October 9th, the weather is getting cooler, and we'll soon be entering late autumn."

"Does Xiaoyao like late autumn?"

"Hmm... I quite like it. I mainly like the feeling of fallen leaves, preferably on an empty street with fallen leaves all over the ground. The desolate feeling hits you right away."

"Tsk tsk, why do you all always think autumn is bleak and lonely? I still think autumn is a happier season than spring—because autumn is the harvest season!"

"It's just my personal feeling... I guess you're just carefree," Mo Xueyao teased.

Li Wanyan, standing to the side, couldn't help but smile slightly.

"Wanyan is secretly laughing!" Hua Yinyin caught the moment. "How am I heartless!"

"do not you?"

"I am very sensitive and have a delicate heart."

"Don't give me that." Mo Xueyao grabbed a pine nut from the ground and threw it at her. "If you're so delicate, then there's no one in this world who's thick-skinned!"

"Tsk, I think it's Xiaoyao who's heartless."

"You're turning the tables on me now?"

"Otherwise, why would he always be so carefree?"

"That's because... uh..." Mo Xueyao almost blurted out, then suddenly realized that among her classmates, only Li Wanyan knew about her situation.

“Because Yaoyao and Yinyin are the same.” Li Wanyan finished the sentence for her.

"That's more like it! That's why I'm attracted to you! We're birds of a feather!"

"I don't smell bad." Mo Xueyao rolled her eyes and pushed away the small face that had come close to her.

The saying "going up a mountain is easy, going down a mountain is hard" doesn't hold true for young people or for mountains with steps.

When they came down the mountain, Mo Xueyao and Hua Yinyin skipped and hopped down the mountain. They were much faster and more relaxed than when they came up the mountain. They didn't feel tired at all and didn't need to rely on willpower to keep going.

He didn't even sweat much.

"I heard they're going to turn that lake into a reservoir soon." Mo Xueyao stood halfway up the mountain, gazing at the clear lake below.

"Convert it into a reservoir? What about the surrounding villages? Or are there no plans to expand it?"

"It will definitely be expanded. As for the village, it will probably be moved."

"Hmm, there are fewer and fewer urban villages these days." Hua Yinyin ruffled Mo Xueyao's short hair. "Right, Wanyan?"

“They’ve all been torn down.” Li Wanyan sighed softly.

As cities continue to develop, urban villages will inevitably disappear, and perhaps even rural areas will disappear. All the suburbs we see today will eventually become part of the city.

There will no longer be any empty areas between cities; instead, they will be closely connected.

While people's lives will become much more convenient, the leisurely rural lifestyle and natural scenery will gradually diminish.

Mo Xueyao seemed to understand why Li Wanyan sighed, so she also sighed.

"Sigh." Hua Yinyin was the third to sigh.

"Why are you sighing?" Mo Xueyao couldn't help but laugh.

"I see you're all sighing, so I'll sigh too, so it'll look neater."

"So you're the most heartless one here!" Mo Xueyao put her arm around her shoulder, as if she were joking around with an old best friend.

Perhaps among girls, only when I'm with her do I feel a bit like a brother.

The three of them did not go down from where they came from, but instead walked from the middle of the mountain to the adjacent middle of the mountain, and then came out from the park on the middle of the mountain.

Although only two hours had passed since lunch, the aroma of spiced tofu at the park entrance made Mo Xueyao's mouth water again.

"Five-spice tofu!" She wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth, scurried over, and stood in front of the small tricycle.