A Young Woman's Heart

For a long, long time... until Zhou Yong felt her heartbeat return to normal, he slowly withdrew his hand and took half a step back.

She held his hand tightly for a few seconds before letting go.

He finally got a good look at her face, saw the tear stains on her small face, her reddened eyes, and the confusion in her eyes.

Zhou Yong scratched his head, stood up, found the napkins on the table, took a few, and carefully held them out to her.

But her hand trembled, and the hand that was meant to wipe away her tears almost ended up in the other person's nostril.

"puff……"

"cough……"

"Pfft, pfft..." Tian Tingchan covered her mouth and finally couldn't help but laugh out loud, "What are you doing?"

"Oops, my hand slipped."

The pantomime finally ended, breaking the oppressive atmosphere, and the air in the room began to circulate again.

Tian Tingchan rolled her eyes at him; her large, bright almond-shaped eyes were still beautiful even when she rolled them.

"I'll do it myself."

"Okay... what's wrong today?"

"It's nothing." Tian Tingchan wiped away her tears as she walked to the cabinet and took out a band-aid. "I was just thinking about some sad things."

"Ah... I see." Zhou Yong's lips moved, but he didn't ask any further questions.

However, Tian Tingchan continued to speak to herself: "In the winter when I first entered university, my leg injury had not yet healed. It was also a very cold late autumn when I fell. But I could only go home by myself to reapply the medicine. I didn't even have the money to go to the hospital to check how my wound was."

"I see..."

“I was kicked out by my parents,” Tian Tingchan said with a bitter smile. “And when they left, they broke one of my legs.”

"This is too much...why?"

But at this moment, Tian Tingchan just smiled and stopped answering.

Zhou Yong knows that you shouldn't ask too many questions about things others don't want to talk about; this is an experience he has accumulated since childhood.

Because he really didn't want to see other people's impatient expressions anymore.

But he didn't consider that perhaps Tian Tingchan was too embarrassed to continue and was waiting for him to ask?

It was like facing a locked door, with Zhou Yong holding the key and standing at the door, waiting for the immobile owner to open it.

Neither side could possibly get any answers.

Tian Tingchan looked somewhat forlorn: "I'm always alone..."

The cut on her hand was like the last straw that broke the camel's back, plunging her into deep sorrow.

If Zhou Yong hadn't come today, she doesn't even know what she would have done.

However, perhaps the half-open door was left for him subconsciously?

In a sense, the two of them had a great understanding.

One instinctively feels that someone needs them, while the other yearns for someone to save them.

Zhou Yong had been scratching his head since earlier, feeling that the feeling was so close that he couldn't help but want to say those words and see her reaction.

For someone who had never been in a relationship, this sentence was incredibly tempting, yet equally difficult to utter.

"Cicada... I, um... uh, me..."

"You're not going to say you like me, are you?" Tian Tingchan interrupted him with a playful laugh.

"Uh!"

"Pfft, did I really guess right?"

"No, no, I mean, I should probably go now." Zhou Yong's shoulders slumped like a deflated balloon. "It's getting late."

"Mmm." Tian Tingchan smiled brightly. "Thank you for coming to keep me company."

"It's okay, it's okay. If you're lonely, just... find a boyfriend soon?" Zhou Yong felt his throat was a little dry. "Having someone to live with will always make things better, haha..."

"Hmm... I don't have one I like yet."

"Haha, then I wish you find someone you like." Zhou Yong waved his hand and walked out the door. Tian Tingchan didn't close the door until he entered the elevator.

"It's starting to feel like winter," Zhou Yong thought, touching the change in his pocket as he walked down the street. "Should I get a monthly pass?"

As he spoke, the smile on his face faded, he put his hands in his pockets, looked up at the sky with a melancholy expression, and then laughed self-deprecatingly: "Heh heh, I was just being delusional."

He quickly dismissed the faint sadness; in fact, he was prepared and not at all surprised, nor was he particularly disappointed.

And because he hasn't said a few words yet, he's still saving face, so they can continue to be friends in the future.

There's no need for men and women to be in a romantic relationship.

He said this to himself as he boarded the bus back.

As an ordinary person who couldn't be more ordinary, Zhou Yong had become accustomed to the feeling of wanting to do many things but being unable to.

After all, he's not the main character, so how could he possibly have his wishes fulfilled?

An ordinary person, after maturing, often learns to compromise, to only do what is within their capabilities, and to leave the rest to fate.

Failures are common, but successes are also plentiful, achieving at least a balance of about 1:3.

Ordinary people are never cared about whether they are sad or depressed.

Therefore, he is also good at regulating himself and knows how to make himself happy.

Zhou Yong hummed a song as he leaned against a pillar by the exit door.

To outsiders, he must be in a very good mood today.

"At least I've hugged a girl before," Zhou Yong thought to himself, his mood truly brightening, and a smile involuntarily spreading across his face. "Is this the first time in my life?"

Hugging a girl for the first time is definitely something that makes him happy.

"Waaaaah—waaaaah—" As soon as he got off the bus, he saw a little boy rubbing his eyes and crying. There were no parents with him, and he didn't know if the boy had come out alone.

"What's wrong? Why are you crying?" Zhou Yong asked with a light laugh, casually patting his head.

"Ugh..." the little boy sobbed, wiping away his tears, but he couldn't utter a single word.

I cried so hard that I kept sobbing.

"Ha, don't cry, think about something happy."

"Nothing...is happy..."

"How could there not be? There are always many happy things in life, it's just that you're always thinking about sad things, so you ignore them." Zhou Yong touched his last yuan and walked towards the tricycle selling snacks next to the station. "How about I treat you to some mochi?"

Ten mochi cost one yuan. The vendor would turn the handle while a large, cube-shaped machine 'spit' out the mochi. When they were about the right size, it would 'whoosh' cut them, letting them roll into a sand-like powdery seasoning. After turning them over a few times, the surface would be covered with this 'sand'. They would then be scooped up, placed in a disposable styrofoam box, and secured with two toothpicks before they were ready to eat.

"Here, want some?"

"..."

"Haha, take it, eat slowly." Zhou Yong patted his shoulder, gave him the whole thing, and then walked away alone.

This is probably just a small act of kindness from an ordinary person; it may not move others, but it's enough to move oneself for a long time.

In a sense, it can also be considered a realization of self-worth.

The autumn wind still carried a chill, but Zhou Yong's heart was warm.

……

Chapter 114 Harvest?

Sunday, August 22.

It rained a few times yesterday, but today is another sunny day.

The temperature rose slightly as a result. Mo Xueyao had just moved her armchair to the roof of the fruit shop and was sitting in the middle, swaying gently as she lazily basked in the sun.

Su Tang lay on her stomach, swaying along with it, its tail gently patting her arm again and again.

Lu Chengyuan was asking Li Wanyan for help with some points she didn't understand, because the midterm exams were next month. If she did poorly, she would definitely get a scolding, but if she did well, she might be able to ask her parents for a Christmas present.

Although Christmas isn't until the end of December.

Mo Xueyao's mother was harvesting the ripe vegetables with a small sickle. These were all homegrown, completely natural and pollution-free...

That's what she said.

But Mo Xueyao felt that planting them next to the street and exposing them to car exhaust every day, could they really be considered pollution-free?

Although the vegetables are all ripe, they don't look very big because they haven't been fertilized much, so they probably won't taste as good.

But none of that matters. Our family hasn't reached the point where we can't afford vegetables yet. My mother is just experiencing the process of growing vegetables.

The final harvest was an extra bonus.

The bright red peppers and tomatoes were placed together, looking very festive. A large bunch of long beans were also harvested, which looked like enough for at least one meal.

The white radish wasn't very big, and it looked round and plump. Even Mo Xueyao had to admit that it was indeed quite cute.

But she really couldn't stand white radishes.

It's extremely spicy when eaten raw, and has a strange, indescribable taste when cooked. Although she can eat it, she would never choose it if given other options.

We only harvested three large bottle gourds; the others seem to be malnourished. Although they are still edible, their taste is not what we're used to.

"Mom, did you grow vegetables when you were little?"

"What are you talking about? How could I not have farmed when I was a child?"

"Why are the melons you grow so ugly... and the harvest is so small?"

“We didn’t grow these vegetables much before. Back then, we didn’t even have enough staple food, let alone vegetables. We either grew sweet potatoes, taro, potatoes, or rice and wheat.” Her mother glared at her, annoyed. “I’m still gaining experience.”

"Ugh, starting to make excuses."

"You're so good at talking. Why are you just lying there all the time? I ask you to do something, but you won't. You have nothing to say."

"Okay, okay..." Mo Xueyao looked like she was surrendering. "I won't say anything, okay? I was just saying a few words, why are you so angry..."