A Young Woman's Heart

The deer that had seen her earlier was walking alongside her from a distance, as if they had reached some unspoken understanding.

It wasn't snowing, but a chilly atmosphere still lingered in the air.

She walked on the road, which was completely free of snow, and couldn't help but put her hands in her pockets.

She exhaled puffs of white breath, watching the little bird that kept stopping in front of her, like a guiding spirit pointing her in the right direction.

It seemed as if all of humanity in the world had vanished, leaving her only with a desolate, empty silence.

In this cold, snowy land, where even time seems to be frozen.

The uphill road wasn't steep, but that's why the journey was so long.

But she eventually reached the villa on the mountaintop.

The courtyard gate was open, and the grass, which still grew vigorously in the freezing cold, was covered with snowflakes. There were a few plum blossom-shaped footprints on it, as if animals had been here.

"Is anyone home...?" She knocked gently on the door, but no one answered. However, the half-open door slowly slid open, revealing a brightly lit interior.

The tables, the stove... all the furniture was covered with a thick layer of dust, as if to prove that no one had lived here for a long time.

For some reason, there is still electricity here, creating the illusion that someone still lives here.

As she climbed the stairs, she opened one door after another, but saw no one.

The feeling of loneliness wasn't strong; it was more of a mix of doubt and curiosity.

What exactly happened here, and where exactly is this place?

Overwhelmed by drowsiness, Mo Xueyao found a room to sleep in and casually pressed the alarm clock on the bedside table—she didn't want to oversleep; in such icy and snowy conditions, daytime was more suitable for traveling.

Even though she didn't know her destination, she knew she should find a place where there were people.

However, when she opened her eyes again, she was no longer in that little house.

The surrounding area was still covered in snow, but the brand-new roads and intact houses that had been there before were gone, replaced by broken roads and ruins of houses...

The trees in the surrounding jungle have grown even more lush than before, with many even growing into the middle of the road.

Beside her was a bridge spanning the sea, and another island in the distance remained forgotten.

The bridge was swaying and looked like it had been in disrepair for years. She stepped on it carefully, feeling a little more at ease.

At least for people, it is relatively stable.

Mo Xueyao didn't feel hungry; she just kept crossing bridge after bridge.

All that's left are ruins.

She saw enormous, unidentified machinery lying on the mountainside, and also some missile fragments...

However, no body was found.

This time, she fell asleep again in the ruins of a villa.

The once glamorous villa has now turned into a dark and gloomy place.

After lifting the sheets, there wasn't much dust, but there was a draft somewhere, which made her sleep restlessly.

This sleep was exceptionally long; she tried to wake up several times in the darkness, but failed.

When I woke up again, the scenery around me had changed.

All the buildings and hillsides have disappeared, leaving only a large pile of gray building blocks.

They were all the same size, clustered together, some forming a slope, others looking like a tall building broken in half.

There was no food, no tools, no broken weapons... only these scattered gray building blocks.

Even the sky was gray.

This time, Mo Xueyao couldn't even fall asleep.

She sat there, hugging her knees, seemingly with nowhere else to go.

An overwhelming sense of loneliness finally welled up in my heart.

Her memories gradually resurfaced.

I can't understand why I'm here.

She should be with Hua Yinyin and Li Wanyan...

At this moment, she missed Hua Yinyin's noisy voice terribly. If she were here, it wouldn't be so deserted.

It felt like billions of years had passed.

However, nothing will change here.

What was I doing before I got here?

She muttered to herself.

"...It seems like it's time to go to sleep."

"sleep……"

As if a hole had been pierced in a window screen, she suddenly woke up. When she looked up, she found herself in a world full of ruins. The dilapidated bridges were still swaying, and the sound of an alarm clock suddenly rang in her ears.

"Ring ring ring—"

She closed her eyes, took another deep breath, and sat up to find herself in that warm little house with water and electricity; the thick layer of dust still looked so real.

It turned out that the alarm clock in the cabin had gone off.

No matter what I do, I can't turn off the alarm.

Hua Yinyin's whispers reached her ears, like a lifeline, grasped by her invisible spirit, finally freeing her from the quagmire of this dream.

"Ha-hoo-ha-!" Even though no monsters appeared and there were no scary scenes, Mo Xueyao still felt like she had a terrifying nightmare. The scariest part was probably that she might never wake up.

"Little Yaoyao...do you guys usually get up this early?" Hua Yinyin muttered, turning over in bed. "It's not even dawn yet, let's sleep a little longer..."

"Tsk, get up!" Although Mo Xueyao was still very sleepy, she dared not sleep any longer, for fear that she would fall back into that dream.

Even Li Wanyan hadn't gotten up yet; she was still sleepy and struggling to stay in bed.

Mo Xueyao originally thought that she would get up whenever she felt like it every day and wouldn't struggle like this.

I never imagined that even she would find herself in this situation during winter.

But she didn't struggle for long. After Mo Xueyao finished washing up, she stood at the door, rubbing her eyes.

"What happened yesterday? Did you have a nightmare?" Li Wanyan covered her mouth and yawned, asking softly.

"Yeah, I had a nightmare, and it was a dream within a dream within a dream. I was all alone in the whole dream..." Mo Xueyao rubbed her temples. "This dream is more tiring than not sleeping at all."

"Pfft, oh dear, does Little Yao Yao really still hold a grudge about what happened yesterday?"

"You're awake—" Mo Xueyao glanced sideways at Hua Yinyin, who had run over in her pajamas. "Aren't you cold?"

"It's alright. I wash up first before getting dressed; it's my habit!"

"What did I say yesterday?" Mo Xueyao tilted her head and slapped her forehead. "Hmm... what was it again...?"

"Yesterday at the end, I said, 'Little Yao Yao always complains about me. Next time, if no one talks to you, I won't talk to you either. Let's see if you're scared then!'"

“Eh…” Mo Xueyao finally remembered what she had said before going to sleep.

As the saying goes, what you think about during the day, you dream about at night. Perhaps she really did have this worry in her subconscious, which is why she had that strange, lonely dream where she was all alone.

People who are used to liveliness may find it really hard to accept the quietness around them.

"Alright, alright, stop talking about that. Hurry up and wash up, let's get going. The buses are usually empty in the morning, Yinyin, you've probably never ridden one before!"

"Of course I've ridden it! It's just that I haven't ridden it that many times."

It was Monday morning.

The rain is still falling outside.

It seems like it's been raining for several days in a row.

The platform was unusually deserted today; there were only the three of them waiting for the train.

The stall selling nutritious breakfasts next to the station is probably the earliest one every day; she's already there before the other stall owners even arrive.

However, the food in this nutritious breakfast is all steamed or boiled. If you want fried or pan-fried food, you'll have to go to another breakfast shop.

While waiting for the bus, Mo Xueyao bought a piece of red date cake to try.

"Is it good?" Hua Yinyin asked curiously. "I never buy it from the breakfast stalls because the taste is too bland."

"Why eat something so strong-flavored for breakfast?" Mo Xueyao took a bite of the jujube cake. "It smells like jujubes, it's delicious, do you want to try it?"

"Then break off a piece for me to try?"

"Here." Mo Xueyao immediately broke off a piece and held it to her lips.

Li Wanyan watched from the side, her eyes flickering.

"How about it?"

"So-so...?" Hua Yinyin still preferred strong-flavored food. In the end, after getting off the unusually empty bus, she bought a plate of fried noodles at a breakfast shop near the school gate—with lots of soy sauce and chili.

"When did you start liking spicy food so much?" Mo Xueyao asked, somewhat surprised.

"Hmm...it's probably been recently? I feel like I can handle a lot of spicy food now, I'm kind of addicted to it, chili peppers are the essence!"

"The taste of the food is all masked by the chili peppers, isn't it..." Mo Xueyao rolled her eyes and tried to push open the small door, but found that she couldn't move it no matter what she did.

"what……?"

"It's so dark, hasn't the security guard come yet?"

"That's impossible. He usually arrives around this time, and some people work the night shift too..."

Li Wanyan took out the small alarm clock that Mo Xueyao always carried with her from her pocket, checked the time, and frowned suspiciously: "The alarm clock at home might be too fast; it's only 5:30 now."

"...So we left home around 4:40?"

"That's possible."

"Tsk tsk, thanks to Xiaoyaoyao for letting me experience school at 5:30."

"Stop being sarcastic! How would I know?"

……