A Young Woman's Heart

"Hmm! But, would you like to take a shower before changing?"

"Want to take a shower at Xiaoyao's house?" The closest place to the school is Mo Xueyao's family's fruit shop.

"Just ask Haruka where she usually showers, right? Then we can shower and change together~"

"Yes, that's fine."

"Hmm...can it fit in my backpack?"

"Put it in a bag and carry it."

"Hmm, that's a good idea. By the way, would anyone else do that? It seems like we forgot to discuss clothes today."

"I think everyone would have thought of that, right?" Mo Xiaoxiao said, a little unsure. "It's okay, you'll look good even if you wear your school uniform."

"Hmm—right, I've been wearing our school uniform for so long that I've forgotten that other schools only have those tracksuit-like uniforms."

"Mmm." Mo Xiao's laughter grew softer and softer. "Go to sleep, Youyou, I'm really sleepy..."

"Okay, okay! Sleep—!" Mo Zhuyou took a deep breath, put her head back on the pillow, and then pressed her little face against her sister's. The other sister's breathing became very clear, and her warm breath occasionally brushed against her little face.

"breathe--"

The younger sister imitated her older sister's breathing rhythm, seemingly trying to synchronize with her. Perhaps finding the attempt childish and funny, she couldn't help but laugh out loud, which of course completely disrupted the rhythm.

"Pfft—" Mo Xiaoxiao couldn't help but laugh along, "Alright, Youyou—go to sleep."

"I'm going to sleep!" Mo Zhuyou nodded vigorously, turning her head to the other side, but the back of her head was still pressed against her sister's, and she could feel the warmth of the other's cheek.

The moonlight shone through the thin clouds again, and the stars in the sky surrounded it, quietly watching the two sisters who had already fallen asleep.

The silhouettes of the distant mountains and trees also stopped swaying, as if everything held its breath, guarding this small patch of tranquility for them.

Chapter 163 The So-Called Social Gathering (Part 1)

December 17, 2000, Friday, sunny.

When the bell rang at 2:50, the students who were still in class on the playground immediately rushed to their classrooms. Some of them were prepared in advance and picked up their schoolbags that they had left outside the basketball court fence or on the flower bed behind them and ran directly out of the school.

For students at Yukong High School, Friday is like a half-day off, and if they don't make the most of it, that half-day will be wasted.

"Little Yaoyao, let's go~!" Hua Yinyin's voice came from afar. Mo Xueyao, who was sitting in the sunlight in a daze, was stunned for a moment before she came back to her senses.

"Are you going so early?"

"Yes, we need to prepare in advance!"

Today, I arranged a time with the second-year high school students from the High School Affiliated to Zhejiang University for a so-called music exchange and friendship event.

After negotiation, the location was changed to a private room in a restaurant next to the canal.

The agreed time was to meet at six o'clock. Although it was still early, the girls always had a lot to do, and the journey was not short, so there wasn't much time to waste.

"Um, actually, I'm a little nervous..." Wang Jiale excitedly rubbed her hands together.

"What's wrong? You're nervous about meeting guys?" Mo Xueyao glanced at her sideways. "Besides, it's not necessarily all guys going, right? Didn't we say before that some girls might come along?"

"Yes, but... after all, they are students from a top-tier high school!"

"Tch, what's so special about a top-tier high school?" Hua Yinyin patted Mo Xueyao on the shoulder. "If Xiaoyaoyao hadn't had heart surgery back then, she would have gone to No. 14 High School long ago! Zhejiang University High School isn't even ranked as high as No. 14 High School!"

Hangzhou No. 14 High School is the fourth-ranked key high school in this area.

However, it has an embarrassing ranking: it has consistently been fourth.

When people talk about the best high schools in Hangzhou, they usually mention the top three: No. 2 High School, Xuejun High School, and Hangzhou High School. However, this school is not mentioned.

It only appears on the list when the top eight universities are mentioned.

However, although the fourth and third are only slightly different, people always talk about the top three instead of the top four, and there are reasons for this. Mainly, many students who can get into the top three can go on to Zhejiang University, and every year these three universities also produce students who get into Tsinghua and Peking Universities, and even top scorers in the college entrance examination...

“But I’m not Xiaoyao,” Wang Jiale pouted. “No matter what, the top high schools are better than our regular high schools…”

“Strictly speaking, we should call it ‘Superior High School’.” Mo Zhuyou walked over, biting her finger, and walked side by side with everyone toward the classroom. “Regular High School refers to all public high schools.”

"That's the new standard, right? Anyway, we used to call them regular high schools and key high schools." Mo Xueyao scratched her cheek, not really caring about the difference. "It's just a name, it doesn't matter what we call them."

This time, the invitation allowed for more people to go, so Mo Xueyao invited Li Wanyan and Lu Chengyuan as well, and Mo Zhuyou naturally invited her sister along as well.

Just as Mo Xueyao reached the classroom door, she was almost bumped into by Liu Xiaowei who rushed out.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

"Hehe, I'm in a hurry to play games!" Liu Xiaowei shouted confidently.

"Are you alright?" Gao Yuan, who had run out from behind, asked with an embarrassed smile.

"It's okay, we didn't get hit."

"That's good." Gao Yuan immediately ran downstairs without looking back, followed by Zhou Yong.

It wasn't long after he mentioned it to Taiyin that the whole class knew he was going to study abroad in his senior year of high school.

Perhaps because he knew they were about to part ways, he cherished his time at Yukong High School even more, and he went to arcades and internet cafes with others more and more frequently.

The girls marched in a large group toward Mo Xueyao's fruit shop, accompanied by a boy named Mr. Xue.

Only Wang Jiale and Sanhua Tongjue, whose homes weren't far away, planned to go home to shower and change, giving everyone more time to wait in line for showers.

This was truly a wonderful experience for the children.

He contacted people outside the school to exchange ideas and learn together, which made him seem quite grown up.

Children always enjoy experiencing what it's like to be an adult, but in reality, many people miss their childhood selves after they grow up.

They were noisy and disruptive along the way, and even stopped to buy some snacks. Mo Xueyao was puzzled: "If we eat now, won't we be unable to eat dinner later?"

“That’s why we should eat now!” Lu Chengyuan replied matter-of-factly.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Mo Xiao smiled and covered her mouth, explaining, "I mean, I want to act like I have a small appetite later, so that others won't think I'm not ladylike enough, like a big eater."

"Tch, what's the big deal?" Mo Xueyao rolled her eyes in annoyance. "What era are we living in? Men and women are equal now. Why care so much about what others think? Does eating more mean you're ill-mannered?"

“Decades ago, even a decade or so ago, that was really the case.” Mo Xiao smiled and smoothed Mo Xueyao’s long hair. “After all, many old habits aren’t so easy to change.”

“We’re not from the older generation, why do we have so many bad habits?” Mo Xueyao said bluntly. “As long as it doesn’t violate basic manners, it’s fine! Really.”

“Actually, boys also have a lot of rules to follow. In a way, it’s a kind of dynamic gender balance, right?” Mo Zhuyou leaned closer and placed her sister’s other hand on her head, as if she wanted her sister to touch it too.

"I need to save room for later, otherwise our money would be wasted."

"Pay money?" Lu Chengyuan was taken aback. "Um... usually it's the guys who pay, right?"

"What?! We absolutely have to split the bill! Why should girls have to pay? Are we some kind of pets that can only be kept by others?"

Li Wanyan agreed with Mo Xueyao's words, and Hua Yinyin, who was standing next to her, also raised her arms and shouted, "That's right, Xiao Yaoyao is right!"

—It would look more realistic if she wiped the grease off her lips.

The road to the fruit shop wasn't far to begin with, and with a group of people chatting as they walked, it was even faster.

"Dad! Where's Mom?"

"She went to help out at the noodle shop because it was busy." The father was leisurely pruning the flowers when he saw a large group of girls enter the shop. His face immediately lit up with a smile. "Oh, so many girls have come? This isn't a social gathering, it's a blind date!"

"What? There are girls on the other side too."

"Hahaha, there are definitely not as many of you going!" the father said with a loud laugh. "Xiaoyao, go find Aunt Jin... and get the keys from your Grandma Jin. With so many people, don't make a mess of her house. It has to be the same when we arrive and the same when we leave, understand?"

"Okay!" Mo Xueyao turned around and told the others to wait a moment, then she crossed the small road and ran to the grocery store on the other side.

Zhuang Lianlian wasn't in the shop either—which makes sense, since even Mo Xueyao's mother went to help, let alone her.

Grandma Jin was alone in the shop, leisurely rocking in a rocking chair. There was some loose change on the table, which seemed to have been given by customers who had come to buy things earlier. She hadn't put it back in the drawer yet.

"Grandma Jin! There are many of us here today. We need to come to your house to take a shower and change our clothes, is that alright?"

"Of course you can," Grandma Jin said with a cheerful smile. "Here's the key."

"Yes!" Mo Xueyao didn't stand on ceremony, but before leaving, she still exchanged pleasantries, "Is Lianlian helping out next door too?"

"Her? She's at home taking care of Xiao Chen's wife."

The "Little Chen" here actually refers to Old Chen, but Grandma Jin is much older than him, so of course she wouldn't call him "Old Chen" anymore.

It seems that Chen Cheng's mother is sick, and Zhuang Lianlian went back to take care of her.

No wonder Mo Xueyao's mother had to help out today—after all, it's generally impossible to be so busy that four or five people need to work in the store.

Mo Xueyao didn't ask any further questions, because it was just a trivial matter in life.

After borrowing the key from Grandma Jin, everyone headed to her house in a large group.

"Isn't Xiaoxue going?"

"Hmm, I don't need to change my clothes." Mr. Xue smiled. Perhaps it was because he, as a boy, didn't have this habit, or perhaps he really didn't care what he wore to the meeting. Besides, the boys' uniform at Yukong High School was somewhat similar to a suit, so wearing it wouldn't make him look old-fashioned.

When girls collectively want to change clothes, it's mostly because they want to wear clothes they can't normally wear out and show them to others...

Even Mo Xueyao had to admit that she shared some of those thoughts.

Of course, she found a good excuse for herself: she wanted to wear the Hanfu her godfather had bought for her last time...

Because that dress is really beautiful, and if I don't wear it now, it will get too cold in a while, and I won't be able to wear it until late spring at the earliest.

"How about we take a shower together?" It goes without saying whose suggestion this was.

"Where can we fit so many people? Do you think this is a public bathhouse?" Mo Xueyao said, her eyelids drooping.

"Hey, it's more fun with more people!"

"Besides, there's only one showerhead, so it's useless for more people to come in. At most, two people can shower together—one person rinses off while the other applies shower gel."

"Then I'll shower with Xiaoyao!"

"That's all you wanted to say, right?" Mo Xueyao was speechless.

"Well, this is a compromise."

"Who's going to compromise with you?! Do you think this is a Lu Xun textbook?" Mo Xueyao flicked her forehead in annoyance. "Absolutely not!"

"That's so we can wash faster—"