A Young Woman's Heart

"Something I particularly like? There are many, I have a wide range of interests!"

"Oh? For example?"

"I enjoy studying all kinds of purely mechanical structures—making things move without electricity."

"I'm also very interested in this."

"Hehe, I even made a hand-cranked projector and took apart the TV at home..."

Mr. Xue and he seemed to be having a pleasant conversation. Mo Xueyao then looked at the others and found that they were gathered in twos and threes, chatting. Occasionally, when they found that the people next to them were also talking about the same topic, the two groups would get together and chat even more enthusiastically.

Whether they are boys from key high schools or vocational schools, they will all have one thing in common—national affairs.

It seems that men are born to like talking about politics. Right now, a group of boys are gathered together, discussing the international situation at length.

Why is it called "lofty talk"?

Because they always think they are right—and cannot accept other people's opinions.

Some of these views were completely detached from reality, making Mo Xueyao want to laugh.

Moreover, in this respect, most of the male students at Chongqing High School who consider themselves elites tend to be more arrogant.

However, Mo Xue thought that perhaps most talented people are arrogant. It is precisely because they are full of self-confidence that they can keep moving forward on the path of learning and never doubt themselves.

Many times when it comes to learning, if you feel that you lack talent, are not smart enough, and cannot learn well, then over time, even if you were originally good at learning, you may not be able to learn well anymore.

Just like an insecure person always feels that they can't do anything.

In fact, most of the time, the differences between people are not as great as imagined.

At the very least, there isn't necessarily an insurmountable gap between students from regular high schools and students from key high schools.

Everyone chatted and ate Western food.

The steak arrived quickly, and it was supposedly medium-well.

Mo Xueyao wasn't very good with a knife and fork, and seemed a bit clumsy.

Liu Xinru kindly reminded her, "Is this Mo Xueyao? You're holding your knife and fork upside down."

"Tsk, why do we have to follow foreigners' rules? Does it mean we can't eat it if we hold it upside down?" Mo Xueyao retorted with a hint of anger—mainly because the beef was a bit difficult to cut, and she almost threw it away several times.

Liu Xinru was somewhat speechless, not because she had nothing to say in rebuttal, but because she didn't want to make the atmosphere too tense.

"Yaoyao." Li Wanyan gently shook her head, her eyes telling her that she should apologize.

"Ahem..." But Mo Xueyao still stubbornly refused to apologize, instead calling over the waiter who had just come in to serve the food, "Do you have chopsticks?"

"Do you... need chopsticks?" The waiter was taken aback.

"Correct!"

"I'll go get it for you right away." Of course, the waitress should try her best to meet the guest's request and quickly left the room, but the other students looked at her with surprise.

Perhaps in their limited experience of eating Western food, they have never seen anyone use chopsticks to eat steak.

"I want a pair too!" Hua Yinyin joined in the fun.

"Hahaha, give me a pair too!" Xia Shini laughed loudly. "I also find these knives and forks so annoying. Chopsticks are clearly a more advanced cutlery, so why do we have to use those broken knives and forks!"

The awkward atmosphere eased somewhat, and Mo Xueyao, who had been putting on a tough act, finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Actually, she was just being stubborn because she couldn't back down.

Li Wanyan sighed helplessly and glanced apologetically at Liu Xinru, who gave her a "it's okay" look.

Mo Xueyao suddenly realized that perhaps the most naive person was herself.

Fortunately, others came to the rescue—whether intentionally or unintentionally, they did save the day and made the atmosphere in the room even more lively and cheerful.

Not satisfied with that, Xia Shini even ordered two bottles of whiskey.

Everyone received a small cup.

Mo Xueyao's expression remained unchanged, while most people blushed slightly.

Only Hua Yinyin complained that it wasn't enough and said she wanted to drink a whole bottle of whiskey right away...

Of course, no one let her have her way. After all, they were all still students. A little bit of drinking was fine, but too much was not good. If something happened, no one could afford to take responsibility.

The conversation finally shifted from national affairs to music, and this time the other party's true intentions became clear.

—How can an exchange meeting be complete without a discussion and exchange session?

"We've specially arranged for the restaurant to provide musical instruments today. Why don't you all give a performance? It would be a nice way to liven up this social gathering," said the boy who had brought them up earlier, smiling and speaking in his usual refined manner.

"Tch, they're all Western instruments, I'm too lazy to play them." Hua Yinyin rolled her eyes.

"Why is Hua Yinyin so hostile to Western music?" a boy asked, puzzled. It was quite impressive that they had all remembered the names of Mo Xueyao's group; at least Mo Xueyao hadn't been able to remember them all.

"Hospitality? Pshaw, it's obvious that those who play Western music look down on those who play folk music, and I'm not allowed to fight back?"

"None of you here think that way."

"Then why did you only include Western musical instruments and not put some traditional Chinese instruments on it?"

"Well, the restaurant only has Western musical instruments..."

"Tsk, isn't this just a case of worshipping foreign things?" Hua Yinyin's conversation was getting a little awkward, but she didn't feel embarrassed at all. This was different from Mo Xueyao's stubbornness, or rather, she didn't think she had said anything too extreme.

"Hehe! Actually, both Western and folk music have their strengths. Let's not argue. Music knows no borders." A polite young man said with a smile, then sat down at the piano. "Then I'll make a fool of myself and play a piece for everyone to ease the tension."

Liu Xinru smiled and nodded, emphasizing, "This is the best pianist in our band. He has already passed the Grade 9 piano exam."

"Wow, Grade 9 in piano!" Wang Jiale had studied piano. Although many people felt that domestic grade certificates were not as valuable as those from abroad, it was still quite impressive.

"Hehe, passing the tenth grade exam is just the beginning of piano playing, nothing to brag about," he said modestly with a smile, but his face was clearly full of pride.

As the piano music began, even Mo Xueyao had to admit that he played very well; perhaps no one in the Xue Music Ensemble could match him in playing the piano.

When the song ended, he bowed very gracefully before stepping off the stage.

"It sounds great!" Wang Jiale clapped enthusiastically. In Mo Xueyao's eyes, she looked like a lovesick fool.

"Well... it's alright." Hua Yinyin pouted, but had to admit that his skill level wasn't bad.

"Does anyone at Yukong High School know how to play the piano? They could perform on stage."

“Uh—I’m not going…” Wang Jiale shook his head vigorously, “I’d just be making a fool of myself.”

"It's okay, this is what communication is all about."

"Hmm... Xiaoxue, can you play the piano?" Wang Jiale looked at Mr. Xue.

Mo Xueyao was a little unhappy. Although she had never learned to play the piano, she could at least play the electronic keyboard. Why didn't anyone ask her?

"I know a little," Mr. Xue said modestly.

"Haha, it's alright, it's alright. I'm just a beginner, you don't need to worry about me not playing as well as me."

“Okay, I’ll give it a try.” Mr. Xue nodded and sat down.

"Uh... this is..." Wang Jiale had a vague impression of it, because he seemed to have heard Zuo Ziya play it before.

The boy who had just played the piano looked a little stiff. He opened his mouth wide, and after a long while, he chuckled awkwardly, "He doesn't just know a little bit..."

"What piece of music?" Mo Xueyao asked in a low voice.

"Norma's memories..."

……

Chapter 167 Best friends are those who remain the same no matter how long it's been since we last contacted each other.

Mo Xueyao's memory seemed to be stuck in yesterday.

After waking up, she touched her head, which was a little sore.

All I remember is that Mr. Xue played a piano piece that none of the people present could play skillfully, and then everyone drank some wine. She returned home with Li Wanyan while sober, but the wine seemed to still have some lingering effects...

So I was still a little disoriented when I woke up.

"Hmm..." Mo Xueyao recalled yesterday's events and slowly sat up on the bed.

"Are you awake?" Li Wanyan asked without turning her head as she sat at her desk.

This isn't a fruit shop, but a small room in a house.

But because she only slept here a few days a month, Mo Xueyao felt that the slightly cracked ceiling seemed a bit unfamiliar.

"Hoo-ha-ah-" She yawned widely, lifted the screen window, leaned on the windowsill, and casually flicked away a grasshopper that had died on it yesterday. "Wanyan... isn't today Saturday?"

"Hmm." Li Wanyan still didn't look up, her pen scribbling on the homework paper.

"Ugh..." Mo Xueyao lay back down in bed. "Can I sleep a little longer?"

"It's past nine o'clock." Li Wanyan didn't answer directly, but what she really meant was, 'Are you sure you want to keep sleeping?'

"Hey... the sun outside doesn't seem very strong."

"It's cloudy."

"What is Wanyan writing?"

"Homework." Li Wanyan's answer was as brief as ever. After a while, when she still didn't hear Mo Xueyao get up, she said again, "Breakfast is cold."

"Hmm... I'm up, I'm up..." Mo Xueyao blinked her sleepy eyes, rolled over, and got out of bed.

"You drank too much yesterday, didn't you?"

"It's alright... I think I've drunk about the same amount as Yin Yin."

"Go wash up, then have dinner."

"I'm going, I'm going." Mo Xueyao said casually. She yawned several times in the time it took to get dressed. She didn't think she was really hungover. Hangovers usually cause a terrible headache, but after taking a short nap, she felt exceptionally refreshed when she got up.

She looked at herself in the mirror for a long time today and finally found something different from usual—her eye bags seemed particularly noticeable and were pink, making it look like she was wearing makeup.

"Is it because of drinking?" she muttered to herself, applying some face oil and beginning to spread it evenly.

The landline phone in the living room rang at that moment, the urgent ringing sounding as if it might be hung up at any moment.

Mo Xueyao slowly walked out of the bathroom, vigorously rubbed her face with one hand, smearing all the face oil on it, before answering the phone.