A Young Woman's Heart

"Don't get too excited yet, maybe the next PE class will be replaced with a math class."

"Eh—"

"Ahem, I'm not here for PE class. I'm here to let you know that we'll be having a martial arts performance in the lecture hall at noon today. Anyone who's interested is welcome to come and watch."

"A martial arts performance?" The boys immediately perked up at this. "Is it real or fake?"

"Nonsense, we've already performed, how could we really fight? Alright, those who want to watch, come over after lunch." Ye Ran walked out of the classroom and went to notify the next class.

The first class of the morning hadn't even started yet, but the announcement was already being made everywhere. Perhaps even he himself was looking forward to it?

Not long after Ye Ran left, Jing Die walked into the classroom as the preparatory bell rang.

Everyone tried to concentrate, because if they could get through this first math class, the rest of the lessons would be much easier.

Final exams are approaching, and by the middle of next month, we'll basically be in the review phase.

Sometimes, if there is enough time for review, the teachers will also go over the content of the next semester.

Mo Xueyao heard that there was no new material to learn in the senior year of high school, and that the whole year would be spent reviewing.

It's somewhat similar to the third year of junior high, but there are still significant differences.

After all, the entire third year of junior high school isn't just about studying.

Mo Xueyao was momentarily distracted. The math teacher on the podium had already written quite a few words on the blackboard. She hurriedly looked back at the textbook, found the content being explained, and began to listen attentively again.

Although it was a sunny day, the sun only came out for a short while during math class, and was then covered by clouds for a long time afterward.

The temperature dropped again, and Mo Xueyao and Wang Jiale unconsciously huddled together, keeping each other warm.

Wang Jiale always liked to talk about gossip outside of class during class, which often interrupted Mo Xueyao's train of thought.

Now I can only let things go in one ear and out the other. I give perfunctory replies to whatever she says, and I only chat with her for a few words after I have mastered the knowledge taught in the current class.

"Lele, can't you just listen to the lesson properly?" Mo Xueyao said helplessly, poking her cheek with one hand to turn her towards the blackboard.

"Oh, right, Wang Jiale, as the English class representative, how can you be so distracted?"

"Ahem, of course it's because I've already mastered this!"

"Then you can't disrupt Mo Xueyao's class, she hasn't mastered it yet."

"Um..." Wang Jiale knew she was wrong, and she smiled shyly, holding up the book to cover her face.

She didn't do it on purpose; it's just her personality—she talks a lot.

In fact, she herself is like this when doing her homework at home. She is easily distracted. A few times when I went to her house, Mo Xueyao supervised her and told her not to watch TV. When she was doing her homework, she could stare at a pen in front of her for half a day.

As the last English class of the morning ended, the students rushed out of the classroom.

Mo Xueyao was used to this kind of scene. She slowly took out the cutlery and waited for Li Wanyan to come up from behind and greet her.

"Let's eat together today!" As soon as get out of class ended, Hua Yinyin pounced on them, "Lele, move aside, move aside~"

"No, I want to sit with Xiaoyao today."

"The seat next to Xiaoyaoyao is mine! The other seat is Wanyan's, so there's no room for you!"

"You just assigned me the seats next to you like that, is that a good idea?" Mo Xueyao muttered, her eyelids drooping.

At lunchtime, not everyone goes out to eat together.

Sometimes girls need to go to the restroom, so they'll arrive at the cafeteria a little later. Other times, they might not want to eat at the cafeteria, so they'll be even less likely to run into each other.

Today, the cafeteria served dishes that everyone likes, and two of the food stalls offered Western fast food.

"Did they hire chefs from KFC or McDonald's recently? Why are there always burgers and fries?" Mo Xueyao stood on tiptoe and looked ahead at the students carrying their plates back.

"It seems like a new chef has arrived," Mo Zhuyou said softly.

"Really?"

"I don't know either, I just heard it from others."

"I'm going to join the Western fast food line over there!" Mo Xueyao noticed another window selling pizzas and excitedly wanted to rush over, but seeing the long queue, she turned back. "Never mind..."

"Pfft, we're too late. Even if we get to the front of the line, there probably won't be any left." Mo Xiao laughed, covering her mouth. "It's okay. Eating those kinds of foods is easy to gain weight. Isn't Xiao Yao worried about getting fat?"

"Me? I didn't!"

"Well, it's normal for girls to worry about gaining weight. Let's eat at this window instead." Hua Yinyin patted Mo Xueyao's shoulder and said earnestly, but she was actually teasing her. "Look, this is the least crowded place."

The food at that window wasn't bad, but compared to other food stalls today, it was much less appealing to students.

This window displays braised pork ribs with white radish, stir-fried carrots, and hand-torn cabbage.

Apart from the pork ribs, everything else was vegetarian.

"Oh well, let's just queue at our window..."

Mo Xueyao was somewhat averse to white radishes, mainly because she disliked their slightly spicy taste.

Moreover, the spiciness of white radish is quite different from that of ginger, so it's one of the few foods she doesn't like to eat.

"Which junior high school did Xiaoyao go to before?" Hua Yinyin casually started a conversation while eating.

"Me? I used to be from Da Guan."

"No, I'm not."

"Where are you from?" Mo Xueyao asked casually.

This is just a normal chat—some questions have even been asked before, but after a while, they'll be asked again, as if the brain is filled with knowledge learned in school, and these unimportant things are not remembered so clearly.

"Hmph, I'm from Yucai High School."

"...You ran that far."

"Well, my mom thought it was a good place, so she sent me there. Actually, it's pretty much the same, I feel." Hua Yinyin waved her hand.

Wang Jiale also joined the conversation: "I used to study foreign languages."

"No wonder your English is so good." Mo Zhuyou said with envy.

"Where did Youyou and Xiaoxiao go to junior high school?" Mo Xueyao asked curiously.

"Us? We studied at Fengfan," Mo Xiaoxiao replied after swallowing the food in her mouth.

Mo Xueyao suddenly realized that she had never asked Li Wanyan where she went to junior high school. Perhaps she didn't want to pry into her past and cause her more pain, but doing so seemed to prevent her from getting into her heart.

True friends probably don't need to be so careful to protect the scars left by each other's past, right?

So this time she finally asked, "Wanyan? Where did you study before? I've never heard you mention it."

"Both primary and junior high schools were in Mingzhu."

"Oh—" Everyone nodded and fell silent.

Of all the schools everyone attended, Hua Yinyin attended the best one, the others attended public junior high schools, and Li Wanyan attended a school that was often looked down upon by the so-called 'locals'—a school for migrant workers' children.

It was specifically set up for migrant workers.

Unlike the Pearl of Shanghai—that's a private school.

Mingzhu School in Hangzhou was independently established by the Xiacheng District Government. Many migrant workers, especially the children of rural migrant workers, who live far away but cannot attend regular junior high schools due to various reasons, have no choice but to send them there.

Mo Xueyao remembered that when she was in junior high school, some people at her school would laugh at them for looking "dusty and dirty, as if they never take a bath".

"Oh, right, isn't there a martial arts performance in the lecture hall later? Let's go together!" After a few seconds of silence, Mo Xueyao suddenly came to her senses and quickly changed the subject.

"Okay—! Oh right, I'll take my pipa over there, I can play music while I'm at it, hehe."

The atmosphere became lively again.

As for what happened earlier, no one mentioned it again, and Li Wanyan didn't say anything more either.

Mo Xueyao couldn't tell from her face whether she cared or not.

……

Chapter 178 Martial Arts Performance

At lunchtime, there are always some activities spontaneously organized by students or teachers in the lecture hall.

Yes, even if it's organized by teachers, it basically has little to do with the school; it's just out of their own interest.

Applying to hold an event in a lecture hall is also very simple. Just write down the details and the desired date in advance, and then submit it to the student council.

Last year, the student council of Yukong High School was not officially established yet. Many things, including clubs, were handled by the student affairs office, which was managed by teachers. This year, the student council was finally officially established. The president is a senior who was able to get into a university through a special admission program. The main members are all juniors. Although there are some freshmen, there are not many.

In fact, the predecessor of the Amakusa High School Student Council was the Amakusa Good Samaritan Association—a club similar to a volunteer organization.

Now that it has merged, it takes on the responsibilities of both sides, making it arguably the most powerful student 'club' in the entire school.

Two teachers were already standing on the stage. These two physical education teachers should be familiar to students of all grades.

One is Ye Ran, who is in charge of the first and second years of high school, and the other is Teacher Jin, who is in charge of the third year of high school.

Of course, Ye Ran was the most familiar with him, since he was the one who organized the order during morning exercises or Monday morning meetings.

The lecture hall was crowded with people, and instead of sitting still in their seats, everyone swarmed to the front.

Because there were many people, Mo Xueyao didn't feel very cold.

"Whew, the teacher is already on stage."

"It seems to have already started?" Mo Xueyao excitedly squeezed through, and the other girls who originally wanted to find seats had no choice but to squeeze over with her as well.

Fortunately, this area was mostly boys. When they saw girls approaching, they instinctively shrunk to the sides, making room for them.

"Wow, there are a lot of boys in the audience! Oh, and some girls are here too!" Mr. Jin, a senior high school teacher, laughed heartily. "Have any of you read any martial arts novels?"

"I've seen it—" The answers were remarkably uniform. Even girls who hadn't read martial arts novels had probably watched martial arts TV series. When they were young, regardless of gender, they probably all longed for the kung fu in those martial arts films.

However, growing up always shatters many beautiful fantasies. Everyone knows that the incredible kung fu in TV dramas or novels doesn't exist. In reality, there is at most martial arts.

In more modern terms, it should be called combat sports.

Moreover, modern combat techniques incorporate the strengths of various schools, unlike the long, drawn-out fights depicted in martial arts films. Modern combat techniques typically involve defeating an opponent within a few moves, making them less visually appealing.

The two physical education teachers on the stage were both wearing traditional martial arts uniforms—the only difference being that Ye Ran was wearing a traditional Chinese martial arts uniform, while Teacher Jin was wearing a Japanese or Korean style martial arts uniform.

"Haha, of course we know that most of what's in martial arts novels is actually fake. When it comes to real fighting, most combat techniques are still more effective. Ancient martial arts are certainly useful, but they're not as modern as they are, they don't incorporate the strengths of many schools, and many of their deadly moves are unusable, like gouging out eyes or groin strikes, you know?" Teacher Jin said with a smile. "But now, traditional martial arts still have value. After all, they're a kind of culture. They can be used in movies, and foreigners really like our kind of 'kung fu'."