A Young Woman's Heart

"Teacher! Is traditional martial arts really just for show?"

"Haha, of course not, but it's too difficult to learn. It's not like Taekwondo, which is easy to popularize. And even if you learn it, you might not be able to beat someone. This isn't a martial arts movie. In the face of absolute power, there's no way to fight, okay? For example, if there's a strong man weighing 200 kilograms, and he throws a punch, and I parry it like this—" Teacher Jin made a gesture, "In a martial arts movie, I would block it, but in reality, I would definitely break my bones on the spot, right? If kung fu were really that powerful, then all kung fu masters could stop cars, but in reality, they probably couldn't even stop an electric scooter."

Teacher Jin spoke very frankly, and the students in the audience all laughed. They had been watching with an appreciative mindset from the beginning, so naturally no one insisted on arguing about whether traditional martial arts were effective in combat.

"This time, we're just showing you a martial arts performance. Actually, many martial arts moves in movies aren't quite up to standard. Martial arts also embodies our chivalry and national spirit. You don't need to treat martial arts as fighting techniques; treating them as a kind of folk dance is more in line with our theme today," Ye Ran continued, picking up where Teacher Jin left off. After a brief discussion, Teacher Jin began the performance.

His very first appearance was marked by a remarkably elegant and unrestrained set of drunken boxing.

It's just as good as, if not better than, what's depicted in TV dramas.

The feeling of being drunk was especially realistic, making Mo Xueyao exclaim in admiration, "It's like I really drank alcohol..."

"Our school's teachers are really multi-talented!" Wang Jiale nodded in agreement, then whispered, "Teacher Jin is so handsome!"

"Where did Yinyin go?" Mo Xueyao suddenly realized that someone seemed to be missing from her side.

“I’ve gone up,” Li Wanyan replied calmly.

Upon closer inspection, everyone realized that Hua Yinyin had somehow climbed onto the stage and was standing at the back, playing the pipa.

With the addition of background music, the artistic conception becomes even more profound.

Ye Ran, standing backstage, was not angry at all. Instead, she asked a student to bring her a microphone with a stand so that the sound of the pipa could be heard throughout the entire lecture hall.

Teacher Jin knows quite a few things. After performing a set of Drunken Fist, he performed a set of Dog-Beating Stick Techniques—since he didn't have a stick, he rolled up a poster and used it as a stick.

Then Ye Ran came up to perform.

His performance looked slow and leisurely, and at first Mo Xueyao thought it was no different from the Tai Chi practiced by old men in the park.

However, upon closer inspection, it becomes clear that the movements are actually a mix of fast and slow, with a good balance of tension and relaxation. Moreover, when performing certain attacking actions, one can clearly feel the sudden force.

Ye Ran performed two different martial arts styles: Tai Chi, which is very slow, and Wing Chun, which is very fast.

They're like two extremes.

"Alright, that concludes the solo performance segment." Ye Ran waited for the students' applause to subside a bit before continuing, "Next up is the main event. Teacher Jin and I will be performing a martial arts duet. Remember, this is just a performance; it's like a duet dance, and we've rehearsed it beforehand."

Despite saying that, everyone was still very excited. They figured they could just treat it as watching a film crew shoot live, and their performance was much more enjoyable than that of the crew.

"Xiao Yao." Mo Xueyao suddenly felt a tap on her shoulder, and then she saw Mr. Xue standing behind her with a smile.

"What's wrong? Huh? I saw you here just now, but you disappeared halfway through. Where did you go?"

He grinned even more broadly and pointed to the suona bag he was holding in his left hand: "I saw Hua Yinyin go up and play the pipa, and I thought it was interesting, so I went to the band room and got the suona."

"Huh—?" If it were anyone else doing this, Mo Xueyao wouldn't be surprised at all, but it was Mr. Xue who did it. It seems he has quite a playful side after all...

Is this what they call a childlike heart?

"I'm going up," Mr. Xue said in a low voice, tiptoeing towards the back of the stage like a cat about to catch a mouse.

"Uh...have fun..." Mo Xueyao grinned, wanting to ask the others for their thoughts, but found that they had all moved to the other side and hadn't even invited her.

Only Li Wanyan remained by his side.

"Wanyan, did you see that just now?"

"Ah."

"This is so rare..."

"Not surprising."

Li Wanyan's performance was rather bland, and Mo Xueyao immediately felt that she had lost the joy of sharing. She decided that it would be better to tell someone else about this, or wait until Mr. Xue came on stage to talk about it, which might be more surprising.

When sharing something that surprises you, you actually hope to see the same surprised expression on other people's faces.

However, Li Wanyan probably won't be able to fulfill Mo Xueyao's little 'wish'.

The students gradually quieted down, waiting for the two teachers to get into position before the martial arts performance began.

Ye Ran used Tai Chi, while Teacher Jin used Drunken Fist. The two of them blocked and parried, exchanging blows, just like in the TV series.

Hua Yinyin continued playing her pipa, but when the fight reached its climax, Mr. Xue's suona suddenly blared loudly, completely drowning out the pipa's sound, and a surge of passion welled up from his body.

As was fitting, Ye Ran used even faster Wing Chun, while Teacher Jin picked up the poster on the ground, rolled it into a stick again, and used the Dog-Beating Stick Technique to deal with him.

Hmm... although the very term "Dog-Beating Stick Technique" sounds like it's about beating the other person like a dog...

But the scene was still quite lively.

Mo Xueyao didn't really understand what was so special about these moves; she was just enjoying the visual spectacle. If she got close enough, she could even hear the sound of fists hitting flesh.

The poster-turned-stick didn't hurt when it hit, but it made a loud noise, even giving the illusion that it was a real hit.

The two teachers then exchanged a move and slid back a few meters. If they had both vomited blood while clutching their chests, it would have been even more realistic.

"Impressive skills!" Teacher Jin cupped his hands in greeting.

"Thank you for the concession." Ye Ran, who had only retreated one meter, looked like he had won.

"This skill is actually a means of self-defense. What we should learn is the philosophy and martial ethics it contains—"

Ye Ran and Teacher Jin began their analysis, which was probably the main event of the day. However, the students were getting sleepy, and soon most of them left.

Mo Xueyao was quite interested, especially in the explanation of martial arts concepts.

"Xiaoyao, let's go, we should go practice." Wang Jiale grabbed Mo Xueyao's arm and pulled her back.

"Hmm...let me take another look..."

"Let's go, let's go, we're not playing anymore, there's nothing to see," Wang Jiale said, puzzled. "Let's practice!"

"Let's go practice!"

Mo Xueyao, who had wanted to listen a little longer, had no choice but to follow after everyone left. In the end, it's hard for people to separate from the group and act alone.

Or perhaps... she's becoming more and more dependent on the girls around her?

……

Chapter 179 The Adults Drinking

On Friday after school, Mo Xueyao carried her familiar electronic keyboard back to the fruit shop.

The godfather was sitting on a small stool at the entrance of the shop, chatting with his father.

Upon seeing Mo Xueyao arrive, he greeted her cheerfully with a cigarette in his mouth: "Xiaoyao, Wanyan, you're both back from school? Still so late on Friday?"

“I need to practice,” Mo Xueyao replied matter-of-factly, putting the keyboard back in the small room in the shop. “Is Godfather coming over for dinner?”

"What's wrong? You won't let me eat?"

"I didn't say that." Mo Xueyao rolled her eyes. "Tsk tsk, godfather, you seem to have gained weight again."

"Sigh, I can't lose any more weight, this is basically my weight." The godfather shook his head with a wry smile. "How's your keyboard learning going? Xiaoyu is learning the keyboard too."

"Is she a pianist?"

"Haha, she's switched to learning the guzheng now."

"Why did you change it?"

"She doesn't like the piano, but she's quite interested in the guzheng."

"Hmm, that's not bad either." Mo Xueyao stroked her chin. "Playing the guzheng is also very elegant."

How's your piano? Is it working well?

"My zither? It works great." Mo Xueyao stretched and cracked her neck, making a 'crackling' sound. "Isn't Xiaoyu coming?"

"She has to learn the guzheng tonight!"

"You must be exhausted." Mo Xueyao said with a look of sympathy. She picked up Su Tang, who was circling around her feet, and threw it into a deep cardboard box. Su Tang scratched at the box in anger, while she laughed gleefully.

Li Wanyan tossed a small piece of apple into the box, and the latter immediately forgot that he was trapped inside, bending down to nibble on it.

"A year goes by so fast. Look, it's almost December again." The father made a ready-made fruit basket and placed it on the steps of the side door. He took out a pack of Double Happiness cigarettes from his pocket, and after thinking for a moment, he took out a pack of Liqun cigarettes from the glass cabinet and gave one to his godfather.

"You've returned all the money to me, aren't you short on funds?"

“No problem, it’s not like working for someone else where you get paid monthly. This one has daily cash inflows.” The father took a deep drag on his cigarette, his eyes narrowing with satisfaction. “Ha…”

"Oh, the money's all paid off?" Mo Xueyao asked in surprise. "Have you paid off all the money for the last surgery?"

"Yeah, haha, actually paying back 50,000 isn't enough. Prices have gone up quite a bit this year, so we should pay back more."

"Alright, kid, stop talking nonsense." The godfather waved his hand. "It sounds disgusting."

"Haha, I was just saying."

Although prices have risen this year, it's still quite impressive that Mo Xueyao was able to pay back 50,000 yuan in the last six months of last year plus almost a year of this year. She never imagined that the shop her family owned would be so profitable.

Of course, it was also because the whole family was quite frugal, and with the mother managing the money, it wouldn't be spent on anything frivolous, which saved them a lot of money to pay off the debt. And after paying it off, the family probably wouldn't have much savings left.

"Let's drink tonight!" The father put his arm around his godfather's shoulder. "Let's eat at the noodle shop later, it'll be less crowded there."

"Okay."

My godfather probably didn't drive here today because he wanted to drink.

Although drunk driving isn't checked these days, you really can't drive when you're drunk—you'd be lucky to walk back.

The noodle shop's business was booming. Seeing that the kitchen was too busy to cook for him, his father took out the cooking utensils he usually used and cooked seven or eight dishes that he didn't usually eat.

For example, stir-fried snails or sweet and sour sea bass.

This was the first time Mo Xueyao had ever seen such a large snail. She didn't like eating snails because it was difficult to get the meat out of small snails, but this one was different. The meat could be easily dug out, and just smelling the aroma made her mouth water.

"I never imagined snails could be this big!" Mo Xueyao exclaimed in amazement.

"Haha, these are the real Chinese round snails. When I was a kid, the ones I caught in the river were all this big. The smaller ones aren't actually the same species; they're just cheaper and more plentiful, which is why so many people eat them now." Father gripped the handle of the pot and vigorously tossed it, causing flames to suddenly rise as if to set the entire pot ablaze. This kind of stir-frying was Father's specialty, while Mother, although she also knew the technique, didn't do it much. The reason was probably that it was too tiring.

After all, the pot was quite heavy, and her arm strength couldn't compare to that of her father, who often did heavy work.

The noodle shop was packed, but they still left an empty table at the very back for them.

Mo Xueyao and Li Wanyan helped carry the food over, while their mother had to stay in the fruit shop to keep an eye on things.

"Boss, you also cook stir-fries?" a customer asked curiously, unaware of the situation.

"Huh? Stir-fried dishes?" Old Chen, who had just come out with a bowl of noodles, was stunned for a moment, then laughed loudly, "Haha, they stir-fried those themselves and brought them over to eat. We don't have any stir-fried dishes here yet."