A Young Woman's Heart

"Oh, thank you..."

"Is this cup with milk yours?" The shopkeeper placed another cup in front of Mo Xueyao.

"Yes, it's mine." Mo Xueyao took it, stirred it with a coffee spoon that was not much bigger than an ear pick, and then took a small sip. "Ugh... why is it so bitter even with milk in it?"

"Coffee is always bitter, just like life," Hua Yinyin hummed, rubbing her cheeks. Suddenly remembering she hadn't ordered coffee yet, she raised her hand and shouted, "Boss! I want the same coffee as her!"

"Ok."

Sanhua Tongjue and Huang Yuxi sat in a corner a little away from the others, very close to each other, looking exceptionally intimate.

"Hey, Xiaoyao, do you think they'll get together today?" Wang Jiale asked in a low voice.

The shopkeeper placed a cup of unsweetened coffee in front of Mr. Xue and said, "Enjoy your coffee."

Mr. Xue didn't seem to intend to participate in the conversation. The bitter coffee suited his taste perfectly. On the bookshelf next to him were some thin classic short stories, many of which were from abroad, but many were also domestic works.

He casually picked up a book of Maupassant's short stories and opened it. A melodious serenade was playing in the quiet café—if Hua Yinyin hadn't been so noisy, the place would have been quite atmospheric.

"The two of them?" Mo Xueyao was taken aback, then realized she was referring to Sanhua Tongjue and Huang Yuxi, so she lowered her voice and replied, "I don't know either. Generally, it's the boys who take the initiative, right? But Xiaoxi doesn't seem like the type to take the initiative."

“Hmm… I think so too.” Wang Jiale stirred his coffee. “Unless Tong Jue is particularly proactive today.”

How will she confess her feelings?

"Hmm... Just say it?"

"Probably not?"

The shop owner interrupted them, asking, "Would you like sugar cubes?"

"Ah, give me a little." Mo Xueyao clicked her tongue, nodded to the shopkeeper, then looked at Wang Jiale and continued, "Isn't it said that Japanese people are very reserved? They can't possibly confess directly, right?"

"It depends on the person, and... Tongjue told me that she has hinted at it several times."

"Is Xiaoxi just too slow-witted, or is she pretending to be stupid?"

"Him...? He must really be stupid," Wang Jiale chuckled.

"Little Yao Yao! Do you want to go out and play this weekend? I happen to be free!"

"That's not necessarily true. You can't judge a book by its cover." Mo Xueyao saw the shopkeeper hand her a small dish containing a few sugar cubes, quickly thanked him, and then put the sugar cubes into her coffee one by one.

The coffee is less bitter, but it has also lost much of its original flavor.

"Little Yaoyao—!!"

"What are you doing? Don't make a scene here!" Mo Xueyao glared at Hua Yinyin in annoyance.

Normally, she would 'smirk' and grope him at times like this, or use other methods to make the atmosphere funny, but today she stood there frozen, her almond-shaped eyes wide open, tears welling up in her eyes, and finally she couldn't stop them from falling.

She covered her eyes with one arm, and sobbed softly, feeling embarrassed and aggrieved, "Why...why are you so fierce..."

"Huh?" Now it was Mo Xueyao's turn to be dumbfounded. She never expected this situation to occur. In her memory, it seemed that she was just a 'daily activity' to dislike Hua Yinyin. She shouldn't be angry or sad about it at all.

In fact, she had never seen her like this before.

Everyone was surprised, except for Mr. Xue, who was engrossed in his book and didn't notice what was happening.

Hua Yinyin, who often makes others happy and is always laughing and joking, and doesn't care about being criticized, seems to have a strong heart, but she actually cries?

Although she knew it was wrong of her to think this way, Mo Xueyao couldn't help but ask herself the question, which prevented her from comforting her immediately.

"That...that...Gin-Gin?"

"Why—you, you all…boohoo…ignore me! Especially, especially…Little Yaoyao…and, and so, so fierce…I, I didn’t…guh…" Hua Yinyin choked on her own saliva, coughing several times before continuing, “did something wrong…”

Perhaps because Hua Yinyin's behavior was usually too 'rogue', Mo Xueyao almost forgot that she actually had a cute chubby face and looked pitiful when she cried with tears streaming down her face.

"I...I didn't mean to..." Mo Xueyao said helplessly, "Uh..."

"Today, when we were supposed to go out... he deliberately... didn't take me..." Hua Yinyin pushed away the napkin Wang Jiale offered, wiping away her tears with her chubby little hands. "Do you... hate me?"

"N-no, no..." Mo Xueyao stammered, "I was just joking with you. I thought if you were really coming, you would definitely come along... Ah... I didn't expect you to be angry..."

"I'm not angry!" Hua Yinyin bit her lip. "I'm ignoring Xiao Yaoyao!"

After saying that, she pushed open the door and ran out. The coffee shop owner's hand, holding the freshly brewed coffee, hung in mid-air. After a long while, he asked, "Do you still want this coffee?"

“I will pay…” Mo Xueyao nodded awkwardly.

Everything happened too fast, and Mo Xueyao, who had no experience in this area, didn't know what to do. As a result, Hua Yinyin's figure disappeared from sight before she even chased after her.

Several minutes have passed now, so there's no point in chasing after them anymore.

"Should we go and see her?" Sanhua Tongjue turned her gaze to Mo Xueyao. "We must comfort her properly."

"...It's been several minutes, they should be long gone by now..."

"Let's go out and check—" Wang Jiale pulled Mo Xueyao up. "I'm partly to blame too. I ignored her earlier. Let's go look for her, just in case she's still there."

“Okay…” Mo Xueyao followed her out blankly. The cold wind outside the shop brought her back to her senses a little. “Phew… how was I supposed to know she’d be angry? They’re always so noisy and argumentative…”

“I didn’t expect that either.” Wang Jiale nodded in agreement. “It’s so strange that Yinyin would throw a tantrum.”

"Oh wait, isn't this the time to talk about this? Hmm... it seems like he's really disappeared."

It seems that Hua Yinyin really ran away and didn't intend for them to find her.

Mo Xueyao and Wang Jiale searched the commercial street thoroughly, but couldn't find any trace of her.

"Didn't find it?" Mr. Xue asked casually as he watched the two of them return from the coffee shop entrance.

"Yeah... Hey—is she really that angry? She's usually like this... Why is she suddenly angry today?" Mo Xueyao still didn't understand what was wrong with her.

Wang Jiale seemed to have thought of something, as if she had realized something: "She's just jealous, isn't she?"

"Hehe... Do you know what positive feedback is?" Mr. Xue chuckled and suddenly started talking about something that seemed unrelated.

"Positive feedback? Like getting a reward for completing a task?" Mo Xueyao asked, tilting her head. Behind her, the clean French windows reflected the blurry figures of the three people. A sparrow perched there, looking around curiously.

"Yes, it's the same with people. When someone takes the initiative to show goodwill or expresses many requests but doesn't get a response, they will start to feel sad. When this sadness accumulates to a certain degree, they will break down because of something ordinary."

"Is that so...?" Mo Xueyao scratched her head. "I don't usually give no feedback, do I?"

"It's not considered positive feedback."

"But with Yinyin like this, how can anyone give positive feedback..."

“Most cheerful people actually crave attention from others.” Mr. Xue popped a sugar cube into his mouth. “I think you can show her more concern—she’s not as strong as you imagine.”

"...Yinyin, do you need to be cared for?" Mo Xueyao glanced at Wang Jiale, still finding it somewhat unbelievable.

……

Chapter 196 The So-Called Positive Feedback (Part 2)

What was supposed to be a pleasant shopping trip turned sour because of Hua Yinyin's situation. Everyone lost interest in staying any longer, and it was getting dark, so it was time to head home.

It's a pity about Sanhua Tongjue. He originally wanted to bring Huang Yuxi out to improve their relationship, but in the end, they could only say goodbye to each other.

They hadn't eaten dinner as promised. As soon as Mo Xueyao stepped out of the commercial street, she saw Li Wanyan walking in.

"What about the others?"

"Going home."

Li Wanyan turned around and walked side by side with Mo Xueyao: "Have you had dinner?"

"No... Wanyan, have you eaten? Oh, by the way, did you just get out of school or what?" She then remembered that she and Li Wanyan had made an appointment to meet her at the shopping street after Wanyan locked up the classroom.

However, almost two hours have passed now, and let alone cleaning, even the members of the school band should have gone home by now.

"I was called over by the teacher to help out a bit," Li Wanyan replied casually.

"Phew, has anyone cooked dinner yet?"

"In progress."

"Hmm, I guess I'll just have to go home for dinner—oh no, did you tell Mom I'm not coming home today? Will there be enough food...?"

"It's okay, we can just buy some steamed buns from the roadside."

“That’s true.” Mo Xueyao pinched her eyes wearily. “Wanyan…”

"Ah."

"Yinyin is angry."

"What's wrong."

"Ah... she was probably just playing around like usual, and then we ignored her, so she started crying, uh..."

"understood."

"Huh? You understand?"

"Hmm." Li Wanyan nodded gently, turned her head slightly, and said to her, "Yinyin is a person too, that's normal, isn't it?"

"Hmm... but she's not usually angry, so why is that?" Mo Xueyao scratched her head in anguish. "I don't know how to get along with her anymore. She seems a bit moody."

“Of course not.” Li Wanyan shook her head. “Just showing her a little concern is enough.”

“Hmm… Wanyan’s words are almost identical to Xiaoxue’s.”

"It's because Yao Yao is too slow to understand."

"Slow-witted? Me? Hmm..." Mo Xueyao scratched her head. "Ah, I really don't understand girls."

"You make it sound like you're not the one doing it."

“That’s true before!” she muttered matter-of-factly. “Isn’t it normal not to understand? Wanyan, you’re hard to understand too! And I used to think I could at least understand Yinyin, but now I realize I can’t even understand Yinyin. Seriously, are there no girls who are easy to understand?”

"do not you."

"...Ah—Wanyan, are you joking with me?"

"Ah."

"...You weren't even smiling, I almost didn't notice!" Mo Xueyao smiled and subconsciously put her hand on her shoulder, just like when walking with a best friend.

Boys often like to walk like this; it makes them seem very close.

A girl's way of expressing closeness is usually by holding hands.